Entry for 7th July, 2008

I am going through a rather sadly retro period over the past couple of weeks. Personally I blame the i-pod, the digital revolution and the internet. It seems at first that these wonders of the modern age are propelling us ever-forward towards progress and a shining new technological tomorrow.
But that is not true.
What these technological devices do is allow us to gently disappear up our own dull and unadventurous cultural cul-de-sacs. Take digital radio for example. Instead of being exposed to new music from terrestrial radio, I can now tune to a niche station like Planet Rock, where I can guarantee I will feel safe and secure listening to Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, Led Zep and AC/DC. I may not hear a lot of crap like you do on Radio 1, but on the other hand I am unlikely to find some new gem like the John Peel show used to throw up.
And the i-pod, far from being a magical gate into a new tomorrow just allows you to lock yourself away for hours with the record collection you largely built up in your late teens. In my case Marillion features highly. And I'm not sure that's healthy for a man in his forty second year (although you wouldn't know it to look at me; late 20s at most you'd think).
I can even surf the internet and discover that Marillion are still going strong. In spite of the fact that they haven't had a record label for years, the intenet allows grown-up nerds like myself to buy their albums directly from the band; if enough of us commit to it they will even come and do a gig in my town. So - instead of natural selection finishing bands like this off - they are allowed to trundle on, kept alive on the life support of aging fans with too much disposable income.
Of course, I've bought all their albums. They're still great.
And I hate Radio 1 anyway.