'round and 'round she goes

Heads-up: There are two different uses of the word record in this blog. Ruh-cord, meaning to capture and wreck-erd, meaning vinyl disk. To avoid confusion please read carefully.

     As I sit here, listening to a piece of plastic being scratched by a diamond, I think to myself; “Could this music get any better?” My stereo is half-decent, the cables I’m using are not high-fidelity, and the albums are old. These drawbacks are the only things preventing me from answering my question with a “Yes”. What I do have right, though, is the source of my music.

     In case you haven’t figured it out, I’m using a turntable to play my music. Despite the many flaws of this system; the lack of portability, the size of the records and the “annoying” crackle, the record player will forever be my favorite audio playing device. As I've already mentioned, my set-up has many flaws yet it is still a joy to listen to.

Over 50 million albums sold

I've never been able to pin-point why I love listening to vinyl so much. It could be the fact that it is literally a chunk of diamond (or other hard mineral) being dragged in microscopic grooves cut in a circular piece of hard plastic that then vibrates in such a way to create sound. It could also be because stereo sound (two separate tracks of sound being played at the same time) is possible with a single record. Something else that intrigues me is the fact that electricity is not even needed to play records. You can actually hear the needle vibrating without any amplification required. But perhaps the most attractive element vinyl has is the sound quality. As I will get around to explaining in a future blog, most digital music is compressed, meaning that its quality is diminished. Records, on the other hand, are not compressed (unless you count the fact that the vinyl is literally compressed to make the grooves haha!) Essentially, what the artist records is what you hear every time you play a record. This fidelity is why records are a favourite for avid music listeners, hipsters, or just people looking to hear something new in old favourites.

     If you've got the money (or an older relative willing to part with their baby) I highly suggest acquiring a turntable and some records. The change will make all other music sound terrible and you'll wonder how you ever managed to enjoy music without it. 

     Sadly that's it for now. I know how you guys love reading my blogs. Expect another one soon though, I shan't be gone long. 

Anyone wishing to receive actual historical facts on this subject should either research it themselves or request it and, if the demand is high enough, I may write another blog on the topic.

(In the event of a mistake, please inform me)

http://www.wallpapervortex.com/wallpaper-22902_1_other_music_record_player.html#.Uyt29vldVJs

http://www.timesunion.com/entertainment/article/LPs-turn-65-Top-selling-vinyl-records-of-all-time-4605208.php#photo-4796329

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/3/3b/Dark_Side_of_the_Moon.png