Streaming Is To Audio What Red Plastic Cups Are To Wine

I just set up a new table , with my previous arm and cartridge and it sounds great.   My girlfriend was over Sunday and we played a bunch of LPs.   

We did some streaming too  but I really think pre-CD era vinyl can sound great.  

I like CDs too ,  I use streaming only for convenience and to discover music.  If  I really like the majority of an album I'll buy it.   Most of my CDs and records are albums I listen through start to end.  

With streaming you can find some gems you want to own and avoid duds with only a few good tracks. 

You know, I still watch movies on VHS tapes. You cannot compare the resolution and noise with good digital and yet..it looks more natural with better colours and shades.

I bet, you need very expensive streamer and dac to even begin comparing to high end analogue.

Yeah, cartridges colour the sound in somewhat different ways, but what doesn't ?

And, anyway, given the same degree, positive colouration is better than negative one. That's what digital does - certain things that should be there are not there, lost in transition and cannot be recovered.

Folks, this is not about sound quality or, heaven forbid, cost of gear. Vinyl and streaming can both sound great.

It is about intentionality and, to a significant extent, agency, and what that word means in the nascent AI era.

Not to put too fine a point on it, when you stream you are sitting immobile in your chair or couch while passively receiving content selected for you by a specialized AI. Yes, it leads to interesting discoveries; but it also blunts the meaning and relevance of the traits and characteristics of the underlying work of art: there is little vested interest in a piece of music that just appeared out of the blue, that you can listen through if you like it, or swipe left if it’s just meh, and right away another one will be queued up for you.

Algorithms are good at putting music in front of you that you’re going to like, resulting in little dopamine jolts that keep you in your seat at 3 am, enduring mediocre musical stretches because the next one might be fantastic!

In that way, streaming is the equivalent of doomscrolling. Yes, it’s convenient; you don’t have to get up every 20 minutes or whatever. In fact you don’t have to get up at all if you don’t feel like it. Is that progress? What does your doctor say?

For the record, I stream. A lot. It is super convenient, especially when I’m working. But when I’m in the mood for more meaningful listening, I often turn to vinyl.