TV and computers are wrecking home and emotional life.

[Globalti]

It rained all day Saturday so I lit the stove and settled down to play though my collection of old cassettes and CDs. I haven't played music on the stereo for months and it was a real pleasure to hear music through good hi-fi speakers and not just tinny computer speakers or ear phones. What was unexpected was the waves of emotion that the music brought over me as I remembered times, experiences, feelings, moods of the time and all kinds of things I'd forgotten. When we were first married my wife and I used to sit down and play CDs, which led to trips to the music shop to buy more of the same and our CD collection growing and growing. Reading about music, researching and finding recordings became an enjoyable hobby; we used to go into shops like Decoy Records in Manchester and actually chat with the guys then listen to recommendations they played us; the same with a classical music shop run by an elderly couple in our local town.

How do we spend our evenings nowadays? The arrival of digital TV with dozens of channels has been a disaster because there's always something to watch. There are now five computers in the house so all our bandwidth gets gobbled every month and somebody is always online. With the internet, our lives have extended in new and exciting directions as we email and tweet and go on web fora like this and browse catalogues or Ebay or short samples on iTunes or watch videos on Youtube. We have never been better informed about the outside world yet we are completely neglecting our inner lives and emotions. Saturday was a good day for me because it reminded me of the value of just putting on music and daydreaming. A funny Youtube video just doesn't have the same emotional impact as a beautiful and poignant piece of music, especially if you know some of the story behind the creation of the piece.

 

[fossyant]

We're trying to get back to just sitting down and watching a movie on a Friday/Saturday evening - usually kid suitable, but gives a bit of chill out time as it's hectic otherwise.

Plenty of music we haven't palyed for ages, but we've just made the LP collection accessible again, and the printer has gone off the top of the HiFi, so the 'record deck' can be got at.

 

[sheddy]

Agreed, I think the rot started in our house when my wife came home with a set-top box.
I'm hoping that our forthcoming allotment will turn things around

 

[thnurg]

The LP killed the pub sing-a-long. The car killed the buggy whip industry. TV killed the serial matinee at the pictures. Video killed the Radio star.
I enjoyed this article recently regarding progress in media technology. http://torrentfreak.com/the-copyright-industry-a-century-of-deceit-111127/
Basically whenever I hear someone pining for the old ways and lamenting the new ways I want to scream. It wasn't that long ago that the old ways for which you pine were the new ways that some other codger was lamenting was killing their old ways.

 

[Glow worm]

The LP killed the pub sing-a-long. The car killed the buggy whip industry. TV killed the serial matinee at the pictures. Video killed the Radio star.

No it didn't (dons anorak). Radio is now more popular than ever before. Here are some headline figures from the good folks at RAJAR (Radio audience research bods) from last month:

O
90.7% of UK population tune in to radio every week
O
Total listening hours up 2% year on year
O
Listening via a digital receiver reaches 28.2% of all radio listening
O
Internet listening hours up 15.4% quarter on quarter
O
Access via a mobile phone up 24.2% year on year


There's more at http://www.rajar.co.uk/docs/news/data_release_2011_Q3.pdf
(Removes anorak)

 

[thnurg]

Thanks Glow worm. Most informative. You missed the point I was trying to make (albeit I suspect deliberately) but thanks anyway.

 

[StuAff]

I have hours of iPlayer downloads on my Macs, some of them a couple of years old, because I'm too busy cycling to watch much TV

 

[marinyork]

If everyone owned PVRs or downloads/catchup was more advanced that it is, there would not be much need to rigidly stick to so called linear tv. What tends to happen is you end up with loads of stuff on your hd and then watch some other dross instead .

 

[Glow worm]

Thanks Glow worm. Most informative. You missed the point I was trying to make (albeit I suspect deliberately) but thanks anyway.

I know. Informative is one word- boring is probably more accurate - I'm a dreadful radio anorak. Blame Ronan O Rahilly. Pin numbers- forget it, important anniversaries of birthdays forget it. Useless radio info, such as frequencies for stations only I seem to listen to, I can remember at the drop of a hat. Most frustrating!

 

[gb155]

Just because music is digital it doesn't mean you can only enjoy it via tiny pc speakers

I have a snazzy amp and 5 high end speakers - my pc is connected to said amp and speakers via a tos-link , so I have much much better quality sound and a huge quantity of songs to play

My sky box is also connected to the amp so we have access to all the music channels - again in high quality

I still remember the "old way " as someone who worked on radio you can say that music has always held a special place In my heart and make an effort to play it at home one a week ( I play it on my headphones daily too)

Do I want the old way back ???? .....hell NO !!!!!!

 

[Globalti]

I was trying to make the point that the deluge of information seems to have taken us away from our inner selves but never mind.

 

[gb155]

I was trying to make the point that the deluge of information seems to have taken us away from our inner selves but never mind.

But I disagree - music has remained the thing that links me to memory's ( good and bad) and helps me through today's events ( both good and bad )

The only change for me is that the quality AND the quantity has gotten a whole lot better

If you really want something then you find a way not to lose sight of it

 

[marinyork]

I was trying to make the point that the deluge of information seems to have taken us away from our inner selves but never mind.

I would agree that 'information overload' and 'choice overload' are very big distractions in life to things that matter a great deal more.

 

[growingvegetables]

An extraordinarily satisfying experience - chucking the TV set into a skip nearly 15 years ago. Never had one since.

Only one drawback - the bloody TV licensing people who seem to have some difficulty with the idea

 

[threebikesmcginty]

Still play my music through a real stereo - Arcam separates, VPI and Pro-Ject turntables with Tannoy speakers, not the newest now but still great sounding kit, which you need when you listen to the sort of sophisticated music that I do.