{"id":139,"date":"2020-09-15T17:40:58","date_gmt":"2020-09-15T16:40:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/krakowmusic.com\/blog\/?p=139"},"modified":"2021-04-25T03:35:16","modified_gmt":"2021-04-25T02:35:16","slug":"how-i-got-back-into-the-groove-with-vinyl","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/krakowmusic.com\/blog\/how-i-got-back-into-the-groove-with-vinyl\/","title":{"rendered":"How I Got Back Into the Groove with Vinyl"},"content":{"rendered":"

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As a child growing up in the 80\u2019s and 90\u2019s, I missed vinyl\u2019s first wave. It was very much something your dad listened to, a medium in the same category as Betamax, 5 \u00bc inch floppy disks and Super 8 cameras. No, for me it was the bright new future of VHS, 3 \u00bd inch floppy disks and, for music, the infinite freedom and flexibility of the cassette.<\/h4>\n

Back then, the freedom to happily pirate music from your favourite radio station (finger hovering eagerly over the record button during the weekly chart countdown or, later and more wisely, while listening to John Peel or Steve Lamacq on Radio One) was truly liberating. Making mixtapes for a loved one or for friends became an art form, and the \u201csecret track\u201d on albums, usually found right at the end of the tape after minutes of hissing static, was pure gold to a teenager of the time.<\/h4>\n

[\/nk_text][vc_single_image image=”146″ img_size=”large”][nk_text vc_css=”.vc_custom_1600199393979{background-position: center !important;background-repeat: no-repeat !important;background-size: cover !important;}”]And then slowly, sadly, came the inexorable rise of the CD. Sure, you could still make compilations but they seemed so much more clinical, more futuristic. So instead you just slipped one CD (or three, if you were blessed with the Kenwood RXD-700 Hifi system, with dual tape deck and AM\/FM radio) in and\u2026 pressed shuffle. Or skipped to the track you really wanted to listen to. I think this was the single biggest shift in my relationship with music, the freedom to skip or shuffle meaning there was no longer any need to listen to the whole album to get to the hits. And, if we avoided the evolutionary dead end that was the Mini Disc (all the functionality of a cassette at four times the price and so bloody small you could lose them for days) I think that was a common experience for many people. With the rise of iPods, iTunes, Napster (!) and, finally, Spotify, I think a lot of people simply stopped listening to whole albums, shifting over to making playlists of favourites that perhaps paled somewhat after the 400th<\/sup> listen and convinced you that the natural track that follows the Main Title from the Last of the Mohicans soundtrack is obviously Unchained, from the Django soundtrack.\u00a0<\/span>[\/nk_text][vc_single_image image=”167″ img_size=”full”][vc_row_inner css=”.vc_custom_1600198250785{background-image: url(https:\/\/krakowmusic.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2020\/09\/spotify_KrakowMusic_1.jpg?id=148) !important;background-position: center !important;background-repeat: no-repeat !important;background-size: cover !important;}”][vc_column_inner css=”.vc_custom_1600198544409{background-color: rgba(25,86,91,0.5) !important;*background-color: rgb(25,86,91) !important;}”][nk_block_quote author=””]<\/p>\n

…my listening habits have shifted 180 degrees, leading me to discover hidden gems on albums I thought I knew, and finding that old favourites shine all the more when alongside their album mates.<\/em><\/span><\/h4>\n

[\/nk_block_quote][\/vc_column_inner][\/vc_row_inner][vc_separator color=”custom” el_width=”60″ accent_color=”#d6d00c”][nk_text]Fast forward (or hi-speed scrub, depending on your generational preference) to 2011. As a newly minted father, I suddenly simultaneously had lots and no time on my hands. Time to put some music on but not search through a playlist, skipping through to find a particular track (this was before Alexa, when hands were needed and in short supply with small children around). Family and friends had clubbed together to buy me a record player and my initial reaction was one of bemusement \u2013 what\u2019s the point of one of these?[\/nk_text][vc_single_image image=”147″ img_size=”large”][nk_text]I\u2019d never bought into the whole purist argument (vinyl sounds better) so why switch to a less durable, more expensive and difficult to store format?\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

And then, listening to Dr Ring Ding\u2019s Ram Di Dance, the scales fell from my eyes. Ok, this isn\u2019t a 70\u2019s prog rock space opera concept album, with a theme and a story flowing through the whole record. But listening to the flow of the tracks in the order they had been planned (I got the A side\/B side divide for the first time\u2026) was a breath of fresh air. Since then, my listening habits have shifted 180 degrees, leading me to discover hidden gems on albums I thought I knew, and finding that old favourites shine all the more when alongside their album mates.[\/nk_text][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1\/2″][nk_text]<\/p>\n

Dr Ring Ding Ram Di Dance Side 1<\/strong><\/h4>\n

[\/nk_text][nk_plain_video video=”https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=1oClYnbHHDg”][\/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1\/2″][nk_text]<\/p>\n

Dr Ring Ding Ram Di Dance Side 2<\/strong><\/h4>\n

[\/nk_text][nk_plain_video video=”https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=6RjBRieOSyM”][\/vc_column_inner][\/vc_row_inner][vc_separator][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][nk_title like=”” style=””]Here are 4 vinyls for uninterrupted \u2013 apart from flipping \u2013 listening pleasure<\/strong>[\/nk_title][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][nk_text]<\/p>\n

Roseland NYC Live \u2013 Portishead<\/strong><\/h3>\n

[\/nk_text][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1\/2″][vc_single_image source=”external_link” external_img_size=”250″ custom_src=”https:\/\/upload.wikimedia.org\/wikipedia\/en\/c\/cd\/Pnyc.jpg” caption=”This is the cover art for the album Roseland NYC Live by the artist Portishead. The cover art copyright is believed to belong to the label, Go! Discs\/London, or the graphic artist(s), Sarah Sherley-Price\/Ryan Art.”][\/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1\/2″][nk_text]Counterintuitive perhaps \u2013 you want to listen to the whole concert without interruptions \u2013 but way the album is spread over the 2 records is near perfect.[\/nk_text][nk_plain_video video=”https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=4cIiyfSZfzs”][\/vc_column_inner][\/vc_row_inner][vc_separator][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][nk_text]<\/p>\n

The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill \u2013 Lauryn Hill<\/strong><\/h3>\n

[\/nk_text][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1\/2″][vc_single_image source=”external_link” external_img_size=”250″ custom_src=”https:\/\/upload.wikimedia.org\/wikipedia\/en\/5\/55\/LaurynHillTheMiseducationofLaurynHillalbumcover.jpg” caption=”This is the cover art for The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill by the artist Lauryn Hill. The cover art copyright is believed to belong to the label, Ruffhouse Records or Columbia Records, or the graphic artist(s).”][\/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1\/2″][nk_text]A classic album which I first got on CD but one that I\u2019ve fallen back in love with on vinyl \u2013 and, depending on the version you have, the hidden tracks stay hidden, unlike on CD.[\/nk_text][nk_plain_video video=”https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=9iqxJK6gSlE”][\/vc_column_inner][\/vc_row_inner][vc_separator][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][nk_text]<\/p>\n

Old Stock \u2013 Ben Caplan<\/strong><\/h3>\n

[\/nk_text][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1\/2″][vc_single_image source=”external_link” external_img_size=”250″ custom_src=”https:\/\/images.squarespace-cdn.com\/content\/v1\/576c05d7f7e0abd30d4be644\/1522236839804-MLT7UP3E55LTGGI45E66\/ke17ZwdGBToddI8pDm48kMh3mVmBaCAeGwqCLG3iONRZw-zPPgdn4jUwVcJE1ZvWQUxwkmyExglNqGp0IvTJZamWLI2zvYWH8K3-s_4yszcp2ryTI0HqTOaaUohrI8PIarJWwnumkapRz_nmTYj1dpaH2rx–_BA62nv3IYPJxMKMshLAGzx4R3EDFOm1kBS\/BenCaplan_OldStock_LP+copy.jpg?format=1000w” caption=”http:\/\/www.bencaplan.ca\/music”][\/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1\/2″][nk_text]A mighty operatic tale of Jewish refugees fleeing a pogrom in Romania to find a new life in Montreal. Tracks like \u201cTraveler\u2019s Curse\u201d or \u201cLullaby\u201d have made it on to many a playlist of mine, but listening to the whole album from start to finish is definitely a superior experience.[\/nk_text][nk_plain_video video=”https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=U9xdD-a1lsA&list=PL4fnXqT84LuRcKbTRXPuFdHcmiaMCiS3X”][\/vc_column_inner][\/vc_row_inner][vc_separator][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][nk_text]<\/p>\n

Live at the Harlem Square Club \u2013 Sam Cooke<\/strong><\/h3>\n

[\/nk_text][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1\/2″][vc_single_image source=”external_link” external_img_size=”250″ custom_src=”https:\/\/upload.wikimedia.org\/wikipedia\/en\/3\/3b\/Live_at_Harlem_Cooke_alt.jpg” caption=”This is the cover art for Live at the Harlem Square Club, 1963 by the artist Sam Cooke. The cover art copyright is believed to belong to the label, RCA Records, or the graphic artist(s).”][\/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1\/2″][nk_text]Again, a live album seems an odd choice but Sam Cooke and vinyl are such a natural pairing and this record has some of the best versions of some classic tracks.[\/nk_text][nk_plain_video video=”https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=jkLZ_pVwU3k&feature=emb_title”][\/vc_column_inner][\/vc_row_inner][vc_separator][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][\/vc_section]<\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Fatherhood changed my music listening habits and led me to discover hidden gems on albums I thought I knew, and find that old favourites shine all the more when alongside their album mates.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":145,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"none","_seopress_titles_title":"How I Got Back Into the Groove with Vinyl - Krak\u00f3w Music","_seopress_titles_desc":"Fatherhood changed my music listening habits and led me to discover hidden gems on albums I thought I knew, and find that old favourites shine all the more when alongside their album mates.","_seopress_robots_index":"","footnotes":"","_wpscppro_dont_share_socialmedia":false,"_wpscppro_custom_social_share_image":0,"_facebook_share_type":"","_twitter_share_type":"","_linkedin_share_type":"","_pinterest_share_type":"","_linkedin_share_type_page":"","_instagram_share_type":"","_medium_share_type":"","_threads_share_type":"","_google_business_share_type":"","_selected_social_profile":[],"_wpsp_enable_custom_social_template":false,"_wpsp_social_scheduling":{"enabled":false,"datetime":null,"platforms":[],"status":"template_only","dateOption":"today","timeOption":"now","customDays":"","customHours":"","customDate":"","customTime":"","schedulingType":"absolute"},"_wpsp_active_default_template":true},"categories":[10,81],"tags":[21,23,20,18,19,24,17,22,16,15],"class_list":["post-139","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-music-more","category-opinion","tag-ben-caplan","tag-dr-ring-ding","tag-lauryn-hill","tag-music-albums","tag-portishead","tag-ram-di-dance","tag-records","tag-sam-cooke","tag-vintage","tag-vinyl"],"acf":[],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-04-30 22:53:46","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/krakowmusic.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/139","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/krakowmusic.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/krakowmusic.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/krakowmusic.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/krakowmusic.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=139"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/krakowmusic.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/139\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1988,"href":"https:\/\/krakowmusic.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/139\/revisions\/1988"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/krakowmusic.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/145"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/krakowmusic.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=139"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/krakowmusic.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=139"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/krakowmusic.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=139"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}