Horses for courses, innit. You don't have to understand it for it to be valid.And that's where they lose me.
I can't understand...
Horses for courses, innit. You don't have to understand it for it to be valid.And that's where they lose me.
I can't understand...
A pox on the soul-less music.A night that will live in infamy. Infamy I tell you!
I'm not sure how "grand scale" the LP revival is. Just as LPs are excessively hyped as a signifier of musical involvement so are the increases in sales of LPs. If anything in physical media is expanding on a "Grand Scale" it is the inevitable expansion of the used market, specifically with CDs. LPs, thanks to wear [a very real thing, don't let Mikey fool you on this one], do not have the rate of increase in available product as do CDs, thanks to their lack of wear. I don't know if anyone is tracking sales of used titles, but we all know it's a buyer's market for used CDs.My entire point is that niche is NOT a driving force behind the grand scale revival. Niche is always niche. That's why I said, and I repeat, you won't learn enough from true devotees and niche crowd of true records-aficionados. You might learn from disinterested observers who are able to analyze and describe a phenomena with it's ugly and pretty sides. People who feel a bond with a medium will often pretty-it-up.
This is simply a phenomena where niche and fad overlap, but you won't explain one by explaining the other.
I agree, for sure. But some members provided some numbers showing an increase from 0,4% to 6 or 7 (please don't make me look for it), which is significant enough if it represents an overall increase in global sales. Even if we're not considering the comparison, but look at those numbers as stand alone, those are decent numbers. A single percentage, if it's worldwide is nothing to sneeze at.I'm not sure how "grand scale" the LP revival is. Just as LPs are excessively hyped as a signifier of musical involvement so are the increases in sales of LPs. If anything in physical media is expanding on a "Grand Scale" it is the inevitable expansion of the used market, specifically with CDs. LPs, thanks to wear [a very real thing, don't let Mikey fool you on this one], do not have the rate of increase in available product as do CDs, thanks to their lack of wear. I don't know if anyone is tracking sales of used titles, but we all know it's a buyer's market for used CDs.
The real shift is to streaming of course. That's where the big numbers are piling up now. I'd say we're getting the appearance of a mass revival for various reasons, but LPs are not all that big now compared to where they were when LPs were the thing for real, like 1977. LP sales are a small part of the market. The hype gives the impression that everyone is playing LPs when they're not.
Depends, but the examples I'm thinking of would be streaming from my phone in my car, and streaming from my music server to my 2-channel system using my iphone as the remote interface.
Curious as I don't want to assume: What are you trying to assess?
I always skipped songs. That's one of the reasons why I had issues with LPs, because skipping tracks meant exponentially increased stylus wear. Did a fair amount of needledropping for radio shows produced at home. Also back-cuing LPs for radio [Technics SP-10, SME II arm, Stanton cartridge, really good turntable for the purpose, really good otherwise].Patterns and habits surrounding an experience influence the experience. For instance the 'vinyl changed my life' article that was posted several weeks back. The author completely changed their habits for the vinyl experience and then noted it was quite different from their usual experience. Wow, no shit?
If I have my phone (remote) within reach I'm far more likely to skip songs before they finish, and/or get distracted by other stuff. Pesky dopamine.
I always skipped songs. That's one of the reasons why I had issues with LPs, because skipping tracks meant exponentially increased stylus wear. Did a fair amount of needledropping for radio shows produced at home. Also back-cuing LPs for radio [Technics SP-10, SME ii arm, Stanton cartridge, really good turntable for the purpose, really good otherwise].
The ease with which one can jump around tracks, make playlists, skip around different versions of the same movement of a symphony---these are features, not bugs. Having to sit through a whole side of a record, waiting for the sound to go all to hell is not my idea of "commitment to music". I'd say it more likely indicates a certain species of masochism. Yes, I know from "Astral Weeks", I can still hear the end-of-side wear in my head. If I really want to hear "Astral Weeks" as a song cycle, I'm still better off with the CD or streaming, where the cycle isn't broken in half, like it is on the LP. And the reality is that a lot of records are the hits plus filler.
I guess my patterns and habits indicate I was ready to get rid of my LPs long before I actually did.
Right. I got rid of my LPs soon after getting a good guitar. Changed my relationship to music completely.Yes, it helps to understand one's goals and objectives. I just find it interesting that a lot of folks drastically change their habits when listening to LPs, but the thought that changing the equation is likely to change the outcome escapes most.
You must be a very, very good player.Right. I got rid of my LPs soon after getting a good guitar. Changed my relationship to music completely.
As I've said: I play vinyl on my system as much for what-I-perceive-as the sound quality as anything else. String sections, for instance, have so often sounded artificial to me in reproduced sound (when most of my listening was digital). I find myself more often thinking "wow those sound like real strings" playing vinyl than I ever did from my digital music collection. (My hunch is that vinyl can sometimes add a textural distortion that I find consonant with a sense of "presence" like bows on strings). I seek to be engaged sonically as well as musically when sitting down to listen to my 2 channel system and I wouldn't have gotten back in to vinyl if it were only for the "physical charm" aspect. (Which doesn't mean the physical aspects couldn't be affecting my perception of the sonic qualities). In fact my physical record collection is just edging towards a "storage problem" that I have to be careful about.
My entire point is that niche is NOT a driving force behind the grand scale revival. Niche is always niche.
That's why I said, and I repeat, you won't learn enough from true devotees and niche crowd of true records-aficionados. You might learn from disinterested observers who are able to analyze and describe a phenomena with it's ugly and pretty sides. People who feel a bond with a medium will often pretty-it-up.
No, but jamming with others is more fun than cleaning the stylus.You must be a very, very good player.
Making music > live music > playing recordings
I live pretty close to the NYPO and BSO, and try and attend concerts for music I'm interested in as much as possible. My best friend's mother is also a specialist violinist in baroque music (so modern HIP style of interpretation) and good digital recordings have always sounded more like real life.
Vinyl can add a pleasing quality to strings and woodwinds, but pleasing doesn't equate to real.
I've never heard Devore speakers, Audio Note (I guess updated Snell?) speakers sounded comically bad on piano recordings. All of these non-wave guide tweeter mismatched to over sized midwoofer have never sounded any good to me.
But... do you remember hanging on the passage, and moving the tonearm back to the 'spot', when you were trying to figure out the notes?Right. I got rid of my LPs soon after getting a good guitar. Changed my relationship to music completely.
No. That sort of thing didn't start happening to me until YouTube. I suppose that is a major score in digital's favor, eh? Had a half-way decent guitar by 2012, started to play along with the videos. Got the "real" guitar in 2017. Of course, now you can go to Ultimate Guitar for chords, usually the chords for the arrangement you want to play with. All helpful/useful for a musical education.But... do you remember hanging on the passage, and moving the tonearm back to the 'spot', when you were trying to figure out the notes?
In the next life I'm spending money on guitars, and not hi-fi gear. True story: in 1974 my friend bought new a Gibson 12 string Hummingbird. I bought hi-fi gear. Now, almost 50 years on, tell me which purchase increased in value?
But... do you remember hanging on the passage, and moving the tonearm back to the 'spot', when you were trying to figure out the notes?
In the next life I'm spending money on guitars, and not hi-fi gear. True story: in 1974 my friend bought new a Gibson 12 string Hummingbird. I bought hi-fi gear. Now, almost 50 years on, tell me which purchase increased in value?