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  • Jenjetlagjen@gts.phillipsuk.org
    Jul 18, 2026, 7:25 AM

    @ai6yr there were so many fun things that they did with vinyl that got lost.

    Gatefold album covers with amazing art. Picture discs. Tracks that merged into each other without any audible break. Multiple / random versions on the same disc (via double or even triple spiral). Concept albums where people really thought about not just which tracks to include, but what order. Setting things to the wrong speed so even boring singles like Pipes of Peace were fun to listen to.

    Digital music is so convenient that I rarely bother to listen to it. Vinyl takes up too much space to store or play. CD is a nice balance for me. But sometimes I do miss the quirky stuff.

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Replies

  • AI6YR Benai6yr@m.ai6yr.org
    Jul 18, 2026, 2:04 PM

    @jetlagjen The track ordering and merged into each other were new to me, and actually make sense, completely lost in going to CD and even more so digital. I had no idea...

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  • Semitonessemitones@tiny.tilde.website
    Jul 18, 2026, 2:39 PM

    @ai6yr @jetlagjen AFAIK, gapless playback *is* possible with CD audio. You can have track N flow seamlessly into track N+1 if you master the CD very carefully, such that the cut is placed exactly on the right boundary. So sometimes the cut has to be slightly before or after you want it to be. I have used this CD Writer software to make these: dbpoweramp.com/cdwriter

    I am willing to believe that this was easier for producers to do in the vinyl days, although I don't know the details.

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  • Semitonessemitones@tiny.tilde.website
    Jul 18, 2026, 2:42 PM

    @ai6yr @jetlagjen E.g., you can listen to the Dark Side of the Moon on CD today, and unless you have a really weird CD player or faulty CD, it will be gapless.

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  • Trammell Hudsonth@v.st
    Jul 18, 2026, 4:01 PM

    @semitones @ai6yr @jetlagjen CD's could also do fun things with the pregap, like the hidden track on Tom Petty's "Full Moon Fever" that would only play if you let it run over from 5 to 6:

    Hello, CD listeners. We've come to the point in this album where those listening on cassette, or records, will have to stand up, or sit down, and turn over the record, or tape. In fairness to those listeners, we'll now take a few seconds before we begin Side Two. (barnyard noises) Thank you. Here's Side Two.

    album cover for Full Moon Fever, featuring a gradient color behind a b&w silhouette of Tom Petty holding a guitar
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  • Trammell Hudsonth@v.st
    Jul 18, 2026, 4:08 PM

    @semitones @ai6yr @jetlagjen NiN's "Broken" also had "secret" tracks 98 and 99 that not all CD players would access. Tracks 7-97 were one second of silence each so I had to let it play out for a minute and a half before the bonus ones would start.

    cover of Nine Inch Nails "Broken", a close up of fire with a transparent n and the band name below it
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  • Trammell Hudsonth@v.st
    Jul 18, 2026, 4:15 PM

    @semitones @ai6yr @jetlagjen I can't find any photos online (and my copy was sold long ago), but the VAST album only used fifty minutes of the CD so they spaced it out like a record and you could see a visible spiral pattern for the tracks. Something that isn't possible with CD-R since the pregroove tracking pattern is built into the media.

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  • Lukelpl@metalhead.club
    Jul 18, 2026, 5:16 PM

    @th @semitones @ai6yr @jetlagjen The album Songs For The Deaf has a secret track before track one, if you manage to set your CD-player to track 1 at (iirc) minus 1 minute and 30 seconds you’d get ‘The Real Song For The Deaf’.

    Album cover of the record Songs For The Deaf by Queens Of The Stone Age. A bright red background, black letter and a stylised two pronged fork diagonally over the cover.
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