It's getting warmer and I figured it was time to get the bikes ready for another season. Lets see...one has needs two tubes and the other has a bad rear sprocket. I decided it would be easier to get the sprocket fixed first ( as replacing tubes just isn't fun ) so I removed it and took it to the shop.

Turns out, this bike has parts made by a company that is no longer in business. I should note that this bike is about 15 years old. Luckily, this shop doesn't throw much away and had a sprocket in the secret stash that will work. This all got me to thinking about how quickly (and I realize 15 years is not "quick") things go obsolete and out of fashion.

How long has the cd been around and already we're seeing it  (to my chagrin) starting to fade as "the" music delivery format. I think its sad that so many people (presumably younger) are missing out on the experience that the artist sets out to deliver - the album (or cd) as a whole body of work. I'm sorry, but downloading a single (insert music download service here) is missing the point. Even those that download full cd's onto their porto pods seem to have acquired some new form of a.d.d. and can't help but hit the "skip" button. Ooooh, how impressive to have 3000 songs in your palm. Can you tell me how many of those songs you've listened to in full?

Moreover, I think the ability (and that warm feeling)  of discovering solid full works has been lost (I can't listen to the whole thing, I have 2,999 other songs to skip thru). I'll use the new REM as an example. It clocks in at a slim 34 minutes, is one of their best in many many years, and really makes sense when listened to end to end. How many people are going to get past the killer single "Supernatural Superserious" to discover the rest?

CD reissues may be the saving grace here. Take the new version of the LEMONHEADS "Its A Shame About Ray" just repackaged by Rhino. A fun set of songs when it was released originally in 1992, it now comes with bonus demo tracks and live stuff. Chances are, you may have bought it the first time around and it became a "discovery" after repeated listennings. How often is that going to happen in todays palm player world? I can only hope, with this fine reissue, that it finds a new audience - and that they listen to it all the way through.

Oh, and speaking of discoveries (and new audiences), Rhino is reissuing the REPLACEMENTS catalog starting with their first 3  lo-fi discs Sorry Ma, Stink, and Let It Be. 

mp3 players are not worthy.