Social Question

Zen's avatar

Listening to a Dire Straits album, from beginning to end, thinking how much better this is than mp and cd. agree?

Asked by Zen (7748points) September 18th, 2009

Quality shmality, what are we – fucking whales? It sounded good on the stereo til the 90’s, it still sounds good enough to me. 300 Giga of songs back to back? Who has time for more than a few anyway. Yeah yeah, you gotta flip it over after 22 minutes. So? I gotta pee every 22 minutes anyway, so I flip it over on the way to the john.

It’s there, it’s warm, it’s got the words on the back or in the sleeve – and it makes me all fuzzy and reminds me of a gentler time, maybe nostalgia isn’t what it used to be – but I am enjoying and loving (I know I know, stative verbs) it right now.

Do you listen to your LP’s?

(Kids: it’s those big black plastic cd-like… oh fuck it.)

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12 Answers

dpworkin's avatar

I’ve got all my vinyl. Maybe 25 linear feet. I’m old, so it turns out that I now own a lot of rarities. Go figure.

Noel_S_Leitmotiv's avatar

Vinyl sounds superior to digital formats to skilled listeners.

Though I do like being able to plug my whole music collection into my car stereo.

The_Compassionate_Heretic's avatar

Vinyl is a superior sound format.
People don’t keep obsolete equipment around which is why we don’t see any more 8-tracks, or cassette tapes, but turntables are still in demand by audiophiles.
CD’s aren’t as good as vinyl.
MP3’s are terrible because the file compression limits the range of sound.

In a more tactile sense, records give you an entire experience.
-Going to the record store is awesome if you’re town still has those. If your town doesn’t have a single record store, sorry, but that town kinda sucks for that. Especially since a lot of record stores will sell some records for $1. Every record store has a dollar bin. There’s good stuff in there.
-A record feels substantial in your hands, especially with the 180 gram vinyls.
-Records include awesome stuff like full sized liner notes, stickers, other extras that you can enjoy while you’re listening to that record.

Qingu's avatar

I’d like to see a double-blind audio test proving that vinyl sounds superior. Even to “skilled listeners.”

I personally don’t care about the tactile experience of handling records. Or CD’s. Music is an ephemeral experience. Anything you touch is not part of the music; you could even argue it’s a distraction. At most it’s a ritual that helps to put you in a place where you can concentrate on the music, but I do that fine with nice headphones, a flickering candle on my nighstand, my bowl, and iTunes on my laptop.

Zen's avatar

@The_Compassionate_Heretic I enjoyed your remarks as much as the experience of cracking open a new album. I hear you, and second that.

A friend talked about Dire Straits and I went looking for my old albums. Found the familiar red and blue MAKING MOVIES LP – with the lovely TUNNEL OF LOVE opening the record, through ROMEO AND JULIET the classic and imitated by boys of that era learning guitar and picking up chicks, to the interesting LES BOYS which is a less than politically corrrect song about GAY bars in Munich (I capitalized because I don’t know how to write it: gay or Gay, or is it gAY today?

See http://www.fluther.com/disc/55276/am-i-gay/

;-)

The_Compassionate_Heretic's avatar

The music industry has never been about sound quality. The music industry is all about selling cheap product for maximum revenue.
It’s all about the vinyl if sound quality is the goal.
Digital music is convenient but it doesn’t reproduce sound the same way.

Zen's avatar

tRUE. vERY TRUE. @The_Compassionate_Heretic

(You made me mix up my capslock.)

Blondesjon's avatar

My answer totally depends on which Dire Straits album you are listening to.

Zen's avatar

@Blondesjon Making Movies.

madcapper's avatar

ok so @Zen you probably have to pee after 22 minutes because you have prostate problems because you are listening to Dire fucking Straits!

oh and @Noel_S_Leitmotiv exactly what is a “skilled listener”? I am skilled at doing all kinds of human things from talking to taking a shit, I am pretty sure I can handle listening…

let the shit storm begin…

rooeytoo's avatar

I think the blind listening test is a good idea.

I guess I am too old, my ears don’t hear well enough anymore to tell the difference! I am unskilled!

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