"Record Store Day" is "Making Vinyl" Co-Founder Larry Jaffee's New Book

AnalogPlanet editor Michael Fremer interviewed "Making Vinyl" co-founder Larry Jaffee before reading his book "Record Store Day", subtitled "The Most Improbable Comeback of the 21st Century". His reaction to the book comes in the video before the ZOOM call interview. While the Record Store Day history is well-researched and written, is the book's main focus and everyone who enjoys RSD ought to read it, the coverage of "The Most Improbable Comeback...." left the AnalogPlanet editor less than satisfied.

[@deeg8849]

Michael, don’t sweat not being in the book. We know whose been a champion of vinyl. My Dad followed you back in the day. He just gave me his 3000+ vinyl collection as he downsized. That’s how I came across you

[@ecyfoto]

Point taken. Easy remedy, Michael. Write your own book with ALL the players included plus a little dash of humility. I’ll buy it for sure!

[@67Pepper]

Good one Eric. Mikey is your typical crybaby liberal.

[@matts9064]

Fremer has no humility. I watched this video to see how long it would take before it became about him lol Took about a minute!

[@Labor_Jones]

Back in Austin Texas there was a small Record Shop that only sold Music from Austin. .... I placed a number of small Cassettes there (more than anyone else) and thought I had a good relationship with them. One of the owners died, but before he died, he listed all the customers who got started selling 'music' and I was left off. It Hurt, but I got over it. :)

[@thegrimyeaper]

You got me into vinyl with your dvds when vinyl was completely dead. You definitely deserve to be mentioned in any book on this topic.

[@jjguthrie8468]

Michael, overwhelming consensus: WRITE THE BOOK!

[@cjay2]

I never anticipated the predicted 'death' of vinyl because I simply never stopped listening to vinyl. Even though I had hundreds of Dolby-C Nakamichi metal cassettes and an ever-growing collection of CDs. It never even was a thought in my mind that vinyl would go away. And, all these years later, I see that it NEVER did 'go away'. EVER. And I'm still listening to it, and occasional CD's (though their sound sucks). What I miss are those days, reading your articles in those Stereophile magazines, before the internet came and sucked everyone's faces away. Cheers Michael.

[@3dimensionsofmusic3D]

Mr. Fremer , I've always believed you bridge the gap between the love of vinyl and the love of listening to vinyl. I've carried my collection for 50+ years and never gave it up. Thanks for this. Greg

[@ptbfrch]

We must have something in common, as I was buying and listening to vinyl through the 1990s and never stopped. When I started seeing vinyl popping up again, and its revival started to become obvious, I was very happy. The CDs never sounded good to me, except for the novelty of the format when they came out in 1985 or so. I was curious and listened at dealers and at shows, but the systems were rather high end and beyond my system. When I got a CD player into my home system and started listening to it, it was immediately clear that I was going to be unhappy with their sound. Thanks for all your contributions to that happening, Michael!

[@jasontimothywells9895]

Thanks man , I have been in need of you to come at us with another video , you are that old school humble narrator with the mesmerizing voice that commands me to seek out more vinyl . 🥂

[@sueblue3523]

I've been in the biz since '86... at the time my overall feeling was that vinyl pressings in the states had become so poor in quality... the majors were doubling their profits by selling cassettes... cheaper to make and portable... less attention to vinyl... out went quality control... so the cd shows up and at least it's clean... the best thing to come from cds was that alot of out of print material that was impossible to find even during the vinyl days became available again... and it opened up to gates to artists and labels releasing unreleased material... so on that end i loved em... when i was shown the 1st ipod player a customer demonstrated for me... after a few seconds... i took the headphones off...looked at my assistant manager and told him...we are done...closed the doors just 3 years later... but in '07 i felt something was happening with vinyl... our warehouse had plenty of used lp's sitting around so i put a bin or 2 in and see what happens... total success... i was in...this is it... i still have my t-shirt from the 1st RSD ... which just felt like some kind of coalition of independent record stores schemes... the biggest attraction was giving away cases of some kind of red bull drink...not much of a turnout ... but once the vinyl started to become the dominant release for RSD that all changed...i still think the majors are dropping the boat by treating vinyl as a fad still... it's always a treat to hear someone enter the store ...see the vinyl spinning and say...is that what I'm hearing?... yep... wow...sounds great... as for this book... I've lived it...i have no desire to read it...especially after pricing up 18 crates of RSD this week ... I'm good

[@Tomagotcha]

Great story. Thanks

[@stephc4427]

Seems to me the honorable thing for Larry to do would be to publish a supplement to the book and cite all those who persevered and dedicated their efforts to the preservation and production of quality records over the past forty years since CDs first hit the market. I never gave up my turntable and daily listened to my records in the cassette and CD eras. The first CD I bought in 1987 was Dark Side Of The Moon and my first impression was "something's wrong!" Record Store Day doesn't excite me anywhere as much as finding something I've been looking for in the used bins of good quality. Discogs helps too. And because of yours and the other's efforts, cartridge, arm and table manufacurers continued to develop the technology. We are truly blessed with great, afforable playback equipment. Thanks Harry and Shiela Weisfeld, and now Mat, for keeping USA made record players alive! Thanks Peter Lederman and John Grado for continuing to make quality phono cartridges! Plus the many and myriad manufacturers ex-US who keep the flames burning for so many of us vinyl junkies. It is an important part of the my healthcare plan! And, thank you Michael for truly being at the center, the nexus, of it all. I used to hang out at Music City in Kenmore Square as a high school kid. Bought many records there, probably even bumped into you some Saturday morning in the early 70s.

[@AnalogPlanet]

Yes, the gear side of the vinyl revival would also make for an interesting bunch of book chapters!

[@booklover3959]

God bless you Michael for your spirit that loves the beauty of music (we all share that), your quirky sense of humor (f um if they do not understand), and your sense of the importance of history (todays events will be tomorrows history obviously). You bring personality and zest to the game...thank you for that.

[@marcbegine]

Finally back, missed your great videos😎

[@DC-xx4kv]

Hey Fremer, you should let that one commenter here know that you are a lot of things. Please let him know that humble is not one of them however. 😉

[@AnalogPlanet]

That is true but I'm also no arrogant

[@cjay2]

He doesn't need to be humble. He's fine as he is.

[@DC-xx4kv]

@@cjay2 humility is the beginning of wisdom. Think about it.

[@engelschmidl2907]

A complete telling of the vinyl revival would be great. If anyone is qualified it would be Michael Fremer. I’d think it might look at strands like audiophiles, DJ and dance music culture, hipsters and collectors who never stopped listening to records.

[@everettthompson1721]

Just snagged a complete run of The Tracking Angle on Ebay.

[@LyndonSoulGroove]

Hi Mike , happy holidays , bank holiday here in Uk .Yes it did start Early i recall a catalogue in mid 1990's i received before the internet got big talked about " Speakers corner " re-issues of " Nat King Cole " Lp's I remember entering a Competition to win a Cardas record a new 45 single of a New Trad Jazz Band along with a Lp to setup your disks...I won was so happy, got this prized record in my collection today & my system here is better after the years of upgrade. For many years in early 2000's i would walk into HMV store in uk and ask if a particular release was a available on vinyl I would jump with glee if it was, but to be honest some recordings were not up to scratch , i.e poor pressings etc . I respect you though for writing this book well done for taking the time out to write this Book, despite a few missing key people.Interesting the Donney Hatherway Lp your talking about i stumbled across at a charity shop I was amazed at this live recording. A cover of " whats Going On "

[@swordfish52]

Great Video Michael !! Thanks .. Jimmy ...

[@gotozerobassman]

Love ya Michael! Have a happy and healthy Pesach!

[@analoguecity3454]

Great video, but I didn't see it till two days after you uploaded it! For some reason, I'm not getting notifications from your channel! 😒

[@fredwenig6565]

Michael have been an avid fan of your channel and don’t understand why you don’t do a book on vinyl and tell the correct history of vinyl and history of pressing plants label and how. To tell from different pressings. We need an all encompassing book and your the man to do it

[@VinylRundown]

I’ll hafta write a book about how Fremer saved vinyl!

[@AnalogPlanet]

Of course I make no such claim. But I was surely part of it!

[@UberPilot]

You know who wise wasn’t in the book? ME! I never stopped buying it.

[@brentcunliffe745]

I don’t agree with everything you have to say but it does seem this book lacks a certain amount of pretty basic research prior to publication. Still, you’ve saved me buying it.

[@adotopp1865]

What about the 12" dance records that never seemed to go away even during the 1980`s?

[@therealhishaam]

More like Record Scam Day.... 5 min into the video, im already fuming at the omission of amazing people responsible for the vinyl resurgence.

[@andysmusicden]

If you should start writing a list of people who has kept the vinyl alive, it will be a very long list. Look at many of the independent labels, for example, releasing music in genres like punk, garage rock, alternative rock etc. They never stopped releasing vinyl. And we were thousands of consumers who never stopped buying vinyl either, new or used. The enthusiasts in the (now growing) audiophile vinyl world was just one of several differnts groups of vinyl promoters.

[@nebod1556]

Its fine if you have 20k plus system but what about us who can afford maybe $400 -500 max ....any recommendations.....

[@AnalogPlanet]

AnalogPlanet has many moderately priced equipment reviews!

[@ethantastic]

"i was on the rampage then" ...lol

[@ingenfestbrems]

What’s yours favourite tape deck. Tandberg tcd910 ?

[@AnalogPlanet]

I own a Revox A-700 and a B77 and a G-36

[@starlightgrecording559]

Gerard Stroh*** Hi Michael Fremer*** I am Watching Your Video Of Record Store Day*** I Injoy Vinyl Records and I have Some Nice Turntables and About To Do The Jump To Moving Coil Phono Cartridge**** I am Planing To Get The audio Technica AT33sa Moving Coil Phono Cartridge*** Also I am Getting The Pro-Ject Phono Box RS Preamp and You Reveiwed around 2016***** And I am Going To Use High-End XLR Cables From The Turntable To The Preamp and I am Going To Use XLR Cables For the Inputs & The Outputs Because They Reject Noise and Hum If You Get The Right Ones Michael Fremer**** all From Gerard Stroh*****

[@EddieJazzFan]

For you and Chad not being in this book, It proves my theory that the ultimate purpose record store day is to make $$$ and not so much for the absolute love of analog. Same reason those crappy Crosley "turntables" sell so well....They really want to seize on the fact that the younger crowd views vinyl as the "cool thing" of the moment.

[@krisprojection2433]

Where is your continuum turntable Michael?

[@AnalogPlanet]

I am selling it. It's being made ready for sale...great table!

[@krisprojection2433]

@@AnalogPlanet What have you replaced it with?

[@ingenfestbrems]

Michael !, Please, your tour at Rega factory made me buy a P6 with fabric mounted Ania cart. it wasn't awful but it must have been assembled on a fridag very late by a person who assembled it as his last effort that day Well as i was afraid it could break down just looking hard on it, not be gentle putting on som records i did a trade in with Technics 1210mk2 made in japan february 1998. and this Technics, wow! sounds better, more alive and playfull.. and also if somebody comes to my door and i don't like them i could use this Technics as a sledge hammer and knock them out, lock the door put it back in my setup and 100% sure it would play just lovely

[@paulfarrehi4200]

Who are you ? Wish you’d have mentioned your name with brief bio/intro.

[@AnalogPlanet]

See? I thought everyone "here" knew me. Michael Fremer

[@EricBrownBey]

Do you have a P.O Box?

[@AnalogPlanet]

no...

[@ronaldjennings8057]

👍👍👍🎶🎸🎷🎹🙏🐺

[@Aforchione10]

I bought many records over the years and I’m not mentioned in the book. I’m pissed.

[@AnalogPlanet]

I agree. You should have been included

[@HouseofRecordsTacoma]

Good example of "A Little Knowledge is a Dangerous Thing". "The REST of the STORY is

[@timemer3068]

I would assume most folks who interview an author regarding a book would actually read the book first....

[@AnalogPlanet]

True. There was a time constraint between when it became available (as a PDF) and when the author had time to be interviewed....

[@nfaller89]

Its all post recession boom, post illegal downloading, post blockbuster craze. Broke millennials in college looking for cheap thrills. For me Vinyl came into my life as a long time music lover at a time when online pirating was slowly dyeing and certain known underground membership only torrent trackers started being seized one by one. Around 2010. We stopped downloading music, shut down our computers and started frequenting goodwill's looking for cheap CD's and any form of music. Unbeknownst to us we could walk out of there with 20 albums for pennies on the dollar. It was never that serious for me. Not until I heard an audiophile grade system. It slowly became an obsession after. The only reason Vinyl ever made a comeback is because the entry cost was so low. For 20 bucks i could go pick up a handful of records and a 12 pack of cheap beer. Me and some friends would have a blast that night discovering some weird Greece tourist compilation album in the wee hours of the morning after consuming a case of cheap beers and a pack of stale cigarettes. Those were the days, sadly some of the last times in my life i can remember not being engrossed in my cellphone or social media. I often feel jealous of prior generations. Vinyl can be so communal and for me and all of my friends 10 years ago it was certainly a thing that brought us all together. The comeback is linked to a depressed generation searching for a tangible love during a shitty economic period. My prediction is that the record comeback is just a bubble that will pop. CD's are about to make the biggest comeback. Why?? Because the next generation will be searching for their parents music in the same way Millennials searched for their parents coming of age music. 80's and 90's were dominated by CDS and not Vinyl. As this generation comes to age they will be looking for this music and it isn't going to be on vinyl, and the price isn't going to be friendly to a broke college kids wallet. Consider record prices have skyrocketed in a similar fashion to housing or other boom time assets. Now what happens to those assets after such a run up? There is a reason Collecting records is perceived as a appreciable asset. It is in a way, that is if I were to sell off all of my 2010 reissues before the next reprint, or at the end of a generational swing.

[@handsoffanomaly7]

Writing a book about the comeback of vinyl and not mentioning Michael Fremer is like writing about WW2 and leaving out any mention of America. Those in the know know that MF has been the loudest champion of the superior sound that vinyl records are capable of, and history will reflect that fact, especially if MF writes an autobiography. I'd buy that. I'm not going to buy the abbreviated version of the vinyl record resurgence that is contained in the RSD book.

[@jctai100]

To not mention Chad Kassem is a travesty. Not to mention the others as well. And you of course Michael.

[@analoguecity3454]

Kassem, Hobson, and fremer not being in the book you only getting half the story! You guys were on the deck before CDs even took off!

[@cjay2]

Mikey - stop with the scrolling textbooks on the screen. What am I supposed to do? Read while I'm trying to concentrate on what you're saying? Either remake a new video or put it at the end on some cards that we can read. God why is everyone going insane these days?

[@AnalogPlanet]

yourself included lol.

[@joemeyer6876]

Duuuuude, your books are out of print and obscenely expensive, so do something about that!

[@AnalogPlanet]

You mean the mags? We have some inventory and will soon make it available at a reasonable price…

[@deeg8849]

@@AnalogPlanet have you wrote any books on vinyl

[@AnalogPlanet]

@@deeg8849 no but I should!

[@deeg8849]

@@AnalogPlanet Seriously. You have a wealth of knowledge that should be shared. I know you have a business and make a decent living doing what you love. You also share a lot of stuff out of your own goodwill (which is appreciated and rare these days) but it’s funny how legacies always seem to be built by folks who get something documented. Once that happens, they seem to pass as authorities and are then sought out by those to tell whatever narrative they like. You know so much about vinyl/records. It’s history, it’s up and downs, the key players, innovators and pretenders, the true pioneers and the folks who are or have made a difference. The producers, engineers, labels, studios and so on that truly matter and have such a critical legacy to our collective passions. Tell that story Michael from your rich, passionate and sincere perspective. I’d definitely buy it and I’m sure many others would as well. If you do and my note inspires you, maybe sign my copy? Cheers

[@mymixture965]

Not including you and the others is a joke, specially you. If there is a "leader", a "frontman" in promoting and educating about vinyl it is you, so I will not buy the book. No matter what is maybe good in the book, it is not complete, not right and so there is no use in waisting my time, better watch your videos.....I know I am a Fremer Fan boy, I will not hide it, I don't care what others may say :-)