I miss physical music

It is 1999 I am 18 years old. I am on one of my regular trips to visit a local music store. I go there frequently.

I am a typical lover of music and I have varied tastes. I go through the doors of my independent record store and along with others I look in the various sections, flicking through the CD cases and seeing the cover artwork as it passes by. I occasionally pause and select an album that I am interested in.

I check flip the album over check the track listing. I have found another album I wanted. I check the price that is stuck on the front, it’s £12. Not a bad price. Sometimes the price is higher, but it is what it is. I wish it was cheaper, but that doesn’t stop me walking to the back of the shop where the  counter is.
 
I am greeted by the owner. I hand over the empty album case and he goes and finds the disc that is stored in the back, he comes back and carefully places the disc in case. He grabs a CD sized plastic bag with the shop logo on it and slips the album in. I exchange cash for the the new music I have selected.
 
The shop has music playing, I look to the left of the counter and there is a stand with an album on it, above are the words “Now Playing”. I like it. I just discovered new music.

I thank the owner, turn and walk back to the entrance, the premises is covered with music related artwork and posters.

I am pleased with my purchase and move on to my next destination.
 
CD’s are quite expensive in relation to my income, so I go to another store that sells vinyl. These are much cheaper, £1 an album. They are second-hand in all sorts of condition, the price is so good and I have started a rapidly growing vinyl collection.

This is the place where I learn about popular music. I can pick up entire back catalogues of bands and artists. I spend a lot more time in there talking to the guy behind the counter. He is in his early forties, and I take inspiration from the bands he talks about. His name is Mike and he is kind of responsible for opening my musical tastes to classic rock bands of the sixties, seventies and eighties.

I take a stack of records to the counter and they get bagged, I pay Mike and off I go home. My weekly music shopping spree is done.
 
I’m 18 years old so nothing in my life is as important as the albums I have just gained in my possession, the next few hours are going to be awesome. All this new music for me to listen to is a real treat.
 
I have a Hi-Fi. I worked damn hard for in a summer job the previous year. I bought it from Richer Sounds. It takes up a good portion of my bedroom. I place the first vinyl album on my record player and the journey of musical discovery is under way. I read the inlay cards look at the artwork. I find a home for the new albums in my collection.

I listen to music on the go on my Minidisc player so I record some of these tracks and albums. I now have that vinyl in my pocket.
 
This musical appreciation process lasts several years of my life and the whole thing is a glorious event. I invest time in my hobby and in return I learn about popular music and audio technology. As much as I enjoy it I take it for granted.
 
It is 2002 and the mp3 format is becoming popular in the music community. You can fit so many more tracks on a CD if you record it on your computer and burm them to a CD-R. Convenience begins to creep in. Mp3 players hit the market, removing the need for the CD entirely.

This mp3 format is starting to render my beloved Minidisc useless.
 
I get an Mp3 player, start recording and “acquiring” music in the new form. It is really convenient.

My weekly trips to the record shops get less frequent. I have thousands of albums at home and a new way to listen to them. I am saving money and anything I don’t have I can get from other sources that doesn’t cost me anything.
 
It is not long before I stop buying music completely, cocky in my arrogance that I don’t need to do that anymore.
 
Space is now becoming an issue, I start to sell off my vinyl and CD collection for low prices. I have a digital copy of it all, why do I need it?

My Hi-Fi goes as my PC can do everything now. I don’t need all this stuff. Materialism is for losers.
 
The years go by, life goes on and I’m in full time work, music is not a key part of my life, I have other priorities. I still go to my PC and select the folders named “MP3 Albums” and “MP3 Tracks”

I scroll through my collection of files. The hobby I once loved has been reduced to a couple of directories on a computer. I have thousands of tracks but I rarely play any of them.
 
I  regret selling my vinyl and CD’s. I decide to buy some new physical music. I want some vinyl. The store I previously picked up all my £1 bargains are gone now. I try eBay, charity shops and junk shops, none of them are £1 anymore, the selection is terrible and the price is high. I do the same with CD’s but find the other local music store has also closed. Only the big chain stores sell CD’s now and it really is not the same. They sell vinyl at eye watering prices. Next to the small selection of reissues are picture frames to fit 12” records.

I find out that people are paying stupidly high prices for reissued records then framing them and putting them on the wall! Not even listening to them. Shameful.

Buying music has been sanitised.
 
Streaming is where it is at, so I’m told. I get a Spotify account, pay them £10 per month, this is great for about a week, but I don’t own any of the music. I can listen on my phone, but I am reliant on an internet connection and my entire hobby is centred around a corporate entity. They can cut me off at any point. I own nothing but pay them money. I cancel the subscription.
 
Streaming not something I am willing to accept yet. No physical music or stores to buy it from at a price that is sensible and that have a good selection I resign myself to the fact that this is not a hobby for me anymore.
 
I took my previous collection and those music shops for granted. I dropped it all like a stone in favour of more convenient and cheaper (in monetary value and audio quality) alternatives.
 
Part of the fun was owning music. An album is something that is to listened to from start to finish. It is a moment in time captured by the band or artist.

Albums don’t seem to be a big deal anymore. Streaming services bunch similar music into playlists, the top tracks of whatever category you want. It just doesn’t seem right.
 
Discovering, buying and playing physical records or CD’s on is long gone. Getting the little booklet that came with the CD is no more. Having a collection to peruse is dead. Opening the gate folded LP’s on vinyl is something that I now look back with fond memories. It seemed that as much effort went in to creating the artwork as well as the music.
 
A sense of occasion and a rite of passage in youth has now passed.

Sadly myself and others of my generation are partly the reason for this tragedy. We should have stuck with the time proven formats and not been so quick to adopt other technology. Just because it is new, it doesn’t make it better.