Barradas
Dear
14-11-2024
Long after my mom passed, my father started to change things around the house, making it feel empty. The sofas where my family used to sit while watching TV were now covered in those old people "wrapping plastic" and, more than ever, the house felt as if it had been abandoned by time itself. My father was getting older and one could clearly see it. He became more rooted and less adventurous. Our minds were drifting apart and so was I.
I moved to a house two hours from his after finding a job elsewhere. Visits became rare and, we would sit silently on his sofa, with little to share, since we no longer had much in common. In one of those visits I began humming the melody from 'We'll meet again' by Vera Lynn to fill the dead air. My father, recognising the song, said, "I love that song", but his words were already hard to understand. I asked him to repeat what he had said and, annoyed, he replied, "I love that song". I nodded my head and agreed. It was indeed a great song.
I left that day and never saw my dad alive again. He passed away one day later and I still can't listen to that song without crying.
Everything above was a lie.
I based that entire story on a 4chan post I saw on instagram years ago. While all that is fake, doesn't the beauty of the story grow with the addition of such an emotional piece of music? Does music not represent something so deep in much of the memories you have of it?
It's undeniable how music enhances our experiences and resonates with us, but how do we relate to it? That's something I've been feeling more and more lost with. I used to not get the idea of Spotify. How can a kid evaluate a service like Spotify when Youtube used to give me all the music I wanted and more? Why switch to a more limiting product? Since then I've given it a lot of thought and I think I've found an answer.
It's all about being connected with the experience. It's like an old console you still take out of the closet from time to time to play. It's a more genuine approach to music. Your attention is not divided by a video of a guy opening Pokemon and a song you've been listening to. You are as close as you can get to music as an authentic experience without paying for the full authenticity. But are we that close? Imagine there are no streaming services and there is no way to share music on the internet. Your only option is a physical release (be it bootleg or original).
Your friend told you about an amazing group he has been listening to and you haven't heard of it so you schedule a meet-up at his house to listen to the music. For me that is more than enough to send me into an inappropriate yearning for such an experience in which music takes an intimate yet simplistic experience. When I envision these kinds of experiences I imagine something like Pink Floyd's 'Wish you were here'(1975), Radiohead's 'OK Computer'(1997), or even The Beatles' 'Revolver'(1966). An album with a complex blend of elements that, together with the presence of friends, creates an otherworldly experience.
That said, I've been giving it a lot of thought and concluded that we need to make owning a home sound system something everyone must have again. Time and time again I go to a party and they put music on the television and I swear to god that if I wasn't desperate for human interaction whenever I leave the house that I would leave the party immediately. I don't know if I feel the same about digital home sound systems (which are basically just speakers and I can also get around those much better than a low quality digital home system) but that raises questions on physical media as a whole, which is also valid.
It is extremely important to mention: I do not judge people if they are unable to do so. I don't think it's as important to everyone as it is to me, as I really enjoy this aspect of the hobbie. If you also identify with that, then I think that in some way you will also relate to what I'm saying. It's something of a ritual (almost a Ghost reference) to have that little trade between not having to get up to change the music you are listening to (let me dream) and getting back to your seat. You become more patient about listening to a full album (which people tend, more and more, not to do). Plus, the sound quality tends to be better.
I had 2 experiences close to what I described and both sucked. The first one was when I was much younger and bought my first Metallica album, 'Hardwired to Self-Destruct'(2016). I was so happy with the purchase of the deluxe edition that I took it to a friends house once in order to show it to him. I'll never forget his words: "Why did you buy a CD? Don't you have Youtube?". It took me by surprise how far away we were on musical interest levels. We ended up playing the album on his room sound system (stolen from his living room) but it was nothing more than background noise. The other experience was 2 years later, a year after Royal Blood released 'How did we get so dark'(2017). After some failed music recommendations to my friend, I got him hooked on Royal Blood with their single 'Little Monster' from their self-titled album from 2014. He quickly became hooked on 'garage rock' and I gifted him 'How did we get so dark'(2017). After school we went to his house to listen to the record together. It was a nice experience but it was not as exciting as a first-time listen (which we'd both already had). Plus we had to look for his Playstation 3 through the house in order to listen to the CD because his mom took it from him as a punishment. Because of that, this second experience entered the category "songs played through a TV", which deducts all points from the listening experience.
Why don't we have media parties anymore? Last year 'Scott Pilgrim Takes Off'(2023) was released and I was extatic. I'm a sucker for Brian Lee O'Malley's work and this was the first time in a long time we were getting anything besides phone wallpapers from his instagram, so I scheduled a watch-party, which ended up being cancelled. Why does no one try to do the same anymore? Of course, I'm not only talking about Scott Pilgrim but TV shows can also bring that shared experience vibe. Other media like, for example,
After a quick search, I found that there was a single included with the vynil, had you bought it early. 'I Love My Family / Arching knees'. Two amazing tracks which you can get no place else. No where. Stop looking. Ok.. You can find it online in some places I won't mention.
Wait! What was I talking about? Oh yeah.. Exclusive releases! How will we save music from the future of devalued music? Well we won't. Corporate greed will!
With music being so accessible, we tend to think of it as an experience that can wait and doesn't generate that much desire. If we wait for an album and it sucks, it sucks. But it is also normal. Our expectations rarely match the reality but one thing is certain: we will try our best to keep them that high. Artists that release different versions of their music end up putting the unsuspecting listener in a state of increased interest. When I find extra releases not as accessible such as 'Never Again'(2021) by Black Country, New Road, I don't need to listen to it to be excited. The lack of accessability makes the search an adventure amazing enough to better cherish the experience. Take down after take down, music like this finds its way into more mainstream platforms. Then the discussion begins: how good was the rip of the song? One says the song seems accelerated, which makes it not the best of qualities, so we now look for a better one. Oh, the song was once again taken down. Time to look again. In the time we took to find that one song, we found value in it. We have now taken the time to look further into the artist, its sound, and a community involved in exploring and collecting information. In the search for more accessibility, we turned more into less and, with this, we fought back and transformed less into more once again. Those extra features and extra releases are the way to go. Even though I believe all music should be accessible and not hidden behind a paywall, is it that hard to find the song you wanted to listen to? There are so many resources out there that each day I'm closer to having all the knowledge regarding music releases at the tip of my fingers (and I'm not even in those "hidden obscure" forums). At this point... If you think that's too much of a hassle, were you even really interested in the experience to begin with?