Sensing Vinyl: Ritual, Memory, Materiality

Abstract

Once relegated to the dustbins of media history, the vinyl LP has had a revival since the late aughts, becoming popular among all segments of music consumers, from those for whom it was the dominant medium of their youth to people who grew up only ever accessing music digitally. How is it that a format as clunky, costly, and fragile as vinyl would be so popular in an age of ubiquitous digital content? To address this question, this paper discusses vinyl’s aesthetics, sensorial qualities, and sociocultural affordances, and explores questions about ritual, memory, and materiality.

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