By Holden Forero: Photo Editor
As I sit here listening to my Ultimate Spinach III album on a record made in 1969, I wonder to myself why you schmucks still listen to your music song by song on shuffle on your phones. In the age of technology, listening to music is as easy as it has ever been, but at what cost?
The transition from physical to streamable music took away from the authentic feeling of falling into the sensation pit that is music. Sure listening to music on your phone may sound smooth, but it’s consistent and predictable, the same sound every time. Listening to the pops and crackles you get from that 50-year-old record gives you that concert feel.
There’s a sense of fun and anticipation you get from sorting through those thrift store records, not knowing if you’ll find something you already know, or if you’ll see something that you know you’ll like just by looking at the cover. Finding new music becomes more entertaining in that you never know what you’ll find, as opposed to having Spotify or apple music curate a playlist that sounds just like the other songs you listen to.
Because of how easy it is on music streaming apps to make playlists and only add one or two songs off an album, people often don’t listen to an album straight, but in fragments. When listening to records, however, it’s hard to just pick through one song, instead, you’ve got to sit through the entire album song after song, like it was intended to be listened to.
I’m not saying that I don’t stream music off my phone with headphones or while I’m driving, but I do however put a record on when I’m in the mood to do homework, cook, clean, or do dishes when I deem it necessary to experience music on this more personal level. I’ll admit, it’s a lot cheaper to stream music because records can cost anywhere from one dollar to hundreds of dollars depending on how many prints were made, but in my opinion, that trade-off is worth it, and I’m challenging you to decide for yourself if that trade-off is worth it.
