Wednesday, February 14, 2018 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon
Through
THESE EYES
Jim Williams, Columnist
It’s more than
‘just music’
My wife and I were talk-
ing some time ago about
technology and our reliance
on it.
I remember several
years ago, many websites
closed down in protest of
an impending bill in con-
gress called the Stop Online
Privacy Act, or SOPA. I
remember reading an article
on the economic impact of
such closures on commerce
and basically how addicted
we are to the technology we
use. And there have been
threats of many other clo-
sures and actual closures
over the years since.
Being a “junkie” myself
when it comes to today’s
wealth of gadgets and what
they add to our everyday
lives, I didn’t think too
much of Katie’s comment
about it being sad that we
have withdrawals when we
can’t access what we’ve
become addicted to. Who
doesn’t start a pot of coffee
in the morning and then go
over to the computer and go
to Facebook, CNN, check
their mail, or whatever else
may interest them? I know
I do, and when it doesn’t
work I start to get the wig-
gles in my knees and it
makes me want to jump and
shout.
While I understand it is
unfortunate that we seem to
need to text, email, chat, or
any number of things that
do not involve direct human
communication; we also
rely on our cars to get us to
work, the gas that goes in the
car, and the electricity that
makes all of our technologi-
cal advancements possible.
We all rely on something
that 50 years ago we didn’t
have, or have much of. So it
appears that phone calls, let-
ters, and face-to-face con-
versation are going the way
of tube televisions, and our
inability to live without the
creature comforts without
some sort of symptom of
withdrawal is now inevita-
ble. You can’t go out to din-
ner without seeing virtually
everyone with their phones
positioned about six inches
from their faces. Goodness,
what would they do other-
wise? Perhaps converse to
the person they’re with?
Along with the Internet
and the pantheon of other
technological wonders is
that damn phone or some
other technological mar-
vel that allows you to carry
your entire music collection,
or allows you to “stream”
it from something called
the “cloud.” This actu-
ally started about 35 years
ago with the advent of the
CD. All of your old, dusty,
crackling albums were
being replaced with digital
equivalents that rendered
your trusty LPs obsolete.
CDs were great, they didn’t
scratch, they didn’t have
any hiss, and were virtually
distortion-free. You got a
small case with album art,
and all of the other infor-
mation you got with a tradi-
tional long-play record.
Now we’re looking at the
obsolescence of the CD and
CD player as a viable way to
listen to our favorite music.
Today, streaming rules.
When I was a kid, I
couldn’t wait to go to the
record store and pick up
the latest Springsteen or
Stones album, put it on
the turntable, and listen to
the record while reading
the liner notes. I wanted to
know who wrote the songs,
who played on the album,
who produced it. In the case
of older albums, I wanted to
know what year it came out.
Of course I wanted to listen
to the music, but the music
wasn’t complete without a
history of what went into
making that record. And
that album cover was just
the right size to clean your
favorite herb while listening
to the latest offerings from
Keith and Mick.
The discussion with
Katie, and my bemoaning
the state of today’s music,
made me think of a favor-
ite movie of mine, and one
of the best scenes regard-
ing music ever filmed. The
1982 movie, “Diner” takes
place in Baltimore in the
late 1950s, and starred a
cast of young actors includ-
ing Mickey Rourke, Kevin
Bacon, Steve Guttenburg,
Daniel Stern, and Ellen
Barkin. Stern and Barkin
were a young married cou-
ple going through what
young married couples go
through. They were drifting
somewhat, trying to figure
it all out. Stern’s charac-
ter “Shrevie“ was a serious
music fan. He alphabetized
and categorized his record
collection and knew all
there was to know about the
music he loved. Shrevie’s
wife, played by Barkin,
just wanted to listen to the
music.
Shrevie’s wife, Beth,
was listening to some music
one evening, and while
going through his collec-
tion Shrevie noticed some
of his albums in the wrong
section, or not alphabet-
ized correctly. When he
asked Beth about this, she
exclaimed, “Shrevie, it’s
just music!”
That was the wrong thing
to say. I’ve had very heated
exchanges with people
about this very statement,
and no, it’s not just music.
It’s a part of your life, it
takes you back to when you
were young and were going
to live forever; or when you
met your first girlfriend,
or your first kiss. Music is
magical. It can make you
laugh, or it can make you
cry. Music is truly a his-
tory of your life, and in
some ways a peek into your
future.
If Shrevie was around,
(and maybe he is), I don’t
think he’d like the way
music has evolved, or at
least the way you listen to it.
Something always seems to
get left behind as we move
on to bigger and better.
And I’m not so sure that
is always a good thing.
21
PHOTO PROVIDED
Roger Fairfield, Sharlene Weed, Rep. Daniel Bonham and Dwane Krumme
were in Salem last week to discuss housing issues with legislators.
HABITAT: Program
directors lobbied
in Salem
Continued from page 3
and advocacy to 28 Oregon
Habitat for Humanity
affiliates.
More than 25 Habitat sup-
porters met with 40 legisla-
tors. House Bill 4007 would
generate sustainable funding
for homeownership assis-
tance programs and emer-
gency shelter and affordable
rental housing. The advo-
cates also requested a ballot
referral that would amend
the Oregon Constitution to
allow municipalities to use
certain bonds to finance
affordable housing. The bills
are expected to move out of
committee by mid-February.
Sisters Habitat for
Humanity brings people
together to build homes,
community and hope. Since
1991, 63 families have pur-
chased their homes with
affordable financing through
the local organization. For
more information about
Sisters Habitat call 541-
549-1193 or email info@
sistershabitat.org.
We’re
Celebrating
Our 20th
Anniversary!
Sisters Christian Academy
Benefit Auction
Friday, February 23, 2018
At FivePine Conference Center
Doors open at 5:45
Dinner tickets - $50 each
V.I.P. tickets - $65 each
V.I.P. tickets allow early entry – 5:00
Hors d’oeuvres • Drinks • Free prizes
Live music
INSPIRING EXCELLENCE IN EVERY STUDENT
More information
call 541-549-4133