It's been more than a year since a friend of mine at the Northern Star wrote
an article originally pitched as a debate about whether CDs or vinyl LPs were the best format for music. Unfortunately, the final product wasn't so much a debate as it was an advertisement for all things vinyl. Since then, I feel like there hasn't been an honest debate about the merits and both formats - and of digital MP3 files. Despite what advertisers and labels will say, I think that none of the three are all that much better than their competition.
First some disclosure; when I buy music, I prefer to have it on vinyl and on MP3, because then I can be the obsessive nerd and log it onto my last.fm account. (I wish I were kidding.) But I am not really someone who buys vinyl because I think it sounds better. Quite frankly, I think people who say that records sound better are kidding themselves - or have a very expensive system and treat each slab of vinyl like it's one of the original copies of the Ten Commandments. I have a simple $100 turntable that I bought because it came with a USB connection to transfer the albums into MP3s. When I first played a record on it, Sufjan Steven's Greetings From Michigan, I was actually a bit annoyed by the hissing and popping noises that clearly weren't on the CD.
So why bother with vinyl? In some cases, it's purely aesthetic. A wall of records just looks better than a wall of CDs I think. I insisted on buying The National's 2007 album Boxer on vinyl because the larger format did more justice to its beautiful cover. In another equally shallow case, the vinyl LP is more of a collectible, a badge of geekiness (or coolness, depending on how you characterize it). It's like the joke. "How many hipsters does it take to screw in a light bulb?" "Oh, I have that joke on vinyl..."
But in another less stupid case, vinyl subtly encourages a more active listening experience. Instead of just clicking a mouse along iTunes or skipping around a CD or iPod in the car, you have to stand up and put it on the turntable, place the needle down and enjoy. Putting on a record means I'm paying just a little bit more attention to whatever is on, reflecting on it more as I take it off the turntable, put it back in its sleeve and put in it's designated spot on my shelf. And in this digital age of instant gratification and knowledge, anything that can slow down the consideration of art is a good thing.
Still, this should not diminish the conveniences of CDs and MP3s, and there are many. You can pack more CDs into moving boxes. Ripping a CD to a computer is way more easy and intuitive than a record. You could try hooking up a turntable to your car, but that's probably just asking for a few scratched LPs. That's why I'm glad so many labels are wise about offering free MP3 downloads with vinyl purchases. Even they know the record can't be everywhere. And how can a format really be the best if it's so tethered to a location?
Also, if I just want to hear one song, if I have one of the deep cuts from Boxer stuck in my head, I could pull out the record and place the needle over that specific song and hear that last few seconds of whatever came before. Or I could just double click the song on my iTunes. Some would argue that the sound quality would be different and the experience would be different. I won't argue that a record sounds different - and at times better - than a CD or MP3. But there differences are minute to my ears and don't really change my opinion on the song.
Then there's the matter of price. If there's one thing my Northern Star friend got absolutely wrong in his original endorsement is that records were more affordable than CDs. If you're getting a short, split EP, yes. If it's a used record, sure. But all used music is cheaper than new. Look online at an indie label's mail order site and compare the differences between a new CD and a new LP. You're looking at an added dollar or so to the price, at least.
Plus, there is the added trouble of an album being stretched across two records. Several artists and critics has gotten wistful over the glory days of the vinyl album where all records were under 45 minutes long. But with the advent of the CD, the album length got extended. I'm not hear to argue about whether or not that was a good thing. If it's a good album with a clear vision and trajectory, it can go on as long as it pleases. But for the 50+ minute album, it means four sides of vinyl with maybe two or three songs on each side. I won't buy the 11 song Yankee Hotel Foxtrot by Wilco on vinyl because of it's divisions. Actually, I won't buy it because I refuse to be the guy who buys his entire collection over and over on whatever new format he fancies. I learned to love that album as a complete, uninterrupted 50 or so minute experience. And a double LP of that album costs around $30, as opposed to a CD which likely costs half as much. And the MP3s? An easy $10 on iTunes... that is if you're even paying for downloaded music.
Which brings me to the MP3's greatest asset - availability. Thanks to pirated music, the whole concept of "out of print" has become a thing of the past. When I go to my favorite record store, I can't find Drums and Wires, Mclusky Do Dallas, Time (the Revelator), and Merriweather Post Pavillion on the shelfs. But I can find them on my iTunes, from the comforts of my own home, and still sounds good. It isn't the same as having something in your hands with liner notes and mass. But before I can care about those things, I need to like the music first, and MP3s are this generations version of the radio. It's the primary way I discover music, a simple, affordable weightless file that has to potential to wring much more money from my wallet in ways of physical purchases and concert tickets.
And in the end, the format doesn't really make the music. You can show me a copy of, say, "Rock and Roll" by the Velvet Underground and play it on vinyl, CD, MP3, and what the hell? a cassette tape too. Sure they'll be differences in fidelity and clarity and subtle details found here and there, but above all that, it's just a damn good song being played, and I'll probably want to dance to it no matter how it sounds or what it's playing from.
