Ok, so technically it doesn't work/exist yet but if Rhea Jeong can bring her concept to the market she may have a big winner on her hands!
"Designer Rhea Jeong's Void LP player seems devoid of reality, but it was inspired by the very real and very cute "Vinyl Killer," a little VW Bus that can propel itself around a record and play the tunes with its tinny speaker, naturally wearing out the precious LP in the process. The Void LP takes the concept of a self-sufficient speaker, amp and needle (the red ball), and then tosses them all into the air with a magnetic saucer. We're sure it sounds terrible, and it seems a little fantastical, but one thing's for certain: we want."
For the vinyl enthusiasts out there, you might enjoy checking out some pictures from my recent tour of United Record Pressing in Nashville, TN. Really cool experience to watch how a great audiophile piece can go from a bucket of vinyl pellets to a 12", 180 gram piece of pure audio bliss. Ahh..
I had the chance to be interviewed for the local paper about the resurgence in vinyl just recently. Talking about why and what customers are buying, future of, etc. (this was apart of my job working at the indie record store).
It was an interesting discussion about how over the holiday it was a huge seller for the store where I work at. Not like a few pieces over the course of the week, but a dozen a day going out the door. Watching people dig through the bins for that lost album they had as a kid or discovering something completely new like the "Figure 8" 180 gram repressing from Elliott Smith, a picture disc for "Sgt. Pepper" by the Beatles, or that super deluxe Metallica "Death Magnetic" 5 LP set with CD combination...oh heaven.
What's even better was noticing more and more younger kids/adults buying vinyl this year. And I'm not talking like teenagers or 20 somethings picking up a stack here and there but 8 & 10 year old kids walking up to the counter with stack of gems like Marvin Gaye, the Smiths, Toby Redd and others. It' simple sets me back in awe. Sure, some are buying to collect them, others to play. Whatever the case, it's just amazing to see the pickup in vinyl increase steady every year.
Me, I love vinyl. Everything about it. I collect it. I play it. I marvel at the shear greatness and sound that simple piece of plastic-vinyl material produces every time I drop the needle down. Playing vinyl is a zen moment for me. With a CD, you just pop it in and press play & then forget about it. But vinyl is such a tediously loving project of flipping from side to side, placing the needle down on the track you want to hear, and protecting the record with plastic dust sleeves and shelves. It's become something to respect and love for me.
I find it great reading articles and see stories about vinyl. Watching all the attention that this once forgotten medium is getting now. Seeing how vinyl sales were huge this year, up 50% from reports I read, it doesn't look like it's going away any time soon. If anything, I only hope that it can continue the trend of people going out and buying a record pressing of the favorite artist or album.
My favorite quote that I've read about vinyl sums it up best: "You can't roll a joint on a download".
