[TheChairGuy]

 

http://www.marinij.com/fastsearchresults/ci_5620657

If you ever wanted to make your pilgrimmage to vinyl's Mecca in Northern California, here's your last chance...

[kbuzz3]

i havent been there in 15 years, but can still recall that store from my one visit.  hope its not a sign of things to come

[Berndt]

time for a visit...

[TheChairGuy]

Village Music's last day is September 30, 2007 

For the past month they've had fire sale prices going on.  Most classical albums are $1.00....most others are $2.00.  He puts stacks of freebies out in the front too (those they have too many copies of).  I've gone in about 1x per month for the past 6 months....probably bought/carried out 100 albums and paid maybe $200.00.

Word is getting out about the Fire sale on albums.....it's been near empty each time I've gone in previously on the weekdays....I had to share the store with about 10 other bargain hunters. Hell, I'd estimate he still has some 40,000 albums left 

Good opportunity to stock up on some beauties from the Golden Age of vinyl.....I even bought a pristine copy of Jeff Wayne's War of the World (I must have lent out my copy to a buddy 25 years ago as it's been missing that long).  Hey, for a buck, I splurged and bought a new one 

[miklorsmith]

Sorry to hear that, TCG.  Hopefully you'll be able to stockpile enough to tide you over until The Great Vinyl Resurgence!   

[TheChairGuy]

Sorry to hear that, TCG.  Hopefully you'll be able to stockpile enough to tide you over until The Great Vinyl Resurgence!   

A 20-25 year hole in new music basically means a whole generation of young guys like you won't ever hear your favorite music on the only current technology that depicts music as it's heard and played.....instead of pretending to portray it with an inadequate 44.1 sampling rate.

The interest in vinyl that exists today is likely to be short-lived and there will be no great vinyl resurgence.....you tend to listen to music you first heard when you were 10 or 12...and for you it was derelict CD technology; fortunately for me, it was superior analog 

[miklorsmith]

I'm not that young - Vinyl was still "it" when I was 10.  I still like some of that stuff but I'm more about discovering new tunes.

Jeez, I give you props and still you rip on my format.

[TheChairGuy]

Sorry Mike - I didn't read it as 'props'    I read it as a sly, cut n' grind commentary...forgive me if I had that incorrect 

Regardless, no vinyl resurgence is ever likely to happen....too many holes in new music offerings after 25 years.

As well, homes are BIGGER than they were 25 years ago on average in the US...vinyl's inferior dynamic range and imp-ish bass works best in smaller rooms....vinyl in larger venues points too much to to it's inadequacies and what it doesn't do well. It could be why it has a fairly wider following of rabid fans in Europe and Japan (where average home and room size is smaller). Bigger rooms also make it less likely one will turn the music over each 20 minutes.....remote control is pretty terrific instead of walking 20'

No vinyl resurgence likely to happen...but great music and some gear cheap for those that hold it still near and dear 

[miklorsmith]

I can see how you might have interpreted the comment as you did.  I assure you it was intended with completely positive spirit.  I have no axe to grind and wish all vinylheads $2 record shops around every corner.

Vinyl couldn't be TOO bad in the bass since 247,398 DJs around the world still power giant dance clubs with it.

It seems to me there is a vinyl resurgence, but what would I know.  Is the record/turntable/cartridge/etc. industry really being driven by folks with 25-year-old records and older?  I know there's a lot of that stuff out there but I always assumed it was being continuously supplemented by newer pressings.  If not, that's a bad sign.

[TheChairGuy]

A variety of reasons spell doom for vinyl....larger homes/rooms, lack of new music offerings the past 25 years, bigger homes and $25 new LP's (because there are so few vinyl pressing plants left, it's more expensive to buy them in the small quantities for a small market), with larger storage needs than CD or hard drive, competition for time with newfangled internet, X-Box, on demand television and the like almost guarantee it'll continue to be embraced by a small sampling of music nuts only.

Even among audio-phools, the vinyl group is likely a small (but RABID  ) group.

$78-a-barrel oil today doesn't help it's prospect either (vinyl is primarily a petrochemical)...it'll only rise in price over time because of it.  Oh yeah, it's also a pain in the sphincter to work with 

But, for those few-and-far-between vinyl music nuts out there - $1-2 for music we grew up with, or timeless Jazz, Classical, is a great thing for us 

[WEEZ]

That is one famous record store. I've read about it many times. Unfortunately...never had the pleasure of paying a visit. (only been to the bay area once, unfortunately)

I think there IS a bit of a vinyl resurgence. But it's only enough to keep it alive and on the 'fringe'. John is correct; it's a relatively small but 'passionate' group. (rabid? I wouldn't go that far ) Interestingly, I believe it's made up of mostly 'seasoned' audiophiles from around age 50 and up; and by younger music lovers around 25 and down. Could be wrong.

WEEZ

[TheChairGuy]

WEEZ,

I didn't realize until recently how 'famous' the place was....it's Elvis Costello's favorite record shop in the world (he's stated it).  He gave a FREE concert at the store about a month ago (I was $X%^^&#$# travellin' on the road!!)....I'm sure it was a treat for the 60 people that could fit in there.  Don't know if his even more famous wife, Diana Krall, made the trip 

Jerry Garcia and several of the Dead members lived nearby and used to stop in...ditto for other San Fran-based and other musicians.  Cab Calloway, Anne Murray...this guy probably has signed memorabilia worth buku bucks.

In fact.....John, the owner of 38 years or so, was fielding offers for the remaining inventory after September 30 the other day on the phone....he was throwing around a $750K figure (very rare albums and signed memorabilia about) 

That's okay retirement money - even here in maliciously priced San Francisco area 

[WEEZ]

TCG,

Hey, spend your Christmas money now before they close

Here in middle TN; there are only (2) that I know of: The Great Escape in Nashville; and Economy Electronics (aka Krazy Kent's) here in Cookeville. Prices range from $1.00 to $8.00. TONS of '70's rock. But the occasional decent classic jazz or classical music collection appears every so often. NOTHING like what you've got only a few weeks to clean up on!

WEEZ

[TONEPUB]

I still love vinyl myself, but with a good CD player and music server, it's getting
harder all the time to screw around with vinyl.  Fortunately, I have a good sized
record collection!  I keep looking for more music on both formats.

But the top of the heap CD players are fantastic.  It's to the point where whichever
is mastered better, sounds better.  Either way, both are plenty enjoyable...

I'll keep buying LP's as long as I can get em!

[TheChairGuy]

I just don't know where to put 'em all.  I see folks saying they have X-thousands of LP's and I say, crap, MY room looks like hell with only 600 LP's - what does 3000+ look like (I think I saw a pic of Scott F.'s room, so I know, but still.... )

I've been listening to my most recent haul all morning....gr8 stuff in there! (after cleaning them on the Nitty Gritty last night and applying LAST Record Preservative to them today).

Jeff/TONEPUB - by no means have I heard everything out there (you, no doubt, have heard more than I), but those servers I have heard still don't measure up.  Although the annoying digital jitter artifacts have been largely removed (so it's more enjoyable to sit thru...and dynamics are unrestrained because of this reduction in underlying jitter ) - it still doesn't whisper real-live 'MUSIC' like vinyl does.  It's an advance on CD, to be sure, but it labors under the derelict 44.1K sample rate.  It simply isn't enough...particularly noticeable from midrange on up and it doesn't (CANNOT) capture the the infrasonics that exist in music.  Sorry, no grand prize for music servers..but a good attempt.

What does scream REAL LIVE MUSIC is DVD-A.  192K seems sufficient to capture nuances missed at 44.1K...and it has the infrasonic extension necessary to echo real music.  Unfortunately, unless you are using high quality analog masters or music is more recent and recorded at 24/96 or 24/192, you're shit outta' luck again if you're stuck with the original 44.1K CD master.  That is, almost any music of the past 25 years  

DVD-A, tho dying, is a great medium forever in search of a mass audience.  Forget SACD...that's the most flawed technology of the bunch.  It sounds so goddarned wrong (I've red it's phasing issues...beats me...I just know it's flawed somehow when I hear it every time).

I've expressed my opinions on the state of music formats many times...so go easy fella's.  Remember also that this isn't a general member circle, it's the NorCal circle.  'Berndt' will bounce ya' if you get rough in his neighborhood   

[DARTH AUDIO]

It's even bad for the "Digital World" (CD's,DVD's)!! Virgin Records on Michigan Ave in Chicago just closed their doors a few weeks ago!! Another clothing store is taking their place..

I've got about 3000 records and I keep trying to add more, but some of the vinyl stores are closing. I have found myself buying more CD's lately?? But the reissue of Jethro Tull "Aqualung" on vinyl is out of this world!! Vinyl still rules, but I find myself enjoying more CD's??

[TheChairGuy]

I have found myself buying more CD's lately?? But the reissue of Jethro Tull "Aqualung" on vinyl is out of this world!! Vinyl still rules, but I find myself enjoying more CD's??

DARTH: Don't know your age, but your probably losing your hearing.  For men in particular, it's disastrous, with the upper frequencies most affected.  So, you no longer (thankfully, some might say)hear the difference as acutely between the two formats as your losing the ability to register sound in the upper registers (where CD is most dreadful)

So - there's another reason there won't be a vinyl resurgence - the very vinylphools that were weaned on vinyl and have so much of their growing-up music invested in it - are both getting too old to get up every 20 minutes and we're slowly going deaf 

Soooooo, CD is only for the young....and near-dead 

Seriously - each time I have a good chiropractic adjustment - for days afterwards I detest CD even more than before (as I did yesterday).  It seems manipulating the spine somehow affects my hearing (for the better or more discerning) 

[DARTH AUDIO]

CG, I'm 49 and have excellent hearing. I only buy CD's from bands that don't record on Vinyl. I hate when that happens.. But there is some really fantastic progressive rock bands out there that don't put out records. One I was listening to before. It's a band called Wobbler.. They play 70's progressive rock music. The instruments they play are from the 70's..

BTW, a great tweak. Get your ears flushed out.. I do this every 8 to 12 months. It's amazing what you might be missing in your stereo. It's not the amp, it's your ears!!!!

Also, just picked up a DVD of the Moody Blues recorded in 1970.. It's up next..

Gary

[KCI-JohnP]

Get your ears flushed out..

Darth,
Did you buy one of those flushing kits at the store or have a doctor do it?

John

[DARTH AUDIO]

Ear, nose & throat Doctor.. Always..