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NUR WEGEN VINYL

Ein idyllisches Dorf an der Themse im englischen Berkshire. Pangbourne sagt die Ortstafel. Wir schreiben das Jahr 1968. Und es ist Sommer. Der Sommer, der die Begegnung zweier Männer miterlebte, die später unter den legendärsten Persönlichkeiten des Rock in die Musikgeschichte eingehen würden. „Ich stöberte in seiner Plattensammlung rum während er unterwegs war und zog einen Stapel heraus, den ich spielen wollte und irgendwie waren es genau dieselben Alben, die er mir zeigen wollte, um zu sehen, ob ich sie mochte“, erzählte Robert Plant dem Guardian 2014 über seine Chemie mit Jimmy Page. „Es hat einfach gepasst.“
Heute unvorstellbar, aber hätten die beiden Veteranen diese Gemeinsamkeit nicht in ihrer Anfangszeit entdeckt, wären Led Zeppelin vielleicht nie so passiert wie sie es im Endeffekt taten. Und das alles nur wegen Vinyl.

VINYL IM LAUFE DER JAHRE

Der amerikanische Visionär Thomas Edison erfand 1877 den Phonographen und Urvater des heutigen Plattenspielers. Das Grammofon unter Emile Berliner folge kurz darauf. Allerdings waren die Platten selbst alles andere als funktionstüchtig in ihrer Entwicklungsphase – die Qualität glich einem Trauerspiel. Und der Einzug des Radios zusammen mit der Weltwirtschaftskrise der späten 20er löschte die Branche fast gänzlich aus. Dann kamen die 7-Zoll Singles und die 12-Zoll LPs mit jeweils 45 und 33 ⅓ Umdrehungen pro Minute und der Markt zog mit. Nach dem Ende des Zweiten Weltkriegs begann eine Ära der Musikwiedergabe, die 40 wundervolle Jahre anhielt. Der Plattenspieler, wie wir ihn heute kennen, ist ein Produkt der 1960er, eine Zeit in der viele der weltweit bedeutendsten Alben veröffentlicht wurden. Dann kam die Kassette und die CD. Zur Jahrhundertwende war die Schallplatte dem Tode geweiht. Mp3s erschienen auf dem Horizont und die Menschheit entdeckte das Musikstreaming für sich. Schicksal besiegelt, aus und vorbei. Aber siehe da, fast zwei Jahrzehnte später ist Vinyl gefragter denn je.

DIE OLDTIMER DER MUSIK

Was ist es also an den Schallplatten, das ein so unerwartetes Comeback ermöglichte? Nostalgie ist wohl der zugrundliegendste Faktor. Ein Retro Turntable mit einem Stapel Platten daneben ist alles, was es braucht, um ein Wohnzimmer in den Zeitgeist der vergangenen 70er zu kleiden. Wände in Häusern, Stores und Proberäumen auf der ganzen Welt werden geziert von den unverwechselbaren schwarzen Scheiben, während mit Sammlerstücken wie Farb- und Bilddiscs sorgfältiger umgegangen wird, als mit Versprechen. Heutzutage dreht sich alles um Vintage und die altmodische Ansehnlichkeit dieser scheinbar prähistorischen Tonträger und der dazugehörigen Geräte ist unbestreitbar.

Natürlich kommen die Menschen aber nicht nur wegen der Ästhetik immer wieder zurück. Es sind die schönen Erinnerungen an eine Vergangenheit, die von jenen, die sie selbst erlebt haben und von jenen, die wünschen, dass sie es hätten, gleichermaßen wertgeschätzt wird. Sentimentale Sehnsucht liegt letzten Endes in der menschlichen Natur. Dieses eine Mal als Du nackt in den Armen deines Hippie-Lovers getanzt hast, ohne einen Gedanken an die Zukunft zu verschwenden. Der Tag, an dem sich das Tor öffnete lange bevor die Mauer fiel. Der Moment, in dem ein Mann einen kleinen Schritt ging und einen riesigen Sprung für die Menschheit machte. Jedes Mal, wenn Präsident Johnson und Martin Luther King Jr. sich die Hände schüttelten. Der Tag, an dem sich das Morgenlicht irgendwie sanfter anfühlte als sonst, weil sie endlich Frieden schlossen. Im Hintergrund hat Vinyl gespielt.

PINK FLOYD

THE DARK SIDE
OF THE MOON

Arguably the most essential record to own on vinyl, maybe any format. In the temporal setting of its release, it was already so far ahead of its time that it continues to break the creative realm today still. But these things have been said a thousand times over about Dark Side of the Moon. Its merit is known. Every word of praise, every tribute, every accolade is deserved. It’s an album that has to be heard and felt and heard again and invited in with wide-open minds. From the artwork to the lyrics to the melody - Pink Floyd have packed the secrets of the universe into their magnum opus. It seems almost a waste to single out one song as the best because such genius has to be experienced in its entirety. Ultimately, The Dark Side of the Moon is a journey as much as it is an album.

NIRVANA

MTV UNPLUGGED
IN NEW YORK

A live record as organic and gritty as it gets. Nirvana reinvented their own music with this concert, and the incorporated cover songs are frequently thought of as originals. Cobain’s vocals are as raw as ever for the acoustic renditions of iconic grunge anthems, and his former bandmates play vigorously alongside him. The sound is refreshingly stripped-down and still adds a myriad of unexplored layers to the acoustics of grunge. “The Man Who Sold the World” needs to be mentioned not because it is decidedly the best song on the album, but because playing a Bowie tune that can hold a candle to the original is an immense accomplishment. Opinions on Nirvana are as divided as any, but the interpretative brilliance of this album cannot be overstated. Everything unplugged will want to live up to the impossible standards set by this record.

Teac Turntables

THE BEATLES

REVOLVER

There is no such thing as a vinyl collection without the Beatles. All the choices their musical catalogue offers are obvious ones. But Revolver has something so unassumingly psychedelic it belongs on any record shelf. The album achieves a unique balance of progression and standstill, capturing the soul of experimentalism without becoming the odd man out in an overwhelmingly congruous discography. In a collection of impressive individuals, “I’m Only Sleeping” is a treasure not seldom overlooked. As the title suggests, the song has something of a lethargic beauty about it. One that keeps resurfacing throughout the track list. Lennon sings with bittersweet softness, and the instruments add to the dreamy feel of the overall tonality. To this day, the harmony of Revolver remains unmatched.

Wu-Tang Clan

ENTER THE
WU-TANG

A true 90s staple in any hip-hop collection, 36 Chambers is most convincing in its self-evident roughness. The beats are in all the right places, and the rhymes can’t be described as anything other than a work of artful intellect. The record is the kind of hallmark of underground hip-hop that is too damn infectious to stay underground and at the same time subject to an inherent sense of responsibility dictating that it should. A production that is far from smooth feels smooth because the rawness of creation is so in line with everything the album represents. “Tearz” is absolute sorcery, transforming emotion into rhythm and vice versa. It doesn’t get any more straightforward, direct or more in-your-face than 36 Chambers. It’s the sound of the streets of New York. It’s the harsh truth of the world, and that’s why it’s so great.

Pioneer Turntables

BLACK SABBATH

BLACK
SABBATH

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For heavy metal, how could we not go with the first full-on metal album to ever exist? That’s right – we can’t. Black Sabbath started a revolution with the release of their debut, and every metal band that followed drew inspiration from their crusade. All songs on the record deserve a trophy for innovation, but the eponymous title track added doom to an already novel idea, making it the pioneer of the genre. It was probably assigned the leading position on the track list with good reason. Accused of satanic rituality and blasphemy back in the day, the album was a service not everybody wanted to attend. But the unlikely congregation grew over the years, and today Black Sabbath is revered by fans of the grotesque and adherents to the conventional alike. Evil has a courier, and its message sounds so good.

VARIOUS ARTISTS

PULP FICTION
OST

Quentin Tarantino is big on vinyl, citing it as a decisive tool in the selection of music he curates for a film. The essence of “cool,” the Pulp Fiction soundtrack unites surf, soul and dialogue for a very different kind of mixtape. Every track is an immediate throwback to the scene it belongs to, and vinyl underscores the timelessness attached to both music and picture. The most spellbinding piece is Urge Overkill’s remake of the Neil Diamond classic “Girl, You’ll Be a Woman Soon,” which also happens to accompany the most infamous sequence in the movie. In a modern world, Pulp Fiction is the most retro way to define pop culture. And the record that goes with it does just that. A soulful union of the spoken and the sung, this film score is the undisputed icon of vinyl movie soundtracks.

Onkyo Turntables

THE CLASH

LONDON
CALLING

The best thing about this album is its versatile range. You’ll find punk, rock, hip-hop, reggae and jazzy elements in there, all coming together for a big rebellion against musical archetypes. Lyrically, the record explores the human condition in historical, political and social contexts with both fictional and life-based narratives. The Clash are a straight-to-the-point kind of band, and London Calling is the pinnacle of their unruly nature. The album cover is as famous as the title track, but the piece most captivating in mood, instrumentation and form is “Guns of Brixton.” To convey a song about being shot in your own home with such haunting indifference has got to be a Paul Simonon trademark of cool. The Clash bring disorder, and London Calling is all the chaotic layers of this riot of a band.

DAFT PUNK

HOMEWORK

Techno on vinyl is probably the most unusual turntable experience these days. Because house music is futuristic by definition, and that’s exactly why a vintage twist makes this classic even more fun to dance to. If you go back to the origins of modern disco music, you will find this very album, and what it delivers is a nice mix of old-school funk and extravagant glam. Homework ushered in a new age of electronica. It made people want to party but had intelligent aspects to it. Like robotics that know how to move without programming. “Around the World” is quite possibly the catchiest song on the planet. Even if you don’t know it by name or have never heard of the band, you have definitely rocked out to this tune at one point or another. Daft Punk’s debut is the only kind of French homework you’ll love spending time on.

Pioneer DJ Turntables

SETTING COURSE FOR THE FUTURE

Maybe vinyls are here to stay, maybe not. But one thing is certain: Their collector’s value, their aesthetic and their sound are timeless. How else could it be that they made such a sensationally unsuspected return? That after all these years people still come back, drop the needle and linger with fascination as the record starts to spin?

Kollektion der Meisterwerke

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