Vinyl Nation

My favorite part about vinyl - that soft crackle sound when your needle first touches the record; Vinyl Nation reminds me how much I love that sound! Silly, I know. But there are a lot more relatable moments in this documentary; seeing the people and hearing their stories, you will relate. My first record, my favorite, keeping the player free of dust, visiting Tower Records and thumbing through the stacks looking for that next great album. You will remember, just like I did. A great, 90-minute show. Deserves your attention.

This movie has some great information and they really do provide evidence for their thesis that vinyl is back and accessible to a mainstream and large number of individuals. However, it is just a series of people talking- none of them very interesting, filled with generic PBS style music. Including music by various artists that make us love our vinyl, and interviews with artists we know and other interesting people would have gone a long way. This was more a TV special than a film- it really didn't utilize the medium of a movie.

This does a brief dive into the trend of vinyl, hearing from vinyl fans and people who work behind the scenes of the production of the vinyl records. I enjoyed seeing the behind the scenes of making of the records, and what some record production businesses go through to ensure the quality is what it should be. Seeing someone going through (very throughly) listening to a vinyl for any issues, and looking for any defects to ensure the best quality is there.

What bummed me out: for a documentary that insists record collectors are more than the stereotypical white male collector .. they sure do spend a lot of time with white male collectors.

I didn't think I cared about vinyl records--or any audiorecordings, for that matter. But this documentary opened my eyes to a whole subculture of entertainment connoisseurship. This is beautifully filmed movie is multimedia journalism at its best. Unexpected, spontaneous situations happen throughout the film, and the one at the end made me want to hug everyone.

Chris and Kevin break the stereotypes of record collecting. By showcasing women and POC they show that anybody can be apart of this amazing culture.