Musical Journey
I was born into a world of 78 rpm records. Then came 33-⅓ followed by 45. They got me through my teens. I ignored eight tracks, no car, but liked cassettes and made lots of mix tapes. CDs were a big deal. We had intense discussions about digital vs analog sound quality, and I never could get my wife to leave the CDs in their cases. The digital revolution introduced me to ripping, but I never like file sharing, too buggy. I owned a Walkman and eventually an IPod.
Nowadays I mostly stream, but I still have the ability to play my CDs and vinyl. I have good collections of both formats. I prefer the latter. I like the big covers, the artwork, and the text inside. I like the needle drop, and the endless groove with its little thump to tell you it’s time to turn the record. I like turning the record, going to side two or B, or whatever they called it. It’s the physicality of it, the walk to the turntable, the idea of a beginning and an end that you can see and hear.
It’s always tempting to say, this is how things should be. When in reality, it’s simply how things were. And I’m certain the pleasures of discovery and listening are still there in whatever format the youth of today prefer. At least I hope they are. And I imagine at some point they too will sit around and rhapsodize about Spotify, or YouTube, or SoundCloud, while their kids mainline music from implants or whatever technology exists to bring them their music. That’s just how things go. Onward.