Going to town on SoulSeek

At one point in my life I was very ashamed of downloading music. It's utter theft. I know this, you know this, the artists know this. Probably your mom knows this.

Furthermore, I fought the urge to burn CDs for the longest time because I wanted the album art. I'm a completist nerd--this cannot be helped.

But something changed when I started to learn more and more about music--I really, simply, couldn't afford to buy that much music. I still felt conflicted about downloading, so I'd stick to finding Nirvana B sides or impossible-to-find Far songs on Kazaa on my parent's computer. The fact my parents are still on dialup (given their amazing rural location in the smallest suburb of Buffalo) made this venture all the more spectacular.

Now that I run a music magazine in my spare time though, I feel more and more pressure to get my hands on every CD I can hear, just so I can continue to reassure myself that I might be able to remotely claim that I sort of think I know what I'm talking about. This costs money I definitely don't have.

After weighing my options I decided to use SoulSeek, the place I figured I'd be able to find the stuff I haven't heard yet by bands like Arab on Radar, Yaphet Kotto, Nation of Ulysses, The Coughs, Ex Models, Karp, Shellac, etc. that I've wanted for years but couldn't afford. You know--those bands you have one album of but couldn't afford anything else.

It was probably the best decision I've ever made. Every single band I've looked for has been on there, and now I have it all. For free. (to be read with a pang of guilt--not gleefully)

I understand this downloading comes with responsibility. That responsibility is to turn the music knowledge I'm gaining by the minute and pounding it straight into www.auralminority.com, not only for the bands but for the readers. (I can also live with myself given the fact that 80% of the bands I've downloaded the past few days have broken up.)

I dunno. Maybe my argument's bunk. Maybe I should be slapped. Maybe I should suck it up and get a 9 to 5 corporate gig so I can afford all the CDs I want.

I didn't think so. I buy what I can, when I can--usually when I see a band live. Then I know exactly where the money's going anyway. I also feel compelled to buy stuff from bands in trouble, like Genders (arrest warrant out for one of them because of too many drivings with suspended license) and The Mae-Shi (who had shitloads of copies of Heartbeeps stolen from them). Supporting smaller local labels like 31G, Deathbomb Arc and Not Not Fun are also priorities.

so, um yeah. downloading.