Ed Droste of Grizzly Bear on the way downloading songs has changed the way we listen to music.
Getting a new album was such a big deal to me as a kid, and the magic of discovering the music and then having your opinions of it evolve after repeated listens is something I never want to lose. It’s definitely gotten harder to maintain focus on one album at a time because, like Droste mentions, it’s so easy to download a new album or some random tracks and get sidetracked to the point that you forget what you were listening to in the first place.
To this day, I’m still a fan of buying CDs. I’d miss the excitement of opening the seal, the anxiety attack of popping out the CD while fearing that you might break it in half, or the smell of the liner notes as you search for the lyrics to your favorite song. The technology may be outdated, and the hassle of storing and possibly losing/damaging the discs is frustrating, but I can’t see myself going completely digital any time soon.
In a time where everything is getting faster and easier to do, and we’re inundated with every form of media, constantly waiting at our fingertips to distract us, I appreciate being forced into investing my time and focus on a single album for at least a little while.
(quote via interview on Pitchfork)
