Young people with old souls prefer records to CDs
21st March 2011
In most ways, Sarah McCarthy is your average high schooler. She has a job, college plans, but also a peculiar passion for a 16-year-old: She’s a vinyl junkie.
That’s right, analog. And none of that hipster new stuff or a USB-ready turntable from Urban Outfitters.
To this senior from Centreville, Md., there’s nothing like the raw crackle, the depth of sound, her delicate hand on diamond-tipped stylus to spin from the dusty stash of records she found in the basement of her grandfather _ yes, grandfather.
Sometimes the old ways are best.
March 21st, 2011 at 14:28
She’s a senior WITH a job at 16? Not an average high school student in 2011. Maybe ever. Probably more typical these days is that the AHSS isn’t sure who “Dad” is, let alone who Grandad is, and he/she probably believes any technology that existed before last year is outdated and vile.
I recall a guy down the hall in my college dorm that was an extreme audiophile. He had an amazing turntable with a needle that cost more than my tuition. Even with all that, plus his relentless pursuit of albums in perfect condition, he still suffered with crackles and skips. Vinyl technology was poor compared to CD tech. Yeah, I know that “purists” will defend analog to the death, but any reduction in sound quality was due to the recording company, not the technology.
Slightly OT: I think that guy I mentioned became a dentist. I read somewhere that dentists have an extremely high suicide rate because they are often perfectionists. I thought of him immediately when I read that.