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KharBevNor:
A full wintermoon.

I would claim there was hellfirefog and pandaemonic blackstorms from the antarctic winterwastes involved as well. But then, I don't even have a basement to record in.

muffy:
I have a theory that people brag about vinyl because it gives an impression of being 'old school', and that they've been into music for far longer than us novices, and that their opinion is therefore superior to ours...

Also, I think it has something to do with the fact that the scenesters of 40 odd years ago, would, by default, have huge record collections, and so the scenesters that followed looked up to them, and aren't confident enough to say 'ooh, I like CDs better, actually', as they're afraid of change.

By nature, scenesters aren't capable of having an independent thought, so it's understandable that they're reluctant to take  on a 'new' idea, like CDs, without first getting the approval from  their little scenester buddies. Who will be to scared to say anything. Seriously, if Darwin was studying scenesters, he'd have been amazed they weren't extinct yet.

That said, I have a slowly growing collection of records, but that's more because I can pick up albums 2nd hand for about £3 and singles for 99p, but as I listen to most of my stuff on computer, it's not ideal...

StrikeThePostman:
The only things I have on vinyl are my parents' albums (Talking Heads, The Beatles, etc.) and Neutral Milk Hotel's "In the Aeroplane Over the Sea" because I found it for $10 and thought it was one of those things that would be nice to have in record form.

I like them mostly because they're satisfying and a nice break from MP3s.

Kai:
It just feels, for some reason unknown to me, more exciting to put on a new record than a new cd. That and there's somethign about the sound, and the fact that I inherited about 300 of them. I rarely actualyl buy records that aren't at like a garage sale, unless it's somethign like the Residents, which is hard enough to find in cd form, let alone vinyl.

Dent:
To misquote Annie Hall, the medium is the message.*  In other words, an article in the newspaper carries a different weight to it than if that same article were printed in a novel or pasted onto a billboard.  Each of those media have different surroundings, purposes, and cultural attachments.

The very act of sliding an LP out of an album, lifting up the turntable cover, and manually lining up the needle with the opening groove all becomes part of the music experience.  When you adjust the player, you judge with your own eye whether the platter is stable enough.  The visible path of the needle as it plays underscores the music's fluid integrity, both from song to song and artist to audience -- it's all part of the same single moment of intimacy, from start to finish.

Digital music is different in almost every manner.  Coding formats that only the player can comprehend.  Clips and samples digitally recorded, manipulated, and inserted.  Video enhancements. Repeat and shuffle.  ID3 tags scrolling underneath.  Every track individually adjustable to any equalisation setting.  PORTABLE.  It's a storm of information, a whirlwind of bits that almost electrifies the air.  Inside that storm, the listener is free to find his or her own meaning.

Note that this is all regardless of what sounds are coming out of the speakers.  The music itself is filtered through the listener's interpretation of the medium, whatever that may be.  Someone who thinks vinyl is scratchy or CDs are tinny is already predisposed to what they're going to hear.

In summary:  People who like vinyl have their own reasons to do so, but often it's because that's how they "get into the music", and we all do that in one way or another.

*Explanation of the Annie Hall joke:  In the movie, a blowhard is talking about Marshall McLuhan's theories.  When Woody can stand no more, he produces McLuhan himself out of thin air, who then proceeds to berate the loudmouth.

I'm heavily cribbing from McLuhan here, but that doesn't mean I know what I'm talking about.  Not only do I not understand a tenth of his books, I don't even own a turntable.

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