The CD is dead – God rest its soul; long live the vinyl record. It’s an outcome that few would have predicted as CD’s became widely available through the 1980’s, but it appears that if current trends continue, vinyl could indeed outlive CD. Let’s take a look at some of the numbers: Last year, digital streaming was up 54% while … Read More
High-resolution audio is a waste of time if the mastering sucks
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.
5 Things You Need to Get Started with Vinyl Today
So, you’ve decided to start collecting vinyl. At this stage, there’s a good chance you’ve heard about the resurgence in vinyl records. You might even have heard about the increased dynamic range with which many records are mastered when compared to their digital counterparts. But most of all, the chances are you’re hooked on the allure of vinyl as a … 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”.
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
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
Musique Concrète – Pioneering Electronic Music – Part1
Introduction to Musique Concrète During World War Two the first tape recorder was used by the Nazi propaganda machine to broadcast material edited using a dextrous razor blade. The arrival of these machines into the rest of Europe after the war came as quite a shock and persuaded Britain to develop their own machines based on the German design. Although … Read More