I Rock It Old School
Posted by Deutlich on August 28th, 2008 | Filed under: UncategorizedI have a fascination for the Compact Disc that I can’t shake. Sure, it’s “convenient” to get mp3s through Amazon or iTunes, but there is a bit of an issue with that type of purchase.
Quality.
Did you know that when files are converted to mp3s, there’s a loss involved? The compression procedure kills the over all quality which is quite audible if you listen to music as much as I do.
Moreover, there are different varieties of compression. You can buy a CD and then burn it – but if you know nothing of compression and Kbps, there’s a good chance you’re burning at the lowest bracket.
And let me tell you: that sucks ass.
I’ve noticed that purchases through Amazon are at 192Kbps. Excuse me? WHAT? The “best” mp3 is 320Kbps. Why, if I’m purchasing the damn thing, is it only at 192?
That shit just boils my bubble.
So, to make a stupidly long story short: I’m obsessed with CDs. I like buying tangible discs. I like tearing into the plastic wrap, even if it frustrates me to death getting it open. I love the smell of the paper booklets. I really enjoy reading all of the stuff inside.
I just like CDs.
And lately? I’ve been collecting Vinyls. Just because I can.
In other music related news, please check out Delta Spirit and Dr. Dog. DMB, Mental:ThreeSixty and I will be seeing them next Friday and I am JAZZED.
For that matter, I am so enamored by Delta Spirit I just bought their CD. A few hours prior to that, I bought this CD. There is a very limited pressing of the latter, so please do yourselves a favor and buy it. I mean… if you like Hip-Hop remixes of famous 80s tunes, that is.
EDIT: Please note that CDs are recorded at 1411.2 Kbps (source). You don’t even need to know math well to see that 1411 does not equal 128 or 192 and that even 320 still sucks ass.
August 28th, 2008 at 2:32 pm
Well, on top of that, what if your computer breaks down and you have no backup?? Yeah, you lose the dollar you just spent on buying the song. BUT, if you have the CD, you can always get it back on your iTunes.
August 28th, 2008 at 2:43 pm
I’m still all about CDs.
August 28th, 2008 at 2:43 pm
Torsten has a thing about the quality of MP3s, too. Apparently I’m an undiscerning loser, because I seriously do not notice the difference.
August 28th, 2008 at 2:43 pm
you totally need to do a sleeveface picture if you love vinyl!
http://www.sleeveface.com
It makes me want to buy vinyl for that very reason.
More on topic…I agree. For bands I absolutely adore nothing beats the CD, the artwork, the phsyicalness of it all.
August 28th, 2008 at 2:53 pm
hip-hop remixes?
Check.
80’s tunes?
Check.
Buying the CD- check.
August 28th, 2008 at 2:55 pm
takkkkkkkkkkkke onnnnn meeeee!
August 28th, 2008 at 3:03 pm
I started collecting vinyl about a year ago and now I can’t listen to a song without thinking, “This would sound so much better on vinyl”
The mp3 thing drives me crazy as well. Did you buy a pair of ridiculously huge, expensive headphones yet? Because it will be the end of your social life.
I have to attend meetings to help with the addiction. “Hello, my name is Narm and I have a problem.”
August 28th, 2008 at 3:03 pm
Alas… commercial music CDs are limited to something like 172 kbps though — so 320 is a waste
August 28th, 2008 at 3:07 pm
I’m gonna geek out here. Feel free to skim past my comment.
1) MP3 is a “lossy” format. There are a few lossless formats out there (e.g. FLAC) that will preserve everything that you hear on the CD.
2) Modern CDs can sometimes suffer from clipping. In a nutshell, record companies want the CD at 100% volume and that means that the soft parts are at 70%, the medium parts are at 100% and the loud parts are at 100%. They sacrifice the range of the volume for a louder song.
3) Vinyls are where the audiophiles go. Because it’s niche, the record companies haven’t seen much reason to tamper with those recordings.
August 28th, 2008 at 3:11 pm
i can hear the difference, and i.. uh… don’t care enough. which makes me even MORE of a loser, because i can’t use the “i can’t tell the difference!” argument. i’m just cheap / lazy
August 28th, 2008 at 3:13 pm
Mental360 – I know not of what you speak.
Andy – Exactly!
Liz – Ditto! Obvi. Ha
Jess – Aww, that’s okay though.
Allthewine – dude! I LOVE that blog! thank you!!
Matt – Awesome!!
Maxie – Hahaha. Yes.
Narm – Not yet, I’m still afraid to do it. I swear to goodness I will be the most obnoxious person on the planet when I do get them.. because I will never, ever listen to anyone ever. again.
One Wanker – I’m not exactly sure where you get your data from – but that’s not exactly correct.
Jack – I LOVE FLAC, but I can’t play it on anything portable. Grrr. There needs to be a fix for that.
Alice – Aww.. hahaha
August 28th, 2008 at 3:22 pm
you know how i feel about CDs….but dude, what about tapes??
August 28th, 2008 at 3:33 pm
Cd’s will always rock, they will never go away!!
August 28th, 2008 at 4:02 pm
Vinyl just sounds better.
AND their ‘cool’ factor surpasses any other audio medium
August 28th, 2008 at 4:59 pm
i still buy cd’s too. it’s just fun to pop it in my car. and yeah i definitely still make mix cds, i can’t help it. i looove my music, in all forms
August 28th, 2008 at 5:00 pm
I collected vinyl for a while too. It does have a different sound quality…one that is full of nostalgia and is, frankly, kind of unbeatable.
When c.d’s and vinyl are no longer in production, I will be a sad music snob. I just can’t live without the cover art!
August 28th, 2008 at 5:48 pm
I haven’t bought a CD in forever but that’s just because I have Rhapsody. I don’t own a MP3 player (I’m so out of touch) but my new phone plays them. I do find a comfort in CD’s though.
August 28th, 2008 at 5:48 pm
Love Dr. Dog. Have a good time!
August 28th, 2008 at 5:50 pm
I seriously never knew any of that. I mean, clearly I could tell the quality difference between the two, but I didn’t know how drastic it truly was.
I guess it is possible to learn something new every day. Thanks for my new knowledge!
August 28th, 2008 at 7:35 pm
I’m a CD junkie myself, as my fiance and I can’t stop buying them. Even when we can’t afford to eat anymore.
We’ve also been very into vinyl for quite some time, and those make us very happy, too.
August 28th, 2008 at 8:04 pm
God I haven’t bought a CD in years – but I agree. Quality is totally compromised.
And I think we have twin music souls. If you sliced me open, musical notes would come pouring out…
August 28th, 2008 at 9:19 pm
i haven’t bought a cd in years. and i hate that. hello, lazy girl.
August 28th, 2008 at 9:19 pm
I just bought a CD – I hadn’t done it in a while. My typical routine is to go to Newbury Comics, walk out with more than I meant to buy, spend ten minutes in the car trying to pry open that really sticky tape that closes the CD case at the top and always ruins your nails, throw the CD in the player and take the long way home.
August 28th, 2008 at 9:36 pm
you have music in your blood. you are supposed to know shit like the above post.
your like a sponge. a sponge of musical knowledge.
ill let BSB slide.. heehee
August 28th, 2008 at 9:44 pm
vinyl all the way! except that it isn’t very convenient and my car doesn’t have a record player. what’s that all about?
you are right though. the quality is way better with CDs than mp3s.
August 29th, 2008 at 1:30 am
I love CDs too. I like the tangible, holding it in my hands, knowing this is mine.
August 29th, 2008 at 2:32 am
I buy the actual CD too because I want to feel that I own it. I also like looking through my entire collection on my shelves when I’m bored. Its not the same scrolling through iTunes.
August 29th, 2008 at 2:59 am
Also all about CDs – my brother works at a music store so we get CDs real cheap. Woot!
August 29th, 2008 at 3:07 am
dude, cassette tapes are where its at!! recording off the radio is one of my past-times!! LOL but yeah, cds are the best BY FAR
August 29th, 2008 at 9:29 am
How funny – I never knew all of that!
I’m not as much of a music-phile as my husband, so I’m fine with Itunes.
(Unless it’s a band I love, then I want the CD!)
Also, I tend to lose and/or ruin things a LOT, so CDs can be trouble for me. Although nothing beats a good mix CD. Nothing.
August 29th, 2008 at 12:16 pm
I like CD’s too… my collection is ridiculous… worse than my grandma’s record collection… and I continue to buy them… I dont understand why people buy mp3’s… when you can buy the CD and rip it into your itunes… you have more uses with the CD…
I hope they never go out like cassettes did because I would die fo real
August 29th, 2008 at 1:25 pm
The absurd amount of CD’s I still own (yet haven’t listened to since I got my first iPod) is astounding. I can’t decide what to do with them to be honest. Throw them away? I don’t have the jewel cases anymore (only very few are left from college coke nights). Hmm.
August 29th, 2008 at 3:17 pm
YAY for oldskool! I’m with ya! I LOVE opening a new CD! – But even more I love the full sound of LP’s. Any band that offers LPs for their current release rocks in my opinion! I always buy LP’s over CD’s, and then CD’s over MP3s – but that’s not to say I dont’ use MP3s. I use those for “sampling” and artist. If I really like them I go and treat myself to the CD -
August 29th, 2008 at 4:10 pm
You are definitely a music purist. I can’t remember the last time I bought a CD.
August 29th, 2008 at 4:37 pm
I love cds, and mp3s just don’t do it for me properly, regardless of the fact they take up far less space. I have similar feelings about books and the book equivalent of an mp3 player – it’s just not the same!
August 29th, 2008 at 7:06 pm
I’m glad I’m not the only person still buying CD’s. I love them. LOVE.
August 29th, 2008 at 8:01 pm
CD’s are great but I kick it “older-school” with RECORDS. LPs and singles. At my birthday party people wanted to actually play some. Oh yeah.
August 30th, 2008 at 1:36 am
If you get super nerdy, CDs are compressed to specifically to the frequency point that scientists have figured out we can still perceive sound as being sound. The reason vinyl seems to sound “better” is that it includes ALL recorded frequencies. Just because we can’t actually notice the sound being played doesn’t mean it doesn’t impact our overall hearing. The addition of all sound is key, I think. Hence, good bands sound even better when they play live.
PS sorry if this comment makes no sense. I’ve had a liiiitttllleee too much tequila tonight.
August 30th, 2008 at 11:47 am
I like CDs too. I get much more excited about them than I do with mp3s. Does that make us old fashioned? Perhaps. But I’m okay with that…
August 30th, 2008 at 1:40 pm
You know, I was that way for a while, too– I felt as though buying music off iTunes wasn’t quite the same.
But then I noticed for anyone other that Top 40, CDs cost pretty much double the price of downloading it online.
Frugality wins again.
August 31st, 2008 at 2:42 am
Wow that was a lot of high tech talk! I am impressed! I can tell you that I too, enjoy buying CDs and I have a hard time breaking the habit. I especially love the old school mixed CDs ala mixed tape.
August 31st, 2008 at 11:39 am
I did cds still but an mp3 player with a bunch of songs I love is a lot more convenient than having to carry around a discman and changing cds all the time. I still buy cds, however, as I prefer to have a hard copy. Long live the CD!