What has truly become obsolete is intention. The intention to listen. That's what physical media represents. The intention to give your attention to what you play. The intention to support the musicians who create the music you play. When someone says an album, a cassette, a compact disc, or perhaps even internet radio is obsolete, what they mean is: that way of listening requires more attention than I want to give it.
I'm hanging on to ALL of my DVDs! There are so many that are not available on any streaming sites. Even if I don't often watch most of them, I'm glad to know they're there!
I own Doctor Detroit on DVD. I have not watched it, nor do I know when I will, but I am very proud to be one of the, like, two people on earth who own Doctor Detroit on DVD.
Loved this post! It made me think of so many things…
1. My husband has been collecting Vinegar Syndrome 4Ks which I am now into as well. I love the preservation of “junk” films and B movies. Criterion is great but these lesser known indies are at a real risk of being lost forever.
2. I remember my diligently collecting Disney vhs tapes for us because they’d go back into the vault! Our collection felt special.
3. I miss going to the video store with my mom and brothers. A real ritual.
4. I have my friend’s copy of Cool As Ice waiting to be returned. I’m a bad friend but now I will return it!
I wonder if this is why I feel like I discover songs I’ve heard before when I hear them on vinyl, the musical equivalent of walking past something countless times and one day suddenly seeing it. Great piece!
Last weekend we pulled up "It's a Wonderful Life" on Amazon, which we'd purchased about five years ago. Now at the beginning of the film play we see a notice that the movie has ad breaks. That's new. But more important, Amazon said to fit the time eaten up by ads, they lopped off part of the third act and spliced the ends together. So it's a less intense catharsis. Enshittification of "It's a Wonderful Life" has arrived, courtesy of Amazon.
One thing that made me start buying CDs again was thinking about my legacy. You can learn a lot about someone from the music they listen to, the books they read, and the movies they collect. The thought of handing over my Spotify password to my kids so they can see my playlists just felt... weird.
I recently started converting all of our physical movies to digital files so I can stream them from my personal streaming server. One thing I was reminded of was how many of the movies used to come with behind-the-scenes, making of, deleted scenes, and bloopers. I really miss that..
Thanks for sharing, David! The feature film we’re currently working on was actually inspired by that very thing- physical media and the things we leave behind.
My dad had a video store back in The 90s. I wish j was old enough to have saved all of the VHS and dvds. Now im on a journey to rebuild it all. I think you’re right.
This was so well said! After years of thinking about it, “cutting the cord”, and now, not even having internet, I started “preserving” physical media last July (‘24). And 98% has been thrifted.
Since then, my library’s grown to just shy of 1200 films, 80 TV series/seasons, with a mix of VHS to 4K—though I don’t own a 4K player yet, and no rush; came bundled—and I do in fact feel an obligation to preserve these films. Thank you for sharing!
For this year's family polyanna I made the theme “CDs, Cassettes, or a vinyl record.”
There are 11 of us, ranging from 40s to late 20s.
I am, of course, super into to physical media so I picked this theme. But I realized what amazing gifts they make because especially CDs you can find for less than $10 quite often. And, choosing a CD is quite a personalized process.
Anyway, I got the Max Richter Sleep CD for people, my wife got the best of Enya (on vinyl!), but some bought sweatshirts with a cassette on them 🤦♂️
Others bought a spotify playlist!!
I can understand the where do they go mentality, but CDs (and dvds) sans box store quite efficiently in these binder things.
Anyway, I was quite sad. I was hoping for a low cost family experience of thoughtly finding some music for people and instead it turned into cheap screen printed sweatshirts and digital coupons 😔
Josh, I think that was a great idea and I’ll be borrowing it for my own family for next year! It’s too bad some of yours didn’t participate properly, but I wouldn’t give up hope.
I was spending like $150 a month on Streaming, and I realized that I had become completely indifferent to the media I consumed. And for some reason I can't bring myself to pick a movie when scrolling through streaming services. When I look at a shelf with physical movies it's the exact opposite. It's easy to pick a movie.
This year I cancelled everything. I started listening to vinyl and CDs. I found a thrift store that sells 10 DVDs for a dollar on Fridays. I've bought nearly 1000 DVDs so far along with 50 blue rays and 200 VHS tapes, and still it's much cheaper than streaming. It feels so much better to go out and look through rows of DVDs than to indifferently scroll through streaming services. I am so much happier and our house is so much more alive now compared to before when everyone was just staring at their own phone or tablet.
Daniel, I’m sorry! I meant to respond to this weeks ago! Good on you for making the switch and being more intentional about your watching habits. I think it’s the intentionality, active vs. passive watching, that we’re losing. I just published a new piece on the economics of physical media- why it’s important to buy physical and support the artists, etc.
Thank you, yes, the state of affairs is rather depressing, as more and more new releases are not available on CD. There are so many amazing, clever ways that CD releases are made into true keepsakes, beyond the basic jewel case and insert, which of course costs money the smaller artists and labels don’t have these days, because they’re not making any money selling music anymore!
I published my own piece on this matter recently and you said it better than me. Totally agree that we should cherish this art and the memories attached to them!
I wouldn't say that! You made a great argument and we were saying a lot of the same things- just differently. It sounds like we're of a similar age. I liked how you touched on music more. Personally, I've just gotten back into collecting CDs, but I've been collecting vinyl for a while. I firmly believe that what people need more of are active experiences, as opposed to the passive ones streaming offers. I enjoy streaming as much as the next guy, but there has to be a balance, and I think it should tip in favor of physical media.
I appreciate you taking the time to read it! For sure, going to the effort of putting on a record or reading the liner notes of a CD has intention and makes you really pay attention
My first year at university included lessons from a dorm mate down the hall who had worked in a record store and had a great collection of LPs and shared his knowledge, including demonstrations of just how durable a format the properly cared for vinyl LP is! I remember being introduced to a number of breakthrough artists listening to his collection and his conversation. I still have most of my LP collection, cds, and dvds (especially after caught broadcasters and streamers censoring Mel Brooks and totally destroying his subversive humor).
Thanks for sharing that, Robert! Good on you for keeping your collection. I've spent the last ten years or so collecting LPs from relatives, antique stores, and then some new releases from time to time. It's a much more pleasurable way to enjoy music!
What has truly become obsolete is intention. The intention to listen. That's what physical media represents. The intention to give your attention to what you play. The intention to support the musicians who create the music you play. When someone says an album, a cassette, a compact disc, or perhaps even internet radio is obsolete, what they mean is: that way of listening requires more attention than I want to give it.
Well said!
I'm hanging on to ALL of my DVDs! There are so many that are not available on any streaming sites. Even if I don't often watch most of them, I'm glad to know they're there!
Those are crucial to hang on to! I cherish my copy of “Freaked”.
I own Doctor Detroit on DVD. I have not watched it, nor do I know when I will, but I am very proud to be one of the, like, two people on earth who own Doctor Detroit on DVD.
I’ve never even heard of Doctor Detroit, but now I kinda wanna watch it!
Loved this post! It made me think of so many things…
1. My husband has been collecting Vinegar Syndrome 4Ks which I am now into as well. I love the preservation of “junk” films and B movies. Criterion is great but these lesser known indies are at a real risk of being lost forever.
2. I remember my diligently collecting Disney vhs tapes for us because they’d go back into the vault! Our collection felt special.
3. I miss going to the video store with my mom and brothers. A real ritual.
4. I have my friend’s copy of Cool As Ice waiting to be returned. I’m a bad friend but now I will return it!
VS is doing great work! I got Red Rock West (a lesser known Nic Cage film) on 4K from their new sub-label Cinématographe and it is BEAUTIFUL.
Oooooo a Nic Cage I haven’t seen!
You should only return Cool As Ice after you have it FRAMED.
Fromtheyardtothearthouse.substack.com
Thank you, such writings make me happy feeling that I am not a weirdo nerd who still collects DVDs, Blu-rays, cd's, records and tapes.
I had to come to terms with the label “collector” RE: physical media. People look at my shelf like an ancient artifact 😂
I'm sure it's an impressive collection!
There’s still room to grow 😜
You’re not alone! You’re ahead of the curve.
I wonder if this is why I feel like I discover songs I’ve heard before when I hear them on vinyl, the musical equivalent of walking past something countless times and one day suddenly seeing it. Great piece!
Thank you! Great analogy!
“Physical media lends itself to a slower pace of life” yes.
Last weekend we pulled up "It's a Wonderful Life" on Amazon, which we'd purchased about five years ago. Now at the beginning of the film play we see a notice that the movie has ad breaks. That's new. But more important, Amazon said to fit the time eaten up by ads, they lopped off part of the third act and spliced the ends together. So it's a less intense catharsis. Enshittification of "It's a Wonderful Life" has arrived, courtesy of Amazon.
One thing that made me start buying CDs again was thinking about my legacy. You can learn a lot about someone from the music they listen to, the books they read, and the movies they collect. The thought of handing over my Spotify password to my kids so they can see my playlists just felt... weird.
I recently started converting all of our physical movies to digital files so I can stream them from my personal streaming server. One thing I was reminded of was how many of the movies used to come with behind-the-scenes, making of, deleted scenes, and bloopers. I really miss that..
Thanks for sharing, David! The feature film we’re currently working on was actually inspired by that very thing- physical media and the things we leave behind.
Re: dvd special features, we wrote a post about it which you might find interesting: https://obsoletemedia.substack.com/p/an-ode-to-dvd-special-features?r=2z36rn
My dad had a video store back in The 90s. I wish j was old enough to have saved all of the VHS and dvds. Now im on a journey to rebuild it all. I think you’re right.
That would’ve been so cool to grow up with that! You can rebuild your family’s legacy!
This was so well said! After years of thinking about it, “cutting the cord”, and now, not even having internet, I started “preserving” physical media last July (‘24). And 98% has been thrifted.
Since then, my library’s grown to just shy of 1200 films, 80 TV series/seasons, with a mix of VHS to 4K—though I don’t own a 4K player yet, and no rush; came bundled—and I do in fact feel an obligation to preserve these films. Thank you for sharing!
Thanks for the kind words, Elijah! And good on you for building an impressive physical media collection! Keep fighting the good fight.
For this year's family polyanna I made the theme “CDs, Cassettes, or a vinyl record.”
There are 11 of us, ranging from 40s to late 20s.
I am, of course, super into to physical media so I picked this theme. But I realized what amazing gifts they make because especially CDs you can find for less than $10 quite often. And, choosing a CD is quite a personalized process.
Anyway, I got the Max Richter Sleep CD for people, my wife got the best of Enya (on vinyl!), but some bought sweatshirts with a cassette on them 🤦♂️
Others bought a spotify playlist!!
I can understand the where do they go mentality, but CDs (and dvds) sans box store quite efficiently in these binder things.
Anyway, I was quite sad. I was hoping for a low cost family experience of thoughtly finding some music for people and instead it turned into cheap screen printed sweatshirts and digital coupons 😔
Josh, I think that was a great idea and I’ll be borrowing it for my own family for next year! It’s too bad some of yours didn’t participate properly, but I wouldn’t give up hope.
I was spending like $150 a month on Streaming, and I realized that I had become completely indifferent to the media I consumed. And for some reason I can't bring myself to pick a movie when scrolling through streaming services. When I look at a shelf with physical movies it's the exact opposite. It's easy to pick a movie.
This year I cancelled everything. I started listening to vinyl and CDs. I found a thrift store that sells 10 DVDs for a dollar on Fridays. I've bought nearly 1000 DVDs so far along with 50 blue rays and 200 VHS tapes, and still it's much cheaper than streaming. It feels so much better to go out and look through rows of DVDs than to indifferently scroll through streaming services. I am so much happier and our house is so much more alive now compared to before when everyone was just staring at their own phone or tablet.
Daniel, I’m sorry! I meant to respond to this weeks ago! Good on you for making the switch and being more intentional about your watching habits. I think it’s the intentionality, active vs. passive watching, that we’re losing. I just published a new piece on the economics of physical media- why it’s important to buy physical and support the artists, etc.
Love your post! I 💯 cherish my VHS/DVD/Blu-ray/CD/Cassette/Vinyl collection!
Thank you! And good on you, Cato! If only more people valued physical media…
Thank you, yes, the state of affairs is rather depressing, as more and more new releases are not available on CD. There are so many amazing, clever ways that CD releases are made into true keepsakes, beyond the basic jewel case and insert, which of course costs money the smaller artists and labels don’t have these days, because they’re not making any money selling music anymore!
I published my own piece on this matter recently and you said it better than me. Totally agree that we should cherish this art and the memories attached to them!
I wouldn't say that! You made a great argument and we were saying a lot of the same things- just differently. It sounds like we're of a similar age. I liked how you touched on music more. Personally, I've just gotten back into collecting CDs, but I've been collecting vinyl for a while. I firmly believe that what people need more of are active experiences, as opposed to the passive ones streaming offers. I enjoy streaming as much as the next guy, but there has to be a balance, and I think it should tip in favor of physical media.
I appreciate you taking the time to read it! For sure, going to the effort of putting on a record or reading the liner notes of a CD has intention and makes you really pay attention
My first year at university included lessons from a dorm mate down the hall who had worked in a record store and had a great collection of LPs and shared his knowledge, including demonstrations of just how durable a format the properly cared for vinyl LP is! I remember being introduced to a number of breakthrough artists listening to his collection and his conversation. I still have most of my LP collection, cds, and dvds (especially after caught broadcasters and streamers censoring Mel Brooks and totally destroying his subversive humor).
Thanks for sharing that, Robert! Good on you for keeping your collection. I've spent the last ten years or so collecting LPs from relatives, antique stores, and then some new releases from time to time. It's a much more pleasurable way to enjoy music!