What I learned at MIPA...

While the music industry has gone digital, there are places where music junkies can go to find everything they need-vinyl records, CDs and cassettes, while being owner-operated.

Think about it: Walking into a store, seeing huge rows of all things music, breathing in the atmosphere, you’ll notice that there are things you wouldn’t see on iTunes.

One place in particular called Flat, Black & Circular in East Lansing, has been open for 30 years, and the owners still are the ones to assist customers happily.

I was at Michigan State University for a journalism workshop and my teacher took us to the small store on the upper level of a building, to get a taste of what it was like.

As the class of 20 something teenagers walked into the store, one employee yelled “Call the fire department, we’re over our limit!”

I guess they aren’t used to the amount of people all at one time.

Which is, in a way, depressing.

Years ago, people used to trade CDs, records and cassettes; now with the click of a button you can send all your music to your friends.

It’s useful though, not having to actually lend your things to your friends if they aren’t very responsible and you don’t want them broken.

And it’s nice having every CD on a MP3 player.

Digital music is posing a threat to stores like Flat, Black & Circular.

It should be cheaper, considering there are no manufacturing costs or anything like that, so why are we still paying 99 cents for a song when we can go to a store and buy a CD and have it in a hard form, not just on a computer?

People may think that their music is safe on a computer, but think about it: Computers crash all the time.

Would you want to be the one who has however many songs lost in cyberspace because you downloaded all of them digitally?

I didn’t think so.

And when you download music digitally, you can only use the player that the store sells.

For example, if you have an iPod, you can’t go to another store and buy songs and put them on your iPod because of copy protection.

And if you try to get past this copy protection, you could be subjected to legal issues.

Apple reserves the right to change anything they want regarding the music you purchased because in a way, they still own it.

These copy protections place protection on your music, so that you can only burn them to a CD so many times, can’t share with others and can’t change the format of the music.

So is this really your music? You bought it, why shouldn’t you do whatever you want with it?

Because the digital music industry still wants to hold onto those rights.

Digital music is decreasing the satisfaction in listening to music.

There are many reasons for this, one being that the sound quality decreases.

Also you can’t get the cover art, lyrics and special features that usually come on CDs.

Going to a store like Flat, Black & Circular helps pay the bills for people who really need the money, unlike people at iTunes who are getting paid no matter what.

It’s not just because of money; it’s about saving an important part of culture.

Laptops For School

After finishing a simple column I began my search for a laptop fit for my needs. I am taking Opinion Writing, however I am more interrested in photography so while looking for a laptop Photoshop and Paint Shop Pro is a necessity for me aswell as the most common Word accessories. I started out with Dell looking for a notebook that was light to carry around, good graphics, good wireless internet connection, a long life battery, music capability and long warranties for the not-so-careful me. I found the Inspiron 1501 starting at the basic price $499 WITHOUT adding anything. After adding everything I needed for school, writing and photography the price rose from $499 to $1,714!
Laptop prices are beginning to become a bigger hastle with the need for more accessories for school and personal interrests. Prices raising $1215 just for the necessities is RIDICULOUS! Parents and teachers suggest students to get laptops for easier ways to complete homework and to have Word or Photoshop able to be accessed, however when College students, and even some High School students, have little money as it is with a part-time or even no job affording laptop prices becomes a struggle many are unwilling to make leaving the students handicapped in doing their assignments in a way others are able to.
Though studies show laptop prices are dropping for the basics they are still too high for many to afford. Adding more discounts for students could help out alot.

gotta go sorry!

Stardust

Fellow MIPA-ers (sorry, I wanted to think of a weird term and that was the best I could do),

I don't know about you, but I've really enjoyed my experience at MIPA. I've played pool for hours with strangers, I've discovered amazing music down at Flat, Black & Circular, and I've also had a little run-in with a bat (no joke). But all of that doesn't have anything to do with this blog, so I'll move on. As I'm sure you guessed the moment you read my title, I'm here to give my thoughts on last night's screening of Stardust (that voice fadeout at the beginning... Best. Sound Loss. Ever.). I went into the screening as a very skeptical observer; movies like Stardust aren't usually what I get excited over. The one thing that kept me slightly optimistic was the fact that Robert Deniro was in it. Ironically, that turned out to be the one aspect of Stardust that I absolutely hated. Don't get me wrong, the initial reveal of his character's "orientation" was brilliant, and I thought that you couldn't have chosen a better actor to use for that joke. However, I quickly grew disenchanted with the way that they kept pounding this joke into your head, with more and more stereotypes flying at you. All that being said, I think that Stardust was very funny as a whole, which I was not expecting. I just think that they should have toned this joke down a little bit because, honestly, we have enough homophobia circulated through our country right now. We don't need stars of the screen reinforcing it.

Yours truly,

Justin Pung

Feel The Music

So...I just got finished writing my column about how downloading music is changing the social interactions we have with people by going to music stores. I won't go into the details of it because it's pretty long but I just wanted to talk about the actual music stores on here.
We took a class trip to FBC (Flat, Black and Circular) which is a music store on Grand River here in East Lansing. Before going into this store I had never been to an actual music store. I usually go to Best Buy or Target if I want a CD. This place is amazing and seriously, if you ever pass a music store while walking down a street go in. It is such a great experience. There is so much going on inside the store. There is music everywhere in this small room (about the size of a large bedroom). They have records, CDs, and even DVDs. You could honestly walk around one of these stores for hours and never get bored becuase there is so much to look at. It's hard to find something you aren't interested in. Talking to the people who own the store, work there, and are regular shoppers there is also a treat. They each have an interesting story of what music stores and records, even CDs, mean to them.
Going to FBC gave me a whole new perspective on what it means to go out to a music store and just browse. I guess you can browse on iTunes and get certain songs but in a store you get to see the album and look at the cover. It seems kind of stupid but it's pretty fascinating.
The BEST part about FBC is that everything is super cheap. I got a two disc greatest hits album for ten bucks and I'm pretty sure it's a lot more than that at Best Buy. I think it is also fun to know that you are supporting a local music store that has been in the same place for about 30 years. They have gone through so many different things in their time as a music store and the people working there have probably met some interesting music lovers or even just music browsers.
If you're looking for something to do for the afternoon or you just really need some new music to add to your collection take a visit to FBC or find another cool music store near where you live.

MIPA so far...

So far, MIPA's been great... if you forget the unbearable heat and humidity in Shaw hall, where the outside air is cooler than the inside. This week has presented me a great opportunity to learn new writing techniques and styles, which has been beneficial.

There aren't really any complaints from me... besides the heat.

A unique experience...

This may seem a little random but I promise my story has a point:
A friend and I are positive that we have found the lost brother of a set of twins we know. He looks EXACTLY like them! He walks like them and talks like them. His body language is even similar to the twins we know.
After much theorizing we have decided on the only logical explanation for such a similarity between three people. The so-called twins must have been separated at birth from the mysterious 3rd brother. Maybe their mom didn't want the responsibility of having to take care of three boys? Maybe the 3rd brother was kidnapped at a young age? Who knows.
But, being student journalists, we have decided it is our job to uncover the truth about the mysterious triplets' past.
So we observe things about him and I swear the more we watch him the more he reminds us of the twins.
And, yes, we know we're creepy for watching him.
The point of my story is that I had no idea I would find my friends' long-lost brother while at the workshop this year. Yet another success story for MIPA.

FBC's; Flat Back & Circular

We took an amazing trip during class to this small record store in town. The room was probably no bigger than your standard master bedroom, but it was filled to the brim with records, CDs and tapes.

It was quite exciting. Everywhere you turned there was music. Bins and bins full of old tracks.

The trip served a purpose, as we were preparing to write an opinion piece on if we felt the digital age was eliminating a crucial social component of sharing and getting our music.

So we visisted the old record store to get some information, speak with the owner and employees, and see how many and what kind of customers were there. Not many, but the few that were, were hard core record store junkies. They offered very intersting insight into their feelings about downloading.

It was a worthwhile experience, and very hands on which was nice to sort of get a feel for the atmosphere of what we would be writing about rather than just imagining it all in our head. After all, a good journalists get out there and make a story happen... and that's exactly what we did.