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why are ''Records'' called Vinyl? |
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#1 |
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Forum Member
Join Date: Jul 2016
Location: England
Posts: 61
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why are ''Records'' called Vinyl?
Hello,
I have never ever herd the term vinyl used to name a record in my life until records came back in fashion. I only remember people calling them by type for example, Gramophone Record or 78s,33s,45s LP, Single, or just plain Record. I also did not know new artists put their music on record so, I doubt my family will be itching to get their hands on my prized Slim Whitmans greatest hit or Readers digest greatest operettas and other titles like that ![]() I though I would add I do know records are made of 'Vinyl Plastics' and my olde 78s made of shellac resin |
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#2 |
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Join Date: Dec 2001
Location: West London
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Not sure exactly what the question is. LP records are made of polyvinyl chloride, colloquially known as vinyl. Using vinyl to mean records probably began when people wanted to differentiate between records, cassettes and CDs, as in "I want the new Justin Bieber album but do you have it on vinyl?".
At some point people began using vinyl as the noun for records, as in "I keep my vinyls in the fridge so they don't warp" which is both pretentious and incorrect. |
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#3 |
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Join Date: Jul 2016
Location: England
Posts: 61
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Quote:
Not sure exactly what the question is. LP records are made of polyvinyl chloride, colloquially known as vinyl. Using vinyl to mean records probably began when people wanted to differentiate between records, cassettes and CDs, as in "I want the new Justin Bieber album but do you have it on vinyl?".
At some point people began using vinyl as the noun for records, as in "I keep my vinyls in the fridge so they don't warp" which is both pretentious and incorrect. What I am asking is, Why are they referred to as Vinyl now when I was younger we never called them Vinyl mainly just Records. |
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#4 |
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Join Date: Dec 2001
Location: West London
Posts: 24,324
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Quote:
Hello,
What I am asking is, Why are they referred to as Vinyl now when I was younger we never called them Vinyl mainly just Records. |
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#5 |
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Join Date: Jul 2002
Posts: 13,155
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When people refer to a "record" now they usually mean a single or an album - the actual songs, rather than the physical product.
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#6 |
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Join Date: Jul 2001
Location: Belfast
Posts: 7,287
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Quote:
Hello,
What I am asking is, Why are they referred to as Vinyl now when I was younger we never called them Vinyl mainly just Records. 78s were made from shellac but you would never have heard them called that. |
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#7 |
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Join Date: Jan 2009
Posts: 34,147
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It's because everyone thinks sounding American is cool. Films became 'movies' and the same people (usually local radio dj's) started calling songs 'records' again, so then others started
doing it too, and needed to differentiate. Dj's also like substituting t's in the middle of words for d's, so words like "British" become "Briddish" (See also: UK vloggers) and dates like 2016 are said 'two thousand sixteen', rather than 'two thousand AND sixteen'. There are others, but I'll stop...
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#8 |
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Forum Member
Join Date: Jul 2016
Location: England
Posts: 61
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Quote:
It's because everyone thinks sounding American is cool. Films became 'movies' and the same people (usually local radio dj's) started calling songs 'records' again, so then others started
doing it too, and needed to differentiate. Dj's also like substituting t's in the middle of words for d's, so words like "British" become "Briddish" (See also: UK vloggers) and dates like 2016 are said 'two thousand sixteen', rather than 'two thousand AND sixteen'. There are others, but I'll stop... ![]()
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#9 |
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Join Date: Mar 2007
Posts: 11,708
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Quote:
It's because everyone thinks sounding American is cool.
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#10 |
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Forum Member
Join Date: Dec 2008
Posts: 8,036
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Quote:
Hello,
I have never ever herd the term vinyl used to name a record in my life until records came back in fashion. I only remember people calling them by type for example, Gramophone Record or 78s,33s,45s LP, Single, or just plain Record. I also did not know new artists put their music on record so, I doubt my family will be itching to get their hands on my prized Slim Whitmans greatest hit or Readers digest greatest operettas and other titles like that ![]() I though I would add I do know records are made of 'Vinyl Plastics' and my olde 78s made of shellac resin some people call them vinly, others call them records however words can have more than one meaning. so for example back in the 1940s if you said "wireless" people would think of listening to music on a radio. say it now and people will think of wifi, wireless internet likewise records, when written at least, may make people think of recording something off tv or radio, or other ways of recording. whilst vinyl of course can refer to a number of other things, like kitchen flooring, the most popular understanding at the moment is the music format likewise if someone said pictures, it could mean all sorts of things, but most people to day would think of a static image, whilst the term movies suggests something moving. the word film can mean a number of other things, whilst the term movies is pretty specific towards a moving film or motion picture |
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#11 |
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Join Date: Jan 2009
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Quote:
We used to call movies 'Pictures' too and not many people under 100 seem to use that word.
![]() I irrationally hate phrases like "going to the movies" when said by people from the UK. I'd imagine they're the same people who say "making love"
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#12 |
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Join Date: Jun 2006
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Quote:
Records were called vinyl from about the late 80s/early 90s mainly to distinguish them from CDs..
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#13 |
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Join Date: May 2006
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Quote:
Because we didn't need to stipulate the medium in the days before cassettes, CDs, downloads, USB sticks, streaming etc. If it was on the shelf in the record shop it was made of vinyl (unless you are referring to the days of 78s).
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#14 |
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Join Date: Feb 2012
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It's to do with what they're made of.
When I was young I used to just call them records or LPS and I still do. I don't use American terms either, I say films and sometimes call going to the cinema the pictures or the 'flicks'. |
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#15 |
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Join Date: Jan 2009
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Quote:
Perfect reply. End of thread.
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#16 |
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Join Date: Sep 2005
Location: North-West England
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Original records in the days of 78s were made of shellac.
During the WW2 this became "an essential war material," used for insulation in electric motors etc., so its supply to record manufacturers was limited. To the extent that to eke it out, some records had a "filler" of a composite between two thin layers of shellac. In the fifties, when LPs and 45 started to be produced, they were no longer made of shellac, but what we call "vinyl." Until the late fifties some pop records were available as a shellac 78 or a vinyl 45rpm. 78's were quite fragile and could easily be broken. So the new records were originally termed "vinyls," to distinguish them from those made of shellac. Well, that's as I remember it. |
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#17 |
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Join Date: May 2011
Posts: 1,643
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Records have been called vinyl (and wax) for as long as I remember. What I never, ever heard until the last few years was the ridiculous plural 'vinyls'. Then there's styrene. Not a good idea. I doubt many remember them.
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#18 |
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Join Date: Jan 2012
Posts: 1,572
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The way I use it depends on context. If I'm talking about records generally I'll talk about my 'record collection'; I'll say 'I'm going to buy some records'; 'I'm going to put on a record' etc.
But when refering to a particular album I'll say 'I've got the latest x album on vinyl'; 'I've been trying to find that on vinyl for years'; 'Is the new one coming out on vinyl?' etc. |
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#19 |
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Join Date: Oct 2004
Location: Buckingham
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I think people first started using the term vinyl in the 1940s when they were first produced to distinguish them from the older type of records which were made from shellac
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#20 |
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Forum Member
Join Date: Jul 2016
Location: England
Posts: 61
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Thank you all for posting.
Bits and Bobs |
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#21 |
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Forum Member
Join Date: Feb 2015
Posts: 172
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Quote:
It's because everyone thinks sounding American is cool. Films became 'movies' and the same people (usually local radio dj's) started calling songs 'records' again, so then others started
doing it too, and needed to differentiate. Dj's also like substituting t's in the middle of words for d's, so words like "British" become "Briddish" (See also: UK vloggers) and dates like 2016 are said 'two thousand sixteen', rather than 'two thousand AND sixteen'. There are others, but I'll stop... ![]() |
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#22 |
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Forum Member
Join Date: Jun 2004
Posts: 11,021
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Quote:
It's because everyone thinks sounding American is cool. Films became 'movies' and the same people (usually local radio dj's) started calling songs 'records' again, so then others started
doing it too, and needed to differentiate. Dj's also like substituting t's in the middle of words for d's, so words like "British" become "Briddish" (See also: UK vloggers) and dates like 2016 are said 'two thousand sixteen', rather than 'two thousand AND sixteen'. There are others, but I'll stop... ![]() |
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#23 |
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Forum Member
Join Date: Jan 2009
Posts: 34,147
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Quote:
I never say 'movies'. I don't really like saying 'show' rather than program, but I use it sometimes.
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