Did The iPod Kill Album Art?
Feb2610:04 AM
Filed in: Opinion
What was once an integral part of the music experience, album art has now been relegated to a tiny digital photo on the screen. Sure, you can zoom in on your computer screen and admire it in all of its grainy glory. But album art is no longer supplementing the music with an additional element of intrigue that it used to.
Don't get me wrong, I'm not here to complain about mp3 files "killing" the industry, nor am I bemoaning the tiny digital pocket companion (the iPod) that so many of us have made a part of daily lives. I'm simply commenting on a fact; album art no longer holds the same sense of intrigue which it once did. It's no longer adding something to the experience of listening to an album.
I'll admit, I've never been a vinyl collector. I was raised with a simple, dual-deck ghetto blaster in the 80's...so my product of choice in high school was the cassette tape. Admittedly, tiny cassette graphics weren't any better than what digital album covers are now. But when I went to friends' places who had vinyl collections, I was always struck with a sense of awe. Touching and holding the album sleeve, taking in the smell of the vinyl, opening it up and taking in the artwork while you listened to the album.
There's something about vinyl that just begs for a stronger connection to the music. Instead of listening to the music while multi-tasking and not really appreciating every note and nuance of the music (like we do now), vinyl compelled you to hold the album sleeve while you listened to the music, reading along with the enclosed lyrics for the entire duration of the album.
I found a few blogs commenting on this topic as well:
"I feel like the attention deficit disorder society we live in has trashed any enjoyment I could have from just sitting back and listening."
"...they teach people that music is for the short term, a throwaway consumable to be had in seconds at ADSL speed, rather than a piece of art that must have time infested to get the most out of it? I once decided that the more I hated an album on first listen, the better I would eventually love it. These days if a track doesn't do it in the first three seconds its off to the back of the thousand strong line, possibly never to return."
Vinyl offers music lovers a connection to their art that CDs, and especially digital music, struggle to replicate. So, what's the solution?
Well, there is an answer for you.
If you feel like you're missing something and just don't care about music the way you used to, buy yourself a turntable and pick up some vinyl, new or used. You'll feel a renewed connection to both the music and the artwork, that you're sure to welcome.
Thankfully, record sales have been increasing dramatically in the past few years. In fact, 2008 was a banner year for records, with sales up 89% over 2007. This means that if you own a record player, the selection available to you today is greater than it has been in the past 15 years. Aside from collecting gems at garage sales, and picking up the latest buzz worthy indie releases at your local vinyl shop, Amazon now carries over 250,000 vinyl titles to choose from.
Lastly, say what you will about mp3's, but you definitely can't pull a Sleeveface (people holding a record cover over their own face) with an iPod!
Sleevefaces:
For more examples of this cool internet trend, or to submit your own, visit the Sleeveface Facebook Group or just Google it.
- written by Brian Thompson
