(March 26, 2010) — I read an article in the L.A. Times today that reminds me of my reluctance to give up old ways of doing things (or it just reminds me that I’m not a teenager anymore). Steve Almond writes in “The trouble with easy listening” how he can’t quite embrace the whole iTunes/iPod thing. Almond is clearly someone who loves music. With more than 4,000 albums he can claim ownership of, he has me beat by about 3,900 albums. Nevertheless, I found myself concurring with his assertion that there is something lost in the music experience today of listening to music via iPods or through other digital means. He goes on to describe his memories of listening to AC/DC or Stevie Wonder when they first appeared on vinyl and how they were transformative experiences, and how — even despite the convenience and ease of listening to the same songs on an iPod today — today’s modalities of listening to these songs just don’t cut it. His writing reminded me of listening to the Eagles’ “Hotel California” turned up real loud on my parents’ stereo and how I would imagine myself in the midst of Don Henley or Timothy B. Schmidt as they bridged from vocals to the extended guitar sections; or how I’d even sing along with everything I had to “Shining Star” by the Manhattans (the very first 45 I owned). Or how I remember playing my 45 of “Whip It” by Devo, a record I had received as a gift at a friend’s bar mitzvah. I can remember most of the places where I purchased my rather small collection of music. I remember spending a good deal of time going through the record collection at the Wherehouse in Burbank. And I remember going to Gemco and plucking down my allowance to purchase a Def Leppard “Pyromania” record in 1983 and then playing it over and over again in our family room. Nothing would interfere with the musical experience of being surrounded by these sounds. The experience was truly transformative, and even the purchasing of the music was fraught with meaning and significance. I can’t say the same for music today, even when that music is great music. The music is just there when I turn on the computer or fire up the iPod. There is no real magic to it. And I don’t know if my seven-year-old son will feel the same when he magically gets a new song loaded into his iTunes from an account set up for him with my credit card. Then, again, perhaps he does feel the same connection to music as I felt when I was younger. There are times when he just closes his bedroom door, puts on his Owl City CD and just listens. It could be I’m just getting old. . . You can read Almond’s story from the Times here: http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/commentary/la-oe-almond26-2010mar26,0,5330405.story