I don't own a vinyl LP now. Yet, I still think of records as being the real medium of music. Because of several Facebook conversations, I have been thinking a lot of albums recently. The order of tracks was a human decision. Whereas nowadays, I'd venture most youth let software create playlists for them. I don't want to come across as a Luddite but I don't want an algorithm determining my listening experience. Older albums, especially, were created with a flow and sequence in mind. The whole side made up the experience. I'm of an age where I know what song should come next on many records from the 1970's. I suppose the whole concept of listening to six or seven songs in a row by the same artist is a bit foreign for youth today as well.
There's certainly nothing wrong with digital music but it's advent has cut us off completely from experiencing senses other than auditory. "There used to be a tactile feeling of joy when opening the plastic on a new album," a peer on Facebook reminisced. One could read the album notes and printed lyrics. Most importantly, the cover art was more than a tiny icon on a cluttered screen.
Even with the added convenience of having my collection of music in the cloud, I cannot help but think we've lost a great deal too.
