I drink beer. I only drink German beer, and to my good fortune the German brewers Beck’s have been running a promotion with the download service Napster. One bottle of beer gets you one track credit. Brilliant.
But for some reason I’m unable to buy one track at a time. I am compelled to buy albums. I know people fill their hard drives with an abundance of single tracks, but I just can’t do that. I like a track by a band and have to buy the album. Is it a generational thing? I know in the old days a single was only released so punters would buy the album, but the paradigm has changed. The iPod was created as a mobile jukebox. And the jukebox was the ultimate collection of singles popular at any one time.
It is my good fortune that the Beck’s/Napster promotion has been running long enough for me to be able to download multiple albums by The Velvet Underground, Grinderman, The Smiths, The Specials, The Last Shadow Puppets, Soft Cell, The Doors, The Human League, DJ Shadow, The Jesus And Mary Chain, Plan B, Bob Dylan, LCD Soundsystem, Prinzhorn Dance School, Sonic Youth and The Fall.
Not sure if the promotion has made me drink more beer. But it has allowed me to get more music. And that has to be a good thing.
Darrin // Nightingale 