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Metamusic Records understands the value of vinyl—and has become the place for locals to get their hands on it
Deciding to open a vinyl-only record store in the age of the iPod is risky. It takes passion, but a strong passion for the LP was not the only compelling reason Jonathan Schneiderman had for opening Metamusic Records on Cedar Street in downtown Santa Cruz. Pragmatism was also at play.Schneiderman, who started Metamusic in 2000 as an online outlet, had amassed such a large inventory by 2004 that it made as much sense to fork over the dough for a storefront as it did to continue paying rent at the warehouse where he estimates he had nearly 20,000 records in stock. Originally from Los Angeles, the Metamusic founder came to Santa Cruz to attend U.C. Santa Cruz. He moved to San Francisco for a time, only to return and open the store where he now makes a living selling what he believes to be the best medium for capturing music—a conviction that seems to be gaining more and more clout among music enthusiasts. A June 12 Rolling Stone article cited figures from Nielsen SoundScan, the Consumer Electronics Association and the Recording Industry Association of America, which respectively illustrated a rise in record and turntable sales accompanied by a fall in CD shipments between 2006 and 2007. For Schneiderman, the data supports his hypothesis: “CDs are almost completely obsolete,” he says. “MP3s are pretty prominent, but if you actually want to hold something in your hand, then vinyl is the only other option right now.” Schneiderman believes CDs not only compromise the visual art of a given album, he thinks they are lacking sonically as well. “CDs are missing a certain amount of information and MP3s are missing even more,” he says. “There are certain frequencies that aren’t present (in digital recordings) that we appreciate. … There might be frequencies that your ears can’t even hear, but your body can pick up the vibrations.” Peter Elsea, director of the electronic music studios and professor of Music Technology at U.C. Santa Cruz, acknowledges that vinyl recordings have the capacity to capture a wider frequency bandwidth than CDs, but he is skeptical as to whether that difference is actually discernable to the human ear. Elsea notes that while most CDs are unable to capture sound higher than 20,000 hertz, new vinyl has the capability of capturing up to 30,000 hertz. He is quick to point out, however, that most people cannot hear much above 20,000 hertz and that blind studies have found listeners usually cannot tell the difference between vinyl and CD. Furthermore, he says the 30,000-hertz capacity that the best vinyl has at first is quickly stripped away by the stylus’ diamond after relatively few spins. “People hear what they want to hear,” Elsea says, suggesting that the virtue of vinyl may have more to do with nostalgia and less to do with science. Still, there are individuals such as DJ Middleman, who, like Schneiderman, is absolutely convinced that vinyl sounds better than any digital medium. Middleman spins electronic records at Metamusic on Wednesdays from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. in what he describes as a “late afternoon techno break.” He supports the claim that records produce sounds that can only be felt, a feat he insists CDs cannot accomplish. For evidence the DJ points to dubstep, a genre of electronic music he says features “bass you can only feel; you can’t even hear it.” Middleman does not refuse to recognize Elsea’s suggestion, but he still believes records possess something special that is inherently absent in CDs, both in playback and general appeal. “Part of it may be that it’s just the cool hipster thing to do,” he postulates of buying and listening to vinyl, “but that comes from a larger idea. People are realizing that it does sound the best. To hold this big piece of wax in your hand is way better. … You have more of a connection to it.” “It gives you a reason to sit around and listen to the music and look at the jacket and read the liner notes,” Schneiderman observes, “and the artist who made the artwork gets an opportunity to show you what it is that they made.” As the proprietor of Metamusic, Schneiderman has witnessed this reawakening of vinyl-awareness firsthand. “When I first opened (the store) I had way more people coming in saying odd comments, like, ‘They still make records?’ or jokes, like, ‘What are those?’ Now that’s subsided and people are just taking it for what it is, and it’s a record store.” The idea that vinyl connects with the consumer on a higher plain than the CD is a concept Schneiderman aims to reflect in his store. DJ Middleman’s sets are just one facet of an overall aesthetic Schneiderman has worked hard to craft. “I wanted to make it more than just a record store,” Schneiderman says of Metamusic, “and more of a common meeting place for fellow appreciators of music.” He does so by providing patrons with casual seating in an effort to make the store feel more like a living room—a casual environment where people can enjoy artwork hung on the walls, listen to music and chat with friends or new acquaintances, unfettered by uniformed salespeople or pricing gimmicks. All of Metamusic’s records sell for an even price, “like 12 bucks. I’m not trying to trick you by making it $11.99,” he says. This laid-back approach to customer service could not be more appropriate for a store that caters to vinyl nuts. Whether or not LPs are empirically better than CDs, combing through hundreds of records on the search for that one true gem, or just killing time in the aisle with the hope of meeting an interesting and like-minded audiophile is still fun. The experience of simply being in a cool music shop is enjoyable in and of itself. “There’s just a certain coolness to it that you can’t get anywhere else,” Schneiderman says of shopping at an independent music store. “It’s fairly undeniable that collecting vinyl is a cool, hip hobby. So, part of that is that it’s also cool to go to your local record store and find it. … Record stores are places where people feel more inspired. It’s a good place to be seen.” And just as Schneiderman found pragmatism inside his passion, Elsea is aware of a passion within his pragmatic outlook on the recent reinvigoration of interest in vinyl. The professor of music technology likens it to a Grundig radio he has at home. Although the radio is by no means cutting-edge technology, it reminds him of a similar Grundig model he used to listen to as a young boy—its nostalgic value far outweighs his knowledge that there are sleeker radios out there. He also makes a point of saying that “vinyl is very enjoyable.” “I like the physicality of it,” Elsea says, “I just like taking it out of the envelope, putting it on the turntable and playing it. I get more out of it than simply putting a CD in the tray and pressing the button.” When all is said and done, that sentiment may be all there really is to it. Listening to vinyl takes just a bit more of a human touch. You can fulfill your vinyl desires seven days a week from 11 a.m. until 7 p.m. at Metamusic Records, 320 Cedar St. in downtown Santa Cruz. 466-9027.
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