Death of the LP? I don't think so buddy...

If you scour the internet about the death of vinyl... or indeed, the day of reckoning for the album, you'll find loads of people sniggering about sticking it to the people who own record companies. Man, these bozos who download everything are all freedom fighters aren't they? Well... no. A lot of people buy downloads legally, but you bet your arse that they're in the minority. Nope, people who download their catalogue are usually petty crims, stealing from the media that they say they love.

David Sheppard (of Mojo) says "a good album is more than a collection of songs; it’s an auteur statement played out in measured episodes – a rounded narrative as opposed to the MP3 library’s incongruent one-liners. Album buyers are connoisseurs of the exceptional, not librarians of the infinite." Of course, I'd never be that flowery, but it is worth bearing in mind that the best way to listen to music is to sit for 40 minutes as opposed to slave to the shuffle option.

2007 was the year that saw sales of vinyl albums increasing substantially for the first time since the late 1980s. I don't think this is a mere coincidence. I mean, for me, who loves the feel of the elpee, who loves hanging around record shops to the point of nuisance, the record has a history, a look, something romantic. An MP3 is far too functional and soulless. I recently bought one of those MP3 player things and, after agonising about which brand to buy (man, I don't wanna give more money to Microsoft or Apple) I found the experience incredibly unrewarding. I expected the thrill of novelty on a new gadget... instead, my little steely black jukebox left me shrugging. Still, I've got some really handsome headphones.

So vinyl sales are up eh? For those who dig the digital format, you may be surprised. People who champion MP3s will frown and say "what about the fluff on the needle?" and "don't your records jump?" Well, let's be honest here... the MP3 is far from the perfect format. A bit of crackle can add an extra dimension to a recording. For example, if you get your hands on an old jazz LP, it doesn't sound right without those warm fuzz and pops. Compare the crackle to the horrendous fizzing compression found on MP3s, and boy, I know which I'm going for. Not only that, MP3 bleaters seem to think that vinyl is frought with problems and sound issues when, in most cases, vinyl users spend a lot of time and effort choosing the right kit to make the best noise. Chances are most people don't give that attention to their computers and iPlops.

With MP3s, there are obvious advantages... I mean, they're easier to carry around right? But there is an investment, emotionally, when you dig out some great lost record... something long out of print... something that hasn't been remastered and ready to go on iTunes. You take it home, pull it from the glorious sleeve (as opposed to a hi-res .jpg) and spend the next 40 minutes feeling like you're the only person in the world listening to this obscure masterpiece. Then, when you're done, you place it on the shelf next to all your other records... and that's another thing... record collections are infinitely more handsome than MP3 collections... all gathered up in their little yellow folders (or worse still, a big fucking list of random jumbled words in your iTunes).

That said, I'm not having a go at MP3 users as such... but rather, those idiots who hail MP3 to be something more than a format. That's all MP3s are. They're the new CD. They haven't replaced anything as such... and if they have, then it's cassette that's going to the glue boilers. Vinyl has a certain charm that no other format will ever capture. MP3s are all useful. Not all records are... but the curio value of stumbling across, say, a Heino record and buying it just for the weird sleeve, or the insane library records that are making electronica heads go wild, just doesn't happen with MP3s. MP3s feel like they're liked or disliked in content terms... records are sometimes amazing, daft, bizarre, things of beauty (etchings on blank sides, pull out sleeves, inventive gatefolds), hilarious and puzzling. With MP3s, you simply don't get the same sense of adventure. So, if I'm seen as the kind of bloke who might shout "the earth is flat dammit!", then so be it... but chances are, if I started turning my obscure and out-of-print records digital, you'd all be wanting a piece...

Mof

Comments

[Robert Benson]

As one who has never downloaded a song to his computer, I am content having my record collection and really don't mind the physical aspect of listening to my music. Music belongs on vinyl, not digital sound bits and bytes you get with MP3's...but I am a bit biased ;)

Regards,
Robert Benson
www.collectingvinylrecords.com