conversion, but he conveniently leaves out the fact that with vinyl one must get off one's ass every 5 songs to flip the record.
Well first off - in the age of the internet everyone wants to act like an audiophile. I personally think we have the bandwidth and storage space (on average) to make the switch to lossless formats. But honestly? The average person can't tell the difference between 320k and lossless.
Vinyl... is a tricky discussion. Many records are just "cds on vinyl". The music was recorded digitally and goes through an analogue conversion to be turned into a record. So that "warmth" people talk about is generally missing on most records nowadays. I do enjoy that today records are more likely to be 180 grams, and thus more likely to hold up over time. And again - most people can't tell the difference between vinyl and cd quality. Some can, but most can't.
As for getting up and messing with it - i see that as a plus. I see the value in walkmans, discmans, ipods or putting music on your phone (i have 128GB of it on my phone right now). Mobile music is great. But here's the problem with it - mobile music makes us more likely to turn it into this thing we just have on in the background while doing other things. While we cut the grass, workout, cook dinner, sit at our desks at work, whatever.. we're not REALLY LISTENING. We're not stopping and letting that music wash over us. We're not paying attention to the lyrics (this is why most people know hooks but have absolutely no idea what a song is about).
I remember as a kid - when life wasn't as hectic - i'd wait all fucking summer for a cd to come out. Waiting for something...i think has value too. Now you hear about it - the marketing campaign for the artist goes into over-drive, albums are built where most of the songs are singles, "leaked" one at a time, most of the songs having a music vid, twitter, facebook and tumblr campaigns - the album leaks early, then gets exclusive spotify and itunes releases. There's no waiting. there's no salivating for what will come and what will be. I remember waiting all summer getting a cd - rushing to the store the day it came out, rushing out to my car -- i had getting the cellophane off a cd, and popping that security sticker off down to a 5 second set of actions - pop the cd in and just sit there in the parking lot taking it in for 10-15 minutes. Either listening to songs straight through or skipping around the album - just to go home, pop it in my cd player there, lay back on my bed, listen to it from beginning to end, while looking through the liner notes and artwork that came with it. And sometimes i'd do this with an album multiple times.
And vinyl to me... it forces you to do that to an extent. The tactile response, the ritual of flipping it, the stationary nature of the medium, the large as hell artwork you're forced to interact with just to get the album out.. it makes the world stop for a moment so you can immerse yourself in music.
There's a movement that never really took off a long time ago called the "slow food movement" or something to that effect. It argued that people's relationship with food in the era of convenience had inherently changed. We valued ..more instinctive tastes (fried, crunchy, carby) and quick impulse sating more than...having a refined palette. As a result.. we as a society, always on the go - didn't spend time learning to cook and instead opting for fast food, and for microwave meals, instant this and delivery that. And it's one of the main contributing factors to our obesity epidemic. And that by learning to love food, learning to cook and make tasty and healthy meals - by "slowing down" - we will by a byproduct be healthier.
I think our access to music, and our appreciation of it works the same way. I also, think you can draw parallels between say the food pyramid (or the theory of it) to the art/entertainment and information we consume. A little junk is ok....but you don't want your diet based purely on it.
I wrap nostalgia and romance around much of my feelings about music - but if there's an area of life where i should be allowed to freely do that without criticism it should be in appreciation for something as subjective as art. But for all my human irrational bias - i do think there's something objective about slowing down, focusing and being intimate with music and it shapes how you appreciate it, it shapes how you value it. Someone who chows down quarter-pounders from mcdonalds while driving down the road at 45mph while doing errands on his lunch break every day - probably isn't a connesiuer of a "good burger".
Slowing down, focusing and tangible response all play on the human psyche, and it shapes our experience. However hard it is to articulate that, or talk make comments about it concretely.