I have down in the basement, a collection of several hundred vinyl albums. Many of these date back to the sixties and seventies and some are even older and were inherited from my father's collection. They range in genres from 40's jazz and swing, through 60s and 70s pop and of course centuries of orchestral music. Most are not in great condition, I never seemed to have the knack of keeping my discs in pristine condition, but I do still play some of them. I am listening to the second side of Abbey Road, the Beatles at their peak, and I am reminded of some of the advantages of the vinyl LP when compared to modern equivalents.
Playing a vinyl record was almost a ritual. First of all there was the sleeve. The designs on these twelve inch squares were there to tempt the potential buyers, and as such many of them were real works of art. On this one, we have the four band members walking across a pedestrian crossing in Abbey Road. An iconic photograph that has been scrutinised for hidden meaning since it was released. McCartney's bare feet and that he was out of step with the others were taken a sign that he was dead; Lennon's white suit was also imagined to have significance. All nonsensical really but you cannot play the album without thinking of the history behind it. The disc has to be removed from the outer sleeve and then the paper inner sleeve before being placed oh so carefully on the turntable, cleaned with care before lowering the tone arm and bringing the diamond tipped stylus into the grooved plastic. There are clicks and pops that drive some people crazy but they are unique to each disc and in time they disappear into the background. After twenty minutes or so, the disc has to be turned over and when finished, returned lovingly to its protective sleeve.
I keep a small selection of disc handy and now and then I will take the trouble to play them, even though it is much easier to play a cd or an mp3 file on the computer. These formats are far less personal and their crispy clean sounds are clinical and what we have come to expect. It is easy to pick out single tracks and play them out of context, and many of us make compilations of songs that bear no relationship to each other.
I am at an age when nostalgia is a hobby I suppose. I do embrace new technology though, I even have a smartphone that I don't use much, an iPad that I use a lot, three Apple Mac computers, a Brennan music system that can store 5000 cds and several systems for playing tapes, cds and of course vinyl discs. Maybe it is nostalgia that brings me back time and time again to the latter or maybe it is my body forcing me into a little exercise.
Playing a vinyl record was almost a ritual. First of all there was the sleeve. The designs on these twelve inch squares were there to tempt the potential buyers, and as such many of them were real works of art. On this one, we have the four band members walking across a pedestrian crossing in Abbey Road. An iconic photograph that has been scrutinised for hidden meaning since it was released. McCartney's bare feet and that he was out of step with the others were taken a sign that he was dead; Lennon's white suit was also imagined to have significance. All nonsensical really but you cannot play the album without thinking of the history behind it. The disc has to be removed from the outer sleeve and then the paper inner sleeve before being placed oh so carefully on the turntable, cleaned with care before lowering the tone arm and bringing the diamond tipped stylus into the grooved plastic. There are clicks and pops that drive some people crazy but they are unique to each disc and in time they disappear into the background. After twenty minutes or so, the disc has to be turned over and when finished, returned lovingly to its protective sleeve.
I keep a small selection of disc handy and now and then I will take the trouble to play them, even though it is much easier to play a cd or an mp3 file on the computer. These formats are far less personal and their crispy clean sounds are clinical and what we have come to expect. It is easy to pick out single tracks and play them out of context, and many of us make compilations of songs that bear no relationship to each other.
I am at an age when nostalgia is a hobby I suppose. I do embrace new technology though, I even have a smartphone that I don't use much, an iPad that I use a lot, three Apple Mac computers, a Brennan music system that can store 5000 cds and several systems for playing tapes, cds and of course vinyl discs. Maybe it is nostalgia that brings me back time and time again to the latter or maybe it is my body forcing me into a little exercise.
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