3 ms·

I believe this is not just about nostalgia, or the collecting bug. It is also about the joy of interacting with tangible things. Touch, feel its texture, feel

I believe this is not just about nostalgia, or the collecting bug. It is also about the joy of interacting with tangible things. Touch, feel its texture, feel its weight, get tactile feedback, organising physical objects in a spatial world. This is simply the natural behaviour of the human animal. I don't collect Walkmans, but I do collect mechanical keyboards. In our community there isn't just old farts, but also just as many young adults who prefer tangible tactile devices in the age of touch screens.

deleted 3y ago
[deleted]
julian_t 3y ago
As a guitarist, that's partly why I prefer actual effects pedals to adding a new plugin to an application. Physical cables to plug in and knobs to turn somehow improves the experience for me. But Walkmen? Nah, give me my MiniDisc any day ;-)
- LegitShady 3y ago
  as a synth enjoyer I also love effects pedals, but my bank account doesn't :(
- d0gsg0w00f 3y ago
  I have an old MiniDisc and a few disks. Every few years I'll load up a few MP3s to make sure it works. Gives me comfort to know it still works.
- electrosphere 3y ago
  I have a small MiniDisc collection which I will never sell. Call it nostalgia but I really liked the process of creating a compilation using those limited 74 minutes (or 120 using SP2). In recent years I've created my own disk labels for my bare discs, another plus for the tangible nature of the medium.
genman 3y ago
It is also interesting how the accompanying picture tries to show how current mobile music listening experience is so complicated. I don't think it is. I just have wireless headphones (good ones) and my cell phone (that I would carry around anyway). No mess, no extra device to carry around and mess with. But of course there might be something in pressing the buttons, feeling different and special.
- Brian_K_White 3y ago
  I thought the pic was impressioning the old way. And obviously not literally and probably not only. Ie it may be also just about "stuff" or getting cought up in caring about physical things. And/or about complication. The new way certainly has as much or even more complication.
chrisjc 3y ago
> Touch, feel its texture, feel its weight, get tactile feedback, organising physical objects in a spatial world. This is simply the natural behaviour of the human animal. I would add that there was also joy to be had resulting from the effort, intent and commitment required to interact with tangible things. Nowadays it's just too easy to instruct your assistant to play a song, skip around, move on to something else, etc. I used to get so much satisfaction from everything that went into listening to music for the most part. The excitement of a new song/album/artist. The time you had to wait for the release or finding a copy due to the initial demand. Going out to a store to buy it. Sometimes on public transportation that would only extend the excitement post-purchase while you sat on the bus waiting to get home so you could play it on the hi-fi. Struggling to get it free from the pesky plastic wrap. Popping in the cassette and fast-forwarding to the hit song, turning up the volume and sitting back to finally enjoy the fruits of you labor. Listening to the rest of the album only to discover an even better track! You get the point... At the time, I was excited for a future where a lot, if not all of this "friction" would cease to exists. The Walkman was probably the first step in this direction. The CD was next removing the need to ff/rwd. Then mp3s and Napster, resulting in time spent burning/hoarding instead of actually listening. Now Spotify/YTMusic/etc... These days I struggle to find any new music that gives me the same kind of sensation. A lot of it has to do with just the sheer amount of material available and ease to access it all, but I would also argue has to do with giving the material a chance and really taking the time and opportunity to appreciate it. This is especially challenging if you have trouble controlling your impulses. Most of the time I just listen to music that I grew up with. I imagine this has a lot to do with trying to rekindle these sensations from long ago.
al_borland 3y ago
I felt like the iPod struck a good balance. The collecting was still in-play, since the music was the user’s and not from a streaming service. The clicks were tactile (except for on the 3rd gen), and even the click wheel felt tactile, even after it was only a touch surface. It never felt the same once it went to the iPhone. The iPod lost its soul when it became an app.

deleted 3y ago

[deleted]

julian_t 3y ago

As a guitarist, that's partly why I prefer actual effects pedals to adding a new plugin to an application. Physical cables to plug in and knobs to turn somehow improves the experience for me. But Walkmen? Nah, give me my MiniDisc any day ;-)

LegitShady 3y ago
as a synth enjoyer I also love effects pedals, but my bank account doesn't :(
d0gsg0w00f 3y ago
I have an old MiniDisc and a few disks. Every few years I'll load up a few MP3s to make sure it works. Gives me comfort to know it still works.
electrosphere 3y ago
I have a small MiniDisc collection which I will never sell. Call it nostalgia but I really liked the process of creating a compilation using those limited 74 minutes (or 120 using SP2). In recent years I've created my own disk labels for my bare discs, another plus for the tangible nature of the medium.

genman 3y ago

It is also interesting how the accompanying picture tries to show how current mobile music listening experience is so complicated. I don't think it is. I just have wireless headphones (good ones) and my cell phone (that I would carry around anyway). No mess, no extra device to carry around and mess with. But of course there might be something in pressing the buttons, feeling different and special.

Brian_K_White 3y ago
I thought the pic was impressioning the old way. And obviously not literally and probably not only. Ie it may be also just about "stuff" or getting cought up in caring about physical things. And/or about complication. The new way certainly has as much or even more complication.

chrisjc 3y ago

> Touch, feel its texture, feel its weight, get tactile feedback, organising physical objects in a spatial world. This is simply the natural behaviour of the human animal. I would add that there was also joy to be had resulting from the effort, intent and commitment required to interact with tangible things. Nowadays it's just too easy to instruct your assistant to play a song, skip around, move on to something else, etc. I used to get so much satisfaction from everything that went into listening to music for the most part. The excitement of a new song/album/artist. The time you had to wait for the release or finding a copy due to the initial demand. Going out to a store to buy it. Sometimes on public transportation that would only extend the excitement post-purchase while you sat on the bus waiting to get home so you could play it on the hi-fi. Struggling to get it free from the pesky plastic wrap. Popping in the cassette and fast-forwarding to the hit song, turning up the volume and sitting back to finally enjoy the fruits of you labor. Listening to the rest of the album only to discover an even better track! You get the point... At the time, I was excited for a future where a lot, if not all of this "friction" would cease to exists. The Walkman was probably the first step in this direction. The CD was next removing the need to ff/rwd. Then mp3s and Napster, resulting in time spent burning/hoarding instead of actually listening. Now Spotify/YTMusic/etc... These days I struggle to find any new music that gives me the same kind of sensation. A lot of it has to do with just the sheer amount of material available and ease to access it all, but I would also argue has to do with giving the material a chance and really taking the time and opportunity to appreciate it. This is especially challenging if you have trouble controlling your impulses. Most of the time I just listen to music that I grew up with. I imagine this has a lot to do with trying to rekindle these sensations from long ago.

al_borland 3y ago

I felt like the iPod struck a good balance. The collecting was still in-play, since the music was the user’s and not from a streaming service. The clicks were tactile (except for on the 3rd gen), and even the click wheel felt tactile, even after it was only a touch surface. It never felt the same once it went to the iPhone. The iPod lost its soul when it became an app.