Mack Prioleau – Why Vinyl Collecting is So Much Fun
Back in college, my friend Mack Prioleau was really into buying vinyl records and as we lived together I would get the chance to check them out and to hear them when he played them. At that time I was never massively into vinyl, but over the years which we spent together Mack totally convinced me that I should get into collecting, and the seed was sown. I am still friends with Mack now and we often go record shopping together, sadly things have changed a little as more and more people have gotten into vinyl buying, meaning that there are fewer bargains. Nonetheless, this is a really cool hobby and here is why you should join Mack and I in collecting records.
It’s Absurd
Playing a record when you have the chance to open up an app like Spotify and play a tune is utterly absurd. You must take precious care of the records, take the disc out carefully, place it on the turntable and play it. You must get up and flip the record over when one side is finished and when it is done you have to clean it and carefully replace it back in its cover. If you wish to listen to a number of artists you have to keep changing the record over, truly absurd. It is, however, this absurdity which I love, the theater and the drama which comes with playing a record, sure it’s easy to play a song online, but you don’t get the fun and the affection which you do when playing vinyl.
Finding Treasure
Vinyl was the only way to listen to music for such a long time and when CDs came out many people sold their vinyl collections, many even gave them away. The result is that there is an absolute wealth of treasure out there just waiting to be found. You can bag record at yard sales, in charity shops and of course in record stores, and there is always a little gem waiting to be found. I love digging through crates of records because that moment when you see a special vinyl is just magical.
Art and Information
A vinyl is a real piece of art and especially so with those cool and iconic album covers, this is something which you just don’t get with digital music. Another feature which I love about being vinyl is that you can see all of the information about who played on the album, additional messages which the artist has put on there and sometimes even the lyrics. You can find this info online of course but it just isn’t the same as holding the sleeve in your hand, listening to the album and reading about how the concept was put together.
Albums
What I also love about vinyl is that it encourages you to listen to an album, not just a collection of singles online, but listening to the album on the whole, and appreciating what has been put together.
Mack as right about vinyl collecting, it is addictive and amazing.
Boris Dzhingarov graduated UNWE with a major in marketing. He is the founder of ESBO ltd a brand mentioning company. He is also passionate about meditation and healthy living. You can find articles on such topics at his spiritual blog Dzhingarov.com.