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Physical Object Disconnection

My major problem with playing music in MP3 format is the "disconnection from the physical to the ephemeral".

If I play vinyl - god forbid I actually dare to use something obsolete - then I have piece of vinyl in my hands.

It has a cover, a sleeve and a tracklisting that I can follow .. and if I like it - i have made notes on the label to tell me what I think.

When I DJ I remember what tunes I want to play more by the physical attributes of the record/cd that I am playing.

MP3 strips this all away - I no longer have any physical reference for the music I like - in effect I have to use other cues to remember the music I like

I can't say "like maaaan - this album is soooo cooool cos it has a great cover" - and then remember it because I can find it in a stack of vinyl.

I just have the music - and the titles and artists and that is it ..

It forces me to pay more attention to the music - because I can't rely on other cues to determine what I want to play ..

Is this a bad thing or a good thing? I don't know yet - but I will persist ..

After all - there is more at stake here than the idea that music has to be "DJ Friendly" and easily marketed ...


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