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Thread: The Age of Content Overload on Music and other media

  1. #26
    Highly Evolved Orangutan JKL2000's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Reid View Post
    I dropped out of TV culture. I no longer own one. And I don't carry a cell phone on my body every waking hour. I still frequent our one independent record store in town, and I hope they survive for many more years. But it's a far cry from the days of huge stores with a gigantic selection of music. But hey, these are first world concerns, so I can't really bitch and moan.

    I consider myself lucky that my cell phone doesn't work when I'm at work - I get no signal. So if someone wants to reach me, they have to call or email me. I do still have internet access, but since I'm at work I limit my use of that for personal things. So that's 8 hrs per day with no texts (not that I get a lot of texts), no Facebook (I don't use it at work at all), etc.

    I mentioned this on a different thread before, but I remember reading in a metal-related fanzine the editor had a method for buying albums. It was something like for every three new metal albums he bought, be bought one old-school metal album, to make sure he was educating himself on classic metal. I kind of liked that idea, and have been thinking lately that a more disciplined listening "regimen" might be a good idea. Something like, choose 5 albums per month, or maybe three, that you really want to get familiar with, and make sure you listen to each one three times at least. Something like that. Just to sort of counteract the more scattered listening habits I sometimes have.

  2. #27
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    If nothing else, it's all just a matter of what keeps you busy. After many years of record store browsing, and trying to discover new artists with nothing more than radio, magazines and perhaps an odd television show, flipping through records was a crapshoot of instinct and imagination, and it was always a 50/50 shot whether the record was going to be good or not, even with an established/known artist. This former hobby could occupy hours of any given day.

    At least these days, one can preview what they want to own as far as physical purchases. Search by genres, comparable artists, etal.

    As for oversaturation, along with all of the other "so called" advancements, most people with a computer can create music at home, and market it. Just find a niche or a genre, and a fan base, and shazaam. This of course garners mixed results for the prospective consumer. As for the disposable culture, thats more a philosophical thing for me. The music I love will last a lifetime, the music I like I can take or leave, the music I am indifferent to, well, you guess the rest.

    If nothing else good has come from the age of oversaturation, it has to the gift of discernment, both by musical artists, and the fans of music. It has pushed artists to really try to create a quality, meaningful listening experience, it seems for my ears anyway, that is as true today, if not more so, as ever. Whem considering the internet's influence? My favorite thing about the internet and music is the ability to find and hear archival, obscure music from around the world, some I really couldn't do back in the 70's. I am sure I have as many favorite new (OLD) bands as just plain new bands, thanks to this global community.

  3. #28
    I'd like to think someone on this website has a little more room in their brain to check out a new band or two despite many of us saying we don't. At least two threads going right now are quite eye-opening/worrying. It's funny with all of us musing about starting new bands and everyone being overwhelmed with choice. I'll tell you, a decade in since reforming and 3 albums under our belt (in that decade) I kind of agree that even in the 8 years since the first of those 3 albums came out, I would hate to be starting now. To an extent when you put out every album....any album, you're doing things similar to bands that are starting from scratch but you at least hopefully have a reliable amount of people (that grows every album) who put you on "autobuy" i.e.-they're a "true" fan who believe you good enough from past experience that you won't put out something that's bad-it will at least be "interesting" if not a "home run". In this respect-in this little prog universe-the fan is kind of like the way the record companies used to be when they would let bands have a few albums to hit their stride.

    I think it's good to be realistic like Kerry is being but I do wish and I think there's still "enough" people curious about new bands seeing friends raving about something or a website or magazine rating certain albums highly or year-end lists revealing certain albums to the point where there's some critical mass that gets some of us to press play on some website where you can hear the album you've perceived to be getting good press/good word of mouth or what have you. Every year there's got to be a few albums that are in your particular prog "wheelhouse" whether you like the tried and true prog sound of the big 5 or something more "out there". With all the people here too busy or just not interested in seeing bands live, how can we explain the appearance of any bands that seem to be getting "known" if we're not listening? Methinks a good amount of us have to be listening. How else do you explain a Bent Knee or whoever.

    Another interesting post came from a Thieves Kitchen band member who mused on their band's transition to a studio-only entity. We often think about going that route and since one of our band members doesn't play with us live (the Maurice White or Pye Dubois-if you will-of our band) he is always suggesting we stop worrying about playing live. Somehow we are still able to (helps being in NJ) and view playing live as a way to make a few extra bucks and a few extra fans. But seriously, the numbers-absent a good festival slot-are slowly inspiring us to possibly do what Thieves Kitchen has done because like them we really do get a jolt from writing/recording/releasing new albums and manage to not lose money doing it. Let's be honest. Not losing money making prog rock is a win. It's nice to aspire to more than that but I put this up as my defense to my wife when she wonders "why" we "do" this. I say some guys go fishing, some golf, some hunt...we make music.

  4. #29
    Moderator Poisoned Youth's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by 3RDegree_Robert View Post
    I'd like to think someone on this website has a little more room in their brain to check out a new band or two despite many of us saying we don't. At least two threads going right now are quite eye-opening/worrying. It's funny with all of us musing about starting new bands and everyone being overwhelmed with choice.
    I think that in addition to a supply/demand problem, you also have a large subset of prog fans that are "stuck in the 70s" and are generally not interested in trying new things. Once you add the demographics of the avg. prog fan and their priorities changing over time, it's not an easy market to penetrate.

    Not losing money making prog rock is a win. It's nice to aspire to more than that but I put this up as my defense to my wife when she wonders "why" we "do" this. I say some guys go fishing, some golf, some hunt...we make music.
    I think that is the best approach these days. When you go into the studio and you record your efforts, you are still - in effect - publishing your creative works, which is an accomplishment in and of itself.
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  5. #30
    Moderator Poisoned Youth's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by MJBrady View Post
    If nothing else good has come from the age of oversaturation, it has to the gift of discernment, both by musical artists, and the fans of music. It has pushed artists to really try to create a quality, meaningful listening experience, it seems for my ears anyway, that is as true today, if not more so, as ever.
    I can't say that I have seen any evidence to this. I would say that the overwhelming sentiment (not that I agree) is that technology has allowed "amateurs" to create recordings in droves, leading to a plethora of "average" music, musicianship, and recording quality.

    Whem considering the internet's influence? My favorite thing about the internet and music is the ability to find and hear archival, obscure music from around the world, some I really couldn't do back in the 70's. I am sure I have as many favorite new (OLD) bands as just plain new bands, thanks to this global community.
    Oh yeah. And with YouTube (opinions aside), it's easier than ever. It's pretty much "1. discover obscure album", "2. pique curiosity", "3. search YouTube and listen".
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  6. #31
    I haven't owned a television set since February 2008, and I can't remember ever missing it - although I used to watch it constantly until that fresh decision. I threw the whole friggin' thing in the trash as the last item of my then-apartment before moving from Oslo, having cleaned out the place for the next resident's takeover. Spent the night on a rug watching TV, got rid of it sometime before dawn. Got on a train and left.

    I do sometimes watch the news and the odd series through web access nowadays, but not much to speak of. I still go to cinema, I still read my fave paper weekly over beer and supper at the local tavern, and often the daily too at the corner café. I buy used and new vinyl and actually find time to play them when I freak out over scotch every other weekend. I still purchase CDs online (although less than before), and I most certainly seek out new artists.

    I still even write the odd letter, and especially if there's a lady at the other end. I still don't own a car or any other vehicle, not even a bicycle now. I wear a sixpence, black shoes, a jacket and sometimes even a tie (used to collect them). I buy physical reading material at the bookstore. If I go to holidays by the coast I'll bring a radio or perhaps a CD player sporting batteries (and weirdo sound), and I'll have drinks from bottles, meats off the grill and when I'm lucky there I'll befriend some natural breasts in the seawinds. Female ones, both the breasts and the seawinds.

    I'm not a rich person, monetarily speaking. But I do what I can to enjoy life. I wouldn't want to go either back or forth. Although we're all somehow going there anyhow.
    "Improvisation is not an excuse for musical laziness" - Fred Frith
    "[...] things that we never dreamed of doing in Crimson or in any band that I've been in," - Tony Levin speaking of SGM

  7. #32
    Member Jerjo's Avatar
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    I've still got some of the enthusiasm for THE HUNT but age and the constraints of time are dimming it a bit. A lot of my music time in the last couple decades or so has been spent in finding and exploring different genres and subgenres (some of them not even related to prog ) and music recorded outside that golden '65-'75 era. This morning I listened to a Steven Wilson compilation, some early Dylan, Thelonious Monk, and Echo & the Bunnymen. I've got Ryan Adams & the Cardinals braying right now. I may be schizophrenic.

    The daunting task for me (besides having the time to hear it all) is storage. I spend so much time in my home office and thus the bulk of my listening is driven off my computer. And the memory limits of that device are straining. I could easily add another 500gb of tunes without blinking an eye. Not to mention another 100gb of games. So I'm often shuffling music off and on my laptop depending on my mood. Right now I'm a little heavy on jazz piano trios but that mood will pass and then I'll move some of those off to make room for my next whimsy. It'd be nice to have it all at my fingertips but that means a new computer, more dependable external drives, and an upgrade in the office system. I need new shingles on the roof and a basement renovation after that so I think it'll wait. I'll live with what I've got.
    I don't like country music, but I don't mean to denigrate those who do. And for the people who like country music, denigrate means 'put down.'- Bob Newhart

  8. #33
    Highly Evolved Orangutan JKL2000's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Jerjo View Post
    I've still got some of the enthusiasm for THE HUNT but age and the constraints of time are dimming it a bit. A lot of my music time in the last couple decades or so has been spent in finding and exploring different genres and subgenres (some of them not even related to prog ) and music recorded outside that golden '65-'75 era. This morning I listened to a Steven Wilson compilation, some early Dylan, Thelonious Monk, and Echo & the Bunnymen. I've got Ryan Adams & the Cardinals braying right now. I may be schizophrenic.

    The daunting task for me (besides having the time to hear it all) is storage. I spend so much time in my home office and thus the bulk of my listening is driven off my computer. And the memory limits of that device are straining. I could easily add another 500gb of tunes without blinking an eye. Not to mention another 100gb of games. So I'm often shuffling music off and on my laptop depending on my mood. Right now I'm a little heavy on jazz piano trios but that mood will pass and then I'll move some of those off to make room for my next whimsy. It'd be nice to have it all at my fingertips but that means a new computer, more dependable external drives, and an upgrade in the office system. I need new shingles on the roof and a basement renovation after that so I think it'll wait. I'll live with what I've got.
    So are you going to just delete the jazz piano trio stuff after paying for it? Why not just buy a cheap external hard drive?

  9. #34
    Member Jerjo's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by JKL2000 View Post
    So are you going to just delete the jazz piano trio stuff after paying for it? Why not just buy a cheap external hard drive?
    All digital music that I don't have on CD or LP is stored on cheap external hard drives. I just move it on and off the computer where it's always a competition for room. NOTHING gets deleted permanently (unless there's a catastrophic hard drive failure, like the one I had a few weeks ago).
    I don't like country music, but I don't mean to denigrate those who do. And for the people who like country music, denigrate means 'put down.'- Bob Newhart

  10. #35
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    Quote Originally Posted by Poisoned Youth View Post
    Good point to bring up. I do think when reading this that our idea of "skin in the game" has changed as well because the definition of "product" is changing. Let's forego the obvious "CD vs. download". You don't feel like much of a owner of "fresh smelling MP3s". However, cable TV and streaming video and audio sources are also arguably "product" (though more of a service). You are gaining access (which of course is not the same as ownership) to product. And we are gradually migrating to a society in which ownership will be a thing of the past.

    I'm still surprised people are buying DVDs and Blu-Ray discs of theatrical releases. It seems to make much more sense to go digital only. At least with a CD it's a pretty pain-free process to rip to a different format.

    Anyway, it will be interesting to see in another 10 years what constitutes ownership in the media world.
    I think the television argument is a good one, and well worth bringing up as a comparison. I tend to agree that buying a DVD of a single movie, especially a modern one, seems redundant. Unless of course it has significant bonus material that is actually worth owning (if such a thing exists). But for older movies, where access is not guaranteed, and especially television series (even modern ones), the argument becomes a bit more strong for ownership. As someone who also seeks out older movies (especially in the spy/crime genres), there are plenty of films that are not easy to find a viewing, and I'm still hunting them down as they may have never been issued on DVD (or even VCR). Except illegally of course (which I personally avoid).

    So what I highlighted above is probably the key to it all. Access. If you think about it, when most of us were kids, television was free. All 4 to 6 stations depending on where you lived (we had 6 here in DFW in the 60s and 70s, because we lived in "the big city"). Now we pay handsomely for TV, and usually in some sort of bundle with other things (internet/phone/home security, etc...). You cut that access, and suddenly your CD/LP (even download) collection looks a whole lot better. We tend to take for granted that YouTube, and all these other online avenues will always be there for "free". And I wouldn't be surprised if at some point, these services (like uploaded albums on You Tube) do get shut down. I'm certain this has been talked to death by those in the industry, but right now it's open season.

    Of course the other arguments have all been discussed here on PE (and RMP... and AMP before that...) about the wondrous feeling of pulling off the shrink wrap of an LP, the excitement of finding a rare import at the store, or admiring the triple fold out digi-pak, or whatever. Those experiences tie in greatly with the music you are about to listen to. And only a cold soul would not admit that. But that's a tangent that gets away from your main observation.

  11. #36
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    Quote Originally Posted by Jerjo View Post
    All digital music that I don't have on CD or LP is stored on cheap external hard drives. I just move it on and off the computer where it's always a competition for room. NOTHING gets deleted permanently (unless there's a catastrophic hard drive failure, like the one I had a few weeks ago).
    Besides a physical drive for backup, I use iTunes Match which for $25 a year stores a copy of everything in your iTunes library in the cloud. I recently had a massive hard drive failure so when I bought a new computer, I just re-downloaded everything onto the new drive. It took a while for 10k+ songs (roughly 100G), but when it was done, everything was there including playlists, original music of mine and stuff I had ripped from my CD's that wasn't available in the iTunes store.

  12. #37
    I have spent much time in the last three months going through vinyl bins, and buying tons of cheap records. I have really been enjoying myself, and it's helped in my appreciation of classical. There is a big movement in championing unknown artists, if you go to youtube and type in loner folk rare private xian psych you come up with a lot of this music. It's "out of the channel" of the music that is probably overloading or boring some of the people in this thread. There are a lot of music fanatics that love out of the way music. I'm not sure a lot of them are mainly into Prog rock, this category of listener is almost mainly into that kind of music.

  13. #38
    Quote Originally Posted by regenerativemusic View Post
    I have spent much time in the last three months going through vinyl bins, and buying tons of cheap records. I have really been enjoying myself, and it's helped in my appreciation of classical. There is a big movement in championing unknown artists, if you go to youtube and type in loner folk rare private xian psych you come up with a lot of this music. It's "out of the channel" of the music that is probably overloading or boring some of the people in this thread. There are a lot of music fanatics that love out of the way music. I'm not sure a lot of them are mainly into Prog rock, this category of listener is almost mainly into that kind of music.
    It's ironic, but I think that the music fanatics of the former era are the ones in the best position today to make hay of the present circumstances. Those of us who built up large record/CD collections over time and who spent some time being fans of the classic bands before they became legacy bands know the music (by virtue of playing much of their collection a lot over the years) and have a depth of knowledge that I think is unlikely to be acquired by younger fans of today who are just as fanatical, despite access to the information and the music being more easily available than ever. When you've got nearly everything ever made easily at one's disposal I think the tendency is to sample quickly and then move on. But what to sample? I just think that if you come to the present circumstances with the depth and breadth of knowledge that took so many years to acquire, you can have a kid-in-a-candy-store kind of experience that would be less likely for similarly situated music fans who didn't live through the earlier era.

  14. #39
    Member Yodelgoat's Avatar
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    I am finding more and more that I want to hear stuff I havent heard in a long time. It just seems to make me feel more alive. I've recently dug into deeper tracks of some of my favorite bands, and I'm amazed at how much music I have "forgotten" it all come bubbling back up and I find myself slipping back in time to younger - if not happier times when music was such a huge part of what I did every day. The deep tracks (usually the longer ones too) seem to be very effective at making me feel less old. I just put on the Rare Earth live album, and being something I hadn't listened to probably since I was 15. It was just amazing. I thought of people I hadnt remembered, it was almost revelatory. Its amazing how quickly the parts all came back. I used to listen to music until I wore out albums, meaning I would know every second of these albums. The Steppenwolf Live album also took me way, way back...

    In the past decade or two, I hardly had time for the deep tracks on albums and Ive been listening almost exclusively to playlists rather than to entire albums. Right now I'm skipping the "preferred" songs and delving into what I used to really have time for. and its delightful. I havent bought much new music lately, and I find I am doing OK with just the old stuff, but reaching into the crevasies. Wow, quite a lot of fun.

    I'll probably interrupt my walks into my past, by picking up the new Big Big Train and probably the entire catalog, and then with Glass Hammers new album...

    Ah, the joys of it all....

  15. #40
    Highly Evolved Orangutan JKL2000's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by regenerativemusic View Post
    I have spent much time in the last three months going through vinyl bins, and buying tons of cheap records. I have really been enjoying myself, and it's helped in my appreciation of classical. There is a big movement in championing unknown artists, if you go to youtube and type in loner folk rare private xian psych you come up with a lot of this music. It's "out of the channel" of the music that is probably overloading or boring some of the people in this thread. There are a lot of music fanatics that love out of the way music. I'm not sure a lot of them are mainly into Prog rock, this category of listener is almost mainly into that kind of music.
    Do you get a lot if you leave out xian?

  16. #41
    I have a love-hate relationship with technology. The internet has allowed me to provide for my family by working for a company 2,700 miles away from the comfort of home. And we all have a world of information at our fingertips. For someone who grew up with five TV channels and a rotary phone on a party line, it blows my mind how far we've come in just a few short decades.

    But the downsides are many. Information overload affects all of us, I think. The role of gatekeeper, in news and entertainment alike, has all but vanished, allowing quality entertainment to get lost in the deluge with the bad and unchecked news sources to spread their misinfomation around the planet before the truth ever has a chance to catch up.

    We have more information, but it seems as if most of it is just noise, and filtering it out can be a monumental challenge.

    Our family does what it can to control the flow of information in our lives, but we could probably do better. We don't watch TV, for starters -- that's a big one. I also try to limit my experience to social media, though I get sucked in like anyone else. I wish I didn't have to rely on a cell phone, but I need it for work.

    My wife does MP3s and e-books and streaming movies, while I still buy physical media. Maybe that's a way for me to control the inflow of data, too. Or maybe it's nostalgia. Or maybe it's the fact that in a world where everything feels ephemeral, I like to have something tangible I can put my hands on and say I own something more than a mass of electrons on a hard drive.

    Or maybe it's all of those things.

    As for whether music has less value for me today, I don't think so. It's just harder to find the good stuff. I don't have the time to devote to music that I did when I was younger, but I think in my case that's mostly a result of being a parent. If I didn't have a kid, I'd like to think I'd carve out time to listen to music the way I used to.

  17. #42
    Moderator Poisoned Youth's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Jerjo View Post
    The daunting task for me (besides having the time to hear it all) is storage. I spend so much time in my home office and thus the bulk of my listening is driven off my computer. And the memory limits of that device are straining.
    Why not just connect your external hard drive to your computer so you're not using the internal drive and its storage challenges?

    For myself, I have a hard drive and a backup drive. I also have everything backed up to DVD data discs (there was way too much effort put into ripping everything not to have a 2nd backup...heh).
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  18. #43
    Moderator Poisoned Youth's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by ashratom View Post
    So what I highlighted above is probably the key to it all. Access. If you think about it, when most of us were kids, television was free. All 4 to 6 stations depending on where you lived (we had 6 here in DFW in the 60s and 70s, because we lived in "the big city"). Now we pay handsomely for TV, and usually in some sort of bundle with other things (internet/phone/home security, etc...). You cut that access, and suddenly your CD/LP (even download) collection looks a whole lot better. We tend to take for granted that YouTube, and all these other online avenues will always be there for "free". And I wouldn't be surprised if at some point, these services (like uploaded albums on You Tube) do get shut down. I'm certain this has been talked to death by those in the industry, but right now it's open season.
    Good points. I prefer to have a local copy of what I can. Instead of ripping my DVDs, I went the "grey area" route a few years back. Now with streaming, I often just use Netflix or Amazon Prime. But that said, they lose the license of programs and movies over time and suddenly your access is cut off. And, none of these streaming services are "one stop shops". They have significant gaps and overlaps in catalog, leaving a lot of great movies and television behind.

    So the annoying thing is that you do pay out the wazoo for access to the widest variety of content possible, but you cannot choose the content (well, to a degree you can) so it ultimately pales in comparison to ownership - or even local digital files.

    And yes, it's fair to say that in another 10 years the landscape could look very different. Physical media could be wiped out (they are already trying to phase out all the players) or all "free access" like YouTube could be a thing of the past.
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  19. #44
    Moderator Poisoned Youth's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Yodelgoat View Post
    I am finding more and more that I want to hear stuff I havent heard in a long time. It just seems to make me feel more alive. I've recently dug into deeper tracks of some of my favorite bands, and I'm amazed at how much music I have "forgotten" it all come bubbling back up and I find myself slipping back in time to younger - if not happier times when music was such a huge part of what I did every day.
    What sold me on digital files was my experience in the year or two after I had converted all my CDs to MP3s. All of a sudden I had access to my entire collection on 1 storage device. I started using "shuffle mode" and it was like my own personal radio station. I would make playlists of music from a certain year, from a certain label, from a certain country, of a certain style, etc. It really opened up my ears to the collection I actually had, most of which (as just a matter of time) was collecting dust on my shelves. I began to hear so much of the music I already owned but only knew by memory.

    While there may be something to be said for those who go to a record store, grab an old piece of vinyl and relive their physical and visceral experience from the 70s, my "renaissance" and rediscovery period was going digital.
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  20. #45
    Moderator Poisoned Youth's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Adrian View Post
    I have a love-hate relationship with technology. The internet has allowed me to provide for my family by working for a company 2,700 miles away from the comfort of home. And we all have a world of information at our fingertips. For someone who grew up with five TV channels and a rotary phone on a party line, it blows my mind how far we've come in just a few short decades.

    But the downsides are many. Information overload affects all of us, I think. The role of gatekeeper, in news and entertainment alike, has all but vanished, allowing quality entertainment to get lost in the deluge with the bad and unchecked news sources to spread their misinfomation around the planet before the truth ever has a chance to catch up.

    We have more information, but it seems as if most of it is just noise, and filtering it out can be a monumental challenge.
    Great post. I largely agree. I think from a lifestyle standpoint, the two things that have really frustrated me over the last few years in regards to technology and information are:

    1) As you state - so much noise and misinformation, especially as you put it, instantly viral before the truth has a chance to catch up. And, what's worse, most people digest that information instead of question it or take it with a grain of salt.

    2) The inability to disconnect, especially with work/life balance. I am sort of a "hub" in my job and have employees, owners, customers, and sales leads all vying for my attention. When you can be reached by phone, text, and email, I've struggled mightily at times to disengage, even on vacation.

    We don't watch TV, for starters -- that's a big one.
    All these people without a TV or not interested in one! I can't relate. It might help to point out though that our company creates video content, so it has always been a part of my career.
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  21. #46
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    Quote Originally Posted by Poisoned Youth View Post
    All these people without a TV or not interested in one!
    When I moved to the mountains last year I decided to give up TV and I haven't missed it a bit. I have no need to hear about the carjacking in Long Beach or the murder-suicide in West Covina or any of that bullshit. I can stream live local news when necessary (like the past 2-3 days with a wildfire burning very close to where I live) but otherwise I have Netflix to keep me distracted, in addition to YouTube and whatever else is out there (PBS streams, etc). I don't miss network TV in the slightest and to think of what I was paying! I'm saving money and my sanity.

  22. #47
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    Quote Originally Posted by Poisoned Youth View Post
    Why not just connect your external hard drive to your computer so you're not using the internal drive and its storage challenges?

    For myself, I have a hard drive and a backup drive. I also have everything backed up to DVD data discs (there was way too much effort put into ripping everything not to have a 2nd backup...heh).
    I just had two external drives go tits up a couple weeks ago. One I was able to reformat and that's now the only backup. I'd just as soon not put any strain on it until I can afford a couple new 3T drives and money is really tight right now. Those external drives just aren't built for daily use. They wear out one way or another. Solid state drives are ridiculously expensive so I won't be going down that route.

    The other issue is no matter which media player I use it freaks out when I expose it to that music folder. Just way too many ROIOs and I end up with just thousands of files classified as unknown album/unknown artist. Untangling that kind of knot would take just a freaking lot of time.
    I don't like country music, but I don't mean to denigrate those who do. And for the people who like country music, denigrate means 'put down.'- Bob Newhart

  23. #48
    Member Staun's Avatar
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    All of this, we are like children with new toys and don't know quite what to do with them. So, we get a mass of everything. Overwhelmed. The question for me is, what is it doing to self, culture and society. Actual communication with others should also be on the list of things we are losing.
    The older I get, the better I was.

  24. #49
    I remain a physical media person.

    I have recently been limiting my time on social media due to the US presidential campaign. I've gotten overloaded with it from all of the parties and candidates and so I check it for messages and to admin my genealogy groups and move on.

    One of the things that concerns me (and this speaks more to me for genealogy than for music) is what happens to all of this information? I run three facebook genealogy groups and we have hundreds of photos and files that in certain instances are available nowhere else as they came from personal files that were scanned just to be uploaded to one of our groups. What happens when I'm not there to oversee it? Can we be sure that there will be a facebook in 10, 15 or 20 years? What happens if all of the data from other genealogy sites cannot be accessed?

    As to music, some guy with a band that makes an album and uploads it go band camp or a streaming service is not guaranteed that music will still be there in 30 years if the service is no longer there. As someone mentioned earlier, Netflix changes content. A friend of mine recommended the film "Nebraska" to me so I watched it on Netflix. It's not there anymore. Fortunately, I bought the DVD so I don't have to worry if Netflix has it or not.

    I don't have a smart phone, I watch some shows on Netflix (more than I used to) mainly because my kids want me to watch with them. Mostly my free time is spent listening to music, genealogy, and reading (physical books, of course). Most of what I want to see I have on DVD like the entirety of the Star Trek universe, or Ken Burn's Civil War. So I'll stick with the physical media, which as someone said, gives you the perception of being somewhat in control of what you see/hear.

    Bill
    She'll be standing on the bar soon
    With a fish head and a harpoon
    and a fake beard plastered on her brow.

  25. #50
    Outraged bystander markwoll's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by KerryKompost View Post
    I have no need to hear about the carjacking in Long Beach or the murder-suicide in West Covina or any of that bullshit.
    This, to me, gets closer to the point.
    Somebody somewhere gets killed/married/cured/humiliated in public. Does it affect me in any way. Not really. It raises the noise floor quite a bit.
    If it is something important to me, I will find out. Sooner or later.
    It's all about ratings and ad prices, not about news.
    "It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it."
    -- Aristotle
    Nostalgia, you know, ain't what it used to be. Furthermore, they tells me, it never was.
    “A Man Who Does Not Read Has No Appreciable Advantage Over the Man Who Cannot Read” - Mark Twain

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