Snap, Crackle, and Pop

I still enjoy listening to records. I am not a know-it-all audiophile who insists that vinyl sounds better then cds. That argument usually has something to do with sample rates; sound is a wave, analog equipment (represented below in grey) perfectly reproduces the wave, but digital audio (red) is only a rapid series of samples and your brain fills in the rest.

I don't care about that, and modern digital equipment uses such high bit rates that anyone who claims to be able to hear the difference is simply lying. No, I like listening to records because my parents listened to records. My grandparents listened to records. There's a sense or nostalgia involved with carefully placing the record on the turntable, inspecting the needle for dust, before gently setting it into the grooves, and listening to the hisses and pops until the music rises above the noise floor.

I haven't taken a head count in a while, but I think I have 40 or 50 albums.

My collection includes:

Jefferson Airplane - Surrealistic Pillow

rare first pressing found at a local record shop $8

Linda Ronstadt with the Nelson Riddle Orchestra

thrift store $1 cheap

Rob Zombie - Dragula 7" 45 rpm

this was part of a promotional display at a music shop and was not for sale

Billy Joel - 52nd Street

white label promo copy for radio DJs $11 local record store

The Marx Brothers

family heirloom

Neil Young - Decade

3 disc greatest hits of early work $4 garage sale

Along with lots of Led Zeppelin, AC/DC, Van Halen, and Jimi Hendrix. I'm currently bidding on Fleetwood Mac - Rumors, and John & Yoko - Plastic Ono Band on Ebay. I like records because they are severely undervalued. Even now with downloading as the most common way to get new music, CDs cost an astonishing $17-$20!!! The most expensive record in my collection was maybe $12 and most were $2-$5.

The pops and crackles that flank the 12 minutes of music are almost as magical as the music itself. It's such a soothing sound. You can't get that from an iPod. But then again, you can't put a turntable in your pocket and jog around the block.