iPod boycott

Half the reason behind the formation of the MySpace/iPod Resistance is my personal boycott of iPod's. Here's why: 1) I like buying CD's because I believe an artist's full expression of music incorporates the particular images, wordings and methods through which the music is delivered to people. Take that away, and you're left with titles, minutes and seconds. 2) I'm leery of any technology or trend that commands as much attention and popularity as these devices do. 3) I, too, believe iPod's "cater to our consumerist culture of instant gratification". Here are a few more quotes from this great article from Relevant Magazine: "The fact is that when technology is combined with art in a consumer society, art becomes just another commodity that can be collected, consumed and disposed. When this happens, music loses all its art, and is treated the opposite way it should be."
"Marshall McLuhan, a communication theorist from the 1960s and 70s, is most famous for his tagline “The medium is the message.” If there is any truth to this, and I believe there is, we need to carefully examine how this new medium of music changes the way we view, experience and consume (or not consume) the art form of popular music. Clearly, we can’t approach it in a black and white way. There are both benefits and concerns that iPods and mp3s bring to the picture of the already complex world of popular music and art. However, I encourage all music listeners to think through these issues and not become mindless consumers to whom corporations sell digital music in ways that disregard its art form."