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"Is that a record??? "

I guess I just found out today how out of touch I am with the rest of the non-audiophile world. I went to the local USPS office to return a damaged LP. I still had the package it came in from Acoustic Sounds, which had 'LP' written on it in several places. So the Postmaster says to me incredulously "Is that a record???!!!" . I calmly say "Yes". The woman in line behind me says "Reeeally!!!...one of those plastic thingyyys???". Again, I repeat my reply, "Yes, it's an LP".
Postmaster: "Wow! I had no idea they even made them anymore."
Me: "Yes, they still make them".
Woman: "Are you serious?"
Me: "Yes, they still make them. In fact, more today than even 10 years ago."
Postmaster: "You mean they still make NEW!! records???"
Me: "Yes."
Postmaster: "What kind of music do you buy?"
Me: "Mostly Jazz".
Postmaster: "Why do you buy them?"
Me: "Because they sound better than cd's."
Postmaster: "I've heard that before, but all of my old records sound like crap."
Me: "Well you do have to take care of them."
Postmaster: "I thought I was taking care of them....I guess I wasn't".

Now I'm not trying to start another vinyl vs. cd debate, been there done that. It just blew my mind that here are two folks around the same age as me, late 40's, who were stunned to find out that vinyl was still availible. I mean I guess I don't expect everyone to know this, but I was a bit taken back by their appearant shock. You'd have thought that I drove up in a Hudson automobile wearing a Fedora hat.

Am I THAT out of touch? I feel like a ostrich with my head in the ground listening to tunes.....out of touch with the real world............

Cheers,
John
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jmcgrogan2 OP
6,346 posts
 
Alright, I guess my intent was not to bash USPS employees. The Postmaster, and the woman both seemed like normal, regular folks. I was the nut job here, for not realizing how out of touch I was with reality.

I'm not saying that there are no stupid USPS employees. The one I dealt with did not come off at all like a stupid individual though. He was on the upper end of people that I've dealt with in any service industry to be honest. Well groomed, articulate and friendly.
More than can be said about mail1778832@bupkiss.net, who appears to have just crawled out from under a rock for some good old-fashioned trolling.

Cheers,
John
qdrone
1,039 posts
 
come on people,USPS employees are like everyone else in this country,it's just a job and with all jobs it gets boring so they were looking for some conversation. Anyway besides records sounding fantastic when you clean them and your analog front end is decent I get a kick out of what you can find in thrift shops and garage or estate sales. Most people just don't have a clue. Last week for a dollar at the local Out of the Closet I picked up an Original pressing of Randy Newman/12 songs in mint shape. Ry Cooder plays guitar and slide on this baby!
vegasears
1,173 posts
 
At work we have "Dress Down Friday". A few weeks back I wore my "Tubes Rock" tee shirt which has a picture of a tube on it. I got the same responses. I must have explained the why 20 times. I'll never do that again.
johnnyb53
3,510 posts
 
Fun at the Thrift Shops:

04-19-07: Qdrone
I get a kick out of what you can find in thrift shops and garage or estate sales... Last week for a dollar at the local Out of the Closet I picked up an Original pressing of Randy Newman/12 songs in mint shape. Ry Cooder plays guitar and slide on this baby!

I just returned from a hunting expedition at St. Vincent De Paul with 28 albums at $1 ea. Everything I picked up today ranges from VG++ to NM or opened but unplayed. It's a good thing I like classical; I picked some Sibelius, an opera or two, a boxed set of Bach organ stuff, etc. I also got the Reader's Digest/RCA 7-LP collection of '40s Big Band Swing. All 7 LPs in it are unplayed. Also picked up 11 Windham Hill records, of which at least half were recorded direct-to-2-channel on analog 1/2" running at 30ips and half-speed mastered either at MoFi or JVC.

A couple weeks ago I picked up a "real" Everest LP of Mozart wind ensembles, originally recorded on 35mm mag tape. Record looks like it's been through a war zone, but still has that uncanny "in the room" sensation.
sharpnine
14 posts
 
I have gotten that too, when returning a record via UPS. People seem astounded and curious. I got some of that same treatment for a couple years when I started driving a new mini cooper (people kept telling me "I used to have one of those in the 60s, do they still make them?").

I got back into vinyl (after a 20 year hiatus) not because people my age (middle age) were into it, but because I noticed all the young people were getting into it. My son (20 at the time) had roommates his age who only listened to vinyl. I went on to discover how all the DJs were still doing vinyl, the local record shops were mainly selling to a young crowd. I was also reading hi-fi magazines (something the young people definitely don't do) and realizing the great sound quality of vinyl. Now my son and I are both vinyl fanatics, although our tastes in music differ considerably.

These days, vinyl seems in a real resurgence. A local CD shop that had long since dumped vinyl now has devoted a good chunk of their shop to vinyl, and other shops have expanded their vinyl collections. They say they are thankful for vinyl because CD sales are gradually going away. Nobody cares about CDs when they can download. You can't download vinyl. I predict most music shops will be gone in ten years, with only the vinyl shops remaining. Everything else will be downloaded or more likely just streamed live on demand.
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