Sunday, June 8, 2008

VINYL RETURNS. THE PROS AND CONS

last Rolling Stone Issue presented an article by David Browne titled Vinyl Returns in the age of MP3. The article listed the increase in vinyl production and sales by bands like Radiohead, Arcade Fire, Elvis Costello and Catpower, as well as the increase in turnetables' sales. But beyond what the article presents there are some questions that popped into my head.
First: Radiohead and their green tours main challenge as opposed to their production of vinyl records which compared to CDs and MP3 materials are less friendly with the enviroment. So in spanish you'd say: "lo que hacen con la mano lo borran con el codo" which in english would be something like: what you write with your hand you erase with yor elbow, or something like that. So, what's the point in all the effort they invest in the live tours earth fiendly venues and equipment if the real concept, which I undertand is to be friendly with the enviroment, is not taken beyond a tour?. Maybe it's hard to believe comming from a band I admire like Radiohead and specially Thom Yorke, but is it still all about the money?. Because as we all know, vinyl is selling.
Second:All the experts talk about the warm sound of vinyl, and I agree, but being realistic, what's the percentage of people that really care about the warm sound?, so as they well cite in the article, vinyl sales have a celing. And maybe it's just a trend that would only last for real music lovers (melomanos).
Third and most important of all to me, and something the article doesn't even mention. The vinyl trend is a great way to redescover old records that made history and that had concepts that mainstream music has forgotten. Let's say jazz recordings which in my experience, sound very different in digital format that in analog, or classic recordings that we all well know souch as Pink Floyd, Bob Dylan, Hendrix, Beatle's Saergent Pepper's lonely hearts club band,etc...which not only made history with the music concept and sound but with the art that came with music. So, will the vinyl return bring all the good music and the profound creative concept as well as the old fashioned sound back?
Hopefully it will, at least while the trend lasts.

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