So indie it hurts

I like CDs. I like breaking finger-nails trying to defeat the impenetrable shrink-wrap around the case. I like reading liner notes, possibly even singing along whilst reading the lyrics. I don't apologise for it. I like lining up the writing on a CD so it is perfectly horizontal, I know, I know, OCD is so last year. I don't care. I love going into indie record stores and seeing a bunch of guys in corduroy jackets eyeing each other up, trying to decide who has heard of the most esoteric band. I love seeing girls at gigs, for bands that only come to the UK once a year, dressed up like a poor rip-off of Lisa Loeb and not caring. I've spent evenings just listening to WOXY. com, noting band names and trying to find their stuff on Amazon, it made me feel like I was 15 and listening to "The Evening Session" on Radio1. You know, before Jo Whiley became an obsequious sycophant to MoR artists. She's still hot though.

I'm not a neophile who will suggest that CDs have had their day and that we should all bow to the mighty iTunes music store. Mainly because my indie sensibilities are offended by DRM and the pretty awful range of artists in the store. But also because there is something nice about *having* a CD, case, liner notes et al. You don't understand? It's like the difference between your girlfriend telling you she loves you to your face and seeing her type it in MSN (or whatever the hell you kids use nowadays).

So what now, bitches? What comes next? Well, over christmas I treated myself to a Creative Zen Vision:M (which is an excessively long name. I mean, what's the deal guys? Is this some kind of e-peen thing?) to purge my bank account of all that silly money stuff and because 512 Megalbites of music is just not enough for a day around London. Also, I'm too lazy to hunt around for a new playlist everyday. Anyway, one of the things that came with it was a link to emusic. I've been getting these for years from WinAmp, every time I update it and every time I've thought "Ehhhh, no." It appears I have been making a repeated, odourous error of judgment. I think you can see where I'm going with this. I flipped a coin, signed up to emusic and downloaded a pretty eclectic mix with my free 25 tracks. The range of music on there is good, pretty indie (no U2 for you, over-priced iPod owner) and if anyone can point out to me how £15 for 90 tracks is an economically poor choice, I'd like to see the maths.

So maybe buying music online has a place in my life, especially if it means I don't have to pay over the odds or wait weeks for that American import-only album.