letter to media

what happened to you media?

ever since Al Gore invented the internet, you've been the hottest think since Emma Watson. (that's for you Payden.) Television, YouTube, Netflix, Twitter, Facebook, iTunes, Spotify. All of these things were designed to bring people together. Back in ye olden times, there was only one TV in the house (i'm getting my information from Back to the Future). Families would get together to watch their favorite shows at a specific time. You had to be there at that time or you would miss it. There was no pause button if you can believe it! And there were really only three networks: ABC, CBS, and NBC. Even before that was the radio. Oh the radio. I'll let Mr. Mercury tell you all about it. But then came the invention of Vinyl (I am aware vinyl was used as far back as the 1860s, I'm talking about the modernized, mainstream, record labely type records), 8-Tracks, Cassette Tapes, even CD's! Now you can own your music and listen to it whenever! Mass production of albums raged on through the late 20th century! But sadly... In the year 2012... the majority of all music is... downloaded. Through the... INTERNET. Le gasp. And while this has been great for mainstream music and independent music sales all around, I feel like this digital revolution has commercialized what music is all about. I'm not going to judge your music tastes, but music is about more than a catchy lyric, a good beat, or a groovy bass line. Music is supposed to bring people together! Music is universal! But all I see these days are punks with hoodies and sweats (fashion in America is a whole other blog post) with their little white earbuds plugged in. Not smiling. Looking out the window on a bus. Maybe they're tapping their toe a little bit. It's sad! Don't get me wrong. I do not want the boom box to come back. That is so obnoxious. Keep your music to yourself. But I can't help but feel that a bus full of people plugged into their iPods is really depressing. Why doesn't anybody talk anymore? Let's talk about iTunes for a minute. Why are LMFAO, Flo Rida, Rihanna, Snoop Dogg, and Katy Perry at the top of the charts? Fine. We can't blame iTunes. America would still have bad taste in music even without iTunes. I have a deep fiery hatred for all, sorry, most mainstream music. When Pumped Up Kicks was on the radio I had some hope for the future. But really. Sexy and I Know It? Wiggle wiggle wiggle wiggle wiggle yeah. I I I work out. It's catchy. And funny. I gotta say. But it makes me sad for the world... Although, if the music I liked suddenly became popular, I probably wouldn't like it anymore. There's an allure to that kind of exclusivity. But it's not just that it's fun to know the good music that nobody has ever heard of. It's that I work hard to find good music! All the stuff that gets promoted is the crappy stuff on the radio and at the top of the charts. This is where Pitchfork comes in. Now, Pitchfork is great and all. But it promotes some of the worst music I've ever heard. Just because it's weird, and sounds like nothing else out there, doesn't mean it's good. And if it doesn't fall into that category, it sounds like the same old thing I hear everywhere else. Sorry Pitchfork. You have some good music. Sometimes. But you became my enemy when you scored The First Days of Spring a 5.2/10. You don't know good music. So what constitutes good music? European music. And some stuff from Portland. Sorry America. Basically anything that isn't on today's radio. Except 90.1 in Salt Lake. They play some fine gems.

Alright, I've gone off on a major tangent. I was trying to talk about my new addiction to VHS, but I haven't mentioned it at all. Video Cassettes. They are making a comeback in my book. Not only are they super indie and exclusive, but they only cost a dollar at D.I. Win win. The thing about video cassettes is that there is a mutual respect relationship going on with the cassette. If you want to watch it again you have to wait and rewind it. No crummy scene selection. When you finally get the thing rewound, you get to listen to Don LaFontaine or Mark Elliott announce the "upcoming" movies that came out years ago. I love the sound of the tape loading. I love the flicker on the screen. I love everything about it.

The moral of this story. Buy physical media.