Death To Liner Notes

I haven’t bought a cd in weeks and I’m jonesing. The last one I purchased was that Spoon album, and I waited until around the time it was released, to help the cause, so to speak. I used one of those Best Buy Reward Zone coupons for an extra $5 too. Yeah, I know: buying music at Best Buy ain’t helping the cause, particularly as Best Buy was part of the problem when the record industry kissed their (and Wal Mart) ass, thereby shunning the indies and cutting into their profits. The thing was, Best Buy had a lot of what we all looked for in a record store: large selection and attractive prices, so what am I going to do. Fuck dude, I love music, what can I say? I like it when I get a chance to buy more music with my dollar. So sue me.
But now I’ve noticed that Best Buy has cut out a large chunk of music’s square footage and replaced it with a bunch of shit that doesn’t interest me. A Boost mobile phone? No thank you. I’m here to get the new Spoon album.
And for real: that was the only thing I bought there. I did contemplate getting the Death Proof dvd until I questioned why they didn’t have the other half of Grindhouse out unless, like those cocksuckers at the studios are likely to do, they plan on releasing some deluxe edition down the road with nifty packaging and bonus shit.
I passed on the movie and stuck with the Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga.
And end though I’m not completely tickled with the new Spoon album, I’m not opposed to it. I played it a bunch of times and I’m not sorry I spent money on it. Why? Well, the whole purchase cost me about $8 with tax after they applied the coupon. That seems fair enough.
To think that, had the record companies considered what’s “fair enough” when pricing cds, well, maybe they wouldn’t be in as much shit as they are now. I remember the excuse in the early 80’s was that all the cd manufacturers were overseas, which is why cd prices were so outrageous. The lie was that cd prices would get in line as soon as more domestic manufacturers opened up. Of course, that never happened. So its poetic justice that they’re now reeling after music fans have found resourceful ways to get the music they want at the price they want…which is nothing.
I think that’s fair; MP3s don’t have a value to me either. But cds, with the artwork, the overall sound and, most importantly, the experience still has a value in my mind. The trouble is, I haven’t had that experience in a while and I miss it.
My primary music listening is reduced to opening up those MP3 files, slapping on a pair of headphones and trying to provide it with a suitable amount of attention in the middle of a fairly hectic life. While not the most ideal of environments, it’s all I’ve got in some cases.
Back in the day, I was able to devote my entire attention to a piece of music’s entire piece. I’d listen to it all the way through, absorbing the liner notes and artwork in the process, to the point where I’d be able to identify the album’s key tracks.
I miss that. It happens too rarely now, and it will become even more rarer if I continue down the path of harddrive collecting.