What is it about spinning vinyl?


I just turned the system off several minutes ago. I had been listening to a great, high res file of Tower of Power, best horn section ever. As many know I have been sans turntable for 8 months. I sold my old one and ordered a new one but you know the story. Covid delays. It is under construction now.  Anyway, as I turned the system off I got this real urge to play a record. The wizard inside did not feel like turning the computer back on. It wanted a record. Grumpy, I decided to hit the sack. 
Think about that. I have a terabyte and a half of digital files sitting there in a hard drive.  Everything from Bach to Captain Beefheart. It had to be a record. No record, bedtime. It was not about the music. It was about the mechanical act of playing a record. I've been doing it since I was four years old. My dad got me a Zenith portable for my fourth birthday. You know, with the black cobra tonearm complete with eyes! Is it just repetitive behavior. Perhaps there is some sort of psychological explanation. Happy associations? Platter hypnosis? Maybe it is that we get emotionally attached to certain behaviors. 
mijostyn

Showing 2 responses by jollytinker

I think “what it is” with vinyl is the sound. It’s better.  Not to sound like the brain police or anything (who?).
@mrmeaner thanks for keeping it real.  

@mijostyn  I get your point. I was just pushing back against the 'we love the ritual' narrative. I understand that point of view and I share it to some extent, but at the end of the day it's the sound that keeps me coming back to vinyl. The ritual is mostly a PITA to me, so if it weren't for the sound quality - in better LPs with a well tweaked system - I don't think I'd bother.  

I actually spend most of my time listening to digital these days and over the last year I've spent a crap ton of money building a digital front end. But sooner or later I have a moment like the one you described in your original post, when I find myself craving the sound of a good LP. At the end of the day, to my ears, it's still a better illusion.