Scott Freeman

For those of you who are interested in such things, here are the albums I chose to download this month with my Emusic package. Now I have to wait two more weeks, aargh.

Camera Obscura–Let’s Get Out of This Country
Melissa McClelland–Thumbelina’s One Night Stand (I’ve had her excellent ’04 debut for several months and finally decided to pull the trigger on her latest. I hadn’t downloaded it previously because I was unable to stream up. But it did not disappoint.)
Lloyd Cole–Anti Depressant and The Negatives–(For the Matthew Sweet fan in each of us.)
Warren Zevon–The Wind (I don’t know why I’ve never downloaded this before. It is as absolutely heartbreaking as a farewell disc is meant to be.)
Maria McKee–Late December (The former Lone Justice singer continues to churn out top-rank albums. But this is her most daring and adventurous yet. It was just released last month and deserves a close listen)
Arcade Fire–Neon Bible (I’m still not quite sure what all the fuss is, but this album is growing on me)
Of Montreal–Icons, Abstract Thee (I didn’t have enough tracks left to download their most recent full length so I thought I would give this EP a spin. Tremendous.)
Belle and Sebastian–Sing Jonathan David (3 tracks left? Nothing beats one of the B&S EP’s I don’t have yet.)

That leaves new releases by The Twilight Sad and Of Montreal at the top of my list for next month. I’m sure I will add to my Camera Obscura collection and tack on Neutral Milk Hotel as well.

I love eMusic.

In mid-2003, when I stopped living in denial and owned up to the fact that illegally downloading music was a sin, I signed up with Rhapsody.  For 10 bucks a month, I was able to listen to all the music that I wanted to while at work.  If I wanted a CD copy, I could burn whatever I wanted for .79 a tune or 8 bucks an album.  When I bought my most recent MP3 player, I jumped up to the $15 plan where I had unlimited downloads to the player.  Now, I had all the music I wanted, all the time, for just a few bucks a month.

But, that player died after just 6 months.

So, I decided to pony up to the plate, follow the teeming masses, and give Steve Jobs an even firmer grip on world domination.

Now, I’m not one of those guys who prefers PC’s over Mac’s.  I really don’t care.  But I have resisted IPOD’s until now.  After doing a ton of extra mystery shops to pay for it, I splurged and got a 30GB Video Ipod (the black one).

First off, it’s uber-cool.  I love it.  It’s sleek and holds every single song ever recorded.  I can download copies of The Office and other TV shows.  I have videos and photos of the girls on there.  I can create a folder for my Barry Manilow and Air Supply fix.
With that said, can I rant a little? Forgive me, in advance. (Tracy, I know, I sound angry.  But, with all of the Apple execs reading this blog, it might do some good.)
Someone told me (you know who you are) that you had unlimited listening through ITunes. Guess what? You don’t.  You see, the afore-mentioned Mr. Jobs believes that people would rather own music than rent it.  Therefore, no subscription service.  If you want to listen to a whole song? .99 cents.  No streaming, no listening unless you give him a buck.

Great plan, Mr. Jobs.  No one wants to “rent.”  That’s why Blockbuster is bankrupt.  The greatest part of Rhapsody was that I got to download countless tunes for only 15 bucks a month.  I didn’t feel slighted or gypped.  I felt like I was getting the best of both worlds.

Besides, I get sick of songs quickly.  That’s why I have violent thoughts when I hear “You’re Beautiful” and “Bad Day.”
Is it really about owning or renting?  Or is it about money?  Is it about an obsession with overtaking Microsoft? The subscription model would cut into the bottom line, wouldn’t it?  You can’t overpower Bill Gates if you sacrifice a few billion, can you?
And not only that, IPOD’s won’t work with Rhapsody, Yahoo, Napster or any other service. We can’t be vassals if we serve another king, right?

And what has your iTunes program done to my computer?  It took me 3 days to figure out how to get my optical drives back.

I love my iPod.  It’s obviously the creme de la creme of MP3 players.  But creating millions of mindless automatons who pony up to iTunes because they know of no other option and are bound to you regardless is not the best way to bolster the corporate image.

But, really, it’s great.  I just believe it could be better.