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The Nostalgia of Old Media
There’s absolutely nothing like holding an old black and white family portrait in your hands. Weathered and battered, maybe a little musty-smelling. There’s also nothing like holding a 40-year-old vinyl record in your hands, pulled out of the sleeve while taking a moment to admire the artwork and track listing, then placing it on the turntable, letting the needle drop every so gently on it.
While you may not share in either of these two experiences, I KNOW you can relate to something like it. These are the tangible elements of media that are fading away in technology’s wake. I’m not getting ink or lead smeared on the right side of my hand as I draft this post. No, I’m giving my fingers a workout as they type feverishly on my keyboard. Click, click, clicking away (and not in the cool typewriter sounding way).
Vinyl records have been able to make a significant comeback. People love the experience and thought of vinyl. But I fear for poor photographers and the seemingly ill-fated return of film, and for recording engineers and the return of analog tape in the recording studio. These beautiful mediums are lost due to the extreme cost benefits of using digital methods to capture the art.
Even as a tech-heavy guy, I worry as I snap photos on my phone or digital camera and dump them onto a hard drive that might fail in a year or two. (This is why you BACK. UP. folks!) I also worry as I burn a CD of an intangible set of mp3s, wondering how long that CD will last as it gets kicked around the center console of my car.
But what can we do?
As technology rapidly advances, we are quickly drifting away from being able to experience these tangible events and occurrences in our lives. While our smartphones, laptops, and digital cameras are making life much easier, they’re also killing the seeds of nostalgia. I really don’t think the next generation is going to get the same nostalgic feeling from swiping through .jpgs on their iPads as I do when holding a musty black and white photo.
Do you?
Categories Digital Media, Outside the Square
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I have a very personal connection to vinyl, mostly because I discovered music and vinyl in tandem at an early age. I can recall scouring every part of an LP, sleeve, and jacket—I was in heaven (and of course Diana Ross was my soundtrack).
But you were born in the CD age, so your connection to vinyl, though similar to mine in many ways, is more rooted in your much more sophisticated, nuanced appreciation for the music, the technology, and what vinyl delivers that other media cannot.
And hey, don’t forget the eight-track tape! It introduced me to Joni Mitchell, Barry White and the Love Unlimited Orchestra, The Spinners, and many, many more….
But you’re right about the volatility of new media. It’s why I have rarely bought music (only) online: I’m afraid of the ephemeral nature of an mp3 and I’d rather have something to hold onto (though you rightly point out that the CD I’m holding may fail in a few years).
We unintentionally introduced music to our son (now 2) with vinyl and we soon realized what a great experience it is for a child. He loves to put the record on the turntable, watch it spin, push the button to lift the needle… we talk about the songs, we sit and look at the covers, we dance nearby as it spins. And he’s also learned about caring for something delicate- putting the records back in their sleeves, not touching the needle. It’s a ritual and it’s a lesson in reverence and respect. Not to mention a lot of fun. It’s amazing that the method of delivery creates this experience. I wish we could find new ways of making music so valued and such a pleasure.