My Analytical Writing: Records vs. Compact Discs

Compact Discs vs. Vinyl Records

Listening to music has changed so much since the first time I used my own money to buy a cassette tape way back in 1985. An addiction started in the music department of K-Mart that day. I was on my way to becoming a music freak; spending most of my money on tapes, Cds and records. That tape, Weird Al’s Dare to be Stupid would be the first of the thousands of tapes, records and compact discs that I would own in my lifetime. While I do not have many tapes anymore, I still have hundreds of compact discs and vinyl records, and I enjoy listening to both.

Digital music has made listening to music a different and oftentimes more convenient experience. With the advent of Mp3 files, the convenience increases because people are able to store more music in smaller spaces. Compact discs are probably still the most accessible way to store music since there are so many Cd players around. People who prefer compact discs have no problem playing their music in their cars or anywhere they may go. These small discs are also much easier to store and travel with since they are about a quarter of the size of a full-size record album. Who has a turntable in their car anyway?

Compact discs also make it much easier to transfer songs into a computer library, an Mp3 player, or another cd. Transferring music from vinyl to a cd or into a computer library is often difficult, and it usually requires additional software. While I have copied some songs from vinyl to Cds to share with friends, I would have much rather used a compact disc. There are times when a song or album is rare, and I only have in on vinyl. In that case, I manually record the song onto a cd with the burner in my stereo (which I don’t think they make anymore), and then I use the cd I made to transfer the music into my computer library or another cd. This stereo component requires special “music only” CDRs, so that is another reason this is more troublesome.

With all the advantages of digital music, I still must say I like vinyl better. Even when I was a kid, I would argue to my friends that records were much better than tapes because there was no need for rewinding and fast forwarding. With records, I could drop the needle directly on the song I wanted to hear without having to find it on a tape. The invention of compact discs took care of the rewinding issue, but they still lack some of the advantages of their granddaddy, the good old vinyl record.

Records are bigger. A bigger disc may be cumbersome for traveling and storage, but the album art really gets its due on a bigger surface. Oftentimes with Cds I am unable to see the entire picture on the front. There is never any problem with this when you are holding a record sleeve. Just think of the art on the covers of The Beatles’ Sergeant Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, or Led Zeppelin’s Houses of the Holy, or Pink Floyd’s Animals; these pieces of visual art were not made for a tiny cd booklet. These larger works of art contribute to a more complete listening experience since I can enjoy the artwork better while I listen.

The sound from records is more pure because they work in the same way as the human ear. Your eardrum is a thin membrane stretched across some nerve endings. The sounds you hear are the amplification of a vibration. Drums are an amplification of a vibration, as are the sounds you hear from a guitar, saxophone, or even the human voice. When one plays a record on his turntable, he is causing a vibration in the needle that is electronically amplified through the speakers, so naturally you are going to get the best and most natural sound. For example, if one were to crank up the volume while listening to a compact disc, the music gets louder. Do the same with a record, and the music gets louder and bigger. The difference is that with a CD, you are turning up thousands of ones and zeros, but with a record you are amplifying actual vibrations.

I, like most music lovers still cherish my compact discs that I have collected over the years. This is especially true when we consider music that was recorded after compact discs were invented. This music was made to listen to on compact discs, while earlier music was made for records. The one exception I can think of is the White Stripes’ Elephant which was recorded on 1950s equipment, and yes, I have the record. I have bought new music on LPs, and there are times when I think these sound better as well, but I have to think Radiohead was invisioning how Amnesiac would sound on a CD, not an LP. I might be wrong.

I have not even gotten into cassette tapes or eight tracks, both of which own space on my shelf. It seems that no format sticks around for too long, though vinyl records reigned for over fifty years. One day this whole argument may be obsolete when mp3s and computer files rule the music world, but until that day comes I will continue getting my hands on as many records and CDs as I can, and I will listen to all of them in their due time.

A Place on Earth by Wendell Berry pages 1-101

A friend gave me this book six or seven years ago, and I am just now getting to it.

Wendell Berry is a very detailed writer. He describes absolutely everything down to the smallest specification. This can get tedious at times, but for the most part I am enjoying this book.

It seems as though Berry wants to introduce readers to every single person living in Port William Kentucky, where the story takes place. It seems that every other chapter is about another person, and it is getting hard to keep them all straight. The novel is set in the 1940s during World War Two.

The main character is a man named Mat (with one "n") Feltner who has just recieved a telegram that his son is missing in action in Europe. I expect the rest of the novel to focus mote on Mat and his family, but the first one hundred pages seem to be more of an introduction. I still have more than four hundred to go.

Writing One

You will receive three grades for each of your writings, which should give you the best opportunity to produce the best work. You should have your rough draft completed at the beginning of class on January 18, 2007.

You will receive a 100 for having a draft that is two double-spaced pages of 12-point Times New Roman. Instead of posting your rough drafts, you should put them in my drop box, and I will print them for you. Failure to have a rough draft on the 17th will result in you getting a late grade for the draft as well as the editing exercise we will complete on that day. Having a rough draft on time will ensure that you receive highest grade you deserve for your work.

Students in Lit 9/10 should submit a piece of autobiographical writing. This does not mean start at your birth and tell us everything up until today. It is much more interesting if you would focus on one meaningful event in your life and explain the many ways it has shaped your unique personality.

Here is an example from Terrell Owens' autobiography.


Students in Lit 11 should submit a piece of analytical writing. To analyze something means to break it into small pieces to understand it better. For instance, if I wanted to learn more about engines, I might take one apart to better understand how it works. Analytical writing is a little different. You may want to analyze the work of your favorite musician or visual artist, or you may want to analyze how a certain political decision affects people.

Here is a good example of a sportswriter analyzing something she notices about college football.

User Agreement

Using a weblog for our classwork will require some parameters for your safety and the quality of everyone's work. First, you should recognize that your work, as well as mine will be published for the entire on-line world to see. This will ultimately make us all responsible for better and more original output than ever before. By visiting other students' weblogs, you will be able to view all their work, and it will also make it easy for me to see who is not making an effort to submit work that is original.

Once you create your own weblog for this class, I will add it to the class blog roll so everyone's work can be accessed from this page. I encourage you to look at your peers' work for ideas or inspiration, but what you submit must be your own. Language Arts lends itself well to this format since you will be asked to respond to the literature and history we study with your own ideas and opinions. There are no right or wrong answers in a Language Arts class, so looking at other students' ideas can help you. It can also create problems if you choose to be lazy.

I will leave comments about your work. These comments will usually instruct you on how you can improve your work. Please make sure you check your comments and your e-mail regularly, and make sure you are finished with one assignment before moving to the next.

Since this weblog will be part of your education at Classic City High School, any activity on your weblog should be considered school activity, even if it is done outside of school. You should feel free to create posts that are not school related, but you should also be sure to refrain from anything that could be considered inappropriate. This includes, but is not limited to: references to alcohol or drugs, violence, or gang activity, foul language, nudity, threats, etc.

Plagiarism is submitting someone else's work as your own. This can be done in many ways: copying work from Wikipedia, classmates, Sparknotes, etc. If you plagiarize your work, you will receive a zero -- no questions asked.

THE USER AGREEMENT:

1. I agree to submit original work to my weblog. I realize I will have the opportunity to view my peers' work, and I will use this opportunity constructively. I understand that if I choose to plagiarize, I will receive a zero for the work in question.

2. I agree to keep my weblog appropriate for Classic City High School. I understand that if innapropriate material were to appear on my weblog, be it from myself or an outside comment, I will be asked to remove it. Failure to do so will result in my weblog being removed from the class roll. I also understand that refereneces to illegal or dangerous activities will be reported since it is the legal responsibility of my teacher.

To agree, post a comment to this message like this: I agree to Siegmund's Weblog User Agreement. I will not add your weblog to the class roll until I receive your message.