Media Meditation #1: Rediscovering and Ancient Media Form

This is not an illusion - Those are 2 real, live CDs in my hands

About a month ago, I received word from a friend that a couple of my favorite musical artists, Ray Lamontagne and Ryan Bingham, were both coming out with new albums. I responded, "Awesome, I'm gonna pirate the shit out of those." But over the course of a week or two, something changed inside me in the most non-medical way. I had developed a strong urge to buy the two CDs in hard-copy form, from a real person, using real money.

The release date of both albums arrived and I slipped out of my class and headed downtown. I didn't understand where I was supposed to go (do record stores only sell records?), so I was a bit of a wanderer at this point; please bear in mind that the last time I bought a CD was ages ago - even before "Jersey Shore" existed (or the B.J.S. era in the MTV-Gregorian calendar). I arrived at Pure Pop Records and was amazed to discover that they did, in fact, sell CDs. It was like I was in heaven, but not really sure if heaven was still in style...so I played it cool, bought my CDs, and didn't hang around very long.

When I got home, I did the same thing I used to do when I bought CDs: unwrapped my gifts, popped both in my stereo (I knew I brought it up here for a reason), and relaxed. The sound quality literally blew me away. I felt guilty about what I had been missing over the past few years. Those who know me know that I am an unusually ardent supporter of illegal file sharing. My philosophy has been that artists should do whatever they can to get their music listened to, or else they aren't really artists. I still stand by that statement, but it did feel good to kick some money at a couple excellent musicians, even if it never trickles down to them. Through this CD-buying experience, I learned that the Technological Shift that we've undergone, going from analog to digital, doesn't have to dictate our future. Although I would love for the media world to embrace digital file sharing, it's still nice to stay connected with the analog world every so often for a sense of accomplishment.

Here are a couple favorable (obviously) reviews of the albums:
Ray Lamontagne - God Willin' and the Creek Don't Rise
and
Ryan Bingham - Junky Star

Total damages of both albums: $25.12
... but I feel like I can't put a price on experiencing a gem like "New York City's Killin' Me" by Lamontagne...

Give it a listen:



I've declared this my favorite song between the two blues/folk/country albums, but there is plenty to choose from. If you like what you hear, they are a couple excellent artists to get into and I won't tell anyone you jumped on the bandwagon late. Buy a CD and enjoy it that much more.