Parasite Culture, complete with soundtrack

To one of my earlier posts, Anonymous commented "No good if we can't download them now is it ????????".

There is an implication that I owe someone something.

I can see the appeal of downloading rare and out of print recordings. Really I do. However it seems that the net has created a group of instant music snobs who can, with a few clicks, amass a truly awe-inspiring collection of the rarest of the obscure.

My question is, does one really value something that requires no effort or cost? Back in the pre-internet days, I spent a great deal of time and money trading records via snail mail, buying straight from the artist/label and spending hours in used shops tracking down that album I read about in tiny fanzines such as Impetus, Face Out, Outlet or Eurock.

It took some effort and cost to obtain the albums I wanted. I'm also saying that there was some satisfaction when that copy of ID Company or Hoisting the Black Flag fell into my hands.

No, I don't want to sit on a horde of records. Part of the enjoyment of music fandom is sharing the recorded treasures with friends and like-minded obsessives. The Gimme-Gimme aspect that seems to be developing is troubling.

Thoughts?