Chicken or the egg? Or something along those lines

What came first the chicken or the egg? A debate as old as time, although one that I think has now been solved by some scientist somewhere. I believe the chicken came first, or was it the egg? I forget now and I digress. The reason I bring up the ‘chicken and the egg’ debate is I want to spark another debate, perhaps one that is far more relevant and interesting…or maybe not. But hey ho lets plow ahead with it and see what happens!

What came first the Vinyl or the iPod (other music devices are on the market, so I am reliably informed)? Oh wait it was the vinyl! Erm seems the debate is solved I guess. Or is it? Perhaps a better question to ask is which is a better way to listen to music?

I got thinking about this topic because I recently purchased a vinyl player (living the hipster dream with that one). I would love to say I purchased my vinyl player because the little scratchy noises and small skips that occur make the music better but alas I can’t say this. I got it because I think vinyl is pretty cool; I like the packaging that the vinyl comes in, some vinyl LPs are brightly coloured and pretty and the actual player itself looks good. So basically I bought it as an ornament to make my room look funky and I seem to have a Magpie tendency for shiny pretty things.

One late evening though as I sat in my room, doing something profound no doubt, a eureka moment hit me. Even though I bought the vinyl player as a fancy and overly expensive vase, it actually is (in my opinion) a better way to listen to music. And when I say listen, I mean listen in its truest sense. The fact that you have to physically turn over the vinyl means you are listening out for that moment, thus you immerse yourself more in the music. You touch the thing as you turn it over, you feel the ridges, and it simply makes the process of listening to music so much more tactile. Perhaps this has something to do with the fact you engage more of your senses than you would with an iPod (I’m just going to keep using this as an example, it’s quicker to type). Or perhaps that’s a load of rubbish, I don’t really know but hey I liked it.

 

I will admit it’s an expensive way to listen to music and I’m no man from the past, I love my iPod. I mean how could I not, it has everything on it that I could want, all my music in one small tiny little place that I can take anywhere. My Vinyl does have a little handle so I guess I could carry it round places, but that would just be stupid, wouldn’t it? I could do it I suppose, could work out well…no no silly thought. A man can dream though; I’d be going even more retro than slinging a boom box on my shoulder.

I’ll stop now, as I don’t actually think I have answered the question at all, only served to confuse more. I’ll try sum up though; Vinyl is great to really sit down and listen to music, makes you appreciate an album more and forces you to pay attention. The iPod is great for everything else, portable, efficient, as you can easily get to the music you want and it’s just an all round simplistic way to store music. Should music be so simplistic though? I personally like scrambling around the shelves and piles in my room to find that special album or single.