This week’s Houston Press has an interesting article on vinyl in the digital age. You should check it out here, then head out to some of Houston’s fine record stores that actually still sell vinyl — Soundwaves has a fair amount, Sound Exchange has tons, and Vinal Edge out in NW Houston overflows with it.

I buy a decent amount of new stuff on vinyl occasionally — usually limited edition releases from Temporary Residence or something kooky from Yep Roc (like the new Robyn Hitchcock releases). Local bands like Something Fierce, Wicked Poseur, and Jana Hunter have releases on vinyl this year (I am sure there are more but those are the ones I’ve picked up that I recall at the moment).

I am currently enjoying the new triple-vinyl release from Mono. Check it here.

And no, I am not going to get into some discussion about organic music and how the sound quality of digital music pales in comparison. I think that, for me, listening to vinyl really comes down to the music-listening experience. With downloads, you might get a PDF of liner notes but that’s not the same as being able to hold a beautiful piece of artwork in your hands while listening to the album. Plus, vinyl more or less forces the listener to hear the album he way the band intended — no skipping tracks.

I could be the nostalgia thing as well. But I am definitely a sucker for some interesting vinyl. But I do own an iPod and have a 500GB hard drive holding half that in digital music. What can I say?

Oh, and the new Minus The Bear album — one of 2007’s best releases, in my humble opinion — can be found on vinyl here.

Your comments appreciated.