To cheer myself up after the picture disc disappointment, I went ahead and bought
Attack & Release by
The Black Keys and
Trouble In Dreams by
Destroyer. Of course, I couldn't buy only two albums. Two is an even number, you see. So, I also picked up
Light in the Attic's beautiful
Betty Davis reissue.
Both The Black Keys and Destroyer albums are luscious gatefold affairs, with intoxicating artwork—I could just stare and stare and stare. The Black Keys album had a sticker on its plastic wrap that read:
HALF SPEED MASTERING
AUDIOPHILE QUALITY
INCLUDES CD OF ENTIRE ALBUM
Obviously, it was made for me. Meanwhile, the Destroyer album included a coupon for a free download. The coupon reads:
DEAR HONORED LISTENER:
Like you, we love vinyl. But let's face it, it's hardly portable. Most of us spend our days away from our turntables, tethered to computers and iPods. We want the convenience of digital music, though we love the 12" album art, the warm sound, and the physical satisfaction of vinyl.
So we thought we'd give you vinyl fans a little gift.
Love,
MERGE
Nice, right? Spend fifteen bucks on a big, beautiful slab of vinyl goodness, and you get the added bonus of a free little, silver disc for your CD player or some digital files for your iPod. This is a great and wonderful world.
I am in love.
