Last week, I wrote about the conscious appreciation of music, concluding that it isn‘t actually the medium driving this sentiment. Rather, the decision to do so.
HOWEVER!
There is something to be said about (and in defense of) the physicality of things in a digitally dominated world. Especially in today‘s iteration.
- Reason No. 1: A physical record, the cover, the sleeves, the booklet are all art in themselves, complementing the music.
- Reason No. 2: You own it. No company can arbitrarily remove your access. You can share it with your friends. You can get it signed It‘s yours.
- Reason No. 3: It comes with personality. Your record collection is physical token of your taste. A piece of intrigue for guests in your home to explore. Has anyone ever asked for your phone to go through your playlists?
- Reason No. 4: It supports the local music ecosystem. Physical media simply has a higher margin for artists. Buy it on the artist‘s own store or at a concert. Or buy it in your friendly local record store.
I get it: streaming is super convenient. And super cheap. But let‘s be honest, having access to a gazillion of songs that you‘ll never listen to... is this it? Or isn‘t a personal, curated collection way more interesting? A collection where you can exactly say how you‘ve acquired each piece.
Speaking of record collections: You might have come across “What’s In My Bag?”, a YouTube format by Amoeba. Seba, a Zurich-based designer who worked for Last.fm and co-developed sooon, has created an unofficial “WIMB Archive” that makes all the people and their picks easily searchable. Check it out here.
This week on Negative White
Our Impressions from Openair Frauenfeld 2026 From 9 to 11 July, Openair Frauenfeld attracts thousands of people again with the latest hot music from all shades of rap and hip-hop. Phillip Weiler was on site with his camera.
Leyla Ebrahimi – Planet You Forgot Me EP After a series of compelling singles, American-Persian Leyla Ebrahimi has dropped a stunningly fluid debut EP. Meandering between pop, rock, and intimate folky notes, everything about this record is non-linear.
One of Five: Chelsea Wolfe – Death Is Not The End Californian artist Chelsea Wolfe once more embraces darkness. Delicate at first, then it erupts with roaring guitars and crashing drums. The latest One of Five podcast dives deeper.
What piqued my interest
The Millions of Songs Mashed Into AI-Generated Music (Paywall)
While investigating AI training date, The Atlantic's Alex Reisner stumbled upon four giant datasets of songs that are being shared within the AI-development community. Over 21 million tracks, including hits from major pop artists such as Bad Bunny, Nirvana, Taylor Swift, Billie Eilish, Pearl Jam, Elvis Costello, Sheryl Crow, and the Beatles.
Hack Reveals Suno AI Music Generator Scraped YouTube, Deezer, and Genius (Regwall)
Accenidentally perfectly timed with The Atlantic piece, independent tech outlet 404 Media got hold of hacked source code for Suno AI. And it shows how this shitty company scraped decades worth of music and podcasts from the internet to train its AI tool. Without consent, of course.
Why Google, Apple & Big Tech Keep Making Everything Worse
Trevor Noah talks to Cory Doctorow, science fiction author, internet activist, and coiner of the word "enshittification". It is a candid, sometimes depressing but also hopeful conversation on the current state of the internet and everything beyond.
Napalm Death's Tiny Desk Concert
Okay, to end on a more positive note here, I very much enjoyed the bonkers performance of Napalm Death at the famed NPR Tiny Desk Concert. This legendary grindcore band against the whimsical backdrop. 8 songs in 19 minutes. Absolutely hilarious.
