12 Vinyl records



For many Americans, vinyl records(1) bring back memories(2) of growing up(3) in the ’60s and ’70s.
At that time, people listened to Elvis Presley and The Beatles on black discs spinning(4) on a turntable(5). Today’s younger generation did not grow up with vinyl records. But for them, vinyl is cool(6).
Fourteen-year-old Jack Lowenstein visited Crooked Beat Records in Washington, DC.

JACK LOWENSTEIN: “I prefer to buy vinyl records over(7) CD.”
Nineteen-year-old Sarah Griffith likes them, too.

SARAH GRIFFITH: “More recently I’ve started buying more, you know, like old punk records and stuff(8).”
Jonathon Oldmixon is in his 30s. For him, records are collectibles(9).

JONATHON OLDMIXON: “I don’t have a preference. However(10) I’ll admit there are some things that I want specifically on vinyl because they have a certain aesthetic(11) appeal(12) to them.
The picture on the cover(13) is really nice or the record itself(14) is really nice.”
Nielsen SoundScan reports(15) on music and audio sales(16) in the United States. It says vinyl records were the fastest growing(17) music media in 2010. About(18) three million were sold(19).
Still(20), sales of vinyl records in America are small compared to CDs and MP3s.
Bill Daly is the owner(21) of Crooked Beat.

BILL DALY: “Since(22) 2007, vinyl has grown(23) to where it is now — 99 percent of our sales. In 2007, when they started introducing new vinyl releases(24), free MP3 download card with it, that’s when the sales started surging(25).”
He says his online sales of vinyl are growing.

BILL DALY: “We ship all over the world(26) almost every day(27). You name the country, we’ve probably shipped there because there’s not very many record stores(28) around the world anymore(29).”
Furnace MFG in Virginia was mainly known for manufacturing(30) CDs and DVDs. Now its main(31) product is vinyl. Company head Eric Astor says meeting demand(32) for vinyl has been hard(33).

ERIC ASTOR: “They haven’t made a new vinyl pressing machine(34) since the early ’80s(35), so you have to find(36) the equipment that’s available(37) and there’s not a lot of equipment available.”
Eric Astor has partnered(38) with vinyl factories(39) in Germany and Holland. The records are sent to(40) Furnace’s headquarters(41), prepared and shipped(42). Astor says his company produces more than two million vinyl records a year.
For some people, they are a reminder(43) of a time before digital media.
Joe Pollock has been collecting(44) vinyl for seven years.

JOE POLLOCK: “I go through(45) my collection, I pick out(46) what I want to hear(47), I put it on(48), there’s that, you’re touching(49) it, you’re feeling(50) it. There is a warmth(51) to it. And you have to sit through(52) a whole(53) album.”
As Eric Astor notes:

ERIC ASTOR: “A record that’s pressed(54) well from start to finish(55) can sound much better than anything digital because of the fact that it’s not in compressed, whereas(56) with any sort(57) of a CD or even(58) a high-res(59) digital file there’s always(60) a little bit of compression.”
Astor says nothing beats(61) a real record. He says vinyl’s popularity will continue to grow. I’m Mario Ritter.

 Vocabulário:
  1. vinyl records = discos de vinil
  2. bring back memories = trazem de volta memorias
  3. growing up = crescer
  4. spinning = girando
  5. turntable = mesa(prato) giratório(a)
  6. cool = legal
  7. over = acima de
  8. stuff = coisas
  9. collectibles = colecionáveis
  10. However = contudo
  11. Aesthetic = estético
  12. Appeal = apelo, atração
  13. Cover = capa
  14. Itself = em si mesmo
  15. Reports = reporta, relata
  16. Sales = vendas
  17. the fastest growing = que cresce mais rápido
  18. About = aproximadamente
  19. were sold = foram vendidos
  20. Still = ainda assim
  21. Owner = dono
  22. Since = desde
  23. has grown = tem crescido
  24. new vinyl releases = lançamentos de vinil novos
  25. started surging = começaram a surtar (aumentar)
  26. ship all over the world = enviar para o mundo todo
  27. almost every day = quase todos os dias
  28. stores = lojas
  29. anymore = mais
  30. mainly known for manufacturing = conhecido principalmente por fabricar
  31. main = principal
  32. meeting demand = atender à demanda
  33. has been hard = tem sido difícil
  34. pressing machine = máquina de impressão
  35. early ’80s = início dos anos 80
  36. find = encontrar
  37. available = disponível
  38. has partnered = tem feito parceria
  39. factories = fábricas
  40. are sent to = são enviados para
  41. headquarters = sede, matriz
  42. shipped = enviado por navio
  43. reminder = lembrete
  44. has been collecting = vem colecionando
  45. go through = vasculhar
  46. pick out = escolher, selecionar
  47. hear = ouvir
  48. put it on = por para tocar
  49. touching = tocando (toque)
  50. feeling = sentindo
  51. warmth = calor
  52. sit through = sentar-se com
  53. whole = inteiro, complete
  54. pressed = prensado
  55. from start to finish = do começo ao fim
  56. whereas = enquanto que
  57. any sort = qualquer tipo
  58. even = até mesmo
  59. high-res = alta resolução
  60. there’s always = há sempre
  61. nothing beats = nada bate (vence)