Click Here to buy Glass Hammer’s music
My generation may have ‘missed the boat’ on the vinyl record as a primary mode of consuming music, but I can personally attest to the wonderfully engaging and rewarding experience listening can be when one takes on a more active role in the playback of a well-recorded performance or studio album. It seems to me that the extra investment required to physically prepare the turntable and the need to flip sides at the appropriate moment encourages treasuring the listening experience itself as the ‘main event’ rather than mere background or ambiance as much of the music in our culture has been reduced to.
Another benefit of the vinyl medium to me is the physical nature of the record itself which by its nature prohibits the over-compression of dynamic range that has lead to the dreaded loudness war. In my experience even modern digital recordings display a much broader dynamic range on vinyl releases than their CD counterparts. I’m sure this more open and less fatiguing sound has a lot to do with why so many music-lovers my age are rediscovering vinyl and becoming believers in its superior sound.
Giant artwork with which to show off your favorite albums doesn’t hurt either…
~Kamran Alan Shikoh
“I’m sure it’s hard for a lot of younger people today to understand that there was a time when people would get out an album, put it on and just sit and listen to it, like they were at a concert. The process of making music convenient has marginalized it to a background process in many ways; it’s not a thing to be experienced in itself but just a thing that enhances other activities like eating or exercise or web-surfing. Prog music fans tend to be exceptions in the modern age; they still like to hold something physical and pay attention to music. Vinyl makes you an active participant in your music experience. When I was a kid there was nothing better than checking out the cover before you even opened the album up, then taking the record out and checking out the label, cleaning the record and finally putting it on and listening. You could actually sort of tell what the music would be like from the grooves; whether they were tight and tiny or wide and chunky. The side breaks are like little intermissions and again, flipping albums over keeps you involved in the active process of listening.”
