Calgary Underground Film Festival Online Review: “Vinyl Nation”
By: Joseph Perry (Twitter - Uphill Both Ways Podcast)
No matter how long you have been collecting records, the new documentary Vinyl Nation from directors Christopher Boone and Kevin Smokler has something new for you to learn. Focusing on the renaissance of collecting music on vinyl, the film examines everything from the emotional responses of people’s love for the format to how albums and singles are designed and made in today’s market.
Nostalgia is, naturally, a big part of Vinyl Nation, but equally as interesting as the long-timers who have either never sold their original records or begrudgingly gave up their large collections at one point — often only to start amassing those same titles again later — are the young people who became obsessed with vinyl through albums and record players being marketed as lifestyle options. The directors interview both of these types of collectors, as well as others, including young children growing up listening to the likes of David Bowie on vinyl while their classmates discuss the latest pop single videos and streams.
Recently growing from boutique item to something in greater demand, vinyl is now produced at its highest rates in decades, and the manufacturing processes have changed with the times. Vinyl Nation takes a fascinating look at the manufacturing and business end of making records, including visits to different plants, and interviews with executives and hands-on operators alike. People who bemoan how an album bought new in the 1970s or 1980s for just a few dollars now costs $30 for a new copy will find out exactly why that is.
The heart of the documentary, though, is the love people have for the vinyl format. Boone and Smokler interview children, university students, older collectors, deejays, writers, and many others about their feelings for their record collections, and the emotions range from absolute joy to one subject breaking down into tears when discussing what she wants to happen to her cherished collection when she dies. Interviews with people on both sides of the counter for the annual Record Store Day tradition and at huge record conventions are also highly engaging.
Everyone from lifelong record collectors to those who have a newfound love for the vinyl format will find something to enjoy in Vinyl Nation. The documentary is a smart, fun, fast-paced overview of how what was once the most popular way to listen to music has survived what many thought would be its demise to find new life among those too young to remember its dominant years.
Vinyl Nation screens as part of the 18th Calgary Underground Film Festival, which runs online from April 23–May 2, 2021. For more information, visit https://www.calgaryundergroundfilm.org/.
Joseph Perry is one of the hosts of When It Was Cool’s exclusive Uphill Both Ways podcast (whenitwascool.com/up-hill-both-ways-podcast/) and Gruesome Magazine’s Decades of Horror: The Classic Era podcast (decadesofhorror.com/category/classicera/). He also writes for the film websites Diabolique Magazine (diaboliquemagazine.com), Gruesome Magazine (gruesomemagazine.com), The Scariest Things (scariesthings.com), Ghastly Grinning (ghastlygrinning.com), and Horror Fuel (horrorfuel.com), and film magazines Phantom of the Movies’ VideoScope (videoscopemag.com) and Drive-In Asylum (etsy.com/shop/GroovyDoom).
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