Watch out for those whippersnappers

One thing I find both fascinating and disturbing about the revival of record collecting among younger people is the backlash it seems to be generating.

If you regularly visit record stores, read websites and magazines dedicated to the hobby or participate in communities of collectors and audiophiles, you’re likely to have experienced, witnessed or even contributed to the mockery of teenagers and twentysomethings who’ve increasingly embraced vinyl.

The tropes should be familiar. These ‘hipsters’ only collect records because it’s cool. They use shoddy or gimmicky equipment (e.g., Crosley turntables, cheap receivers and shitty speakers). They don’t properly care for their records. They fail to understand the importance of proper turntable and system setup. They don’t appreciate important differences between analogue versus digital masters, original pressings versus re-issues, etc.

Similarly, the grounds for insult and mockery should immediately come to mind. For example, calling records ‘vinyls’ or not knowing that you need a dedicated phono stage (either internal to your amp/receiver or externally connected) to actually listen to records are easy ways of identifying yourself as an ignorant newbie.

Before I proceed any further, I’ll hold my hand up and admit that I’m as guilty as many out there. I’ve taken great pleasure in showering ‘hipsters’ and clueless kids with invective.

I must also admit that, while the smug self-satisfaction this achieves can be seductive, actively trying to diminish newcomers’ participation in and enjoyment of record collecting and analogue playback is both terribly unfair and tremendously counterproductive.

First, it’s unfair because it ignores an inescapable reality that many of us must, at some point in our lives, encounter and overcome. That is, without prior knowledge or guidance to begin with, most of us simply don’t know any better.

But an absence of knowledge and experience, especially to begin with, is not some kind of incontrovertible flaw or evidence of incapability in a person.

Indeed, the only way any of us learn about something is to find out more about it, try it, make mistakes trying it, identify necessary corrections and, hopefully, execute careful adjustments and modifications in behaviour and approach. Rare is the specimen who throws off the yoke of ignorance and achieves instant enlightenment.

Ultimately, maintaining some perspective is critically important here. Many of the aforementioned newbies have grown up entirely with CDs, mp3s, iPods and other highly portable, digital music playback options. And many of those people would likely be hard pressed to tell you what a stereo is without some reference to a car.

If these people are genuinely interested—and here I make ample room to continue mocking mercilessly the false pretenders out there—it is incumbent upon those of us who have more knowledge and experience to share it willingly and, above all, to encourage them.

We might also do well to keep in mind that we, too, are always learning more about this hobby.

Second, discouraging younger people from pursuing any further their burgeoning interest in records and analogue playback is counterproductive. It serves only to undermine the opportunities I think exist for records to be re-established as the medium of choice when it comes to physical product.

To the extent that more consumers wish to purchase and listen to records, record companies (corporate and independent) will manufacture more of them. Obviously, this means more records would be available.

To the extent that more people develop an appreciation for records, they might begin to demand both higher quality records (e.g., better pressings and analogue source masters) and better equipment, allowing them to experience the high fidelity benefits of analogue playback. Ideally, the market for both could grow to meet these increasingly sophisticated consumer demands.

In either scenario, those of us who are both serious record collectors and hi-fi enthusiasts would stand to benefit considerably.

At minimum, I can’t think of a compelling argument that would suggest why record collectors and hi-fi enthusiasts ought to actively prevent these scenarios from coming to fruition.

Put another way, it would behoove us all not to actively discourage younger people from taking a serious interest in records. Or, so it seems to me.

After all, we were all young once.

So, next time you see some 20-year old with oversized horn-rimmed glasses, tight pants and an asymmetrical haircut talking about playing records in a suitcase, think of it as a teachable moment rather than an opportunity for a chuckle or shake of the head. It might even be more satisfying.