vichan

Some people like to insist that vinyl is a lost format. They don't know that many artists still release albums on vinyl. They insist that those that prefer vinyl just like the 'vintage retro' feeling of pops and clicks, or that people who like vinyl are just snobs.

Okay, so I'm a snob. I'll freely admit it. In fact, shoving vinyl versus cds versus MP3s aside for a moment, there's a lot of music in general that I don't like. I'm one of those people that are convinced that if Kurt Cobain hadn't died so soon, today's popular music would be drastically different. (Read: better.)

Here's the thing: I listen to a lot of music. I make a lot of music. I've been recorded with quite a few different techniques. I'm not going to get into the full argument of analog versus digital because I'll bore the hell out of most of you, and I'll wind up sounding like a giant ass. I'm already going to sound enough of an ass without getting into the endless debate of analog versus digital.

I don't like over-produced, super compressed music. It's flat. It's boring.

I like analog. I like mid-fi. I like lo-fi. I like the crunch of feedback through a distorted amplifier. I like the natural sounds of picks scraping strings, sticks hitting cymbals, fingers sliding up and down fret boards.

I digress. I digress like WOAH. What the fuck. I'm not talking about recording right now. 'Scuse me for getting sidetracked.

I like vinyl. I LOVE vinyl.

You get a decent direct-drive turntable with some quality speakers, and you definitely hear the difference.

I recently got my hands on a vinyl copy of The Delgados' The Great Eastern, which is one of my top ten albums of all time. (You guys have probably heard me mention it before.) I also happen to have the album on CD and MP3. Tonight, I put my constant bitching to the test. I hooked everything up to the same speakers - my mp3 player, my CD player, and my turntable. And I listened to the whole album. Song by song, I listened the first track, once on each device. I didn't distract myself by reading or surfing the web. I just sat back, and listened.

I confirmed what I already knew: vinyl is deeper. The subtleties come out; things you can't hear on CD or MP3 are audible. So... screw all y'all. Vinyl fucking rules.


And so this isn't a completely self-indulgent post: have a couple of short MP3s that are drastically different from each other, and that most of you will probably hate. (Okay, this is actually just making it even more self-indulgent, but I DON'T CARE. IT'S SATURDAY.)

1. Times New Viking: The Early 80's - This is gonna grate a helluva lot of ears. You know how I mentioned that I like lo-fi? Well, this is about my threshold of the lowest lo-fi I like. I love these guys, and the lick on this song is just... MMM. Love it.

2. Of Montreal: For Our Elegant Caste - Off of their new album, Skeletal Lamping, which is easily the weirdest album they've ever done. It's terrific, though, and it's strange because IT'S SO FULL OF SMUT. Just to warn you, the lyrics of this one: "We can do it soft core, if you want, but you should know I take it both ways." (Also, another reason today's vinyl ain't failing: you buy the vinyl and you get a free digital download. Mmm, yeah.)