Regression?

Introduction

I took the main image from this site which took it from the Vertigo record label.

Here is a bit more about the design

This came up in my top ten Seven Days In posts over the last seven days it was from 2017 so very pre-Vocal. I was wondering if I was regressing because I was buying and playing vinyl. A work colleague to me I was out of touch because I didn't use Spotify and just listen to what it suggested for me. We do have many ways of listening to music and each formats have advocates that say it is the best.

This is an early Vocal post about media formats which was a reposting of a piece from Seven Days In.

As I write this I am listening to a CD, "Fire" by The Crazy World of Arthur Brown is playing, the CD is a convenient form for me to play. I find it quicker than finding music on my phone, computer, or online.

My vinyl record player is downstairs and I recently penned an Ode as a tribute to it for a Vocal Challenge, so you can see what it looks like and a bit of my vinyl collection.

Some people complain that vinyl is not perfect, becomes worn, gets scratched, jumps and has surface noise. John Peel came back with the perfect retort, "Life Has Surface Noise". Vinyl and analog sound do have a seemingly unquantifiable warmth.

Although as you can see, I have a cassette player, I still have no cassettes and have never used it.... yet. I've always seen tape as too fragile a medium, it is fine for a short period of time but I remember so many cassettes getting chewed by players.

It was a great recording medium as a teenager and I cannot believe that I was able to cut and splice tapes to make my own music as a teenager. Now we have digital recorders that make life a bit easier.

This is a piece that I did about vinyl formats and album artwork.

Regression

I Was just wondering if my purchasing of vinyl was a sort of childhood regression. While I have never actually grown up, I do like to have actual things. Digital recordings are convenient to listen to music and watch videos on the move, but it gives a wonderful pleasure to have a wonderful packaged item.

Albums like Hawkwind's "XIn Seach of Space" (See video here on my Instagram Channel where there are more examples.

These include picture discs and I am still stunned by the holograms on the Star Wars - The Force Awakens soundtrack album (see here) which I now have on order.

Public Image Ltd's "Metal Box" shows that you can do similar things with CDs but often the size of things is scaled down, but that is still a beautifully packaged CD.

So basically I am still 15 at heart and I like a lot of the things I liked when I was 15. While a lot of music is coming out on vinyl I seldom see inventive and impressive packaging like the stuff that Barney Bubbles would come up with for Hawkwind or Hypgnosis' packaging for Pink Floyd's "Dark Side of The Moon" and "Wish You Were Here"

So what should I leave you with? I think Black Sabbath's "Paranoid" on vinyl featuring the Vertigo Swirl, is still my favourite label, and you can see that on a CD, and at 500 rpm even if you could you would miss the hypnotic effect.

Have a great Saturday night everybody.

Conclusion