Hip Cat Records & Music Videos

Why you should always put a coin in the freezer before you leave home

Jimmy Page Tricked You: Why You're Playing "Stairway to Heaven" Wrong—and How to Fix It

I know what you’re thinking: “I can already play that perfectly well, thank you very much!” And, of course, you can. You’ve got the intro and verse rhythm

How to Shop for Classical Music on Vinyl

So, you’ve decided to nerd up your record collection and expand your aural palette by getting into classical music on vinyl? Awesome! But where to start? The good news is that high-quality classical vinyl is relatively easy to find. The great news is that learning the basics of how to...

What’s the use of cassette tapes in the time of Spotify?

The resurgence of the cassette tape is more than a matter of mere nostalgia.

Stop Forcing Your Kids to Learn a Musical Instrument

Our daughter Rebekah, who is in second grade, takes three after-school classes every week. On Monday there is violin; on Wednesday, Hebrew; and on Thursday, ballet. One of these classes connects her to a religious tradition going back three thousand years. Two of them are pretty well pointless.I don’t mean that as a bad thing. Pointlessness rules, as far as I am concerned. Lots of great activities...

How to Record Djent in Your Home Studio

It's a heavy, aggressive art form, but your neighbors need not worry about the coming djentrificaton.

How to Clean Your Record

What’s a record label looking for?

These five questions are ones a record label needs answers to if you hope to get attention and a potential deal.

A Finders Keepers guide to digging at the world’s biggest record fair

"It's a bit of a collector's wet dream. You're surrounded by every record you've ever wanted in your life."But how do you navigate such a tantalising surfeit of earthly pleasure? After six years learning to reign in the most carnal of crate digging...

How My Record Player Helped Me Feel the Music

If streaming can’t cure your stay-at-home blues, a spinning platter just might do the trick.

What To Do When A New Record Is Skipping

Is anything worse than a new record skipping? We understand the feeling, we’ve been there before. Follow this guide to learn what to do when a vinyl record is skipping.

How to support your local record shops

How to stay safe in record low temperatures

The number one tip to staying safe in these frigid temperatures: Stay inside.

How do you make a vinyl record?

Watch behind the scenes as a vinyl record is processed from start to finish.

Getting To Know You: Som Records

Record Stores. Record labels. We all love them, obviously, but just how much do you actually know about your favorite merchants of vinyl and...

How to Store and Display Your Record Collection in an Artful Way

Seven ways to store and display your record collection when you're not busy playing them.

Do Remastered Records Actually Sound Better?

What is remastering? Do remastered records actually sound better? We asked a master engineer and music journalist to get to the bottom of it.

Why Do All Records Sound the Same?

Desperate to get their music on the radio, record labels employ powerful software to artificially sweeten it, polish it, make it louder

The "Cash Me Oussside" Girl has a GOLD Record?

I had to do a double take when I first read this...

These Things Happen: The Enduring Magic of Sarah Records

Record labels get a bad rap sometimes and, usually, they deserve it. They call it the music business for a reason, and while one might expect the big corporate conglomerates to…