New Book Seeks to Explain the Immortality of the Vinyl Record
Set for publication just before Christmas, Vinyl: The Analogue Record in the Digital Age by Dominik Bartmanski and Ian Woodward, explores our relationship with old-school records through the decades. I quote from the publisher’s website:
The last few years has seen not just a revival but a rebirth of the analogue record. Much more than merely a nostalgic craze, vinyl has become a cultural icon. While vinyl never ceased to be the key format for many music lovers and DJs, for two decades the recording industry perceived it as outdated, consigned to dusty domestic spaces and obscure record shops. Yet the seemingly obsolete vinyl has become the fastest growing medium in music sales.
Using a cultural sociology framework combined with insights from material and visual culture studies, Dominik Bartmanski and Ian Woodward present vinyl as a multifaceted cultural object and explore the reasons for its persistence within technologically accelerated cultures. The book is informed by media analysis, urban ethnography and interviews with musicians, DJs, record store owners, boutique label chiefs and collectors within a range of urban centres renowned for thriving music scenes, including Melbourne, London, New York, Tokyo and Berlin.
Using a cultural sociology framework combined with insights from material and visual culture studies, Dominik Bartmanski and Ian Woodward present vinyl as a multifaceted cultural object and explore the reasons for its persistence within technologically accelerated cultures. The book is informed by media analysis, urban ethnography and interviews with musicians, DJs, record store owners, boutique label chiefs and collectors within a range of urban centres renowned for thriving music scenes, including Melbourne, London, New York, Tokyo and Berlin.
I’m in. And while we’re on the subject, look at this beautiful new turntable from Ikura. Learn more at BusyBoo.
The turntable isn’t *from* Ikura – it’s from Music Hall. The model name is Ikura. And, it will set you back around $1200. (http://www.needledoctor.com/Music-Hall-Ikura-Turntable_2)
Ah. That helps. Thanks!