For the music lovers in the house (part deux)

[badunnin]

Everybody put your hands in the air, wave them around... oh, wait, no....

I was just thinking that the next time I take a road trip across the border I need to pick up new music - a fav artist of mine just released a CD on Sept 12, and I'd love to add it to my collection. It's available through iTunes as well, and although I've purchased a few titles from them, it just doesn't hold the same thrill for me as unwrapping that shrink wrap (with my teeth usually), opening that case, straightening the CD so that I can see the front, pulling out the liner notes and flipping through them. I could have the instant gratification of a quick download, but... it's not the same thrill of discovery. Anyone with me on this one?

Oh, for those wondering, it's Jim Cuddy's new release that I want. ;)

[Gumbeaux]

Everybody put your hands in the air, wave them around... oh, wait, no....

I was just thinking that the next time I take a road trip across the border I need to pick up new music - a fav artist of mine just released a CD on Sept 12, and I'd love to add it to my collection. It's available through iTunes as well, and although I've purchased a few titles from them, it just doesn't hold the same thrill for me as unwrapping that shrink wrap (with my teeth usually), opening that case, straightening the CD so that I can see the front, pulling out the liner notes and flipping through them. I could have the instant gratification of a quick download, but... it's not the same thrill of discovery. Anyone with me on this one?

Oh, for those wondering, it's Jim Cuddy's new release that I want. ;)

The flip side of this is when you pay $17.00+ for a CD which has only eight songs (half of which you don't like) and then open the case only to find that there's no liner notes. You find this out, of course, only after you've made the purchase. Probably 20-30 per cent of my CD's don't have liner notes. Even "monumental" CD's like Running on Empty by Jackson Browne, Endless Summer by the Beach Boys, and Tattoo You by the Rolling Stones contain nothing more than the name of the song and the track number.

CD's are dinosaurs in today's world. All the newest car sound systems are being made with either an auxiliary jack to plug in an iPOD or a USB port to plug in a portable memory storage device. In today's world you can carry your entire music collection with you wherever you go and not have to worry about it getting stolen, scratched, broken, or lost like you do with a CD collection.

CD's are, however, going down in price due to (you guessed it) competition from online music sources. ;)

[badunnin]

Gumbeaux - I'm not arguing with you that CDs are becoming dinosaurs. But I'm also a girl who likes *gasp* writing letters and who keeps a written journal, not a blog or a digital diary. ;) There are certain things that I find comforting, and buying CDs is one of them.

[SusanMac]

I hear ya. Probably akin to our parents mourning the death of vinyl. Those little plastic squares with the shiny disks inside just aren't the same, ya know :-)

I think part of your rush is 'smuggling' it across the border, too!

I do love liner notes. What will be taking the place of that? Is it the video clips on bands' websites? Or just web content in general?

[KAG]

Oh wow, I agree with you. I love to buy cd's. I had rather buy vinyl though. I still miss vinyl. I too, just hate it when there are no liner notes. I used to sit and read my album liner notes and stare at the artwork on the cover forever. Usually the whole time that particular album was playing.

I don't have an ipod, don't want one and when my grown kids send me burned copies of cd's that they have bought (and downloaded onto their own ipod), I am most appreciative but it drives me crazy that there is no cover, no liner notes, and most of the time no names for the songs I'm listening to. Only and album name written on the cd with a black marker. When I burn cd's I copy everything and put them in a case so I won't loose my mind when I want to know just exactly what I'm listening to ;)

My son's ipod went nuts and he lost about 8000 songs. He didn't have them all downloaded on his computer so he lost everything that he had copied from cd's that he had borrowed or whatnot. From that experience he has bought the cd first, copied it and added it to his collection for future use and downloaded anything else onto an old computer strictly kept for his music so as not to overload his current computer .

As for me, I'll stick to cd's until vinyl comes back strong and I'm still hanging on to the hope that that will happen some sweet day.

[Schmee]

Oh, for those wondering, it's Jim Cuddy's new release that I want. ;)
Bethany, I can think of more than one occasion when I have driven to Windsor because I HAD to have the new Blue Rodeo before it came out in the states! I am totally with you on this one. Get the CD! :D

I might need to check out this new one too!

[FruitsAlive]

I totally agree. I am the quintessential programmer-techno geek, but, there is nothing quite like buying a brand new CD. Just the way the packaging smells is worth it. I am the same way with pen and paper and books. Yes, it would be faster typing at 85 words a minute, but, there's much more of a connection when you write it out...and I hate reading volumes on the monitor as well. I usually end up printing out all of my manuals, etc.
I always feel ripped off when there aren't liner notes. I don't even like having my CDs in cases separate from the plastic squares they came in just because I like reading through the little booklets from time to time. I'm lucky that my favorite artist always has a thoughtful little assortment with each release.

[badunnin]

I always feel ripped off when there aren't liner notes. I don't even like having my CDs in cases separate from the plastic squares they came in just because I like reading through the little booklets from time to time. I'm lucky that my favorite artist always has a thoughtful little assortment with each release.

Thank goodness I'm not alone. ;) A while back I went through and got rid of all my jewel cases, putting all my disks into one of those big binders. But I kept all the liner notes. Sure, I can only fit half as many in the case, but I have reading material!

I love my iPod, and I bought a separate hard drive just so I could download all my music onto it, but there is something about sliding a disk into the player, taking out the liner notes, and laying on the floor listening to it.