Jenna, I don’t believe that your feelings can be downsized to mere nostalgia. I look around and find myself shaking my head. Everything seems absurd - everything except nature, kindness, love. Unlimited subscription access is exhausting us. When you own something, you have the possibility to choose. Few of us can buy everything for economic reasons, for space. Even my shopaholic grandma ran out of space in her closet. When you truly choose what you want to invite into your life, there is value attached. This goes with relationships as well. Deep connection is not about a million followers. Maybe this is why I am not a numbers person - I don’t care about growing anything without the depth, the connection, the value, the true choosing. This topic goes so much further. It is just another reason why we are becoming less human. I am asking myself more frequently now questions like how is this choice (or non choice - impulse) affecting who I am becoming? It is all connected. Thank you for sharing. These reflections are fundamental. Maybe they can save a few before our entire existence, including entering our own hearts and minds needs a password. This is something I do not ever want to subscribe to. Sending love. xo
Everything does seem absurd, Danni. And numbers are meaningless without connection, that is absolutely true. Thanks so much for this thoughtful comment.
Mackenzie, thank you for reaching out. It always feels so good to have company with beliefs that are often viewed as extreme, but are actually the most natural and human. Sending love ❤️
I buy cds, dvds, and try to find old 1940s movies still. Quality and cd player at home and in the car help. Got out of graphic design because it is a parasitic field. Still there are audio books, and the internet. There are work around, or missing things, singers, authors, whatever, but I live a rather good life.
We're cleaning out our garage and there are 2 milk crates stacked full of cds. Originally I thought I was going to donate them but your comment made me think it's a better idea to hold onto these. Thank you
Who would have thought vinyl would come back. Also music on a streaming service, ugh! They don’t pay musicians, ai generated music, deletion of songs by the service (they can censor at will) same for audio books, online materials all can be manipulated to current cultural and political points of view. Nope.
I think the concept of renting things is useful sometimes, but also allows us to brush it aside as if it doesn’t have any value (despite some subscriptions being quite expensive). I also grew up in the time of opening that tape case and unfolding the jacket to look at the photos and lyrics and deep dive into the artistry and immerse myself in its very small world. There is a lot of nostalgia in that, but it’s not something that has been completely taken away because I still have my agency and attention to direct to new things… deeply. But I have to actively choose that in a noisy world, which isn’t easy!
As an aside, one of the weirdest memories I have is scouring eBay for old versions of Photoshop that had serial numbers so that I didn’t have to buy it. Pirated software got me thru the early days of my business!
I agree about the usefulness of renting some things, it's more the picture as a whole of where it's all headed and how much companies have a hold on us. I actually understand why software is a subscription. Updating and patches and security and all that. It's just impractical for it to be a buy once deal because it'll get outdated in a few months at this point. And oh, all the pirated software. I swear Adobe is punishing us now because it was SO easy to use it for free!
Everything — including continuing to breathe — is pretty much now a 30-day lease. Can no longer pay? It’s your own fault you died. I ponder about how that short-term future thinking affects our ability to think about longer term pursuits, like kids, a career, hope with anything…
Today we’re on a 30-day subscription model but what if capitalist decided we should now all be paying every 14 days, then 10, then daily…
The subscription service offered up by corporations is also a sneaky way to divert us from directly supporting the artists who make the items we're subscribing for. I've made a conscious effort to buy all the music I stream, so I have it in a thumb drive and on my laptop in the event I can't connect to the internet, and I've been stocking up on BluRays that my PS5 can play. In a way, this old fashioned way of collecting physical media makes me feel like a doomsday prepper.
I'm so glad you got to see Shiota's exhibit at Japan Society! That's an awesome picture of you in the main room. And thank you for the recipe link to the mentaiko pasta. I skipped out on trying it at a restaurant in Tokyo last year, but had something similar to it at Basta Pasta in Manhattan earlier this month (before they close for good next week) and loved the flavors and textures of the dish. Didn't realize it could be so easy to make at home!
Brian, have you been to the Shiota show yet? And whoa Basta Pasta. I haven't thought about that place in years. When we had our startup, our office was right above that restaurant. Sometimes we would have team lunches there.
Yes! I went to the Shiota exhibit the first Saturday of October. I figured it wouldn't be as expansive as Shiota's other shows around the world and in Boston, considering the size of Japan Society's space, but I still found the experience of walking through it and looking at the notes to be profound. The work describing being caught between two homes felt like home, given the Asian American experience for most of us. I hope to see more of her work in a larger environment again soon!
Every thing old is new again-Subscription libraries and reading rooms for periodicals and newspapers existed throughout 19th century America and I suspect other places as well. Then came the public library movement. How this era will evolve or not should be interesting -hopefully it will emulate the previous era and morph into shared community resources. At least the public library"s idealism and model gives that sharing ideal the future a shot.
I hope so Frank. I see pushback in the younger folks and I've been going to the library regularly again. There were threats a while ago for cutting back library hours where I live, but it's been restored. It's still an important community hub.
The pushback has started a while ago Jenna. I made the point to return to carefully owning books and music and cancelling all subscriptions. As a gen X'er I'm back to ripping CD's and putting them on my recently purchased iPod 5.5. I'm older, but if you look at Reddit you'll see hundreds of young 'uns doing the same as they realise the subscription con.
Oh, I spent days years ago ripping all my CDs before selling them. Still held onto my faves for sentimental reasons. Was just thinking of saving them for my kids who listen to some of the same bands I did as a teenager. I had a paragraph about gen Z's love of analog but deleted it here. I thought it might be its own essay one day.
I very much enjoyed reading this! I have a book coming out next year about our relationship with new things. As you pointed out, new things are sold as more convenient because of automation, personalization, seamlessness, etc. But the always-changing nature of stuff today in some ways makes them less convenient than the consistent and predictable things of past. I find this topic fascinating!
Thank you, Eric, and your book sounds interesting. Things change so fast now. I used to work in tech/design and two years out of it, I feel like I have little idea of what’s happening anymore - which on one hand feels like a relief, but on the other it’s hard to keep up.
I was thinking about this yesterday when I got an email saying the airtime bill of my phone is increasing, not by £1.80 but by £2.50. It exemplified for me, the harrowing consequence of not being able to own anything. Once you've roped in to the subscription service, you're at the mercy of their pricing. They have assumed the role of the local gangster, who threatens your store for a "protection fee" that they can raise at will. It strikes me as fundamentally unsustainable for everything to function this way. We are renting to pay off the mortgage of every single app, streaming site, phone company, software company, etc. I would like to see a legislated subscription cap but that would require a principled government who actually wants to stop the transfer of wealth upwards and not constantly enable it (and cash in on it).
Yes, I don’t see this happening since big tech is in bed with the government, especially here in the states. Look who’s bankrolling that vulgar display of excess he’s calling the ballroom at the white house. That’s what I mean by monopoly. Sure we can stop using some services but that’s not realistic for all. They have us trapped and nothing we can do but swallow the pill and pay up, unless we don’t want to live without internet or health insurance. I think in the next year, lots of people will have no choice here.
That description of opening a new cassette threw me back to those days in my youth. I miss those days sometimes--owning physical copies of art we love. I guess the closest I have to it is owning physical books.
And the closing line, "Community is something we build, not something to subscribe to", left me with something to think about.
We weren’t conditioned for instant gratification as we are now. I think that slow anticipation really made things feel special back then. And yes, we still have books!
Also, since reading this, I've been thinking about how some of these albums I listened to in some physical form (e.g. cassette or CDs) are albums I would listen to through and through. No skips. My mind anticipates what track comes next. The album, whatever it is, feels like an experience.
Music is more about single releases today rather than album releases meant to be listened through. Back when we listened on physical media, it was a pain to fast forward on tape!
And the heartbreak when the cassette player "eats" the tape (at least that's how we referred to it in my mother tongue). It's when the ribbon gets jammed and, if you're careful and lucky enough, you can fix it. The worst-case scenario was when I had to cut the ribbon (goodbye, cassette).
There is a great interview Chris Hedges did with Yanis Varoufakis about what Varoufakis coined as "Technofeudalism." Feels like a good companion piece to yours!
Jenna, I don’t believe that your feelings can be downsized to mere nostalgia. I look around and find myself shaking my head. Everything seems absurd - everything except nature, kindness, love. Unlimited subscription access is exhausting us. When you own something, you have the possibility to choose. Few of us can buy everything for economic reasons, for space. Even my shopaholic grandma ran out of space in her closet. When you truly choose what you want to invite into your life, there is value attached. This goes with relationships as well. Deep connection is not about a million followers. Maybe this is why I am not a numbers person - I don’t care about growing anything without the depth, the connection, the value, the true choosing. This topic goes so much further. It is just another reason why we are becoming less human. I am asking myself more frequently now questions like how is this choice (or non choice - impulse) affecting who I am becoming? It is all connected. Thank you for sharing. These reflections are fundamental. Maybe they can save a few before our entire existence, including entering our own hearts and minds needs a password. This is something I do not ever want to subscribe to. Sending love. xo
Everything does seem absurd, Danni. And numbers are meaningless without connection, that is absolutely true. Thanks so much for this thoughtful comment.
Thank you Danni, for putting into words exactly what I wanted to articulate but you said it a million times better 🤗✨🙏🏼
Mackenzie, thank you for reaching out. It always feels so good to have company with beliefs that are often viewed as extreme, but are actually the most natural and human. Sending love ❤️
I call it siphoning. Potato potAto.
Yes.
"growth to shareholders"
Slow, sensible, organic growth is one thing, but what shareholders want is more, more, more.
I got stuck on this to the point that nothing else I want to say, matters.
Corporate greed is like a poison.
I buy cds, dvds, and try to find old 1940s movies still. Quality and cd player at home and in the car help. Got out of graphic design because it is a parasitic field. Still there are audio books, and the internet. There are work around, or missing things, singers, authors, whatever, but I live a rather good life.
We're cleaning out our garage and there are 2 milk crates stacked full of cds. Originally I thought I was going to donate them but your comment made me think it's a better idea to hold onto these. Thank you
Who would have thought vinyl would come back. Also music on a streaming service, ugh! They don’t pay musicians, ai generated music, deletion of songs by the service (they can censor at will) same for audio books, online materials all can be manipulated to current cultural and political points of view. Nope.
I think the concept of renting things is useful sometimes, but also allows us to brush it aside as if it doesn’t have any value (despite some subscriptions being quite expensive). I also grew up in the time of opening that tape case and unfolding the jacket to look at the photos and lyrics and deep dive into the artistry and immerse myself in its very small world. There is a lot of nostalgia in that, but it’s not something that has been completely taken away because I still have my agency and attention to direct to new things… deeply. But I have to actively choose that in a noisy world, which isn’t easy!
As an aside, one of the weirdest memories I have is scouring eBay for old versions of Photoshop that had serial numbers so that I didn’t have to buy it. Pirated software got me thru the early days of my business!
I agree about the usefulness of renting some things, it's more the picture as a whole of where it's all headed and how much companies have a hold on us. I actually understand why software is a subscription. Updating and patches and security and all that. It's just impractical for it to be a buy once deal because it'll get outdated in a few months at this point. And oh, all the pirated software. I swear Adobe is punishing us now because it was SO easy to use it for free!
Bam! Right in the nose Jenna. Thank you for this brilliant essay
Thank you, Lynn!
Everything — including continuing to breathe — is pretty much now a 30-day lease. Can no longer pay? It’s your own fault you died. I ponder about how that short-term future thinking affects our ability to think about longer term pursuits, like kids, a career, hope with anything…
Today we’re on a 30-day subscription model but what if capitalist decided we should now all be paying every 14 days, then 10, then daily…
Totally. Anything to squeeze more money from the working class.
Hit the nail on the head here!
Thanks, Jonathan!
The subscription service offered up by corporations is also a sneaky way to divert us from directly supporting the artists who make the items we're subscribing for. I've made a conscious effort to buy all the music I stream, so I have it in a thumb drive and on my laptop in the event I can't connect to the internet, and I've been stocking up on BluRays that my PS5 can play. In a way, this old fashioned way of collecting physical media makes me feel like a doomsday prepper.
I'm so glad you got to see Shiota's exhibit at Japan Society! That's an awesome picture of you in the main room. And thank you for the recipe link to the mentaiko pasta. I skipped out on trying it at a restaurant in Tokyo last year, but had something similar to it at Basta Pasta in Manhattan earlier this month (before they close for good next week) and loved the flavors and textures of the dish. Didn't realize it could be so easy to make at home!
Brian, have you been to the Shiota show yet? And whoa Basta Pasta. I haven't thought about that place in years. When we had our startup, our office was right above that restaurant. Sometimes we would have team lunches there.
Yes! I went to the Shiota exhibit the first Saturday of October. I figured it wouldn't be as expansive as Shiota's other shows around the world and in Boston, considering the size of Japan Society's space, but I still found the experience of walking through it and looking at the notes to be profound. The work describing being caught between two homes felt like home, given the Asian American experience for most of us. I hope to see more of her work in a larger environment again soon!
Every thing old is new again-Subscription libraries and reading rooms for periodicals and newspapers existed throughout 19th century America and I suspect other places as well. Then came the public library movement. How this era will evolve or not should be interesting -hopefully it will emulate the previous era and morph into shared community resources. At least the public library"s idealism and model gives that sharing ideal the future a shot.
I hope so Frank. I see pushback in the younger folks and I've been going to the library regularly again. There were threats a while ago for cutting back library hours where I live, but it's been restored. It's still an important community hub.
The pushback has started a while ago Jenna. I made the point to return to carefully owning books and music and cancelling all subscriptions. As a gen X'er I'm back to ripping CD's and putting them on my recently purchased iPod 5.5. I'm older, but if you look at Reddit you'll see hundreds of young 'uns doing the same as they realise the subscription con.
Oh, I spent days years ago ripping all my CDs before selling them. Still held onto my faves for sentimental reasons. Was just thinking of saving them for my kids who listen to some of the same bands I did as a teenager. I had a paragraph about gen Z's love of analog but deleted it here. I thought it might be its own essay one day.
100% technology isn’t fun anymore.
It was fun way back then, wasn’t it?
Remember when you make mixtapes and CDs for friends and it was a big deal because it required effort and the ability to burn CDs?
Or when you got a new CD and it had that smell after you took the cellophane off?
Or when we could ICQ chat people for the first time and it was so cool to stay in touch that way?
Or when you could really actually walk away from work at night and they couldn’t reach you through slack etc?
I do! But recently my kid and I made Spotify playlists for each other and wrote up some liner notes. Not quite the same, but had the same feel!
I very much enjoyed reading this! I have a book coming out next year about our relationship with new things. As you pointed out, new things are sold as more convenient because of automation, personalization, seamlessness, etc. But the always-changing nature of stuff today in some ways makes them less convenient than the consistent and predictable things of past. I find this topic fascinating!
Thank you, Eric, and your book sounds interesting. Things change so fast now. I used to work in tech/design and two years out of it, I feel like I have little idea of what’s happening anymore - which on one hand feels like a relief, but on the other it’s hard to keep up.
So hard to keep up with it all.
I was thinking about this yesterday when I got an email saying the airtime bill of my phone is increasing, not by £1.80 but by £2.50. It exemplified for me, the harrowing consequence of not being able to own anything. Once you've roped in to the subscription service, you're at the mercy of their pricing. They have assumed the role of the local gangster, who threatens your store for a "protection fee" that they can raise at will. It strikes me as fundamentally unsustainable for everything to function this way. We are renting to pay off the mortgage of every single app, streaming site, phone company, software company, etc. I would like to see a legislated subscription cap but that would require a principled government who actually wants to stop the transfer of wealth upwards and not constantly enable it (and cash in on it).
Yes, I don’t see this happening since big tech is in bed with the government, especially here in the states. Look who’s bankrolling that vulgar display of excess he’s calling the ballroom at the white house. That’s what I mean by monopoly. Sure we can stop using some services but that’s not realistic for all. They have us trapped and nothing we can do but swallow the pill and pay up, unless we don’t want to live without internet or health insurance. I think in the next year, lots of people will have no choice here.
That description of opening a new cassette threw me back to those days in my youth. I miss those days sometimes--owning physical copies of art we love. I guess the closest I have to it is owning physical books.
And the closing line, "Community is something we build, not something to subscribe to", left me with something to think about.
We weren’t conditioned for instant gratification as we are now. I think that slow anticipation really made things feel special back then. And yes, we still have books!
Also, since reading this, I've been thinking about how some of these albums I listened to in some physical form (e.g. cassette or CDs) are albums I would listen to through and through. No skips. My mind anticipates what track comes next. The album, whatever it is, feels like an experience.
Music is more about single releases today rather than album releases meant to be listened through. Back when we listened on physical media, it was a pain to fast forward on tape!
And the heartbreak when the cassette player "eats" the tape (at least that's how we referred to it in my mother tongue). It's when the ribbon gets jammed and, if you're careful and lucky enough, you can fix it. The worst-case scenario was when I had to cut the ribbon (goodbye, cassette).
Yes, we called it that too!
There is a great interview Chris Hedges did with Yanis Varoufakis about what Varoufakis coined as "Technofeudalism." Feels like a good companion piece to yours!
https://open.substack.com/pub/chrishedges/p/technofeudalism-what-killed-capitalism?r=76shi&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web
I love the term technofeudalism. It’s spot on! Thanks for sharing this interview.