Jarvis Cocker isn't the biggest fan of technology. "I just don't get My Space," he said in a recent NME interview. "Don't you have to give it a lot of attention? And answer emails from people? I'm terrible at that. It was the same when answerphones first came in - I didn't return messages. Then I didn't return texts, or emails.... And now there's this cyber-atollment which you must attend to. I don't see what's wrong with writing a nice letter. Or you could go round to someone's house and say hello and talk to them!"He adds, "You can get 15,000 songs on your iPod, and people just want to fill it. They're not bothered by what the songs are. Nobody takes music to heart - it's all about having it. It's not a major problem in Western civilization, I'll admit, but it took me a long time to build up a record collection. You don't have memories."
Cocker does make a good point. My father compiled a rather extensive record collection of around 400 over a 15-20 year period. Last month alone, I probably got 7 or 8 new albums, either via downloads or exchange. At that rate, my collection would grow much faster. The problem with acquiring so much music is that I, in fact, do not have the time to listen to all of it. This was actually an issues I began grappling with this year, as to whether I would actually be able to appreciate music or if I was too busy trying to have an informed opinion on everything.
This seems rather indicative of where our culture is at, and I'm not convinced that its an entirely bad thing. Information is simply transmitted, received, interpreted and analyzed at a faster rate. We are no longer waiting till the evening news or next morning's paper to fight out what is going on, and furthermore we are receiving a far greater amount of opinions on what is going on than ever before. There is of course an easy tendency to put a high value on the way things were before, and it is sad that certain personal interactions get lost. I think a healthy dose of technological skepticism is important, yet I also think this new way of dealing with information is making our society smarter.
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"This is Hardcore," Pulp
4 comments:
That must have been some scary when Jarv wagged his finger at you, because doesn't he just have freakishly long fingers?
You make some really well considered points about the rate at which we are collecting music and whether we can have time to really appreciate it. I think though, that we are probably able to access that music much more easily and for many more hours per day than we used to. I mean who listens to radio anymore?
That said, I'm of mixed minds as to whether or not technology's rapid rate of increase is positive or not. I think it may be contributing to a collectively shortened attention span.
I think having faster access to music has made me a more selective listener. I used to hate it when I dropped $25 on a new CD and it was 99% shite! Now, if I hate it, I delete it...it has also opened up the door to discovering SO many new and old artists that (a) I might never have heard of or (b) would not have spent money on due to the aforementioned risk factor that it might be crap. I embrace technology, although I respect those who prefer to sit and write a letter on good old fashioned parchment while listening to an a full album they purchased.
Jacquie - I enjoyed your commentary on My Space back when you became friends with Billy Bragg. I was into it for a little while but I frankly have no motivation to "pimp out" my page with graphics and whatnot. Though Chris Brokaw told me when I interviewed him that he's noticed fans discovering him through the site.
Dave- I'm certainly thrilled about how fast the access has become. When I was in high school, there was a sunday night radio show that played some good stuff - but that was about it. When I got to college, I first experienced Napster, and I was hearing a greater variety and had greater options. The growth since then has certainly allowed for me to discover bands that I would have no chance of hearing otherwise. The only problem is that the floodgates have opened, so every halfwit with an acoustic guitar is posting songs ... so there can be a lot of garbage to sort through. Then again, that's what obsessive bloggers are for.
Barbara - He may have been in his costume from Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. That's true about the hours - I'm certainly listening to the iPod on my way to work, and streaming audio at work. Radio seems like kind of a dead medium. I think you're right that it does mean shorter attention spans. I think it's healthy to balance some blog surfing with a novel. It's probably good to take a walk in the park, as well.
Great discussion everyone. Let's try it again sometime.
great point, will - it takes time to let an album/cd worm its way into your psyche, and not all will be revealed to you at first listen. Somethings bear a lot of contemplation before you feel the direction of the whole album. At least the good ones are that way. I marvel anew at old favorites all the time, and I feel sad for people who don't really delve into the substance of music and find true meaning and contentment there.
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