The average music listener today can choose from a plethora of streaming services to listen to their favorite song or album. But according to Fortune, in this era of Bluetooth speakers and shuffled playlists, the seemingly antiquated vinyl record is coming back in a big way.
Musician and Occidental professor of music Ramona Gonzalez said via email that the tangibility of the vinyl record could provide extra significance for the listener compared to online alternatives.
“One is physical, and the other is virtual,” Gonzalez said via email. “It would be equivalent to watching a soccer game from the bleachers versus on a television set.”
According to Gonzalez, however, many true audiophiles today prefer digital options.
“Digital audio is more ‘pure’ than vinyl, as it contains less noise,” Gonzalez said. “Audio purists look for the cleanest digital sound.”
Regardless, Gonzalez said that she believes the unique immersiveness and nostalgia associated with vinyl have led to its recent revival.
Cole Banks (first year) said they’ve recently started collecting vinyl, adding to their collection in Bosnia and Herzegovina, where they spent the last two years of high school in a study abroad program. There, Banks said, they found a small community of record collectors.
“Bosnia and Herzegovina has a really fun record community,” Banks said. “There’s barely any record stores. They’re random vendors on the street.”
Banks said they originally started collecting records because they were interested in music production, particularly record sampling for hip-hop beats.
Over time, Banks said that their perspective on records as a tool for production has evolved into a deeper appreciation of vinyl for its uniquely tangible and authentic nature.
“I fell in love with holding the physical copy,” Banks said. “Being able to take the time to sit down and have this piece that I can listen to authentically.”
Keean Stauber (first year) said he also owns a record collection — his parents’ collection inspired him to start his own during his first year of high school.
“My parents owned hundreds of duplicate records,” Stauber said. “[They’re] very influential in this passion that I have for collecting records. We have closets filled to the brim and spilling onto the floor with records.”
Stauber said his parents are not only record collectors but also ardent music fans — their family dinners always had music playing in the background and conversations usually revolved around music.
“Both my mom and my dad are avid listeners,” Stauber said. “We often found ourselves at the dinner table talking about the music that’s playing in the background.”
According to Stauber, this background music wasn’t always played using a record player. But he said sharing dinner with his family while listening to a continuous record gave the meal its own moment and memory.
“It kind of follows the dinner if we play a record,” Stauber said. “Each vinyl has its story. And if we start a vinyl at the beginning of a meal, and we listen to it through flipping the sides, it feels like that dinner has its own moment it’s tracking through.”
Stauber said that listening to music through vinyl has also served as an escape during stressful times.
“I remember senior year, in the midst of writing college essays… I resided in our living room next to the record player,” Stauber said. “I would take breaks from the grueling college essay writing process to play ‘Wish You Were Here’ by Pink Floyd… And it would really take me to a different place when I was incredibly stressed out.”
According to Stauber, the physical action of playing the vinyl record helps commemorate the moment, compared to conveniently streaming the album using Spotify and a Bluetooth speaker.
“I don’t think it would have been as memorable,” Stauber said.
Stauber said his records are musical keepsakes to remember these moments and hopes to carry his collection with him throughout his life.
“There’s something about the tangible album brought with you through life,” Stauber said, “The album will stay the same, but as I progress, it’s gonna be cool to have this memory of where it first began and where it is now.”
Contact Noah Kim at nkim4@oxy.edu.
