Why would anyone still listen to records?
This is a common question of peers and new comers alike that can’t quite grasp why I would willfully revert to a “dead” music medium. “Dead” could be in reference of the use and practicality in current society or the fact that most artist that have records for purchase are usually deceased .Yes, looking for records in your parents basement is often like scavenging through a musical graveyard. I’ll never forget the first time I dusted off a Jimi Hendrix tombstone. The next question usually has to do with my mental stability and or my awareness of the current year. I assure everyone that I have these things in check.
In 2011, the market is flooded with digital music. Anyone with a little time and a computer can use iTunes and have access to what is over 200,000 albums, movies, and other media. Mp3 players along with the internet have revolutionized the way people retrieve and use music in their daily lives. However, this has not always been for the better. The iPod generation keeps people socially isolated to an extent. Music is composed and performed (in most cases) with a collaboration between individuals. It is rare to see any artist that completely conceives music alone or without help from any outside source. Even back in the 60’s and 70’s when vinyl records were most popular, people would engage in the simple act of listening to music together by sitting around a record player and passing an LPs liner notes around. The LP was a conversation piece, full of interesting artwork, photos of the artist, and often stories or commentary on the artist or particular album. With digital music, we’ve slightly sacrificed the personal connections in music for convenience and ease of use. It’s safe to say music has lost some of its specialty. Its essence.
Don’t records sound horrible, scratchy, and unpleasant?
Lo-Fi, or Low Fidelity, means the presence or artifacts (distortion, hiss, etc.) in audio recordings. This is a result of analog equipment limitations in the audio spectrum as opposed to digital recording technology of today which offers pristine, squeaky clean sound. All records are not inaudible or sound trashy, but most that were made a couple decades ago may possess a lo-fi sound. They merely have a different aesthetic quality to them that commemorates the generation it was created in. Records are audio time machines, taking you back to an era of extreme importance to the origins of much of the modern music we enjoy today. While this Technology was limited then but creativity was not. Most digital music that is downloaded from the internet today has little to no artifacts. Mp3s present cleaner sound production but tend to lose dynamic variance and fullness. Simply put, this carries more importance to some and less to others.
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