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I miss scarcity

This is not a complaint. Or, if it is a complaint, it's half-aimed at me. Mostly this is a reflection.

In the old days, I got to know music really well -- in great detail, sonically, musically, reading all the credits, the liner notes, etc. A friend would have an album I didn't, so I'd go to his house to listen. We'd talk about the music. We'd talk about how album sides hung together or didn't. We were thrilled by double albums.

Now, a torrent of information is everywhere. I listen alone, often to a single song, often not listening to anything over and over again.

You will tell me, "That's your choice." I'd half agree. It's like agreeing that "It's my choice not to live off the electrical grid." 

As I read and teach about AI, I am learning that our tools often prioritize speed and information glut. It seems, initially, like a cornucopia but it becomes a wash of "content." I must admit, I'm losing my talent for managing all this content, and I'm losing my love for it. And it's making me into a different person, somewhat, and I am not so sure I want to be that person. End of reflection.

Wizard Conjuring Cosmic Chaos Art Print featuring the drawing Let There be Content by Benjamin Schwartz

hilde45
wharfy's avatar
wharfy
564 posts
 

On a related note--with streaming services, just about every recording is at your finger tip. That's appreciated. What's lost, however, is the excitement tracking/chasing down an album to purchase. 

hilde45's avatar
hilde45 OP
6,002 posts
 

" just about every recording is at your finger tip" -- absolutely and I've benefited enormously. But something is different. Not trying to weigh it all out, just giving some air to the losing side.

ghdprentice's avatar
ghdprentice
9,429 posts
 

Very true, things are different. If you really love a process and it disappears, you feel a loss. Like in the 70’s and 80’s going to the library or being a librarian. If you love the process... enjoy the chase from card catalog to book to the knowledge... then there is a loss. If however, if that process is getting in the way of your real goal...  moving forward on your current theory, the need for the next references to substantiate or refute your thesis, then you are joyful when the process goes away and you get to the goal. Much like sailing vs power boating... sailers are in it for the process... power boaters for getting there (OK, not perfect).

For me, the move to streaming has been completely liberating and done away with wasted time... time buying, evaluating, storing, cleaning... etc. To me, I want the gold... the experience of listening. 

I’m like that in everything. I attribute my personal successes... corporate executive, mountain climber... bicycling cross country for thousands of mile, reading thousands of books, rafting the Grand Canyon... etc. to minimizing  stuff that doesn’t have value to me so I could do the high impact stuff. So, I always avoided spending too much time doing dishes, mundane tasks... etc. But that is me. 

 

newbee
4,843 posts
 

I love your cartoon! One's brain rusts from non-use. AI, IMHO is the best way to commit intellectual suicide. AI's great for finding facts quite quickly (I do this all the time) but for subjective stuff, not so much. All you get is the mother of all consensuses. I note that some folks admit to even using AI for composition. Educated folks, so they say. Kids in school must just love it. No wonder our school system is going to hell in a hand basket!  

I still enjoy wallowing in music that I have grown to love as well as in my search for music that I missed the first time. For me 'discovery' is a BIG deal. 

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