Pinot Noir, open windows, rain, thunder, Sisters Of Mercy from the speakers. There are worse Friday evenings.

The photography of arpi. This, for example, is just delightful.

Who did I listen to most this week? #lastfm says: Glaring (41), Ultra Sunn (38), Hante. (37), Röyksopp (26) & The Masqs (22) [via lastweekly]

Somewhat obsessed with listening to Glaring this week. A Spotify Discover Weekly pick. It really knows me.

Fascinated by Manuel Moreale's take on blog comments.

I'm not a fan of comments in general and I think commenting on something should be done in one of two ways:

Privately via email or via direct messaging

Publicly by posting a reply on your own website

This is interesting as it has literally worked; look at me posting my reply here.

The beauty of independent publishing means there are no rules other than your own. There are any number of reasons not to allow comments. Maybe your blog is just your way of shouting one way into the void. Maybe your software of choice doesn't support comments. Maybe it's spam, trolls, monsters. It could turn a fun thing into a chore. And who wants that?

I allow and encourage comments, always have. Back in the day before the socials became a thing, commenting was a way to foster a little community of like minded individuals. Those halcyon days of Dave2's posts that could garner 30+ comments. It was a fun way to discover other blogs. You interact with them, they interact with you, you find an audience.

But here in 2024, with trackbacks and pingbacks still being a thing, I'd say Manuel has a good point. Maybe replying on your own site is also a decent way to engage with other kindred spirits. I'm going to give it a try.

Rusty Foster's Taylor Swift take.

Taylor Swift's music is not really my jam so I don't know if her new album is any good. In the interest of journalistic integrity I tried to listen to it but got bored three songs in so my review is: it sounds like Taylor Swift

Fair enough. I like her Karma song from some other album she did 🤷🏻‍♂️

In January I wrote how I'm fully vested in the streaming lifestyle. While my focus in that post was Spotify and music, it also applies to movies too. I think the last Blu-Ray purchased was The Grand Budapest Hotel or something? We don't even own a Blu-Ray player nowadays.

I'm making a tradeoff here for convenience vs availability.

Chad Comello has a piece about why he's still flying the physical media flag. And he makes that very point about availability. What do you do if the rug is pulled out from under you? Streaming services could wither on the vine. Studios and record companies could change their licensing deals. Movies and albums can just disappear.

I already run into this from time to time with Spotify. If a band has had a lengthy career they're likely to have been on a few different record labels. Not all labels have licensed their work to streaming services. That gap in a body of work is a legit problem. I'm looking at you Killing Joke.

But the convenience of having almost everything at my fingertips keeps that lure of streaming services alive. At least for now.

I commented on Chad's piece about the other elephant in the room.

Reintroducing physical media would mean a complete rethink of our lifestyle. We downsized, and because we were over a decade into the digital lifestyle all those old CDs and DVDs were donated. There would need to be a rethink of where this new media would live. And the non-trivial outlay of acquiring all the equipment to play said media again.

Dear reader, before you keel over horrified, I do still have my vinyl in storage. I'm not some animal.

Also the irony of me saying all of the above when I've just started buying physical books again is not lost on me. What can I tell you, It's complicated.

It's true.

Who did I listen to most this week? #lastfm says: Carpenter Brut (41), OGRE Sound (28), Perturbator (27), The Human League (26) & Nightstop (19) [via lastweekly]