CD freaks

You know how you still get those guys who swear by Vinyl and love the rawness and the reality of the sound that comes out. The fact that not every listen is exactly the same as the last because the turntables could play them a slightly different speed at a certain point, or that natural wear and tear means that over time the discs get worn and slightly warped is something these people live and breath for.

My brother used to own vinyl purely professionally and found it a dangerous medium for dragging everywhere Friday and Saturday nights. A couple of friends spent their entire student loans on their collections of Animal Collective re-releases and vinyl only singles. Even I've been known to purchase a Los Campesino's EP purely because the disc was bright yellow. I mean, ridiculously yellow.

So although I've bought into a little, I don't have a massive interest in building up a huge library of vinyl: - They're expensive to buy, expensive to keep and the records don't even retain their sound!

On the other hand, I'm not a big fan of this digital revolution either. I only got an iPod a few months ago and that's because it was free. And the battery barely lasts an album before crackling and dying. If I could find it I'd still use my Minidisc player. Maybe.

iTunes is a horrible application, as is its bastard child Spotify. Not wishing to sell it at all, Spotify is essentially an online library of music that is free to stream if you don't mind hearing the odd advert about how amazing spotify is, how the great benevolent spotify has our best interests at heart.

But this is the idea I cannot stand. I recently hit a landmark number of CDs that I have ever bought, and they are arranged lovingly on one wall in my room. I love that I own all of these CDs, and frequently enjoy buying more, whether I can afford them or not. I love it when I get a couple of new CDs and have to re-arrange to fit them all in. These albums are all mine.

On Spotify, nothing is mine. The money spent on buying these CDs, the memories that may be attached is not even worth it. People are selling their CDs and listening to albums, perfectly legally, for free, online. I hate this. It means that you can't cast your eye of judgement over someone's collection, filling in the gaps in your knowledge about them by whether or not they do own any Nick Drake or they were just trying to impress you. If they display a Take That album proudly or hastily stowed with other guilty pleasures. How can Spotify's last ten searches top that?

While nowadays most people's (mine included) collections are shaped by what is stocked in their local HMV, in the future will the boundaries be a presumed omniscient online database. I was trying to find Sunny Day Real Estate's masterpiece Diary on their Spotify account only to find it wasn't there.

What I find annoying is how those who would gladly sue you on the spot for "stealing" their millions by downloading are more than happy to have their music featured here. What's even more annoying is when certain albums I can only find on Spotify.

Twelebrities are creating spotify playlists, using them as yet another social networking site that I don't really want to a part of, but it seems like I might need to be.

The only benefit, as I can see, is for parties. The host is no longer expected to have an amazing collection, and you as the guest are no longer required to sit through another boring Lily Allen album as it was the most tolerable of what was availiable.

In summary, don't use Spotify, unless you want to host a party.