Neil Young was right: Vinyl can never die

An article in The Globe and Mail by Dick Snyder has the sub-headline "Neil Young was right: Vinyl can never die."

Yep, an article about old-fashioned vinyl records refusing to become extinct. Even CDs are threatened by the latest wave of technology -- mini-players like Apple's new credit-card-sized iPod.

"The compact disc, however, still drives the music business. Most record labels won't bother with the hassle of putting out a vinyl record; it's the artists themselves who make it happen. Neil Young has his own label, Vapor Records, and he plans to release his entire back catalog on vinyl.

Young has been a vocal opponent of the CD since the beginning. Today, he blames the music industry's sales woes on the decision to switch to the more convenient, cost-effective but nevertheless inferior medium. Two years ago, in an interview with USA Today, he said: 'A CD is . . . like a toy or a robot, just a string of ones and zeros, whereas analog recording is a true reflection, like a pool or a mirror. Imagine telling Picasso, 'That's a nice painting; now we're going to fax it to the public.' '"

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