#vinyl

#vinyl

It's easy to think of music as ephemeral and essentially free, rather than a thing you can dotingly select, acquire, and present to your nearest and dearest. Yet music is a courageous and intimate gift. For decades, lovers-would-be; actual-have deployed painstakingly compiled mixtapes to communicate emotions that felt impossible to express otherwise. Music is a useful, even sacred way to commune with another consciousness.

As expected, Taylor Swift's new album The Life of a Showgirl has broken records on its way to the No. 1 spot on the Billboard charts. Swift's 15th LP debuted with 4.002 million equivalent album units (including pure album sales and streaming activity), with pure album sales totaling 3,479,500, 1.3 million of which were vinyl sales, reports via Luminate.

But the sheer volume of variants we're seeing right now feels not only calculated to maximise sales (imagine that), but it's also diluting the aesthetic identity of individual album eras. Whereas the best album art of all time is immediately recognisable, I couldn't tell you what the cover for Life of a Showgirl actually looks like. Same goes for Sabrina Carpenter's new album - just days after the provocative original variant prompted outcry, came the bait-and-switch, as Carpenter revealed a several safer versions.

Vivia's innovative design merges analog and digital by recreating the tactile experience of vinyl while providing the functionality expected from CD playback.

Laced Records opened pre-orders for the physical editions of Clair Obscur's soundtrack, including a 6LP box set with 63 specially mastered tracks.

The first-ever SF Hip Hop Festival is a full-day celebration of hip-hop culture, community, and creativity featuring legendary performers like Tha Dogg Pound and Digable Planets.

The Beosystem 3000c merges the beloved Beogram 3000 turntable from 1985 with modern technology, emphasizing sustainability and craftsmanship within its Recreated Classics initiative.

The release of SOPHIE's deluxe edition of her singles collection celebrates her 10th anniversary with two unreleased tracks and special vinyl features.

Amazon's ongoing sale allows customers to buy one product and get 50% off another across multiple categories, appealing to collectors and enthusiasts alike.

Grinderman, the side project of Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, is reissuing its entire discography, including three acclaimed albums, on eco-conscious vinyl and CD.

This outpost of The Coffee Movement is a local hotspot where coffee lovers can enjoy their brews alongside vinyl music, fostering a welcoming vibe for collectors.