Physical media lives again. What was once old becomes new, a cycle that’s always been a part of the cultural landscape. Forget AI-generated Spotify playlists. The Free Library of Philadelphia is taking a throwback approach to providing fresh fun for music lovers with the debut of its Vinyl Record Listening Club.
During its first session, held Wednesday night at the Parkway Central Library, nearly 30 people came together to discuss some of their favorite records. For two hours, they took turns playing tracks from the albums they had brought with them.
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These people, whose ages varied from widely, provided a broad spectrum of music. A classic like Anita Baker’s “Rapture” or “Psychopomp” from Philly-founded indie pop act Japanese Breakfast might have been expected. A compilation of Japanese hardcore punk? Well, that probably falls outside of the traditional fare, but that was the beauty of this get-together.
Whether a music fan wanted to play the opening track from Beyonce’s recent mega-album “Cowboy Carter” or mellow out to the psychedelic chillwave sounds of Toro y Moi, the listeners respected each other’s musical tastes, backgrounds and what they said about the records or songs that meant something to them.
“Music connects people,” said librarian Jane Lippman, one of the organizers of the new club. “A club setting allows for listening aloud and with others! I’m hoping that we can come together to be a little less alone in our music consumption and that people can find new things to listen to through community-building instead of an algorithm.”
The vinyl revival of the 2010s, which saw records come back into fashion in a gigantic way, paved the way for this club. For music fans, raiding their parents’ (or even grandparents’) basement in search of old albums became a rite of passage as they simultaneously looked forward to what the future of listening held and respectfully looked back at the decades of music that came prior.
Vinyl is no longer merely digging through crates for $1 albums at record shops. It’s just as much about albums from the likes of Taylor Swift, Sabrina Carpenter and Billie Eilish being sold at Urban Outfitters and other mainstream outlets.
“The Music Department was buying records up until the late 1980s when CDs became more cheaply and widely available, but we never got rid of our record collection,” Lippman said. “In a library-materials only capacity, we maybe could have had this club for years, but the BYO element, welcoming folks to bring their own records they are excited to to share, that probably couldn’t have happened without the vinyl revival.”
Beyond beloved soundtracks to the iconic blockbuster films “Raiders of the Lost Ark” and “Jaws,” the library’s vinyl collection now includes more modern indie records like Vampire Weekend’s “Contra” and the self-titled album by Philly punk band Swearin’.
Shamus Clancy/PhillyVoice
It’s hard to beat the iconic scores from ‘Raiders of the Lost Ark’ and ‘Jaws.’ The Free Library of Philadelphia has both on vinyl.
Maybe technology out-paced what the music industry really needed. Nothing can get past the streaming behemoths, but perhaps, at least on a micro level, things can course-correct a bit.
“If you are feeling frustrated or disconnected from your music when you are using streaming services, or if you want to try listening more mindfully, vinyl is great!” Lippman said.
The Vinyl Record Listening Club meets on the last Wednesday of each month at 5:30 p.m. at the Parkway Central Library’s music department at 1901 Vine St.
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