Comments on: Digital revolution or digital devolution?

By: Fred Phillips

Fred Phillips — Tue, 29 Apr 2008 18:48:38 +0000

I think most of the folks like me are heading in the direction of vinyl again these days. I may do that at some point, but I doubt I’ll ever fully convert. It’s been almost 20 years, and I still haven’t made the complete transition from cassette to CD. There are still a whole bunch of records I like that I had on cassette that I’m yet to replace on CD, and I’ve got a lot more CDs than I ever had cassette. I can’t even think about converting to a new format.

Morb, I’m in full agreement.

By: Morb

Morb — Tue, 29 Apr 2008 17:18:26 +0000

I am really not looking forward to an all digital world. Fuck that.

There is nothing wrong with physical reality. I’m scared of the people who think there is.

By: Apollyon

Apollyon — Tue, 29 Apr 2008 13:56:30 +0000

I don’t want to think about days of not having a physical copy in my hands. Nothing beats going through the album and packaging if it’s an album you’ve been waiting for a long time. The effort put into the album shines through.

Then again, I’m not sure if it’s going to be that way. I think we’ll continue to have a physical product; at least for a while. From what I gather vinyl sales have been going up and their magnificence is valued more and more.

By: Fred Phillips

Fred Phillips — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 05:50:55 +0000

Then don’t call me mister … makes me feel like an old fart. >=)

Seriously, I’m glad to know that some of the younger crowd still cares about having the real deal. You made some very good points there. I couldn’t agree with them more.

By: Dan

Dan — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 02:47:08 +0000

Mr. Phillips,
You are not an old fart. I am 22 years old. I only really started listening to metal when I was 15 or 16. By then the digital revolution was well under way but I still bought all of my albums in physical form. The booklet, the cover art; its all part of the experience for me. Though I only just recently (after years of pestering from my friends) got an iPod, I still buy CD’s and upload them onto my computer. I know it’s an expensive hobby, but I guess in some ways, for me, that financial commitment represents my emotional commitment to metal as well.
I have an enormous box of CD’s in my closet and I love to browse through it and find old albums I forgot about. I feel safe knowing that my music collection, the physical manifestation of my greatest passion, won’t disappear with my next lap top upgrade.
It’s also a way for me to stay invested in the music I buy. People today download tens of thousands of songs and listen to almost none of them. How can we expect artists to commit themselves to their art if they think no one else is.
Fuck. I love CD’s.