Some food for thought: Why I Love CDs
This morning before work I came across this (atrocious) rant on City Pages' website called I Hate CDs written by one Drew Ailes. I am still stunned this guy gets paid to write shit for the site but then again half of the articles on City Pages is pretty shitty and poorly written to begin with. Drew's rant (I refuse to call it an "article" since there is nothing factual about it). While at work today, I decided to post a counterpoint to Drew's ridiculous rant.
01. Sound quality: MP3s vs CDs.
Without a shadow of a doubt, I prefer the sound quality of CDs over mp3s. Example: Chandeen's Forever and Ever album.
Today my CD copy of the new Chandeen album arrived in the mail today. I am currently listening to the album as I am at my desk and writing tonight's blog entry. I really like the uncompressed sounds that I am hearing over the digital version of the album. As a music junkie, I relish in the whole experience of listening to music especially at home when I don't have to wear my earphones like I do at work. I get an intimate quality to the music on Forever and Ever that I really don't pick up on with the mp3 version.
02. CDs vs. MP3s
I personally like being able to hold the music in my own two hands. Does the music take up room? Oh sure but I don't care. Although nothing can really compare to the artwork on vinyl, I just don't get the same joy I get from seeing the artwork (digital version) that comes with my CDs. It is not the same for me, as is the music.
When I am at concerts, I try to make a point of buying merchandise from one or both bands that I am seeing that night. While I am more than happy to plunk down $5 for a card to get music off a certain band's bandcamp page, that just doesn't compare to the same pleasure I get from buying a CD from the band.
In his obnoxious rant, Drew bitches about how CDs get easily damaged. I am not going to pretend that isn't true because it is. Earlier last year I had to buy another copy of Delerium's Poem album because my old copy kept skipping on a couple of songs. Was I annoyed to have to buy another copy of my favorite Delerium album? Yeah but the world didn't end.
From my personal experience, most of the CDs I buy I enjoy from start to finish. Of course there will always be a song here and there that I may not like but that can be said about other formats like vinyl and cassettes. You can either fast forward or lift the needle on the record player to avoid the song you may not like. Drew implies that CDs has cheapened the whole music experience and has made it easier for people to just listen to the songs they bought the album for. Not for me. I'm not interesting in singles. I listen because the music is good. I treat the music I buy as a whole and will listen to the product a few times before making a final decision. Drew must really think most music listeners have the IQ of a bowl of tapioca pudding because that is the impression I get every time he has to bitch about something on City Pages. The Twin Cities Underground might be a lowly blog that doesn't get a lot of traffic but I will say this I do not go out of my way to insult music fanatics because they listen to one particular format (or their tastes in music).
At the end of the day, if someone like Drew prefers listening to other formats of music like MP3s, great but don't be an asshole about it and insult those who prefer other formats. That is called being an asshole.
01. Sound quality: MP3s vs CDs.
Without a shadow of a doubt, I prefer the sound quality of CDs over mp3s. Example: Chandeen's Forever and Ever album.
Today my CD copy of the new Chandeen album arrived in the mail today. I am currently listening to the album as I am at my desk and writing tonight's blog entry. I really like the uncompressed sounds that I am hearing over the digital version of the album. As a music junkie, I relish in the whole experience of listening to music especially at home when I don't have to wear my earphones like I do at work. I get an intimate quality to the music on Forever and Ever that I really don't pick up on with the mp3 version.
02. CDs vs. MP3s
I personally like being able to hold the music in my own two hands. Does the music take up room? Oh sure but I don't care. Although nothing can really compare to the artwork on vinyl, I just don't get the same joy I get from seeing the artwork (digital version) that comes with my CDs. It is not the same for me, as is the music.
When I am at concerts, I try to make a point of buying merchandise from one or both bands that I am seeing that night. While I am more than happy to plunk down $5 for a card to get music off a certain band's bandcamp page, that just doesn't compare to the same pleasure I get from buying a CD from the band.
In his obnoxious rant, Drew bitches about how CDs get easily damaged. I am not going to pretend that isn't true because it is. Earlier last year I had to buy another copy of Delerium's Poem album because my old copy kept skipping on a couple of songs. Was I annoyed to have to buy another copy of my favorite Delerium album? Yeah but the world didn't end.
From my personal experience, most of the CDs I buy I enjoy from start to finish. Of course there will always be a song here and there that I may not like but that can be said about other formats like vinyl and cassettes. You can either fast forward or lift the needle on the record player to avoid the song you may not like. Drew implies that CDs has cheapened the whole music experience and has made it easier for people to just listen to the songs they bought the album for. Not for me. I'm not interesting in singles. I listen because the music is good. I treat the music I buy as a whole and will listen to the product a few times before making a final decision. Drew must really think most music listeners have the IQ of a bowl of tapioca pudding because that is the impression I get every time he has to bitch about something on City Pages. The Twin Cities Underground might be a lowly blog that doesn't get a lot of traffic but I will say this I do not go out of my way to insult music fanatics because they listen to one particular format (or their tastes in music).
At the end of the day, if someone like Drew prefers listening to other formats of music like MP3s, great but don't be an asshole about it and insult those who prefer other formats. That is called being an asshole.
I would argue that there's no difference...they're both digital formats (with the expressed ability to alter the 'quality' [ie. kbp/s] of an MP3). Now if we're comparing them to vinyl, well...
ReplyDeleteI'll give you one thing though. Drew is a pretentious ass(hole) ;)