Entry One Tuesday, January 26, 2016
Earlier today I was digging through boxes in my basement looking for a VCR to
use for the slow media assignment. I planned on using it to substitute my DVD player and Netflix. After a while of digging, I discovered I was running late for class and ran out the door, only I forgot my iPod. This was frustrating for me because I bring it everywhere and it is almost always playing in my ears. It dawned on me then that substituting my iPod with a slow media would be challenging and interesting for the project. When I got home I dug out boxes of my parents records and decided on using vinyl records as a replacement for my iPod for the rest of the semester.
After setting everything up in my bedroom, I placed the album Ramones by the
Ramones on the turntable. It sounded different that I’m used to and I liked the sound of it, I even enjoyed the cool feeling of it. However, I became really annoyed when my phone rang and I couldn’t quickly press pause from wherever I was sitting. It sounds silly to say, but I’m accustomed to the instantaneous and portable nature of my iPod, so having to get up, walk to the turntable, lift the arm and then turn it off, felt like a considerable amount of effort. I had to get up on numerous occasions after that.
Entry Two
Entry Three
Thursday, February 4, 2016
Wednesday, February 10, 2016
Yesterday was the most frustrating day I’ve experienced since swapping
I’ve been spending a lot of time in my room listening to these records.
my iPod for vinyl records. I had a three and a half hour commute to Waterloo
Music is a big part of my life, which is why I bring my iPod everywhere. I’m con-
on the Go Bus to visit my best friend. I take this trip once a month and I usually
stantly using it, whether it’s at the gym, during the commute to work or school
have my iPod with me to listen to music the entire way. Unfortunately, my turn-
or out with friends. It enabled me to be social in a number of ways. I often
table is more stationary than it is portable, so I couldn’t take it with me to listen to on the bus. It also wasn’t the most ideal for fitting into my overnight luggage. I found it very hard sticking to my project for these very reasons.
Today my opinion of this has slightly
changed. I placed the Beatles album Abbey Road on the turntable to listen to while cleaning my bedroom. I had heard a few songs from it before and even downloaded them to my iPod, but I had never actually listened to the album. I also knew people had referred to it as iconic and while I could appreciate those opinions based on the fact that the songs I did know were good, I just couldn’t see or hear why it was so highly touted. I do now having listened to it from Come Together all the way through to Her Majesty. Before I knew it, there was little cleaning being done and more listening taking place. I was focusing on the actual sounds and lyrics of the music in a way I wasn’t with my iPod. The music had always just been a background sound with my iPod and with the vinyl records it was shifted into the forefront. I now heard a much higher sound quality and was conscious of the interrelatedness of song. It was enlightening.
Tweeted to my followers about the music while using it and I was able to bring it with me on social outings, where the music frequently became the topic of discussion. I could technically Tweet about vinyl records or load it up to bring to my outings with friends, but as a whole I find it to be an inconvenience and very anti-social. As a result, I find myself sitting in my room by myself to listen to music, instead of being able to be social with my music as I was before. The stationary nature is a major hindrance, that’s for sure.
Entry Four
Entry Five
Monday, February 29, 2016
Thursday, March 3, 2016
The last couple of days have been very interesting. Contrary to what I
A few weeks ago I listened to my second record ever, Neil Young’s 1972
wrote in the previous journal entry, I discovered that vinyl records are actually
album Harvest, through recommendation from my father. He said he enjoyed the
very social.
way the instruments and lyrics projected powerfully through the records ana-
logue format. I’ve learned that recommendation is a common form of advertising
Two days ago I took a trip to Toronto to Sonic Boom to look for the 1971
album Who’s Next by the Who. I made this decision because I have always loved
for records. Interestingly, I did some research and discovered that vinyl records
the song Baba O’Riley and wanted to obtain the record to experience the en-
aren’t really that unpopular and that they are resurging as a medium, so I figure
tirety of the album and the authenticity of listening to it in a format relevant
it must be word of mouth that is causing this spike. I know this isn’t uncommon,
to that time period. While digging through stacks of vinyl with my sister, I was
even for mainstream digital downloads, as Twitter is often used as a mode of
approached by an employee. who asked me if I needed any help. The conversa-
communication between communities to recommend new music. However, I
tion shifted once we located the album, as he started asking about what kind
couldn’t help but notice that I saw Justin Bieber’s new album being advertised on
of turntable I own and what other genres I was interested in. He began recom-
almost every station, telling viewers to download it on iTunes or to purchase the
mending albums and artists for me to take a look into, and cool cafes I could
CD at a local retailer. I can’t recall ever seeing this for vinyl records.
visit that play vinyl only. I was quite surprised by this and told him I didn’t think
that vinyl records really had that large of a following and that it was such a
on it’s shelf in the basement. I brought it upstairs, powered up the turntable and
social medium. He told me of a forum called Vinyl Collectives, where a commu-
laid down to listen to it on my bed. That’s when I heard an unusual pop sound.
nity of record collectors connect to discuss everything about vinyl; production,
This frightened me because it didn’t sound like anything I had ever heard before.
musical genres, artists and bands, producers and even labels.
I thought there was something wrong with the
amp. I jumped up from my bed, lifted the arm
I joined this forum when I got home and I was instantly drawn into very
I listened to Harvest again today after having put it back into it’s sleeve and
colourful conversations. The most intriguing conversation I engaged in while
and powered it down, then ran down to my Dad
on this forum was surrounding The Doors. We discussed everything, from their
to ask about it. He told me that it was likely dust
1971 album L.A. Women to Jim Morrison’s poetic lyrics to the controversy that
and unlike digital downloads, records are mate-
surrounds his death. And just like at Sonic Boom, I received a large amount of
rial, so they need to be taken care of in a specific
recommendations from others that widened my eyes to the variety of sounds,
way. This sounded like too much work to me, so I
aesthetics and experiences available through vinyl.
took it off the turntable and put it away.
Entry Six
Entry Seven
Wednesday, March 9, 2016
Saturday, March 12, 2016
My opinion on records being too much work to consume has changed
since my last entry. In fact, taking care of the vinyl has become somewhat of a
routine for me. Everytime that I play an album I take extra care in cleaning the
stylus and removing the dust from the records with an anti-static brush. I make sure everything is properly working and in place on the turntable. I make sure to be careful placing the records into their sleeves, and I protect the covers from any damage by sitting them properly on a shelf. I do these practices both before and after listening, in order to preserve the vinyl records qualities. This routine is quite the contrast to my easily accessible and mostly carefree iPod. All I have to do to maintain it is not drop it and charge it every night.
Prior to this project I would have laughed at the idea of having to do so
much work in order to listen to and maintain a medium. However, now that
Last night I had a few friends over and I had vinyl records playing in my room.
I have been using it for awhile I find the practices of preservation give me a
One of my friends told me the records were cool and they felt as if they were
better appreciation for the actual music, the work that went into making the
back in the 1960s listening to the Beatles live. I couldn’t agree with her more.
sounds and the work that went into making the actual material object. I feel
There is something about playing a record that makes you feel like you are
more invested in it, which has changed my point of view on digital downloads
getting a much more authentic experience than listening to music on an iPod.
and streaming. Though they are easier to use and often free or relatively cheap
For example, there was a light crackling happening during the song Love Me
to buy, I find it doesn’t provide you the necessary experiences needed to value
Do from the wear of the record having been played so many times in the past.
music as more than a commodity that we’re entitled to. Vinyl has taught me that
It added to the whole aura of music and the medium in a good way. To me it
the records and the music on them are a carefully crafted art.
provoked a feeling of connection to a historical time period in music, in a way that can’t be achieved through listening to the songs on my iPod. I find this makes you feel much closer and much more connected to the music.
Entry Eight Friday, March 18, 2016
Over the course of this semester I’ve learned a lot of things about vinyl re-
cords as a slow media. For the first time since I was really young, I found myself listening to albums from track number one all the way through, without the distraction of being at the gym or at work. I’ve also learned to appreciate the effort that goes into making vinyl records and music through having to care for it and maintain it. I’ve had new and interesting social encounters, and participated in a new community. I’ve even expanded my musical scope to contain a vast variety of musicians, genres, productions and labels. It’s been a good experience, though it started as a very frustrating one.
There is one thing that stood out the most to me though, the quality of
vinyl records. I learned through discussions on the forum that most vinyl records pre-1980s is in an analogue format which is why it has such a rich and textured sound. The audiophiles I was speaking to told me to listen for the clarity of instruments and vocals that vinyl offers in comparison to the MP3 formats one-dimensionality. With that in mind, I listened to the Rolling Stones song Sympathy For The Devil off of the album Beggars Banquet and discovered a distinct difference in sound quality. I had heard this song many times on my iPod, but listening to it now I could hear the sound of conga drums being used simultaneously with Charlie Watts’ drum kit, something that was indistinguishable before. I could also hear a more crisp sounding set of maracas. All of this made up for a more authentic experience and it made me prize quality over accessibility. It will be a permanent fixture in my room.