Why you’re better off with vinyl

There are two types of gentleman in our world today: one who reads from a Kindle, downloads newspapers onto his iPad and has an iTunes account filled with music. And, on the other hand you’ve got a gentleman who reads physical books, goes out for the Sunday paper and who buys records rather than an mp3 download. We’re all gentlemen here, which is why we would never say that being one way was better than being another. We do, however, want to explain why you are a gentleman who is better off with vinyl.

To get straight to the point: vinyl is the best way to listen to music. Not only is the sound quality of a record player much better than the sound that comes out of your laptop or phone, but owning vinyl is undoubtedly a much more personal experience than owning an iTunes song. Choosing what record to listen to takes time and thought, from careful selection, to removing it gently from its perfect sleeve, to getting the exact speed of the song correct. If you’re sitting at a computer, looking for something to distract you from your work, it’s pretty likely that you’re going to mindlessly choose the first track that comes up on Spotify or YouTube. Vinyl takes work and that’s what makes it so special.

There’s also something very sentimental about owning vinyl: buying it or being given it is an experience, it’s something physical that you’re going to remember receiving. Compare a £20 vinyl to a £20 iTunes voucher: with a voucher, you’re most likely to go to the store, buy a couple of tracks that you’re into at that point in time, and then forget what you bought a few weeks later. With vinyl, though, you have it – it’s there and it’s a solid copy of something with genuine – of both physical and monetary – value.

Vinyl is collectable, and that’s part of its charm. Album artwork also plays a huge part in the draw of owning vinyl: there’s nothing quite like stacking up all of your records together and seeing the massive array of colours and textures. This is what also makes it so valuable; lots of artists put out several different editions of the same record. Hot Chip recently put out their latest album, Why Make Sense, releasing the vinyl edition in 501 different colours. They didn’t release the exact same number of all colours; so Hot Chip fans are no doubt going to go crazy over getting their hands on the smallest edition.

We’re seeing more and more gentleman returning to the old school: from growing beards fit for a man in the 70s to daily use of a walking cane (purely for sartorial reasons) and everything in between. We firmly believe that collecting records falls wholly into that category and we wouldn’t have it any other way.

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