First and foremost, what I’m about to say is merely my opinion and no doubt many will disagree with me. High-resolution audio is one of those topics that gets people worked up, and that’s cool, music fanatics are passionate and often fiery people – that’s what makes them great. All the same, I’m prepared to stick my neck out on … Read More
The Vinyl experience – Two Turntables are better than one
What I’m about to recommend here might sound strange from a blog that advocates the importance of sound quality, but stick with me here folks; there’s method to my madness. It’s true, I do advocate the importance of high-quality sound when listening to your music, but first of all – and above that – I believe music should be an … Read More
Stop listening to Music on YouTube – seriously!
Seriously, do yourself a favour and stop it – you deserve better. Yes, it’s convenient, and yes, sometimes it’s nice to watch the accompanied music video; it can even be a great way to discover new artists or rare releases. But please, please don’t use it as your primary listening platform.
An Introduction to Digital Audio Formats
We all know and appreciate the convenience of digital audio, and most people are comfortable with the most common format of MP3. Move beyond this, however, and things can start to get a little confusing. Through the course of this post, I will attempt to shed some light on the basics of file formats, and hopefully, help improve your listening … Read More
Is Rock Dead, Dying, or Just Changing?
As a guitar player and someone who was brought up on classic rock music, a recent article by Classic Rock Magazine (CR) caught my attention. It poses the question, “Is Rock Dying?” and acts as a prelude to their 25 page report on “The Crisis Facing Rock”.
Does Vinyl Really Sound Better than CD?
This blog (when I have time to update it during my downtime working for Shure in the UK) is fast becoming focused on the resurgence of vinyl. So far, I’ve covered vinyls potential in the changing face of music retail, and I also went on to describe the benefits of vinyl in the well-documented loudness war. Taking this into consideration, I thought it … Read More
Music – You can pick your friends but you can’t pick your audience?
A short while ago, UK Prime Minister David Cameron declared himself a long term Smith’s fan when he chose the bands hit This Charming Man on Desert Island Discs. When news of this got back to the bands guitarist Johnny Marr, he reacted by claiming to “ban” him from liking the band on claims that they were “not his kind … Read More
Independent Film Documents the Rise, Fall, & Rebirth of Record Stores
While we’re on the topic of vinyl… A new independent film has just been released documenting the rise, fall, and rebirth of independent record stores. The film entitled Last Shop Standing was released on 10th September, and features music industry leaders as well as musicians including: Paul Weller, Johnny Marr, Norman Cook, Billy Bragg, Nerina Pallot, Richard Hawley and Clint … Read More
Vinyl vs CD In The Loudness War
In my previous post “HMV & The Future of Music Retail?” I briefly highlighted the loudness war and the resurgence of vinyl. I now want to explain exactly what I meant by the growing appeal of vinyl when taking the loudness war into consideration, and why I believe many people choose to buy vinyl over digital alternatives. So here goes: Many audiophiles have long … Read More
HMV & The Future of Music Retail?
I recently paid a visit to my local HMV, which is something I haven’t done for a while, but what really struck me was how much things had moved on from when I was a regular browser of the rock & pop section. I knew CD sales were in decline, but nowhere is this more strikingly obvious than in stores like HMV. … Read More
