Nuggets reflects on 40 years of spinning records: Nuggets, a record store in Kenmore Square, has remained relatively unchanged despite opening 40 years ago. While a small collection of Blu-Ray discs near the front door acknowledges the 21st century, most of the store’s floor space is still filled with boxes of records covering everything from classical opera to rock. “People come in and they keep saying it looks like we’re in the time machine going back,” Nuggets owner Stuart Freedman said. Nuggets began as three men selling records out of cardboard boxes in Harvard Square, Freedman said. Forty years ago, they pooled their money to open a storefront at 486 Commonwealth Ave. and hired Freedman — then a student at Northeastern University — to work for them. It was several years before the original proprietors were bought out and he became the sole owner.
Is the Price of Vinyl Going Too High? Is the vinyl industry at risk of pricing itself out of existence? In its Year in Report 2017, researchers at BuzzAngle Music noted that streaming music consumption surged in the US and Canada. Physical and digital album and track sales, however, continued their slow descent into obscurity. The anomaly? At a 20.1% increase over 2016’s numbers, vinyl records sales actually increased. The medium now comprises 10.4% of all physical album sales in the US. Nielsen Music also reported a similar spike. Last year, vinyl records accounted for 14% of all physical album purchases, a record high. Bandcamp also reported a 54% increase in vinyl sales for artists on its online music distribution platform.
This Is How Bad Your Vinyl Obsession Is for the World: The term “vinyl” is short for polyvinyl chloride, or PVC, a common plastic polymer used in everything from credit cards to window frames. The vast majority of new plastics are made from crude oil, although a small but growing proportion are now being made by recycling old plastic. So what’s wrong with it? “When it comes to vinyl, there are environmental impacts related to anywhere energy is used,” explains Andie Stephens, associate director of corporate carbon footprint measuring company Carbon Trust. “This includes the extraction of crude oil from the ground, refining it, the subsequent processing of [turning] that refined oil into PVC, then using PVC to manufacture a vinyl. The black colour comes from the addition of carbon black, which is also made from fossil fuels.”
Bolingbrook students learn about record players: Tibbott Elementary School in Bolingbrook celebrated its 50th anniversary. As part of the festivities, students learned about what school looked like for students their age in 1967. For students and teachers 50 years ago, the audio/visual technology to enhance student learning was, to say the least, limited. But there was an ancient device known as the record player used in classrooms all across the country. Tibbott Principal Ana Wilson showed her students how the record player worked and what a vinyl 33 1/3 RPM album looked like.
Neil Young Claims His Pono Player Was Killed by the Labels: “The record labels killed it. They killed it by insisting on charging two to three times as much for the high-res files as for MP3s. Why would anybody pay three times as much? It’s my feeling that all music should cost the same. The [high-resolution] file doesn’t cost any more to transfer. And today with streaming, you don’t have the problem [of unauthorized file sharing]. Who wants to copy something if you can stream it? The record companies, by charging three times as much for hi-res music as they charge for regular music, they’ve killed hi-res music. It’s the dumbest thing I’ve ever seen.”
David Bowie’s Aladdin Sane reissued on silver vinyl for 45th anniversary: David Bowie’s 1973 album Aladdin Sane is being released on limited silver LP, to celebrate its 45th anniversary this year. The album will only be available for purchase in “bricks and mortar” retail stores on the 20th of April, the day before Record Store Day. Aladdin Sane‘s limited edition features the 2013 remastered version of the album. Bowie’s CHANGESTWOBOWIE compilation will also be reissued, for the first time since its 1980 release, on limited black and blue vinyl as well as standard black variants.
The Record Sale returns to Spokane Valley: The Spokane Valley Event Center will be filled with audiophiles and movie lovers alike, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 24 and 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 25, for the Spokane Public Radio Record Sale. Hardcore collectors and curiosity seekers get in line early to get top picks from their favorite musician, music genre, or hard-to-find items. Inside, it’s a collector’s dream come true. From Beethoven to the Beatles, U2 to Motown favorites, collectors will find albums from a broad cross-section of musical genres, including classical, rock, R&B, soul, reggae, folk, country, world music, children’s music, soundtracks, and jazz. In addition to the bargain basement-priced vinyl records, CDs, DVDs, and equipment, Record Sale attendees will enjoy free admission, complimentary refreshments, and ample free parking at the event center, 10514 E. Sprague at University and Appleway.
