CD RIP

I was tempted to do another snow blip today after being greeted by icicles two feet long, but chose instead to remain in the warm as much as possible.

Whilst listening to some tunes last night it occured to me most of my recent music is stored on my laptop and it struck me how sad this was. I lived through the age of CD and remember being excited browsing my local music stores with thirty sheets in my pocket. There was the thrill of discovering bootlegs or rare singles from your favourite bands, and having something physical to take home and read. The thrill of reading the inlay and gaining more of an insight into the bands you read about in NME. Now it seems that everything is done online and that is sad. There is nothing to show for your passion ten years down the line, nothing solid that has stood the test of time and retained all those memories for you.

I'll give an example. Back in the mid nineties I read an article in NME about a band from California playing a brand of ska-punk called Rancid.I hadn't heard their stuff so I headed to my local independant store (closed of course now as HMV killed him and every other one in Lincoln) and found the album 'And Out Come The Wolves'. I took it home, put it on and marvelled at the raw American 'new wave' punk caressing my ears.

I still have the NME. I still have the album and seven others now. If I'd found them online I'd not have the magazine, not have anything physical to identify with and possibly not even have the songs, long ago lost in a laptop theft.

I'm sorry but thats just sad.

Today I dug the car out from under a foot of snow and braved the drive to Tesco. I confess to being tetchy, miserable, ratty and snappy throughout the whole ordeal. Only now sat at my laptop with a sugary brew am I able to raise even a tiny smile.