the LowerColumbia
Informer By Perry Piper
The spin on vinyl
I
was very surprised to hear that 2014 saw the highest number of vinyl music sales since 1993! Why would people be picking up older formats of music instead of modern day digital downloads or streaming subscriptions? Could there be something to it or is this just another hipster fad? Lovers of vinyl report a warmer, fuller sound and, like printed book lovers, enjoy “feeling” the music with their hands before dropping the needle to initiate playback. They also claim — citing physics thresholds — that analog is technically better quality than digital and CDs. But is it possible? The verdict Sorry to disappoint nostalgists. The rise of vinyl is nothing more than wishful thinking. There is no actual improvement in quality. In fact, the warm sound is really distortion. If people prefer this sound, however,
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modulation tools included on music players can easily alter the sound of digital to match. The only reasons to pick up vinyl is if you are a collector, since musical catalog support is lacking and I couldn’t find many favorite artists’ vinyls for under $100 on global online markets. This amount would pay for almost an entire year of streaming 25 million tracks on most of the popular services! At the usual $20-30 range for vinyls, asking even that much for an album in the face of high quality streaming is just bonkers. Let’s not forget the cheapest and highest rated record player I could find is another $100. To even attempt the alleged high quality format, you’ll need the very best equipment. Sure, the art looks awesome on the giant, 12-inch album covers and you get to have guests over to point in admiration at your collection on the shelf. But why does that matter in an era of social media with infinite and easy playlist and artist sharing? You can blow up the art or lyrics on your flat screen or smartphone and wirelessly share it to everyone in the room. You can’t really show off your vinyl collection when you go on vacation or even walk a block away to the neighbor’s house.
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Quality moves in waves At first, physical media is the best, but soon, digital versions catch up. We see the same thing happening to Bluray movies and the quickly advancing Netflix and other Internet film streaming services. A new Netflix program offers four times better quality before there is even physical media to match! This format is called 4K and you’ll be hearing a lot about it. It’s only a matter of time before each medium is reproduced digitally in a much more faithful manner than it ever could be physically. Only the audiophile community would disagree. Test Yourself Regardless of where vinyl and CD fall on the quality spectrum, most people can’t tell the difference anyway. Go to TIDAL’s website at http://test. tidalhifi.com to see if you can even hear the difference between typical streaming quality MP3 (around 320 Kbps) and full CD lossless (1411 Kbps). Just be sure to use your very best speakers or headphones. The CD’s quality is, supposedly, four times that of the MP3’s. Most people can’t tell the difference. My entire family and I couldn’t either. So why bother with any higher level format? Most of us should stick with streaming. My platform of choice is the 25 million song catalog offered by Google Play Music for $10 per month. The service has a great selection of daily playlists that fit the time of year. Google, above all other competitors that I know of, even lets you upload your purchased music to a private library for playback anytime and anywhere, even if it has have been removed from the main storefront! But if you CAN pass TIDAL’s test, this service is the very best option across quality and convenience for global playback. At $20 a month for the same 25 million songs, it’s a serious steal compared to buying vinyl or CD physically. If vinyls are on the rise again, it is only for a very fringe and nostalgic slice of society. ••• Perry Piper lives in Longview and works as CRR’s production manager/ photographer and technical consultant. He enjoys learning about emerging and evolving technologies, including his Segway personal transporter on which he can be seen gliding around town. Be sure to wave!
Jekyll and Hyde cont from page 17
In the second act, Mr. Hyde tears between these two worlds, as well. The score soars through a lot of power ballads; written in the wake of the success of Phantom of the Opera and Les Miserables, this is a musical where the songs are pure conduits of emotion, especially Dr. Jekyll’s song “This is the Moment” when he carries out his great experiment and turns into Mr. Hyde. This current production of the musical amps up the rock and roll feel of the show, with cool fog effects and lighting. This follows a 2013 Broadway revival that starred Constantine Maroulis, a singer known for his edgy persona on American Idol and for starring in the Broadway premiere of Rock of Ages. The tour now stars Aleks Knezevich, a performer attending medical school who took time off when he had the opportunity to play the famous fictional doctor and his terrible alter ego. I teach at a university where the president is a scholar of English literature who not only specializes in Victorian novels, but who has also written extensively about The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. I owe President Thomas for my sense of how the doubleness of the characters and the tricks of narration make the story such acute social commentary. What I know about stage adaptation is that it makes currents in language and imagery more present and heightens thrills in the plot. Stevenson’s book rewards this theatrical attention. The intertwined self of Jekyll and Hyde and the double truths of the two women he loves hold the stage. When we attend to what they represent, it pushes our hearts and minds. •••
Original • Local Compiled with care All about the good life Fit for any coffee table The cover makes good gift wrap in a pinch, too
Columbia River Reader / January 10 – February 14, 2015 / 25