The Old Road

One thing that make me despair with today technology and downloading is the impact it has on our society.
Moreover it goes beyond the sad facts that people loose money, cannot live from the craft the people crave so much they bleed it dry, it strikes straight in the heart of Art and its purpose.
Not that I'm going to indulge myself with a definitive definition of the purpose of Art (yet) but I must show the collateral damage and consequences of Downloading.
When people download music for example, it's because it's free, because they can, because CDs cost too much...Not as much as the I-pod Nano probably but anyway they cost too much.
In old times, you had little money so you bought a record you barely knew anything about. Maybe you heard something on the radio or heard the buzz among your friends.
So you grab this vinyl or CD or tape, you put it on and you listen. You listen a lot because you don't have a lot of other record to listen to.
You impregnates yourself with it, you listen to it 'till you have discovered all its depths and highs.
Nowadays, a song and a record are just a bunch of Mo on a walkman; among how many others Mo ?
These songs become the equivalent to fast food for music...Instant music for instant result or the shuffle death will strike...
How many people do you seen looking at their Ipods shuffling and shuffling and shuffling among the hundreds of songs they have ?
For free or even bought, overconsumption is the key problem of this.
With so many songs available, people starts to spend less and less time on it... nor even artists do the same composing. The music loose its added value. Songs must catch the listener right away to please and /or sell.
Art becomes fast food, fingerlickin' good but with no real taste, no real craft in the making and without a real sensation of fullfillment.
Art is starting to become senseless because we stop taking time to look into it with a grid of understanding and meaning. Mass consumerism is slowly killing Art and all the good it can bring. Don't get me wrong... Plenty of choice is good, free legal download is good to discover things but in the end take time to discover things that can really rock you world.