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Something/Anything

Here's the reality of being a lifelong music fan/audiophile: I now accept the fact that my entire library cannot be consolidated to digital.

It's not like I'm against having everything in one place. It's more the nature of the beast that comes with collecting vinyl and bargain bin CDs in addition to everything else. As much as I had apprehension towards vinyl before, the source of changing the opinion around comes from the quality of the needle, turntable, and the actual vinyl.

With less of a demand for CDs year after year, deluxe remasters could be a thing of the past. (And I'm not hot on the idea of shelling out $200 for a set including a remastered CD, 180-vinyl, DVD, and book.) For example, I don't think Columbia Records will not get around to producing massive reissues/box sets for the rest of Bruce Springsteen's catalog. Instead of buying a thin-sounding version on CD, I gladly will add The River and Nebraska to my vinyl collection. The same goes for Todd Rundgren's massive back catalog.

Something else I've realized: there's music that is great to listen to at home and then there is music that is great to listen in the car. Think about it: if you're going to spend hours on end at home, wouldn't it be nice to have as much at your disposal as possible? Especially since this amount of time probably greatly trumps the amount of time in a car?

Since not every vinyl record known to man was repressed on CD, there are plenty of lost tracks waiting to be found on the grooves. And I find immense joy in hearing something I've never heard before (and probably wouldn't have had the patience for) while driving.

At this point, I can't imaging packing things up and finding a good cellar. Part of being a music fanatic often means being a librarian/archivist, so I feel confident in accepting this title.

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