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Requiem for the
Music Collection
Anyone who's been to my home knows I
have a huge music collection. Some of them, before I could afford to hire someone, have
even had the misfortune of being asked to help move it. Forget the couch, the beds, the
kitchen worktable, or even the solid walnut wall unit...after nearly 20 years in the music
industry, my music collection is the heaviest thing I own, and the most difficult to
transport.
Which is why some music collectors embrace music downloading. Imagine, a whole
bookcase-load of music in just a tiny little space...It's enough to make some music
collectors shout with glee.
Not I.
Regardless of whether it's legal or not, I'm far too tactile to get into music
downloading.
You see, I actually get kind of a rush when I race home from the CD store with my new find
and struggle with a key, a letter opener, or the edge of a table to peel back the shrink
wrap. I like the snap of the cellophane giving way when I finally win the battle, the
"thwack" when the CD pops out of its holder, and the slick feel of the booklet
in my hands as I peruse the liner notes while settling down on the
floor on my stomach to let the music take me somewhere new. (Try it
sometime. You can hear the lyrics better.)
You just don't get that kind of rush with a computer file. Hell, I don't even get a rush looking at
lists of files for Musicbizadvice.com--and I'm pretty damn passionate about this
publication.
I won't even get into sound quality...But when did we become such a Big Mac society that
the sound quality of music didn't matter anymore?
When vinyl LP's were replaced by Compact Discs in the late 1980's, a lot of my friends ran
toward the dumpster to divest themselves of their vinyl. I offered to take it off their
hands, and as a result have amassed a fabulous selection of vinyl LPs and 12-inch singles.
I see the tide heading that way again as people think getting rid of their CD's
and have the feeling I'll once again be shouting "I'll take it!" And once again
experiencing the high of getting "new" music.
At the risk of sounding shallow (which it was), I admit that in my early 20's a large music collection
was sometimes part of the deciding factor in whether or not to go check out a date's
apartment...the lure to the lair, so to speak. After all, one can learn a lot about
someone by the kind of music they like. (Or don't like. In my world, musical intolerance
is often the quickest way to get shown the door without so much as a
handshake.) And let's face it, it's fun looking
through someone else's stuff.
But where's the lure now? "Hey, baby, come over and check out my, uh...list of
files?" "Uh, I'm kinda busy. Email it to me." Obviously whomever came up
with this downloading thing was not thinking ahead...
Damn. If we in the the music industry--notorious for thinking in terms of sex
appeal--had thought of that sooner, this whole downloading thing would have lasted maybe
20 minutes. -- RR
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