Is Listening To MP3s And Vinyls Better Than Listening To Live Music?


Here’s something that should have an obvious answer for most people (some crusty folks like me who avoid large crowds and loud sounds would beg to differ), is listening to MP3s and vinyls better than listening to live music? LIVE MUSIC, DUH!

If you don’t listen to live music, you don’t love music. If you don’t go see a show, you have no soul. Stop being a slave to the mainstream, man. Whatever. But what if it’s… not better?

PBS Idea Channel brings up an interesting angle to this argument though: real live music is performed to sound like recorded music. Performances are tuned to sound like the MP3s and vinyls you own because the expectation of anyone going to the concert is set by those MP3s and vinyls.

We want live performances to sound as perfect as a record, but we want a record to sound like we’re there live. It goes around in circles! Watch the video above and get your brain wrinkled and find out which one is better. [PBS Idea Channel via The Awesomer]