Every once in a while it seems like a good idea to talk about why vinyl records are awesome, why it’s a good thing to collect vinyl and what it means to live the vinyl lifestyle.
Not everybody who buys records is into “living the vinyl lifestyle” but for me personally, this is something I’ve made a massive part of my life. It’s part of my livelihood, it’s part of my creative process, and buying/playing/selling/trading vinyl takes up a big chunk of my day.
Why?
It’s not just about supporting artists that I like, or supporting record stores that have become local institutions in my city, or even just about finding and sharing new music. It’s also about the idea that vinyl records represent something important–people who have decided to make their lives about something more than just a 9-to-5 job or the day-to-day nonsense we’re all plagued with.
It does’t matter if you’re a record seller, a concert-goer, a music reviewer, a vinyl collector or the musician making the music that gets immortalized on vinyl–together we all make this community of people who have found a common joy that is represented by LPs, 12-inch singles, 45s and seven-inch singles, liner notes, artwork and all the wonderful experiences that go along with these things.
When you play a record, go to a record shop, attend a concert, buy a band t-shirt, etc. you participate and contribute to this bigger thing that arose around all of these separate activities. It makes the whole thing possible. It doesn’t matter so much about the genre of music, the location of it, etc. etc…it’s more about the doing and the sharing.
How cool is that?
I love nothing more than coming into my office, turning on the lava lamp and the turntable and relaxing into some strange new vinyl find I discovered earlier in the day. When I list these things for sale, I’ve not just gone out and scoured the earth for them, but I’ve also curated my offerings in my own way–I put my own spin on what I have collected and offer for sale. There’s a fun connection you make with people who share your love for these things.
That’s what keeps me coming back again and again to collecting AND selling–I love making those connections between people who love the kinds of vinyl I too am obsessed with.
Buy a turntable for someone as a present–you could be unlocking a whole new world they never even knew existed until they were faced with the challenge of finding something to play on that new machine.
–Joe Wallace
Yes, it took a bit of time, but The Turntabling Collection is back online for sale, updated regularly with new arrivals and titles. The vinyl and CDs are for sale as a fundraising effort to support Turntabling.net, so any purchases you make directly contribute to the growth of the site.
We could not exist without your support, and it is always greatly appreciated. We’ve got quite a bit of material planned for summer including more Vinyl Road Rage record store profiles, video, podcasting and much more. It’s always great to find and offer rare and obscure vinyl/CD titles and the never-ending search for these great releases takes us into some pretty strange/fun places.
Some have contacted us asking where the for-sale vinyl went, and now that it’s back I’d just like to say thanks for your patience and please check the site regularly for updates and new info–titles are added on a regular basis and there’s some pretty amazingly rare stuff coming. You can browse all current titles for sale and if you are selling a collection of vinyl, please get in touch–we’d love to know what you have. No show tunes, though, sorry–we don’t buy ’em. Soundtracks, yes, show tunes no.
–Joe Wallace
by Joe Wallace
While looking for vinyl oddities today, I stumbled across a collection of photos of record players designed to be installed in a car or truck. Designed for the lover of 7-inch singles, it would be truly awesome to see these come back in a major way. Of course that would necessitate a big industry for the the seven inch single coming back, too…but is that really a bad thing?
Check out the delicious retro loveliness of these players! Some of the images are courtesy of Dark Roasted Blend, while others are from eBay, BoingBoing and other sources. The video, which is first, shows the in-car vinyl player in action…sweet.
