music - his and hers, then and now

HI all
Just a bit of personal reflection on the lecture that dealt with the record as a playback apparatus. Certainly the different approaches to music appreciation bewteen the sexes was not something new to me but brought it home all the more. (please note this is purely generalisation. If you fall outside this, this is in no means intended to offend).

Personally I am one who listens to all genres of music and enjoys the feel of the music/song. Dont ask me what my favourite band is, or my favourite music style, or my favourite artist because I couldnt tell you. Music affects me in a very emotional way and I know this to be true of many other people. By contrast play a song to a male aquaintance of mine and he will tell you the name of the band, the name of the song and the year it was released as well as other pieces of related information. He does enhoy the music just as much as I do, but part of this enjoyment comes from hisability to identify what he is listening to, and sharing (and showing off) this knowledge.

In terms of playback apparatus, it seems as if the ipod and MP3 format has de-gendered the issue of music collection somewhat. While people may still know facts about the music at hand, there is no longer the collector's interest as found with records. the playback devices have lost that collectible association. They are simply a smidgen on a computer (to be very technical), not something that can be collected for their own value, as well as the value of the music conatined on it. In an odd juxtaposition of times, the Beatles song Hard Days Night, played on an ipod totally disrupts its position in time and space. And this seems to bring home the issue of the current playback technology. it arrives to the listener without all the cultural baggage as would previously been attributed to it by its format.

Just a thought
Kate vN