barefoot, in the snow, uphill both ways

Yes, this is a "Back in my day...." lecture. Back in my day, the way we got our records (yes I mean records) and CDs went like this:

We read zines that were published by pretty organized and business-wise punkrockers. They were usually printed on newsprint. You might read about a band that kind of sounded cool to you, so you would search through the zine for the advertisement from that band's record label. The ad told you where to send the cash. When you received the CD, inside would be a folded up piece of paper that was a catalog from a "distro" (distribution company) that was just some punks probably running a little business out of their step-mom's garage. The catalog would be in tiny print. You would choose a CD or record and the catalog told you where to send the cash.

Even when the internet came around. Record labels' sites, bands' sites, and distros' sites were just long lists of text [in courrier font] that told you the music they carried and.. once again.... where to send the cash.

What with corporations taking over the the world and all, indie distros on the web have disappeared and basically the only place to get indie music from real live indiekids was on a site called Insound. All that said, I recently read that Warner has bought them out and when I heard that, I thought everyone needed a "Back in my day..." lecture.