SnowGhost Music

I still remember the first TV I had in my room. I don't remember what brand it was, but it featured knobs that actually turned and pulled in and out, as well as classic V-hold. Cable existed at the time, but not in my room, so I actually had to adjust the tape on my clothes hanger antenna so that I could watch Saturday Night Live and not just listen to it. Clearly times have changed. I don't actually have a TV now, but many of my friends do, and many of them enjoy high definition. I love High Definition. I love watching a hockey game and actually seeing the puck. I love watching nature shows and seeing the sleep boogers in the eye of an ant. It thrills me that if they ever make a show as funny as Arrested Development again, I might be able to enjoy that on Hi Def as well, not to mention the clarity and resolution of new DVD technology. I say bravo, labcoats. Job well done.

But wait a second. In all this excitement about the frontiers of video entertainment, we've seemed to left behind our old pal audio. Aren't audio and video like salt and pepper? Only now they're like Simon and Garfunkel. Audio is the not so popular sidekick who gets half the publicity, and apparently half of the research too. I'm not saying that there are no great improvements in home audio entertainment out there, but when was the last time you heard somebody get excited about the new stereo they just got? Come to think of it, when was the last time anybody bought a stereo?

I've done a tiny bit of research. Stereos do in fact still exist and are available at the same places where you can make your flat screen dreams come true. But think about it. People aren't buying CDs so much anymore. People are more likely to buy a set of computer monitors than hook up a pair of B&Ws to their Nakamichi receiver. I understand the shift in mediums, and I'm even sort of coming to terms with it. I'm not advocating a return to the multi-disc CD revolution. But I must draw the line at considering those wimpy little iPod ports and dinky MP3 players as home stereos. And with all this development going on in the visual realm, don't you wish the labcoats could develop a way to make music enjoyment a little more old fashioned?

When I say old fashioned, I picture the guy from the old Maxell ads, sitting in his living room love seat having his hair and clothes practically blown off by the speakers totally rocking out (undobtredly with the Scorpions) in front of him. If I'm going to get my music through downloads, I want to get bigger files and I want to get them played on a real set of speakers. Forget MP3s. Play those on a pair of Wilsons and you'll start to hate music. I want to be able to take an iPod, put high resolution audio files on it, and then hear it in utter clarity at loud volumes. I know the technology exists, but it certainly isn't being pushed into our faces like a plasma screen.

Is it because people don't care anymore? Is the average kid more excited about playing PS3 games that look like real life than hearing his favorite band played back to him as if they were in the room? People, as desperate as they are to get things for free, will never replace going to the movies or buying and renting DVDs for their home theaters with watching sloppy pirate versions of movies online. We will always insist on having visual clarity with our Hollywood products, and most likely surround sound too. So why isn't music treated the same way? Why don't we insist on getting the Super Audio CD of our favorite album? At the very least, why not go out of your way to hear your new favorite song at it's sonic best? The technology is out there. It's just up to us as consumers to demand that we have the options and capabilities to give the our ears the same pleasure we give our eyes.