Quote:
Originally Posted by Conan
Not if you like digging up old vinyl records from thrift shops. Sure you could visit rare music blogs where they've converted them to mp3 format, but there's nothing quite like finding something that nobody has given a single fuck about for 30 or 40 years and it actually being good stuff.
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That's one of the many benefits of vinyl - finding things that were never, ever converted to a digital format. So many treasures out there in vinyl-only format and major kudos to those folks who take the time to make digital rips of those records for posterity.
I think it's great that vinyl and cassettes are making a come-back because they both have their merits as mediums and it is just one more thing that makes this such a great time to be a music fan. It's funny to read some of your posts talking about vinyl as a foreign, almost alien concept. Like, why did we ever bother with a medium that was so primitive?
I can't make an argument for vinyl that isn't entirely steeped in sentiment and nostalgia, since I grew up with the format and still hold it very dear. For me, it is the best physical format to service as an artifact, for those of us who still need physical artifacts in our lives. The fact that it is a bit of a bother and requires some effort and interaction though, is part of what makes it so special.
A record is comprised of sides and, back in the old days, musicians composed for those sides, intending each to be a statement and I find when I digest the music in that fashion, I am more inclined to pay closer attention to it, than I am a CD, which I can just stick into a slot and forget about. There is a sense of magic and ritual about carefully placing the needle on the record and curling up in front of the stereo with the record cover in your lap, ready to take it all in. It has my full and undivided attention, in a way that plopping five disks into the CD changer does not.
Again, though, these are just the musings of a misty middle-aged man and I don't mean to slight the digital age. CD's are a wonderful medium and digital downloads even better. Nowadays, I can save my fragile LP's for deep listening sessions, and still enjoy the same music in other formats while engaging in other activities. It's the best of both worlds, really.
I do hope the vinyl resurgence is not just a fad. I believe it shows that, even for the youth of today, there is a need for artifacts of substance, as romantic and impractical a notion as that can be; a little breeze of analog warmth from the past, as it were.
God bless music in all it's formats (except maybe 8-Track - that format was always kind of ridiculous - but I know it has it's fans and peace be with you too...)