Well Julianne, I think you know my answer here!! Of course it’s impossible to justify the horrors of global commercialization (oh my, should I have used an ‘s’ instead of ‘z’?), and I’m sure none of us are truly hoodwinked by Coldplay’s Greenwashing release. We can all play our part in reducing our own selfish consumption, especially of that which pollutes the most, yet here we are talking ‘art’ - the most wonderful (or maybe only?) of human kind’s achievements- and for me this album should have a physical release, certainly on vinyl to allow us lovers of the art-form to enjoy this work in its most beautiful media.
Doesn’t need to be mass-produced of course, a run of a few hundred would suffice for those who would cherish it most. And it can be done truly independently, with passion, consideration and quality in mind. No middle-men, no Amazon, no Elon Musk…
For me, I still buy physical copies but mainly to support the artists more directly (especially if it's from a live show) - we all know the painful amount of zero's on the wrong side of the decimal point received from streaming royalties.
I have a CD player in my car still and find that much easier than fiddling with a phone (hello old age). So even though I do have a huge collection of physical CD's still, they go on rotation in said car; there is nothing like the joy of finding a CD I've not listened to in a decade or more, and loving it all over again. You can't put a price on that 😊 and they are only waste if they get thrown out, and let's face it, that will more than likely be my kids problem when I shuffle off this mortal coil 🤣
I still have all my vinyl, like many, some of which I started buying while still a schoolboy. To me those records are precious. Each one like a timestamp through my life, a snapshot if you will. Even if a lot of them are not played any more, I know they can be, at any time. Even just flicking through those ones that rarely, or ever, get played seeing and touching them is like some kind of vivid link in my mind and memories to where I was, where I bought it and how I felt at the time. Friends and acquaintances, sounds and feelings. Like Eric Draven, in the movie The Crow, touching his dead fiancees engagement ring, buried amongst all the other pawned jewellery, n the greedy shopkeepers box below the counter.....those times and feelings flood back as soon as his fingers make contact with it.
My All About Eve records are amongst my most treasured possessions, all my favourite records are really.....as they were a constant source of solace, comfort and companionship of my youth....banishing loneliness, crippling shyness, insecurities and uncertainty of what lay ahead aside by placing beautiful soundscapes, images and words in my head. They were to some extent my very best friends. I could not bear to part with them!
Records have now become (to some, at least) a kind of trendy thing and somewhat akin to fancy coffees and a certain type of lifestyle and perhaps a desire to appear as some kind of connoisseur of music. To me they were just how music was played, but...... that music was a thing of wonder, and having the sleeve and the artwork and liner notes only accompanied this magic which disappeared for along time with the advent of digital downloadable music. It became something else....people played single tracks, not whole albums and we all know that some of those deep cuts that became vary firm favourites may have been overlooked if it wasn't for that format that persuaded you to listen to the whole work.
I still play and buy vinyl today, almost as much as ever....it still offers that escape and transcendence to another place, the place where perhaps, the artist wanted to take you or simply where the deepest workings of your own mind and imagination take you....are those places alike? If only we knew...how wonderful a thought though, if they were! Music is amazing, however it's played and can make you feel amazing....I've always said it's like the best drug and instant buzz....it can also make us feel sad or think of those we no longer have with us....what else can do this? Photographs maybe? One thing I do know is that vinyl, and flicking through a collection and seeing each ones sleeve that holds inside a very special friend that was there for you whenever you needed it.....and it's the very same one....that same piece of cardboard, paper and grooved plastic that was there 20, 30, sometimes 40 years ago....and you can drop the needle on it....even the crackles and pops are how you remember them!!
I do use streaming too, that convenience of just one quick line, one quick hit anywhere, anytime that can just come into your head and you MUST hear that song NOW!! That in itself is incredible....but for this listener, nothing will ever compare to a vinyl record on a hifi system. But I will take Julianne and Tim, any bloody way I can!! 😁😁
It’s a tricky one. I still remember the pleasure of playing a vinyl and reading the sleeve notes. The tactile experience. The smells and often when I hear an often played song digitally I still anticipate the pops and clicks that were on my vinyl.
BUT most of my vinyl went to a charity shop and the ones that I couldn’t part with are in a box in storage along with my remaining cds, dvds and comic books and my Technics seperates and speakers
I love owning and handling physical media but practically always leads me to digital for convenience
When we get a bigger place and i manage to set it ton all up again then I’ll be able to play it again but until then it’s mp3s and Flare ear buds
Yes, I do think it's largely about the convenience, for me. If I had more time and money, I probably would buy all my favourite albums on vinyl* and get a top notch player + speakers combo. Alas, no time, no money. (*Then feel guilty about landfill, of course.)
And I still can’t believe that I’m having a normal “over a coffee” type conversation with a music hero. Couldn’t begin to understand the stresses of this level of exposure for you. I do appreciate this opportunity 👍
I remember when mp3 players were the thing and I had a great sounding iRiver player - not an Apple product, iRiver was the brand. I carried it everywhere and carried a phone too. Now that smartphones are better and have taken the place of mo3 jukebox I carry my music on my phone. Convenient
I also love books and love reading from paper. I buy and keep the books I love and read throwaway fiction on Kindle which I also read from my phone using the kindle app. Again, convenient for my bus commute to work
Well the always on convenience of streaming websites is hardly without environmental cost. Data centres are responsible for an estimated 1.5% of all global emissions, comparable to the entire airline industry. Add to that the emissions caused by the manufacture and operation of the endlessly replaced desktop computers, tablets, and phones that connect to them.
Then there is the slave / child labour involved in cobalt mining (for phones and tablets) in places like the DR Congo and the mountains of e-waste that join all the plastic (projected to reach 82 million tonnes a year by 2030).
The choice in music consumption between physical and cloud based was never straightforward in environmental terms, like so many things the choice is rather to consume or not to consume.
[This message brought to you in association with the Moneypoint oil fired powerstation, a data centre in Dublin and the computer e-waste of the future, namely my PC]
Oh, I hear you 'Mr Murphy'. It's tiring having to choose between the lesser of so many evils. Good job I was raised Catholic and so have a PhD in Guilt Studies.
Loved reading your post, *Let's Get Physical*! It’s so refreshing to see someone voice the importance of tangible music in a world that’s gone so digital. Vinyl, CDs, and even cassettes definitely have a special place for music lovers, and it’s fascinating to see their resurgence in 2024.
Your thoughts on eco-friendly physical music are spot on. It’s crucial for the industry to find sustainable solutions if this trend is going to stick around without harming the planet. I completely agree with your concerns about the environmental impact, and it’ll be exciting to see how artists and companies innovate on that front.
I think we all need to be made to feel more 'guilt' at the 'que sera sera' approach to waste and landfill and lack of energy efficiency. I remember Terry Bickers from Levitation / House of Love toying with the idea of touring via barge and canal. A logistical nightmare. It could never that never have come to fruition. Glad you enjoyed the piece, Kev!
You’re absolutely right—there’s definitely not enough urgency around waste and energy inefficiency. The idea of touring via barge and canal is wild, though! I can only imagine the logistical chaos of that, but it does show how musicians are trying to think outside the box when it comes to sustainability, even if the ideas seem impossible. Maybe with future tech, we’ll see more innovative solutions like that become a reality.
Always enjoy your thought-provoking posts. Keep them coming!
I think it’s the idea of actually owning something tangible. Digital files feel terribly ephemeral. I’ve “bought” films that I know, should I cease to subscribe to a particular media company, I’ll no longer have access to. I tend to read on Kindle now but I don’t feel I own the books on it (even though I do tend to “buy” them rather than subscribe.
I’ve been a very reluctant reducer of my book collection, even though I rarely read them. Books (and “records”) say something about our identity and become a part of us, how we think of ourselves and want others to think of us. I suppose that’s true of lots of consumption but books and records top the list for me.
That said, I’ve stopped buying physical records except at gigs or when there’s no alternative.
That's interesting, Duncan, because the one thing I just cannot go digital on is books. I've had a Kindle and it's at the back of a cupboard somewhere. By the way, have you ever seen this Twilight Zone episode? It has to be one of my favourites. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Time_Enough_at_Last
I wouldn't worry about records and CDs hanging around for centuries. They may have been museum exhibits towards the end of their existence, by which time They will have invented new and more efficient ways to convert matter into accomodation, soil and food, like in Star Trek.
I can imagine the new landfill destinations being other planets, or CDs ending up as space junk. I'd like to think all this plastic will just evaporate, but I doubt it.
One day they will just fire all the waste into the sun, the perfect recycling solution! Until then I still love my physical media (including all the AAE on CD and most on vinyl) even if I listen to digital far more
Well Julianne, I think you know my answer here!! Of course it’s impossible to justify the horrors of global commercialization (oh my, should I have used an ‘s’ instead of ‘z’?), and I’m sure none of us are truly hoodwinked by Coldplay’s Greenwashing release. We can all play our part in reducing our own selfish consumption, especially of that which pollutes the most, yet here we are talking ‘art’ - the most wonderful (or maybe only?) of human kind’s achievements- and for me this album should have a physical release, certainly on vinyl to allow us lovers of the art-form to enjoy this work in its most beautiful media.
Doesn’t need to be mass-produced of course, a run of a few hundred would suffice for those who would cherish it most. And it can be done truly independently, with passion, consideration and quality in mind. No middle-men, no Amazon, no Elon Musk…
For me, I still buy physical copies but mainly to support the artists more directly (especially if it's from a live show) - we all know the painful amount of zero's on the wrong side of the decimal point received from streaming royalties.
I have a CD player in my car still and find that much easier than fiddling with a phone (hello old age). So even though I do have a huge collection of physical CD's still, they go on rotation in said car; there is nothing like the joy of finding a CD I've not listened to in a decade or more, and loving it all over again. You can't put a price on that 😊 and they are only waste if they get thrown out, and let's face it, that will more than likely be my kids problem when I shuffle off this mortal coil 🤣
I still have all my vinyl, like many, some of which I started buying while still a schoolboy. To me those records are precious. Each one like a timestamp through my life, a snapshot if you will. Even if a lot of them are not played any more, I know they can be, at any time. Even just flicking through those ones that rarely, or ever, get played seeing and touching them is like some kind of vivid link in my mind and memories to where I was, where I bought it and how I felt at the time. Friends and acquaintances, sounds and feelings. Like Eric Draven, in the movie The Crow, touching his dead fiancees engagement ring, buried amongst all the other pawned jewellery, n the greedy shopkeepers box below the counter.....those times and feelings flood back as soon as his fingers make contact with it.
My All About Eve records are amongst my most treasured possessions, all my favourite records are really.....as they were a constant source of solace, comfort and companionship of my youth....banishing loneliness, crippling shyness, insecurities and uncertainty of what lay ahead aside by placing beautiful soundscapes, images and words in my head. They were to some extent my very best friends. I could not bear to part with them!
Records have now become (to some, at least) a kind of trendy thing and somewhat akin to fancy coffees and a certain type of lifestyle and perhaps a desire to appear as some kind of connoisseur of music. To me they were just how music was played, but...... that music was a thing of wonder, and having the sleeve and the artwork and liner notes only accompanied this magic which disappeared for along time with the advent of digital downloadable music. It became something else....people played single tracks, not whole albums and we all know that some of those deep cuts that became vary firm favourites may have been overlooked if it wasn't for that format that persuaded you to listen to the whole work.
I still play and buy vinyl today, almost as much as ever....it still offers that escape and transcendence to another place, the place where perhaps, the artist wanted to take you or simply where the deepest workings of your own mind and imagination take you....are those places alike? If only we knew...how wonderful a thought though, if they were! Music is amazing, however it's played and can make you feel amazing....I've always said it's like the best drug and instant buzz....it can also make us feel sad or think of those we no longer have with us....what else can do this? Photographs maybe? One thing I do know is that vinyl, and flicking through a collection and seeing each ones sleeve that holds inside a very special friend that was there for you whenever you needed it.....and it's the very same one....that same piece of cardboard, paper and grooved plastic that was there 20, 30, sometimes 40 years ago....and you can drop the needle on it....even the crackles and pops are how you remember them!!
I do use streaming too, that convenience of just one quick line, one quick hit anywhere, anytime that can just come into your head and you MUST hear that song NOW!! That in itself is incredible....but for this listener, nothing will ever compare to a vinyl record on a hifi system. But I will take Julianne and Tim, any bloody way I can!! 😁😁
It’s a tricky one. I still remember the pleasure of playing a vinyl and reading the sleeve notes. The tactile experience. The smells and often when I hear an often played song digitally I still anticipate the pops and clicks that were on my vinyl.
BUT most of my vinyl went to a charity shop and the ones that I couldn’t part with are in a box in storage along with my remaining cds, dvds and comic books and my Technics seperates and speakers
I love owning and handling physical media but practically always leads me to digital for convenience
When we get a bigger place and i manage to set it ton all up again then I’ll be able to play it again but until then it’s mp3s and Flare ear buds
Yes, I do think it's largely about the convenience, for me. If I had more time and money, I probably would buy all my favourite albums on vinyl* and get a top notch player + speakers combo. Alas, no time, no money. (*Then feel guilty about landfill, of course.)
And I still can’t believe that I’m having a normal “over a coffee” type conversation with a music hero. Couldn’t begin to understand the stresses of this level of exposure for you. I do appreciate this opportunity 👍
I remember when mp3 players were the thing and I had a great sounding iRiver player - not an Apple product, iRiver was the brand. I carried it everywhere and carried a phone too. Now that smartphones are better and have taken the place of mo3 jukebox I carry my music on my phone. Convenient
I also love books and love reading from paper. I buy and keep the books I love and read throwaway fiction on Kindle which I also read from my phone using the kindle app. Again, convenient for my bus commute to work
Well the always on convenience of streaming websites is hardly without environmental cost. Data centres are responsible for an estimated 1.5% of all global emissions, comparable to the entire airline industry. Add to that the emissions caused by the manufacture and operation of the endlessly replaced desktop computers, tablets, and phones that connect to them.
Then there is the slave / child labour involved in cobalt mining (for phones and tablets) in places like the DR Congo and the mountains of e-waste that join all the plastic (projected to reach 82 million tonnes a year by 2030).
The choice in music consumption between physical and cloud based was never straightforward in environmental terms, like so many things the choice is rather to consume or not to consume.
[This message brought to you in association with the Moneypoint oil fired powerstation, a data centre in Dublin and the computer e-waste of the future, namely my PC]
Oh, I hear you 'Mr Murphy'. It's tiring having to choose between the lesser of so many evils. Good job I was raised Catholic and so have a PhD in Guilt Studies.
I haven’t, but it sounds great (and frighteningly relevant).
Hey Julianne,
Loved reading your post, *Let's Get Physical*! It’s so refreshing to see someone voice the importance of tangible music in a world that’s gone so digital. Vinyl, CDs, and even cassettes definitely have a special place for music lovers, and it’s fascinating to see their resurgence in 2024.
Your thoughts on eco-friendly physical music are spot on. It’s crucial for the industry to find sustainable solutions if this trend is going to stick around without harming the planet. I completely agree with your concerns about the environmental impact, and it’ll be exciting to see how artists and companies innovate on that front.
Thanks for such an insightful piece!
Cheers, Kev
I think we all need to be made to feel more 'guilt' at the 'que sera sera' approach to waste and landfill and lack of energy efficiency. I remember Terry Bickers from Levitation / House of Love toying with the idea of touring via barge and canal. A logistical nightmare. It could never that never have come to fruition. Glad you enjoyed the piece, Kev!
You’re absolutely right—there’s definitely not enough urgency around waste and energy inefficiency. The idea of touring via barge and canal is wild, though! I can only imagine the logistical chaos of that, but it does show how musicians are trying to think outside the box when it comes to sustainability, even if the ideas seem impossible. Maybe with future tech, we’ll see more innovative solutions like that become a reality.
Always enjoy your thought-provoking posts. Keep them coming!
Best, Kev
I think it’s the idea of actually owning something tangible. Digital files feel terribly ephemeral. I’ve “bought” films that I know, should I cease to subscribe to a particular media company, I’ll no longer have access to. I tend to read on Kindle now but I don’t feel I own the books on it (even though I do tend to “buy” them rather than subscribe.
I’ve been a very reluctant reducer of my book collection, even though I rarely read them. Books (and “records”) say something about our identity and become a part of us, how we think of ourselves and want others to think of us. I suppose that’s true of lots of consumption but books and records top the list for me.
That said, I’ve stopped buying physical records except at gigs or when there’s no alternative.
That's interesting, Duncan, because the one thing I just cannot go digital on is books. I've had a Kindle and it's at the back of a cupboard somewhere. By the way, have you ever seen this Twilight Zone episode? It has to be one of my favourites. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Time_Enough_at_Last
I wouldn't worry about records and CDs hanging around for centuries. They may have been museum exhibits towards the end of their existence, by which time They will have invented new and more efficient ways to convert matter into accomodation, soil and food, like in Star Trek.
I can imagine the new landfill destinations being other planets, or CDs ending up as space junk. I'd like to think all this plastic will just evaporate, but I doubt it.
One day they will just fire all the waste into the sun, the perfect recycling solution! Until then I still love my physical media (including all the AAE on CD and most on vinyl) even if I listen to digital far more