I’m switching back to vinyl
Like most of you, I download a lot of music. People recommend stuff and they send it to you. What are you gonna do, say, “no, I’d rather not try this out first, I’ll just drop $15 on the CD and hope it’s good?” (Yeah, I did this with REM’s Reveal and Travis’ 12 Memories. Those are two terrible CDs I can’t give away. Sorry Fran Healy.) So what ends up on my iTunes is a bunch of stuff I’ve never paid for. Yep, that’s right, like millions of music lovers, I have illegally downloaded music.
However, I’m a music lover with a conscience. If I listen to an album more than a certain number of times and I like it and I believe that I will continue to like it, I will order the CD from Amazon. The problem is that when the CD comes, I open it, rip it at a high bit rate, read the liner notes and then put it on the shelf where it collects dust. My ipod connects to everything, why would I need to pop the CD in?
So finally, I came to the realization that vinyl is the way to go. Now I know that some of you cool kids were already turned onto vinyl but the reports and articles of vinyl’s great comeback are greatly exaggerated. The total sales of records in 2007 equal the number of digital albums sold in one week. That’s not even counting the sales of individual tracks. Still I’m doing my part to make sure record labels continue to issue new music on vinyl. Just today, the UPS guy dropped off For Emma, Forever Ago. Since I actually don’t have a functioning record player, I felt like I did back in middle school when I would buy the LP and open it on the subway to read the lyrics before I even heard one note. (This, of course, is not entirely true as I have listened to For Emma so many time, it’s already ingrained into my subconscious.) In any case, it was quite nostalgic and satisfying.
The LP packaging isn’t as great as, say, Pink Floyd’s Dark Side of the Moon, but it’s still pretty cool to take the record out of the sleeve check the vinyl for scratches, read the liner notes, and actually have something to hold in your hand. (I won’t go off on the warmth of vinyl vs digital music but I do miss my old record collection. I suspect it’s going to cost me more to replace it than it did to buy it the first time around but considering most of my CDs are stored away, at least vinyl will give me something to browse through.)
The folks at Jagjaguwar (Bon Iver’s label) also include a code for you to download the entire album in mp3 format so you really aren’t missing anything. If you absolutely need to burn a copy on CD, you can do it from the mp3s and you won’t be able to really tell the difference. The only problem with my plan is that there are new albums that are never released on vinyl so I’m stuck with buying certain albums on CD if I’m to assuage my guilt.
I know it’s all in my mind but I feel that some of the newer releases were meant to be played on a record player (Everything All the Time, The Stage Names, Attack and Release) while others clearly belong on your ipod (Kid A, Sound of Silver, anything with over 15 tracks). I know this is going to turn into a huge time, cash, and space suckage but I’m looking forward to browsing record stores again. Scrolling through the iTunes store just doesn’t have the same appeal.
On a somewhat related note, I actually get a bunch of free itunes song codes so as a small token of appreciation to the loyal blog readers, here are a couple of free iTunes codes you can use. Go ahead, take em. No really. Take em. Just post a comment saying you took em so others won’t try to use them again. I’ve got about 40 of these things I’ll be posting over the next few months so keep reading the blog.
Today’s free iTunes codes:
- PW79AMN9JP3F
- 6JLHJTN7ALRR
Related Links:
[CNET]: Really cool slideshow on how records are made
Steve | Jun 30, 2008 | Reply
I haven’t caved and done the vinyl thing. I’m so digitized these days between my computer, My Ipod & Sirius Stiletto. I did feel the compulsion though to go out and buy Bon Iver after having listened to it for so long. I have that guilt factor for the lesser known bands. For Coldplay? Nah!
Don’t worry – I won’t take the codes!
Mike | Jun 30, 2008 | Reply
Yes, it will cost you WAY more now than it did. But you will totally love it. I also ordered the Bon Iver album, after downloading (legally!) at eMusic. I gifted the download that came with the record to a friend. Go get the new Wilco album on vinyl while you are at it.
Vin | Jul 3, 2008 | Reply
Hey Mike,
what’s a good place online to buy new records?
bsd987 | Jul 5, 2008 | Reply
Most of my downloaded music is out-of-print hardcore punk from the 1980s. I won’t download anything that is in print. If I want to sample it, I just head on over to myspace or youtube and then make my decision.
The “vinyl revival” is that the percentage has been increasing as everything else has gone down and vinyl has remained steady. When I buy punk-related materials, I tend toward vinyl. When I buy other stuffs (world, alt-country, indie-rock, twee pop, etc.) I tend toward CD.
Steve | Jul 9, 2008 | Reply
I know you mentioned Radiohead and digital but does this entice you?
http://www.pitchforkmedia.com/article/news/141917-radiohead-coldplay-reissued-on-vinyl
They are reissuing Kid A, OK Computer & Hail to the Thief on vinyl.
Vin | Jul 9, 2008 | Reply
OK computer is actually the perfect vinyl album because you don’t skip any tracks. I’m definitely buying the reissue while I search for a mint original for my collection.