Jack Henry Richman (’24) owns a variety of vinyl records, a quarter of his collection being new ones. Yet, most of his records come from his father’s collection of older artists.
Jack Henry Richman (’24) said Generation Z has a big interest in any vintage items, gaining a sense of nostalgia for “stuff they’ve never even experienced.”
For Visual Arts Teacher Erik Niemi, the sentimental feeling of record players and vinyl transport him back to his childhood. Between the ages of five and 13, his home was filled with all kinds of records, spanning from local folk and indigenous tunes to contemporary songs.
“I was really interested in it [records],” Niemi said. “I always felt like the sound was different and it felt warmer and more connected in some way.”
Niemi recalls his first record player was shaped like a ladybug, the record going inside of the red and black spotted cover playing a childhood favorite from The Go-Go’s.
“I hated baths as a kid, as a young boy I loved to be all dirty and just hated getting into the bath,” Niemi said. “But when I put it on I would enjoy that process a little bit more.”
Music enthusiast Tami Shasha (’26) describes herself as a vinyl collector and said the process of buying new ones makes old ways of music really engaging.
“Of course, it’s the aesthetic of it as well, but I see it as a collection,” Shasha said. “How people collect stamps, I collect vinyl.”
Among her collection are modern artists like Travis Scott and Tyler the Creator, but Shasha also has classic rock albums from Jimi Hendrix, Led Zeppelin and Aerosmith. Above all, her favorite vinyl in her collection is Bob Marley’s “Legend” album.
I always felt like the sound was different and it felt warmer and more connected in some way.
— Visual Arts Teacher Erik Niemi
Richman has an active vinyl subscription where he gets sent random albums every month, but lots of his vinyl records are also vintage.
When Niemi graduated college and got his own place, he bought a turntable and “hunted in second-hand shops for records to play.”
Record players and vinyl are not only a means of listening to music for Niemi, but also have shaped who he is as a person.
“I’ve had it in all different places I’ve lived and through different parts of my life that it just feels like something that is part of my identity now,” Niemi said.
While Shasha loves playing music on her record player, she admits it’s a hassle.
“It’s way more effort than simply getting a song up on your phone,” she said. “All the albums I have as vinyl are really easy to get on my phone, so I tend to lean towards using my phone.”
Richman said he also likes to listen to music digitally but ultimately believes records are a great middle ground.
“I really like to see live music and I like to stream music, but I think a good in-between is records, ” Richman said. “It’s similar to cassettes where it’s a physical piece of music and that’s not something you can get from your streaming services like Spotify or Apple Music.”
Niemi has sensed a rise in popularity for not only physical forms of music but also a similar trend in older photographic technologies.
“Being around a lot of young people for a while, I know that as things have become more digital,” Niemi said. “There is a fascination with the analog or the visceral, that kind of experience you get with objects and things rather than through a computer or phone.”
