Recently I reorganized my record collection and it got me thinking. There are a lot of similarities with what happened in photography and recorded music. It was around the same time when analog photography and recorded music went near extinct.  Digitalia was being forced down our throats, cloaked in the mantra of convenience. Speed, less hassle, less work … it was just so damn easy.  But slowly things began to turn around, because some people saw through this and others discovered/rediscovered what was almost lost. It took awhile but more and more folks came to realize that analog is just plain better – be it film or vinyl.

Today film and paper are readily available and there has been a vinyl explosion to the point of near extinction for the awful sounding CD. In photography digital capture will not go away because it satisfies a need for the commercial world. For many who shoot color it’s also good enough. But for black and white, people have rediscovered that digital just cannot replace film and wet processes.

Yes, for vinyl or film and paper, analog processes are messy, they take more work and more time, but they’re worth the extra effort! Sort of reminds me of an old beer commercial. Two guys are talking about whether to use a nail or a screw that would be hidden from sight. They guy who was making the decision said others might not know he used a screw, but he would.

I love analog and all the “extra” work that goes into it. And besides, with all the mediocrity we’re stuck with today, from the food we eat, to the culture we live in and most of idiot politicians we’re stuck with, along with the compromises we either make or are forced to adopt in today’s world, I am more than happy to use the screw instead of the nail and take the extra time and the steps necessary to create images or listen to great music in a way that is just flat out better.

Others may not care, but I do.

The screw is better than the nail … and I know it.

Stay safe,

Michael