Getting into vinyl over the
past 12 months has opened my eyes to something bizarre.
People don’t listen to music
the way they should. I know that sounds like an incredibly ‘music-snobbish’
thing to say, but I’m not alluding to the format, it’s what comes in-between.
To listen to a record, you
need a turntable, and depending on what turntable you get (anything under £100
is probably poor unfortunately), you need some sort of speaker/headphones and
amplifier setup. This is what baffles me most, for a few reasons.
Reason 1: Lack of HI-FI Systems
HI-FI
How many people have a HI-FI
system in their house? I’ve never had a conversation with anyone about their
setup, probably because they don’t have one. However, I have had numerous
discussions with friends and classmates on how they watch movies and TV shows. Surround sound systems are
far more common-place in people’s houses, and a discussion on their best film role (I find) is more likely to follow a conversation about an actor, than a discussion on the best Beatles album, when talking about how much Paul McCartney is worth.
This leads me onto my second reason
Reason 2: Nobody listens to albums
Why don’t people listen to
albums, old and new?
The Long-Player (LP)
The Long-Player (LP)
Forget about formats, a
high-quality mp3 beats a bad vinyl pressing, believe me. I got Warpaint’s
latest album on double-red vinyl and side C has so much static in the left channel, I
have to switch my receiver/amplifier over to my computer for the last four
songs, with the free mp3 download linked to the album, coming in handy.
If someone says they don’t
have time for albums, they’re lying. I would estimate that most albums last
from 30 to 45 minutes, that’s about the length of your weekly TV show, or half
the time of most mainstream films (excluding huge budgets films) at around 90. Time does not matter here
It is then very strange when
comparing Film and TV with an LP. Most people fail to
realise that albums by-and-large have no filter from its inception until its end. What I
mean by this is, artists that write their own material, especially independent artists,
have their ideas fleshed out exactly how they see it. A true musical artist
gets what is in their head, onto a recording. And whether or not they write the
song with band-mates or have a producer, the song starts and ends with that
artist. Film and TV writers on the other hand, require an idea to be pitched to a company, pass certain
regulations, have it directed and produced (although some do these themselves),
have it portrayed by actors and see the best takes edited by a post-production
team.
An album therefore, is much
more direct.
Reason 3: Cost
A HI-FI system requires a
CD/Record or even an MP3 player, an amplifier, speakers and or headphones.
My HI-FI setup consists, at
the moment of:
- Headphones at £100, for studio quality Audio-Technica ATH M50’s.
- A Stanton T.92 USB capable turntable at £230
- A Yamaha AV Receiver from my family's surround sound system of which I do not know the price of
- No speakers (surround sound doesn’t do the job for me, however some will be purchased)
The new money-maker
So how do YOU listen to music?
I know of 3 people that
listen to records, two of which are brothers. To my knowledge, they don’t have
HI-FI systems unless something changed whilst writing this piece. The rest listen to music
mainly in their car, where their best quality lies, via their iPod/Phone on
low-quality headphones or (where the real fun begins) laptop speakers.
The Enemy of speakers
The Enemy of speakers
But how can something like
music, that can change the way people think, speak and look, receive such
low-quality consumption?
My emphasis on comparisons
with other art-forms is crucial to this observation. I don’t know of anyone who
would watch a film in 240p resolution, yet I know of people who will listen to
music, judge whether or not they like that music, and dismiss it in less than 30
seconds by listening to it through laptop speakers.
Bizarre
So in conclusion, I urge
you, if you haven’t already, to start with a pair of budget, studio quality
headphones and work your way up. It’s a sad thought that the highest quality music
system most people have is situated in their car. And even if you don’t have
the desire to buy records or even CDs, treat the music you listen to with more
respect. I guarantee, you WILL enjoy it more, you WILL want to listen to more
music and you WILL ask yourself why you hadn’t done this sooner.
I know I did.