New Tech, Old Taste

It's no secret that I am sometimes slow to accept new technology. Only sheer force of will and constant belittling from others keeps me from going the way of the dinosaur in terms of new products and services. I always figure, if something still works, why change it. The rotary phone still made calls, why go to touch tone? My records still played, what the hell did I need with an 8 track? Then 8 tracks left the scene and I needed to upgrade to cassettes, only to have to toss them aside for CDs. It seems like a scam to me, but most people call it progress. It took me a couple of years to give into the DVR craze that now has changed my life more than any previous event. (Apologies to "Wife" and "Daughter") We got DSL for the computer and man the things I can see at a high rate of speed. I even ditched my answering machine in favor of voice mail. Pretty good right? Sure, but if I wanted to have any "music on the go", I had to tote around CDs like an indentured servant. My once hip "Discman" now made me look like the poster boy for 1986. It was time to jump to the 21st century. That's why I bought myself an iPod.

Sure, iPods have been around for years. I've heard people talking about them, bragging about their mix skills when they create "playlists" and comparing their libraries to those of their similarly tech savvy friends. "What would I do with one of those?", I would mutter in my best grandpa voice. "Daughter" got an iPod Shuffle last year for Christmas. I helped her put some music in her "library", but the whole thing left me uninterested. Then this Christmas, she asked for a new iPod Nano. iPods seem to get a face lift more often than Joan Rivers. Just when you think you have the latest one, a new one comes out. Now, not only can you listen to music, you can get iPods that allow you to download TV shows. We need to be careful. I've said it before and I'll say it again, the machine's are getting too smart. If left unchecked, someday, we'll be the iPods and a machine will be forcing me to remember thousands of songs and having me belt out Gloria Gaynor hits at their request. That's another story however. Santa came through and brought "Daughter" a sleek, pink Nano. I'm sure most of you have seen these things, they're tiny. The package said that this business card sized contraption would hold 1000 songs. I looked at it like a caveman discovering fire. I was able to figure out how to transfer "Daughter's" music onto her new unit, despite the fact that Apple no longer includes instruction manuals with their products. Maybe I'm the only one that still needs them. Then I listened to it. WOW! The music sounded great. I knew at that moment, my life would be an empty shell until I filled it with digital music.

I had a little cash stashed away that I was going to use for a health club membership. I'll get into that another time. Let's just say, I have been doing a lot of walking with the dogs lately, and they aren't great conversationalists. Long walks may be good for some people. Time alone to reflect on things is fine for some, but not me. I need something to drown out the continuous onslaught of the voices in my head. That's how I justified my Nano purchase. I settled on a blue one. Not a manly Navy blue, but a bright, fluorescent, "wake me up before you go-go" blue. "Daughter" thought it was "cool". Great news, I'm as cool as a ten year old girl. I decided that the majority of my tunes would come from my CD "collection". I'll probably buy some music to download, but it goes back to what I wrote earlier. I have tons of music, why would I buy more. I'll tell you why, because after spending a few hours importing music into my library, I have come to the sad conclusion that my musical taste came to a screeching halt sometime in the late 80's.

I have been perusing my library and except for a few selections, none of my music is less than fifteen years old. Sure, I imported Emimem's Greatest hits, but I also have tons of Van Halen, Reo Speedwagon and Journey. Who's cool now? My musical stagnation is probably just a result of aging. While I always enjoyed music, I was never one of those guys who was at the record store every week waiting for the latest releases. I never got into any sort of music "scene". Since I never actively sought out new music, I would settle for what I knew. If I heard something I liked on the radio, I might go buy it, or I'd take recommendations from friends, but for the most part, I would rock out in my comfort zone. Maybe as "Daughter" gets older, I'll be exposed to more new music. As open minded as I try to be, her current tastes do not gel with mine. While I may be as cool as a ten year old girl, I'm not going to spend a lot of time grooving to the "Cheetah Girls" soundtrack or getting all goo-goo eyed while listening to the latest Jesse McCartney disc. I'm off to stock my library with more "oldies" that don't seem that old to me. I still don't get how all that music will fit in that tiny player. Later...Brian