It works like this... vinyl sucked. We all know that, despite our fondness for the records we grew up with. The feel of them, the look of those big covers, the smell of them...mmmm oh, too much.... But seriously, even back then we knew there was something inherently imperfect about a format that skipped like it did, and was so susceptible to scratching, hissing, static, pops, clicks, that weird sound the needle made when you rubbed it with your fingers, etc.
So along comes digital... the CD... and we are just happy to have it, at first. It's clear, pure, and easy to use. So we buy everything on CD. Then we get our iPods, and mp3s become the compromise that you have to live with in order to carry your entire record collection around in your pocket. But how fucking cool is it to carry your fucking record collection around in your pocket? Never mind that Neil Young tells us that mp3 is evil because it's like looking at a Picasso through a mesh screen. We want our iPods. But for some of us, and for some music, like the Beatles (and Neil Young, if he's lucky), we do want a better format. We'll carry around the mp3s, but we need to know that there is something available to us, that we can put on at home, pour a glass of wine, sit in the recliner, set the bass and treble just right, and just listen, in a way that melts the soul. No digitization, no resolution issues, and no scratchy vinyl. The Beatles, dammit, should be oozing into my brain directly from theirs... format should not be an obstacle.
So CDs weren't cutting it in that regard, and mp3s... well, we sold our souls on that one. So what's next? The fact is that all formats are going to be digital from now on. Even if you were to buy an analog format, the stuff was probably recorded in digital. You can't even find any recording engineers anymore who know how to use the analog equipment, let alone find a studio that is still using it. So it's not about format, it's about resolution. Give me my Beatles and Zeppelin in a format with as few of the bits and bytes taken out of it.
The Beatles have done the best they can so far with the USB product. Made for audiophiles who know, or for people who have the $240 and just want to buy the whole collection in one handy package, this device has all the files to all the Beatles albums in 24 bit FLAC audio, the highest resolution Beatle product ever released.
Please will someone buy me this for Christmas?
Read review here: http://www.squidoo.com/buy-beatles-usb
And if you're at it, see the other Squidoo lenses I like....
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