The Urban Outfitters Company is doing something quite remarkable. Today, it is engaged in a concerted effort to popularize and market what is known as a retro or esthetic brand of fashion. This will, truly, take you decades back. It is also responsible for the popularization of the famous Indie style American youth culture. This is largely because of the contemporary cutting-edge fashion that leans more on the past systems of things so- to- speak. The effort is geared towards the fusing and evoking of trends of the past. The objective is to create something that is entirely new and fresh. As a result of such efforts, these days, it is common to find girls wearing long hair, flower crowns of the hippies of the 1960s or the high-waisted shorts that reminds one of the 1980s pin-up girls. You will also find the Polaroid cameras that belong to the 1990s grunge enthusiasts. Finally, you will come into the paths of the archetypal and legendary vinyl record player.
Nostalgia
We will all agree that few items can measure up to the romance and nostalgia that the traditional record player and the accompanying LPs can so readily inspire in the hearts of people remembering the sweet gone-by days. Whether this is accurate or not, we agree that record players remind us of fond cultural concepts, simpler times, and apparently better music. Even people who cannot actually bring up to memory the times before the arrival of iPods, online music streaming, and wireless speakers, the subject should be of general interest.
The popularity of such traditional products, like the record player and LPs, should generally owe, not just to their aesthetic value as throwback or vintage items, but also to the way in which the cultural associations existing between the golden age of music and vinyl players, influence the overall marketability of this product.
Considering this, it is obvious that most of the reverence and attention that we pay today to things like record players and accessories, is somewhat rooted to the mythological reimagining of our own past.
Notwithstanding the rather misguided origins of this popular revitalization, the reemergence of the record player in the contemporary culture has, admittedly, had a great impact on the manner in which we value music today. Yes, we live in a modern, technological, fast-paced world. Thinking, for instance, about the physical makeup of the vinyl record players, is a matter that compels many music fans to consider other factors. These include the composition of the tracks being listened to, and the way in which audio presentation can influence the quality of the entire album.
Think also of the fact that record players required a completely separate system for the speaker. The sound quality of the music could either be perfect or ruined depending on the quality of the speaker. Such factors were, of course, remedied by the advent of digital technology.
Further, the revival of the record player supports the popular practice of a careful selection of music. This may be contrasted with the random streaming of albums that happen to be available on Sportify or iTunes, just at the click of a button. Just to remember, LPs are often expensive and fragile physical items that need a lot of maintenance and care.
Due to the factors above, many American youth who decide to purchase a set of record players will often learn that they cannot take music for granted. Rather than do this, they learn to prioritize the fact that they should only buy albums played by artistes whom they really care about. Once they do this, they will be in a better position to treat any records they buy with the utmost respect and attentiveness.
In such situations, the revitalized nature of the record player in America’s pop culture has helped to reinforce the notion that the production, performance and selection of music, is a worthy form art that is deserving of attention. It is, admittedly, true that the modern successful marketing of record players by the Urban Outfitters has much to do with the fact that the consumer base of such items still has a romantic perception of the cultural association attached to the product. Regardless, the overall effect of the mass production of the legendary record player has been massively positive. It must, therefore, be recognized as such.