Do they feel better? Often
Are they a fad? Probably
Do you care? You might, read on...
So I finally got around to buying a record player - I held out and watched all the nascent hipsters latch on to it. I knew things had become ridiculous when I heard Urban Outfitters was the nation's leading record store. --Thing is, I did have a bunch of records in plastic totes out in the garage and often, stumbling over them thought: "okay I didn't buy this one on CD or MP3 because I really loved the record so much."
Which brings us to what I am calling the "Nostalgia Lens" that lovely sepia-toned space in our memory that, as a blessing of human nature, allows us to focus on the pleasant sense-memories and suppress past pains and torments. For whatever reason, when it comes to music (and possibly life) I have tried to avoid looking backward through that lens and distorting my vision.
I always thought it was kind of sad when I would go to parties in my 40's and listen to people invariably bemoan the "sad state of music today" bitching "now -Led Zeppelin, that was music." Everyone seemed like museum pieces stuck in the past. I wanted to shake them and say: There is still great music being made - you're just stuck in your glory days because you peaked in high school". Instead, I would shrug and go get another beer...
Point being, the past has always had a place in the deep recesses of my mind/garage but I was cautious of dwelling in the past because it would prevent me from embracing the new and the present. Makes sense, right? Well it did for me for a long, long time. I was the opposite of a retro-grouch. A prog-snob maybe? Okay, I confess, I did rock out in the Garage to those Zep reissue CDs occasionally.
Which brings us back to that box of records - In some sad and trying times lately I have found myself searching for a warm fuzzy security blanket to soothe my troubled heart. Which brought me to Amazon and this:
Price = 29 US Dollars, Cute Factor = Priceless
I know, silly right? Here's the thing, I still hadn't decided if a turntable was investment-worthy. I had conducted previous experiments while borrowing my incredibly hip Daughter's USB turntable
to spin some Radiohead a couple years ago, I came away with the following sonic conclusions:
on the plus side +
1.The bass was more fully realized, I could actually understand bass lines that were just low-end boom before.
2. The vocals were warmer, more human sounding somehow.
3. The highs were less sibilant and piercing.
4. I think the sound staging may be better, while I can tell the music is coming from my speakers, when I am out of the room it sounds like someone is standing in there performing. (still deciding on this one, more research is needed using jazz records.)
on the minus side -
1. Much less dynamic power in the drums.
2. Brilliance and shimmer get somehow "shaved off" the frequency spectrum. (this is good/bad trade-off, smoother and less fatiguing long term listening - but less of the sensory hair-raising spine tingles we get from digital)
3. God-awful cardboard-y sounding mid-range distortion.
4. Artifacts of the medium such as scratchy noise, wow and flutter, microphonic interference (where you're actually hearing the sound of the turntable, arm and base vibrating)
I know, you audiophile elitists will tell me "that's the difference between a 100 dollar turntable and a 1500 dollar turntable mew, mew, mew" I used to sell this shit at the Mall, I get it - still, come on, a record is just a record.
It's like trying to convince yourself you will be faster on a more expensive mountain bike (been there, done that.) The drive train of a bicycle is the same as it was in the fricken 1800's!
Mechanically? Logistically?
Records make no sense at all, let's don't even list the reasons. We may as well compare the practicality of bicycles to cars while we're at it.
My swanky adult living room had no place for a "proper" turntable. I no longer live in a cluttered apartment where I can just throw it on top of a stack of books and sit cross-legged sipping cheap beer. (ahhh memories - hahaha)
So the Amazon unit's diminished form factor worked on my already crowded infotainment center which was burgeoning with game consoles, tv, blu-ray, cable box, speakers and lifestyle-critical antique clutter.
I read the reviews on the aforepasted cute little turntable-clampy gadget and they were surprisingly positive.(sylvania!? for crissake, don't they make lightbulbs? sheesh) I pulled the trigger knowing fully well my wife would be that much closer to leaving me if another Amazon toy showed up on the doorstop to the fanfare of three hysterically barking dogs unable to contain their centuries-ingrained hatred of dudes in delivery uniforms.
Turns out, this little plastic jobby is DAMN GOOD
What I am coming to find is that, paying less for the hardware has lowered my expectations sufficiently to be consistently surprised and delighted by my little "champ" It's like that feeling when you realize that yes, Silver Oak tastes supreme but over time, you get more satisfaction in finding your own top-secret grocery store 20 dollar wine that is surprisingly versatile and tasty. One revels in the self-consoling voice saying: "Any douche bag can spend a bunch of money and get something great, but it takes skill, research and smarts to discover gold in the tinfoil" (Possibly a heaping plate of self-deluding grandeur as well, but we'll save that for our therapists.)
One of the things we common 70's kids missed out on the first time around with our crappy 45's was the other parts of the signal-chain being much better.
Those surround-sound receivers and subwoofers we bought while building out our home theaters in a valiant effort to escape loud-talkers, sticky floors and bad smells? --Turns out they make for some pretty bad-ass musical jams coming from the 'ol vinyl.
I'm talking dance-around-your-living-room-in-your-underwear-singing-along-to-earth-wind-and-fire- full-blast-lyric-sleeve-in-hand-while-the-dogs-stare-at-you-JAMS #embarassingTMI
That last paragraph if you dare call it one, leads us to also consider these further ponderisms:
Is it possible only our old records sound better?
If enjoying music is a personal, magical experience should we throw all that scientific audiophile BS out the window, singing and dancing?
Does the former sentiment amount to records actually sounding better in the final observation?
Maybe the new records that hearken back to the soulfulness and spirit of the 70's might also be more enjoyable on vinyl? (I can attest to Amy Winehouse, Bon Iver and Fleet Foxes working very well in that idiom)
When we force the new music through the nostalgia lens might it enhance a musician's ability to connect with us?
I hope that's why more stuff is coming out on vinyl - I fear on the crass-side of my coin that it's because those hipster kids at Urban-Outfitters are snapping them up like hotcakes.
I probably shouldn't begrudge UO's motivations because record sales are a more concrete source of income for musicians vs stolen MP3's -
or maybe you kids are still giving away USB ripped copies to friends like we used to with cassettes.
or maybe you record companies are still stealing profits from starving musians?
* digress kevin, digress, HURRY
So, ladies and gentlemen, if you love music but you're on the fence about going full-record-player and lugging those records out of the attic - This broke music nerd glowingly recommends dropping the 30 bucks and giving it a try. Your going to have a lot of fun listening through the "nostalgia lens" filter, you might accept the scratchy-warpy limitations of the medium, forgiven as nostalgic signposts akin to the holes in your favorite jeans or grass-stains on your baseball cap.
You may find yourself having a good time rummaging through record bins again, You may find yourself behind the wheel of a large automobile, or in your swanky living room grabbing another beverage between sides and, if you're lucky, maybe even sitting cross-legged on your floor basking in the warm glow of your rediscovered heart and soul through music.
*sip* *sob* *skip, skip, skip, skip, skip...*
Please give me your thoughts if you are so compelled, I'm very curious how you peeps are experiencing this revival, and we may find human comfort in our shared nostalgia.
Long live the Fossils!
