A good 15 years in, minimum, it's hard to remember the times when there were no cellphones and when the Internet was not yet a common household staple.
Just this morning, Oliver and I were discussing, how we, "back in the days" were getting informed or were trying to inform ourselves about what's out there. As far as music goes, I was glued to the radio in order to get to know new music. And there were friends of course, sharing records and tapes. Yep, those mechanical thingies that easily would wind up in a big mess in your recorder. But at least, you could record music from the radio! Woohoo! This was long, long before iTunes. This was even before there was a "Walkman" not to mention the iPod.
Besides of radio and friends, there were special interest magazines and there were record stores and back then, they were even fun! I remember the excitement of browsing through the 2 (sic!) stores the small town I lived in had. When I found a "new" record of my favorite bands. When I listened to records there. I remember vividly when I wanted to buy "A Love like Blood" from Killing Joke and bought something else instead because they didn't have what I wanted. This is something that wouldn't happen today. You can find everything you want on iTunes (except for the original Beatles catalaogue) and if you can't find it on iTunes, you'll find it on YouTube.
Music works differently today. Surely, there are LUCKILY bands like those of our friend's Lani (Stark), Swati, John (Statues of Liberty) or Ken (Favourite Sons) but there are so many more chances! People get popular, famous even through many other channels. If musicians are smart, they know how to ride the social networking wave (if you need some advice, contact me!). And if they want to become super famous and don't have any reservations, then they audition for American Idol.
And as much as it bugs me to admit it, I am hooked! Totally. Me, who was always so proud for being able to avoid Reality TV. For 6 seasons, I was strong. Didn't know what the American Idol hype was all about. The 7th season I got somewhat sucked into it and anticipated David Cook's victory. For the 8th season, well, I found my crush in Adam Lambert. I feel the excitement from back then when I was a teenager again! The one, when finding a great, new record in the store with a gorgeous cover of course! So, I am ready to admit that I totally dig Adam Lambert's looks and while it took me a little longer to also like the sound of his voice, he got me at Black or White, and he got me good!
Hope he's doing well in tonight's Motown show. Can't wait to see it!
-- By Elke
Photo: Taken by Oliver, March 22nd, Battery Park
I think all these changes with music are for the good, but a lot got lost. Clicking around in iTunes, eMusic or last.fm is just not as much fun as browsing through a record store and making an unexpected find.
Posted by: oliver | March 26, 2009 at 06:05 PM
I don't remember when was the last time I bought a CD and I'm just 16, now It's all on the Internet.
Greetings :)
Posted by: Angel | March 28, 2009 at 07:14 PM