In-depth Comparison of CD vs. Vinyl of New Metallica

Ok, so... I've never really been into Metallica at any point in my life, but this post has nothing to do with my opinion on their music.  I ran across a link on gizmodo.com to an interesting article blog post that compares the audio quality of Metallica's new album on CD vs. on vinyl.  It's not really a broad argument for vinyl over CD, but rather just an interesting deconstruction of the resulting sound of this one album on each type of media. I think it's pretty interesting to actually see the waveforms of each compared side by side, which can point to some reason to the extra depth and clarity you get on analog media.  The article blog post is a bit technical (read: boring, if you're not in to that sort of thing), and pretty interesting, I think. Check it, here.

New Vinyl!

I'm happy to report that my turntable and speaker purchase a few months ago was not an impulse, use-for-a-month-and-forget-it purchase.  I'm amazed every time I sit down and listen as to how much better music sounds with a decent setup.

In any case, Amanda and I (and a crew of other friends) took a trip up to Berkeley 2 weekends ago to check out one of my favorite bands that I never actually thought I'd see live, Sigur Rós.  I had every intention of blogging about that experience, but have been way too crazy busy since to do anything about it.  The day after the show, we took a trip to Rasputin and spent a couple hours pouring over all the cool albums they had, where I actually picked up a couple few new.

The thing about buying vinyl, at least for me, is that, while I'd like to go out and re-buy all of my CD/mp3 collection on vinyl, that'd be kinda pricey and take up a bunch of space that I don't have.  So I had to come up with a couple rules:

Rule 1: I can buy any of my top 10 albums
This one might be a bit ambiguous since I don't really have a list; and if I did, I'm sure it'd change from year to year.  In general, I think I have a fair idea of what's not on the list though.  This is probably going to be a blog topic in the future...

Rule 2: I should only get new-music albums if they come with digital downloads
Many vinyl distributors are--most thankfully--including a piece of paper with the record(s) with info on how to go download free mp3s.  This is awesome.  After I started buying vinyl, it dawned on me that you can't just borrow an album from a friend, rip it, and give it back.  (shut up)  That was actually kind of weird.  And a little sobering.  But it doesn't matter.  With the downloads accompanying the vinyl purchase, I'm way more apt to buy it since I can listen to the tracks at work, in the car, whatever.  If I want to listen "on the go", I'm not forced to buy the CD, in which case I might not ever buy the vinyl, depending on the album.  Great marketing--please keep it up, music distributor people!

Rule 3: The music (style, production, etc) should be a "good vinyl" album
I regret my vinyl purchases, like the new "On My Way Here" from Clay Aiken... uh... jk.  :-)  Really though, there are some albums--whether due to the style/genre, production style, or both--that just sound so great on vinyl.  Others will sound better than their digital counterparts, but I can wait on getting them if they don't fit in to any of the other rules above.

The Goods
So, here's what I've picked up recently, both in Berkeley and eBay:

In Field & Town, Hayden
Thanks for sharing this with me, Biz--this has been one of my favorite albums over the past few months.  I haven't been super interested in listening to much folk rock in the past year or two, but I can't get this one off my mind.  And it didn't include digital downloads--it included a CD!  ...and on 180 gram vinyl, no less!

The Hawk Is Howling, Mogwai
This is becoming my favorite Mogwai album.  Check that--it has become.  It definitely passes rules 2 and 3--super high quality mp3 downloads, and the instrumentation and production on this album makes me want to listen to it over and over again.  So warm, but clear and concise; mellow, then powerful.  No silly lyrics to get in the way.  Also on 180 gram vinyl.  Mogwai, you guys did an amazing job on this--11/10.  Oh, and the album artwork is soooo awesome:







Ballads, John Coltrane
Personal #1 Jazz album.  Also on 180 gram vinyl.  Never thought it could sound so good.


Francis Albert Sinatra & Antonio Carlos Jobim
This album is one of my recent County Library discoveries, and is a stellar album for those that dig the Stan Getz/Jobim albums with all those great Brazilian tunes.  Another on 180 gram vinyl.  This way, it really sounds like the band is in the room...
Mr. Beast, Mogwai
Another great Mogwai album.  The production sounds like their old production when compared to The Hawk is Howling, but is still a great listen for vinyl.  Yet another 180 gram vinyl pressing.


Rachmaninoff Concerto No. 3, Rachmaninoff, Van Cliburn, Kiril Kondrashin & Symphony Of The Air
I didn't realize it when I bought it, but this album is super rare.  I can barely find any info on it on the net.  Van Cliburn is a legendary pianist, the Rach 3 is a legendary classical work, and while this album was recorded in in 1958 at Carnegie Hall, it was remastered in 1983 using a new high-fidelity technique to compete with the onset of CDs at the time.  They recopied the original tape to vinyl at 1/2 the speed of the recording, which is supposed to provide more granularity and depth of tone--similar to the uber expensive and rare MFSL albums that were done in the 80s.  Not bad for a $3 purchase.

(because of the rarity, as well as my laziness in not wanting to take pics of this, I can't find any album cover pics)

1992-2002, Underworld
Yes, I like some house music every now and then.  I scored this 4 LP set off eBay for $20 and am quite happy to couch rave/dance to this now.  $5 a record for some of the original house music masters.  Yeehaw.


Ok, that's all for now!