The Rise of the Sound Machines
Compact discs are still around in large numbers and for many uses, recording artists still put their albums out in this format, but if you’re observant like me, you’ll notice that the days of the CD are already numbered. If you want your new music at this very minute, you don’t have to run to the nearest CD store but instead, you could just download it off on the internet.
Anyway, for a short history lesson, our grandparents listened to music on records made of thin, fragile materials like the ever durable vinyl. Well, actually, they weren’t that durable. If you drop them, they’ll break and sometimes if you get a scratch on it, the needle would get stuck on that certain hollow.
When the Walkman came out, I’ve always wanted to buy one even though I know that sometimes cassette tapes can be very annoying. The tape would get tangled up all the time that you’d have to unspool it, then wind the tape back into the plastic case using a pencil. Sometimes it’ll take hours then after you’re done, you’re not in the mood to dance to Spice Girls anymore.
It wasn’t until the late 90’s when my Dad got me a discman. That’s when I found my new favorite hang-out places: Tower Records and Music One. At that time, my favorite feeling was prowling through the shelves and flipping through the racks of plastic jewel boxes looking at cover art and reading album liners.
Everytime I went to the mall, I would never fail to visit a record store and do the same things, and somehow I quite miss it.
Because I’ve always been a great devotee in carrying one’s music library around, I gave in to the iPod. It’s a big convenience to me since I don’t like having my airspace intruded by music I don’t like to listen. I wear my earphones inside the mall where they play different kinds of pop music people want to hear and I wear it when I’m inside the car while my driver listens to a certain radio station.
Today, the music on the internet is close to infinite. There are already sites like Last.fm and Myspace where in you can find artists and hear their sample music. But holding the artists album in your hands will always feel different, well for me, at least.
Gah, progress.
