The crate-diggers are multiplying, and vinyl-only labels like P.W. Elverum and Sun (www.pwelverumandsun.com) are springing up. I'd say it's a good thing. I mean, some of us (myself included) like the sound of vinyl more, but I can forgive someone who doesn't agree. It's just nice to have a choice.

Lightning Bolt--especially "Wonderful Rainbow"

Volume is pretty much the foundation upon which they lay their sound.

I can usually hear the gear that I own--a Fender Hot Rod Deluxe or a Memory Man, for example. Sometimes I can make out the particular sound of gear whose sound I know really well from a variety of recordings, like the Echoplex. It's just a matter of familiarity and hearing something in a number of d...