August 3, 2004

CD's and iTunes

I have almost 2000 CD's. I have 1,000 albums as well, stashed in my mother's garage, but that's a different story. It's the CD's I want to talk about.

The reason I want to talk about CD's is because I feel like I've cheated on them. I just started buying songs from iTunes.

Don't get me wrong. I'm not considering selling my CD's after loading them on an iPod. My wife just asked me if I'd like an iPod for my birthday but I don't feel a 41 year old man should be walking around with white headphones. I don't like my portable Discman's either, and can't remember the last time I used them (I have two).

I still thrill in going to my favorite used CD stores, Amoeba in Hollywood and Music Exchange in Glendale, both of which have fine selections of recent releases. Amoeba is just amazing, with seemingly everything I could ever want.

So buying from iTunes is kind of a shock. I've bought many CD's for just one song, but now I can buy just the one song! Or, as in the case of new releases from Rev. Horton Heat and Southern Culture on the Skids, I could download the whole CD, cover art and all. It's awesome.

I'm not sure if it's just because I live here in Ventura, where the used record stores aren't that much fun. Near me is Beat City Records, across from Ventura High, who deal mostly in used vinyl. I don't really like them because they pretty much ignore me when I'm there, even when I buy stuff. I'm not even special in that sense because they seem to ignore everybody. I usually drop $65 to $70 every time I'm in a used CD store, so it makes me wonder what it is about me. And even the previous owners ignored me. Poor selection, unfriendly staff, not for the casual CD buyer. (Eds. note, 8/8/04-I drove by yesterday, and everything was out of the store. I hope they did'nt go out of business because of this!

Another place to be ignored is Record Outlet on Main by 5 Points. I even ordered a stylus for my turntable from them, and gave up on getting it after they didn't call when they said they would. The owner said I'd hear from them in three to five days. A month later, after buying the stylus someplace else, they called to say that they'd have it soon. They're also not very nice to my kid when I'm in there.

At Wild Planet Downtown and Salzars, off the 101 at Victoria they're at least friendly. Wild Planet tends to skew to the high school punk crowd, and those days are over for me. Salzars, on the other hand, has a good selection, but things are always just a little more than I want to pay. The Wherehouse used section was interesting because I was never sure what I would find, with some things priced too high, others incredibly low. But now there are no Wherehouse stores within 50 miles of me.

Back to iTunes. I bought music from Canned Heat (Let's Work Together), Pink Floyd (See Emily Play), and Outkast (Hey Ya) in one sitting. Sure I miss the thrill of holding a CD in my hand, but why would I buy an early Pink Floyd CD? I didn't really like Pink Floyd when I was in high school either, though I own The Wall and Dark Side of the Moon. I also picked up the one or two tracks from each of the Rolling Stones albums that were worthwhile from the 80's,

I kind of miss the tattooed and pierced sales staff of a CD store, but I never seem to have the time to spend anymore. I still buy from Half.com and Ebay if I know I want the whole CD, or CD Baby when I'm feeling adventurous. I'll still stop at Amoeba or Music Exchange when I can come up with a reason to be in Hollywood or Glendale.

But iTunes might turn into my main way to buy music.

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