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Vinyl

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Like the Kennedy assassination, I remember exactly where I was the first time I heard about the new Compact Discs that were coming out. I was lying on the beach in Southern California when I heard about the new music format that would be practically indestructible. I pictured myself on a beach towel with various Cd's scattered around me, unafraid that the sand would scratch them. It sounded like a dream come true.

For awhile, it looked like records would disappear completely. Record stores lined the shelves with CD cases, miniature reproductions of my beloved album covers begging me to replace them with the superior quality and sound of the compact disc. As CD's replaced vinyl, used record stores had one or two bins of cracked cardboard album covers. Eventually the over-sized albums found new life. The tiny corner in the used record section gave way to whole stores devoted only to vinyl records.

At the time, I thought I was seeing the demise of vinyl record albums but they will never go away. Sure, there will be high tech replacements purported to sound better but there will always be lovers of great music who will not give up their vinyl. Enthusiasts hear a richness of sound that cannot be had in a CD.

Digital fans claim a perfection of music that surpasses vinyl. They claim that from the first time the needle drags through the grooves, the quality of music is diminished, and continues to decrease with each successive play of the album. I have another thought. Digital music is delivered to our ears in tiny packets of information. There are gaps between the packets which are brain is able to fill in for us, so that we never notice the gaps. Perhaps it is a more refined ear that appreciates the fullness of sound delivered by vinyl over the digital music "packets".

Listening to music from vinyl is about more than just the music. It's an active listening experience. I am involved in the music, not loading 6 CD's into the player, pressing random play and forgetting about the background noise as I go about my day. There is something about the unwrapping process, pulling the white paper sleeve from the cardboard cover and setting the black disk onto the turntable, listening to the songs in the order the artist intended. At the end of side A, I have to physically go to the turntable and flip the record to hear the rest. You can't just set it and forget that it was on.

CD's are every bit as difficult to care for as vinyl. I've had them skip and stick, only to inspect them and find that they appear perfect and shiny. Maybe the problem is in the CD player, which is every bit as delicate as the CD. At least with a turntable, I can replace the needle.

CD's have their place. I can copy them onto my computer hard drive and load them to an MP3 player. I can create a CD of my favorites onto one CD or make a recording of favorite love songs for my husband. I did replace one of my albums with a CD but what a disappointment. Hearing the Beatles Magical Mystery Tour in digital "perfection" somehow lost a part of the magic.

Learn more about this author, Sandra Douglas.
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