.. then clean you weed on the fold-out cover.

In my day, weed needed to be cleaned

Well, digital distribution has made tastes in music more divergent, and there's less chance for a large group of people to get excited over an album. Also, who cares if pretentious music hipsters don't get together as often to talk to other pretentious hipsters.

I found myself nodding like a bobblehead to everything he said. But what do i know? Im an old, cranky curmudgeon

Yes - and when `electricity' came, we could listen to our records over & over without our arms getting tired!

I find it amusing that that page had an ad for the latest Walkmen album on it, because that was the most recent album release that I was quite excited about. Right up until I heard the album and discovered it sucked.

And we LIKED it! We LOVED it!

This guy is spot-on with every syllable. It's not truly the loss of a corrupt and lopsided industry and distribution network I mourn, it's the loss of a culture.

I worked at a record store all through college, just before the beginning of the real download craze, and it was a mecca. Music lovers of all stripes would congregate and socialize. You'd see B-Boys rubbing shoulders with flannel-clad grunge-monkeys flipping through racks and recommending stuff to each other. Music has the power to bring people together like little else, but that culture is slowly shifting.

And that's sad. Because when you do sit in front of a computer downloading like this dude says, that's a solo rather than a social thing. There's no interaction. It's a slippery-slope argument to say that as our minds slowly start to perceive music as a singular rather than a group activity, attendance at live events will start to decline...But some of us who keep a hand in the live-music world are already seeing it happen.

Not to mention that he's dead-on with the "perception of value" argument, too. When the delivery medium of music was shiny discs of either black or silver, we had something tangible that had to be cared for. We had liner notes and cover art to study. Organizational systems to develop. Now, with music being reduced to a stream of zeros and ones, there's not that sense of permanence, or ownership. And a sense of the preciousness of the music itself is lost, at least a little.

I think this video ought to be required viewing for every label executive in the country still clinging to the old business model. Ultimately, they're just so many Ty-D-Bowl men counting on the life preserver of tradition to save them from the swirling void underneath.

We didn't wear onions on our belts, we wore...

Where were you in '79 when the dam began to burst
Did you check us out down at the local show
Were you wearing denim, wearing leather
Did you run down to the front
Did you queue for your ticket through the ice and snow

Denim and Leather
Brought us all together
It was you that set the spirit free
Denim and Leather
Brought us all together
It was you that set the spirit free

Did you read the music paper from the back and to the front
Did you find out where to see your favorite band
Did you listen to the radio every Friday night
Did hang around your local record store

Denim and Leather
Brought us all together
It was you that set the spirit free
Denim and Leather
Brought us all together
It was you that set the spirit free

Do you dream of playing guitar or smashing up the drums
Maybe you can learn to play the bass
You can always be a singer like me and front the band
When on the stage we wait at your command

Denim and Leather
Brought us all together
It was you that set the spirit free
Denim and Leather
Brought us all together
It was you that set the spirit free

It was you - that set the spirit free
It was you - that put us here today
It was you - that filled the concert halls
It was you - that set the spirit free

Denim and Leather
Brought us all together
It was you that set the spirit free
Denim and Leather
Brought us all together
It was you that set the spirit free

UNC_Samurai: Well, digital distribution has made tastes in music more divergent, and there's less chance for a large group of people to get excited over an album. Also, who cares if pretentious music hipsters don't get together as often to talk to other pretentious hipsters.

That's the thing though, it wasn't just the pretentious music hipsters lining up at the record store... it was anyone and everyone who loved music.

Jay Smooth hit the nail on the head.

rocinante721: In my day, weed needed to be cleaned

Yeah and a dime bag only cost a dime, and we didn't have to wear rubbers.

An old lady at work just sold me her son's pristine copy of Big Bambu (with the paper still in it!)

rocinante721: .. then clean you weed on the fold-out cover.

In my day, weed needed to be cleaned


There was even a note about it on Marley's Rastaman Vibration sleeve, to the effect that that particular record jacket was perfect for cleaning herb.

I skipped school and walked two miles to by this, so I'm getting a kick out of these replies

I do really miss the old days of album cover art. Having a rack of 12x12 covers compete for your attention in the front of a record store was really cool. (Especially when they had boobies on them.)

I still get a real pang of nostalgia when I watch this scene from Fast Times, and see what the stores used to look like:

MaxxLarge: I worked at a record store all through college, just before the beginning of the real download craze, and it was a mecca.

The best for me was the early 90s, I was buying AC/DC the Razors Edge cassette the clerk behind the counter said "Another white boy who likes the hard stuff, you should buy this album instead." He handed me a cassette of L.L. Cool J's Mama Said Knock You Out. I bought them both and I never would have listened to L.L. Cool J had it not been for that guy.

Yeah, but now you can buy "I Just Called To Say I Love You" without getting hassled.

Meh, now instead of interacting with just your local people in a store you interact with the world through newsgroups and forums.

I don't mourn the music store its time came and went.

I remember that fateful day when I last raced to the record store with baited breath to get my copy of the newest Styx* album at the time, "Kilroy Was Here."

I made two bus transfers in record time, hit the mall, raced into the record store, only to discover they were sold out. I had to hit another bus, go to "The Wherehouse" and get it there. I finally made it home, slit the shrink wrap, and put the record on the turntable.

Not more than a few minutes after the first time the diamond needle made contact with the groves on the surface of the vinyl, I realized I had just busted my ass for nothing. I sank into a deep depression, and sat in my room alone for weeks, only venturing out occasionally for a hard boiled egg or a Star Trek rerun.

That was the day I became a goth.

*Cut me some slack, I was 17, and all my taste was in my friggin' mouth!

Boritom: I remember that fateful day when I last raced to the record store with baited breath to get my copy of the newest Styx* album at the time, "Kilroy Was Here."

I made two bus transfers in record time, hit the mall, raced into the record store, only to discover they were sold out. I had to hit another bus, go to "The Wherehouse" and get it there. I finally made it home, slit the shrink wrap, and put the record on the turntable.

Not more than a few minutes after the first time the diamond needle made contact with the groves on the surface of the vinyl, I realized I had just busted my ass for nothing. I sank into a deep depression, and sat in my room alone for weeks, only venturing out occasionally for a hard boiled egg or a Star Trek rerun.

That was the day I became a goth.

*Cut me some slack, I was 17, and all my taste was in my friggin' mouth!

Fark everyone who hates that album. It's awesome.

UNC_Samurai: Fark everyone who hates that album. It's awesome.

I don't hate it, per se'... There's a couple good songs on it, but compaired to Paradise Theater, it was an utter disappointment.

Adman12: I do really miss the old days of album cover art. Having a rack of 12x12 covers compete for your attention in the front of a record store was really cool. (Especially when they had boobies on them.)

Hellz yeah, although when I came home with a copy of the Blind Faith album when I was 16, my mom threw a hizzy.

EvilEgg: Meh, now instead of interacting with just your local people in a store you interact with the world through newsgroups and forums.

I don't mourn the music store its time came and went.

I don't think its time has gone just yet, but there's an argument to be made that the end is in sight. And all else being equal, I think it's better to interact with people in person, if possible, rather than online (Yeah, I know, I'm saying it online.).

Having said that, now at the age of 51, I spent a lot of my time as a young fella in record stores, and I loved every second of it. Yet I don't see the death of record stores as something that has to be a bad thing -- hey, it's where we are right now, and there's no going back, so I prefer to look at things in a positive light. If the economic business model no longer holds up, I see it as economic Darwinism. If record stores disappear during my lifetime, there will be some things I miss about them, but ultimately, it's the music itself that counts.

What I wonder about, that I haven't seen discussed in any depth (although I'm sure it has been; I just haven't seen it) is the effect these changes have on appreciation of the music. I'm not saying it's any better or worse now, overall, than it ever has been. But I'm willing to bet it's considerably different, and I'm curious as to how it's different.

Boritom: Hellz yeah, although when I came home with a copy of the Blind Faith album when I was 16, my mom threw a hizzy.

I remember my father throwing a fit when my Sister came home with Van Halen's 1984, he couldn't stand the baby smoking cigarettes on the cover.

Last one I stood in line for was RHCP's Blood Sugar. It was an unpleasant experience that only got worse when I actually listened to the record.

I should point out, you may want to avoid doing a Google Image search for that BF album. I wouldn't want to be responsible for any Farkers getting a visit from Dateline NBC

Boritom: Hellz yeah, although when I came home with a copy of the Blind Faith album when I was 16, my mom threw a hizzy.

I said "boobies", not "raisins"...

(Some good tunes on that, though.)

MaxxLarge: You'd see B-Boys rubbing shoulders with flannel-clad grunge-monkeys flipping through racks and recommending stuff to each other. Music has the power to bring people together like little else, but that culture is slowly shifting.

rubbing shoulders in their genre segregated areas?

I like going to music stores and browsing and finding some true gems. I also miss waiting for a new album to come out as well. But at the same time, since downloading, I listen to a lot more music as well as talk about music a lot more.

Boritom:
I don't hate it, per se'... There's a couple good songs on it, but compaired to Paradise Theater, it was an utter disappointment.

A-frickin'-men

The music community is just changing; it will never become a totally isolated experience.

Earlier this year, to name a couple of examples, I went to Bart's record store to pick up Seventh Tree by Goldfrapp and The Bedlam In Goliath by The Mars Volta, each time chatting up the guy running the place for his recommendations for old David Byrne albums. For Bedlam I was accompanied by a few equally anticipatory friends.

And downloading at home in your closet under a blanket may be a solo act, that is for sure, but I see a lot of healthy music exchange going on at my workplace. Lots of recommendations flying about, people learning each other's tastes, it's good fun and it brings us together.

I can see how some folks would be nostalgic for the "old days," but shiat, there's a richness to sharing music with friends today that I don't remember having in the 80's and 90's.

The last album I awaited and bought on its release date was Hemispheres (new window, old fart).

UNC_Samurai: Boritom: I remember that fateful day when I last raced to the record store with baited breath to get my copy of the newest Styx* album at the time, "Kilroy Was Here."

[...]

Fark everyone who hates that album. It's awesome.

I'll have to agree...there were 2 songs on there that were AWESOME. The rest of the album was "meh" for me.

I remember when we didn't have to listen to a superfluous 4/4 with no backbeat behind every stream-of-obvious.

Ahhhhh!!!!! The good old days of having to tread lightly whenever I was near the turntable so as not to make the record skip. Then having to get up and flip it over halfway through. I recently broke out my old turntable and forgot I had to flip it over.

In a record store I could look at the cover art. Online I can hear the entire album. It's no coincidence that my appreciation for so many different forms of music has taken off since those days of Napster long ago. I've long had fairly diverse taste in the stuff but now with the ease with which I can acquire and listen to music my horizons have expanded exponentially.

I miss the good old days, but dayum is it ever easier to "buy" music these days.

I can think of only two albums that I got on release. I pooling my money together making the trek to the local record shop to buy Supertramp's Breakfast In America.

I remember 2 cassettes I bought on release: Floyd's Final Cut & SRV's Couldn't Stand The Weather.

And I remember the one CD I bought on release day: Roger Waters Amused to Death.

/more format changes please

being an ex-deejay, I spent many hours in record stores. I was always looking for great (at that time) collectibles. I still have all my old albums. They are worth almost nothing, yet I still wont sell them.
some of the gems..

unopened original cover Beatles white album.
3 Molly hatchet picture discs.
Frampton Comes Alive gold vinyl / red vinyl / picture disc
4 big bamboo 3 with paper, one paper joint jacket from release
all four Led Zep inner sleves from in through the out door (the sleeves had invisible watercolor art)
Stones sticky fingers unopened with zipper
about 20 assorted interview discs (pre album release interviews usually with 2 or three tracks on it)
tons of signed albums.
way too many 45's to mention
Sinatra with Tommy Dorsey ( his first unreleased recordings )
a few Euro released covers.

a bunch of unopened first pressing albums.
and a bunch of master recording albums (these were re releases of popular records, that were supposedly made directly from the master. quality was supposed to be better etc etc..)

opps, the other vinyl was The Wall.

when download quality is as good as cds...I'll probably still go to the store to buy albums. we'll never have quality like analog records, though.

My favorite locally-owned record store chain closed recently (say it with me!), so now I have no choice but to go to the big box stores or online. Bummer.

Punkindrublic Second record that I bought with my own money. Still one of my favorite albums.

UNC_Samurai: Boritom: I remember that fateful day when I last raced to the record store with baited breath to get my copy of the newest Styx* album at the time, "Kilroy Was Here."

*Cut me some slack, I was 17, and all my taste was in my friggin' mouth!

Fark everyone who hates that album. It's awesome.

I don't hate the album so much as I hate the band and everything they ever recorded.

SherKhan: The last album I awaited and bought on its release date was Hemispheres (new window, old fart).

When that came out I drove all over just to find the limited Canadian release with the clear red vinyl. Too bad I don't still have it...

TheSup3rN0va: when download quality is as good as cds...I'll probably still go to the store to buy albums. we'll never have quality like analog records, though.

Well, download quality is as good as CD's if you consider lossless compression.

Seasons change
Time passes by
As the weeks, become the months, become the years.

You know what I like more than album art? Music. I could really care less how I get it. If it has a cool album cover also than that is just an added bonus.

Nice one Cheddarpants, I'm going to go dust off my old Saxon albums now.

/thanks

I used to buy stuff out of the cut-out bin. Anything that had a nice graphic, or an Ohio Players nude, or that looked "hardcore." Also I had to have anything on brightly colored or laser etched vinyl I had to have. My sister worked at the local college radio station and would give me albums, she knew what stuff to grab and that I liked label compilation albums, stuff like A Bunch Of Stiffs. When I saw Wreckless Eric was playing down the road from me later this month (with Amy Rigby) I practically fell over because it brought me back to a time when I thought Whole Wide World was the greatest song ever written.

As someone who buys a lot of records, understands the appeal, and loves doing going to the store to get them, if it wasn't for the internet and "free" music I wouldn't be nearly the aficionado I am today. Being able to search for bands and download everything they've ever recorded has been pretty awesome, and has expanded my taste in music so much farther than having to buy an album whenever I wanted to hear it.

I think what I miss most is the anticipation of picking up a newly released album (for me it was always on cassette and CD).

You'd hear through the grapevine that one of your favorite bands was releasing something new, and when that Tuesday rolled around, you were at the music store with cash in hand. If they had posters advertising the new release you were buying, it made you feel like you were part of something bigger.

I loved peeling off the cellophane. I loved thumbing through the liner notes. Heck, I even loved the smell of the liner notes.

Once you dropped that CD into your player and cued it up, those few quick seconds before it started playing were like the sweet prelude to heaven.

Of course, we all got stung from the disappointment of buying an album that had maybe one or two good songs on it, and the rest was utter crap. My heart would sink as I thought about the $14 I had wasted on the bad albums. Back then, when you thought of selling off your unwanted discs, it conjured to mind visions of dingy used CD stores, where the cold-eyed clerk would give you maybe $3 for your $14 mistake, if you were lucky.

Maybe most of my enthusiasm for the old CD shop experience can be racked up to simply being 17.

These days, I'm rarely aware of when my favorite bands release new stuff. If I'm contemplating buying an album, I put on my tinny computer headphones and cautiously listen to samples from Amazon and other places first to make sure it's "good." Then, with just one mouse click, all the songs gradually make their way to my computer, and my credit card is charged. No cellophane to peel back, no liner notes to peruse as the unexplored territory of the new album thunders from my speakers.

I see I have become a sentimental, nostalgic fool.

MaxxLarge: You'd see B-Boys rubbing shoulders with flannel-clad grunge-monkeys flipping through racks and recommending stuff to each other. Music has the power to bring people together like little else, but that culture is slowly shifting.

And that's sad. Because when you do sit in front of a computer downloading like this dude says, that's a solo rather than a social thing. There's no interaction.

There are tons of Internet communities where people of varying tastes can recommend music for each other. I know that probably sounds "lame" to a maverick consumer like you, but just because it's not happening literally face-to-face doesn't mean it's not happening at all. 90 percent of the new bands I've gotten into in the past five years or so have been from going to these sites and asking "I like Band X, Band Y, Band Z. What else should I get?" I invariably get a few cool new names to check out.

I pirate fairly often, but if it's a good album I'll make the effort to track down a copy on CD (or vinyl if readily available). Lossy formats sound fine through headphones but when I have the money to get a nice stereo system I don't want to regret the bitrate of my collection.

As much as I love the social culture that's developed around music, I honestly think the author of this article is just another victim of nostalgia. I don't miss walking uphill both ways in the snow to get an album. I don't miss getting there only to find they don't have what I'm looking for. And I REALLY don't miss being out ten bucks from a disappointing recommendation by a trusted source. Feel free to miss the way things used to be, but don't use The Good Old Days as a form of disdain for what's replaced them.