So last night I went to Amoeba in SF while I'm here for work. Ive always wanted to go to Amoeba. It was huge and glorious and they had anything I could ever want. I don't have a good record store near me anymore so it was crazy to see that they had such a good selection of stuff you probably wouldn't see normally.

But I felt kind of shitty because part of me wanted to buy all the things, the other part of me was like "Nah, I already have this on my streaming service. Why buy it on vinyl and then put it on my shelf and never look at it again?" I felt mad that digital music has robbed me of that great feeling you get going to a record store and actually buying a physical copy of something new, and the anticipation to hear what it sounds like. There were all these dope albums that came out recently who's album artwork I've only seen through a tiny thumbnail on a screen, and now here they were in front of me in all their 12 inches of glory.

On the other hand, I haven't really been that interested in buying vinyl or listening to what I have at all lately. Most of my music listening happens in the car, at my desk, or on the go somewhere when digital is just much more convenient. With a streaming service though, you find the album and press play on it in like 4 seconds without having to move an inch. I think this has really devalued music to me. I might love a new album but completely forget about it in 2 weeks just because other new stuff replaces it in my library. If I spent the money on that album and went to the store for it, I'm more invested in it.

Sorry for rambling but I guess what I'm trying to say is I fucking hate digital music and the decline of the record store. It's such a big part of being a music fan that I never really REALLY thought about before but it hit me last night.

I'm not canceling my Google Music sub though, just can't do it

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http://www.soundcloud.com/sectachrome

I've really thought about selling a lot of my LPs and CDs becuase I don't lsiten to the much on vinyl or Cd any more - it's nearly always on my iPhone.

So when I go to a record store now I'm very likely seeking out a specific item.

I'd say I use to spent $100 a month of music - now it's somewhere between $0 and $30 most months.

And Amoeba is usually expensive - buy used CDs at The Wherehouse in 1995 was a much better deal.

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Gone: My Discogs collection for The Roots:
http://www.discogs.com/user/tomhayes-roots/collection

I used to spend all day at the record store and I took some horrible L's based on artwork and hoping shit would sound good before they let you listen to albums...

it was fun but it was also time consuming.

I guess the best thing about buying music at record stores was the journey to the store.

I used to ride buses or walk blocks on lunch break to check for new music.

I miss that part of it but I listen to more music these days due to streaming and convenience.

I honestly have no idea how artist aren't making more money since they don't have to press up a ton of CD's and vinyl.

pretty sure Weird Al Yankovich pointed out how he still has to pay for warehouse sticking fees in his contract even tho 99% of his catalog is now digital.

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TBH the fact that you're even a mod here fits squarely within Jag's narrative of OK-sanctioned aggression, bullying, and toxicity. *shrug*