Attention you lot in London and environs, fair warning, I'm about to
descend on your fair city (despite your crappy new mayor, how dare
he ban a nice lager in the Tube!), first very briefly this Saturday for Lakuti's
party (how could I resist distracting Tristan while he plays) and then
I'm off to the UN climate meetings in Bonn for a week and then back
the 14th for another week.
Looking for cool things to do, record shops of course. And speaking
of which, the big front page story in our local daily today says that
vinyl is making a comeback!
cheers
Fred
--
Vinyl records and turntables make unlikely return to retail stores
Fred Meyer is the latest chain to stock the retro platters
Wednesday, June 04, 2008
JOSEPH ROSE
The Oregonian
What can you say about the latest product featured in the
electronics departments of 60 Fred Meyer stores? Well, here's
something: Spin the black circle!
The newest piece of merchandise getting display space isn't from
the MP3 age but from music's 33 1/3 rpm past.
In a sign that vinyl just might be "staging a comeback," as this
week's issue of Rolling Stone reports, Fred Meyer has started to
stock new LPs and turntables.
Sure, plenty of Northwest indie shops have stayed true to what many
hi-fi enthusiasts insist is the one true way to listen to music,
selling used vinyl and systems in the shadows.
"We're living in a world where few commodities have a spiritual
quality," said Eric Isaacson, owner of North Portland's Mississippi
Records. "A lot of people see vinyl as more of an art piece than
just simply background noise."
Deep. But now that a big-dog corporate supermarket-retail chain
like Fred Meyer is stocking the left-for-dead LP, it appears that a
resurrection might indeed be under way.
"There's a funny little story behind this," said Melinda Merrill, a
company spokeswoman. "We got back into vinyl by accident."
Earlier this spring, someone in charge of ordering CDs for Fred
Meyer intended to order a special edition compact disc and DVD set
of R.E.M.'s new album "Accelerate." But the employee mistakenly
clicked the "LP" option on the electronic order form.
Stacks of the R.E.M. vinyl showed up at the warehouse and were sent
out to several stores without question.
"We didn't catch the mistake until the records started showing up
in the stores," Merrill said.
Puzzled by the boxes of vinyl, most managers sent them back. But a
nostalgic few decided to give the retro-product a whirl. A handful
of stores figured out ways to display the album, with its skinny,
shrink-wrapped 12-inch-by-12 inch packaging. Twenty copies sold on
the first day. After a week, 55 had sold.
Now Fred Meyer is "doing a test" in 60 stores, stocking 20 albums,
ranging from a reissue of The Beatles' "Abbey Road" to the new
Raconteurs album on premium 180-gram vinyl.
"They're selling really, really well," Merrill said. "The biggest
seller is 'Abbey Road.' "
She added that Fred Meyer stores will likely offer more vinyl releases
and different models of high-end turntables that plug into stereo systems,
including one with a computer port that allows vinyl-to-MP3 transfer.
Sensing the changing mood about the format, Amazon and Best Buy
also have started stocking new vinyl titles. But that was a calculated move,
unlike Fred Meyer's.
"I really don't know what to make of it," Merrill said.
Isaacson, however, has a pretty good idea about what's happening.
He's not persuaded by the argument that everything sounds superior
on vinyl. CD technology, he said, has caught up.
No, the re-emergence, he said, has more to do with a consumer revolt.
"It's the usual backlash when the market becomes unresponsive to
what people want," Isaacson said. "People were forced to buy CDs
that have become worthless now that you can download music.
The industry chose CDs, the people didn't choose CDs."
This much is clear: It's once again safe to lug those old Who and Bob
Marley records out of the basement without looking like a dinosaur to
your kids. People get ready. Play 'em if you've got 'em.
Joseph Rose 503-221-8029; [EMAIL PROTECTED]
©2008 The Oregonian
-- mail forwarded, original message follows --
To: 313@hyperreal.org
From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <>
Subject: (313) 7th June (Next Saturday)Süd Electronic Presents Uzuri
Recordings With Move D , Lerosa , Tristan
Watkins Aka Phonopsia +
Date: Thu, 29 May 2008 14:05:23 +0100
Hi folks
Just a reminder about our party in London Next Saturday .
Süd Electronic Presents Uzuri Records With Move D , Lerosa ( Live ) , Tristan
Watkins+ - 7th June 2008
A Top Floor Loft Style Venue - Powered By A Funktion 1 Soundsytem
Move D - 3 hour dj Set ( Source , Warp , Philpot , Compost , Modern Love , Uzuri
, Dial , Workshops )
Lerosa - Live ( Uzuri , Enclave , D1 , A Touch Of Class , Millions Of Moments )
Support From
Tristan Watkins Aka Phonopsia
Lakuti (Süd , Uzuri )
Saturday 7th June 2008
10 pm - late
Advance Tickets £10 + BF From :
http://www.wegot
