You spin me right round, baby
I must admit I was a little slow in embracing the vinyl
renaissance that has been gathering momentum over the past few years, choosing
instead to stick to my CD collection and being hesitant to take on yet another
collection. However, I can see the
appeal of vinyl: the nostalgia, the throwback to a purer time when music was
untainted by an over-reliance on technology and a unique, perhaps even more
personal way of enjoying music. Indeed,
Matthew Hughes from makeusof.com argues that “vinyl didn’t die when Janis
Joplin did. It’s still very much alive
and is vastly more preferable to listening to music in a digital format”
because music nowadays is stored in a format that compromises the quality due to
audio being compressed.
The excitement of searching for and finding vinyl treasures
at markets or in thrift stores is also appealing, especially when you find gems
at bargain prices. A quick download does
not provide the same satisfaction of a leisurely browse through physical albums
– not for me anyway.
The first vinyl I ever got was back in the 80s, namely
Kylie’s debut album – the one where here spiral perm is cascading from the top
of a tilted hat and there are little gold glasses pinned to her shirt. The other record from the 80s that I still
own and treasure is Roxette’s Look Sharp with its newsprint design featuring
the Swedish duo on the front and the scandalous almost-naked woman on the
back.
Cities around the world are also embracing the return to
vinyl and Cape Town is no exception. Recently the Cape Town Vinyl Fair was held
at the Cape Town Cricket club in Plumstead.
I was not sure what to expect, and imagined a couple of guys selling
tattered records from their cars. I was
pleasantly surprised to find this was not the case. There were several sellers offering a
plethora of albums from different genres and decades, many of which were sold
at competitive prices. I left with a bag
full of excellent finds.
Other great spots to search for vinyl in Cape Town include:
Mabu Records has an overwhelming selection of vinyl spanning
decades and genres. Be prepared to spend
a couple of hours in this treasure trove because you are guaranteed to find
more than one classic, most of which are in very good condition. My personal best finds here are the Dick
Tracy soundtrack, Enya’s Watermark and Liza Minelli’s Results.
Va Va Voom is a cool vintage store in Observatory that has
been voted one of the best record shops in the country and has a large
selection of vinyl, many of which are on sale.
Best finds here include Texas’ Southside and Roy Orbison’s Mystery Girl.
The Bay Harbour Market in Hout Bay is a weekend market where
a friendly guy named Brian sells reasonably priced vinyl, mostly from the 70s
and 80s. Best finds here include Tanita
Tikarim’s Ancient Heart and the Pet Shop Boys’ Actually.
On a recent
trip to Ireland I was impressed by the number of record stores in Dublin and,
after some searching, I found The Immaculate Collection by Madonna – in a pretty
immaculate condition as well – at R.A.G.E (Record Art Game Emporium). It was €15 which is more than
I would typically spend, but since it is a classic Madonna an exception had to
be made.
Finally, I recently received a rare and
limited edition of Madonna’s Hard Candy on vinyl as a birthday gift. This album has a special place in my heart
since the Sticky and Sweet Tour that promoted the album was the first time I
saw Madonna live in concert. The special
vinyl edition features three vinyl discs, including two candy-coloured swirled
discs as well as a bonus remix disc. A
truly sweet birthday gift!
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