Anxiety in the Age of Artistic Super-Production

This really connected for me:

But these meandering journeys across the Internet soundscape can be taxing. The medium too easily generates anxiety in place of fulfillment, an addictive cycle of craving and malaise. No sooner has one experience begun than the thought of what else is out there intrudes. Putting on an old-fashioned disk and letting it play to the end restores a measure of sanity. This may explain why the archaic LP is enjoying an odd surge of popularity among younger listeners: it’s a modest rebellion against the tyranny of instant access.

This is where we’re fast headed with books, of course. That would make the Kindle the iPod of books, which is probably just what Amazon wants since it’s in the business of selling books digitally. The question is not if but when, and if we’ll have an industry dominated by one vendor (like iTunes dominates music), or if the playing field for digital books will be a little more level.

I don’t plan to participate until I have to. If Alex Ross can barely keep up with listening to all the pieces of music the downloads (requiring, at most, an hour per disk) imagine what it will be like when books are being sold like MP3s. As it is, I can’t keep up with everything I buy in print.

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