Vinyl

I was listening to the most recent All Songs Considered podcast earlier today about The Beatles White Album, and it got me feeling all nostalgic. The host was talking about how, because of the digital age, some of the magic of the album has been lost. When it was originally released, the White Album was split into four sides on two vinyl records. Because of the limitations of vinyl, the album was designed to be listened to in four parts. Thus, when side one ended with “Happiness is a Warm Gun,” it was supposed to lead into silence. There was a definite end to it.

But, with the CD, the album was split into two discs, meaning “Happiness is a Warm Gun” lead directly into “Martha My Dear,” an entirely different feel. And then, now with mp3s, the whole album can be listened to without pause, which of course is how I’m listening to it right now. When the host started talking about how different it was to have to physically flip a record over and start a new side, I realized how right he was. Vinyls force you to really experience the music.

I can’t say that I’ve had a lot of exposure to vinyl. My dad only owned a few records that I would want to listen to. Luckily, however, he did happen to own one Beatles and one Bob Dylan record, and he kept his entire record player assembly intact, speakers, amplifier and all. I remember when my sister and I discovered all the records hidden behind our family photo albums in a little accessed cabinet. When we put the Beatles record on, after figuring out how a record player worked, we were kind of blown away by the sound quality. It was just so much fuller than our CDs and mp3s. 

Since then, we’ve slowly built up our record collection, adding some Simon and Garfunkel, some Frank Sinatra, and others. But we’ve only used our records sparingly, and thus were only willing to buy bargain priced records. Right now, actually, our needle is spent, and its been that way for a while. But, now that I’ve heard that bands are beginning to release vinyl versions of their albums with download codes for free mp3 files, I’m considering a serious record collection.

It really is the best of both worlds. Mp3s, for all their convenience, bother me for their lack of anything physical. Vinyls, meanwhile, are the best physical representation of music. Cassettes and CDs really can’t compete. But, vinyls are fragile and are the opposite of portable. But if I can get both for a single price, I can still use my iPod and retain the physical, more intimate experience of vinyl.