"The Social History of the mp3"

Pitchfork has a long take on the 10-year history of the mp3 and raises a thought-provoking question: Will music over the last decade be remembered more for the technology or the music?

I tend to agree with author Erik Harvey in that the technology was the story. Just think past a few short years and marvel at what the mp3 spawned:

• Streaming radio
• Podcasts
• The spread of free music through file-sharing networks like Napster (remember them) and BitTorrent.
• iTunes and the iPod
• Emphasis on singles rather than albums
• Immediate release of music, including tons of live shows, what would have been B-sides and rarities, etc.
• The deterioration of the record labels and the birth of self-sustaining bands.

And that's just music. We're not even touching the side effects that include YouTube, Flickr, etc.

Set aside the debate over the poor quality of mp3s (here's my take), and it's clear that we'll look back on these days at the technology, not Black Eyed Peas

The amazing Charlie Poole

I've found myself diving deeper into old American roots music in recent years, and today got an introduction to the legendary Charlie Poole.

Charlie Poole (courtesy of WNYC.orgSoundcheck, one of my favorite radio shows, presented a terrific interview with Loudon Wainwright, whose new double CD is a tribute to Poole and his music, which laid the groundwork for country music and roots music in general.

Poole sold a half-million records in the 1920s -- remember this was a time when record players (aka Victrolas) were in their infancy. In other words, he was the Garth Brooks of his day.

Sadly, Poole, like many famous musicians, died an early death at age 39, the loser in a 13-week booze binge. I'm not ready to buy Wainwright's album or the box set mentioned in the podcast, but this 23-minute segment is well worth the listen for music fans digging into the roots of modern music.

Update on Thursday, August 27, 2009 at 10:11 PM by Logan Molen

AllMusic has a deeper history of Poole.