MP3 players and their effect on how I listen to music
- Thread starter MetalManCPA
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CAIRATH said:
Besides games (I'm not a gamer so that's irrelevant to me) what can't you do? The software selection is smaller, sure, but the applications aren't any worse.
With the Intel switch it will be easier for companies to port software over and I'm sure many will take advantage of that, you're already seeing hardware like video cards being released that are PC/Mac compatible as well. A few Linux distros are also starting to port for the Intel Macs.
Ermz
¯\(°_o)/¯
I've never seen any benefit to having a huge library of music at one's disposal at any one time. For me, more than anything, it forces me not to appreciate individual albums or songs. It's just a constant 'next track, next track, next track' fest.
My most 'zen' of moments, musically, were when I loaded my old CD player with Still Life and listened to the entire thing on headphones whilst lying there in the dark.
My appreciation of music never even gets close when I listen in other environments. Perhaps the studio gets close... when you block all outside noise in the control room and just go for it in a room tailored toward sound reproduction. But aside from that, I almost feel like I do music an injustice daily by listening to MP3s so readily.
My least favourite place to listen to music is a car. The car radios are so 'hyped' and high-fi that you're losing such a ton of frequencies and so many other shitty ones are getting boosted. The sound of the car and various other sounds on the road completely mask what it is that you've got playing, and of course whilst driving you're not devoting yourself to the music 100%, which naturally I also feel is insulting to the artist.
Having said that, the world seems to be all about quick convenience these days, hence the prevalence of these 'big-enough-to-hold-yo-mommas-ass' iPODs. I can't see myself getting one. I feel that if one album isn't enough to hold one's attention, then the problem is with the listener and their attention deficit, not with the limitations of the player.
My most 'zen' of moments, musically, were when I loaded my old CD player with Still Life and listened to the entire thing on headphones whilst lying there in the dark.
My appreciation of music never even gets close when I listen in other environments. Perhaps the studio gets close... when you block all outside noise in the control room and just go for it in a room tailored toward sound reproduction. But aside from that, I almost feel like I do music an injustice daily by listening to MP3s so readily.
My least favourite place to listen to music is a car. The car radios are so 'hyped' and high-fi that you're losing such a ton of frequencies and so many other shitty ones are getting boosted. The sound of the car and various other sounds on the road completely mask what it is that you've got playing, and of course whilst driving you're not devoting yourself to the music 100%, which naturally I also feel is insulting to the artist.
Having said that, the world seems to be all about quick convenience these days, hence the prevalence of these 'big-enough-to-hold-yo-mommas-ass' iPODs. I can't see myself getting one. I feel that if one album isn't enough to hold one's attention, then the problem is with the listener and their attention deficit, not with the limitations of the player.
I'm a big fan of mp3 players. The idea of holding so much music in such a small item is incredible. However, I enjoy my cd collection. All my files are burned off of my cd's. I've actually never downloaded a file from anywhere else. I will always buy cd's regardless or whatever comes next.
Who says it is about attention? For me it is all about choice. I like that wherever I happen to be, when I have time to relax and listen to some music I can pick *any* album or song I want, rather than to be limited by a few CDs I happened to bring along when I packed my bag that morning. Having all your music on your iPod in no way forces you to skip all over the place or even use the shuffle function at all (I only use it when I just can't decide what I want to listen to). You can just as easily listen to a full album over and over again. The advantage is that you always have all your music with you and are never limited to what you happen to bring. Plus you don't have to worry about losing or damaging your CDs. Even if I did have a discman instead of an mp3 player I would still be rather paranoid about bringing CDs to college for instance. They might break or get stolen or just generally get damaged in my bag.
CAIRATH said:
I agree with you 100%. Having an iPod doesn't make you skip tracks, it gives you the freedom to choose to listen to music however you want. I have every CD i own in one handy device, and can thus listen to entire albums or single songs from my entire library. Sure the sound quality isn't as good as a CD, but for everyday usage, i'll sacrifice a little quality for versatility and convenience. If i want a great listening experience, i'll put a cd into my actual stereo (which i don't even have at college).
Moonlapse said:
You, like many people, are album oriented. Where I'm not, this is something we just won't agree on. But the one thing I noticed by having 4,800 songs at my fingertips is I now have all of the great music I might have heard only once but forgotten. Since I play random tracks, it's a surprise what comes up next. With CD's and MP3 CD's, I was limiting myself to my "choices" since I had to be selective. Since I am song oriented, it's fun for me hearing a great track I've entirely forgotten. On occassion, I like sokaing in an entire album.
Moonlapse said:
I love "zen" moments. Whether I lie in bed or on the couch, and whether I have my Audio Technica ATH-A900's on my head or my main stereo cranking, I can pick and choose when I want that experience. But music is more than that to me. You state MP3 listening may be an injustice to the music. But in reverse, music cleans up my environment during the day. It offers a pleasant distraction, and more importantly an inner relaxing feeling to help me combat the daily grind.
Moonlapse said:
Well, this is entirely subjective, but there are cases where I disagree - mine in particular. Before my current set-up, I'd agree with you. The sound was "wrong" in some way in every system I had, and that in combination with road noise made me think too much about how bad sounding the music was. But a few years ago when I had a job that had me on the road for 10 hours a week, it justified me spending $2,500 on a very well planned out music system for my Lincoln Town Car. The car alone is quiet riding, and the sound system I have is clean. Your ears will bleed before you hear any distortion, and my car sounds better than 95% of any home stereo set-up I've heard. Actually, it sounds almost as good as my $10,000 home setup (purchased over many many years). Ture, though, that you can't devote yourself 100% to music in the car, but I don't have to listen at 100% all the time.
Moonlapse said:
Again, the choice of MP3 player or not is an individual thing. Years ago I could have cared, but having this technology dropped in my lap has made me a convert. The MP3 players with large capacities are a marvel to me, and enable me to carry around so many feelings in my pocket. Who knows what mood I'll be in at a moment in time, and what particualr music I may want to listen to. With a library in my pocket, I have a ton of moods and feelings at my disposal.
CAIRATH said:
Good way to put it - having the "choice". I can still play a CD in it's entirety. My iPod has over 200 complete albums on it. Entire Opeth, Nevermore, Porcupine Tree and Grip Inc catalogs. And so many more. And breaking the barrier of limitation is also what makes these large capacity MP3 players such a joy for a music listener such as myself.
Ermz
¯\(°_o)/¯
Again, in my view, that 'choice' is more detrimental to my appreciation of music than it is beneficial to it.
I'll revert back to the Still Life thing. Back when it was really 'clicking' for me I ONLY played it. Pretty much every night for a month I'd just let that album roll and totally envelop me. Every time around I heard something new and my appreciation of the album grew even more. My point is... when you have less things, or be more 'spartan' I guess, you tend to appreciate the things that you DO have more.
Back when I first started uni, I used to take a really long tram trip up to the other side of Victoria (which I'll have to do again come march 7th). I used my CD/MP3 player to keep me entertained, on which I could fit about 10-odd albums worth of mp3s on. Now the convenience of having all those at my disposal was great, but it was only for the purpose of keeping me distracted for an hour or so. There was no real chance to enjoy the music whilst travelling.
I'm not saying that the iPODs aren't for everyone. It's obviously a sign of the times that everyone wants to listen to something whilst they live through their daily lives.. there is a lot of monotony in life these days and people want to overcome it with escapism. That's totally fair enough.
I've never been a person to really like doing that with music. I feel that the artists have taken months and sometimes years of their time to give me a collection of music. I almost feel disrespectful when I listen to it in anything other than an optimal environment. Being a music writer myself.. I would totally feel like shit if I ever 'made it' and people were listening to my music all over the subways or on the way to work, as if its only purpose was to be a distraction from the irritations of modern life.
But I digress... I think. I never meant for this to be a rant of any kind. Everything I'm saying is completely subjective and I understand that a ton of people are naturally going to disagree (I'm sure I can get a rough estimate by looking at the overwhelming stats of iPOD sales in recent years). This is just the way I feel about music, as an artform... not a distraction.
I'll revert back to the Still Life thing. Back when it was really 'clicking' for me I ONLY played it. Pretty much every night for a month I'd just let that album roll and totally envelop me. Every time around I heard something new and my appreciation of the album grew even more. My point is... when you have less things, or be more 'spartan' I guess, you tend to appreciate the things that you DO have more.
Back when I first started uni, I used to take a really long tram trip up to the other side of Victoria (which I'll have to do again come march 7th). I used my CD/MP3 player to keep me entertained, on which I could fit about 10-odd albums worth of mp3s on. Now the convenience of having all those at my disposal was great, but it was only for the purpose of keeping me distracted for an hour or so. There was no real chance to enjoy the music whilst travelling.
I'm not saying that the iPODs aren't for everyone. It's obviously a sign of the times that everyone wants to listen to something whilst they live through their daily lives.. there is a lot of monotony in life these days and people want to overcome it with escapism. That's totally fair enough.
I've never been a person to really like doing that with music. I feel that the artists have taken months and sometimes years of their time to give me a collection of music. I almost feel disrespectful when I listen to it in anything other than an optimal environment. Being a music writer myself.. I would totally feel like shit if I ever 'made it' and people were listening to my music all over the subways or on the way to work, as if its only purpose was to be a distraction from the irritations of modern life.
But I digress... I think. I never meant for this to be a rant of any kind. Everything I'm saying is completely subjective and I understand that a ton of people are naturally going to disagree (I'm sure I can get a rough estimate by looking at the overwhelming stats of iPOD sales in recent years). This is just the way I feel about music, as an artform... not a distraction.
Moonlapse said:
Before I respond - of course this discussion is ALL subjective.
Do all artists (music or otherwise) create art that must be enjoyed a certain way? If I was an artist, the "how" people enjoy my art would be meaningless. I believe it would be the "why" that would be more important to me. And I'd be happier if the "why's" were many and not just a few.
I'm sorry that you feel disrespectful to an artist if you don't envelope yourself in the art. Where is it written that art must envelope you? The beauty of art is it can be many things to many people. The same song can pump me up, put me to sleep, or relax me. It depends on my mood at that moment. And is there only one "optimal environment"? Personally, I don't believe so. There may be that optimal environment when you want to have an out-of-body experience. But I still believe a particular environment isn't what makes music/art what it is.
Art is different things to different people. For those of you creative enough to make that art, me, the enjoyer, thanks you wholeheartedly.
Moonlapse said:
I totally agree with that statement. I just don't see the correlation between that and mp3 players the way you do. Apart from a certain person, I would say music is the single most important thing in my life and I see it as much more than just a distraction. I *love* truly listening to albums, alone in the dark. But at the same time I can enjoy listening to an album on the train to college too. I don't think that really detracts from the value you place on music at all. It's not like you're wasting or using up music while you do that or something. And I find that listening to music under different circumstances can have different effects on you. I remember a few years ago when I was still attending a different college I ocasionally had to come back home late and I'd sit in an almost empty train carriage at like 11 PM, seeing lights, city skylines, fields and whatever move past while you listen to music. I can't remember offhand which albums I listened to at that time but I definitely remember a lot of moments where I just thought "mmm, this is nice...".
Music is very important to me and the more of my music I can carry with me the safer and more at home I feel really.
well i definetly agree about the music is art not distraction thing.. but i think music can definetly be enjoyable on trips/etc
for instance, on a really long car ride down to georgia, it was pouring out... i listened to bergtatt like 10 times over and over
pretty memorable day
for instance, on a really long car ride down to georgia, it was pouring out... i listened to bergtatt like 10 times over and over
pretty memorable day
I'm a c.d fan for a few reasons.
1.) I love to chill and look through the lyrics
2.) I really enjoy the anticipation of an album coming out and the feeling you get when you bust that thing open for the first time.
3.) I like supporting the artists I care enough about to purchase their music
1.) I love to chill and look through the lyrics
2.) I really enjoy the anticipation of an album coming out and the feeling you get when you bust that thing open for the first time.
3.) I like supporting the artists I care enough about to purchase their music
martyrs_price said:
Again... what does any of that have to do with mp3 players? You can do all of those things and still use your mp3 player to listen to stuff. It's like some people think that as soon as the word mp3 appears anywhere it means you have to start pirating music and downloading leaked albums from the internet or something. I have 450+ CDs and I have ripped every single one of them to mp3 myself. Hell, I don't even *have* a CD player. I literally buy CDs just for the booklet and because I like to actually own albums I like, but all I do with them is rip them to mp3 and put them on my shelf. I rarely use the discs themselves for anything.
And I can definitely see what you are saying man, because I understand that you can buy c.d's and still rock them out on an mp3 player without pirating or that shit. I myself just do it the old fashioned way however. I can definitely see the the logic of mp3's and ipods though. Just not my style I guess.
CAIRATH said:
I too am not sure why some people get so offensive about MP3's. Not everybody "steals".
Lietuvis
Member
I recently acquired an iPod video with a 60GB hard-drive... I'm very happy with it, as it can fit all of the music that I currently own... and in fairly good format. I rip all of my CDs with a 320 kbps bitrate, so it's good enough sound(for headphones, anyway) and does not take up all that much space.
However, I do not like downloading music, because I prefer to have a full representation of an album... the booklet, etc. Without it, I don't believe that I could fully experience an album. So, although I could save a lot of money by stealing music, thinking of all my music as numbers in code is quite strange.
However, I do not like downloading music, because I prefer to have a full representation of an album... the booklet, etc. Without it, I don't believe that I could fully experience an album. So, although I could save a lot of money by stealing music, thinking of all my music as numbers in code is quite strange.
Fredy_Brown
The Line Begins To blur.
Lietuvis said:However, I do not like downloading music, because I prefer to have a full representation of an album... the booklet, etc. Without it, I don't believe that I could fully experience an album. So, although I could save a lot of money by stealing music, thinking of all my music as numbers in code is quite strange.
I know just what you mean . I might download a song every now and then - but to me it's just not the real album unless I have the booklet , artwork ... the whole thing . It doesn't feel the same to me listening to a downloaded album .
MasterOLightning
Optimator
Sometimes you don't have a choice. How else is someone supposed to hear Stupid Dream or Lightbulb Sun? I enjoy my 30GB Ipod very much. My laptop hard drive is only 20GB, so I'll need to get another one soon since I can only hold maybe a few more albums. I do wish that the Ipod allowed .wma's, which were so much more space efficient.
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