The Wall Street Journal Accused of Fabricating Info to Support Its Anti-Vinyl Articles: Despite growing consumer interest in vinyl, not everyone likes the format. Take Wall Street Journal’s Neil Shah, for example. He’s written two mostly negative pieces on the surge of vinyl. However, according to Analog Planet, the notably cynical writer may have fabricated quotes and made up facts to support his position against the format…Enter Analog Planet’s Michael Fremer, who investigated Shah’s claims. As Fremer points out, the facts contradict his statement. Analyzing Shah’s piece, Fremer discovered that Shah created a “phony narrative” with completely incorrect information.
Rough Trade to open store in Bristol: Rough Trade are opening a fourth store in Bristol as part of its plans to expand. The chain, which currently operates three record shops in London and Nottingham, will open its latest in a premises currently housing Rise, with which Rough Trade have previously entered a partnership. The new store will keep up the tradition of Rough Trade shops having performance spaces alongside a café and bar. A statement from Rise read: “Rise Bristol is closing the current chapter on its inspiring history, whilst making plans for the opening of an exciting new one… Rough Trade, the legendary independent music retailer, joined forces with Rise a few years ago and together will open an impressive new Rough Trade in Bristol – featuring a café, bar and incredible live music space…”
Forget the vinyl comeback. See a house stuffed with antique phonographs. Brian Gorrell spent most of his career teaching music to children, including directing the Henry Clay High School Band in the 1970s. But for the past two decades, he has sold, repaired and collected their ancestors’ mechanical music machines. The basement and garage of Gorrell’s home in Lexington is filled with about 200 acoustic phonographs dating from the 1890s through the 1920s. He also has a nickelodeon, a roller organ and other pre-phonograph music boxes.
Indy Label & Main St Mainstay, Kiam Records: For music obsessives, the idea of owning an independent record store rarely develops beyond a pipe dream. The realities of small business ownership deter most. But for singer-songwriter Jennifer O’Connor, the idea never lost its appeal. Three years after cofounding Kiam Records Shop on Main Street alongside her wife, musician Amy Bezunartea, O’Connor continues to approach the venture as something new and exciting. “Since I was a little kid, I’ve been a music obsessive,” O’Connor told Nyack News and Views. “So the store was always something I’ve played around with in the back of my mind.”
This new machine uses lasers to determine the condition of your records: The RL Vinyl LP Laser is a turntable-like device that scans your records using “hypersensitive electromagnetic sensing technology”. Essentially the electromagnetic sensor is a precise way to trace what the surface of your record looks like. This takes out any guesswork determining what condition your record is in, whether a scratch is actually a fleck of old beer or a divet that will make your favourite song skip. Any changes to what the record is supposed to look like (marks, scratches, defects, warping) are then recorded. The machine then ranks the vinyl on a scale of 1 (poor) to 10 (perfect).
Klipsch and Capitol Records partner for new speaker range: The Capitol One is decribed as ‘semi-portable’, has an eight-hour battery life and Bluetooth connectivity as well as 3.5mm analogue input. It weighs a little less than 4kg, and features two 5.7cm full-range drivers and an 11.5cm woofer driven by 30 watts of amplification. The Capitol Three is a bigger, mains-powered speaker with aptX Bluetooth capability, 3.5mm analogue input and switchable line-level/phono-stage RCA inputs alongside a USB input capable of handling digital files up to 24bit/192kHz. The same full-range drivers found on the Capitol One are here augmented by a larger (13cm) woofer and a pair of 13cm passive radiators.
