Back in the 1980s, did you ever have a friend who, whenever he bought a new LP, immediately pulled out a fresh TDK C-90, taped said LP and put it away safely, never to be played again? I did. He wasn't even old enough to drive a car at the time, so it's not like it was so he could have music on the move. And, we're not talking about some priceless mega-rarity that needed to be preserved for posterity either. More often than not it was something along the lines of a Cutting Crew or Mr Mister album. Never fear, charity shops the length and breadth of the UK are doing a fine job of archiving those particular LPs. To me, having the original LP but hiding it away and settling for an inferior format as your permanent listening medium is bizarre. It's like marrying Kelly Brook, locking her in a cupboard so she doesn't get grubby and having carnal relations instead with Susan Boyle, all the time keeping your eyes shut and telling yourself that the noises you're hearing are the same ones Kelly would make. Call me reckless, but I would much rather risk soiling Kelly Brook.
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| For illustrative purposes only |
Forget the 1980s, right now in 2011, records are to be played. MP3s are no substitute for the real thing. Don't digitise your entire collection and consign your records to the loft. Why don't you just photocopy your Picasso while you're at it and stick the xeroxes on the wall? "But MP3s are so easy", you say. Perhaps if you got into the habit of getting off your backside every twenty minutes or so to flip a record over instead of hitting shuffle on your iPod, you might start really listening to the music again and gain an insight into how and why the songs on your LPs are sequenced the way they are. You might also reacquaint yourself with the buzz of anticipation that can only be attained by lowering the stylus onto a slab of gently rotating vinyl and hearing that muted pop as the needle settles into the groove prior to unleashing Track One, Side One.
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| Is It Real Or Is It Memorex? |
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