Good morning! It's almost noon here. I'm almost sure that everyone has a quirk / oddity that would put them in the 'what are you, my granpa?' category. I mean just look at that. I have a ton of vinyl and I'm not even a hipster. I have them because I really like the audio quality, the fragile feeling. Granted, it's more people-in-their-fifties than cranky old dudes but still, everyone acts old every now and then, just as we act playful like children sometimes. Either that or you're screwed, man.So. Either I'm faking this whole "under 40" thing and I haven't realized it, or there are others with hobbies that are beyond geeky, they're positively geriatric.
I don't know. I think vinyl might count as in the "hip now" category by KB standards. I have about 100 records myself. You could call me a hipster if you wanted. I honestly think the label has faded in both weight and "significance" - you don't hear people talking about hipsters any more, or at least I don't - the focus has turned to the "millenials." Also, I definitely have that Simon & Garfunkel album. Of my 100 records, only 10% (or yes, exactly 10) are "modern" music/releases. 70-80% of it is classic rock - Who, Creedence, Stones, Beatles, etc - and then there's a bit of classical in there too just to confuse everyone. I love my records. Sadly I don't have a nice enough turntable/set-up to play them all the time, but it's on my "upgrade if my bonus is big enough" list. As for me - I have played Bingo twice in the past three weeks with a group of friends. It's bar bingo though, not money-bingo at a fire station, so I'm not sure if that counts. (Prizes include pint glasses and cheap sex toys.) Some of my friends and I have developed a fun habit over the years, where we "remember" and wax poetic about things from the old days that we are not actually old enough to have experienced. The big one is "Remember when you could smoke on airplanes?" but we mix these references up, as we can.
Vinyl is so lovely. I don't really have a nice setup but my Sennheisers can convey the music beautifully. My dad introduced met to the Red and Blue albums and to The Wall and I've enjoyed many vinyls since then. He's a huge Who fan himself, so he was really happy when I found a rare live album for him. It's great what music can mean to people.Also, I definitely have that Simon & Garfunkel album. Of my 100 records, only 10% (or yes, exactly 10) are "modern" music/releases. 70-80% of it is classic rock - Who, Creedence, Stones, Beatles, etc - and then there's a bit of classical in there too just to confuse everyone. I love my records. Sadly I don't have a nice enough turntable/set-up to play them all the time, but it's on my "upgrade if my bonus is big enough" list.
We just moved too. I feel for you, it really is no fun. Hope you landed in a good spot and that it went smoothly. I was concerned about what my daughter would think and as it turned out she really hasn't been bothered by it at all. My wife and I are two fish out of water though.
The sad part: I had some vinyl. The record player blew up. I got the books on fixing record players - the amp blew up. I bought an RIAA preamp from Rane - had to have it shipped special from Europe because Rane stopped making it (no RoHS-approved components for some of the boards). It never worked. And then I spot-checked a half-dozen of my records and found them all as .flac on what.cd. Considering all I was going to do was rip them and denoise them anyway, it made very little sense to keep up the charade. Then I didn't download the flacs. That is my sense on vinyl - fun for the gear fetishism, but not at all about the music.
I think cassettes are more in the hip now category than vinyl. These days just about anyone and everyone is cashing in on records, and I love it. Classic rock records are great. It's always a good experience walking into a thrift store and seeing what awesome records from the 50s - 80s you can find for a couple of bucks each, and usually in good condition too.