What Would Mickey Think?

Sam Kuo
June 27, 2005

Recently, Apple announced that the iTunes music store sold more than 430 million songs in just two years. It's pretty impressive...so large a change from records and CDs to digital music, and in so brief a time. A new way for music lovers to access and listen to their favorite songs –– the soundtracks to their lives. So I couldn't help but muse, "What would Mickey think?"

Mickey* was my first roommate in college. We were both Communications Design majors and shared a dorm suite with two other guys majoring in Architecture. Mickey and I shared one room and the other two shared the other room, with a common kitchen, dining area and bathroom in between. Like any freshmen, we were all nervously getting to know each other. In reality, we were sizing each other up: Is he "cool?" Is he talented? Does he snore? etc...

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During orientation week, with the many get-togethers and parties, when we "mingled" it seemed like the topic of conversation would always turn to music. After all, we judge and are judged by who we like and dislike. (Like it or not.) I openly pledged allegiance to the Beatles, Springsteen, Dylan, and Pink Floyd, among others. I would eventually get into a friendly "who has been to what concert and where?" sparing contest with the new people we would meet.

However, I noticed Mickey seemed completely mystified at the value people placed on music. Basically, Mickey's view was, why would anyone "buy" music? It's "free" on the radio. Isn't that enough? He might concede to buying a single of a song one liked but buying the whole album -- not to mention a whole collection? And even going to concerts? No, not Mickey. But what really blew his mind was the massive database of the artist or band we all seemed to have at our fingertips.

I have to give it to Mickey, though. He did hide it well. For example, at the time, the rock group Squeeze had a hit, Black Coffee in Bed. But the group disbanded at about the same time the song went Number 1. He had no idea who Squeeze was but he clutched onto this information and used it whenever he could. So, I would see Mickey at a party and say with frustration, "Why would they break up when they were at the top?"

Did Mickey like any music? Yes, for example, at the time he knew there was a three-year-old hit song called, My Sharona by the Knack. But he only knew that through the song parody, My Bologna by Weird Al Yankovic.

One day, I was listening to a tape of groovy 60's/70's rock and roll music and the song, The Fish Cheer by Country Joe and the Fish came on. For most of us, this was an anti-Vietnam/anti-war song. But for Mickey, it was a song he could finally say he recognized -- not as the counter-culture anthem but as a goofy song he had heard from the Dr. Demento radio show. I didn't have the heart to tell him the truth since he was pro-military.

Some 20 years later, we can buy music anytime we want on the Internet for about 99 cents a song, and take our entire record collection with us in a box only the size of a pack of playing cards. Poor Mickey, I can only imagine him still asking, "Why?" and still faking interests just to fit in.

*Mickey is not his real name. His real name is Mike

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