Heartbreak on Vinyl

Heartbreak on Vinyl is the second studio album by singer-songwriter Blake Lewis released on October 6, 2009. A double LP pressed on red vinyl with only 500 copies was released on August 13, 2010. The vinyl contained instant access to the Heartbreak on Vinyl digital album, 13 remixes of the hit single "Heartbreak on Vinyl" and an unreleased remix of "'Till We See the Sun." Although "Heartbreak on Vinyl" became his most successful single, the album only sold 10,000 copies; less than 1/30 of the copies of his debut A.D.D. (Audio Day Dream).

Reception

Critical response

The song has received generally positive reviews from many critics.

Stephen Thomas Erlewine from Allmusic said "he's brought all his disparate interests together on Heartbreak on Vinyl, which cut for cut is more rhythmic and melodic than A.D.D. and as a whole lot more memorable. Lewis doesn't separate his club rhythms and Morrissey obsessions, winding up with a record that sounds curiously and unwittingly like a soundtrack to a Eurotrash club, but in an appealing fashion because it feels uncontrived and often very catchy."

Heartbreak on Vinyl (song)

"Heartbreak on Vinyl" is the second single by Blake Lewis to be released from his second album of the same name. The track is to date Lewis's most successful single, as it has reached the number-one spots on Billboard's Hot Dance Club Songs and Hot Dance Airplay charts in 2010. The single pays homage to record stores that closed down or went out of business and its loyal fans of vinyl records.

Background

The song makes reference to Blake’s favorite Seattle record shop and was inspired by a fateful trip to New York’s Union Square Virgin Megastore — both no longer in business. As the song goes: “Heartbreak on vinyl, I’m missing you and how, Easy street is empty, The silence of the sound, I guess the turntables have turned one too many times.” Blake explains the inspiration for its lyrics: “When people would ask me what I’m addicted to, I always said ‘music.’ And while they’d laugh it off like it’s a cliché, I’m actually a complete shopaholic when it comes to records. I’d literally buy 10 albums a week for years, so when I went to that Virgin Records and it said ‘going out of business,’ my heart stopped.”