VOA标准英语2013--Vinyl Making a Record Comeback

 

Vinyl Making a Record Comeback

A technology thought to be obsolete¹ only 10 years ago is making a surprising comeback.  Like the fountain pen and the film camera, the vinyl phonograph record was thought to be a thing of the past.  But not so, says Steve Gritzan, who owns a store called Iris² Records in Jersey³ City, New Jersey and runs seven record shows across the eastern United States.

“It's a glorious time for people who like records,” he said.

There are numbers to back him up on that.  According to Digital Music News, it’s projected that 5.8 million vinyl records will be sold in the United States this year.  That’s up from one million in 2007.  It’s still a small segment of the music business. According to Billboard⁴ magazine, two percent of all the albums sold today are on vinyl. But while the sales of CDs are falling, sales of vinyl records are up 33 percent this year.

? “Everybody releases on vinyl,” Gritzan said.  “All the new indie rock groups, whether it's Bell & Sebastian, whether it's the Hold Steady, whether it's Foxygen, whether it's Washed Out.  All these groups are hot, new and young.  They release their work on vinyl and they also include a free download.”

And that’s in addition to artists who reach an older crowd - who you might expect to be releasing their music on vinyl.

“When Paul Simon puts out a new record, he puts out a record,” said Gritzan. “There are not enough pressing plants to produce the amount of records that are desired.”

Companies like Gotta Groove⁵ Records, which started in 2009, are stepping in to help fill the gap.

“It certainly is not just us that's seeing the explosive growth,” said Matt Early, the company’s Vice⁶ President for Sales and Marketing⁷. “This is a time in history where the past is coming full circle.”

Gotta Groove founder⁸ Vince Slusarz was a lawyer at a plastics company.  He’d read about the growing popularity of vinyl records but it wasn’t until the trend literally⁹ hit home that he was moved to act.

“I believe it was his daughter who got a turntable for a gift,” Early said. “[She] was listening to records quite a bit more and I think that really made an impression on Vince that, ‘Hey, this is real, young people are buying records and so this is something I should pay attention to.’”

Gotta Groove works mostly for small bands that put out their own records and sell them on-tour. The bulk of the business is geared toward a younger audience.  College students are, once again, reading liner notes, appreciating album artwork and grabbing up their parents’ old, unused turn-tables to return to the days of getting up at the end of the record and turning it over. 

According to Early, that kind of tangible¹⁰ experience is worth the extra money to younger people today.

“Combining those factors, it just kind of gives a perceived value that spending $20-25 on a record feels like it's worth it vs. spending that same amount of money on a file that you really can't touch or feel,” he said.

It remains¹¹ to be seen whether this is a passing fad¹² or whether, like the stick shift car or the paperback¹³ book, the old turntable and spindle is something that will be with us for a long, long time.

1 obsolete   

adj.已废弃的，过时的

参考例句：

• These goods are obsolete and will not fetch much on the market.这些货品过时了，在市场上卖不了高价。
• They tried to hammer obsolete ideas into the young people's heads.他们竭力把陈旧思想灌输给青年。

2 iris   

n.虹膜，彩虹

参考例句：

• The opening of the iris is called the pupil.虹膜的开口处叫做瞳孔。
• This incredible human eye,complete with retina and iris,can be found in the Maldives.又是在马尔代夫，有这样一只难以置信的眼睛，连视网膜和虹膜都刻画齐全了。

3 jersey   

n.运动衫

参考例句：

• He wears a cotton jersey when he plays football.他穿运动衫踢足球。
• They were dressed alike in blue jersey and knickers.他们穿着一致，都是蓝色的运动衫和灯笼短裤。

4 billboard   

n.布告板，揭示栏，广告牌

参考例句：

• He ploughed his energies into his father's billboard business.他把精力投入到父亲的广告牌业务中。
• Billboard spreads will be simpler and more eye-catching.广告牌广告会比较简单且更引人注目。

5 groove   

n.沟，槽；凹线，（刻出的）线条，习惯

参考例句：

• They're happy to stay in the same old groove.他们乐于墨守成规。
• The cupboard door slides open along the groove.食橱门沿槽移开。

6 vice   

n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的

参考例句：

• He guarded himself against vice.他避免染上坏习惯。
• They are sunk in the depth of vice.他们堕入了罪恶的深渊。

7 marketing   

n.行销，在市场的买卖，买东西

参考例句：

• They are developing marketing network.他们正在发展销售网络。
• He often goes marketing.他经常去市场做生意。

8 Founder   

n.创始者，缔造者

参考例句：

• He was extolled as the founder of their Florentine school.他被称颂为佛罗伦萨画派的鼻祖。
• According to the old tradition,Romulus was the founder of Rome.按照古老的传说，罗穆卢斯是古罗马的建国者。

9 literally   

adv.照字面意义，逐字地；确实

参考例句：

• He translated the passage literally.他逐字逐句地翻译这段文字。
• Sometimes she would not sit down till she was literally faint.有时候，她不走到真正要昏厥了，决不肯坐下来。

10 tangible   

adj.有形的，可触摸的，确凿的，实际的

参考例句：

• The policy has not yet brought any tangible benefits.这项政策还没有带来任何实质性的好处。
• There is no tangible proof.没有确凿的证据。

11 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

12 fad   

n.时尚；一时流行的狂热；一时的爱好

参考例句：

• His interest in photography is only a passing fad.他对摄影的兴趣只是一时的爱好罢了。
• A hot business opportunity is based on a long-term trend not a short-lived fad.一个热门的商机指的是长期的趋势而非一时的流行。

13 paperback   

n.平装本，简装本

参考例句：

• A paperback edition is now available at bookshops.平装本现在在书店可以买到。
• Many books that are out of print are reissued in paperback form.许多绝版的书籍又以平装本形式重新出现。