old school!
Every so often, I get the urge to splurge. And when I say splurge, I mean it, for there's this thing that's caught my eye and ear and imagination and it just won't let go. It's not a specific thing, either--it's just an MP3 Player with anywhere from 5-20 MBs of storage space. I've thumbed through flyers and imagined what the present future would be like, ripping and downloading tracks and fiddling around with yet another piece of technoerotica. I've even asked people about their own MP3 players, just so I could get an idea of what I'd want in one, should I ever pony up the money to buy one. It's almost like I'm seriously considering buying one. But I'm not. Not right now, anyway.
You see, I'm currently attached to my discman. Oh sure, I've been attached to every personal stereo I've ever owned--from the Sony Walkman my mom won from a scratch and win ticket to my current one, the sparkly RCA player with a smiling syringe sticker N gave me smoothed out on it--but I can't help it. Seeing as how I wasted my favourite Drugstore sticker on it, I better be fond of the thing. And, despite its tendency to skip for no good reason, confusion between the volume and the track selection buttons, and not being good for anything besides playing CDs, I am. As I've said before, it goes everywhere with me. It really does.
Of course, this reluctance to switch over to the newest technology may be due to more than a reluctance to part with money--it's probably more of a reluctance to switch to yet another format. Now, don't get me wrong: I have an MP3 library on my hard drive, too--just like everybody else around here. But I also have shelves full of CDs over my bed, and there are records and tapes stashed all around the house. And I like it that way. There's something to be said for the feeling of having the music in your hands, having the ability to look at the artwork or read the liner notes or just being able to claim visible ownership of your favourite music that an MP3 player just can't provide. There's also the thrill of the hunt, the tracking down of new music or old music or just good music in general at your favourite record store--and the ability to listen to your new CD as soon as you can get the cellophane open and the disc in your player. And I don't know about you, but I kinda like that.
I know I'll end up getting an MP3 player one day--my technolust will eventually become too hard to ignore. But for now, I'm kicking it old school with my CDs and my discman, incredulous that CDs are somehow old school now. How did I live this long?
You see, I'm currently attached to my discman. Oh sure, I've been attached to every personal stereo I've ever owned--from the Sony Walkman my mom won from a scratch and win ticket to my current one, the sparkly RCA player with a smiling syringe sticker N gave me smoothed out on it--but I can't help it. Seeing as how I wasted my favourite Drugstore sticker on it, I better be fond of the thing. And, despite its tendency to skip for no good reason, confusion between the volume and the track selection buttons, and not being good for anything besides playing CDs, I am. As I've said before, it goes everywhere with me. It really does.
Of course, this reluctance to switch over to the newest technology may be due to more than a reluctance to part with money--it's probably more of a reluctance to switch to yet another format. Now, don't get me wrong: I have an MP3 library on my hard drive, too--just like everybody else around here. But I also have shelves full of CDs over my bed, and there are records and tapes stashed all around the house. And I like it that way. There's something to be said for the feeling of having the music in your hands, having the ability to look at the artwork or read the liner notes or just being able to claim visible ownership of your favourite music that an MP3 player just can't provide. There's also the thrill of the hunt, the tracking down of new music or old music or just good music in general at your favourite record store--and the ability to listen to your new CD as soon as you can get the cellophane open and the disc in your player. And I don't know about you, but I kinda like that.
I know I'll end up getting an MP3 player one day--my technolust will eventually become too hard to ignore. But for now, I'm kicking it old school with my CDs and my discman, incredulous that CDs are somehow old school now. How did I live this long?