A Tree-Hugger's Best Musical Option

[phonogfp]

I just read this article, and found it interesting that someone, somewhere, is figuring out that if one listens to an album more than 27 times, an LP is more environmentally-friendly than music streaming services.

Shellac records are mentioned, but the authors clearly don't know much about them. They are also apparently unaware of spring-driven, non-electric phonographs, using no fossil fuels and leaving no carbon footprint. Of course, you can't listen to modern music on them, but that should be an acceptable sacrifice for an earnest environmentalist. I never considered us "green warriors" before!

http://www.bbc.com/future/story/2019020 ... ate-change

George P.

[Jerry B.]

I've been a green warrior before. It was when Stan beat me to the pink Lambert in an antique shop. I might be in line for some kind of award. I crank my Victrola and ride an old Schwinn. Thanks for the thread.

Jerry B.

[OrthoFan]

I guess I was "green" when I was still a little kid. I loved mechanical toys, but hated those powered by batteries. Those were the days before the longer lasting alkaline batteries, and your typical robot or car or tractor or transistor radio would go about a half a week before they stopped working. Then, they would be put aside--until Dad bought more batteries, which he never seemed to do--and forgotten for a few months (or years). When rediscovered the toys would be full of leaked battery acid. Of course, then they were tossed in the trash and eventually made their way to the nearest available (toxic) landfill project.

I loved wind-up mechanical toys simply because they lasted "forever"--or at least until I broke them--and didn't rely on batteries to keep them alive. This interest eventually make its way to wind-up phonographs.

OrthoFan

[fran604g]

I just bought a substitute replacement VS149 4.2V battery for my 1961 3RH10 RCA/Victor transistor radio...what's that make me? (Besides the weido I've always been?) Yeah, it still works perfectly.

Cheers, all you hippies,
Fran

[CarlosV]

Very interesting article, thanks for posting it. It brings the awareness of the environmental costs of the intangible: streaming music at first glance seems environmentally ideal because it is not made of anything material, but in reality there is lot of hardware in the chain that leads to our ears.

[Orchorsol]

That's a coincidence... A couple of days ago I ordered a copy of this book, and I'm looking forward to reading it: https://www.ucpress.edu/book/9780520286 ... onic-media . I've always found the ecological aspect of our listening a happy thought. And, playing my gramophones mostly with thorns, I'm not even consuming steel for the most part! I might even contact the author - I imagine he might be amused to hear that the historic manufacture of thorn needles is still alive.

The cassette thing is bizarre though. Just the other day I was stopped in my tracks when I saw packets of blank cassettes for sale in my local supermarket. I know some folks, e.g. the reggae/ska crowd, seem to like the format for its retro quirkiness or whatever, but really???

[Henry]

I have two stereo cassette decks, a Sanyo RD-5300 and a Sharp RT-30, both operational thanks to a local technician who knows how to work on these devices. Both decks have Dolby noise reduction, L + R channel recording (mic) inputs for ¼" mono phone plugs, bias and equalization selection, recording level meters, a ¼" stereo phone output jack for earphones, separate L + R channel volume adjustment, L+ R line in and line out RCA phono jacks, etc. I have an extensive library of cassette recordings. Cassette is still for me a viable recording and playback medium. The problem now is finding high quality cassette tape. I had been using TDK SA90, SA-X90, and Maxell but these are no longer being made AFAIK, so I have to erase and re-use tapes that I no longer need to keep. Such re-use constitutes a kind of recycling that at least keeps the materials out of the landfill, that is until such time as there's no longer any interest and/or the machines can't be maintained.

But who would have thought, in 1908, that you could hear Caruso's voice coming from original recordings through original playback equipment in 2019?

[vansteem78]

I think of myself as green since I have not owned or driven an automobile since 1976. Now I do not buy new equipment to play back old records (don't buy new records either)I guess that is green too. Basically I recycle old machines and discs/cylinders. I do try often to fix old things so as not buy new ones. Though harder and harder to do. Folks at hardware stores have told me 'buy a new one' when I wanted something repaired. Well anyway an interesting article. Neil

[Henry]

Speaking of which (keeping old stuff working), my 2002 classic Prius came equipped with a cassette playback deck installed as standard, so when traveling I can play those Lone Ranger and Superman radio programs I have on tape! I can also play CDs through a Sony portable CD player that hooks into the deck.

[travisgreyfox]

Speaking of which (keeping old stuff working), my 2002 classic Prius came equipped with a cassette playback deck installed as standard, so when traveling I can play those Lone Ranger and Superman radio programs I have on tape! I can also play CDs through a Sony portable CD player that hooks into the deck.

I drive a 2006 Prius and my main battery died and I had to get a new one. Don't know if that giant battery going to landfill is better/worse than the amount of gas I didn't burn.

Anyway, I don't think anyone has mentioned it yet, but during a zombie apocalypse we will have all the entertainment we need while defending our homes from the hoards!