A new generation discovers the wonder of playing 45 RPM singles at the 33 1⁄3 RPM album speed

We had one like that, but it would do 16RPM as well.

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My personal favorite. I’ve sung this to my family on road trips. Really shows off what a talented vocalist Ms. Nicks happens to be:

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It happens to me pretty often with 45-RPM 12" discs, which seem to serendipitously wind up playing on the turntable at the default 33-1/3 RPM when I’m also more receptive to a funky take of the original… I’ve come to prefer the 33 speed transcription of Tycho’s original Coastal Brake 12" single, and wound up taking this entire album at both speeds because so much of it works at the slower @33:

(@ ‘normal’ 45-RPM)

Here it is at 33-RPM <3

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Even as a baritone she’s damn good.

I logged in to say the same thing. Discovered by accident but vastly superior to the intended speed!

That Zeppelin track was way weirder than I expected it to be, but then I realized that I hadn’t really paused “The Restitution of Decayed Intelligence” by Coil that I had been listening to in iTunes, and was hearing them both at the same time. It worked quite well, I recommend layering Coil with anything actually.

For example, that Todd Terje vid up there (the slow one) + slow Beiber + Coil = pretty great!

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Hover over the file until the alt-text appears!

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The Butthole Surfers’ “Brown Reason to Live,” slowed down to 33, while on an appropriate amount of LSD is a truly profound experience.

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There is something magical about “Girls Just Wanna Have Fun” at a slower pace. I vividly remember the full-body chills at the moment when I heard Gillian Welch and David Rawlings perform their version.

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Let me begin by saying that audiophile anything is bunk.
The article you posted talks about higher than CD quality encoding, which I agree is overkill. However lossless compression of CD quality (44khz/16bit) is not necessarily a waste of disk space.
Ignoring disk space is so cheap nowadays that it hardly merits consideration, and granting that even mp3 encoded music at 128kbps is good enough for most people (I personally go for encoding at 320 khz when necessary), There is enough distinction between lossy and lossless compression for those that seek it out. No special amps needed, just above average speakers/headphones without too much bass boost is good enough to enjoy the subtle differences.

Again, I grant lossy compression is good enough, and probably indistinguishable from lossless compression on headphones in a busy street or in the car. But there is an audible difference between lossy compression types, settings, encoders and the “original” mastered CD quality recording. Enough for people to have a preference.

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But if you add in slow chipmunks, it breaks down…

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@beschizza You look great in that top image! The keto diet is doing you well.

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When I was a kid I used get these “slow down” (seizure?) like things. Still do from time to time but much, much more rarely. Everything seemed to move in slow motion a bit and smooth with a shush-shush rhythm. (Kinda like being under the influence of a mild dose of nitrous oxide.)

Anyway, this one gives me sense memories of that feeling.

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The first few times I listened to Metal Circus I was thrown because at that age I’d never seen a 45 rpm 12". “Why does this sound so different from their later stuff? I thought they started as hardcore!”

16rpm was used for what-is-now-called audio-books.

I’ve heard of big 16rpm platters (could they have been radio trascription discs? The sound quality wouldn’t be good for the music), but have a set of 45-sized records at 16rpm for Alice in Wonderland.

Or I did. No idea where it might be today.

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A famous NYC DJ once played Graham Parker’s version of “Fools Gold” and Rachel Sweet’s version and then Parker’s version at 45 instead of 33. Insisting that Rachel Sweet never recorded the song but used Parker’s speeded up version. This went on for about half an hour.

Parker: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=owfI85xBEa0
Sweet: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QLhoFngzZK0

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Horrifying to say, but I’m almost postive that the 16rpm album I remember was music. Quite possibly religious stuff from some relatives. It was also the size of a 33. Might as well add that I once came across a 78 of Enrico Caruso at the Salvation Army store. This thing was so old, it was back before records used both sides :slight_smile: The other side was simply smooth. Never did get to here the damn thing …

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Cleaning out my dad’s basement – found my childhood record player and my sister’s 45s. It still works and my daughter and niece are obsessed with it now. There’s really nothing like watching an 8- and 6-year-old dance around the room to a 45 in 2016.

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