I well remember the thrill of clutching a bag with the logo of a Palings, or a Zounds, an HMV or even a local record shop, knowing that a brand new LP was inside. The journey home by train, bus or car was one of a tense countdown to the moment when the slick new cover hove properly into view, and the vinyl was gently squeezed through the sleeve and lovingly laid upon the turntable. Then the entire album - both sides, without elision, was played and usually played again straight after. The immersion in a new musical work had begun.

I am glad that I came through the joyful limitations of analogue into the digital world of anything, anytime. I am thrilled at the opportunity to play anything, anytime, because I have the inadvertent training that the old system gave me. Listen to the whole, it said. Then listen again, allowing the aggregation of songs to create an impression. At some later time, preferences will emerge and choices can be made. But the whole remains greater than the parts.

From what I gather of the digital zeitgeist, the opposite is probably true. Folks assuredly still listen to whole albums through, but the temptation is there to surf, jump tracks or choose a new artist. There is just so much content, why plod through an album chronologically? The technology of analogue forced us to stay with the project - digital offers a kind of pyrrhic liberation, at best.