Recently bought a gadget with which I can rip my huge collection of music on vinyl LPs directly to MP3. Going through the discs is quite a trip down memory lane. Except maybe for a few that were “borrowed” and never returned (Brian!) I still possess nearly every album I ever owned, including my first album ever, Save Me by Silver Convention. (Incidentally, this pioneering disco hit was a Christmas present from my mom. When I was 13. How did she now?)

I also have lots of wierd industrial-ambient music from the early 80’s, which I called “difficult listening” and was always good to clear out hangers-on at the end of a party.

The process is turning out to be a bit of a pain. But hey, wasn’t listening to records a pain compared to CDs and MP3s? The quality of the recording is actually pretty good, unless the record itself has artifacts. But the software (Audacity) is a little cumbersome until you get the hang of it. Unlike ripping CDs, with LPs you have to indicate where the tracks break and type in the song names. And then there’s the steady hand needed to drop the needle.

So I’m thinking of doing one album per day, and adding them to my online collection as I do it. Perhaps I’ll tempt the RIAA mafia and post a song or two here.