The SL-1200 MK2

Hello, my name is Technics SL-1200 MK2.

The Aftermath

That Sufjan record there is wonderful.

"Is this thing level?"

I've been in the market for a new turntable since I returned home and noticed that my records were playing too fast. Emily claims to not have noticed, but it would drive me crazy hearing of Montreal's "Everything Disappears When you Come Around" at 35 RPM instead of 33 1/3, and hearing Elliott Smith's "Division Day" at 48 1/2 instead of 45. Honestly, my thing with vinyl from the beginning was not with "cool", but with being able to listen to more music- cheaply, and in its original format. I can go to a record store and get used (and decently clean, or at least after a scrub) LP's for $3-4. I can find Paul Simon's Graceland in the way it was created to be listened to: from side A, a short intermission of flipping the record, then side B. (One might argue the circumstances of this playback method forced artists to fit into the box instead of creating the box, but certainly the limitations were considered in sequencing the album.) Another thing: no bonus tracks. Y'notice that when you buy a CD of an older album (read: more than 10 years, and getting exponentally shorter), there is tacked on bonus tracks, alternate mixes, and re-mixes with the hook ripped out of its habitat, playing over a drum machine bass and shotgun snares (and the wailing sirens in the background are a nice touch), which may do wonders for the record's hardcore fans, but newbie-me is not usually interested except in hearing the monaural vs. stereo versions. Most smaller labels are releasing LP's with a coupon inside for a free mp3 download of the album, realizing that music consumers are listening to music in multiple formats. But more than any of this, I wanted to hear what some of my favorite current groups were creating on one-off tracks released on vinyl: split 7'''s, EP's on side 4 of the album, B-sides on a great single.

Though for many that exclusive track or cheap record may not be worth the cost of a nice turntable, I enjoy having a high-quality way to enjoy something that I love. And now I could DJ!