The internet music phenomenon passed me by.

Published on May 22, 2004 By Jamie Burnside In Internet

Yesterday as I was driving between worksites, I heard a song on the radio that I hadn't heard in a very long time. After the song, the DJ didn't give the title, but she reminded us that we were listening to the year 1981 on "the 80s lunch hour."

Now I know the song very well, I just wasn't quite sure on the title and the artist.

Later in the evening, I typed up a search for the "Top Songs of 1981." Sure enough, I found the song "I Love You" by the Climax Blues Band. (It has a really nice sentiment. Good for weddings.) I listened to it a couple of times, and I was happy.

Digression: Listening to that song, "I Love You" by the Climax Blues Band, I can picture people dancing the snowball at the roller rink. I can see folks skating round and around, with the reflections from the disco ball twirling around the rink. (Too bad I wasn't a few years older in 1981!)

Between the years of 1996 and 2001 I lived in Japan. During that time there was an internet boom in the US. I heard that lots of people began downloading songs, trading music, and burning CDs. Since I didn't have access to a computer at that time, the whole wave passed me by. (It seems like a really good way to make a "mix tape.")

Since then there have been some restrictions placed on internet file sharing. There were some lawsuits, a teenage witch-hunt, and stuff like that. Now it seems that some larger sites (like Napster) are selling the songs. If I ever get a CD burner, I can see myself buying a few songs to burn.

Maybe I am old-fashioned, but I can't imagine not buying a CD if I wanted new music. Of course that may change if I had a high-speed connection and a CD burner.

Comments

greywar

on May 22, 2004

I assure you that a few minutes of getting trhouh Mirc's learning curve and then a few more spent on say the #mp3passion channel will test your CD buying resolve. Dave Chappelle had a nice analogy for internet music on his show when he represented the Internet as a physical location like a mall. One place was selling music for .99 a song and there were a few people quietly browsing the racks. Another place was a wide open Mega-store that had huge flashing signs saying all songs were free. Tehre were hundreds of people making mad dashes through it carrying bags overflowwing with music. That is the difference between the pay for music sites and the free music scene.

new-age nomad

on May 24, 2004

I'm happy you've stumbled upon this "new" phenomenon. I thank God everyday that it's so easy to steal music. lol

Trinitie

imajinit

on May 24, 2004

I'm familiar with the whole song stealing phenomenon, but I don't believe in it. I still buy my music at the store.

If my dreams came true and I became a published writer someday, I would not want someone to scan my book, post it on the internet, and then let everyone download a copy of it for free. On the one hand, more people might read what I wrote, but on the other hand, I would receive no compensation for something I had spent a great deal of time on...

just a thought

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