What Am I To Do With This CD?

I loaded a real live CD into my computer today for the first time in months. It had music on it. And I wanted to listen to that music. So I took said CD, inserted it into the drive in my computer, after a few moments my computer registered said CD and my experience began. I was bored. Yes I had the music (which was great) but I wanted more. I took out the booklet that accompanied said CD, read it. It was full of insightful, curious, mind bending information, like where the CD was made, who the sound techs were, and most importantly...the lyrics. The lyrics to the songs that I was listening to. It was a multi-dimensional experience. And I was blown away...the only thing missing were my 3D glasses.

The fact is, downloading music from a CD is ridiculous. I don't see any merit in it...the sound quality between a CD and music from the interweb is the same when I am listening on my computer and the difference is negligible from downloaded song to stereo vs. CD to stereo (whereas vinyl is a totally different experience).

The process made me realize how much I a) appreciate blogs and music websites and those folks who pour their hearts out to make listening to music a broad experience...an act of discovery and b) the innate social value that music has and c) the compact disk's coldness and uselessness.

Prince, I love you but the web is not dead...and it's poetic that you released your CD with a medium that may truly be dying...newsprint.

Now I have coasters.

R.O.C.K.E.R.S & the Magic of Ernie B

At 20 years old I had dreadlocks to the middle of my back, a radio show called The Electric Church, a healthy dose of self righteousness and a serious love of reggae. Sans dreadlocks and radio show, armed with touch of self righteousness and a crate of vinyl I'm wandering through the yester-years. And it made me want to share.

Before there was the endless swath of digitized music, finding the gems was a rare art that required utmost patience. I did not possess such patience, but I did have a healthy love for music and the catalog to Ernie B's reggae super store. Tonight, inspired by the sounds of the R.O.C.K.E.R.S. soundtrack I set out on the world wide web to see if Ernie made it across the digital divide. He has: http://www.ebreggae.com/. My life will never be the same.

Oh and if you haven't see R.O.C.K.E.R.S - good god - dig it:



Chalk up. Break out the headphones. Dive in.