Vinyls
VS CDs by Tizzom
Vinyl records
have long been a staple among the punk community. It's one
of the only music genres where 7"s and 12"s are almost as
common as EPs and full length CDs. Why is this? They're
large, delicate, and Record Players require twice the maintenance
of their CD counterparts.
Many bands
put out records because of they cost less than disks to
produce, but that's still not enough to justify their punk
rock popularity. One reason alot of people purchase records
is for the atmosphere, the mellow, laid-back feeling of
sitting on the floor, the scratchy, popping sound of your
favorite Motorhead LP pumping through your headphones. That
orange crate of old New York Dolls albums in the corner,
scarred from years of loyal play. There's something unmistakebly
romantic about vinyl recordes. Vinyl records are the definition
of the word "Old School" (a term far over-used nowadays)
Another reason
for purchasing records is that unlike compact disks, buying
a records isn't just buying a chunk of plastic wrapped in
another chunk of plastic. It means detailed cover art,colored
vinyl, booklets filled with band info, and any other number
of fun extras. The recent Sick Of It All live record comes
with a short comic book, and the R.A.M.B.O. record comes
with quite possibly the coolest booklet I've ever seen.
Bands seem to put more effort into what they give the fans
with records.
But no matter
how much you love your beat up copy of The Varaukers "How
Do They Sleep???" the era of records is indefinately over.
The convenience of CDs and now Mp3s have seen to that. Even
Vinyls biggest supports usually have a larger collection
of CDs. I know I do. But no matter how popular CDS and it's
electronic cousins become, Records will always hold a special
place in my heart.
