Something To Hold On To

Culture is changing drastically and as a result, there is a big difference among us. You cannot hold anything anymore.
When you buy something today, you are literally paying for the noise that comes out of your headphones, or the image that comes on your television. You literally get nothing else. This is because everything is digital. I have an outdated love for vinyl and it is not just because it is the best quality one can find for listening to music. It’s also because of the fact that you are buying so much more. Within that package is a world of art and beauty. While you listen to the vinyl you can read the artwork as the record plays, helping you further understand the messages the songs have to offer. There is usually expandable artwork that goes along with the themes of the album. The cover art in itself is part of the album, and can be held and viewed and contemplated on. You can hold it. It’s yours forever. It is an entity that you can hold, rather than a file on your computer or a collection of pixels in the small corner of your iPhone.
Though movies have not reached this level to the extent of music, they are on the decline with Netflix and On Demand. Now movies are digital. Soon DVDs will be a thing of the past. No longer can we hold them.
I enjoy my iPod more than anyone, because it allows me to carry my entire music collection. But, unlike many people, I still see the beauty in having a collection of music and movies that is actually there as an historical artifact.
Another downfall to iTunes is the decline of the album. People no longer buy albums in their entirety, the way they are meant to be listened to. Singles are dominating because it is so convenient to click on a song and take it out of the context it was meant to be heard in. Albums were formed as a piece of art, and taking it out of this context is like cutting out your favorite part of a Picasso painting. It’s disgraceful. Because of this, new artists are caring less and less about making good “albums” and are caring more and more about having that hit song.
The reason I listen to many of the bands I listen to is because they still release albums as entire pieces of art, and they still release them on vinyl. The idea of the album is still in the forefront of their mind, and this intrigues me and gives me hope.
This is not an anti-technology rant, simply an observation. If my iPod suddenly disappeared I would be more upset than anyone, because I would lose all 17,546 songs I have. I simply think that if vinyl was still the primary source for listening to music, people would have a greater appreciation for the art of the musical album, instead of clicking on a song and tearing it away from the album it was meant to be on.