Vinyl Albums: My Life Collection

From Albums to Digital Music

The technology exists. I tried doing this with a program and a turntable a few years ago, but I didn't have enough general knowledge to follow the instructions.

I'm a few computer years smarter. I'm also very motivated to listen to my albums so that they sound better than they currently do with my equipment. I just have a little three-in-one turntable now, with a cassette, CD player, and AM/FM radio all in one. The speaker may have all of 5 watts. I don't need to blow my music so loud anymore. Loudness causes distortion, which irritates me to no end, like the static between radio stations in the car on a long trip.

That record player set-up of mine would be enough, except the CD player stops in mid CD play, about track 5. I don't know why. Who fixes these things? Probably dust or something. My albums aren't dusty; they're stored very well, or most of them are. They are mostly filed alphabetically by artist. I majored in English, and I was alphabetical storing my albums from the start. I'm a Baby Boomer if you hadn't guessed already.

I need a turntable that connects to my computer, by USB preferably, to do a re-recording to CD or MP3 or wav file. Sony, Grace, and Ion manufacturing companies have choices for these kinds of turntables at Frys.com.

One says the deal is limit one per household, and it's $99. That ought to be good. Where do I check that review, at the site> I'm not ready to shop yet. One should do research, especially before spending money on electronics. The Sony has nice extra features I would use, and is marked at $129.00. If it doesn't connect by USB, you need to search for the correct audio adapter. That costs extra. Some kid at the store is going to know this? The kid at the store probably never held a vinyl record in his life.

Consequently, I need to double check that feature. One product said it needed to be hooked up to an audio system (like a stereo receiver, but they didn't explain that much in the ad, and then they said you hook up the audio system to the turntable and the computer. I don’t want to resurrect the remaining components of my last stereo. So I don't want that one.

And some of these turntables won't actually play the music through your computer if you want to listen to it. Maybe you can, but CNet suggested savinging the new music in a digitally accessible format, CD, MP3, or put it on you music listening device or phone.

There are many options to contend with. I sometimes mess up when considering options. My newest camera doesn't have a zoom, but it does everything else. I like to zoom, but I already bought my camera for this decade.

This record to digital music project shouldn't be that difficult, but I don't expect to find a knowledgeable salesperson at the store. Vinyl technology--are you kidding? So far, I only know that Ringo and I get it.

Vinyl format is the best way to listen to music, with tracks in a set order, and a side A and B. Of course, I claim such info as my opinion only, but I heard Ringo say he prefers vinyl of all the format listening choices, and Larry King shook his head in agreement, perhaps. With Larry King you never really knew. Nevertheless, I heard Ringo say her prefers to listen to vinyl. Fond memories for him too. The Beatles sold albums and 45 rpm singles, with a side A and side B. CD production happened twenty years later.

I ran across a blog of a young man praising a recent artist for the lyrics of "Across the Universe." He had no idea John Lennon (and Paul) had written and recorded the song on the Beatles' "White Album." I am amazed at what today's youth doesn't know. I guess every generation thinks that of the next. But really. Jeopardy acknowledges Classic Rock and Roll as a category. Enough said about that.

My life flashed before my eyes the day I went in the record store, the huge record store on Greenville Avenue in Dallas, Texas, sometime during the 80s, and there were no albums, only CDs in the entire store. No albums anywhere. My whole musical history to that point had been on vinyl albums and 45s. I knew my age had passed, and eventually I got a good deal on a CD/radio.boom box, and started investing in CD manufactured product

I only have my entire original collection of music from 1963 until whenever they stopped printing songs on vinyl in the 80s. The last vinyl album I bought new was Melissa Etheridge, before her sexual preference became an issue.

However, in the last year I've seen a sales display of actual vinyl albums for sale at Fry's Store. Pink Floyd's "Dark Side of the Moon" was among their vinyl offerings that day. I don't know if I've seen albums since, unless you count browing alphabetically at Half Price Bookstore. I made out like a bandit buying albums through eBayers. I have a lot of albums.

I'm going to count them soon, and note them on my homeowner's insurance policy. It would costs tons to replace all my music. That would be part of the tragedy if a house fire happened. Melted music, very flat.

People still say "albums." It's due to being of a certain age, and what that term meant originally. It's a unit of music. I can count the progression of formats during the years. I have Led Zeplin on 8-track. There was reel to reel during the age of vinyl, like the set up in the movie "Pulp Fiction."

I can't read the writing on CD covers and booklets because of the size of the print. It's too tiny even for good eyes, right? Is this discouraging kids to read? It discourages me from trying to read about the band and the album's artistic and musical production and enginering. I used to keep up with that kind of thing. The artwork was easier to appreciate on an album cover. That's for sure.

Whatever happened to Waddy Watchel? He used to play a great guitar on lots of session work. He had the longest, wildest, curliest hair. Easily recognizable even in the old days.

An album can become a CD, but a CD cannot become an album. That's if you're a regular person.

Maybe a recording engineer could do it in a sound studio, meaning you have to have some knowlege on the subject, skill with all the moveable parts of recording equipment , and experience--to avoid beginner type mistakes. I recorded a short story-music mix in a real music studio once. I even had an engineer. He laid on some cool special effects, like an echo at the very end. That's art. That's a musical engineer's work. Long Cool Woman in a Black Dress may be available for sale through Lulu.com. The written version is in my portfolio here,

Long Cool Woman in a Black Dress  (13+) After seeing one ex-husband, feelings have come rushing back. What happened? WC 3215 #717443 by a Sunflower in Texas

Even without the audio available, this item has received over 2,100 hits since it was posted at http://www.Writing.com . Check it out in your leisure time. The audio recording is 23 minutes, and I haven't managed to upload the audio yet. That is another issue for later exploration. Maybe I should just post it to YouTube.com. I look for my music there often these days. There are so many options for receiving music, keeping it, and playing it back, how do you pick one? Maybe you don’t. Everyone has his own system for music listening pleasure. I'm attempting to expand my knowledge base as I transmute my albums to digital format. This only sounds slightly frightening to me. But I’m assured because I know how to handle vinyl. There are few prints on my vinyl. The palms of the hands are the best way to physically handle vinyl records. Any Baby Boomer could show you.

Summer music marketing is releasing a few remastered albums on vinyl, testing the public market to see how many people nibble, and if anyone bites, or “buys.”

Almost everybody that ever had records has parted with them. I kept buying albums through my college years into the Saturday Night Fever Soundtrack phase. Back then, everybody seemed to have at least a few records, perhaps some borrowed or traded. Most people have parted with dated musical listening equipment as well as old albums, except those of us who decided to collect.

I own an album autographed by Leon Russell, "Will 'O the Wisp." I own the entire American released albums of the Beatles, plus an English and German recording or two. I have the Animals, of Eric Burden fame, singing "House of the Rising Sun" on a 45 rpm. My album collection means a lot to me. I want to listen to my records.

Vinyl albums (a saying I think George Carlin would consider redundant, if he were still alive) may become more popular with the passage of time. Some people will feel like it's taking a step backwards in technology to bring vinyl back.

We all moved and left a stereo behind, or gave it to a friend to keep for us at some point before the kids arrived in the family, right? Monaural albums were $1.99 at Woolco in the late 1960s, while a stereo album of the same songs was $2.99. The tax rate was lower then too. Albums were more reasonably priced back then, but then when you consider the advances in music, who could really calculate what’s the best playing option. Personally, I would like a re-mastered vinyl album of an old favorite if I could find one.

Mono didn't sound real good even when it was an option. There was that Led Zeppelin song where if you sat in the back seat of the car, the music would go back and forth right through your head. That is an example of stereo, two different ear inputs, one the right speaker and one the left. It was a right of passage back then. Now one speaker can produce stereo sound, and better--depending on its format and player.

Then time passed. Music money became diaper money, or something along those lines. I bought fewer albums as I got older and could better afford it. Actually, I had more money, but music isn't priority spending anymore when you become an adult with a job. You have to cover food, clothing, shelter, plus bills first. Money becomes something different then. An allowance may give you an idea of what the real world will be like, if you believe that the economy is run by Peter Pan. To me, an album conjures a notion of saving up my allowance. I got fifty cents a week for many years. Then I got a raise to $2.25 per week, if my chores were finished adequately. It was easier to buy albums more frequently when my allowance went up. That was when my collecting really began, and the years of my collection prove it.

I want to listen to my zillion albums by my own personal favorite zillion musical artists, AKA rock and roll bands. I want my albums to help me pass my time pleasantly. I'm not keeping up with MTV and rap so much these days. I don't find that type of music soothing or lyrical at all. I know that's not why it's made. However, I want MY music. Is that too much to ask?

The Hispanics who used to live across the back alley from me thought so. I listened to Spanish music when I was outdoors for several months. I was never able to adequately negotiate the volume of outdoor music, or explain what I wanted in Spanish. Other people's music can get on your nerves. For example, I know some people who don't like rapping. Go figure? Poetry in emotion it's not, but that's just my opinion.

"I love rock and roll, so put another song on the jukebox, baby." Somebody already sang that. I've got the tune in my head. How long before I (and you) can remember who the singer was? It'll come to me in a minute. You know that feeling?

It wasn't really the drugs that caused our memory problems. Now, it's the number of years and experiences we have lived on this earth and attempted to store in our brains. "Older" people are somewhat expected to forget, and easily forgiven. We loose the nervous system’s old pathways that used to carry the information to specific brain areas. The more years you live, the more data your central computer has to file, access, and process. I haven't heard any rock and roll music blasting out of local nursing homes, but I know a lot of half deaf rockers who have to listen to music loudly to hear it at all anymore. The earplug situation with ipods may be ruining the newer generation's ears. It's always something, isn't it?

This link, which you may click or may need to be copied and pasted into your browser, does a thorough job of explaining the process of getting your records on to your computer and then immediately burned as a CD/mp3/wav file.

Do not be surprised if you don't get it all after one viewing. It seems damn complicated at this point. I'm keeping the link as a tutorial for myself and sharing it with you. Audacity is a free download. I’d be pleased to hear of other sites that are friendly to this issue. At least, for those without a music engineering background, this is a starting point.

http://download.cnet.com/Audacity/3000-2170_4-10058117.html

It's really an excellent CNet tutorial on transferring your old albums to a digital format. Browse their site if you haven't been there. I find it a great computing resource.

I appreciate helpful comments and critiques at [e-mail] .






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