By Woodrow Whyte

Have you ever bought a record that you’ve never heard before, only to discover it was total balls? I recall one formative experience when I was about fourteen and I inadvertently bought an album by Australian F-rate pop-punk band The Androids. Considering Green Day are the ‘A’ grade in this highly questionable category, you can probably guess just how fucking appalling it was. I was horrified. “What have I done to deserve this?” I thought, as I marched straight back to the shop that dared sell me what is essentially the most embarrassing record I have ever bought.

Thankfully the likelihood of repeating this experience is all but a distant nightmare thanks to the internet. We can all try before we buy…or not buy at all as the case may be. For me, I can’t remember the last time I bought an album without hearing the music beforehand – or at least having a vague idea of what it was going to sound like. Yet, when the internet is taken away from you, things can get pretty dire. I ended up without the internet for the best part of a month and I felt like a complete neo-luddite. I didn’t quite realise it before but I am wholly reliant on the internet for new music, which in hindsight is not the best way to be.