For vinyl lovers

[Maharg]

For vinyl lovers and those of us who like a laugh.
I confess to being a vinyl lover, but I am not as weird as this guy...not really...

I like to think I am more like this collector, who just happens to be one of favourite musicians of all time.

[ablaut]

As someone who grew up with vinyl, I am so glad we left that era behind us. Accurate, high quality music playback, with much less hassle, are benefits of the digital age you will have to wrench from my cold, dead hands.

And I don't really understand the nostalgia, or people who claim it sounds better... which is just objectively not true. I have some understanding for the collector who has an emotional connection with the physical objects they collected over the years. But having moved between countries many times in my life, that is also something I gladly left behind.

For me it is all about the music.

[Maharg]

Agree with you aoVl.

Also there is for me that persistent notion that sticks in my head that vinyl = combined craftsmanship of music, history, aesthetics, design and provides a physical and emotional connection and ownership to a time and place. Digital for me = cheap, expendable, short life span, throw away and forgettable.

[GaryG]

Labradfords "Prazision" is a great record though.

;)

I don't know, I find myself agreeing with ablaut and Maharg. And aoVI.

Yes, convenience is everything to me ultimately, I can't say just how much I relish having pretty much everything just available and not have to think about which box a certain CD may have ended up in etc etc. And also not have to worry about scratches and crackles, nobody *ever* thought they were cool back in the day when your new LP developed a click... Warmth? Turn the bass up. ;)

But, yes, I do appreciate the "physical and emotional connection" aspect. Maybe it's nostalgia, being fourteen and getting a new Rush LP or something and just memorising the cover, notes, publisher etc. Rarely do that now, just listen to the music. Which maybe is the important part but, I guess being humans, the other details are important too.

[seismic1]

I kept about 250 of my LPs. I do think some records sound better than the CD versions. Many times the albums weren't remastered for digital media, or weren't remastered correctly, and the CD releases sounded like $&*%. A lot of subsequent re-releases have been remixed by less than sympathetic engineers and the original sound balance has been affected to the detriment of the original recording. I have a couple of digitally recorded LPs released in the early '80s whose vinyl sound is truly staggering compared to the CD versions released at the same time. The equivalent CD releases sound clean, but have a much colder sound.

I also lived all over the world, but when I left the UK, I stored everything, knowing that I would return home someday.

I recently "re-mastered" 2 old 1980 Hobgoblin recordings from cassette tape on the computer. My main motivation was to preserve the recordings for posterity, knowing that tape is not an ideal storage medium, but I was also hoping to eliminate the hiss that accompanied the music. I managed to reduce
the noise, but maintaining that "prog" sound quality was much trickier than I imagined, so I can understand why some of those commercial transcription jobs were less than ideal.

There are some albums whose digital presentation just doesn't sound right. I think CD releases only caught up with vinyl in the mid '90s as the various parties involved got to grips with the new tech.

I don't listen to vinyl too often these days, but occasionally fire up the Basik for an analog session, usually to listen to some of those old ECM records, or Back Door, or, if I'm feeling a little naughty, some good old Prog-Rock.

[seismic1]

Weird. I have GAoW on cassette too. I never bothered hunting down the CD. The Flat Earth is my favourite Dolby album, although I really like Astronauts and Heretics.

Tomorrow I hope to listen to the 2015 stereo mix of Oranges and Lemons on BluRay. I'm looking forward to that.

[GaryG]

Weird. I have GAoW on cassette too.

Double weird, so do I...

I think seeing him do 'Windpower' on TotP was a bit of a pivotal moment in my musical development.

[seismic1]

"I Live in a Suitcase" was the story of my life for quite some time. Great songwriting and marvellous sonics. Best played loud. Who would have thought that 3 piano chords could sound this good.