Addicted to the Consumption of Music

[Guest carthief]

Hi,

 

I know this isn't a novel thought, especially with all of the analyses of what it means to have so much music "freely" available to the public, etc., but as a lot of you are quite intelligent, music-enjoying folks I thought I'd put this out there and ask for feedback.

 

I'm obsessive with a lot of things in life, but I've found that my "need" to obtain all the music that I believe I'll like, which is a lot, prevents me from enjoying what I have and basically eats up way too much of my free time. The second I find something I like, instead of sitting back and enjoying the album many times over like the good ol' days when I paid for each album and then rode it out (because I didn't and still don't have enough money to buy a shitload more, and wanted to give the album and my money as much of a chance as possible before giving up on it and selling it back for scraps), I instead immediately go and seek more of the same music, more albums by the same artist (almost always their entire discography), etc.

 

The anxiety that arises from my not-seeking and obtaining new, or previously unknown to me, music stems from both a fear that, if it's new I will forget about it and won't find it again, or that I'll forget about it and never get to enjoy something that I might have really liked. I know, it's ridiculous and self-sabotaging.

 

It seems like there's an unbelievable amount of new music coming out that I would really enjoy. And there's always the mountains I've yet to mine. Does anyone have tools or suggestions as to how to deal with this? I did start a notebook of artists/albums I wanted to get into and remember, but a lot of it is, instead of just listening to something I like, I'm simultaneously seeking out/downloading something new.

 

I would guess that the best thing to do would be to go back to paying for the albums I obtain, unless it's something unobtainable/out-of-print (although that becomes a very slippery slope). I still believe in supporting artists I really enjoy, and feel guilty about taking liberties in this "free-for-all" age.

 

In any case, I love you guys. I haven't checked in here often lately, mostly consumed by work, etc., but every time I peek my head in and just look at the threads on the first few pages I'm reminded why I love you all so. The closest to an electronic home I will probably ever find. =)

 

Oh yeah, and fuck facebook.

 

<3

[roasty]

[joshuatxuk]

I felt the same way years ago, back when I had access to a high-speed p2p network in college. You know what helped? I had a hard drive crash. Twice. Stop downloading music all the time. Stream music and only note and look into artists you really enjoy and come back too. Buy vinyl or other tangible releases if you can, but feel terrible for not buying "new" releases by "new" artists. I think it's better, in the long-run, to focus on certain musicians or certain genres in terms of collecting and owning music. That's true fandom. What's better, a few dozen records you love and cherish or a hard drive of thousands of mp3s you will never listen to?