Big Huna here and ready to talk about the pros and cons of digital and Vinyl.
This year Trey Shaq-Daddy, our roommate, and I have been enjoying music from a newly acquired vinyl record player. We have a massive collection from our fathers’ years of being vinyl-philes. So we decided to share a list of the top 8 eye-opening records from our parents’ records.
1. UB40- Labour of Love
2. Jimmy Cliff – Special
3. Talking Heads – Remain in light
4. Van Morrison – Moondance
5. Stevie Wonder – Talking Book
6. Marvin Gaye – Midnight Love
7. Steely Dan – Guacho
8. Los Lobos – How will the Wolf Survive?
Anyways,
Vinyl, for some time has had a pretty decent comeback when it comes to popularity and usage. It is not uncommon for folks in their young ages to be listening to music from before their time on a platform from before their time. Its hip, its comeback, but for how long? Debating whether or not the vinyl fad is here to stay is another point, but today I’d like to discuss the debate I have had with Trey Shaq Daddy and I’s roommate for the past weeks. Is Vinyl, “higher quality” or “lower quality?” Judging by the quotations there is a large issue of what makes quality which must first be addressed.
“The standard of something as measured against other things of a similar kind; the degree of excellence of something.” – Thanks Google! Well thanks and no thanks, this lovely definition is just a great writer’s block cure-all as it gives no obvious answer to what is quality in the case of music. Quality is vague and determined by the user’s eyes. So when our roommate says vinyl is higher quality he may mean something completely different than what we would consider “quality.” If you consider quality in the way that contemporary digital gurus would quality has to do with fps, low ping, or most importantly higher kb/s. The higher the kb/s the more definition is brought out in sound quality or movie quality. The most common practice of listening to music is through streaming. Through streaming kb/s matters a lot. If it is low not much data is coming through if it is high you get that awe inspiring HI-DEF experience. If this is what we think quality means then mp3 or digital forms can have a much higher quality. Digital can give the exact perfect sound sought for by an audience and even the musician. Vinyl can give a sound from the recording booth and it may be better than low quality digital but it has all the scratches and more error that comes with it.
Now we need to back up a second and think about what quality means again, is it defined by what is closest to perfect. Most people would say no. Imperfection is part of what makes music emotional. We can program any robot to play classical music but it doesn’t create as an authentic sound as a real violin being played by a real person. Vinyl gives this humanistic, warm feel to music, and thus could be called “higher quality.” The fuzzy sound gives off a much more appealing sound to some as it feels more real, similar to live music.
