subject: Analog Music Just for Oldies? [print this page] Analog Music Just for Oldies? Analog Music Just for Oldies?
In the midst of the 21st century, a teenager would most likely wonder what a turntable is. It is not in their vocabulary to say vinyl or long playing albums. Talk iTouch and iTunes and they would understand. Analog music seems like a far-fetched term nowadays because everything is digital, instantaneous, and pirated. Ask Justin Bieber what a cassette is and he might ask his mom first before he answers. Funny how walkmans and boomboxes are so over and iPod and Bluetooth headsets are so cool.
Analog music is a way to store music the old way. Cassette tapes and vinyl LPs are the most common storage system for until around mid-1990's. You will need a gramophone or a turntable to play a vinyl album. If you remember watching an old Tom and Jerry cartoon where Jerry's tail is used as the needle where a flat, round, and black disc goes round and round on so that music is produced, he is mimicking that of a turntable. You may want to ask your grandma how she and grandpa used to dance the boogie or the tango. For sure, she would refer to an old piece of furniture in the living room, which you thought all this time was just a long table. Very carefully, the vinyl albums are stored in order to restore their very meticulous album art. All these albums are, if not broken, will still give the same quality of sound as if it was the first time it was played.
Cassette tapes are the biggest technology when Philips company of the Netherlands invented it in 1962. With this analog music storage device, anyone who has a recorder can record up to 120 minutes of audio. Blank CDs are the children of blank cassette tapes. These are actual instruments for documentation like interviews, symposiums, forums, or experiments. Blank cassette tapes also became very popular for personal use. Love letters did not evolve to email right away. Voice recorded love tapes with inserts of popular love songs as played on the radio were the best way to express someone's emotion. The more special the background music while you recite a love poem to your admired girl, the more impact it has. Recording became a public hobby. It is not just done in the studio with all the technology that enhances the audio. It can be in the bathroom, in your room, or even outdoors.
The digital age may have come and changed the face of music because everything is a few clicks away, at the touch of everyone's fingertips. Everything is accessible, mixed in a different way, and are sometimes exploited. Going back to analog music does not only ease your ears but it also eases the heart. There is a nostalgic and relieving feel if you hear a little scratch before the music actually starts. There is always that loving aura hearing an old personal poem lovingly dedicated to you while your favourite Patti Austin love song is on the background. You just need to experience it yourself. You might be surprised that this music may teach you a thing or two on how music was defined before and wonder why you can still relate to it so much.
Prepare to be astounded to hear the difference of analog music versus what your ever trusted iPhone has in store for you. Believe it, it's not just because of your headphones.
