Has this happened to you? (I feel worried)

[Alvaro Martín Gómez A.]

Hi everybody.

Blackbird's question about which box sets we own made me think about something that has been happening to me from some time ago: I'm not listening music just for the pure pleasure of doing it and now that I realize that, I feel very worried because this means a big change in my life:

When I was younger, I simply couldn't conceive life without my LP (and later CD) collection. It was my most appreciated earthly possession (Still is, but now it has just turned into a "pride motive" for me). I was a very well-known customer of every record store (my copy of the "Back In Black" LP was the first ever sold in my town) and now I hardly visit those places. I know that music piracy plays an important role into that, but let me tell you: I've never bought a pirated CD. They can be found everywhere, but I simply hate that. There's nothing like the feeling of having an original CD with a great, "from the horse's mouth" booklet and art.

But right now I only buy a CD if:

1. It comes from an artist that I like so much and/or I'm a "completist" like for example Beatles, AC/DC or Kiss, or...

2. I have heard the album and it's an overall great one.

But if it's just one or two cool songs from a non-impressive album, I use LimeWire. Of course, this has slowed down my CD-buying to a snail's pace. In the past, I was worried because my CD organizers were going to be full and maybe I wouldn't get another one like these. Nope. It won't happen shortly.

But of course I love music. I love to play my basses and being an active performer. If I have to learn a new song, I do it as usual. If I find a good challenge from a recording, I face it. I mean, of course I keep in contact with music, but again, I'm not listening just for pleasure. I seldomly use my PC for that (unless I'm practicing or learning a song, of course). I have a cheap mp3 player that I hardly use.

Right now I'm working on the bass solo from the "Mark King Group Live At The Jazz Café" CD (I bought it from www.level42.com) and I'm having a great time with it, but, on the other hand, a friend lent me a Dream Theater CD because he wants me to give it a listen, and frankly I don't feel compelled to that. I don't know if what I'm about to say has something to do with this, but anyway it's a true fact: Before the Internet days, I had a BIG list of albums that I desperately wanted because they couldn't be found here. When I entered CDNow for the first time, it blew my mind. I found everything! Little by little, I kept purchasing all of my longtime awaited treasures and after I got them all, I felt like "Great!... but now what?" like if life lost any sense to me (no suicidal tendences here, of course).

Again, realizing this makes me feel sad and I'd like to hear your experiences, advice or just plain comments on this. Thank you!

[discoboo]

i'm going through the same thing in a way...i used to buy music by the ton, spend hours in the record store, but with the computer i can browse when i want, especially for new music. i still really enjoy looking for vinyl...i dunno, i think it mostly has to do with getting older and priorities shifting.

[tZer]

It has happened to me. I have not thought too much about it, but in scanning my brain on this topic a possible explanation has surfaced.

When I was a kid, ablums, tapes, and later, CD's more or less represented a large part of my personal identity. They were integral to my personal self-image. I suppose they existed as my own personal life soundtrack. Living with my parents, hanging with my friends in school and not really owning my life, I needed an escape into my world that this music brought. It was not unusual to sit around with friends and listen to entire albums and collectively escape into the fantasy world that this activity facilitated.

These days my life is very much of my own making and the soundtrack is completed by my children's voices, conversations with my wife and so on. There is not as much of a need for an escapist soundtrack. So now my music comes from a huge variety of sources and none are more important or integral to my personal self-image then the others. Music now represents transient, albeit important, add-ons to my days. Sometimes it is unexpected nostalgia over an old Zeppelin song I used to love - sometimes it is a new song that cathes my ear by Outkast or Bela Fleck and the Flecktones. No longer hampered by the social implications of 'what are you into', these songs can all peacefully coexist in my world without carrying extra baggage or exaggerated importance.

Hmmm... I guess I had more of a thought developed on that topic then I expected...

--tz

[Vorago]

I'm 20 and I'm already in that fase. But, I think the internet has broadened my view on music in a way that wouldn't have been possible by just buying albums. Also, when I come across an album I really really like, I buy it.

[evertalbers]

I feel I am on the other side of the spectrum: I'm 38, and yes, I own a lot of records, but
-I still have to have a good listen (is this correct English?) to a lot of the records I already own,
-there are a lot of artists that I have read about that I think I should hear (or better: see playing live)
-and there are lots of good artists that I'm sure are existing somewhere on this planet, but that I will never hear.

To make things worse, I seem to like stuff from at least 4 continents.
Live's too short.

[superbassman2000]

i actually was the opposite...before i went to college i would only buy cds with great bass players (jaco was big for me) or music where the bass is at the forefront (RATM and Deep Purple were beg for me as well) but then once i started college, my roommate had a lot of cool music like phish, Grateful Dead, Dave Matthew, and a lot of jambands. Another even was that my university's radio station was cleaning out the station of all the music they don't play anymore, or never did, and i took a few boxes (i never turned down free stuff ) and then i went through a lot of those cds (actually every cd i got in those boxes (300+!) and i heard a lot of cool music where the bass isn't exactly in front, but it still sounded good (which was alien to me at that point)
I used to listen to music and really pick apart the bassline, guitar part, etc, but ever since those two events i now always like to have some music playing in the background, just because its nice to have music around...i can still pick apart the music, but i try to just enjoy it now!

[paulodumb]

I find that now that I have almost entirely stopped buying music pressed to physical media, I'm able to listen to a lot more music I wouldn't have previously been exposed to. I think in some ways, it has sharped my tastes to very specific sounds, but I'm also constantly discovering new music I never would have heard.
When I used to buy CDs, I'd go in looking for an artist I already knew I liked. Now I'm able to find a lot more stuff without much risk that I'll throw away $15 for one good song, or no good songs if I made a poor choice based on somebody else's recommendation.
And now my boxes of CDs collect dust. I probably ought to get rid of them. Anything I want to listen to is at my fingertips, and it's dirt cheap or free.

[davetakis]

my musical tastes are as deep as a frisbee. when i start collecting an artist i have to have everything. i go through the same thing as you did. when i completed my buck owens, stray cats and solo, and who collections i was like now what. i do keep finding stuff on ebay and gemm.com that i never new existed though. i also collect springsteen and fortunatley he keeps making music so my collection will never be complete and if it is, there's always bootlegs!!!

[Skeletomania]

Originally Posted by superbassman2000

I used to listen to music and really pick apart the bassline, guitar part, etc, but ever since those two events i now always like to have some music playing in the background, just because its nice to have music around...i can still pick apart the music, but i try to just enjoy it now!

I am exactly the opposite. Before I pick up bass all I care about is the vocal. Every since then I've been listening to the instrumental part. The old rock song I hear every day on the radio have new meaning. It put a smile on me whenever I hear something with a technical jam. But you're right, music is an art form and you ought to enjoy it. You shouldn't always study it like quantum physic.

[WalterBush]

I don't buy CDs much anymore mainly because I can't find a quiet environment to listen to them in. I've got a wife and two kids. No longer can a slate a couple of hours in an afternoon to just sitting and enjoying some of my favorite albums. Even in my studio, I'm there to work, and listening for pleasure is rarely an option.

These days, I don't get to listen to much, so I don't buy as much--it takes longer for a CD to get old, so I don't have as much of an urge to buy new music. For me, time is the limiting factor, not accessability to music on the internet. I still buy CDs if I like a band, and I'll listen to an MP3 on their website to check them out, but other than that I refuse to download music, legally or not.

[Peter Squire]

I still buy CD's as things are released that I like, but I find that I have so many that I couldn't possibly listen to them all.

And on top of that, I still find myself thinking "I've got nothing I want to listen to right now"

[d8g3jdh]

Originally Posted by Peter Squire

I still buy CD's as things are released that I like, but I find that I have so many that I couldn't possibly listen to them all.

And on top of that, I still find myself thinking "I've got nothing I want to listen to right now"

got about 1130 songs, and i never want to listen to any of them

[P. Aaron]

Originally Posted by Alvaro Martín Gómez A.

...but, on the other hand, a friend lent me a Dream Theater CD because he wants me to give it a listen, and frankly I don't feel compelled to that. I don't know if what I'm about to say has something to do with this, but anyway it's a true fact: Before the Internet days, I had a BIG list of albums that I desperately wanted because they couldn't be found here.

Once in a while, I have to play a song LOUD just to get some kicks. But unlike the; "old days" (affectionately known as My Youth) when I killed lotsa hours listening to tunes, I also have things I 'should' listen too, but haven't.

I listen to and learn songs now more for study for the cover band, than I listen to for pleasure.

Who has time for that anyway?