I wonder if we have collectively worse memories than in the past partly for the fact our devices are constantly upgraded and replaced. Likewise fast fashion etc.
As someone who have barely been exposed to these technologies (it's already outdated by the time they got mainstream in the country, and the old is always competing with the new), I can agree with you. Right now, there is a firehose of options aimed at people and I believe we don't have the necessary framework to cope with these. I have some strong memories associated to particular tracks just because they were the only one I've been exposed to at those point of times. With streaming, everything kinda fade into the background, because everything new is instantly available (and there's something new every second). You can watch anything (so you watch nothing because you skip and switch when it's got a bit boring).
It's gotten to a point that I'm restricting myself to a few options filtered some strict criteria for any media. I refrain myself from switching with a combination of friction and self discipline. My music listening is almost always from local media and album centered. I read fiction books only from my ereader and when I switch (slow because of the interface), that means that I don't intend to finish this particular book. This means that I have to either focus on the current item to consume it, or not consume it at all. And for those I do consume, it had lead me to a greater appreciation of the item, just because of the attention I've devoted to it.
All my computing devices are linux PC's (except one Android phone) - despite the UI churn linux in 2024 is much the same as linux in 2004 underneath and I have a reasonable chance of properly troubleshooting any issues.
With Linux you are always the `user` and not the `consumer`, it's a different paradigm.
Despite been a life long nerd, Gadgets have never been a thing I liked so it was easy to just not buy them.
The devices and media might change more often, but the important stuff -- the content -- is much more persistent than it ever was.
Between 1924 and 1974 the primary format for listening to music only underwent minor changes (78rpm to 33 1/3 rpm; 8track showed up but my understanding is that it was still generally secondary) and new hardware was at least sometimes backward compatible with older media.. Between 1974 and 2024 there have been at least three major primary format changes (vinyl to cd to mp3, four if you count cassette).
But here in 2024 if someone actually wants to listen to music from 50 years earlier, it's incredibly easy. For example, per wiki fifty years ago this week "Boogie Down" by Eddie Kendricks and "Rock On" by David Essex both entered the Billboard top 10, and amazon's willing to sell me digital versions of their containing albums for, respectively, $8 and $9. In 1974 if someone actually wanted to listen to music from 50 years earlier, such as seen here: https://rateyourmusic.com/charts/top/single/1924/ then good luck. Maybe they were re-issued, but you'd probably have to do some legwork to discover that, maybe your grandparents kept their copy and it's still listenable, maybe you've got a really good secondhand record shop nearby, but it'll take effort, gumption, and luck.
skydhash|2 years ago
It's gotten to a point that I'm restricting myself to a few options filtered some strict criteria for any media. I refrain myself from switching with a combination of friction and self discipline. My music listening is almost always from local media and album centered. I read fiction books only from my ereader and when I switch (slow because of the interface), that means that I don't intend to finish this particular book. This means that I have to either focus on the current item to consume it, or not consume it at all. And for those I do consume, it had lead me to a greater appreciation of the item, just because of the attention I've devoted to it.
noir_lord|2 years ago
All my computing devices are linux PC's (except one Android phone) - despite the UI churn linux in 2024 is much the same as linux in 2004 underneath and I have a reasonable chance of properly troubleshooting any issues.
With Linux you are always the `user` and not the `consumer`, it's a different paradigm.
Despite been a life long nerd, Gadgets have never been a thing I liked so it was easy to just not buy them.
bigbillheck|2 years ago
Between 1924 and 1974 the primary format for listening to music only underwent minor changes (78rpm to 33 1/3 rpm; 8track showed up but my understanding is that it was still generally secondary) and new hardware was at least sometimes backward compatible with older media.. Between 1974 and 2024 there have been at least three major primary format changes (vinyl to cd to mp3, four if you count cassette).
But here in 2024 if someone actually wants to listen to music from 50 years earlier, it's incredibly easy. For example, per wiki fifty years ago this week "Boogie Down" by Eddie Kendricks and "Rock On" by David Essex both entered the Billboard top 10, and amazon's willing to sell me digital versions of their containing albums for, respectively, $8 and $9. In 1974 if someone actually wanted to listen to music from 50 years earlier, such as seen here: https://rateyourmusic.com/charts/top/single/1924/ then good luck. Maybe they were re-issued, but you'd probably have to do some legwork to discover that, maybe your grandparents kept their copy and it's still listenable, maybe you've got a really good secondhand record shop nearby, but it'll take effort, gumption, and luck.