The iPod vs. the Top Twenty
I (heart) my iPod.
Regular readers of this blog know I’m not the most technologically advanced of people. But although I may be slow on the uptake, I did finally join the trend a few months ago when I became a proud and pleased iPod owner.
It took me a while to learn the basics. But after downloading a ton of music onto it—and spending a bit of money at the iTunes library along the way—I found it a great pleasure to have all those old and new favorites quite literally at my fingertips.
No, I haven’t turned into one of those iPod zombies one sees so often on the street and in the subway, lost in their own world of unending music on demand. Nevertheless, buying the iPod turns out to be only the tip of an expensive iceberg. I’ve successfully resisted the full complement of chic accessories, but I’ve experimented with various earbuds and diverse methods of hooking the iPod up to the car stereo so I can have my music while I drive.
Much as I love my iPod, I’ve perceived over time that it has its own subtle drawbacks. When all one wants is at one’s fingertips, there’s a certain devaluation that comes along for the ride. It’s a version of the old saying that familiarity breeds contempt. Well, not really contempt in this case—I still love most of the music that I once loved—but let’s just say that full availability decreases the special nature of the experience.
Imagine back when there were no recordings, and all musical performance was live. How very extraordinary a concert must have been then, how immediate and personal, with no screen between the listener and the music. Records changed all that—and had the result of democratizing music as well, and decreasing class distinctions. Classical music was now far more accessible to all—Caruso was one of the most popular early recording stars—and formerly plebian and relatively local forms of music (regional folk, jazz, blues) were archived and recorded and made popular among those who’d never heard them before.
When I was young, most personal record libraries were far more limited than they are today. During junior high and even high school I listened to the radio for much of my music, and in this I was not unusual. There was a tremendous sense of discovery in listening to music this way, although there was far less personal choice as compared to today.
I remember the first time I heard the very early Bob Dylan on some radio station or other—the strangeness and the power of the experience. I had no control over when I might hear this odd new voice again, although I’d fallen under its spell. The same was true of pop music in general, although that was more predictable—on a certain weekday evening, on a certain radio station, they would do a countdown of the Top Twenty songs of that week.
Talk about suspense! Talk about anticipation! It may seem hopelessly outdated and somehow very innocent, but I’d be on the edge of my seat—while doing my homework, naturally—as the songs were revealed, one by one, in order of ever-ascending popularity. I didn’t always agree with the choices, but the populace had spoken, and I listened in rapt attention.
Later on, at the age of fourteen or so, I acquired an inexpensive reel-to-reel tape recorder. Now I had a new weapon in my arsenal—the ability to produce a scratchy and barely recognizable facsimile of my favorite songs. Finally, I could listen to them at will, although the versions I possessed only slightly resembled the originals, and acted mainly as a spur to recollection.
I love my iPod—don’t get me wrong; Mama don’t take my iPod away! But I valued those old tapes at least as highly, if not more so, than the digitally perfect and almost endlessly varied selections now on my iPod. And I doubt this is due merely to the relative freshness of youth and the jaded ennui of encroaching age. There’s just something about the accessibility of the iPod that decreases its specialness, after the novelty wears off.
which reminds me….
Whatever happened to the weekly Sanity Squad podcasts? I miss them! My Saturday morning ritual was listening to the podcasts on my iPod while out walking my dogs.
I’ve thousands of tunes on my iPod, but it’s the podcasts and audiobooks that make the iPod a valuable resource to me.
One can gather from your discussion that you’re not a musician. Carrying your logic further, by devaluing the music we are devaluing the musicians. It’s interesting that, though musicians are paid much more now than when they played live, the quality of music hasn’t increased, and indeed can easily be argued to be declining. That’s not even to mention, of course, the rampant copyright infringement that encroaches even on the money aspect (many get their pod stuffing from much cheaper, illegal sources).
It’s quite possible that i-pods will destroy music, so that only old stuff will be left to play.
Ironic, isn’t it?
“…and formerly plebian and relatively local forms of music (regional folk, jazz, blues) were archived and recorded and made popular among those who’d never heard them before.”
..but…but…but…What about Country? lol
Or is that “regional folk”?
I start to get sick of music, even favorite music, if it is repeated over and over without breaks. I have to modify my PC playlist to include music that actually break up the rhythmn of the next piece in the series, to be able to listen to music for hours on end without getting sick of hearing them.
http://www.pandora.com, via using the music genome project, was a godsend from Bookworm in that it allowed me to instantly find and listen to music that I had never heard about simply by listing a song/artist that I liked.
All glory to Pandora. My musical tastes have expanded about 1000% since I started using it. It provides the perfect balance between control and unpredictability.
I feel the same way about my iPod. But I wonder how much of it is just because I am older. Music is more intense for younger people regardless of the medium, I think.
Have you ever noticed that people over 30 don’t seek out or listen to new music nearly as much as they used to? I think these phenomena may be related.
Michael,
Have you considered the possibility that the bulk of new music put forward by the industrial outlets sucks…a lot.
You know my taste in music is good, but one reason I don’t listen to a lot of new music is that the quality of the product has diminshed in what is available. On the other hand, I listen to a local station that makes a point of seeking out new music that will stand up to older songs. There is good new music out there, its just not being supported by the industy all that much.
Also, maybe our aging population isn’t as interested in hearing millionaires whining about their problems. Bruce can sing about being unemployed in Jersey all he wants, but we all know he’s been rich for thirty years and living in Cali for twenty…
Michael: There’s actually an interesting essay about exactly that in Robert Sapolsky’s Monkeyluv. Music was his example, but the thrust of the essay was that people’s appreciation of novelty sharply diminishes as they age. The good news, though, is that like many other things, you can be trained to keep it- or regain it.
Popular rock is sucking right now, but other forms- blues and metal- are going strong. I think musical genres go in cycles of innovation, probably because they take inspiration from each other. You won’t hear the good stuff on Top Forty, though.
I bought my first I-Pod just a month ago. I have bought no music. I have an audio Bible on 61 Cds. It looked like an inexpensive way to pretty much fill the whole four Gigs. It’s the New Living Translation which uses very modern sounding language.
On the plus side, it’s an easy way to explore the Bible without the drudgery of reading difficult parts. It’s a multi voice recording with dramatic music. In a few places the tone of voice is amusing. In other places, the horror and violence has the same sort of overkill as modern television and I’m almost embarrassed to say that I have found myself laughing at dreadful things because of this overkill for lack of a better word (it just seemed to go on and on).
On the minus side, the version I got was of poor quality and many of the first tracks would not rip. I spent quite a while going through them all. Tyndale quickly replaced about a dozen disks with no problem. There have also been problems reading the info for the tracks, and I spent quite a while figuring out the best way to handle this problem.
It can be difficult to focus on the tape for long, because you have to take it in as it’s read. This is less of a problem for part of it like the Proverbs or Psalms where there is no story line to follow. If you drift off, a new chapter will start soon. The poetic imagery in Job and Psalms is something I just can’t stand the drudgery of reading, but it’s a pleasure on the I-Pod, when I’m in the mood anyway.
There may be different versions out there, this is the one narrated by Mike Kellog that I’ve been speaking of:
http://www.amazon.com/Complete-Bible-CD-Living-Translation/dp/0842354468
I’ve seen prices from $75 to $150, there seem to be few available at the low price.
Patrick: You know my taste in music is good, but one reason I don’t listen to a lot of new music is that the quality of the product has diminshed in what is available.
You’re supposed to say that, though. You’re over 30. You’re biased. So am I.
I agree with you, but the kids think we’re clueless and square.
Kids these days…
I don’t know that musicians are paid more these days. Except for a few, most are losing money, especially when you get out into the fringier genres. Both touring and making albums are money-losers until you get to some point that many good bands never achieve.
My iPod has certainly re-ignited my love of finding new music. While I have a large and well-loved classical collection (about 700 CDs, most of them ripped to the iPod now), my passion at the moment is new progressive rock, discovering new bands such as Hectic Watermelon, Oblivion Sun, and Karda Estra. Originality, creativity, innovation, and passion are all alive and thriving in progressive rock these days, accompanied by real technical and musical skill and talent. It isn’t music that’s dying; it’s the music industry.
Neo–
I was just thinking about this during the weekend. I think I may be receiving an IPod soon, and while I’d love to put my top 20 of all time on it, I wonder if Simply Red’s “Holding Back the Years” will still make me misty if I can hear it whenever I want. It used to be that the Flower Duet or “O Mio Babbino Caro” could turn me into a pool of emotion, but now that I have them on CD, not so much.
While I drove through Central MN, a few songs that are touchstones for me came on, old friends I rarely hear anymore. I hope familiarity doesn’t breed contempt.
When I was 16 you could judge how much I liked a song by whether or not I would continue to listen to it in my car, after I arrived at my destination. Some songs I would wait to the end even if I was running late. Once I had that song on Tape or LP I could hear it anytime and it dropped off that unwritten list. It’s the same thing with an IPOD because you can hear it anytime. It’s not as special when you do hear it. It’s like drinking after you turn 21. Things that are easy or easily available lose their value.
Jonothan Baker – They called C&W “Hillbilly” in those days, and yes she would consider it “regional folk”.
The Grand Ole Opry is in flyover country after all.
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