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Debate & reception

CommentaryContested

Speaker stacks are historical evidence

One side

Discography-only history

The other

Sonic/material culture

What was argued

Sound-system history requires attention to equipment, volume, bass, engineers and bodily experience, not only artists and songs.

The records this concerns

Sound-system speaker stackDubplate-special economy

Debate

Vinyl romance vs the digital reality of dancehall

One side

Vinyl-revival nostalgia

The other

Dancehall's early move to dubplate, CD-R and digital

Two documented positions, stated neutrally: vinyl-revival advocates celebrate the record shop and the 45 as reggae's authentic format and social space; others point out that dancehall itself moved early to dubplate, cassette, CD-R and digital distribution, and that romanticising vinyl can obscure how the music actually circulated. No verdict.

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