What Happened to New Release Fever?

Maybe it's just the area I live in, but it seems like I'm the last person in all of Orange County, NY that gives a damn about Tuesday.

Wait, Tuesday? What's so special about Tuesday?

Well, for those of you who aren't aware, Tuesday is the day that new releases come out. It's the day of the week that music nerds drool for as they wait in anticipation of getting their hands on the latest albums. Or at least they used to, before the invention of the internet and the ability to simply bootleg it, then yawn and dismiss any queries "Did you pick up the latest Britney Spears album?" with a wave of the hand and some variation on "I downloaded it; maybe I'll get it next week."

Did peer-to-peer filesharing kill Tuesday, or is there no one left that gives a damn? I remember having to hit several different stores when Grinderman came out last year; only one had it out in a display that read "New Releases." The others either had it buried somewhere in the shelves (disorganized as usual), or simply didn't have it out. On Tuesday, that's inexcusable; new releases should be at least on the shelves, properly organized and labeled, if not set up in their own sections advertising the fact "HEY DUMMY! THESE ALBUMS CAME OUT TODAY!"

I remember one local store that used to have a midnight release special. They didn't do it every week, but at least they did it once in awhile, when a new album's release was actually anticipated and people got into a foaming frenzy to get their hands on it. At least I think that's what they did; I never had the money to go out on midnight release nights. I guess a car and driver's license would have helped.

Anyway, I can't help but feel that people aren't excited about picking up new releases anymore. But why? Is it because they aren't listening to the radio as much anymore? Or has bootlegging killed the thrill of camping outside a store, waiting for the doors to open so you can make a beeline for the new music so hot it threatens to burn the building down? I don't know. But I do know, that even in this age of excessive communication, we aren't aware of all the new things that have hit the market. The Caretaker has had a new album out this year that I didn't know about (expect a review of that when I get my grubby mitts on it); an SPK album that was only available on vinyl and long out of print was reissued on CD this year and I never heard boo about it.

Who knows. Maybe I'm just complaining about something ephemeral, something I can't nail down the exact point of simply because I have a blog and a bottle of booze and feel the need to further clog the intertubes.*



*There's a funny story about some congressman or legislator of some kind who was babbling on and on about the internet having "tubes." It made no sense, but was funny nonetheless.