With the massive popularity of apps like Spotify and Apple Music, many old forms of listening have become dated. Old classics like the radio and television shows like MTV have been seeing substantial viewership decline. However, an even older version of music listening has recently seen a sort of renaissance in the past few years with younger generations: The record player.
Many students here at North are avid collectors of vinyl and enjoy listening to all sorts of genres in their free time. “I personally love vinyl, they’re probably some of the coolest things I own,” said Darian Lafferty, a senior at Bloomington North. She started collecting vinyl 4 years ago and hasn’t stopped collecting since.
With a collection of over 20 vinyl records, Lafferty enjoys sitting back and relaxing in her room listening to songs like the “Telescope” by Cage the Elephant after long days of golfing and school. “After a long day, it’s just nice to do homework and listen to some of my favorite songs in a unique way.”
Former students at North are also buying into the hype of vinyl. Alumni Charlie Weida has garnered quite the extensive collection of records. “Yeah, I started collecting last year during my senior year, and I gotta say, it’s been really cool.” His collection started at downtown store Landlocked, and with the help of their bargain section, Weida now has over 80 vinyl albums. “Some are like huge vinyl that cost me a lot of money, and others like the ones at Landlocked I found for like $2 dollars.” Weida can’t fully explain what draws him to collecting such pieces of music, but what he does know is that it gives him an indescribable feeling. “It’s a good way of finding unique songs from like the 80’s I wouldn’t have found if not for starting to collect vinyl.”
As both former and current students at North, a culture of vinyl collecting is seeming to sprout and flourish within BHSN. With the addition of even more stores like Landlocked (most notably Tracks on Kirkwood) a once extinct art form is clawing its way back into the spotlight.
