"Most sonic freaks will tell you that the record lives on because everything sounds better on vinyl. But I do not think it will be long before that theory dissolves. After all, only our toes are dipping into the ocean of possibilities that digital technology provides us with. Regardless of this inevitability, I think that vinyl will remain significant to me (and many others) because it still offers something all other formats do not ~ the ultimate tactile experience.
Vinyl has touch.
As one who never knows what record to pick, I leave my choice up to instinct. My ritual is to run my fingertips along the spines of my records until I feel the urge to pull one off the shelf. Once the record is in both of my hands, and I have had enough time to admire any particularly great artwork in all its bigness, I gingerly slip the record out of the sleeve. Because vinyl is easily bruised, there is a care that most take during the handling of them. I’ve witnessed the least graceful, least careful individuals carry their records delicately over to the player like they are holding a sheet of paper-thin ice.
My favourite part of the vinyl experience happens after it’s laid onto the platter...when you lift the arm and the record starts to spin. Call me a geek, I don’t care, but I love how much control I have at this point. It couldn’t be more different than the monster inside my laptop that yanks my CD’s from my fingertips. Every time I put a disc in there I never know if it is going to come back from those depths!
While the record is spinning before the needle has landed, it’s like a little warm-up ~ for me, my ears and for the turntable. It’s all about timing at this point. Once I’m ready, with as much accuracy as I can manage, I slowly lower the arm and gently place the needle into the first groove.
As if all that wasn’t satisfying enough, I get to do it all over again at half time and then at the close! Once the record has been placed back onto the shelf, I feel satisfied not only sonically, but physically as well.
Vinyl makes you work for the tunes… it takes real, tactile effort.
Touch.
That’s why vinyl lives on in my world."
—kp
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