iPod and the burden of history

i went through a phase during which i began to feel overwhelmed trying to catch up with all of the music i'd been inspired to acquire through the reviews in the TP and otherwise. i was lucky to be living in europe and have access to several wonderful (and perfectly cheap) music shops where i'd make great "finds" in the used bins for just a few dollars a pop. i can't say they were epiphanies, but in a way, when i came across a gem discovery, and the subsequent listens confirmed the glowing review i'd read in the TP, i was able to gather another reference point for the metaphysical mix-tape of assorted quality i was compiling.

some examples of recordings which were tough to find, and then lived up to the praise:
1.please panic/vulgar boatmen
2.mighty joe moon/grant lee buffalo
3.low end theory/tribe called quest
4.pulsars/pulsars
...of course there are others.

the point is, this was always great, but obviously, being on a limited budget, not to mention the time necessary to seek out all of the "essential" recordings (pre-internet that is), the burden of finding, paying for, and ultimately enjoying/appreciating/"getting" the music became problematic.

fast forward to the current, and, armed with my ipod and a fairly inexpensive download subscription to (for exapmple) eMusic.com, i suddenly find myself "discovering" lots of bands which surely would have been difficult to locate (new pornographers/architecture in helsinki/sufjand stevens) if not just expensive to special order. plus, the little portable devices make it convenient to listen.

has the ipod unburdened anyone else?

To me it's sort of the opposite although I suppose I'm a unique case. I can only really understand new music if it's in some sort of context. So basically you have to give me a bands full album or I have to hear songs in a pattern that illuminates them - which for me usually comes from tuning into college radio. I'm not as concerned with building a library, so the Ipod/Music services don't really fit into the way I seek new music. I'm lucky to have friends in the industry also I guess, and get promo advances and that goes back to when I worked in college radio and had access to a huge library.............. The Ipod has made it so easy, it's almost too easy. The best example I can give you is this - years ago, pre-cable TV, pre-home video, you would check the TV Guide for your favorite movie to be on. And if it came on at 2:00 AM on crappy UHF, edited, with commercials you didn't care because it might not be on again for 2 years. And there was a joy to that. Same kind of joy I get scouring old thrift shops or whatever for discs. Last week I got "Special View" by the Only Ones on cd for 50 cents at a flea market, I mean , NOTHING tops that kind of thrill.

Exactly ... For me, nothing will replace the relaxing flit-flit of fingering through stacks of vinyl (or, to a lesser degree, CDs) and snaring a find for a few bucks. It makes listening much sweeter and less antiseptic than the silent gush of encoded music. I had to *hunt* for that record, perhaps searching for a period of months or years, then ... paydirt. I do use mp3s to listen to new bands, as well as the audio streams of radio stations like WFMU. I have a Nomad player and enjoy it. I understand that for most people, combing through record stores is not their idea of a good time. I am a geek. So be it. But there's something about finding a mint vinyl copy of Gang of Four's <b>Entertainment</b> for $2 that downloading the 10 or 12 songs in 20 minutes can't match.

I concur with Glauner and Mats on this. I share their music-geek personality. (My wife loves music too, but she rarely goes to the music store with me, because she gets tired of waiting on me to finish browsing.) It's a tremendous, satisfying thrill to find that rare CD or vinyl that you've hunted for years. *Special View* on CD for 50¢? *Entertainment* on mint vinyl for $2? Both glorious finds!

For me, it was finding Elvis C.'s *Live at El Mocambo* for $6 in the used bin. Normally, that one is available only as part of the *2½ Years* box set. Or finding Gang of Four's first three albums, all on the Infinite Zero CD reissues, all in nice clean condition, all sitting in a nice stack together under "G" in the used bin, priced at $5 each, just waiting for someone to give them a home. (Okay, you're right, that's overdoing it.) Those are just the two instances that come to mind right now.

And let's not forget the pleasure of leaving those tacky price tags on your finds, so your fellow geeks can be impressed at the bargains you scored. Show of hands: anyone besides me do that?

And I certainly can relate to Mats' late night TV analogy. One of my best friends loved the old *Twilight Zone* TV series, and started watching it faithfully and taping each episode. He told me he intended to collect every episode on VHS. Well, sure enough, he eventually did. And I don't think he's watched any of those tapes since ... because, well, where's the fun in that?

That said, mp3 download services are truly a blessing for those who don't share this music-geek POV, or whose time, budget and/or brick-and-mortar shopping options are more limited.

i am sure many of us have taped favorite shows back in the day. now that (many) are available season-wise on dvd, often with extras, i feel as if those late-night endeavors to record for posterity and/or future enjoyment was a waste of time, plus those bulky tapes in the attic now need to be lugged out to the trash.

also, i think being able to order a used copy of an "essential" cd for $.99 from some ebay/amazon seller pretty nifty.

no, the thrill you guys get from physically uncovering a gem cannot be replaced by cyber-space e-tailing, but even if one does enjoy scouring through record shops (i know i do), the resources available to us all through the www make must-haves/should-haves/and did-haves easier to locate, but not necessarily any less gratifying to find, let alone, enjoy.

plus, no jerks crowding you out of the "s" section, or nabbing the last gay dad disc in town.

Hunting for years for certain titles::check
Reading about overlooked gems in the pages of TP and locating the title::check
Spending valuable vaction time in faraway cities browsing bins::check
Turning off girlfriends with browsing time::check
Do I miss it? Not in the least. The time and money that the new technologies have freed up more than makes up for it. Now, if I could figure out how to use e-bay without getting bucked, I'd get rid of a thousand or so rare titles...