The Fascination/Romance With Physical Media

HughFreakingDillon

I live in a small house. I'm one of the few people I know that still purchases cd's, and on occasion, vinyl. Most people either purchase digitally or they use a streaming service. I see a lot of people here decrying this new trend. I was one of those people, but I'm starting to rethink my position. 

I mean, I love flipping through the liner notes and actually knowing who did what on a record, including artwork and production and thank yous and whatnot. But most people don't give a shit about the details, they just dig the music. 

So, my question is, what is with the fascincation of physical media and people not wanting it to die? I live in a very small house with my wife and our two girls. A couple years ago I decided I would only buy physical media for Canadian bands and the big ones I love (Soundgarden, Pearl Jam, AIC, Nirvana, I think you get the idea), and get rid of the rest. Problem is, I still have too many cd's and records. 

I mean, these products didn't even exist 50 years ago, so why is it so sacrilege to get rid of it now? I get the sound quality aspect of it.....sort of. For Christmas, I got a bluetooth speaker. Holy fuck. it is so superior in sound quality to my stereo setup (mind you, that's about 15 years old-we don't have a tonne of money to spend on a new setup), I am hearing things through it, using my PHONE and MP3's, that I didn't hear through my Kenwood on cd (Brian may recall my post on Facebook about this). 

So I'm starting to wonder if it's time to just go digital. Maybe not all the way. But I just seem to be hung up on not "moving on". I do love the excitement of going to the store and getting my new cd, but that just stems from recalling taking the bus downtown as a teen to buy the new Metallica or Pearl Jam cassette. it was an outing. Now it's more of a pain in the ass, with big box music stores dying off. My closest HMV replacement store (Sunrise Records) is nowhere near my house or work. And the little mom and pops don't carry what I want unless I order it and then it either takes weeks to come in or it doesn't at all. 

Part of me grosses out at the idea that I have a "collection", especially of plastic things. It seems so.....material and unenvironmental. One of my favourite bands, The Tea Party, recently celebrated the release of their 3rd cd, Transmission, with rerecorded versions of 4 songs. I asked the bassist on Twitter if there will be a physical release, and he said "nope, terrible for the environment". Got me to thinking about that aspect of it as well. 

I do admit that I sometimes enjoy pouring a glass of whiskey or wine and dropping the needle, but it's rare I have time for that anyway. 

Anyone a fan of physical media moving away from it?

@mfc2006
@brianlux
@2feignreluctance

mfc2006

Interesting thread, man. 

I am am a big physical media fan, but definitely understand what you mean. After moving across the country twice in 6 years, it floored me just how much vinyl I had acquired & I’ve started to scale it back a bit. My Dad had a huge record collection, so I definitely got it from him. When I get home from work on Fridays, I always spin a few records and enjoy a tasty beer. Not only does it make me think of my Dad, I actually do enjoy it. I’m not buying as much vinyl these days, but I’m still buying a decent amount. I doubt that will ever change.

I will say that I’ve been listening to music digitally more as well. Whether on a run or at work, it’s hard to beat the convenience of it.

tempo_n_groove

I'm still buying records as I enjoy the medium.  I hardly ever buy any CD's anymore unless I'm at a show and hear a new band that I like.

I own over 500 CDs and 600 records...

hedonist

Our place is small too, and as we don't have a turntable or disc player, any vinyl or CD's we do have are for purely sentimental reasons.  We must've gotten rid of around 300 CD's last year but they were just taking up space.  Did the same with some books too.

Can't pare down on those anymore!

tempo_n_groove

I have some really, really rare Pearl Jam CD's.  One I could get like $600 for.  If I ever decide to sell my stuff that is one that I'd have a hard time letting go of.

Selling will become an option at some time because I would really like to go digital.  There are some awesome media streamer all in ones out there.

curmudgeoness

My kids, who are 18 and 21 and who are lost when the wifi goes out, prefer books to Kindles. They both wanted the same book for Christmas, so I had to buy two hardcovers. As much as I love books and being surrounded by books, I couldn't get to my computer fast enough to order the first Kindle (which, BTW, was over $300); I spent a lot of time driving my kids to activities and waiting for them, and e-readers really improved my quality of life. But my digital natives want paper books. The younger son's Kindle lies unused in a drawer here at home.

curmudgeoness

Oh, and, as a runner, the convenience of having an iPod to carry with me, instead of a Walkman(!) or, LOL, a Discman, is amazing.
I remember buying a Discman and having the salesperson assure me that, yes, I could loop the carrying strap over my wrist and listen to music while working out. Who else remembers how sensitive and persnickety the Discman was? There was no way to do anything while carrying those things.

WhatYouTaughtMe

I love having the physical media, but only buy the stuff that's really important to me these days. Through properly sourced files and good equipment, the digital stuff sounds great to my ears. I also enjoy having everything backed up on multiple drives so I can be sure that my collection is safe. 

brianlux

Great thread HFD and, yes, I remember your FB post about the quality of sound you were hearing through your phone and set up.

Physical media is a bit of a conundrum for me.   My biggest concern of course is resource consumption.  There's no way around it, too much stuff that is not vital to our physical lives is being consumed in developed countries. 

And there's no way anything I can say that could not be construed as rationalization.  So here goes...

My Rationalization For Owning Physical Media:

- One thing I try to do is not get too caught up in an ownership mindset.  All media of all sort are just passing though.  Someday all of what I have in books, records, etc., will  go to others.  I've already made sure of what will go where. 

-  I'm very conscious (some would say a little obsessed) with caring for physical media, both taking care of it, protecting it and whenever possible, restoring it (especially with books, records and record sleeves).  In some cases that means a good half hour or more of work to clean up and repair one book or album cover.

- On a fairly regular basis I reassess what I own in the way of media of all types and move things on that I'm fairly certain I won't miss.  I've gotten good at doing that but partly from making errors.  I just repurchased Gary Numan's album Replicas and can't imagine what I was thinking when I got rid of it.  So I basically to a lot of reusing, cycling things back for others to use and hopefully enjoy and seeking out good used copies of things.  Admittedly, I do occasionally purchase new items. 

-I really try hard to learn about a book, record, film or CD before acquiring a copy and spend a lot of time seeking out used copies first.

- And I didn't reproduce.  I have no children of my own.  Saying that gets me in trouble.  But look, I don't mind that people have kids.  But I didn't so and so because of that,  I feel OK about that I have some stuff.  They're my physical media children.  Besides, I have gotten and still get to play with a lot of other people's human kids, including the ones I'm really close to.

OK, but why does all that have to do with having physical media?  For LP's, honestly, I really dig the various components, the analogue sound (and I try to avoid LPs with digital sourcing- hard to do!), the art work and hopefully liner notes.  Same with CDs.  Movies are different but I have found most used.  And books, ah books.  That's a passion.  What can I say?  I have a lot of books. 

My biggest complaint about physical media is resource consumption.  Two of my favorite artists/band- some members of whom espouse environmental concerns- have produced LP packages using an awful lot of packaging.  Even if they are recycled products, those too take energy and create pollution in their manufacture.  Any single disc vinyl LP with jacket and inserts that weighs just shy of one and a half pounds each is not a wise choice factoring in resource consumption.  I'm not even a fan of gate-fold covers any more. Too many have proven to be a waste of cardboard. 

As for books, I honestly believe there are too many of them in the world.  Especially a lot of the popular crap that is written strictly with the intent to make money and very little effort involving any skill, craft, or imagination.  There are a shit load of shitty books in the world.  But the good ones, ohhhhh the good ones!

brianlux

Great thread HFD and, yes, I remember your FB post about the quality of sound you were hearing through your phone and set up.

Physical media is a bit of a conundrum for me.   My biggest concern of course is resource consumption.  There's no way around it, too much stuff that is not vital to our physical lives is being consumed in developed countries. 

And there's no way anything I can say that could not be construed as rationalization.  So here goes...

My Rationalization For Owning Physical Media:

- One thing I try to do is not get too caught up in an ownership mindset.  All media of all sort are just passing though.  Someday all of what I have in books, records, etc., will  go to others.  I've already made sure of what will go where. 

-  I'm very conscious (some would say a little obsessed) with caring for physical media, both taking care of it, protecting it and whenever possible, restoring it (especially with books, records and record sleeves).  In some cases that means a good half hour or more of work to clean up and repair one book or album cover.

- On a fairly regular basis I reassess what I own in the way of media of all types and move things on that I'm fairly certain I won't miss.  I've gotten good at doing that but partly from making errors.  I just repurchased Gary Numan's album Replicas and can't imagine what I was thinking when I got rid of it.  So I basically to a lot of reusing, cycling things back for others to use and hopefully enjoy and seeking out good used copies of things.  Admittedly, I do occasionally purchase new items. 

-I really try hard to learn about a book, record, film or CD before acquiring a copy and spend a lot of time seeking out used copies first.

- And I didn't reproduce.  I have no children of my own.  Saying that gets me in trouble.  But look, I don't mind that people have kids.  But I didn't so and so because of that,  I feel OK about that I have some stuff.  They're my physical media children.  Besides, I have gotten and still get to play with a lot of other people's human kids, including the ones I'm really close to.

OK, but why does all that have to do with having physical media?  For LP's, honestly, I really dig the various components, the analogue sound (and I try to avoid LPs with digital sourcing- hard to do!), the art work and hopefully liner notes.  Same with CDs.  Movies are different but I have found most used.  And books, ah books.  That's a passion.  What can I say?  I have a lot of books. 

My biggest complaint about physical media is resource consumption.  Two of my favorite artists/band- some members of whom espouse environmental concerns- have produced LP packages using an awful lot of packaging.  Even if they are recycled products, those too take energy and create pollution in their manufacture.  Any single disc vinyl LP with jacket and inserts that weighs just shy of one and a half pounds each is not a wise choice factoring in resource consumption.  I'm not even a fan of gate-fold covers any more. Too many have proven to be a waste of cardboard. 

As for books, I honestly believe there are too many of them in the world.  Especially a lot of the popular crap that is written strictly with the intent to make money and very little effort involving any skill, craft, or imagination.  There are a shit load of shitty books in the world.  But the good ones, ohhhhh the good ones!

brianlux

Great thread HFD and, yes, I remember your FB post about the quality of sound you were hearing through your phone and set up.

Physical media is a bit of a conundrum for me.   My biggest concern of course is resource consumption.  There's no way around it, too much stuff that is not vital to our physical lives is being consumed in developed countries. 

And there's no way anything I can say that could not be construed as rationalization.  So here goes...

My Rationalization For Owning Physical Media:

- One thing I try to do is not get too caught up in an ownership mindset.  All media of all sort are just passing though.  Someday all of what I have in books, records, etc., will  go to others.  I've already made sure of what will go where. 

-  I'm very conscious (some would say a little obsessed) with caring for physical media, both taking care of it, protecting it and whenever possible, restoring it (especially with books, records and record sleeves).  In some cases that means a good half hour or more of work to clean up and repair one book or album cover.

- On a fairly regular basis I reassess what I own in the way of media of all types and move things on that I'm fairly certain I won't miss.  I've gotten good at doing that but partly from making errors.  I just repurchased Gary Numan's album Replicas and can't imagine what I was thinking when I got rid of it.  So I basically to a lot of reusing, cycling things back for others to use and hopefully enjoy and seeking out good used copies of things.  Admittedly, I do occasionally purchase new items. 

-I really try hard to learn about a book, record, film or CD before acquiring a copy and spend a lot of time seeking out used copies first.

- And I didn't reproduce.  I have no children of my own.  Saying that gets me in trouble.  But look, I don't mind that people have kids.  But I didn't so and so because of that,  I feel OK about that I have some stuff.  They're my physical media children.  Besides, I have gotten and still get to play with a lot of other people's human kids, including the ones I'm really close to.

OK, but why does all that have to do with having physical media?  For LP's, honestly, I really dig the various components, the analogue sound (and I try to avoid LPs with digital sourcing- hard to do!), the art work and hopefully liner notes.  Same with CDs.  Movies are different but I have found most used.  And books, ah books.  That's a passion.  What can I say?  I have a lot of books. 

My biggest complaint about physical media is resource consumption.  Two of my favorite artists/band- some members of whom espouse environmental concerns- have produced LP packages using an awful lot of packaging.  Even if they are recycled products, those too take energy and create pollution in their manufacture.  Any single disc vinyl LP with jacket and inserts that weighs just shy of one and a half pounds each is not a wise choice factoring in resource consumption.  I'm not even a fan of gate-fold covers any more. Too many have proven to be a waste of cardboard. 

As for books, I honestly believe there are too many of them in the world.  Especially a lot of the popular crap that is written strictly with the intent to make money and very little effort involving any skill, craft, or imagination.  There are a shit load of shitty books in the world.  But the good ones, ohhhhh the good ones!

brianlux

Bump.  Would enjoy hearing what others think. 

Great topic, HFD!

lastexitlondon

I had to sell most of my collections that i thought i was inseparable from
 Turns out i don't miss them like i expected . 
Its all just stuff. But some stuff you can't get rid of i guess. Stuff with a meaning or memory attached. 

brianlux

lastexitlondon said:

I had to sell most of my collections that i thought i was inseparable from
 Turns out i don't miss them like i expected . 
Its all just stuff. But some stuff you can't get rid of i guess. Stuff with a meaning or memory attached. 

I had to do that back about 20 years ago.  Pared my stuff down to what I could fit in my (then) Dodge van including my bicycle.  In some ways I miss being so unburdened.  If I had to do that again I would be OK with it (except the part about having to live in my vehicle.)

When J Mascis' house burned down, someone asked him how he felt about losing so much stuff and he said something like, "It's just stuff.  There's always more stuff."   Except, as you say, things that cannot be replaced like photographs and such.

markymark550

I prefer the physical media, but I find myself using digital media more often. You can't beat the convenience of digital media though. At work, the gym, etc it's just so easy to grab a set of headphones and start listening on the phone/ipod. I don't think I'll ever really stop buying cds, especially for the bands I really love. I mean, I enjoy going to the used record store and seeing what treasures I can find for under a certain price (usually $20).