Records

Does anyone remember the good old days of vinyl? Let’s hope so because it seems to be coming back in a big way. It seems that all the popular artists are releasing both Vinyl and CD versions of their "albums" (sorry, but tapes are dead to most). I know my all time favorite band, Green Day, is re-releasing all of their work on brand-new vinyl. But why the increasing interest in Vinyl? The most obvious reason is that it's the records turn to be in the "vintage" spotlight, because everyone knows what goes around comes around (God knows even spandex came back despite millions of 80's survivors swearing "Never Again"). However, there is a much more intriguing explanation behind the return to a timeless classic; Vinyl simply sounds better. The battle over sound quality has been raging for years, but even CD devotees have to admit that, though CDs are more convenient, LPs produce the higher quality sound. This is due to the fact that records are analogue, with each little groove directly the shape of sound waves. CDs on the other-hand are digital recordings, in which the sound wave are approximated, cut up into pieces and converted into an analogue signal. In other words, with CDs, the intricacies of Jimmie Hendricks’s famous riffs, Beethoven’s symphonies and even Tre Cool’s manic drum beats, are lost in translation, providing only an approximate idea of what the sounds really are.

Now I personally have been a longtime fan of vinyl, and can testify to its AMAZING quality. The first Album I ever bought and listened to was Frank Sinatra Sings Only for the Lonely, a record reflected quite nicely by its title. On vinyl, I heard every breath, every pause and every word as if Sinatra was standing in my room, speaking to me alone, only for the lonely. I remember closing my eyes and letting myself drift, following his voice to that lonely bar on a late night, or under that big, weeping willow tree, and I couldn't remember a time where I felt less alone. I must have listen to the record 20 times before finally being lulled to sleep, and I have probably listened to it 100 times since then, but nothing can compare to the first time I heard that familiar crackle and pop of a live microphone on the other end of my player's speakers. People don't simply like Vinyl because it makes thing's sound better, if this was the case then you wouldn’t have such die-hard Vinyl and record store supporters; No, people like me are so devoted to vinyl because it's alive. The sound that comes out of those speakers is living and breathing, with the soul of the artists, etched into the very lines of the record. Though I was only born in 1992, I have sat down with Frank Sinatra, The Carter Family, The Beach Boys, Otis Redding, the King of rock n' roll and the Prince of Pop, because they happened to be captured on a record, and for that, I will always be grateful.