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Vinyl records are regaining popularity in different genres and a new generation

Fourth-year linguistics and philosophy student Taylor Inouye has a collection of about 60 or 70 records. Inouye was initiated into the vinyl culture when his brother bought him a record player for a high school graduation gift.

By Alex Goodman

Feb. 28, 2011 2:13 a.m.

Amy Sherrard
Joe Lipper

Photos for the story on student record collections. These photos are of Chris Walker, 3rd year Communications major, and his record collection.

Joe Lipper

Chris Walker, a third-year communication studies student, owns an extensive collection of around 200 records, including an original printing of Pink Floyd’s “Dark Side of the Moon.” He keeps about 25 records with him at school.

Chris Walker began collecting the Pink Floyd discography on vinyl when he was a freshman in high school. He searched for its albums at every record store he visited, and told his friends to be on the lookout, too.

One evening during his sophomore year, one of those friends sent Walker a text message: “You’re not going to believe this, but Amoeba has an original printing of “˜Dark Side of the Moon’ in their Pink Floyd section. Should I buy it for you?”

When “The Dark Side of the Moon” was released in 1973, the record included a set of promotional posters and stickers inside the sleeve; those first pressings are now collector’s items.

With the music industry moving to digital, it’s hard to imagine anything gathering that much value these days. It seems reasonable to assume there will never be an original download MP3 for auction on eBay.

That may explain why people such as Walker, now a third-year communications studies student, are buying so many records.

According to Chris Byerly, a floor manager at Amoeba Music in Hollywood, a new wave of customers started showing serious interest in vinyl about three years ago.

“I think people want to come to a record store and have a part of that culture,” Byerly said. “They want to experience shopping and have the product in their hands. They grow more of an attachment to what they’re buying.”

Taylor Inouye was initiated into the vinyl culture when his brother bought him a record player for a high school graduation gift. Now a fourth-year linguistics and philosophy student, Inouye has a collection of about 60 or 70 records, and a new player he bought last June.

His parents raised him on Bob Dylan, the Beatles and Led Zeppelin (his father is a music editor for films). He sang in his high school choir, beatboxes for Awaken A Capella and plays guitar for Sympathy Sympathy, a band made up of UCLA students.

Inouye said he remembers turning the volume all the way down on his amplifier and putting his ear up to the player’s stylus; he could hear the sound of the music, straight from the grooves of the record.

“The first time I discovered that, I thought I was imagining something,” he said. “It’s physical sound, actually, which is one of the main reasons I like it. You actually have a feeling for what you’re hearing. With digital music, it’s very crisp and clear, but it’s missing a certain quality, a warmth.”

Walker talked about the warmth of vinyl, too. In high school, Walker learned to produce music, specializing in live sound production. He now does all the recording for his band, The Hearts of Palm, for which he plays tenor saxophone, an instrument he picked up in junior high school. Miles Davis and John Coltrane records rank among his favorites, although he said he first fell in love with classic rock in fifth or sixth grade.

“My personal music revolution … was when my dad first put on the album “˜Who’s Next’ by The Who,” Walker said. “I remember sitting in our living room listening to it on vinyl, and I was like, “˜This is too cool.'”

Walker said he has more than 200 records at home, but he keeps about 25 or 30 with him at school. He plays them over surround-sound speakers in his room, at the end of a hallway on the second floor of the Lambda Chi Alpha fraternity house.

According to Byerly, classic rock titles have traditionally been the most popular, though current independent artists have also sold well on vinyl. He said most contemporary artists have started releasing records, but hip-hop has been slow to catch on ““ an unusual exception, given that the genre grew out of DJs and their turntables.

Walker said he ranks The Roots’ “Illadelph Halflife” among his favorite records, but he expressed little interest in buying any top 40 music on vinyl. He said he’s more interested in Radiohead’s new album “The King of Limbs,” and The Allman Brothers Band’s “At Fillmore East.”

That evening during his sophomore year in high school, Walker didn’t see the text message about the original pressing of “The Dark Side of the Moon” until an hour after it was sent.

His friend had long since left Amoeba Records, but he knew Walker well; he’d already bought the album for him.

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Alex Goodman
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