See, this is what happened: during a party one day, one of my friends remarked about the four shelves of albums I have, saying something to the effect that I must be one of the last holdouts against the digital age. And he's right. Sort of.
Oh, it's not that I have anything particularly against mp3s or streaming music. I've owned mp3 players and use services like I Heart Radio and Pandora. Digital is a convenient way to get some sounds whenever you want, and torrents make it easy for those who may not want to pay to get whatever they might want.
But let's be honest about things. As easy and cheap and theft-friendly as digital may be, it isn't even close to old school analog in terms of really digging the music. And over the years, regardless of convenience or portability, I have returned time and again to vinyl whenever I wanted to actually listen to music, rather than just have something playing in the background.
With vinyl, listening to music is a commitment. You have to go and select an album, physically remove it from the jacket, place it on the turntable, clean off the disc, and then listen to it. There's no "skip" option or simple on/off touch. Vinyl means you agree to put in the effort.
Plus there is the whole added experience of being able to hold a large jacket and contemplate the artwork through close examination and detailed study. How does the cover relate to the music? Why is Ziggy Stardust standing among discarded boxes under a lit "K. West" sign? Who used a dagger to slit the canvas painting for Trespass? What is with that weird disembodied arm grabbing a smoke on Over Nite Sensation?
And so on.
The combination of the tactile (holding the jacket), visual (examining the art), and aural (listening to the songs) makes the music more impactful. It's not just a beat and some lyrics. It's an immersive experience.
That's just something you can't get with digital. Not to mention the sound quality of analog is much better. I've heard it described variously as being warmer, fuller, deeper, or more complete. Especially for the older stuff. And it makes sense - back then all of the recording equipment, remixing, recording levels, and sound engineering was calibrated for an analog sound system. Everything was done with the understanding that a groove in vinyl would be tracked by a diamond-tipped stylus vibrating in a magnetic field, sent through an amplifier and out of two speakers. That's why when you listen to a digital version of something recorded for vinyl, even though it is pristine and immaculate and cleat, it's also somewhat sterile and sanitized and it tends to leave one feeling a bit flat - like there is something missing. Because there is.
And don't even get me started on the awfulness of mp3s or streaming audio compared to vinyl.
Or maybe the real truth is that vinyl is no better than digital, and even a bit worse because of the hisses, pops, scratches, tics, and sibilance that can infect a record, and all of this is just some onanistic gibberish from a cantankerous analog dude trapped in a digital age, wallowing in nostalgia. Either way is fine, and in fact they are probably both true.
Anyway, back to my friend and my albums. After he tossed off his comment I realized that even though I routinely listen to some of them, it was long past time for me to become re-acquainted with others, and so I've decided to listen to every single album I own and document my journey here.
Here's the process:
- I'll listen to the albums will be in alphabetical order by title (to add a bit of variety)
- EPs are included, but 45's are not
- I won't include "Greatest Hits" albums, but Live albums will be okay
- Various Artists albums, soundtracks, and comedy albums will be considered on a case-by-case basis
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