COOL Article on CDs and Lps

[Mythos]

Made a lot of sense to me anyway...

https://www.wired.com/story/you-shou...=pocket-newtab

Merry, merry...

[adap2it]

Made a lot of sense to me anyway...

https://www.wired.com/story/you-shou...=pocket-newtab

Merry, merry...

I totally agree with this article. If storage capacity hadn't expired, I would still be buying CD's. Vinyl is a pain that exceeds the pleasure...also, regarding downloads, which I have 100's or 1000's but cannot be considered a 'collection'.

[aith01]

Yet another "vinyl listeners = hipsters" argument? Yawn.

[Progatron]

Interesting article, thanks for posting!

[pb2015]

I think the article overstates the problems with LPs - but as I write this my record player is in the repair shop for the second time in the last ten years.

[Sturgeon's Lawyer]

Yet another "vinyl listeners = hipsters" argument? Yawn.

While they (unfortunately) make that remark, they also make the pointed and accurate remark that CDs generally sound better than all but the most pristine, brand-spankin'-new vinyl. CDs don't develop surface wear.

[progmatist]

It's true most people, this article's author among them are simply incapable of hearing the difference in vinyl. In exactly the way same most people can't hear the individual notes in a chord. The way most people could never be a naval sonar technician, because they can't hear the subtle differences between the various tones. Before investing a single dollar in training new sonar techs, the US Navy will thoroughly test candidates' hearing, to ensure they can in fact hear the tones. A guy in my A School class was originally slated to be a sonar tech, but failed the hearing test. He trained to be an avionics tech instead.

[dropforge]

Made a lot of sense to me anyway...

https://www.wired.com/story/you-shou...=pocket-newtab

Merry, merry...

As WIRED senior editor—and self-flagellating owner of some 1,300 LPs—Michael Calore puts it, vinyl is “an unwieldy music playback format that sounds worse every single time you listen to it.

[Vic2012]

Interesting article. This paragraph rings true:

With Spotify, I often discover a new artist, get really excited about them, and three months later forget about their existence entirely. If it doesn’t occupy space on your wall, it may not occupy space in your mind.

In my case it's Youtube instead of Spotify. I've heard a lot of albums over the last three years or so on YT that I'd never hear otherwise, but like the paragraph mentions, once the music is deleted from my library it's forgotten.

[JKL2000]

I thought that was funny too! But, ONLY 1,300 LPs? They say that like it's an unbelievable number of LPs, but it's not, of course.

[JKL2000]

Interesting article. This paragraph rings true:

With Spotify, I often discover a new artist, get really excited about them, and three months later forget about their existence entirely. If it doesn’t occupy space on your wall, it may not occupy space in your mind.

In my case it's Youtube instead of Spotify. I've heard a lot of albums over the last three years or so on YT that I'd never hear otherwise, but like the paragraph mentions, once the music is deleted from my library it's forgotten.

Yes, even with my large and incredibly disorganized CD collection, I occasionally run into everything in the collection every so often, so there's no worry I'll forget about one of my CDs FOREVER, something I worry about with streaming music. My "wishlists" are really "I hope I don't forget about these" lists. Not necessarily stuff I want to buy, but stuff I want to listen to for free or almost free, again. And I think the statement that you can't really call all your downloads a "collection" is interesting. It's certainly not a collection you can fondle, or brag about!

[Digital_Man]

I'll probably eventually get spotify but for now I mostly use youtube or just play the plethora of cds I own(and continue to buy).

Also, I don't think vinyl is just for hipsters, but I do think they make up a big part of the vinyl demographic. There's definitely a conformity element at play here whether anyone is comfortable admitting it or not.

[dropforge]

I thought that was funny too! But, ONLY 1,300 LPs? They say that like it's an unbelievable number of LPs, but it's not, of course.

Years ago, there was a guy out here in SoCal who published an underground (too small to be anything greater) music zine on newsprint, up till he passed away.

This guy was retired (not employed) and apparently possessed upwards of 50,000 LPs in nice shape. When he needed money, he fished out 100 of them and cashed them in at Amoeba or wherever. He lived rural and made enough money that way to survive!

[aith01]

I think the article overstates the problems with LPs - but as I write this my record player is in the repair shop for the second time in the last ten years.

Yeah, I think you're right. But like you said, record players have their own problems.

While they (unfortunately) make that remark, they also make the pointed and accurate remark that CDs generally sound better than all but the most pristine, brand-spankin'-new vinyl. CDs don't develop surface wear.

It's true that CDs don't develop surface wear, they will usually last longer and deliver a more pristine sound. I still own and collect CDs myself (and probably have far too many, truth be told ).

I get it if someone doesn't like vinyl; we all hear things differently, and appreciate music differently, that's all good. What bugs me is that for some folks the disdain seems to extend beyond the format itself, and on to the people who use it too. I don't like being denigrated and lumped in with the "hipsters" just because I happen to like LPs. You know what I mean?

[Sturgeon's Lawyer]

Agreed: I still own several hundred LPs (though I am beginning to think about unloading them for space). Some of them are still not available on CD (to the best of my knowledge) and, while I have one of those USB turntables that digitize the sound straight through, I don't really like the sound the needle-drop conersion tends to produce.

Oh well. You pays your money and you takes your chances.

[hippypants]

Years ago, there was a guy out here in SoCal who published an underground (too small to be anything greater) music zine on newsprint, up till he passed away

It's too bad they aren't accessible online somewhere. I'd like to read them.

[rapidfirerob]

I have about 1,000 albums and don't play them anymore. I haven't gotten around to getting rid of them or the turntable. Part of it is laziness and part of it
is these albums are part of my life. Sigh. I still buy CDs, both used and new. I'm running out of room for them as well. I also have Spotify and about 450 of
my old cassettes on a flash drive in my car and at home. I bought an aftermarket CarPlay unit and it changed my world. I can play Spotify, radio station apps
and have Google Maps on the larger touchscreen that came with the unit. It wasn't cheap, but is worth every penny. I have Navigation in the car and don't
use it anymore. It was never easy to get directions going on the thing.

[Digital_Man]

^Same here only in my case it's maybe 60 albums. Most are classic rock or prog from the 70's and 80's so Yes, Rush, Genesis, PF, APP, UH, etc. They are stored in my mom's attic and so might have gotten warped from the heat. As such I'm not sure what to do with them especially since I don't have a turntable.

As for cds, I was buying tons over the past couple of years when a certain prog vendor was in the process of closing his online store. I have slowed down with my cd buying a lot since I bought so much in such a relatively short period of time.

[Piskie]

I've read some pretty convincing articles online that have demonstrated to my satisfaction that the cd is the best quality sound. Not the best for artwork it goes without saying, or maybe for resonating with your inner nostalgia button of course. CDs are cheaper too. Streaming is listening to someone else's record collection.

[Munster]

As the article says: 'If it doesn’t occupy space on your wall, it may not occupy space in your mind.' This is very true for me. Give me a CD anytime.

I grew up with vinyl but will never return to the format, even though I still have a player. I like it that a CD plays through a whole album, without need to change sides every 20 minutes or so, and that, as the article says, the CD does not degenerate with each listen. I looked after my records but invariably clicks and pops developed. Admittedly vinyl sometimes offers greater 'warmth'; I bought a Graham Parker CD recently and found it unlistenable, as the difference in its harsh sound was so extreme compared with what I remembered from my vinyl days. But CD remastering is addressing this warmth issue these days, as was the case with recent boxsets from Gong and Van Der Graaf Generator.

The arguments against streaming have been well aired here on PE but, to reiterate my main point against such services, they have no obligation to keep streaming albums you particularly like. I have come across several instances - Magma, for example - where albums once listed have been removed. Far better to have a hard copy - either CD or vinyl.

[AdventAlan]

Greetings,

Interesting article, but I've actually grown to prefer lossless (high-resolution when available) downloads as my media of choice over the past few years. Sadly, I don't expect this format to gain widespread popularity, as it already seems lost between the old world of buying physical media and consuming all music via streaming platforms.

For anyone who might be interested, I posted a blog article (a couple of months ago) on the subject of what I consider the "right" way of leveraging streaming services, the value of owning music, and some benefits of buying digital downloads (preferably lossless):

https://alan-benjamin-music.blogspot...dcamp-and.html

Cheers,


Alan

[JKL2000]

Greetings,

Interesting article, but I've actually grown to prefer lossless (high-resolution when available) downloads as my media of choice over the past few years. Sadly, I don't expect this format to gain widespread popularity, as it already seems lost between the old world of buying physical media and consuming all music via streaming platforms.

For anyone who might be interested, I posted a blog article (a couple of months ago) on the subject of what I consider the "right" way of leveraging streaming services, the value of owning music, and some benefits of buying digital downloads (preferably lossless):

https://alan-benjamin-music.blogspot...dcamp-and.html

Cheers,


Alan

You do a good job of describing this, as you say, as "the right way" of using streaming services and Bandcamp, without shoving it down peoples' throats. Your suggestions make a lot of sense, and will probably benefit some of those who read them.

[clivey]

You do a good job of describing this, as you say, as "the right way" of using streaming services and Bandcamp, without shoving it down peoples' throats. Your suggestions make a lot of sense, and will probably benefit some of those who read them.

I don't have the numbers but I am pretty sure that Nostalgia accounts for a very high % of monies spent in music recorded and live.
People of a certain generation fixated on times before all started on the route south.

This is why I love prog and electronic music genres. We have our legacy but more importantly We own the future and that's where the surprises are.

[Sturgeon's Lawyer]

I like it that a CD plays through a whole album, without need to change sides every 20 minutes or so...

Interesting: I both like and dislike that. For me the "flip" is an integral part of some albums, especially concept albums. Remember the Future and Thick as a Brick are prime examples of this. Many of them have "devices" to end the first side and link it to the beginning of the second side, which make no musical sense without that flip. Especially Brain Salad Surgery; the fadeout of side one and fadein of side two make no sense at all in CD format (or in concert, where they played straight through the First Impression without that nonsense).

Also, many albums (Aqualung, Queen II) were designed with distinctly different sides. The flip emphasized that. Going from the "Aqualung" side to the "My God" side with no break destroys a lot of the feeling of that album.

Nellie McKay -- a singer/songwriter I highly recommend (not prog in any meaningful sense, but capable of a lot of variation of styles) -- did something interesting on her first album, Get Away from Me: she made it a two-CD package when it would have fit on one, because she wanted to give "kids these days" an experience analogous to turning over an LP.

[JKL2000]

Nellie McKay -- a singer/songwriter I highly recommend (not prog in any meaningful sense, but capable of a lot of variation of styles) -- did something interesting on her first album, Get Away from Me: she made it a two-CD package when it would have fit on one, because she wanted to give "kids these days" an experience analogous to turning over an LP.

My wife really liked her first few albums, so we used to listen to that one a lot. It all started when we saw her do that Dog Song on Letterman (I think it was Letterman, maybe SNL).