Why I Love Vinyl

Fantastischer Post im Forum von Southern Lord über die "Vinyl Begeisterung"

1. I love being able to hold the artwork with both hands and stare at the cover while the record plays. How many hours have I spent doing this with the Hell Awaits lp? The Axegrinder gatefold? I don't need to know. The Otesanek/Coffins split lp (should it ever come out) was designed specifically with this purpose in mind.

2. I love that the medium does not allow music to fall into the background. I don't mind turning the record over or re-starting a side because it a) incorporates me physically and directly into the listening experience and b) forces me to pay attention. Not to say that I need to be forced to pay attention to music I love, but distractions are abundant.

3. I love knowing that with each play, the record deteriorates a tiny bit. That each record's life is finite. That it won't sound the same every time I play it. That the more I love it, the quicker it fades.

4. I love that the sun forces it's way through my one non-blacked out window, reflects off of the spinning vinyl, and leaves a odd, undulating display on my ceiling. Sometimes I put on records that compliment the display and lie on the floor looking at it.

5. I love the inscriptions that are etched into the inner ring of the vinyl...often inside jokes. I love that one of my Drop Bass 12"s (can't remember which) has "DON'T FUCK WITH CHICAGO" etched into it.

6. I love the pops and hiss of worn records. It adds a layer of character which has the potential to enhance the substance of the lp. The audio equivalent of reading a dusty old tome. I also love that dirt on a record does not cause it to malfunction, but rather the dirt is translated into the audio experience itself. Sometimes this is desireable (I never clean my Sabbath records because I like what the filth adds), sometimes not (I frequently clean my hip hop 12"s because the dirt is unnecessary and distracting). Either way, it's a fascinating concept to me.

7. I love the sound of the needle hitting the vinyl. I often use the first track off of an lp at the beginning of mixtapes so as to incorporate this sound.

8. I love that the medium allows for different playing configurations. Intertwined grooves, reverse-grooves, lock-grooves, and so on. Novelty maybe, but I still love it.

9. I love the soft flapping sound of flipping through stacks and stacks of records. It's oddly comforting to me, particularly during long periods of depression. I frequently plan days around it...driving miles and miles to experience it, spending hours on end doing it. I don't even need to buy anything. The calming effect is in the process, not the outcome.

10. I love the concept of vinyl analog. That some of the most emotionally-charged sounds I know of can be faithfully recreated by a physical point being dragged through a forged path.