by Carrie Brownstein

I love St. Johns and I love Vinyl Resting Place. There's a great soda fountain shop right on the main strip- I had their biscuits and gravy the other day for lunch, and sat next to the local sherriff. It felt like twin peaks.

Sent by travis | 2:53 PM ET | 11-30-2007

Just when I think I'm the last one on the Earth that doesn't buy mp3's... I find the occasional free track, or my friends share, but at the end of the day, I go and purchase a CD. Like you mention, the tactile quality of a CD (or vinyl) makes that collection of music more like a library than iTunes ever thought of being. Having a friend over or a new guest, they always make a beeline over to my wall of cds. It's a conversation piece. It's a way to get to know someone's personality. I guess, in total, it's social. On the other hand, owning the physical disc, is like owning the physical music, or a piece of that artist. Plus you can look at the pretty artwork. Call me purist. As a musician myself, I'd hate to think all the effort I put into creating the artwork for the cover, along with the effort to create the music inside, would end up parting ways somewhere down the line.

Sent by Brandi | 3:02 PM ET | 11-30-2007

It's like with Radiohead's new album in mp3 format for the price of whatever you deem it worthy... How much IS transient music worth? As a graphic designer, I find it kind of sad that music is shifting towards transient means. I've always been a tactile/kinisthetic person, so I think I will always buy albums... for me, part of the beauty of it IS the packaging, and the design. It seems more substantial to own an album, versus buying songs from that album... The latter is more casual.

Sent by Janet | 3:04 PM ET | 11-30-2007

It's nice to have the option to purchase new vinyl with free mp3 downloads. For me it' win win.

Best band of 2007 you've never heard:
http://www.parkthevan.com/peekers/

I recently bought the Woods on vinyl : )

Sent by The Official Jon Bon Jovi Fan Club for Men | 3:11 PM ET | 11-30-2007

I share your ambivalance about the digital music. AFter putting off becoming part of the iPodding army for years, I finally signed up a couple of weeks ago. While I am happy I can now "shuffle" and randomly find gems from my collection that I haven't listened to in years, I'm also finding myself getting sad as I put away hundreds of CDs into storage so I can better use my shelf space. I don't feel like I'll ever listen to music the same way again, even if I can have my whole collection in my pocket at any time.

Sent by dan | 3:16 PM ET | 11-30-2007

I've totally gotten the same way with digital music. It's so easy to pick and choose songs as opposed to when you would hear a song by a band or artist and take a chance on buying the CD or record based on that. Sometimes I feel like it's made me less adventurous when it comes to checking out new music.

On the other hand, I find that a lot of what puts me off of new music is hype coming from every corner: blogs, Myspace, physical magazines, etc. It's like nothing has a chance to just be experienced by a listener before we've all been bombarded with how life changing it will be. By the time I hear some stuff that people have been hyping up it has very little chance to live up to all the hoo-ha. So I feel like I spent most of 2007 accumulating stuff that didn't even come out this year as opposed to taking a chance on stuff that did.

Sent by Chriso | 3:16 PM ET | 11-30-2007

I was curious about your thoughts on the new Radiohead album, and their "download-the-album-and-pay-what-you-feel-it's-worth" tactic. This blog seemed as close to the topic as any.
Alas, you're missing out, because tons of fabulous music came out this year.

Sent by Ben | 3:23 PM ET | 11-30-2007

I feel the same way. The year came through with many solid releases but nothing in particular that made me want to remember 2007 musically.

And yes Beirut and Boris are amazing

Sent by Devin Rodgers | 3:32 PM ET | 11-30-2007

i think about this current phenomenon a lot and i think it's another part of our de-centered, very fluid post modern life. For me it just goes along with that feeling of an overall lack of stability/core. a music collection once was, for me, something you could see easily, and, since you bought cds and records and had to make a trip of it, you pretty much always knew what was in there and could wrap your head around what you were listening to and what you had. now i sometimes get this panicked feeling like i don't even know what is in my i-tunes. i can't remember what i've bought as a cd and uploaded, what i've downloaded for free, what i've received from a friend. it's exciting in a way to have that element of surprise/variety/possibility and the freedom that you aren't tied down to your staple collection, but it's also disconcerting. It is definitely part of your identity, which, when put in constant flux and movement, can be scary. anyway, i can get a sort of anxious feeling about my music collection, in that i either don't know what it really amounts to these days or i feel like it could all disappear in a second. and that is a microcosm of an overall struggle between anxiety and freedom about identity/stability that i think exists in my life and our culture at large. sorry for rambling!!

Sent by laura | 3:45 PM ET | 11-30-2007

wow. well said. you were able to articulate what I didn't know I was exactly feeling.

Sent by aimee | 3:58 PM ET | 11-30-2007

Thank you for reading my mind.

Lately I've been pondering the seemingly fleeting [& thus inferior?] nature of my own digitalized music collection as it compares to my dad's stockpile of astonishingly palpable records from the 60s & 70s. Certainly mp3s cannot be scratched or used as solid writing surfaces, but they can disappear into the rattling oblivion that is my ex-hard drive.

At any rate,
2007 has been the year of the Beirut.

Sent by Zia | 4:04 PM ET | 11-30-2007

I feel my music collection dwindling with "new" purchases and being replaced with old cd's from iTunes that I purchased but do not have still. "Mama's Gun" by Erykah Badu being my best purchase recently. Although I did buy the new M.I.A. cd on iTunes but that doesn't happen much anymore.

Something happened that night at the Crystal Ballroom in Aug of 06. A great end of an era. Now what I am left with is my boyfriend (who is 10 years younger) informing me on new music. I have a hard time sorting through the crap. I don't have the patience.
As shitty as it is to say it has made music less personal, or a much less personal experience. The sheer amount of shit out there. Doing a search of local bands on myspace is tiresome. How does a town of less than a million have over 1000 bands?

I don't think I can make a top 10 list anymore. Well I can but it would be heavy with hits from my past, because like you that is my rotation.

What would be your year end top ten list (and this can include old gems)?

Sent by Luis | 4:04 PM ET | 11-30-2007

What has most drastically impacted the way I listen to music is my income. Since I've been able to afford it, I always get into bands via 'binges' - that is, buying their entire discography after hearing either none of their music or one or two songs. I did this most dramatically with Jandek (I bought the first album, and by the end of the first song had mailed a check for the remaining then-42). After the discs arrive, I'll listen in order until I've gone through the catalog.

I find out about my 'new' music by reading about it. I'll binge after hearing about a band or artist long enough. The only radio station I listen to is NPR classical.

This method only works, of course, if you don't mind being behind the times. The only people that media saturation affects, I think, are those that really want to be 'in the know' about current trends - writers/artists, scenesters, and those whose favorite genre is 'new' (a viable genre, I think). The whack-a-mole media makes it much harder to find which channel the 'hot new music' is coming from.

Maybe we only care about finding new music because that's only one of many choices now...?

Sent by ljc | 4:07 PM ET | 11-30-2007

I'm firmly against downloading music, but that's beside the point. This is the time of year where I look over all the new releases and generate my excuse of a "best of" list. As I set out I had the same realization you did: the collection stagnated. Based on what I actually bought, the ratio of older albums to new was pretty lopsided. I always look into bands before I buy the album, and myspace turned me off more than once. The market is so diluted these days. People are going for what works and playing it safe. That pisses me off. That's not to say I didn't come across great music. Bright Eyes, Arcade Fire, Stars, Menomena, Okkervill River (who I saw in Portland at MFNW), and Holy Fuck (who I also saw at MFNW) are fighting for my top five and rightly so. They were the best. But nothing jumped out this year and grabbed me. I don't want to say the movement is over, but it was a pretty slow year.

Sent by Nick L. | 4:11 PM ET | 11-30-2007

Don't be so sure a digital collection will outlast vinyl. We can still listen to 100 year old wax cylinders, but digital content is fleeting and can disappear in an instant. Think back to the sketchy reliability of the original iPods : http://www.macintouch.com/reliability/ipodfailures.html

Sent by Kerry | 4:48 PM ET | 11-30-2007

So, how did your vinyl collection change this year?

A very yogic post, btw... it's as if, by reflecting on what you've done this past year, you're opening yourself up for change in the future.

I've wondered if you keep track of the music you play... like via a last.fm plugin in iTunes or via an ipod? It would be interesting to see what you listened to in 2007, as opposed to acquired.

Sent by Joe | 4:58 PM ET | 11-30-2007

Gogol Bordello. They are my new favorite band for 2007. Ive seen them twice already and I only discovered them in August. They're not a new band, but one i feel is starting to finally get their due. Its a strange mix of Russian folk, gypsy, punk, and believe it or not, a touch of Klezmer. Well worth the listen.

the best thing i can say about digital format is the immediacy. I am now going to google Beirut, and in five minutes i will have heard an mp3 sample. couldnt do that 10 years ago.

Sent by mattbklyn | 5:10 PM ET | 11-30-2007

I had an ipod, until one day my upstairs neighbors' toilet leaked through the ceiling and onto the table where it was sitting. No more ipod. Also, yuck. I've found that I was glad to go back to the "old days" (a whopping 3 years ago) where I'd actually sit down in front of the shelf and choose a record or CD to listen to. My ipod made me lazy. I'd just plug it in and hit random and listen to whatever came up as background noise. It made it harder to really listen and absorb an album, and as a result I started to lose interest in new music. That leaky toilet turned out to be a good thing, after the mess was cleaned up anyway. Maybe I'll rejoin the digital revolution eventually, but I'm good for now.

Sent by Jason Quigley | 5:10 PM ET | 11-30-2007

Vinyl is gonna last a whole lot longer than digital. A record itself can last for 100 years or more, but an MP3 doesn't have that kind of longevity. Maybe if you keep updating what you play an MP3 on it'll last forever, but it requires a lot more commitment and money to keep up with whatever technology you need to keep playing it. Because there's an actual physical product that can be easily stored and record players are still being manufactured, I imagine they'll outlast MP3s. They're outlasting CDs if you think about it...

Sent by Frank | 5:16 PM ET | 11-30-2007

Whew.., what to say, what to say. Our gracious host has covered her thoughts, and everyone else has added their input, as well as said so much in just a few comments thus far. I actually tried explaining this similarly to a few people not too long ago who discounted the iPod as a hipster related phenomenon that was something that they would never find themselves "buying into."

Yeah music is such a personal experience for each one of us. Spanning such a wide range of ages here too, I assume, many of us still have Wax, and enjoy the crisp, warm analog sound while the vinyl spins, and the diamond tipped needle fits "oh so right" into that concentric groove. Some people here may still play tapes. I know I wore out a huge selection growing up while playing, and stopping, or pausing and rewinding, stretching that little bit of brownish-blackish film to it's extremes. I was in high school when CD's came out, and a girlfriend at the time got a player that I was transfixed with, but never caught on to the medium until a couple of years later. I remember coming across a copy of the Sex Pistols Nevermind the Bollocks.. when I was Googling 8-Tracks a while ago. The very copy shown had sold on eBay for $200+. Those little wacky clunker's of plastic that everyone had to cart around in their trunks in the late '60s, and '70s are still around??! And some are selling for the same price of some iPod models that will allow you to copy and transfer a load of various songs, or full 'albums' worth of music to listen to whenever you feel like it. Though today I don't believe an mp3 has the same sound quality as a cd on a regular stereo system, or that of some record connoisseur who listens to their discs on a tube/valve set up. But whatever, it gets the vibe through. You can dock it onto something and get a good sound be it a speaker system from Wal-Mart, or Target, you can float a bit more and go Bose, or even more, and take a ZVex iMPaMP route hooked up to compu monitor speakers. For me, as long as I can hear the music, I'm fine. The format is definitely here to stay, some of us have seen other stuff come, and go. I do think that the options present now with acquiring music are kind of refreshing, though as an artist I do enjoy the tactile experience just as much. The whole package is what I always enjoyed when getting a new LP, or CD, etc... I want to read the linear notes, and see the pix, it personalizes the whole deal that much more beyond the music, for sure. Some music is about Revolution to an extent, and with revolution comes change whether it's for the better or not is for each of us to decide. But it is what it is. I never thought I'd see the day when you log onto K records and can buy individual mp3's but it's happened. By and large, far and wide, indie, to major label, and of course everything in between. Can you buy a walkman cassette player today? All of this has radically and steadily changed in a short 30-40 years. I was talking to my grandmother last night who turned 89 this week. As a kid I use to love hearing the stories of the past that she told me cause I'd make a picture in my head from the phrases, and words she'd use. She told me last night that her family didn't get electricity in their house until she was 11 years old. For me it puts into perspective how much everything has grown in such a very short while no matter how comfortable I am from what is offered today, nearing 2008.

That said, I haven't downloaded an individual song yet. I just put them onto iTunes, and transfer them onto that cool little convenient thing that lets me take my music where ever I go. Ingenious. My brother-in-law tells me alot, "those things are just simple flash drives, it's gonna break sooner or later." Maybe, but I like it, like it, yes I do...

Sent by |3rian | 6:46 PM ET | 11-30-2007

I completely agree! I don't own an iPod or anything (bit of a luddite), but people I've spoken with have told me it's the worse thing because you lose your love for music...it simply becomes a possession. I've noticed that too when I started dowloading stuff from iTunes...most of it I lose interest in and for the music I do like it always bums me out that I don't own it. Anyways, my current pet peeve is buying vinyl and not being able to carry it around with me. More labels need to get smart and give free downloads of the record if you buy the vinyl...that way people can actually own it and still be able disregard it in digital form. :)

Sent by Alex R | 7:47 PM ET | 11-30-2007

i have thousands of songs, but i'll listen to like 20 a week obsessively then move on to my latest favorites. its kinda sad. music is too easy to get online which makes it less memorable for me. when i listen to some of my older favorites (which i bought in cd form) i can remember when i bought it, what was going on that day in my life, and i can even sorta "feel" the same way during the song, but i can't tell you anything about the days when i downloaded a certain mp3. weird.

Sent by Lauren | 8:38 PM ET | 11-30-2007

In a weird way it' kind of comforting to see those deep in the music community not buying much new music, not that there isn't anything good, but mitigating factors tend to prevent it from being bought. I have bought maybe 10 albums this year, some "standard favs" like Spoon and Fesit sure, but some nice elder statespersons The New Blockaders, Thurston Moore and Mary Timony as well, it's just been hard to focus on a single new band, and haven't gotten that so called feeling since seeing and hearing Les Georges Leningrad for the first time

Are we just in a holding pattern for that one to jump out, Is money an issue, or am I just too scared to get out and make it myself(a personal and a general call), the night needs more roses, wine and wine

Sent by Patrick | 9:31 PM ET | 11-30-2007

from someone from the Philippines, the digital revolution is a blessing. this was how i discovered new music, bands, artists. without the internet, i'm doomed to listen to boy bands and mainstream shit all my life!

Sent by sue | 10:36 PM ET | 11-30-2007

I think the appeal of vinyl was best summed up in the Pearl Jam lyric "I can fit my whole head on you, I mean actual size". Yes, I miss having that tactile sensation, exploring the artwork, even the smell of the sleeve, but I don't miss dust, and scratches, and most importantly I don't miss schlepping hundreds of pounds of plastic every time I move. Another thing I like about .mp3's is that I spend more time listening to what I want, and less time looking for it. I'm constantly being surprised by some track I had long forgotten about surfacing on shuffle. It may be fun to wax nostalgic about stacks of tracks on wax, but having lived in both worlds I much prefer this digital one we have now.

Sent by Bloodyserb | 10:44 PM ET | 11-30-2007

My iPod changed my life. I still buy CDs (for the experience of "collecting") but then download them and put them away. Music is now digital and its not going back. Ask any 14 year-old.

Music-wise, I bought over 60 new CDs in 2007 and I have heard lots of good new music, some of which is truly excellent, but nothing I would call great. Robert Wyatt, Caribou, Midlake, Jarvis Cocker, Eluvium, Eleni Mandell, and Grizzly Bear all come to mind right now. All of which are indie. No surprise.

I like that Jarvis Cocker CD quite a bit. -CB

Sent by Brian | 10:56 PM ET | 11-30-2007

"it's not a matter of whether music should be free or not free, but whether we still have the same relationship to music and to listenership now that the process of acquiring it has changed."

Yes, this is it exactly.

Sent by Elizabeth | 11:05 PM ET | 11-30-2007

I often discuss with my mother, when she says "There will never be another band as big as the Beatles" how, the reason, is not because a band will not be as good... but because their is just TOO much music spread out TOO far... and everytime a critic jumps on a band as "the next big thing" just as soon as the second single hits the air waves... the NEXT Next big thing... is knocking down the door... then we have the American Idol crap... pushing whats "popular" around... If you live in a big city... you tend to have alot more choices... but for those of us... who live in backwards parts of states that still think its the Mid 90's... If you dont have a college near by... those lesser known groups who end up being really good, tend to slip right on by... which leads me to the great topic of free downloads... This is how I justify downloading a song free (be it illegally or legally)

I once downloaded the doors Rock-n-Roll Hall of Fame performance of the great song "Break On Through" Before that song, I had ZERO Pearl Jam CDs, and, was more or less, NOT a fan...
8 years later, I have 100+ official PJ bootlegs / all the albums / a handful of the side projects... those said bootlegs... and have seen them live 8 times. The PJ Boots... influenced me to download a few Sleater-Kinney songs... (which would have been 2003) now 4 years later... I have all official released albums of the great band that was/is/will be again (Im sure you havnt heard that before) Sleater-Kinney, and got lucky enough to see them live 4 times including a show in Madison Wisconsin 2005, where I was lucky enough to be in the front row, and come within INCHES of having my head kicked in by a certain lead guitarist's flying foot as she whailed away on her ax... (I could tell you your shoe size if i didnt close my eyes)

You can also add Neil Young, Sonic Youth, Quasi, Dead Meadow, the Buzzcocks and a few other bands that I have gotten into... because of downloading that ONE song many moons ago.

So I guess... I have no problem... fishing for new music, new artists... going the download route...

As you never know where it will take you...

As for new music this year...

The new White Stripes CD blew me away... Only two other albums have ever hit me like that on a first listen...

bout the only other NEW album I can think of, that I really like, would be Blackfire's "Silence is a Weapon" Nothing like some Native American punk/metal/protest music...

Sent by Kramer | 2:12 AM ET | 12-01-2007

I spent my night cataloging my vinyl collection. I'm pretty sure I just wanted to sit in front of them and touch them. I couldn't not smile even though I was sitting on my floor and my back was starting to hurt.
While cataloging I treated my ears to The Raincoats, Born Ruffians, The Cramps, Battles and The Spice Girls (that's right, viva forever).
I've never smiled at my ipod. In fact, that little jerk recently decided to stop working. It's probably a good thing.

My point is...vinyl made me smile tonight. The gigantic packaging, the different colors, the different sizes, the different shapes.
Vinyl is my lover, CD's are my best friend, mp3's are the frightening old man on the bus that keeps staring at me and I'm hoping he gets off at the next stop.

Sent by Jade | 3:12 AM ET | 12-01-2007

Hi Carrie, read "Are We Not Gamers?" a couple of days ago and yesterday I found a funny south park episode on the internet.

http://www.southparkzone.com/episodes/1113/Guitar-Queer-o.html

check it out!

Sent by Patricia | 8:10 AM ET | 12-01-2007

I will *never* pay money for an mp3 except in the very rare cases where a song only exists in that format, and though it's rare that I actually visit a record shop these days, if I hear something I like I will buy a copy. I downloaded the Radiohead album for nothing for example, but because it's good I'll pay out for a 'real' copy when it's finally available. I think I probably bought more records and cds this year than in the last 3 or 4 years - partly to be contrary and buck the 'oh no-one pays for music anymore' doom and gloom trend and partly because I've found a lot of good new stuff this year.

Sent by Julia | 8:23 AM ET | 12-01-2007

I still derive the same pleasure in music, in the act of listening. The medium seems to be very important for many people, but when it comes down to it, I just enjoy listening in any format. The only constant in life is change, nostalgia is as strong as the sense of smell. The thing I miss is going to record stores; I have fond memories of going into Roads to Moscow and seeing Michael Stipe shopping before a show in the 80's when everyone wasn't punk yet, Via, Jackpot, even Peaches in Milwaukee when I was a kid, seeing all of those wooden crates. Is downloading music from a computer that different than taping stuff off the radio long ago? It's just easier now, is it too easy? Is that the problem?

Sent by DK | 11:14 AM ET | 12-01-2007

I've had the opposite relationship with music this year. Since acquiring an iPod and getting comfortable with purchasing music from iTunes, I've bought more music by going through the maze of "listeners also bought" than I ever have killing an afternoon at a record store in the past.

Sent by JJ Hellgate | 1:04 PM ET | 12-01-2007

I consider myself a "collector" of music therefore I always buy the hard copy mainly cd sometimes vinyl. I sometimes download the odd song to check what a band/artist sounds like. This means I have hundreds of single songs by artists that I didn't quite get. I buy on average 120 albums a year and have done for many years and I see no reason to hold back, I just seem to find that many to buy.
2007 has been a good year too several great new discoveries.

Sent by Tim | 4:44 PM ET | 12-01-2007

I often feel like I'm depriving myself of part of the "listening experience" by downloading music.

"Recorded music, at least in the digital form, engages with fewer of our senses, and that certainly has changed the way I experience it."

Yeah, exactly. Digital music makes the experience a lot less special.

Sent by Karissa | 6:18 PM ET | 12-01-2007

That's exactly why I started buying vinyl this past year. For me mp3s, and even cds, kind of made me feel disconnected from music because it is almost too convenient and sterilized. In iTunes I don't have to listen through an entire album or an entire song. Vinyl makes listening to music an experience that takes a little more effort, but I appreciate it so much more.

I've never been to Vinyl Resting Place, and I've been meaning to go. So far, Everyday Music and Music Millennium have satisfied my needs.

Sent by md | 11:06 PM ET | 12-01-2007

Hi Carrie, I discovered you had a blog by accident the other day and liked what you had to say about your music listening habits lately. I couldn't agree more. Just wanted to pass on an artist to you that goes by the name of benjy Ferree. I saw him open for mirah in toronto last summer and he blew me away. check him some time.

p.s. I got to see you guys a year and a half ago at the phoenix in toronto where I discovered another good band in dead meadow.

Sent by michael markwell | 12:17 AM ET | 12-02-2007

Whenever anybody has this sort of discussion re: the transience of modern music, the digital nature is usually the first thing to get singled out as a primary cause, but I'm not sure that really has anything to do with it.

Well, I mean, of course it does in the sense that the digital revolution has made it much easier (and cheaper and potentially free, depending on what your ethical stance on the matter is) to acquire incredibly vast amounts of music for very little effort. To the extent that digital music is what makes this possible, sure, Mp3s (or AACs or whatever the hell file format you use) are to blame. But at its root, I think it's really an issue of volume, not necessarily the physical, tactile experience of owning the music itself (or the lack thereof).

I'm not going to argue the point that the permanence of my CD collection and my crate of vinyl means that that music tends to "stick" in my consciousness more. But in some sort of bizarre, magical world where CDs and vinyl were free -- where you could simply waltz into stores and walk out with all the free music you could carry -- I think we'd have the same problem, wholly apart from the issue of whether or not we physically possessed the music. I think it's volume that people really get hung up on. If I only got 10 digital songs a year you can bet that I would internalize that music more and it would feel more like a proper "collection."

That whole long-winded spiel out of the way, this phenomenon is a big part of the reason why I'm so damn grateful for end-of-the-year lists in all the magazines and all the blogs. It helps refresh my memory to recall what came out this year and gets me to dredge up all the stuff on my iTunes library I haven't made time for lately. I've found myself listening to The National and St. Vincent again lately and remembering why I was so excited when their albums first came out.

Sent by Patrick Caldwell | 3:11 AM ET | 12-02-2007

I prefer cd's to mp3s. I like to have my weird collection of music that no one else has ever heard of. Maybe it's partially because I like to collect stuff, it's the inner-neanderthal, or something, that makes us want to collect stuff, or so I was told by someone, but I forgot who...

Sent by Nikki | 3:19 AM ET | 12-02-2007

You said: "I have shifted from collecting to compiling."

This is a very important distinction to make and I hope more people begin to recognize it.

The easy availability of music and its ubiquitous portability is pretty cool. But it's also become sort of a solipsistic pursuit (or an extension of solipsistic fantasies). I love my iPod but even when I hit shuffle I'll never be surprised -- I'll never *discover* anything because I know what's already there (even with 3,800 songs on the damned thing).

Thus, I've begun listening to the radio more recently. The radio (KEXP, for me) is a process of discovery. My iPod, no matter how much thought I put into my playlists or which music I purchase and download, is always just a reflection of my own thoughts. And that's just boring.

Non-sequiter of the night: Please tell your dad thank you for introducing me to The Thermals (honestly). I just got back from their show at Neumos and it was unbelievable. Best rock show I've been to this year.

Sent by Ryan | 4:30 AM ET | 12-02-2007

I grew up in the world of cassettes, after I discovered music for the very first time in hand me down records of 'Disco Duck' and Olivia Newton John. I remember my first cd. I also remember not knowing the names of songs anymore and instead, referring to songs as the track number on a cd. My friends became the same way and we used to nervously laugh about not knowing the names of our favorite songs. I officially became disenchanted with music much later after earning a degree in classical guitar. I couldn't handle the pressure I put on myself to play music, theirs or mine, perfectly and I shut down for about 5 years after I graduated. Music was too painful to listen to, especially what I loved most. Now I'm older and I realize that you can't shut out what you come out of the womb with. Digital downloads and the endless links to bands and their music are refueling and expediting my journey back into music- listening to it, playing it, writing it. While I miss the smell of liner notes and knowing the names of the people in bands, I am thankful for the endless access I have to knowledge of great song writers and their songs. The message of a song is not necessarily lost in its medium. As detached and cool as our society has become in this digital mess, we all still have big bleeding hearts which can't be masked no matter how hard we try.

Sent by Monique | 8:37 AM ET | 12-02-2007

i'm torn between a winded rant about the postmodern music realm and just wanted to jump up and down that you have a blog on NPR!!!

Sent by dani | 12:30 AM ET | 12-03-2007

In my head, I still separate songs and albums that I "officially" own (songs and albums on CD or vinyl) from songs and albums that I "unofficially" own (mp3's or whatever).

This seems to be breaking down now because a lot of things are only available in digital form and there is no physical CD or LP released.

I wonder how long I am going to cling to buying CDs and LPs.

Sent by Mick (not "Mick") | 12:35 PM ET | 12-03-2007

i've been struggling with my top ten albums and singles this year for the idolator poll. i keep picking ones from 2006 or changing my mind. it's difficult to keep things within the confines of 365 days.

Sent by trish | 12:55 PM ET | 12-03-2007

i am a super-skeptic about computers, but my iPod doesn't seem to devalue my music. In fact, it lets me put "into rotation" CDs that would otherwise have languished on my shelves without ever being played (after the first time). I don't think that's the problem--I think the real problem is the sheer volume of *good* music. Especially when the best, difficult, music often takes 4-5 listens to sink in--it is pretty hard to figure out what to listen to more than once and what to ditch.

That said, I think Spoon has really hit their stride with _Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga_ (though there again it takes a few listens to hear the melodies), the LCD Soundsystem disk is good, the Robert Plant/Alison Krauss CD has some amazing moments, & I am still working on MIA's _Kala_...

Sent by David G. | 3:24 PM ET | 12-03-2007

These words ring truer now than ever before. It's a great excuse to do some backpedaling, though. Due to the lack of 'good' music this year, I spent my music listening time discovering 'Sonic Youth,' 'Johnny Thunders & The Heartbreakers,' 'Warren Zevon,' 'Patti Smith,' and 'The Undertones,' while filling out my 'Stooges,' 'Clash/Joe Strummer,' and 'Thelonious Monk' back-catalog. Sounds like a good music year for me...

-Ollie
Red Star Records

Sent by Ollie | 3:52 PM ET | 12-03-2007

I use mp3s to sample new artists, but when I'm really listening to music, it's on CD or vinyl -- or the CDs I've saved to my MiniDisc (while still retaining the album sequence). Monique raises a good point, though, that the CD was kind of moving us towards the a la carte style of music consumption by allowing us to skip over tracks we don't immediately like. Cassettes had the annoying fast-forward or rewind function, and moving the needle on a record isn't worth the hassle. So you listened to the whole thing (or the first part, side, etc.). And on the good ones, you see an album as a cohesive piece of music (like when you hear a song end and immediately anticipate the beginning of the next without really thinking about it), as opposed to a song as a stand-alone piece, and those tracks that didn't immediately grab you grew on you over time.

The physicality of it is also an issue, but everyone's covered that here pretty well. I will say that in many cases -- for me anyway -- cover art has a way of "coloring" the music subconsciously, or setting a mood, giving the music a context that I don't get from a mp3.

Sent by Joel | 4:36 PM ET | 12-03-2007

I think a host of other issues are at play other than vinyl vs. mp3 - our ages (judging by the band references in the posts), the changing nature of the industry (so that less music comes through the gatekeepers/marketers known as major labels), and the changing nature of music media (as hard to discover and keep track of indie labels).

I think the method of acquisition question is the most interesting thought here. When we purchase a physical entity - CD or vinyl - we have already made a commitment to that music. We're going to give it a good listen because we dropped money on it. Free and cheap downloads can be acquired almost on a whim, so it's easy to pick things up for a variety of reasons, none of which involve involve investment in knowing what the music or artist sounds like. They're the equivalent of impulse purchase items - tabloids at the check-out. I'm not sure I'd re-evaluate my relationship to music or to my music collection based on my relative susceptibility to impulse items.

Sent by Alex Rawls | 11:08 AM ET | 12-04-2007

Excellent blog Carrie.

I believe that part of what we're losing these days with all the new ways music is being distributed is the unique bonding experience that comes from listening to a "record"(digital or vinyl).

A record, (for the most part) has always been a 40-50 minute collection of songs written by the artist within a one to 2 year span of time in their careers. Great care is taken in choosing the order of the songs, and even the distance between the songs. The songs are intended to be played as a "set" from the first song to the last. The record itself is the work of art.

It's difficult to overestimate how much of the experience we miss out on when the records are only listened to in pieces.

I enjoy this revolution in the music business and my Itunes on Shuffle has really helped me to rediscover music I hadn't listened to in years.

But I think it would be a shame if we lost the wonderful format of the "record" as a way of listening to music and bonding with an artist.

Crit Harmon

Sent by Crit HGarmon | 3:44 PM ET | 12-04-2007

I've been feeling the same way about music, and I too feel it is the influence of my iPod. It's too easy to hit random. My brother (and bandmate) has a rule with music: He makes himself buy whole albums - on CD usually, because he won't give up the artwork - and he won't let himself hit random again until he's given the new album a couple listens. I wish I were as disciplined, and I wonder what I'm missing. Oftentimes my favorite song on an album wasn't the "hit" or the hype. It might have been some hidden little gem around track 7 or even 10, know what I mean?

Not just digital music, but I've idly wondered if age has had anything to do with my lack of musical urgency. I can't always relate lyrically to what a lot of newer (younger?) music is putting out there.

I know I still love music, because I still love writing it and playing it.

Thanks for the insightful blog! It's actually in my bookmarks bar.

Sent by Lisa Bendel | 11:07 AM ET | 12-05-2007

Sorry if this rambles...

People just consume and listen to music differently today than they did 5 years ago. But in a weird way we maybe have evolved into the past. When all is said and done, maybe the age of the album was an anomaly? For most of the last century popular music was more of a song-based medium - sheet music, 78's, and 45's. With some early exceptions, albums only became a stand alone artistic statement in the early 60's, right? The advent of the CD with it's ability to hold 80 minutes of music just lead to bloat - for whatever reason a lot of artist thought they needed to fill up all that space which lead to a lot of diffuse and unfocused records. To my mind the cd was a significant nail in the coffin of album-based music. Digital music seems to maybe be the final nail in the album's coffin. I'm not happy about this but, hey, I still think the vinyl 45 was the most perfect music delivery system.

Me, I still like having the object. I like collecting and bits of data just don't cut it. Worse than that is the death of the record store and the social aspect of record shopping. I don't know about you but I love going into a nice big old store and just passing an hour going through the bins. There are still great music stores out there but fewer and fewer and, generally, smaller and smaller. Oh well...

I do wonder, though, if some of the social needs of sharing music and hearing more than a series of disconnected songs has in some way resulted in an ever greater live music scene? It seems to me that concurrent with the ascent of the mp3 has been the growth in the numbers of live music venues, touring bands, etc. Am I imagining this?

Sent by -pgc. | 2:02 PM ET | 12-06-2007

To be honest, I am not as much interested in Music to the extent that I once was. My 500+ vinyl collection is warping as we speak at my parents house in Storage. It includes First Press Vinyl in pretty colors to make you smile, Dischord-esque, Kill Rock Stars/ Early K-esque shit, Husker Du, Joy Division, old School Hip Hop ala Sugar Hill Records, Jawbreaker,early 90s emo, classic rock, Velvet Underground, Clash, Bauhaus, Bay Area Punk, etc etc out of Print records that someone somewhere is willing to pay vast sums for on Ebay to help me pay my bills. (Would you believe I got $50 years ago for the first Youth of Today 7"?!!! )the same can be said for my barely disturbed in 6 years 200 plus 7" collection. These Days I am not too concerned with getting the newest album by my favorite band as soon as possible. Nor am I am dying to see them in Concert (As I don't like Large Crowds or too many Hipsters in one place). I too possess a Computer and an Ipod with very few Full Albums. That is the extent of my collection of high Tech toys. I generally find the Obsession we (as a culture) have with it all kinda gross. It seems too excessive. The Bands I see live nowadays (numbering maybe six in the last six years) usually end up being bands with friends for members or Bands I think it is important to support with my time and $. The Same can be said for Buying an Actual CD. Coincidentally,The Last CD I Bought was also M.I.A.
The One positive thing for me it seems about this new Digital age, it has taught me is to be less attached to my vinyl. Less attached to material possessions...Beautiful. a nice contradiction in terms.
However, I could be talking out of my ass, as It might also be that there's less interesting music being made, but I really don't Personally buy that. It seems more so about exposure. But I wont lie, even in regards to the Bands I like enough to upload a couple of songs up onto my Ipod, I still didn't go buy their CD. The internet seems to me like a ridiculous ocean thats like 3" deep, full of a lot of Mediocrity with some gems mixed in, thats readily available. I worry we seem to be becoming more dependent on it for information. I find that I generally rely on past decades for musical inspiration. The Danger of the Digital Experience is that it cheapens the Human experience. This seems to be reflected in the Musical Landscape and this Blog's topic of discussion right now. I fear that how we access and digest music these days might be foreshadowing for bigger more important issues.
I find myself Listening more often to Neil Young, Can, David Bowie, Rolling Stones, Jazz, or all my above mentioned old faves (in Mp3 form when I can get it). There haven't been any bands in recent years to blow me back into collecting. My Vinyl collection is definitely a Collection. and I do love it as such. With a Passion, no joke. But, music hasn't been magical for years, not enough to inspire me in the same way it did in the early 90s, when I collected Vinyl.
Id like to add that I also got mugged last month. My then Ipod was stolen...I imagine it was a lot lighter to carry than my 500+ record collection.
and so I offer, as strategy to combat these new advances in technology a return to the magic. We must reclaim our Musical Landscape. The Disappearance of the Mix Tape. We gotta bring it back. Now Thats something worth fighting for!!

Sent by Rascal | 8:44 PM ET | 12-07-2007

Carrie, you nailed it: the difference between a vinyl collection and a digital file of music. I have a large record collection and a growing digital collection, and I've long sensed a fundamental, essential difference between them, but couldn't really pin it down. This post helped me understand. The records were purchased eagerly, lovingly, curiously; my digital music was acquired less thoughtfully. It's the difference between a collection and a file. Thank you for articulating this fundamental shift and helping me get it.

One more comment about fundamental shifts: the other element that's missing, I think, from digital music is the concept of "album" as art form. Songs placed in a particular order; having to flip the disc before you could hear the B side. The question "why did she lead off with THAT song" was part of the whole experience. I miss album art and long, graceful, self-indulgent, generous, insightful liner notes. Teeny CD holder art doesn't have the same impact.

Sent by Mary | 8:05 PM ET | 12-11-2007

"Though a digital music library will outlast the vinyl records, and will likely outlast us all, the digital is not tactile."

this is a misconception. your vinyl records are a more stable and lasting format than any digital file. archivists always rely on the master for preservation since digital media is constantly changing, and the equipment used to read these files become obsolete with this change. a digital copy can only be relied for reference.

read more...
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2003/01/21/tech/main537308.shtml

Sent by troy | 5:32 PM ET | 12-16-2007