For a long time, I thought I wasn’t a vinyl person.
“Vinyl people” — the kind of music fans who collect records — always seemed so into vinyl.
I assumed they were music snobs. Sound snobs. Nostalgia snobs.
But the truth is, I grew up with vinyl, and I did love playing records even after I had tapes and CDs. Some of my most important pre-teen memories involve lying on my living room floor and listening to Depeche Mode’s album “Black Celebration,” particularly this song.
I was very deep. Also, I can play that song on the piano and it is VERY DRAMATIC.
Now that I share a home with someone who has a record player and a nice collection of albums, I am realizing that vinyl isn’t just about being particular about music and sound — it’s about time, consideration, and patience.
If you’re listening to an album, you can’t hit a button to skip past a track because you’re bored. You don’t go out of order.
You have to be present to flip the record when it’s time. You also have to be careful with equipment.
It’s a slow, present experience. Meditative, one could say.
Perhaps that means people who enjoy vinyl should date each other.
One option is to go on the hunt for rarities (albums and dating prospects) at participating Record Store Day locations. Another is to go straight to an app designed to please fans of music, and yes, vinyl.
Rachel Van Nortwick, who’s based in Phoenix and started collecting vinyl when she was 6, created the dating app Vinylly because she wanted to help music fans find each other.
You don’t have to be a vinyl lover or collector to join; the app is for all music fans, no matter how they listen.
That said, the name of this app draws the kind of crowd that might find themselves at an independent record store on a Saturday in April.
Rachel told me about who joins her app and what they might be looking for.
Why launch a music dating app named for vinyl?
I was married to a great guy, but unfortunately, he was not into music like I was, especially not into seeing live music. I realized that’s kind of a deal-breaker for me. Then I did a ton of research around music and relationships, and there’s a lot of interesting data around the effects of music on the brain and relationships. Long story short, there wasn’t an app that matched entirely on music compatibility. [Vinylly] launched in 2019 in October, just before the pandemic. It’s just been a fun road ever since.
Are there music snobs on this app? Can a person join without fearing that some person will lecture them about their tastes and ways of listening?
There’s such a range between audiophiles and people who just want music for a vibe. The app is set up so that there are qualitative and quantitative questions. So when you’re putting in your own information, you’re able to say, sort of on a sliding scale, how important music is to you. For some, it’s their identity. For others, they just want somebody who is going to be their plus-one to see their favorite band or will let them DJ on a road trip. The way the app works, too, it’s not limited to matching you based on [liking the same band]. There’s a lot more metadata that’s involved in matches. We can sync your Spotify, or if you’re just a vinyl collector, you can create a profile as well and put in a playlist.
Should people on this app avoid mentioning their guilty pleasure to avoid alienating people who might make assumptions about them based on their tastes?
We always say, “Let your freak flag fly.”
I know every app has a different volume of users in different places. I ask this for New England readers who live near me: Are there a lot of Boston-area people on this app?
Boston is definitely in the top 10 cities for us. We’re in the US, UK, and Canada, and as you would imagine, we have the largest concentration in bigger metropolitan areas. New York, Seattle and London, I think, are our top three. And music cities — Chicago, Austin …
Nashville probably?
Nashville, surprisingly, is not — but Chicago, Boston, Miami, Los Angeles, San Francisco.
Age range of users?
Most dating apps skew younger. We do a bit as well, but I tend to go a little older, I think, than most dating apps. So it’s around 20 to 50.
I had to bring up age because so many readers over 40 ask me where they’re supposed to meet people. I’m 48 and I don’t have a perfect answer. This seems like a prime app for middle-age people. Even just the name of it.
I’m 48. Yeah, we’re in Gen X, the best generation, built on music, built on grunge. How I thought about the app, and constructed it, speaks to the fact that for us, music was so defining.
Last question. I have to ask: if you had to take one album to a desert island …
I would probably say Paul Simon, “Graceland,” OK? Or like, Beastie Boys, “Licensed to Ill.”
We are the same age, indeed!
If Rachel’s app intrigues you, I recommend finding a local record shop this Saturday. Tres Gatos in Jamaica Plain is part record store, part bar and restaurant. That means people flipping through albums can strike up a conversation, even for friendship, and then walk and share some food.
If you see Phil, who runs the store at Tres Gatos, tell him Meredith sent you.
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