First post and it’s gonna be music related. Mainly cause I’m out on tour just now and surrounded by it 24/7. A subject that’s come up a few times in the van and in my own mind while we’ve been out here is the value of a physical product.
Everyone knows it’s in decline, and we as a band could be accused of endorsing that decline by choosing not to press our new record. We were staying at our drummer’s parents house after a show in Cardiff and I noticed some CD’s lying around and decided to take a look through them. The first 36 Crazyfists album was one of them and the price was still on it. £15.99! When was the last time you paid more that £15 for a record? Admittedly 4 or 5 years ago music was grossly overpriced but it meant that us as consumers put more of a value on our music.
I am as guilty as anyone for doing it. I used to go to independent music stores the weekend before a new album came out to see if they would let me buy it from them early or give it a listen in store before it came out on Monday. When One by One (2002 – Foo Fighters) came out, I stood in Avalanche Records on Saturday afternoon and listened to it 3 or 4 times through before going in on the Monday and buying it.
In contrast, when Lamb of God’s latest record (Wrath – 2009) came out, they put the whole thing up to stream on myspace a couple of weeks before it came out.
I logged on after work a day or 2 after they had done it and gave it a quick listen (while browsing the web), got about 4 tracks through before I went to make my dinner. I came back to it later on and had another wee listen to a few tracks on it.
I was left significantly underwhelmed. I have since grown to love that record, and I put my lack of initial enthusiasm down to the disposable nature in which I first listened to the record. You lose the sense of anticipation and excitement that you have when you go and buy a record on the day it’s released which you have never laid ears on. It’s not a moment that should fall into your lap as you go about your daily business, it’s a moment most enjoyed when you build towards it for days / weeks / months.
This post could go on to talk about the negative impact I feel myspace and the like has had upon music (not as an industry, but as an art) and I could also talk about the decline of the physical product and where I think the future of music as a product lies, but I’m not going to. Instead, I am going to implore you to start putting some value back into the music you listen to in whatever way you feel works for you.
Get excited about the release date of your favourite band’s new record. Don’t listen to anything from it before it comes out no matter how tempting, and when you’ve bought the record, sit down with it, crank it, and give it your full attention. I guarantee you’ll enjoy it so much more than you would do if you downloaded / streamed it.
Lately, I’ve been banging on about building a vinyl collection. It’s something I desperately want to do. The feeling of bringing home a new record, tenderly removing it from it’s sleeve, and spinning it on my natural wood turntable (much like the one over there <<<) is one I dream of realising. Until I have a spare 13k however, I’m going to make more effort to pay attention to when records are coming out, and then pay them the attention they deserve when they do.
