It's the end of the world as we know it....

Being an avid iPod user since last July, things have sort of, y’know – changed. Many different facets of my listening habits have been altered. But as I sit at my PC and try to write something entertaining and intelligent for my throngs of fans, I ask myself the question:

“Has my topic for this blog already been beaten to death by the mainstream media?”

I’m not sure, but it’s something that I’ve given a fair amount of thought to, since I bought the little life-changer. And since I don’t receive cheques from the good people at blogstpot.com, I really don’t give a rat’s rear if others have already written about this – this is MY blog. Ahem. Anyway, I think it’s far and away the best toy I have ever owned. It’s been money very well spent.

The iPod has completely changed the way I consume music, both at the listener level, and at the buying level. All the while, I’ve been thinking “Is this worrisome for anyone or anything? And the answer to the question you’re thinking is “no, I’ve don’t have anything more important to think about”. I’ve thought about it, and it seems that the more time you spend with your iPod, the more it seems like a manipulative lover - but the kind that you have no desire to divorce or break up with.

At first it’s this total love affair. You can do things you never dreamed about with your iPod: Download, rip CD’s, shuffle, create playlists suited to your mood or who you’re hanging out with, and on top of it all, you can cram a TON of your (and other people’s) music onto this little gizmo and it fits into your pocket while you’re carrying six bags of groceries home from the GigantoMart. You speak passionately about its value & functionality and the utility which you derive from it.

But then, you come to some dramatic (well, fine, not THAT dramatic) realizations - of which you’re unsure of your own true feelings. You panic and decide that there are some conscious decisions which must be made if you and that iPod are going to continue to stay the course and try to live with one another in “harmony” (Whoo! Wasn’t that “pun”?).

Everyone loves the “shuffle” feature that the iPod offers. It is great. It’s like having your own personal radio station. You never know what’s coming up next. My issue with the shuffle, is that it’s killing the notion of what was formerly known as “the album” or the “LP” (these terms have recently been replaced by the catch-all term “CD”). Why is this important, you may ask? It’s important because so many artists wrote and produced their songs which were part of a much greater context, and the entire compilation and order of those songs was sometimes designed to be listened to in a particular way. I chose not to put Pink Floyd’s Dark Side of the Moon on my iPod – because a) I just don’t really need to listen to it on my drives to work or on my walking routes, and b) because it’s a total “concept album” which needs to be listened in the previously described fashion. A piece like “Brain Damage” is an instant “skip-over” track. When listened to as part of the flow of the LP, it’s an incredible piece of thematic excellence (I don’t know if you’ll know what that last phrase means, but it sounds good to me, so I’m sticking with it).

All in all, I am trying to listen to songs on albums in the formulaic order that the record company felt might grab the listener. Once I KNOW the album and its flow, I’ll hit the old shuffle button and throw it in there with all my other all-time faves.

My CD shelf which houses all my discs has also become somewhat of a red-headed stepchild in my apartment. Oh sure, it used to be cool: It had all kinds of impressive pieces of music crossing paths with it, and when I had guests over, they would tend to gravitate to it to scope out all my discs. Even my futon and Lay-Z-Boy tried to kiss its ass and be its buddy. Lately, the only thing that wants to go near it, is dust.

How did this happen? You’re probably saying to yourself “That’s so sad. CD shelves need love too”. It’s simple. The iPod killed the need to be continuously heading to the shelf to take out and put back discs.

Buying CD’s (which I still do) and subsequent ownership has become an odd notion. The batch of 3 I bought this past Sunday went right onto the iPod via my PC, and then was banished to the CD Shelf for storage. I never even actually listened to the discs themselves. Of course, the music on those discs has been absorbed by my ears several times each at this point due to the fact that my iPod is always on me.

Which brings me to my next point If I didn’t own it, I would still be shlepping CD’s around in my pockets, in my car, or from the CD shelf. With the iPod, I never have to pick and choose which CD’s to take with me on my walks or my car rides to Montreal. I don’t have to worry about scratching them either I have a good chunk of my entire collection on me at all times (yes – at ALL TIMES). This allows me to listen to far more music far more often. Scary, but a blessing.

The whole downloading/stealing/file sharing thing is another thing that’s been beaten to death. No doubt. I see the arguments from both parties in this debate. Downloading music illegally does hurt smaller acts who are trying to eke out a living between touring from bar to bar, and from the sales of a few thousand CD’s. However, it’s also getting those same acts to the ears of some fans who may otherwise never choose to buy those CDs, thus never hearing their music, and thus never telling any of their friends how much they enjoyed the act’s music. Quite the dilemma indeed. It’s pretty obvious that more of today’s up and coming acts have no qualms with letting fans download their music, and many are even enabling fans to sample the goods via their websites.

As technology evolves, I am sure the folks at Apple or some competitive technology, will create even further functionality which will up the bar even a little further. I plan on upgrading my iPod when it takes pictures, tunes my guitar, and cleans my bathroom. Either then or when my battery dies, which is scheduled to happen a year into my ownership. I’m looking forward to yelling at someone in a "Best Buy" in June.