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       Stardate: 20191216.2231 
       Location: Kitchen Table
       Input Device: AlphaSmart dana.wireless
       Software: AlphaWord
       Audio: VNV Nation's "Resonance" album on CD in Sony Discman (D-247)
       Visual:  Stanley Lunch Pail with SDF and Linux FDN sticker on table
       Emotional State: Winding down
       
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       I brought out my Sony Discman to enjoy my VNV Nation's 
       "Resonance" CD.  I bought the album when it came out in 2015 
       and felt like experiencing it again this evening while I 
       write this entry.  It is an orchestral album, not the typical 
       electronic that VNV is known for.
       
       The Discman is tethered to the wall with the 4.5 volt wall 
       wart that it came with.  I don't have any spare AA batteries 
       for it.  I am using a pair of AKG K240 over the ear 
       headphones and the audio sounds pretty good.  I still enjoy 
       listening to music on CD and still buy CDs.  I mostly listen 
       to MP3s that I have backed up from my collection of CDs or 
       have purchased online.  I never really got onboard with the 
       online streaming playlist stuff.  
       
       There's something about owning a CD or an album that makes 
       the experience different for me.  Perhaps it just comes from 
       what I was used to growing up.  I would buy an album and 
       listen to the whole thing several times and decide if I liked 
       it or not...or maybe it would grow on me.
       
       These days I still do that.  With the streaming playlists, it 
       seems like a big mess of music going on and on that would 
       seem to turn into background noise.  When I listen to an 
       album, I think the enjoyment of it becomes an active 
       listening experience and I listen to the album more not only 
       because I invested money in it, but because I think I miss a 
       lot during the first few listens...sometimes I even find more 
       much later when I am experiencing the music as the me of now 
       rather than the me of then when the album was first listened 
       to.  
       
       When I have to go through the effort of setting up the 
       Discman with the CD and the wall wart, I am more committed to 
       the listening experience.  Same goes with when I go to my 
       living room to listen to vinyl.  I still go over the album 
       artwork and the packaging during an active listen, especially 
       if it is a newly acquired album.  I will read all of the 
       liner notes and follow along with the lyrics if they are 
       available.
       
       My kids, they don't do this...they don't really listen to 
       albums or read liner notes...they'd be like, OK, 
       Boomer...even though I'm not.  This whole "OK, Boomer" 
       thing...they say it to anybody...even to their fellow Gen Z 
       friends, like it's some big rip or something...reminds me of 
       the seagulls in Finding Nemo who just keep parroting, "mine, 
       mine!"
         
       Anyhow, It seems that their experience of music is quite 
       different with the Internet streaming stuff.  I'm not sure 
       how active the listening is.  There is just so much more 
       available out there to listen to, but I wonder how much is 
       just being passively listened to...and passively 
       manufactured.  I try to be selective with my listening and 
       wish there were more hours in the day to actively listen to 
       music.
       
       Well, the album is coming to a close and so is this entry.  
       It was not the entry I had intended on writing, rather, the 
       writing that manifested.  So be it.
       
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