Young people ‘nostalgic’ for vinyl

As a kid, I’d sometimes take a sewing needle and gently run it along the ridges of my… As a kid, I’d sometimes take a sewing needle and gently run it along the ridges of my parents’ vinyl records, one ear placed close to the disc, listening for a hint of the music on it.

My obsession with records was apparent from an early age. The idea of textured vinyl producing music at the stroke of a player’s needle seemed the only way to listen to music. From the invention of the phonograph onward, records have been a staple for many music lovers. Vinyl has made a niche for itself in today’s modernized culture, engaging generations of listeners and sparking a conversation about sound quality and nostalgia.

Vinyl’s sound quality has been a point of contention amongst enthusiasts for more than 20 years now. Jerry Weber, owner of Jerry’s Records in Squirrel Hill, said that vinyl creates a “nice and warm” sound that is more natural to the human ear than sound produced by CDs.

“The debate about the sound has been around since CDs came out. The human ears just aren’t that sophisticated, and vinyl records sound a lot more natural to us than CDs,” Weber said. “That’s why when they remaster the classics on to CDs, they sound awful. CDs sound too bright.”

And while the fan-contended sound quality isn’t scientifically proven, records appeal to listeners on a different level than do compact discs. Vinyl evokes a kind of nostalgia for those who lived through the era of records. But also for the 20-something generation — including me — who wax romantic for a time we never experienced, buying a physical copy of the music we love is an enjoyable experience.

The vinyl sleeve of Dinosaur Jr.’s first record Dinosaur perches above my desk. It’s probably the least essential album in the group’s canon, but the sleeve artwork on either side makes it remarkable. A glorious scene of flowers and mountains etched in striking black and white, the image stirs thoughts about J. Mascis’ markedly shorter hair and totally non-ironic wide-framed glasses. But for me, owning the actual record runs deeper than the superficiality of the cover art: Something about it speaks to the person I’ve become.

With increased modernization of the world, I have a certain nostalgia for a time when music wasn’t immediately at people’s fingertips. Records are large testaments to your favorite artists — to own one is to have a physical icon of your fandom. Album artwork is more than an image file hovering above the track-listing in iTunes. You can hold it and admire it as you listen to an album.

It’s that tangibility that attracts collector and Pitt junior Brett Stawiarski.

“I think records just sound better, and something about being able to look at the artwork in your hands is sweet,” the health information management major said.

Stawiarski started collecting after getting a turntable for Christmas, and he began to frequent Pittsburgh’s wide array of record stores to develop his collection. The city boasts stores for myriad types of enthusiasts — from new indie-label releases to used finds from classic artists like Led Zeppelin and The Beatles.

“And while there’s been an influx in record popularity in general, many of those seeking records are members of the iPod-wielding tech generation,” said Dave Whaley, manager of Dave’s Music Mine in the South Side.

“A lot of young people have been coming in for the past two years or so looking for new releases from bands like The Black Keys and reissues of stuff like The Dark Side of The Moon,” Whaley said.

Weber of Jerry’s Records has also noticed a lot of young people in his 13,000-square-foot crate-digger paradise. The store is stocked with nearly a million 12-inch recordings, as well as a ton of singles, CDs and books.

“We’ve been getting a lot of the younger crowd coming in to buy some old records. We don’t sell a lot of new stuff, so the kids that come in are buying the records their parents listened to,” Weber said. Inside his warehouse-sized store, the customers range from hip college students to those who actually lived through the ’60s, all searching for old memories imprinted on vinyl ridges.

Weber says what it comes down to is a passion for music.

“We don’t see a lot of the collectors or anything like that. What we get are people searching for those old records that they listened to as a kid or that their parents played them when they were growing up. Just regular people who love music,” he said.

Over the years, he’s even had artists like Ben Folds come through his store looking for old vinyl releases and good conversation about music. Despite the prevalence of MP3s and easily accessible tunes, the cozy sounds of a record whirring on a turntable has captivated music lovers, earning a niche in current culture.