One of the perks of being a middle-aged person with a job and a house is the ability to have a reasonably nice stereo and a house in which to play it as loud as you wish. Honestly, it sorta makes all the other bullshit and expense related to home ownership and adulthood worth it.

I say this not to brag about my cool stuff. I’m just saying I love my stereo and my LPs and CDs. It’s not a super expensive stereo, but it sounds really good. Yamaha amp/receiver, Yamaha CD player, Audio Technica turntable, two Klipsch floor speakers. That’s it. No bluetooth, no “home theater.” A stereo for listening to music, and only music, thank you very much.

I year or two ago I had a conversation with some people in their 20s about the notion of “owning” music. It made no sense to them. The idea of buying a CD for $15 or an LP for $25 was nonsensical for most of them. Given the media landscape and current technology this makes sense. A lot of younger people prefer portability, mobility, and flexibility. The economy isn’t really that great for a lot of them either so as one of them said, why would you spend $25 on an album when you can spend $5 a month on Spotify and have access to EVERYTHING. Their logic is sound, but I like my stereo and the experience it provides. I also enjoy having thousands of songs on my phone. That’s awesome too.

Anyway, I’m sitting here this morning listening to The Jam. Happiness and bliss is happening.