Urban Bullshitters and 'vintage vinyl'
DocMcCoy
"Go and laugh in your own country!" 5,913 Posts
So I was shopping for birthday gifts for the missus over the weekend and found myself, as I occasionally do, in a branch of Urban Outfitters. Now, I dunno how many of you ever visit these places with any regularity, but UO has been carrying new vinyl for a minute. What's different about their stores now is that, in Berlin anyway, they've supplemented the new product with entire racks full of crap, all at 9 euro a pop. Didn't matter if it was a Gene Loves Jezebel 12" single, a Bryan Adams album or a skated copy of Roy Harper's Folkjokeopus on Liberty - everything was the same ridiculous price. It was as if they'd scooped up a random charity shop/thrift store's entire "ALL RECORDS A ??1" vinyl stock and, with neither rhyme nor reason, slapped a massive mark-up on it before sticking it out in the store.
Then I saw this article, the last swallow of a summer of "Vinyl Is Making A Comeback" articles, and I remembered something Mrs. Jonny Paycheck said during a convo we had when Los Paychecks were visiting Berlin last week, about how Whole Foods was now moving into the vinyl game. It reminded me a little of that moment in the 90s when UK record companies decided to sell their product into supermarkets at a massively discounted rate, setting in motion the long, slow death of the High Street record store. This is not exactly the same, of course, but there are similarities - in this case, dilletante-ish non-specialists using the extra muscle their market share gives them within the "youth lifestyle" niche to further fuck up the game in a city where second-hand vinyl is already seriously overpriced.
Personally, my feeling is that if you'll pony up nine sovs for, say, a VG- copy of Audrey Hall's One Dance Won't Do, then you deserve to get your pocket picked. Nevertheless, everything about this Urban Outiftters move looks and feels wrong on every level. I doubt it'll make any difference to store-owners who are serious about their shit, but if it's time for vinyl to return to main street, it deserves something a bit better than a sloppy, half-arsed rackjobbing effort like this.
Then I saw this article, the last swallow of a summer of "Vinyl Is Making A Comeback" articles, and I remembered something Mrs. Jonny Paycheck said during a convo we had when Los Paychecks were visiting Berlin last week, about how Whole Foods was now moving into the vinyl game. It reminded me a little of that moment in the 90s when UK record companies decided to sell their product into supermarkets at a massively discounted rate, setting in motion the long, slow death of the High Street record store. This is not exactly the same, of course, but there are similarities - in this case, dilletante-ish non-specialists using the extra muscle their market share gives them within the "youth lifestyle" niche to further fuck up the game in a city where second-hand vinyl is already seriously overpriced.
Personally, my feeling is that if you'll pony up nine sovs for, say, a VG- copy of Audrey Hall's One Dance Won't Do, then you deserve to get your pocket picked. Nevertheless, everything about this Urban Outiftters move looks and feels wrong on every level. I doubt it'll make any difference to store-owners who are serious about their shit, but if it's time for vinyl to return to main street, it deserves something a bit better than a sloppy, half-arsed rackjobbing effort like this.
Comments
I think the thread that was posted a while ago about how vinyl is cut these days confirmed a lot of my suspicions about sound quality in modern vinyl. In a lot of cases you seem to just end up with a cd dubbed to vinyl. Thes One seemed to be trying to do it right.
So they're peddling bullshit to people for a huge mark up... I would expect nothing less from big business.
I don't think people are educated enough about vinyl to know any better. All they need to be convinced of is that they're getting a superior listening experience and as we know that is a pretty subjective thing. It's like some kind of audio placebo effect?
Just seems to be catering to the kids going in and buying the 'retro' crosby decks they sell in there. Once they've bought their XX lp on vinyl, they probably have no idea where else to get anything to play on 'em. Novelty will soon wear off.
Does anyone know anyone that cops from URBNOFTTRS?
I'd imagine its 18-30 somethings.
Y'all record store dudes seems to have enough stories of Casuals w/ their girlfriends getting open on Sticky Fingers.
Best Buy still has their MDRNVinyl section w/ The Smiths, Bob Dylan, Rolling Stones, Rod Stewart and shit.
It could be a Gateway thang for cats that really catch the bug.
Kids cant go see records up in the club anymore for that dimension of allure/introduction.
If i was Ikea i'd get down w/ a "curator" a rock some vinyl next to their rekkid storage.
hahahaha.
I've been contacted about doing curation/pop-up chud dumps in a few different boutique hotels. So much BOTB
Doesn't everyone have smart phones now, at least the people shopping at UO? Why would you ever spend tht much at urban outfitters without cross referencing via a barcode scan or something. Don't people do that?
I guess they don't care about moving stock. It's decoration. Even a few sales legitimize it.
b/w while i completely understand Doc's furor and rant to the end of the earth, as 'record enthusiasts' we always teeter between 'how come no one wants records anymore? they're so GREAT!' and 'look at these doy-oy's buying dumb records, LoL!'.... i guess we're just never going to establish who is and isn't allowed to get got by cool looking covers that end up being pure balls.
how much was shipping on this?
they came and picked it up "to save on shipping"
http://www.etsy.com/ca/listing/112645705/natural-stump-side-table?ref=sr_gallery_6&ga_search_query=stump+reclaim_wood&ga_view_type=gallery&ga_ship_to=CA&ga_search_type=all&ga_facet=stump+reclaim_wood
and mine was actually treated and had a nicer finish.
http://www.etsy.com/ca/listing/129983041/tree-stump-table-reclaimed-wood?ref=sr_gallery_5&ga_search_query=stump+reclaim_wood&ga_view_type=gallery&ga_ship_to=CA&ga_search_type=all&ga_facet=stump+reclaim_wood
http://www.etsy.com/ca/listing/160263134/black-bear-furniture-tree-stump-table?ref=sr_gallery_12&ga_search_query=stump+reclaim_wood&ga_view_type=gallery&ga_ship_to=CA&ga_search_type=all&ga_facet=stump+reclaim_wood
i'd rather the hipster fad kids stay at their favorite store than bumping into me chatting loudly about their recent digs.
:face_melt:
mind. officially. blown
the re-selling of tree stumps for hundreds of dollars is a much more disturbing trend than records being sold at UO and Whole Foods combined
b/w
I know a lumber yard where I can get stumps super cheap!
:balla:
but maybe more like $250
it would take most of the afternoon to make something like this.
Back Stage Rock And Roll Boutique at the Palisades Mall offers tattoos, clothing, jewelry, shitty guitars and 90's metal LPs for $50 (and nothing under $25).
There's a couple - one on Weinmeisterstr., and another at the top of Ku'Damm.
as seen in the front of some ridiculous place in Williamsburg
http://www.mstarz.com/articles/18391/20130826/whole-foods-vinyl-organic-grocery-store-chain-test-marketing-lp-section.htm
This has been going on for decades. I remember talking to a guy outside of New Paltz with a field full of huge stumps with root structure attached back in the 80's. He had them drying out and getting weathered and he was getting good money for them back then.
$19 scraps of driftwood is some serious BS, though.
So the lesson here is that I should just buy a piece of wooded property, cut down the trees, sell them, let the stumps age, sell those, then sell the property for more than I bought it for because it's now ready for development? And here I went to college like a sucker.
Shit, the things you learn on Soul Strut!
Urban Outfitters Now The WorldÔÇÖs Biggest Seller Of Vinyl Records
Hey LaserWolf,
I hear you man, but nonetheless, vinyl remains my primary medium for listening to music. CDs in the car represent a close 2nd, and the computer (via MP3s) is a distant 3rd. But yes, I acknowledge that my habits are quite 'dinosaur' in nature, but frankly, I don't give a damn! I like what I like, but hey, I do have to recognize that times have changed. I knew way back in the 80s and 90s (in contrast to a lot of my former record collector buddies) that not all music would be transferred to digital form. There is a vast layer of private press material (and other local records) that will never be available digitally. So, my stubbornness toward staying with vinyl has been of great benefit in discovering a bunch of great, obscure music that masses don't know of or give 2 shits about.
Peace,
Big Stacks from Kakalak
My point wasn't to call out people here.
Just pointing out that even though vinyl is making a come back, it has a tiny share of the music listening market.
Hi LaserWolf,
No offense taken, I was merely making light of my own obstinance toward the changing music listening habits. I agree totally that vinyl listeners are a miniscule portion of the population.
Peace,
Big Stacks from Kakalak