Pause, We Can Go Back
I&#x27;m one of the people that this article (and book) romanticizing The Analog should appeal to but my overall experience with the digital revolution has been a net positive.  This applies to both digital photography and digital music.<p>I had a collection of vinyl records &amp; cassettes growing up but I&#x27;ve gotten more enjoyment and revelations from listening to Foobar software accessing thousands of flac&#x2F;mp3 files instantly on demand.  I can jump from pop to classical to jazz without the tediousness of manipulating analog media.  Digital has allowed me to <i>appreciate music even more</i>.<p>The vast majority of articles of analog-vs-digital seem to favor analog and it downplays how digital can engage people in ways that analog can&#x27;t replicate.<p>As an example, the first time I heard the Star Wars soundtrack was on a reel-to-reel tape machine.[1]   Analog nostalgia.  However, with digital technology, a skilled person with a computer workstation can use virtual instruments to recreate the orchestral arrangement one instrument at a time.[2]  The listener can then hear the gradual build up of how all the various parts interact and <i>appreciate the music even more</i> than the old analog tape.  That demonstration is not economically possible with analog.  Sure, one could make a 24-track analog tape of isolated parts but typical listeners will not have the money to own a 24-track player at home.  Also, David Das in the video is experimenting with various combinations of articulations, tempo, and volume and that combinatorial explosion exceeds the capacity of 24 tracks.<p>[1] <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.google.com&#x2F;search?q=star+wars+soundtrack+reel+reel+4+track&amp;source=lnms&amp;tbm=isch" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.google.com&#x2F;search?q=star+wars+soundtrack+reel+re...</a><p>[2] deep link showing adding an instrument and then a playback payoff:  <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.youtube.com&#x2F;watch?v=fYfbm3qHRLI&amp;feature=youtu.be&amp;t=23m51s" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.youtube.com&#x2F;watch?v=fYfbm3qHRLI&amp;feature=youtu.be...</a>