Saturday, May 16, 2009

Saratoga Trip/I Still Buy CDs (for now)

So I am one of the only people I know who still insist on physical CDs versus downloads, at least some of the time.

There's something satisfying to me about going to the store, flipping through stacks in search of your prize, finally finding it and actually holding the thing in your hand, and then getting it home & unwrapping the plastic. Inhale the new CD smell. Press PLAY. Ahhh...

But it is getting more and more annoying to do this, considering all of it is virtually free to pick from the tree via my laptop. I am in Saratoga NY today (had to come up to get some important documents out of my storage stuff) and needed tunes for my trip back to Philly tomorrow. I went to the local Borders in search of the following:

M. Ward Hold Time
Camera Obscura My Maudlin Career

I located the first, but the latter was nowhere to be found. In general, the CD selection at Borders plain sucks these days. I know record sales are down in the wake of downloads, but is it the appropriate response to slash your music section, making it MORE DIFFICULT for people like me to obtain the music they seek? Borders now seems to have thrown all their eggs in the DVD/Blue Ray basket as I guess that's what people are buying more of now. Fair enough. But I'll end up downloading the Camera Obscura album with zero guilt.

PS: I DID check out the indie record store in Toga as well, but they focus more on used stuff. And Vinyl (but that's a different post...)

I did end up picking up a totally unexpected purchase. The Fleet Foxes album was on display at the store, and after the good things I've heard about this band I ended up listening to it on the headphones and was totally swept away by this album and am listening the shit out of it as we type/read this. So I guess they "won" after all.

(shaking fist to the heavens) BORDERRRRRS!!!!!!!!!!!

-Wrence

3 comments:

Hooks said...

In Saratoga and no phone call?? WTF?

Lawrence said...

Sorry Sarge! I was only in town for a day & a half...anyway your facebook status showed that you were out at a lake somewhere or something.

Email me sometime & we'll setup a face to face/brew to brew

Hooks said...

Nice...sounds like a plan - we haven't had a brew to brew in a while. I do believe Kyle McMasterson is in town this coming weekend (Thursday actually) for DMB @ Spac...I will definitely be in touch though.

My secret word is KINSI.