Groove-O-Matics 1947 record lathe
  • Groove-O-Matic’s 1947 record lathe

Move over, cassette fetishists. Your infatuation with an outmoded medium has just been bested.

Portland retro-swing band the Stolen Sweets are releasing a 78 RPM record, and if you are thinking to yourself, “Does my record player goes that high?,” the answer is NO. It does not.

78 RPM records fell completely out of favor by the 1950s, when 45 RPM singles overtook them as the preferred (and much more convenient) medium of choice. Of course, countless other formats have since been introduced since the 45—not that it keeps punk and indie bands from pumping ’em out.

But I haven’t heard of a band making a new 78 RPM record until now. Jen Bernard of the Stolen Sweets explains:

It was recorded live and direct to lacquer via rare lathe cutter machine with Charles Bork of Seattle’s Groove-O-Matic Records. Despite the fact that very few people will actually be able to play the 78, we’re still pumped up about it. There’s some serious audio geekery at hand here. The 78 resurgence movement is alive and well, and it really reflects the era of the Sweets’ music.

Okay, I don’t know about the 78 resurgence movement being alive and well, but everything else sounds pretty interesting. Recording anything live to lacquer (if you remember that scene in The King’s Speech, that is what recording live to lacquer means) is a pretty daunting task, so cheers to Bork and Groove-O-Matic for making such a far-fetched project possible.

The Stolen Sweets celebrate the release of their unplayable-for-most-people record on March 15 at the Secret Society. It sounds like a wonderful keepsake.

Ned Lannamann is a writer and editor in Portland, Oregon. He writes about film, music, TV, books, travel, tech, food, drink, outdoors, and other things.

7 replies on “The Stolen Sweets Are Releasing a 78 RPM Record”

  2. I don’t know about the “78 resurgence movement” being alive and well either, but I can think of a couple other examples. R. Crumb’s Cheap Suit Serenaders released one (in the 70s I think) out of nostalgic value and then quickly realized that almost no one could play it. Tom Waits released one with Preservation Hall Jazz Band to benefit the hall, which was severely damaged during Katrina. The deluxe version included a player so that people could hear the music. I had a great Dual turntable with a 78 setting, and a crate of 78s that I found here and there; it’s hardly unheard-of. But I’m sure many looking for something to scoff at will consider it some kind of “1890s” affectation rather than an honest interest in old-fashioned things.

  3. (Not sure if this is worth amending, but I just double-checked and the Waits/Preservation Hall 78 was to benefit a music outreach program rather than repairs to the hall itself.)

  4. My grandmother left me an RCA console stereo when she dies, just checked and it does play 78 rpm records, so if anyone wants they can come listen to their new record on my player.

  5. If you are thinking to yourself, “Does my record player goes that high?,” the answer is actually, “I guess the surgery isn’t permanent, and maybe somebody should go check on Algernon.”

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