Feeling the tiniest bit guilty about dropping so much cash on a tiny diamond on a stick. I also kinda feel silly because I have publicly scoffed at such esoteric stylus shapes... But... I wanted the damn thing, OK? You see, I realized quite along time ago now that I dont listen to music like other people. Most people are quite content to have music play in the background while they do other things. Not me. Music is something I stop everything else for whenever I can. Sure, I like music in the car and I like it on while I work but I need some time in my day where I can get totally lost in the sound. Its meditation and relaxation and it takes me somewhere else for a little while. Just like any addiction, I start to get very grumpy when I dont take time out for it. It centers me and reminds me who I really am. Being a music freak led me to appreciate audio as an art unto itself. One of the main reasons I went into radio was because radio puts audio to work. A radio station is nothing more than a giant stereo system with an output to a transmitter. I wanted to be the guy who made it work. No illusions of being a star here. Ego had very little to do with it. I learned a lot about peoples listening habits working in radio, though. It was my bread and butter. Did you know that men and women have very different ideas of what sounds good to them? Yep. Men like a bit of crunch and theyre less sensitive to distortion. Women like warm and fuzzy with a silky high end. This explains why it is that men love those overdriven guitar sounds... You like the crunch, guys. I also learned that most people dont know what they are listening to... and dont care. They dont remember titles and they mix up the artists names a lot too. They dont put a lot of mental energy into it at all. Most people who claim to be music fans really arent. They have a very limited repertoire from a specific era and beyond that they arent much interested. A true music fan is endlessly curious and wants to hear more of everything. Most musical folks I know have a genre they prefer like Rock, Jazz, Classical and so forth and thats fine but they will listen outside of their bubble too. Me? Im all over the place... You never know what I might be listening to. Just over the last few days, Ive listened to Beethoven, The Beatles, Bill Monroe, Flatt & Scruggs, Guy Lombardo, Van Halen, The Kinks, Dionne Warwick, Diana Ross & The Supremes, Hall & Oates, Eddie Arnold, Toby Keith, Jean Michell Jarre, Dave Brubeck, Steely Dan, Crosby, Stills & Nash, The Police, Joe Jackson and Marvin Gaye.... Thats just what I can remember from this past week. Not a lot of people know as much music as I do nor do they care. A Music Snob? Sure, Ill own it. But, I can find you anything you want somewhere. If I dont have it stashed away in my hoard, I know where I can get it! Ha! Another skill I learned in radio: How to scrounge songs. Not nearly as valuable a skill in the Internet age, I guess. If youre like me and you understand what I am saying than you must realize that we are blessed with the ability to hear things others cant. Whether its a blessing or a curse is up for debate. It becomes more of a curse when we have to deal with people who dont understand what were about. Most of us also also have a fascination with recorded sound that borders on mania. I have met only a very few people who were more into audio than I was. They didnt just collect music but recordings of famous speeches, old time radio shows, sound effects and much more than just music. I, for one, collect recordings of radio personalities I like and jingles. Got a bunch of em. Nobody wants to hear them but me but I got em. This record thing is a horse of a different color, though. There is something that just knocks me out when get a 50 or 60 year old LP, clean it up and play it for the first time. First off, its always a surprise just how good they sound on modern gear. You know youre hearing detail that wasnt heard before. It was hidden in the grooves. Secondly, an original pressing of anything always sounds strikingly different from later issues. I also get a big kick out of hearing brand new LPs although I cant afford to indulge myself too much in that area. Even if the it was mastered from digital, its still interesting to hear how that translates to vinyl. Theres just something so permanent about records. They go on and on... So, can you blame me if I jump a little bit closer to audiophilia? A Shibata stylus promises less distortion, longer life and I might just be able to enjoy my records a bit more without feeling the need to tinker for a while. Its worth it to me. Us music/audio nuts go it alone most of the time and its nice to be able to talk to someone who can relate. Thanks. I feel much better now. :)
Posted on: Mon, 24 Nov 2014 02:17:55 +0000
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