Archaic Maybe but Worth Doing

Today I want to write about vinyl. No not that crap they put on your bathroom floor, no I’m talking about that magical vinyl, that when heat is applied in a press out comes as a record.

The next release I’m working on, will be released on 12″ vinyl @ 33 1/3 RPM. Why? Why bother? “I don’t even own a record player!”

Well, the simple answer is, I love records. I still buy records. Aside from the basic tactile wonders of a vinyl record, I’m one of those folks who believe records generally tend to sound better than CDs. The natural analog compression that occurs is very pleasing to my ears. With a properly mastered and expertly pressed record, the overall tone and color is just more interesting and natural sounding than CDs. It is a personal preference thing anyway.

As for the question of not owning a record player, well, realistically, most of the records pressed (which will be a very limited run, I’m thinking 300 with a max of 500 records pressed) will most likely be given away. Oh sure, if you really want a record, get in touch with me, we’ll work something out me thinks.

I understand that vinyl records are archaic, and something only underground purists can appreciate, and I’m not saying I am one of those underground purists, I just happen to enjoy vinyl. But this strikes to the very core of why I’m bothering with this whole thing in the first place. I want to make something. If I thought I was halfway competent at anything else, like birdhouse building, I’d be building those, but I’m not. I know how to make music, and I have a preferred finished product, so that’s just how it works.

Yes, there will be a CD and digital downloads of “Fly By Wire.” I’m not a total technology neophyte. I appreciate and understand the embrace of music distribution technology. I like it, it sure is a liberating and democratizing practice, and that brings nothing but goodness to those artists trying to be heard.

I mean, lets face it, the music industry is dead. The suits and coke-snorting fuck-ups hiding in dark offices or in the back of multi-million dollar studios just don’t know it yet… they aren’t prepared for the funeral, but man, when it happens, there will only be dancing and celebration, as we watch the rotting corpse of the music industry thrown into a whole and covered in mud. While at the same time, there will always be some form of “industry” there’s no escaping that, there’s just too much money to be made when it comes to music. But, I firmly believe that it will be significantly different looking and acting, so much so that that death analogy I used here holds quite true.

Oh, and back on topic, check out these videos… I love ‘em!