The video you are about to watch is very special:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TOXoplVTcfY

I didn’t plan on take this footage or write about it, but it turned out more than post worthy. What you are witnessing is the first time my son has ever used an iPod. As you can see, for him its bliss. A simple, innocent, unpretentious, pure moment where beat meets mind and mind moves body. That, in itself, is probably of no interest to anyone but myself, so why do I care to put it here and write about it? Well, encapsulated in this moment are a few notes that represent how far we have advanced and how backwards we still are:

1. Past sharing = take a vinyl to a friend and play it. No piracy issues. Today = filetype? zune? iPod? player? protected? criminal?

2. Past song=song. Today Song=song/rintone/truetone/mp3/wav/drm/vidclip/cover/bitrate

3. Past music capacity = house shelf space. Today = disk space = $ dad will pay for next iPod.

4. Past 1000 songs = truck. Today 10,000 songs = pocket.

5. Past music = moving parts. Today music = on the move.

6. Past sharing = serenade. Today sharing = P2P

7. Past selling point = city center. Today selling point = planet earth.

8. Past phone = speak. Today (mobile) phone = another music player.

9. Past download = garbage in the house. Today download = music from net.

10. Past (corporate) promotion = Top of the Pops. Today (self) promotion = myspace.

11. Past recommend = talk to friend. Today recommend = something.web20.com

There is no doubt we have come a long way. A very long way. The biggest open issues remain compatibility and legality. The fact that 30 years ago it was easier to go places and “just play a song” whereas today it turns into a techno_legal symposium is mind boggling.

Over time this absurd will be resolved. By the time my son will be my age he will be able to continue to do what everyone should when listing to music - simply, innocently, unpretentiously, purely… dance!