ARRRRRRRRRR!

Pirates. They are still awesome.

We have gone a long way from the old swashbuckling, peg-legged, one-eyed, parrot donning stereotype. In today's world a pirate could be Somalians in a tugboat with some RPG's and AK-47's or some fat kid at computer uploading a certain upcoming superhero movie. Regardless of who is doing what, pirating has become quite prevalent in today's media. What does a musician think about it all?

While I can only speak for myself on this issue (insert liability clause here) I say go and download. For too long the recording artist has been a slave to the labels they sought out. With technology accelerating, the ability to record, produce and distribute media has fallen into the hands of well... everyone. This has lead to the ability access movies, music, television for free online. Record collections have become iPods, record stores are being replaced with iTunes and the compact disc is going to go hang out with the tape deck and 8-track in the nosebleeds.

How many times have you heard the greatest song on the radio, gone out and bought the CD only to find you just paid 15 bucks for a coaster. Not even a good coaster either, damn thing has a big hole in the middle! Would you buy a car before giving it a test drive? At least now everyone has the chance to "try before they buy".

Although, some would argue that with music, "once you try there is no need to buy." While this is true in many occasions, I look at it this way. Sure, you can go online and get yourself a nice big jpeg of a Picasso or Van Gogh, print it out and hang it on your wall. Probably cost you nothing right? With the right printer and paper, it could probably look pretty good too. Now get your butt out to a museum, pay the admission (if there is one) and go take a look at the real deal. I bet you will see things you never noticed. The topography of brushstrokes, intertwining colors and a real appreciation of all the effort and talent that goes into it.

The same can be said with music. Sure, you can download an entire album for free in a high quality MP3, Flac or ACC (lossless) format. Make yourself a few copies of it on a CD or put it on your iPod. If you are happy listening to a digital representation of sound, go ahead. But I am not happy until I hear a band or musician in their element. Live. There is no protools, no retries or take twos. What you hear live is a bands true sound. The warm hum of a tube amp, the creamy-rich thud of a bass drum and a singers true range. There is nothing like the feeling of being in the same room with an artist giving it their all... for you.

What we are seeing is the beginning of the age of the live. Vinyl is going to come back in a big way as well, heck it's already started. People are starting to wake up their digital slumbers. Put on a 180 gram In Utero and you will see what I mean. If people are happy with their spacefood music, I say let them. It might taste like chicken... Let the real fans take over the industry, back to the way it once was and always should be.

"We're waiting for the dinosaurs to die out. They will die, and we will move into their homes."
-Kurt Cobain