5:13

A few weeks ago I lost my guitar pic. Though I walk at least an hour everyday I never got around to going to the music store to buy a replacement. As a result I have been forced to learn how to play using my fingers which has proven to be easier than I thought it would be. I am finding that at times I prefer this type of sound to flat-picking.

I bought a record player a little over a month ago from a small electronics store in Florida. Had to pay a $16.00 duty but I dont mind. I've been meaning to get one for several years but the time just never seemed right. I simultaneously ordered two LP's. They are Bob Dylan's "Blonde on Blonde" and the self titled debut album of The Doors. I immediately noticed the difference in sound quality in this "new" medium compared to CDs. MP3s sound very dull to me. They've slowly been losing their appeal to me since I started listening to better sources of music. At some point MP3 quality may improve but for the moment they leave much to be desired. With the records it almost sounds as if the band is in the same room as me. There is more depth to the record. This is well known to many, but to some it will be news. I wonder how CDs managed to take over the market in the late 1980s and early 1990s. The only advantage I see with CDs is their size. At that time CDs were not on par with records, not even close. I realized this when I heard a few Beatles songs on vinyl. Up to that point I had only heard the 1987 CD mixes which were horrible. A lot was lost in those CDs. I am however quite pleased with the recent remastering and re-release of The Beatles catalogue. It was a huge improvement, particularly for the mono set.
Since then I have bought several other LPs. I managed to get one of the original pressings of Bruce Springsteen's debut album "Greetings From Asbury Park, N.J.". That album was originally released in 1973 and did not sell very well at the time. I imagine my collection will slowly grow for some time to come.