In recent years, there has been a resurgence in the sale of LP's. For those unaware, LP's are also called vinyl or records; they're old-school CD's. In the music shops I've been in, I've seen a substantial increase in the sale of old -- and new -- records. Indeed, statistics show that between '95 and '97, the sale of LP's doubled. To what can we attribute such a rise? Certainly, records are no more convenient than tapes or CD's. Records scratch easily, can only be played at home, and must have a special record-player to work. Record-players are not cheap or easy to come by, and often must be bought seperately from sterio systems.
One theory presented to me was by a friend. There is no basis for this, merely hypothetical thought. It's a broad analysis of an even broader problem. He claims that the rise in sale of records is the search of our generation for a tangible sense of music. Music has evolved, he claims, from one being only heard live, to being only heard on the radio, to being heard only at home, to being heard only at home or in the car, to being heard anywhere inconveniently, to being heard anywhere conveniently, to being heard at any place and any time. The price of music has reflected this; we can now download songs for free via Limewire.
The other theory is that records just create better sound. I don't know how much I agree with this theory; I don't own records because I like the pristine music. In fact, there's a bit of crackling and popping in the background of music, which can be a nuisance.
It's a pop culture thing, is the most likely excuse. With no real reason, records have again become fashionable. Be it because of their sound or tangibility, the LP vinyl is here to stay.
So. What's LP again?