The Revenge of Analog

vinyl is back

Siebe Warmoeskerken (CC0)

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Original Air Date: 
April 09, 2017

Do you miss turntables, vinyl records, cassette tapes, landline phones? Welcome to the analog revival – a movement to roll back digital dominance. This week, how headphones and MP3s ruined music, the pleasure of listening to old 78’s, and the politics of nostalgia.

digital and analog, together
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Many of us are living two lives – old-school analog and cutting-edge digital. Author David Sax says that’s okay. 

vinyl player
Articles

Novelist Hari Kunzru talks about listening through the scratch and hiss of old 78’s for the voice of the past.

headphones
Audio

Writer and producer Damon Krukowski explains why we must take care in eschewing analog imperfection in pursuit of more perfect digital sound.

recording at the rock show
Audio

MP3 formatting compresses audio so that the file becomes 75 to 95 percent smaller. What's goes missing in the process? Conceptual artist Kenneth Goldsmith explains. 

magic in the internet
Articles

Despite pining for landline telephones, writer Virginia Heffernan sees magic in the potential of the internet.

tech love

In his new poem, Fady Joudah explores questions about exile, suffering and the language of nation states.More

listening intently
Sonic Sidebar

A listener reminds us that it wasn't just teenage boys listening to Pink Floyd in 1973. 

Show Details 📻
Airdates
September 23, 2017
April 09, 2017
March 24, 2018
February 23, 2019
Guests: 
David Sax
Writer, Reporter Specializing in Business and Culture
Kenneth Goldsmith
Conceptual Artist, Poet, Teacher
Categories: 
Last modified: 
February 15, 2019