I just set up my new computer and hooked a whole bunch of things to it (VCR, Camcorder, XM radio)....but the most important was a brand spanking new Record Player. PC Richards had a Sony on Sale for $99!
Why did I leave Vinyl? I never really did but when my old player broke it was hard to find replacement parts or even a new one...then I got married and well 8 years later I just finally got around to getting everythin back up. In the meantime CDs came out and so I had to rely on satellite radio and old cassettes to listen to songs from LPs that were sitting in a closet...all alone[:(]
Last night I played those gems and boy was I headed down memory lane smelling the Vinyl...enjoying all those Factory Record's famous LP covers, reading the sleeve notes, hearing all those snap, crackles and pops, queing up a record so it started right on the mark as I ripped songs to my hard drive and looking at the low prices I paid for them years ago.
A few things struck me as I was listening to Simon F.'s "American Dream":
(1) Where do I buy replacement needles if this new one craps out on me? Back in the day any record shop carried them. If I ask for one today that teenager behind the counter will probably say "what"? With the exception of Nate[:p]
(2) What if the belt goes?
(3) Where can I buy that thingy you use to clean the dust/lint off the LP?
(4) I really miss 45s
(5) I miss those 7 and 12 inch remix singles even more!
(6) Ripping LPs is a lot like making a cassette mix...IT TAKES TIME! But that is why LPs were so great. You took that time to read the liner notes and lyrics.
(7) To this day I am still fascinated with the technology of how a needle reads the grooves on the record.
(8) Records actually weigh a lot....I forgot just how heavy it was to carry say 8 or 10 at a time.
I urge any of you who have strayed as I did to return to the flock!
