Fifteenth Blog

Oh, talk about irony. Here we have technology advancing as it always does, and to what end do some people use it? The avoidance of using it. (And I can’t really blame them – if you read some of my earlier blogs, you would be aware of my mistrust for technology. My concern is that our over-reliance on continuously advancing technology will do us all more harm than good.) One specific area where I notice this happening is the underground music scene.

The tape trading scene is pretty cool to check out. Back before they had the internet, people would pirate and trade music by recording it on audio cassettes and sharing them – be it with personal friends or long distance “pen pals” through networks and Zines (alternative publications). The record industry was so alarmed that it tried lobbying for a ban on audio cassettes and home taping. The punk band Dead Kennedys responded in kind by leaving half of their EP cassette In God We Trust, Inc. blank to provoke it. (See the picture above.)

Most people involved in the scene, though, probably did it more out of convenience rather than to make a political or economic statement. After all, why spend your savings on something you can get for free? Likewise, when the internet came around people took their piracy and Zines there. Some, however, did not, out of mistrust and nostalgia, but did not shy away from using the internet to keep their scene alive. Furthermore, it is actually drawing in young blood and causing the scene to grow, especially in underground scenes. (This particularly goes on in genres such as metal and punk – being a huge metalhead, I observed and can testify to this personally.)

A more famous example of people using new technology for the old in music is actually the resurgence of vinyl. It’s mostly out of nostalgia (and arguably, in some circles, pretentiousness,) but it’s more than just hype – as my audio engineering teacher went over in class, old formats such as vinyl actually come with some degree of distortion that can actually sound pleasant to the ears.

There is a dark side to this whole trend, however: ironically as many underground bands are in on this, resources on producing vinyl records are limited, especially since they have to be physically tailored to each release. As a result, mainstream, more demanded artists are pushing more obscure ones out of the market. The new technology is here, and it’s popular for good reason. Recording quality is good and can come only on digital formats. You can access music you want instantly over the internet rather than hunting for it in a store or waiting to find it in your mailbox. It’s easier and cheaper to promote and distribute your recordings.

 Even so, I feel as if I will always be among the reactionaries here. When I was fifteen, while everyone was downloading their music off the internet, I was ordering CDs through Amazon. Of course, CDs are not that old and I always rip them to my computer and iPod. Nevertheless, there is something about having a physical copy on your shelf that a virtual copy on a screen cannot defeat. It’s always fun to look at the artwork and lyrics in the booklets that come with the copies. There is a sense of surprise and reward that comes in waiting patiently and following the old-fashioned rules (although I will not deny having done quite my share of piracy). In following the old ways, it feels as if there is a whole other world, hidden under and buried by time and dust, lonely and just waiting for new souls to explore it.