Play It Right
I've torrented music before. That is to say, I've been the beneficiary of piracy. I'm part of the problem. I'm complicit.
But, then again, who hasn't illegally downloaded an album or two? Not that that is any way to justify one's actions. No, the way I justify it to myself is that the music that I occasionally download for free is, by and large, from decades ago, created by musicians that have by now very clearly made it. Oh, sorry, Robert Plant, yeah, I illegally downloaded Led Zeppelin III. Why don't you dry your tears with your 120 million dollars.
On the flip side, I pride myself on being a conscientious music consumer when it actually matters. I've added five albums to my iTunes library this year, and I paid for four of them (the outlier being the aforementioned Zeppelin album). These purchases are recent(-ish) albums from contemporary artists. Still touring, still recording, still working the grind. I'm not a monster.
Most recently I took the leap and bought Sylvan Esso's eponymous album from 2014. It's a wicked set of electro-folk-pop tunes, Amelia Meath's bright vocals carried by Nick Sanborn's intricate synth assemblies. I first heard "H.S.K.T." maybe last year, and have since gradually sampled the rest of the album, leading me to finally buy it last week. Try listening without dancing:
Compare it to the dreamy "Coffee", the next track on the album. It has a beautiful, smooth, and gentle flow—decidedly more relaxed. But even so, you can't help but move your body.
God, that's good. Hopefully they'll come to Toronto some time and I can see them live.
Bonus listening, "Play It Right":