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A few weeks ago, the last Beatles song, "Now And Then" was released.
The last time I was excited about a new Beatles song, new episodes of Friends
were still being made, and America Online (AOL) was one of the few ways
to get home Internet access. Vinyl was dead, cassettes were on their
way out, and the only other way to get that new Beatles album was on CD.
Some went to Sam Goody or Kmart for their CDs while others got a
discount from Colombia House or BMG. Though, I don't think Beatles
albums were ever offered at a discount.
I
can remember listening to CDs on the family PC while popping in and out
of AOL chatrooms. In just a few years, I would experience my first
streaming radio stations while customizing my MySpace profile. That all
changed in 2007 with iPhones and Facebook. After that, I couldn't
imagine anyone wanting to sit at a PC or buy physical copies of music.
It
wasn't until the first app release of SpaceHey this week that I
realized the nostalgia wasn't just mine. Lots of SpaceHey users
commented that they had ditched their smartphones for flip phones and
preferred the website version to an app. In previous weeks, teenagers
mourned the death of "Chandler," and Taylor Swift's new album wasn't
just available to stream but also to buy on CD, cassette, and vinyl. As
Black Friday approached, I've been offered "electronic typewriters" and
the remake of Polaroid instant cameras.
All
of this clicked for me as I rearranged the icons on my home screen and saw
the MySpace-like SpaceHey near AOL. In case you didn't know it, you can
still get an AOL email. AOL doesn't offer chatrooms, but their app is
one of my favorite news sources. Maybe using AOL for news is actually
the weirdest thing about all of this, because I used to quickly click
passed the AOL front page window to check my mail and see who was in my
favorite rooms.
It's
nice to know that others share my love of the old and familiar. It
gives me hope that slower social media and physical media might survive
the digitized, online revolution. It's nice to see that what's old is
new again.
Comments
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Spain5901
Though I was raised with the beginning of the smartphone era and digital music was the norm for me growing up. I can understand this nostalgia to older days. I myself bought a few vinyls and CD's by various artist (Including the Beatles) because it just feels better then streaming. Buying and listening to CD's and vinyls do not only have a great vibe to them but also help the artists way more than any streaming service
You're very right about helping the artist. Interestingly, buying CDs is still a big deal in Japan. Even though Tower Records closed in the USA, it still exists in Japan.
by Brandon; ; Report
Japan itself a good casestudy though, it is still using tons of old technology even though you would consider them to have the top notch of everything. Yet things like floppy discs are still wildly in use for some reason I'm not familiar with
by Spain5901; ; Report
Griflet
This year I definitely got bored of Neflix, so I reopened the DVD drawers... As for music, I'm a traditionalist. Digital platforms allow us to know many of them, okay, but I listen to the best ones on CD, perhaps while driving my old car where the player is still perfectly functional!
That's great! I like that your DVDs and CDs don't rely on a relationship between the license holder and the online distributor. No matter what happens, you have your physical copy to enjoy. Thanks for sharing!
by Brandon; ; Report