Everyday Listening (music blog)

[webby]

Just found this blog and thought this entry might interest some: http://thurly.net//mx2

[Alex_UK]

Expect to see him on AoS soon!

[Themis]

Just found this blog and thought this entry might interest some: http://thurly.net//mx2

I completely agree with this guy ! Simplicity, ftw !

[lovejoy]

I completely agree with this guy ! Simplicity, ftw !

Me too. The only thing I can't understand is why he misses the days of going to a shop and picking up a new album. Those days have not passed.

I still cherish taking a Saturday afternoon out and popping down to Spillers Records in Cardiff, or Diverse Vinyl in Newport and picking up an armfull of albums that I've made mental notes of buying. The only difference these days is that it's now a 160 mile round trip instead of 20, but I can offset the extra mileage cost because I know that what I want to buy will be good as I've already listened to it on Spotify or Last.fm, or Radio Paradise etc. There's still the odd band I would buy a new album by without question, but I think I can count those on one hand. The odd illegal download has saved me from buying a lot of crap, but has also made me buy a load of stuff I otherwise would never have heard. But even having to travel that far for a good record shop is worth it. Turn it into a nice day out, support your independent record shops and have a pint on your way back (if you're using public transport of course!) in a nice pub and take time to congratulate yourself on some great purchases.

I'm a definite convert (or should I say re-discover) of keeping it simple. I've stopped using computer devices entirely for listening to albums - a CD player and a turntable for me is the only way to truly enjoy an album as it is meant to be enjoyed, and by that I don't just mean playing the music; I mean taking it down off the shelf, appreciating the packaging, reading the lyric notes, credits, list of musicians etc. etc. It's not quite the same right clicking 'Get info' or 'Properties' only to find your music isn't even tagged properly.

Don't get me wrong, there's a place for any device playing music. I don't think I could live without internet radio, and I think Spotify is fantastic, but to me it's a means to discovering the next CD/vinyl purchases. There is no substitute for the physical product, and I hope that never changes.