Downloading Music - Cold

By Devon Nuckles
Aldous Huxley once said, “After silence, that which comes nearest comes to expressing the inexpressible is music.” If this is the case then perhaps music is the foundation in which we base our very lives on.

Ever since the beginning of humanity, we have used some sort of music to express ourselves. Whether it is the spirit of the hunt or perhaps the loss of a loved one, we have used music to express our current emotions. For the longest time, music was handed down generation to generation, until the written language developed. Great composers such as Mozart or Beethoven were able to write down their works so they could be stored in the archives of history.

This was the case until 1857 when the first record player was invented, the phonograph. This changed the face of music forever. Over time, more musicians were recognized and recording technology greatly improved. Society moved from vinyl records to CDs.

With new technology, especially with the Internet, the downloading of music swept across the globe. Many artists and record labels were in an outrage. Due to their outrage, file sharing has become closely monitored.

Today, file sharing appears to have stopped and legal downloads of music have increased in number. This may be due to software such as Apple’s iToons, where one can download a song for 99 cents.

However, one may ask, “Does downloading lessen the quality of music?” At one point in time, buying a new record was an experience. You would open up the case, examine the album art, and perhaps study the lyrics. The artwork would help enhance the mood that an artist was trying to create with the record. However, with downloaded MP3s one is missing this experience. It is very lackluster and bland to see only the song title on your screen.

Let us not forget an album’s sentimental value. Everyone has their favorite records with their favorite songs. It is such a wonderful and refreshing feeling to be able to pull your favorite album off the shelf, feel its texture in your hands, and place it in your CD or record player. Maybe you are doing this because you are having a bad day or because you are having a great day that you wish to enhance with music. Whatever the reason, it is great to have your favorite albums on a shelf in your room or house.

Therefore, downloading may be more convenient but it also cheapens the experience. What good is it if you just have a collection of songs that you got off the Internet? Where is the artistic experience? Where is the emotional value? Besides, how can we continue the tradition of passing down music with MP3s?