RAMBLINGS FROM JEFF
 Greeting my music-loving and music owning friends, In my previous blog, I shared my thoughts and a YouTube video from 'SoundMatters' about the social, psychological, economic, and emotional importance of purchasing and owning the physical medium of the music you listen to. I also asked for your thoughts, opinions, and experiences. I further said that I would choose the best response to post in my following newsletter and offer them a free CD and T-Shirt. Well, my peeps, we have a winner. Below is an excellent short editorial on the importance of owning your music by Mr. Paul Leslie. Please enjoy his words of wisdom and check him out at www.thepaulleslie.com. He is a very fascinating and intelligent man who is worth your time. A huge thanks to everyone who submitted a response. Happy record collecting! Happy Record Collecting, Jeff  Streaming music is everywhere, and because of that it can be started and stopped in an instant. It's so effortless that you sometimes don't realize what you have at your fingertips. There is an art to listening, and one of the keys is to reduce the distractions and really absorb the music. For me, playing a CD or vinyl record is an experience meant to be enjoyed completely. This means from the silence before the first track starts, all the way to the very last note gradually fades away back into silence. It also ideally means staying away from screens, which is harder to do with the streaming services. You may find that the more simple your environment is, the more you can enjoy the music. That's not always easy to do with your phone beeping every other minute from texts and one notification or another. Streaming on Spotify or Apple Music can be convenient at times, but they can deprive you of a quite different experience. For me, frequently some of the music I enjoy the most is perhaps a bit rarer to find. There are some real gems out there. Some of them used to be on Apple Music and Spotify, but guess what. They no longer are. Others never were there! I'm always thankful in those cases that I have the CD or record. Sometimes it's really the only way you can hear that particular recording. There's also the visual element. Some of the cover art and booklets are really beautiful, truly creative works in their own right. Reducing some of the stunning album jackets out there to a small glowing cluster of pixels feels like a crime. Furthermore, I can think of liner notes that have essays, excerpts from literature or even a word from the artist that have inspired a greater thought, or a different way of looking at the music I heard. Sometimes it's an indelible part of the whole experience. Most of the time, the great album you just heard was not the work of only the primary artist with their name emblazoned on the cover. That's almost never the case. Frequently there were other songwriters, a record producer, audio engineers, and session musicians. Their names deserve to be known or at the very least accessible. It's another reason that truly owning your music is important. For anyone who is in doubt about what they may be missing, I offer this easy to do idea. Instead of listening on a streaming service like you normally do, get an album. It really helps to have quality speakers or decent headphones. Put on a CD or vinyl you really like, but close the door and turn off the lights. Consider closing your eyes. Stay as far away from an open laptop or your mobile device as you can. They should be in another room. Listen to your album, from your library from beginning to end. Now tell me. Do you feel any differently? Paul Leslie The Paul Leslie Hour   The Importance of Owning The Music You Listen To
“There is nothing more dangerous than to build a society with a large segment of people in that society who feel that they have no stake in it; who feel that they have nothing to lose. People who have a stake in their society, protect that society, but when they don’t have it, they unconsciously want to destroy it.” - Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. "…And that, I would argue, is what we’re unconsciously doing to music – we’re slowly, but surely destroying the value of music by removing the consumer’s stake in any collective music culture. It is my belief that ownership of music in a physical form is as essential to music culture as homeownership is to society. In an age where homeownership is becoming increasingly difficult for young generations to achieve, this may stir up some controversy, but I really do believe that music matters more when we own it. Can't find an album or track you love on Spotify? This happens a lot, and it's one of the core reasons why music ownership matters. Quite simply, if you value the music, it's best to own your own copy - preferably on vinyl. But there's more to it than just access. There are huge societal implications (at least in terms of music's importance in our society) when we shift from music being something you own to something you rent." - Marc Henshall of Sound Matters. Greetings, my music-loving friends, I hope you took the time to read the previous quotes above seriously. I agree 100% with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Marc Henshall and believe this is happening to our country and music, but I would rather discuss music instead of politics. I have collected music since I received my first small record player when I was five years old. My first 45rpm was Johnny Rivers - Secret Agent Man, and my first album was Johnny Rivers Golden Hits. These events started my love affair with recorded music that would last for the rest of my life. 45-RPMs, albums, EPs, 8-tracks, cassettes - all would become a lifelong obsession and envelope a large part of my heart, physical living space, and my money. I could write several long blogs on this topic, and I may at a later date, but today I encourage you to watch this video by Marc Henshall, or if you would instead wish to read it, you can do so by going here - "The Importance of Music Ownership." I am curious about what you think about this topic, and I would like to know your story and opinions on physical vinyl/CD collecting. So please write to me and let me know your story. The author of the most exciting and captivating story will be given a free T-shirt and CD, and I will feature your story in a future blog. I look forward to reading about your love for music. Happy Listening, Jeff |
ABOUT"Ramblings From Jeff" - is a dedicated personal blog page within JeffPike.com written and posted by Jeff Pike. 
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