Today was a day.
I woke up at 3am (ish) and couldn't get back to sleep so have generally been running on curses and fumes.
The positives to come out of it involved a VIP ticket for Anathema in December, a phono preamp, and being able to listen to a bunch of old music that had some painful memory associations.
I'm really keen for the preamp to arrive, I've missed putting an album on and letting it do its thing. Music in the 21st century has become far too insular, what with it mostly being pumped into your skull via headphones and a digital device.
I like vinyl as a medium not for its "cool" factor but because it is a more immersive medium. It's a physical thing. You lug a 12 inch square from the shop to your home, ply it from its wrappings and place a stylus on an archaic slab, and have to get up 25 minutes later to flip the fucker. You have to work for your music.
I don't belive it sounds any better than a well mixed and mastered digital recording, but it sure as hell requires more from the listener.
And its more of a communal thing. Records just sound better through good hi-fidelty speakers than they do through run of the mill headphones (although I do have myself a rather decent set of studio heahphones).
I also love the format for the album art. the 12" format reall allowed for some of the greatest designs to be channelled. Dark Side Of The Moon just looks silly in its 12cm version compared to the vinyl format.
I had to order a ground cable too though, I had awful static hums with the last set up.