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streaming services are very cool and all, and they have definitely allowed me to discover artists that i probably wouldnāt have otherwise, but having a physical copy of music - an album, single, or a mix - is extremely important to me. i find comfort in knowing that no one can really ātakeā the music away from me in the event that spotify crashed or something. also, with vinyl, especially, having a physical copy of the music forces you to take care of it and pay attention to it. you canāt just mindlessly listen to a record because you have to get up and flip it over, and then carefully place it back into its sleeve. if you make a mixtape, you have to sit and think about what songs you want and what order you want them in. if you walk into a music shop, you canāt (or at least most of us canāt) just go in there and buy any album(s) on a whim - you have to be selective, because youāre spending money on it.
also, i just enjoy the experience of going to a record store. the smell of the old albums, sifting through all the bins and shelves, chatting with the owner - itās an experience that will always be so lovely to me, and one i would never have if i solely depended upon my phone for music.
i just believe that streaming services have allowed us to become mindless consumers of media. we take it all for granted and arenāt as intentional about any of it as we used to be. i suppose itās another form of overconsumption. once again, i am extremely glad of what the platforms have allowed me to find, and i donāt think theyāre evil, i just think many folks have lost sight of how music is supposed to be treated.
Oct 1, 2024
Related Recs
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Thereās something so intimate and special about enjoying an artist or record that isnāt on streaming services. There are a lot of reasons someone might not have their work streaming, whether itās ethical or financial or due to rights issues or simply being that obscure.
But it feels so good to have a physical record and put it on and listen to it knowing that youāre experiencing music that you love in such an individual way, where whatever path took you to discovering it is actually personal in some way and not just the result of an algorithm deciding what you should be listening to, and that you are one of a very limited number of people celebrating someoneās art solely by choice which is so beautiful and rare
Jan 27, 2025
šæ
I have a pretty decent vinyl / VHS / cassette collection and I think actually owning media is going to be really important in the coming years. I have lots of thoughts on this.
1) I think it's a misconception that everything is digitized. There are certain albums and movies (especially movies) that are nearly impossible to find on the internet. There are lots of shows and movies that have been "remastered" or now being "upscaled" with AI that are completely changing the look and feel of the original work. (ex. Star Wars)
2) Having a physical relationship with your media changes the way you interact with it. Physically moving your body and going over to the shelf and having a finite number of tapes/records to look through is a completely different experience than the decision paralysis one can get from having unlimited choices. You also will have to dive into full albums instead of taking the weekly playlist.Ā
3) You donāt need the internet to access it. You buy it once and if you take care of it - you own it forever. I donāt want to assume that the internet / streaming services as we know it them will be around forever and I donāt like the idea of a paying for a perpetual service that I will never stop paying for. Not to mention that all of these services serve as massive corporate data collection agencies that are constantly spying on you and selling your information!
Itās fun to collect things and see that old technology still has utility and save it from the landfill. It can be a lot of work (moving is a nightmare), and take up a lot of space, and it might be completely impractical but I donāt think we are supposed to experience everything in life through a 2 dimensional screen for the sake of convenience.
Jan 22, 2025
Blu-ray, vinyl records, maybe cassettes are your thing! Physical media is underrated.
Some reasons physical media is great.
ā¢ Itās fun to curate a collection of favorites
ā¢ They come in fun packagin and sometimes include fun bonuses (cards, stickers, bonus features/tracks)
ā¢ Streaming services suck. Theyāre like landlords for your favorite movies and TV shows.
Nov 19, 2024
Top Recs from @carolinebreeden
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this world is too cold and life is too short to not make sure that the people around you know you love them, that they matter to you. stop this mindset of needing to be nonchalant!!!! if someone leaves you after you tell them you love them, well, they werenāt mean to stick around anyways. tell your friends, your family, your lovers that they are what makes life worth living! that they are sunshine personified to your heart and soul!! the real ones will stay, and theyāll tell you the same. too many people donāt realize how loved they are. 2025 is the year of telling people you love them. flat out.
Feb 2, 2025
š«
iām definitely not the first person here to make a rec about this, but my tired brain is truly rejoicing. i have a very hard time completely leaving it since i communicate and share creative work through the app, but i think iāve decided i will only be on it once a week or when i need/want to post. thatās all. as an already anxious person, seeing the same anxiety-inducing general information (as in something i could easily find on google or a news app) be reposted by 20+ people on their stories has become HELL, especially these last few weeks. not only that, but the constant push of personal opinions about such matters (even if i agree with them) just seems to warp your perception of people. maybe iām just a wimp, but i donāt think humans were meant to see each other in such a way; weāre not so flashy and impulsive face to face. add the endless scrolling onto that, and itās downright exhausting and kills productivity. there is so much more dimension and depth to humans and life than what is said or done or seen through this screen. can we please go back to flip phones?
Jan 31, 2025
Oct 10, 2024