Sound floating to the back seats of parents’ cars might have been the first experience of CDs and physical music for many, but it was certainly not the last for some. Owner of music shop Flat, Black and Circular Jon Howard noticed a large uptick of CD sales amongst 20 to 30-year-olds within the last year.
The popularity of CD and vinyl has continued to ebb and flow in what is now a primarily digital world even amid the youngest generations, making FBC’s Grand River location an easy landmark for college-aged kids with an interest in physical media.
Arts and humanities freshman Ava Racignol had been visiting the store for around a year before she arrived at MSU. She would make the drive up from Coldwater, Michigan, with her boyfriend to visit the shop.
Inspired by the older music she enjoyed in high school, she wanted to experience the material in the medium they were originally in. Her affinity for The Beatles kicked off her physical media collection and has put her on a quest to collect only original copies of all their albums.
She calls the listening experience on vinyl “more meaningful,” and says it “makes (her) feel more connected to the time of the music” for older records.
“You have to put in the effort of pulling it out of the sleeve, putting it on, picking up the needle and putting it down,” Racignol said. “It’s a lot more personal.”
She enjoys focusing on the music and instruments, sometimes closing her eyes and either sitting or lying in her lofted dorm bed as the sound drifts up from her player on the desk below.
A collector of both CD and vinyl, apparel and textiles freshman Vicky Villadiego purchased her first record, a Justin Bieber album, at age 13 after receiving a record player for Christmas. During her freshman year of high school, she began to thrift records as she began discovering groups such as The Beatles and Fleetwood Mac.
Whether it’s while doing homework or just hanging out, Villadiego finds that puting on a record is very “relaxing,” especially compared to CD listening which she calls similar to listening on a phone or speaker. However, she is more likely to reach for CDs when shopping for music she enjoys because they are cheaper and still allow her to collect physical media and to display her finds.
“It’s nice to have them, listen to them, have them displayed,” Villadiego said. “It’s definitely nicer than just having (music) on your phone, everything’s online.”
