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[Jackie Blue]

I must say that I enjoy the whole dropping of the needle onto the record.

I enjoy sticking a needle into my veins.

Cause it makes me feel like I'm a man.

[Uber Ritter]

Shouldn't it be 'spike?'
I was introduced to that song in like 12th Grade by Christ Kilbourne, the guy that introduced to to such sundry things as The Pop Group, Death from Above (1979), Pelican, Pig Destroyer, Bucket Full of Teeth, The Microphones, every screamo band ever, the Avalanches, and independent music in general.  I owe a lot to that man.

[Jackie Blue]

Shouldn't it be 'spike?'

Yes, but then the connection to the post I was quoting would not have been obvious.

[valley_parade]

You get large cases with great artwork.

It'd look pretty stupid if I had the little CD insert of Rocket to Russia framed on my wall. The full-sized cover is so much better.

[Lines]

Vinyl - If you like music, this is probably the way to go!

This is the argument for vinyl that really gets on my tits.  It's the superior-sounding assumption that vinyl lovers are "more into" music than us terrible CD owners.

I wasn't being serious (and I basically explained what I was getting at in the next sentence). I own like two or three albums on vinyl. Most of my music is CD or mp3 (also backed up on CD). When someone actually takes care of their vinyl or CDs, they sound almost the same and it's really hard to tell the difference unless you know what you're looking for.

But honestly, the packaging for vinyl is vastly superior, as there's more room to do more interesting things with it, like with Physical Graffiti, where there is an insert to change what shows through the windows on the cover and also Sticky Fingers, which featured a real zipper that was functional. Most (almost all) CDs just can't do this due to lack of space because of being in a jewel case.

The only current form of music I don't like buying are mp3s. Because I'm buying electronic sound, which has no physical form, that I have to buy CDs to back them up on in case of my hard drive dying (again). I lost a few albums I'd gotten off of iTunes (b-day gift certificate) because I'd forgotten to back them up.

[Lines]

No. I didn't know this until after the fact, which is STUPID, because I found a way to report that I had lost them, and I could see every song/album I'd gotten from them, but if I want to re-download it, I have to pay for it. Again.

Which I will, because Stop Making Sense is just too good not to have a copy of, but I'm buying the CD this time, dammit. I love Macs, but fuck Apple with its iTunes crap.

[Brian Majestic]

I buy a lot of vinyl because a sizeable chunk (though i wouldn't say a majority) of the music I buy is not available on cd and downloads just don't do it for me (unless there is no choice because spending 100+ for an out-of-print 7" is not feasible for me)

Vinyl records occasionally have fun goodies packed in (which while not the reason I buy the record are still nice), from full-sized posters to buttons, to patches, to even combs.

The latest re-release of King Khan and BBQ's self-titled was pressed with an one-sided second lp with 6 exclusive tracks not on the cd and the packaging even included a weird board game (game pieces included!)

[SevenPinkerton]

I just hate CDs in general. And DVDs. I remember the days when I could rent a movie from a video store without it screwing up, going into choppy blocks midway through and me trying to figure out if I should just skip the part or turn it into the store for another one. I remember when the biggest problem with renting a movie was tracking.

The same goes with CDs. I want Vinyl and Cassette tapes simply because they last much longer. I take care of my cds, but things happen and both the cd and the casing is extremely fragile, especially for the price I'm shelling out. I now burn each cd I buy so I have an extra copy in case one breaks. I'm impatiently waiting for the next technology that wont be as ridiculous as the current one.

[snowball]

No. I didn't know this until after the fact, which is STUPID, because I found a way to report that I had lost them, and I could see every song/album I'd gotten from them, but if I want to re-download it, I have to pay for it. Again.

Which I will, because Stop Making Sense is just too good not to have a copy of, but I'm buying the CD this time, dammit. I love Macs, but fuck Apple with its iTunes crap.

send customer support an e-mail, they should let you re-download the songs you lost. A friend of mine lost ~60 songs when reformatting his iPhone, one quick e-mail and they set it up so he could download them all again.

[Lines]

I did and they never replied nor enabled me to redownload anything. This was 5 months ago and I'm too lazy to bother with it, because I'd just rather go buy a physical copy like I should have done in the first place. (It was from a gift certificate, so it's not like I personally lost money.)

[valley_parade]

Last I knew, they let you re-download everything you've lost..at thirty cents a song.

[thedavo]

I'm a vinyl junky.
I find that it does sound significantly better, especially if you can spend a bit more and get a real good player. (even dollar vs. dollar, IE a $1500 CD player sounds drastically worse than a $1500 record player at least in my experience)
I feel that vinyl sounds more "real" than CD does. It may cost a bit more per album but it works out ok since used albums (particularly electronic) can be had for pennies.
In my personal opinion if one really loves music then an effort to enjoy it in its highest quality is in order. (IE vinyl, FLAC files into a good external DAC, or a good CD player)

then again i am bit of an audiophile...

anyone looking to get into vinyl should look for a decent vintage player (most of them are a bit better than what you would get new under ~400)
low budget vinyl thread on head-fi
http://www.head-fi.org/forums/f7/low-budget-vinyl-source-228059/

this is exactly what i wanted to say, but couldnt find the right words for it. My cd player gets very little use at the moment, and it cost me a fair bit of money.

[dalconnsuch]

i mostly get vinyl not because of any trivial reason like "sound quality" and "coolinessness" i get vinyls because vinyls just feel more authentic and have an almost spiritual feeling

i still have my dads old vinyl collection too, if i sold it which i'd never do i could probably get about 10 grand so its a good investement to begin with, but its mostly for the spiritual feeling, i mean c'mon, when i hold the beatles "let it be" album on vinyl its like touching a piece of the 60's while having the cd format just makes it seem... different ina  worse way

[snowball]

i mostly get vinyl not because of any trivial reason like "sound quality" and "coolinessness" i get vinyls because vinyls just feel more authentic and have an almost spiritual feeling

i still have my dads old vinyl collection too, if i sold it which i'd never do i could probably get about 10 grand so its a good investement to begin with, but its mostly for the spiritual feeling, i mean c'mon, when i hold the beatles "let it be" album on vinyl its like touching a piece of the 60's while having the cd format just makes it seem... different ina  worse way

you bring up some good points, but i for one don't believe sound quality is trivial. Music is sound after all, i feel that their is a direct correlation (to a point) between my enjoyment and sound quality. Not to say that I'm going to like Nsync playing on a 500k dollar setup more than my computer speakers. but to say that i do enjoy Neon Bible on my stereo more than with some ipod ear buds.
and this does effect my choice of source format.

[pinkpiche]

I'm mostly just a whore for the artwork, the whole process of putting the record on and sitting with the gatefold/pocket in your lap while you rock out one-finger-hardcore-style. Then you turn it up. Repeat. Put it all back and sit and wonder why your whole room isn't filled with vinyl.

So irrational? Yeah. Essential? Damn straight.

[snowball]

i like to sit there with the lyric sheets

[Jackie Blue]

The same goes with CDs. I want Vinyl and Cassette tapes simply because they last much longer.

CASSETTES last longer than CDs?

What kind of bizarro world do you live in?

It's not hard to take care of CDs.  Put them back in the case when you're done.  Put the case back in your collection.  Don't leave them lying on the floor.

No matter what, a cassette (especially one produced after 1992) will fuck up eventually.  Like I said, I have a lot of CDs that I've had for as many as 15 years that don't have a scratch on them.

[Spinless]

Many of mine were bought used! And so, they are scratched, also!

[Jackie Blue]

I still have all of my cassettes from the 80s.

Cassettes from the 80s weren't produced under the "planned obsolescence" guidelines.

Still, seriously, you can't argue that tapes don't degrade, since tapes come into physical contact with the reading device and CDs do not.

Jesus, I thought I was making a bad joke when I used to say that one day we'll have people who feel nostalgiac for cassettes.

[Spinless]

Clearly you never made a mixtape!

[Johnny C]

Hint: making a mixtape is a bitch.

[Jackie Blue]

Mixtapes don't count.  I've made dozens of those.  I still have mixtapes from ex-girlfriends.

But that's different.

Making mixtapes is a bitch?  How so?  I always find it really fun.

[RedLion]

remember the days when I could rent a movie from a video store without it screwing up, going into choppy blocks midway through and me trying to figure out if I should just skip the part or turn it into the store for another one.

...Where the heck do you rent from? DVDs and Sharp Objects, Inc.? Seriously, this has never happened to me. Ever.

[Kai]

Apparently, digital recordings are inferior by definition.  My dad showed me a diagram about it.

this is probably my favorite part of this thread

[ViolentDove]

"Son, we need to have a talk. About the facts of Life. Here's a diagram..."

[Johnny C]

Mixtapes don't count.  I've made dozens of those.  I still have mixtapes from ex-girlfriends.

But that's different.

Making mixtapes is a bitch?  How so?  I always find it really fun.

Mostly trying to find both decent quality tapes and a method of recording. It's a lot of work to put into it to get a quality-sounding mixtape.

I mean, the actual music selection is pretty much the same, but acquiring the materials is much tougher.

[snowball]

i don't really have any tapes (other than what my parents had and I've never looked at them)
i do have a few Nakamichi MR-2 tape decks in the basement though.

[dalconnsuch]

i mostly get vinyl not because of any trivial reason like "sound quality" and "coolinessness" i get vinyls because vinyls just feel more authentic and have an almost spiritual feeling

i still have my dads old vinyl collection too, if i sold it which i'd never do i could probably get about 10 grand so its a good investement to begin with, but its mostly for the spiritual feeling, i mean c'mon, when i hold the beatles "let it be" album on vinyl its like touching a piece of the 60's while having the cd format just makes it seem... different ina  worse way

you bring up some good points, but i for one don't believe sound quality is trivial. Music is sound after all, i feel that their is a direct correlation (to a point) between my enjoyment and sound quality. Not to say that I'm going to like Nsync playing on a 500k dollar setup more than my computer speakers. but to say that i do enjoy Neon Bible on my stereo more than with some ipod ear buds.
and this does effect my choice of source format.

i didn't mean that sound quality was trivial but i think sound quality is something you can live with haha but yeah your right

[PECOAE]

Apparently, digital recordings are inferior by definition.  My dad showed me a diagram about it.

this is probably my favorite part of this thread

don't knock it, my dad HAS to draw a diagram for anything and everything.

[SevenPinkerton]

remember the days when I could rent a movie from a video store without it screwing up, going into choppy blocks midway through and me trying to figure out if I should just skip the part or turn it into the store for another one.

...Where the heck do you rent from? DVDs and Sharp Objects, Inc.? Seriously, this has never happened to me. Ever.

You're serious? I rent from a large multitude of video stores in this town and it is much more often than not that the dvd is scratched up in some way and screws up during the movie. I've started to request a 5 minute cleaning of each movie at the stores that do it, even though it makes me sound like a bitch.

[Jackie Blue]

I've never rented a DVD that had scratches or skipped majorly, but that is probably balanced by the fact that the only DVDs I've really ever rented are reasonably far outside the mainstream and as such haven't been rented by many other people, or haven't been rented by the kind of jackasses who let their kids play frisbee with the DVD.

Also I generally rent new releases.

Still, I've had worse luck with video tapes.  No matter what, any VCR can just up and decide to eat any video tape.

[Rizzo]

I always find it amusing buying electronic artists, hell most rock artists too, on vinyl. These sort of bands record primarily on digital right? So they take an analogue signal, translate it to a lower quality digital copy (sampling rates etc as mentioned previously) and then transfer it back to analogue again for the vinyl.
Seems a little silly.
That said, I'll still buy vinyl over CDs given the choice and the right price.
Mp3 is still my current method of choice though. I own 8 vinyls, 200ish CDs and 28gig of mp3s. Each is still slowly building.

[KickThatBathProf]

let their kids play frisbee with the DVD.

Oooooooh, I've done that. Well, not with actual DVDs, but with those AOL disks that are all over the place

[öde]

CD Pro: more fun in a microwave!

[12-tone]

I buy vinyl just because I think it's cool. I have some records that sound better on vinyl, and some that don't. It's really all about the mastering. The media makes very little difference.

Mostly vinyl just looks and feels a lot cooler to have around.

[KharBevNor]

I thought that the superior sound quality of vinyl was pure bunk. Then I bought some vinyl.

[PECOAE]

dude, i'm a sig now

i should get some elliot smith on vinyl.

[carrotosaurus]

I've been framing my vinyl this month. It makes for some great wall art. It's a pain in the ass to find (inexpensive) frames the right size, though.

[valley_parade]

I picked one up from Urban Outfitters. I think they're like $20 or $22 a piece.

[Lexington, 125]

I picked one up from Urban Outfitters. I think they're like $20 or $22 a piece.

$20?  I wouldn't even spend that on most vinyl I buy!    Try looking at dollar stores, I got frames for like 2 bucks each.  I painted the frames & hung them up along with some concert posters...  very pleased with the result.

[valley_parade]

I didn't pay $20! It was on sale for like $15.

[carrotosaurus]

Yeah I found some at Wal-Mart. A lot cheaper than $15...

[valley_parade]

The problem with this being that I do not and will not shop at Wal-Mart.

[carrotosaurus]

Eh, I'd rather go there than Urban Outfitters...

[Lexington, 125]

Target ok?  They have em for $9.99 on their website.  Seriously, you should be able to get em for $7 at most if you look around.  They're black plastic & then paint them whatever color you want.  Instant awesome.  My problem is I keep breaking into my 1969 VU Live with Lou Reed.  I painted the frame electric blue, so basically, yeah vinyl's better.... what a great cover!

[valley_parade]

That's why I have an original and a re-release of London Calling. Original framed, re-release for listening to.

I guess I'll have to check Target next time I'm there. $10 sounds good to me.

[Lexington, 125]

That's why I have an original and a re-release of London Calling. Original framed, re-release for listening to.

I guess I'll have to check Target next time I'm there. $10 sounds good to me.

Yeah I did that for a couple albums as well.  The best part is I have a bunch of frames painted, so switching them up changes the look of my wall.  One day I'll get around to framing my concert posters as well, but I need those done professionally as some are worth quite a bit.  That has proved to be expensive!

[muteKi]

How many of you actually own a cd that has become too scratched to play?

I have CDs that are over a decade old and have been played thousands of times and don't have a scratch on them.

People who scratch their CDs are just lazy or stupid with them.

Jewel cases are not always very nice. There's one disc I have that's scratched because the case malfunctioned. Incidentally, it's my favorite.


Also, why has the fact that vinyl degrades over time not been mentioned? Or were so many old vinyl records from 1960-1980 just made with subpar materials and equipment in the first place?
At home there are many vinyl records. And I greatly prefer digital remasters of most of them.

[Jeneration X]

i would like to my 2 pence worth in on this but i think this article from Fact says it all for me!

F*ck Yes! Vinyl Matters

One of the first things i did when i stopped living in London a few months ago was buy a record player again. I had given up records largely because of practicability: storage and retrievability, real problems when living in cramped conditions, ceased to be an issue when music was consumed as digital objects accessed via a searchable database.

But this user-friendliness was not without its drawbacks. Everyone knows that the compression of sound upon the mp3 format depends makes for a thinner sound. Yet listening to music via an iPod involves compression in another sense. With an iPod, it is the space in which  one experiences music, as well as the space 'in' the sound itself, that is radically attenuated. The term 'i' and 'pod' here are all to accurate: with the iPod, music functions as a means of keeping the world at bay. It is part of an urban defence kit, a means of transforming all territory into 'my' space. Instead of circulating in public space in which social interaction is possible, iPod users move in a solipsistic bubble that rebuffs contacy. The mp3 player cannot be held solely responsible for this trend of course - it began with Walkman - but the iPod has certainly exacerbated it.

Charlie Bertsch has argued that the timing of the introduction of the ipod , in the immediate wake of 2001, was crucial. Its appeal, he argues, was in large part that it transformed, "music into shelter". Economic, as well as political, changes means this has a special attraction in the 00's: with increasing numbers of people commuting, the iPod allowed time spent travelling to and from work to become leisure time.

Yet the easy availability of music anywhere, anytime has inevitably meant that music has become less valued. Researches from Leicester, Surrey and York universities announced last year that listening to music typically involves less emotional commitment than it used to. "In the 19th century" they announced, "music was seen as a highly valued treasure with fundamental and near-mystical powers of human communication. It was experienced within clearly defined contexts, and its value was intrinsically bound up with those contexts"

Returning to vinyl is a way of restoring this sense of context and occasion to music. the sheer fact of having to turn a record over means that it cannot be relegated to background listening in the way that a potentially endless iTunes stream can. The LP becomes a discrete experience again, with a sense of drama dictated by the two sides of the record. Records demand both space and time. Vinyl decompresses the listening experience, making the music a tactile presence in a room rather than just a background noise in your head.

Words: K-punk

[Valrus]

If someone is not invested in the music they listen to, it seems to me that it's a problem with the person, not the medium.