Here I sit, at my awkwardly tall desk in an awkwardly short chair reading about the 2006 collapse of the subprime mortgage market for my econ exam tomorrow, all the while listening to my "study jams" playlist on iTunes....
Don't take the title of this post the wrong way. I'm a fan, avid user and general enthusiast of iTunes. However, while sitting here, reading and listening to music for the past seven hours, I started to think about the way I used to listen to music before Steve Jobs firmly planted his flag on the home screen of every American under the age of sixty. It's not an easy thing to recall. I think I got my first iPod in 2004 during the summer between middle and high school and quickly stocked it with every Sum 41, Blink 182 and Green Day song that I could pirate from Limewire. So, when was the last time I extensively listened to music on something other than than my beat up, 40 gig iPod classic?
I'd have to say that it was on the bus ride to that all important event in a young man's life: the eighth grade trip to Orlando to visit the Kennedy Space Center. I boarded the bus with my trusty Sony Walkman and three CD's. Smash Mouth's Astro Lounge, The RHCP's Californication and the Beatle's Sergeant Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band. During the eight hour trip, during which I was stuck on the bus for kids who were late showing up to the cafeteria, I listened to each of these albums straight through several times in a vain attempt to pass the time.
And thus, we arrive at point. Since you got iTunes, when was the last time you listened to an entire album? I know it's been a while for me. It seems that all I do these days is listen to a playlist or throw on Pandora. There used to be a time when albums were king. Look back at Pink Floyd's "The Wall", The Who's "Tommy" or U2's "War." These are a few of the greatest albums ever made, and they were written to be listened to in their entirety.
So what happened? Why did we stop listening to albums?
And thus, we arrive at my point. iTunes has seriously altered the way in which we listen to music. Obvious, I'm aware. However, when you really think about it, it may have changed the way the musicians make music as well. Just think; when was the last time that you heard a song on the radio, went home a bought the entire album that song was on? I'd venture to say that for most people, it's been a long time if ever. So, if musicians (and more importantly their agents) realize that we only download their songs that get airplay, where's the incentive for them to spend time writing cohesive albums as opposed to a collection of songs they think might get played on the radio?
Indeed, there are contemporary artists who still find it necessary to produce great albums, but generally these aren't the people or groups that the American public is bombarded with on a daily basis. This has created a culture where artistry has given way to mass appeal. Ultimately, I'm afraid it's just a matter of time until the notion of listening to an entire album will just be something your parents did in the basement while smoking doobies and wearing bell bottoms.
So do yourself a favor. Go listen to your favorite album and enjoy it, or write all of this off as the inane ramblings of a man who's been awake for far too long.
