Colchester, UK | Colchester’s Best Days Vintage launches vinyl venture: The owners of an independent business specialising in retro clothing have said they “believe in the power of records” after launching their new vinyl venture. Steve Hurdle and Jez Dixon are the familiar and friendly faces of the ever-popular Best Days Vintage, located in Eld Lane, Colchester. Since opening their shop in 2013 the fashionistas have prided themselves on kitting out the town’s younger generation in a range of cool and unique garments. In recent years the store has started to offer counselling sessions in addition to a safe space in which customers can enjoy tasty hot beverages and a calming chit-chat. Steve and Jez have now founded Best Days Vinyl, a new project which will see them offer both new and second-hand records from established and local artists.
Klang Valley, MY | 7 Record Stores In The Klang Valley For All Your Vinyl Needs: In the age of Spotify and free digital streaming platforms, you would think that vinyl records are a thing of the past. But as it is with fashion, it’s all cyclical, and the vinyl movement in Malaysia is making a solid comeback. Some may argue that it never left, but that’s a conversation for another time. Not into the oldies? You’ll be glad to know that vinyl records extend beyond the sounds of the 70s and 80s. Most respectable modern musicians still release their albums on vinyl because it simply sounds better. It isn’t just the nostalgia of listening via turntable either, as vinyl playback is the closest one can get to what the musicians intended for their songs to sound like. But don’t just take our word for it, head on over to one of these record stores in the Klang Valley area to pick out an album or two and listen to them for yourself.
MY | Stream time: Talking vinyl collecting in Malaysia, beat of the mridangam: This Aswara (National Academy of Arts, Culture and Heritage) mini documentary, presented by its faculty of creative writing and film, gives viewers a glimpse of vinyl culture in Malaysia. The localised views definitely sets it apart from the usual international vinyl chatter. In the last 10 years in Malaysia, there has been a big revival in record collecting, and a healthy secondary market for used local vinyl has emerged. The arrival of several independent record shops (since 2014) and online vendors has added to the buzz. But the days of affordable records and cheap digs are rare now. Prices have shot up due to various factors (mainly the weak ringgit) and there have been question marks if young collectors can sustain this hobby, which can be an expensive one.
Worcester, MA | Worcesteria: A trek in search of retail shopping downtown: …That was certainly the case at Joe’s Records on Friday. I didn’t even intend to buy anything, I just found myself in the neighborhood and realized I hadn’t browsed there in ages. Honestly, I don’t even own a record player, but I still love the look and feel of vinyl. I don’t have a lot of deep sense memory connections, but the feel of a vinyl record is definitely one of them. As to the rest of the merchandise, do I have use for a Johnny Cash lunchbox? No, I do not. Do I really want the Johnny Cash lunchbox on display? Yes. Yes, I do. I also had to stop myself from buying a Rush T-shirt for the sole reason that someone posted an old pic of me from the ’90s wearing one on Facebook, and I kind of miss it. I left with a set of Police pins, because I was starting to feel guilty about not buying anything and I’ve been listening to the album “Ghost in the Machine” a bit lately.
Santa Rosa, CA | Wax nostalgic: The resurgence of vinyl: Novato residents Ryan Kendall and Elaine Kuo browsed through boxes of albums, each searching for very different vinyl treasures at the Sonoma County Record Swap at Santa Rosa’s Shady Oak Barrel House in early April. Kendall looked for albums with songs he can’t find on Spotify or YouTube. “There’s an enjoyment of just putting the record on and forgetting about it,” he said. “Now you’ve got the needle on, so you’re not going to go and jump the needle and move it to the next song or find the next album.” Kuo often comes across rare albums, but she’s more interested in whether she likes the music than if it has collector’s value. “I make fun of [Kendall] because I think for a lot of this, you have to have a collector’s personality,” Kuo said. “I personally don’t, and so a lot of times he’ll tell me, ‘This one’s so rare! And this one’s hard to find!’ And for me, I’m like, ‘Do I actually like that?’” Although music streams onto portable devices in seconds, Kendall and Kuo mirror a larger trend of music lovers returning to old-fashioned vinyl albums.
Woodstock, NY | The Woodstock Vinyl Co-Op is back—in two locations! 35 Abbey Road, MOUNT TREMPER: Multiple dealers will have many musical genres available in a very affordable price range: Rock, pop, disco, punk, new wave, lots of jazz, reggae, world music, soul and R&B, blues and more! What are you looking for? This event will be rain or shine. Cash or credit accepted. DJ Sean McD all day! Located seven miles west of the center of Woodstock, 35 Abbey Road is easy to find! 11 Osnas Lane, SAUGERTIES NY 12477 (just 10 miles /18 minutes away): The Vinyl Garage will be open for 3 DAYS, three miles east of the center of Woodstock, towards Saugerties. May 29-30, 10am-5pm. There will be 10,000s of LPs, CDs, 45s +12”s. Two enormous tents and one large garage full of stuff. From bargains to collectibles. Music for every budget (some Cheaper Than Free!). All genres. Free refreshments. Plenty of parking. Listen before you buy.
Commentary: Is the vinyl boom creating a new generation of audiophiles? If you’re of a certain vintage, you probably spent a huge chunk of your disposable income on stereo gear. Back in the 1970s, ’80s, and early ’90s, everyone was looking to own the highest-quality sound systems they could buy for both the home and the car. The goal was to have the loudest, clearest, most accurate sound reproduction possible in order to squeeze every last bit of enjoyment from those vinyl records and CDs. Shops selling stereo gear were everywhere. A cheap way to spend an afternoon was to jump from store to store auditioning your favourite albums on gear you read about in magazines like Stereo Review, Hi-Fi, and Audio that you couldn’t possibly afford. And of course, no trip to the mall was complete without dropping in to check out the more modestly priced stereo equipment at Radio Shack. But then came the digital music revolution of the late ’90s. There had been previous downturns, but this was different.
Olivia Rodrigo Celebrates ‘Sour’ Anniversary With New Vinyl Colors: Special editions will be available from Amazon, Urban Outfitters, independent music retailers, and Target. Three-time GRAMMY winner Olivia Rodrigo announced that her award-winning, record-breaking triple Platinum debut album Sour will be available in three new vinyl colors on May 27. Rodrigo is celebrating the first anniversary of the album, which has sold more than 11.7M equivalent album units globally since its release on May 21, 2021. It won a GRAMMY for Best Pop Vocal Album, Top Billboard 200 Album at the Billboard Music Awards and took home Album Of The Year honors at the People’s Choice Awards and Apple Music Awards. Fans can pre-order Light Blue vinyl from Amazon, Fruit Punch vinyl from Urban Outfitters and Baby Pink vinyl from independent music retailers. Additionally, Target will offer the Sour CD with an updated zine/journal and tattoo sheet. A special box set with CD, updated zine/journal, and t-shirt will be available exclusively at Rodrigo’s online store.
