TO WAX NOSTALGIC July 17, 2003 By Josh Alkire I love technology.…

TO WAX NOSTALGIC
July 17, 2003
By Josh Alkire



I love technology. Toys, gadgets, electronic devices, computers, cool audio/video equipment ­ it
all fascinates me. And even my most precious of hobbies, my most sacred of possessions ­ my
music CDs ­ are a product of advanced technology. So it almost pains me to admit that the
progress of technology, including my cherished compact discs, has chipped away at the
experience of listening to music.

THE VINYL FRONTIER
When vinyl was king, the physical experience was just as important as the songs themselves.
Introducing yourself to a new piece of music, from place of purchase to placement of stylus,
involved so much more than simply listening to sounds. Experiencing a new piece of recorded
music involved ripping off the shrink wrap, gazing at the cover art and sliding the vinyl from its
protective inner sleeve before analyzing and carefully cradling the delicate slab of wax.

All these steps were necessary ­ and welcome ­ before you could even get your hands on the
vinyl, which was then handled and treated like a piece of precious gold. As the record spun on the
turntable, diamond stylus magically translating the etched grooves into the warm sounds
emanating from the hi-fi, the superior packaging of the vinyl format offered so much more than
the CD can ever hope to bring. Back then, experiencing a new album involved concurrent sights
and sounds. Listening to the record and inspecting the record jacket were intertwined. You could
immerse yourself in the elaborate visual details of a triple gatefold sleeve as the record went
'round and 'round. Album covers were intended to be contemplated while the music played.

While the compact disc may offer superior sound quality, as works of art, as aesthetic objects of
beauty, they fail miserably in comparison to the vinyl record. And, with the advent of CDs, the
music world lost a valuable component of the listening experience. Records have an aesthetic
quality that CDs lack. Records give their listeners a physical experience that can rarely be
replicated in the CD format. And the reason for this is quite simple: Vinyl albums are larger than
CDs and, therefore, require larger packages.

CDs are simply too small to allow for effective packaging. The five-by-five-inch format barely
provides enough room for the artist name and title! Think back to the releases from the 1970s and
1980s, with their huge, fold-out poster sleeves. The printed lyric sheets. The infinitely intricate


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artwork. The assortment of literature, from album credits to fan club information. Will we see
anything like this again? Unlikely. The size of CDs makes all this supplemental material difficult
to include. To duplicate the impact of the triple gatefold album sleeve (such as The Who's
Tommy) would require a CD booklet folded like the world's most intricate roadmap. An inch
thick, the resulting insert would most likely fail to fit inside the plastic jewel case. While
manufacturers could alter and transform the size and dimensions of standard CD packaging to
achieve these aesthetic goals, it appears unlikely, because the recording industry seems to be
more concerned with portability than experience design. So a return to the larger, 12-inch
packaging format appears unlikely.

COVER MODELS
The move from vinyl to compact disc has diminished the visual experience. The beautiful cover
art, in all its 12-by-12-inch brilliance, is gone, reduced to nearly one-third its size.

Think about the cover of The Beatles' Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, which featured a
great number of cardboard cutouts of the day's cultural and political celebrities. The cover also
incorporated the industry's first gatefold sleeve and was the first to include printed lyrics. This
release wouldn't have the same impact if originally released today at the smaller size. Imagine
trying to identify all those people at one-third size!

And, sticking with The Beatles family for a moment, the visual impact of the Live Peace In
Toronto 1969 album cover (with its image of a stark blue sky broken only by a single white
cloud) by The Plastic Ono Band is severely diminished as cover size decreases.

The vinyl format offered much more than just a larger cover area. Album cover designers were
able to develop a number of package innovations. Particularly active listeners were invited to
participate in mechanical covers such as Led Zeppelin's III (with its giant spinning wheel of
images) or The Faces' Ooh La La (with its moving image of Italian singer Ettore Petrolini).

Other covers experimented with different shapes, moving away from the standard square. Both
Ogden's Nut Gone Flake by the Small Faces (modeled to look like a tobacco tin) and E Pluribus
Funk by Grand Funk Railroad (shaped like a giant coin) used the rather unconventional circular
sleeve. Still other album packages were designed to resemble different objects, such as a Zippo
lighter (Catch A Fire by The Wailers) or the top of a school desk (School's Out by Alice Cooper).

And who can forget the cover of the Rolling Stones Sticky Fingers, complete with working, life-
size metal zipper? Sure, it scratched the other albums in your collection, but think of the impact!


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The vinyl experience cannot be matched. And I say this as the proud owner of 2,627 CDs. In spite
of its limitations, I've allowed the compact disc format to dominate my life, as I strive to own and
cherish every possible release by number of my favorite acts. And I reluctantly realize that my
own beloved CD collection would be that much cooler as slabs of vinyl, even as I acquiesce and
submit to the wonders of technology.

THE ALLURE OF ZEROS AND ONES
Of course, many people will respond that it's all about the music, and who cares what the
package looks like, as long as we can hear the songs that make up the primary product? Well, I
care about the package. I like to read the lyrics. I like the artwork, the photographs, the
illustrations. I want to read about each and every person thanked by the artist. But not everyone
feels this way.

Because of a simple satisfaction with mere songs, the next step in the evolution of recorded music
may mean that the CD is on its way out, itself going the way of the vinyl record. Its replacement?
The digital sound file, the MP3, the WMV.

Personally, I don't want these digital files. Sure, I can play them through my tinny computer
speakers, and I can burn the sounds to a CDR, but then what? As a collector, are my CDR
compilations worth anything? Will I experience that same moment of discovery, without paging
through a CD booklet? Nope.

I've seen my own personal MP3 craze come and go. That's because, to me, a silver CDR labeled
with a felt-tip scribble just cannot compare to the real thing. I want the packaging, the lyric sheet,
the graphics, the photographs, the smell. (Yes, brand-new CDs have a certain smell.) I want the
total experience.

Single files on my hard drive do little for me. Hitting the play button on iTunes or Winamp or
Windows Media Player before returning to my spreadsheets or word processing can hardly be
classified as an experience.

ALL KILLER, NO FILLER
In the days of vinyl, limited edition posters, temporary tattoos, fan club applications, and all sorts
of other of bonus materials and incentives items were commonplace, included as part of the
packaging. You will rarely discover these items within a jewel case, and it is essentially
impossible with a downloadable track. Sure, you access the Internet to call up the lyrics, but can


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the virtual CD booklet that appears on your computer monitor compare to the physical experience
of holding the real thing in your hands? In my opinion, no.

Then again, considering the millions of downloads from the iTunes Music Store during the past
few months, I may be in the anti-MP3 minority. And that's fine. I'm content to scour the CD
racks at my local music store or scan the listings at eBay for the real thing. And vinyl junkies like
my father will, no doubt, continue to search for that elusive slab of wax, because a digital file just
isn't good enough. It's not only about the music. It's about the entire package, the entire
experience.

LP LESSONS LEARNED
The evolution of personal music delivery is directly relevant to the creation of a powerful brand
experiences. To make strong, genuine connections with our audience, we need to be conscious of
the value of rich, multi-sensorial experiences. Just like the album cover creators of yesterday, we
need to design for all the senses. The vinyl experience catered to vision, touch, smell and sight,
and so must our brand experiences. In their prime, LP covers were sources of frivolity, art,
experimentation and even social commentary. They were a true indication of the power of visual
images to promote and represent the music contained within. This mindset and approach should
be applied in contemporary design, despite the provocative lures of "better" technology.

The evolution of recorded sound proves that that the latest thing is not always the greatest. The
music industry has moved from low quality, yet rich experiences (vinyl) to high quality, yet poor
experiences (CDs). And with the success of digital file sharing, the industry appears to be rapidly
moving toward low quality, poor experiences (MP3s). Everyone involved in Design disciplines
need to take heed: what's next is not always what's best.




                     Josh Alkire
                     Josh is a Writer at Thread Inc., working from the corporate headquarters in
                     Toledo, Ohio (U.S.). An award-winning writer, Josh concentrates on the
                     creation of copy and concepts for client projects and internal initiatives. With
                     an extensive client list that includes several international companies, Josh is
                     well versed in building products, automotive, technology companies, plastics
                     and non-profits.




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                                                                                              Josh Alkire
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Josh graduated from The University of Cincinnati with a Bachelor of Arts in English, with a
strong emphasis on journalism, literature and creative writing.

josh.alkire@experiencethread.com




Editor ­ Dirk Knemeyer

Copyright ©2003 Thread Inc.




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