This evening I was typing out a letter to one of my many Type-Pals. One of the things that this particular type~pal and I share in common besides typewriters is our love of music. We have quite a bit of crossover when it comes to much of the music that we like to listen to despite the fact that there is quite a gap between our respective ages. Just one of the many surprising things that I have learned about others that I correspond with on a regular basis.
The subject matter of my letter led me into quite an extended listening session. In fact, I am still listening now early in the A.M. hours of the following morning. While listening late at night / early in the morning has not been an unusual thing for as over the years, listening to music while doing other things is not something that I always do as I tend to get pretty deep into the listening aspect of things — to the point where I am too zoned out to do most anything else.
That’s not to say that I don’t enjoy having music on in the background while I am busy doing other things. To me, that is more like “hearing” music rather than “listening” to music. In my mind at least there is a difference. I am often the same way when I’m typing. I do not typically have music on in the background when I’m typing. The relative silence suits me as I’m so tuned into the writing (or the typing if you will).
I can easily identify a number of similarities when it comes to my various “analog pursuits”. In this case I am referring to typing letters using a manual typewriter and listening to music as found on vinyl LP’s via a turntable. (I could note a number of similarities when it comes to taking photographs with a manual film camera.)
What spurred me on to write this post was an illustration of a typewriter as seen on the record label of Peter Mulvey‘s album “The Trouble With Poets”. This is a recording that was originally released in 2000 on CD. It was later released on vinyl in 2019, but the typewriter was present in the artwork in both cases.
I only just picked up the vinyl copy a couple of weeks ago when Mulvey stopped in Portland on his current tour. It was the first time that I had gone out to take in some live music in a few years. It felt great to be out watching and listening to live music once again. Peter’s music and commentary were exactly what I needed at this point in time with everything else that is happening in our world at the moment.
While many people gave up on vinyl back in the late 80’s and early 90’s, I never did. I still have all of the LP’s that I bought back when I was in high school, along with all of the vinyl I’ve bought since then. Had I actually owned a typewriter when I was in high school (as opposed to using the one that belonged to my mom), I’d like to think that I would still own it today. As a point of reference, in addition to my LP’s, I also still own the film camera that I purchased while in high school.
Had I owned a typewriter while in high school, I am confident that it would be in wonderful condition today. I have always tended to take good care of those things that I develop a strong bond with. The thousands of LP’s that I own are of the condition that collectors dream of (though they aren’t going anywhere). For that matter, the film camera that I have owned since high school and carried around the world with me still looks almost like new today. (Full disclosure: it has been out of use for a number of years after some electrical demons reappeared. I originally had them fixed by the manufacturer, which is no longer around these days. I hang on to this camera purely for sentimental reasons.)
One of the reasons that I bond with things like typewriters, vinyl LP’s and turntables, or film cameras is because they demand a level of interaction from me that goes beyond their digital counterparts. I just so happen to enjoy this added level of commitment required of me. It helps to tie me in even deeper with the music I an listening to, the words that I am writing, or the images that I am creating. I openly embrace this extra effort as it only adds to the overall level of enjoyment I get out of such activities.
That’s not to say that I don’t also write using a computer, or listen to music via various digital sources, or take pictures with my smartphone like countless others in the world. I’m also not trying to imply that I feel such analog endeavors are better than their digital counterparts as there are plenty of others who focus on such things. I am simply trying to point out why I like such analog tools and experiences. I could go on for much longer, but I won’t. I simply felt that it had been too long since I last posted anything here on the Typewritemosphere. When I found myself encouraged to do so as a result of typing a letter while listening to a vinyl LP, it only seemed logical to put my thoughts down into the form of a blog post. Thanks, as always, for reading.
AFTERTHOUGHTS: The resurrection of the vinyl record as a valid format for new music was something that few could have predicted a decade after the Compact Disc came along. That vinyl LP’s would eventually end up up outselling CD’s was another shocker. Yet the demand for vinyl continues to increase and at this point the few remaining pressing plants are beyond overwhelmed. This is not unlike what has been happening in the world of film photography where the few remaining film manufacturers find themselves overwhelmed with demand.
Despite the fact that film prices have increased significantly over the past few years, film photographers keep snapping it up and the manufacturers are having a hard time keeping retailers stocked with many of their offerings. However, unlike the situation with vinyl records where new turntables are enjoying quite the renaissance themselves, affordable film cameras of high quality are no longer being made. This is not unlike the situation with typewriters today, though it is hard to imagine the demand for typewriters being what it is if there were lingering questions about the availability of paper to type on.
Like typewriters, there are no shortage of quality film cameras that were made in the past and quite a few of them can still be serviced today. That said, the situation facing film camera owners when it comes to camera repair and the availability of competent technicians looks considerably more dire than than situation facing typewriter owners. While many typewriter owners have figured out that these machines aren’t as complicated as they might have initially imagined, leading to them making a number of repairs themselves, that’s not so much the case with film cameras.
Yet there is still an increasing amount of demand for those who can service typewriters. While truly competent, well-trained typewriter technicians are few and far between these days, many people have learned enough over the past few years that they can be of service to others who don’t care to get their hands dirty or wish to risk making things worse when it comes to their valued typewriter(s). That sort of thing is far less common when it comes to film cameras.
Despite this, the demand for many film cameras is such that their prices have increased at an exponential rate over the past few years. Countless old vinyl LP’s and many vintage turntables are experiencing the same sort of demand. Of course I am already seeing similar things happening when it comes to typewriter prices even within my relatively short time of enjoying these machines. Those who were buying typewriters more than five years ago likely have had their minds blown by now. And so it goes.
Why exactly the demand for analog-related goods is so high is anyone’s guess, and plenty of people have made their guesses known. It is inevitable in this age of social media driven behavior that some are drawn in by the “look what I have that you don’t” aspect of just about anything in life (or similarly “look what I’m doing that you’re not”) and this no doubt includes things like vinyl LP’s, film cameras and typewriters. Still, I feel that the majority of people are drawn in by the analog experiences they are enjoying as a result of such purchases. For those of us who truly enjoy such things, these experiences themselves are priceless and you can’t get such experiences any other way.
I doubt any modern digital contrivance will still work like some of my film cameras from the 1800s and early 1900s or my radios from the early days of Atwater-Kent, or even my crystal radios (until the A.M. band gets ruined by going digital), and a properly maintained Victrola still sounds good, but not as good as a stereo LP on my turntable and Altec-Lansing sound system (yep, it’s mono, and an antique in itself) It’s actually 2 mono theater systems.
When it comes to most of my things, I simply hope that they will last as long as I do. (That’s probably not demanding all that much at this point.)
I once knew someone that had some Voice of the Theatre speakers set up in their home. I don’t even think I could fit those in my living room, but we all like what we like. Be it hifi gear, or cameras, or typewriters as long as it brings enjoyment then it’s all good by me.
Funny how the “worth” line keeps fluctuating so that spikes in popularity and worth seem to follow 5-10 years behind the height of cheap and frequent availability in the thrifts. I am lucky to have had my acquisitive phases at the right parts of the ebbs and flows. Now I have a nice little collection of classic film SLRs and Rangefinders but am distracted by the camera capabilities of an old iPhone 7 the wife traded up from and passed on to me. Need to buckle down and set up a darkroom again sometime.. after I explore this… and that… and the other…
Oh, I hear ya, Ted! I have hundreds of film cameras from my days in photo retail and associations, everything from Hits to Speed Graphic 4x5s—no, to an Omega D 4×5—and enlargers and gadgets to match. Yet the fact that the iPhone 8 transfers wirelessly appeals over the DSLRs. Yeah, gotta get the ol’ darkroom goin’ again…. yeah ….
Well, at least I remember where the boxes of LPs and cassettes are.
Yet, it’s the typewriters that take up the most space. Now that I’ve sold most of the bicycles. Never had more than one neat car at a time, though I’ve had about six.
Still, I got all of ’em when the gettin’ was good.
Occasionally I’ll look at the prices I paid for certain LP’s (those I bought used often still have the price tag affixed). Then I’ll think about how much one might have to pay for those records today in the same condition. Then I realize just how old I’m getting and how often I forget to account for inflation. Then I start to get a bit bummed out. If I’m being smart about it, I’ll simply find another album to listen to and forget all about such stuff, lol.
The impact that the smartphone has had on camera manufacturers cannot be overstated. Personally I’ve yet to reach the iPhone 7 rung on the ladder. I’ve hung on to my iPhone SE as it was the smallest size I could buy at that point in time and they’ve only gotten larger since then. (Somewhat ironic given my farsightedness.) Yet there is no denying that today’s smartphones (as well as the older models like ours) are capable of taking fantastic images among doing countless other things. There is never a shortage of things to explore.
I suppose the misspelling of “too” was unintentional, too.
Oof. Originally I planned on using this image as it was a record label containing an illustration of a typewriter — perfect! At that point I had completely overlooked any misspellings. To be honest, I was reluctant to even mention the misspelling in the title as I myself make enough errors for all of us, As I’m sure all five readers of my blog could attest to.
Wonderfully well thought out and written post about analog media! I also enjoyed reading about the live concert. I could sense the joy you felt.
There was a time when I could not do any other activity when listening to a record. Now, I can do some limited things while listening. The exception is I can listen to the radio while driving. I can also listen to the radio while fixing machines, working wood or sewing and mending but not when wrriting. That is just fine with me.
Getting out to see some music once again was indeed great. If I put on an album, then I’m typically too drawn in by the music I’ve chosen to write at the same time. However, I do often listen to the radio while typing out my letters. Here in Portland, we have one of the last remaining jazz stations in the country (I always wonder how much longer I’ll be able to make such a claim).
Though my collection of LP’s, CD’s, and cassettes are made up of all kinds of music, my tuning dial almost never leaves the local jazz station to serve as background music. Even then, I still become easily distracted by what they are playing. Still, I recognize that having the ability to sit and do nothing but listen to the music is a privilege that few can make time for these days.
Perhaps part of the reason for increased demand for analog is that Boomers and Gen-Xers are older and have a little money to burn, and we want the same old good stuff we used to enjoy back in the day. Then the younger generations looks at us and thinks, “Oh, cool! I want that too!” 🙂
The younger generation likely looks at you and thinks that way because you ARE cool Mei. Me on the other hand, not so much, lol. We all tend to do what we do for a variety of reasons and I realize that this includes the analog exploits of others. Still, I’ve read that many among the younger generations are enjoying the sense of relative freedom and the level of involvement that they get from things like film photography, listening to vinyl or cassettes, and using typewriters. Whatever their reasons, I’m pretty happy to see it.