It's more than music

My wife and I were talking this morning about technology and our reliance on it.

Yesterday, many web sites closed down to protest an impending bill in congress called the Stop Online Privacy Act, or SOPA. This morning the paper had an article on the economic impact of such closures on commerce and basically how addicted we are to the technology we use.

Being a ‘junkie’ myself to todays wealth of gadgets and what they add to our everyday lives, I didn’t think too much of Katie’s comment about it being sad that we have withdrawals when we can’t access what we’ve become addicted to. Who doesn’t start a pot of coffee in the morning and then go over to the computer and go to Facebook, CNN, check their mail, or whatever else may interest them? I know I do, and when it doesn't work I start to get the wiggles in my knees and makes me want to jump and shout.

While I noted it is unfortunate we seem to need to text, or email, or chat, or any number of things that does not involve direct human communication. We also rely on our cars to get us to work, the gas that goes in the car, and the electricity that makes all of our technological fixes possible. We all rely on something that 50 years ago we didn’t have, or have much of.  So it appears that phone calls, letters, and face to face conversation is going the way of tube televisions, and our inability to live without the creature comforts of today, without some sort of symptom of withdrawal is now commonplace.

Along with the internet and the pantheon of other technological wonders is the MP3 player, and what it has done to the recording industry. This actually started about 30 years ago with the advent of the CD. All of your old, dusty, crackling albums were being replaced with digital equivalents that rendered your trusty LP’s obsolete. CD’s were great, they didn’t scratch, they didn’t have any hiss, and were virtually distortion free. You got a small case with album art, and all of the other information you got with a traditional long play record.

Now we’re looking at the obsolescence of the CD and CD player as a viable way to listen to our favorite music. Today, the MP3 rules. With just a couple of mouse clicks you can to to iTunes, or Amazon and download a complete album, or just a track or two. What you no longer receive anything tangible that you can hold onto.

When I was a kid, I couldn’t wait to go to the record store and pick up the latest Springsteen or Stones album, put it on the turntable, and listen to the record while reading the liner notes. I wanted to know who wrote the songs, who played on the album, who produced it. In the case of older albums, I wanted to know what year it came out. I of course, wanted to listen to the music, but the music wasn’t complete without a history of what went in to making that record.

The discussion this morning, and my bemoaning the state of todays music, made me think of a favorite movie, and one of the best scenes regarding music ever filmed. The 1982 movie, “Diner” starred a cast of young actors including Mickey Rourke, Kevin Bacon, Steve Guttenburg, Daniel Stern, and Ellen Barkin. Stern, and Barkin were a young married couple going through what young married couples do. They were drifting somewhat, trying to figure it out. Sterns character, “Shrevie,” was a serious music fan. He alphabetized and categorized his record collection and knew all there was to know about the music he loved. Barkin “ didn’t give a shit,” she just wanted to listen to the music.

Shrevie's wife Beth was listening to some music one evening, going through his collection Shrevie noticed some of his albums in the wrong section, or not alphabetized correctly. When he asked Beth, about this,  she exclaimed, ‘Shrevie, it’s just music!” That was the wrong thing to say. I’ve had very heated exchanges with people about this very statement, and no, it’s not just music. It’s a part of your life, it takes you back to when you were a child, or when you met your first girlfriend, or your first kiss. Music is magical. It can make you laugh, or it can make you cry. Music is truly a history of your life, and in some ways a peek into your future.

I think if Shrevie were around, (and maybe he is) I don’t think he’d like the way music has evolved, or at least the way you listen to it. Something always seems to get left behind as we move on to bigger and better. I’m not so sure that is always a good thing. No longer, is there any records to touch.