I’m still shaking my head in disbelief at a portion of Bob Lefstez’s music industry Roadmap to fiscal prosperity as posted last week by the well known music industry analyst:
“Stop complaining about what once was. Album cover art, the ridiculous vinyl record. Sure, vinyl sounds better, but should we replace fuel injectors with temperamental carburetors? Vinyl is cumbersome and vulnerable, people want portability and indestructibility. Focus on higher quality digital. Hell, if all these albums are cut digitally, and almost all of them are, does it make any sense to release them in a final analog version?”
I respect Bob Lefsetz, he’s a fine writer, thoughtful and insightful, and certainly has his ear to the creaking gears of the music biz, but by lauding Spotify and inviting the diminishment of anything physical, he’s certainly proposing a colorless and bleak future and it’s one without the hues and tones that ignited his own passions way back when.
Ultimately if you’re to follow his complete business plan, the consumer is left with nothing but a subscription and some device by which to listen—and mind you, I’m typing away while my 32 gig iPhone charges. (Albeit surround by stacks of records and books even. Imagine.)
Bob would also have the industry invest in the innate talent of a true artist and it’s hard to disagree or fault that notion. Yet, as I mentioned last week, any artist worth his or her salt typically has a unique affinity for vinyl and the artform. In the four years TVD has been around, I’ve yet to encounter a musician of merit who’d shrug at the notion of vinyl. Not one.
With this notion in mind, we launch a recurring column today, “What’s in your record collection?” where we’ll dig into an artist’s stack of vinyl to underscore the sweet and continued niche adherence to a physical piece of art. Or “souvenirs.”
And we’re delighted to have the wonderfully talented Vanessa Carlton join us this week for our new feature’s inauguration and thrilled she’s invited us over for a rummage through her (and her folks’) LPs.
Vanessa’s brand new release Rabbits on the Run hits store shelves tomorrow (7/26) and later this week we’ll have an opportunity for you to get your hands one. On vinyl of course.
For now, TVD is Vanessa’s:
“My parents had a solid record collection. I’m proud that they kept it intact even though all of my friend’s parents were buying cassette tapes. They taught me the ritual that is placing a needle on the black satin circles. I thought it was magic.
We had a narrow closet off the kitchen that held only records and a record player. I spent a lot of time on the floor in front of that closet picking through and studying the lyrcis and artwork.
When I was eight I solely chose records based on what the records looked like. I still do that sometimes.
Crosby Stills & Nash—the one with the three of them sitting on a couch outside a house on the cover. . . self-titled, I think. I love this record. When I was young I think I thought it sounded like the sun. Golden. The harmonies were mesmerizing and I thought the Marakesh song was well, weird.”
