Anachronistic Fine Art Makes The World A Better Place

I work in the audio industry for a microphone manufacturer that still builds the bulk of its products in the United States. It is known for outstanding products you gotta “be in the know” which is why it’s a fairly small company. Microphones are very important, but even though some microphones look rather phallic (many don’t at all, though) there is absolutely no sex appeal. Guitars on the other hand, also look phallic (many don’t) absolutely have sex appeal. Especially electric guitars.

They’re also complete anachronisms. The best sounding amplifiers for electric guitars still use vaccuum tube technology from the 1920s. The sounds have evolved, but the basic fundamental throb you get from an electric guitar uses a combination of 1920s vaccuum tubes and 1950s genius. And the world is a better place for it. It’s one of America’s really celebration-worthy inventions. And a well-made instrument is not much different from a Stradivarius violin or cello — we’re talking about heirlooms. And artifacts of art history. Wonderful things.

It’s created a much-needed injection of small boutique guitar amplifier builders who are making their wares commercially available as an higher priced alternative to disposable junk that make up much of the musical instruments industry’s product availability. Absolute junk. The kind of junk someone like me would quit a job over, though my mature self knows to have something lined up first! It’s more proof that there’s sex appeal in fine, functional art because some of these things are gorgeous. And also heirloom quality.

My music-listening technology largely stopped with the development of the Compact Disc. Heavy metal music (which came from classical music) stops around 1985 for me. The CD format was finally perfected in the early 2000s. And you can still buy CD players, they just tend to be higher than most would think. And really, really good remasters. The $300 CD players are built down to a price, but that’s what a cheap CD player in 2021 is. Also heirlooms! The world is a better place because of the Compact Disc.

Not all progress is really progress. Disposable technology is not making the world a better place. We’re going to consume ourselves into extinction unless we unplug but the genie is out of that bottle. We might as well consume anachronistic fine art.