Yep, great read. I don't know if I'm as drawn to physical media as you (other than books) because I don't like HAVING too many things, but I certainly empathize with the sentiment.
Thanks for reading, Michael! It's a constant struggle between clutter and utility.
I think all of this is at least partially a reaction to our broken social media and digital ecosystem too- the worse the digital world gets, the more pleasure I rediscover in the physical.
Oh, yes to all of this! I've noticed that one of the biggest drawbacks to streaming music platforms is that there's no way to give music to someone as a gift anymore. I used to love buying albums for my family and friends to share new artists with them, but how do you do that on Spotify?! Of course you can send a screenshot, but it's not the same - and if the person actually does listen to the song you suggested, the algorithm tends to then steer them back to their usual listening habits.
Jon Caramanica has talked about "nostalgia for the physicality of an album," but I think it's about more than just the physical aspect, it's also the notion of an album itself: how artists would spend time thinking about which songs fit together, trimming their record down to the 12 or 13 best tracks, deciding on the order, hiding a secret track at the end of a CD... So much of that artistry has been lost now due to streaming.
And about the influence of publishers, have you listened to the podcast "Sold a Story" from APM Reports? It's mainly about how American schools veered away from phonics in reading instruction and the catastrophic consequences, but some of the later episodes touch on the impact one academic publisher had on how reading was taught in the US for decades. You're so right that it's a business, and what gets out into the world depends more on what publishers choose to print than what writers choose to write.
Yep, great read. I don't know if I'm as drawn to physical media as you (other than books) because I don't like HAVING too many things, but I certainly empathize with the sentiment.
Thanks for reading, Michael! It's a constant struggle between clutter and utility.
I think all of this is at least partially a reaction to our broken social media and digital ecosystem too- the worse the digital world gets, the more pleasure I rediscover in the physical.
Oh, yes to all of this! I've noticed that one of the biggest drawbacks to streaming music platforms is that there's no way to give music to someone as a gift anymore. I used to love buying albums for my family and friends to share new artists with them, but how do you do that on Spotify?! Of course you can send a screenshot, but it's not the same - and if the person actually does listen to the song you suggested, the algorithm tends to then steer them back to their usual listening habits.
Jon Caramanica has talked about "nostalgia for the physicality of an album," but I think it's about more than just the physical aspect, it's also the notion of an album itself: how artists would spend time thinking about which songs fit together, trimming their record down to the 12 or 13 best tracks, deciding on the order, hiding a secret track at the end of a CD... So much of that artistry has been lost now due to streaming.
And about the influence of publishers, have you listened to the podcast "Sold a Story" from APM Reports? It's mainly about how American schools veered away from phonics in reading instruction and the catastrophic consequences, but some of the later episodes touch on the impact one academic publisher had on how reading was taught in the US for decades. You're so right that it's a business, and what gets out into the world depends more on what publishers choose to print than what writers choose to write.
I agree with everything you said- the loss of the construction of an album, the sharing of music, all so true!
I haven't heard that podcast yet, but will add it to my queue for sure!