This is a special episode of The Art of Longevity celebrating vinyl and the ongoing importance of vinyl and the album to artists and to music fans. This episode is brought to you in collaboration with War Child. Please listen then donate on the War Child website here. 

In this short audio documentary you’ll hear some thoughts and stories from renowned musicians like Ben Folds, Gaz Coombes, Interpol, Laura Veirs, Alela Diane, Crowded House, Eels, Ron Sexsmith, Tindersticks, Feeder, Goo Goo Dolls, John Grant and Brett Anderson of Suede. 

Ultimately one of the hidden pleasures of vinyl is that personal choice wins out over the ‘terrifying abundance of streaming’. The self-imposed scarcity is liberating. Mostly, I would say each and every record I’ve bought on vinyl has been played to the point of at least a few pops & crackles. And it’s a joy. 

Vinyl is aspirational. It’s why cool Netflix shows always feature someone putting a record on the turntable. It’s more dramatic than a thumb click on a phone.

Where does vinyl and the album format go from here I wonder. I feel like over the years, music piracy and Napster came along and atomised music into millions of songs. iTunes then unbundled the album. Spotify then shuffled the album, until Adele stepped in and put that right. But the album survived, and it seems to be thriving - at least on vinyl - but also on a reviving cassette format. It is it seems like the album still works. 

If you are a music fan and have the means – and the time – It seems that more and more new music choices deserve to be vinyl purchases. After all, didn’t the creators involved in making that music put blood, sweat, and tears into the craft? The least you can do as a fan is support that by spending your hard-earned money on the music-as-art form.

It’s time to embrace the album, work with it, celebrate it, treasure it. 

On the Art of Listening blog, I have posted a list of my favourite books, websites and other vinyl resources.