Did you see that study a while back saying that 50% of vinyl buyers in the US don’t own a record player? The study found that 50% of consumers who have bought vinyl in the past 12 months own a record player, compared to 15% among all music listeners. What the media latched onto was that if 50% of vinyl consumers have record players, then that of course implies 50% not. That was the headline. To deduce from the fact that half of vinyl buyers own record players, that half don’t is perfectly logical, but it made me suspicious of a little media spin, and left me wondering how exactly the question was asked. Cuz I kinda don’t buy this fact. My inclination is to call BS.
…Because I can’t just imagine buying a record, even if I really just loved the artist and wanted a copy to look at and hold, but then resisting the curiosity to know how it might sound on a record player, even if knew what songs were on it. Because to forgo the act of putting the vinyl into motion, lifting the tonearm and centering it over the track, and to behold the mind-boggling mechanical miracle that is the needle tracking the groove where all the sound lives is like driving around a runway in an airplane and never taking off.
Despite my not wanting to believe this statistic, Kurumi-chan is at least one such person, a record collector without a turntable …well, without one yet. She told me that she would eventually get one, perhaps from money earned working at a used clothing shop., I tried to convince her mother Mayumi, who could have been her sister, not only to feel comfortable joining Kurumi for a photo and to take her mask off for the occasion (a battle I half-lost) but also that Kurumi needs a turntable STAT, no pun intended.
Hope you get that turntable soon, Kurumi, so you and your mother can enjoy these records together 🙂
Ok folks, more Tokyo Record Style on the way!
明菜 [Akina] – Desire
Label: Reprise Records – L-1750
Format: Vinyl, 7″, 45 RPM, Single
Country: Japan
Released: Feb 3, 1986
Genre: Pop
Style: Kayōkyoku
https://www.discogs.com/release/9502813-%E6%98%8E%E8%8F%9C-Akina-Desire
The Checkers – My-Nichi!! Checkers 毎日!!チェッカーズ
Label: Canyon – C28A0428
Format: Vinyl, LP, Album
Country: Japan
Released: Aug 21, 1985
Genre: Rock, Pop
Style: Doo Wop, Pop Rock
https://www.discogs.com/release/8806853-The-Checkers-My-Nichi-Checkers%E6%AF%8E%E6%97%A5%E3%83%81%E3%82%A7%E3%83%83%E3%82%AB%E3%83%BC%E3%82%BA
The Checkers – Song For U.S.A.
Label: Canyon – C28A0502
Format: Vinyl, LP, Album
Country: Japan
Released: Jul 21, 1986
Genre: Rock, Pop
https://www.discogs.com/release/8806527-The-Checkers-Song-For-USA
中森明菜 [Akina Nakamori] – ファンタジー〈幻想曲〉[Fantasy]
Label: Reprise Records – L-12570
Format: Vinyl, LP, Album
Country: Japan
Released: Mar 23, 1983
Genre: Pop
Style: Kayōkyoku
https://www.discogs.com/release/9862895-%E4%B8%AD%E6%A3%AE%E6%98%8E%E8%8F%9C-%E3%83%95%E3%82%A1%E3%83%B3%E3%82%BF%E3%82%B8%E3%83%BC%E5%B9%BB%E6%83%B3%E6%9B%B2-Fantasy
Akina Nakamori – My Best Thanks
Label: Reprise Records – L-4101
Format: Vinyl, 12″, Etched, Single Sided, Maxi-Single, 33 ⅓ RPM
Country: Japan
Released: Dec 21, 1985
Genre: Electronic, Pop
Style: Synth-pop, Ballad
https://www.discogs.com/release/4205149-Akina-Nakamori-My-Best-Thanks
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