The Velvet Rope board has shrunk in the USA and the Record of the Day board has folded - leaving only the regular E-Mails precising the music related news in the other publications for lazy executives too bored to read them for themselves (I always distrusted that idea as the best information comes from pieces that don't obviously focus on music - if a reader doesn't care enough to peruse everything, they don't really love music - just the idea of appearing to do so - a very common epidemic in our industry now full of fake poseurs).

I watched the Tipsheet board slow down over the years - defenders of enthusiasm point to the rise of Twitter and Facebook (bollocks - none of them rave about good music either).

It's sad but true that people care less about music these days (Alex and I were discussing this over a meal recently).

I think it's because the specialisation of tastes has taken over - which makes it harder for genuine mass appeal hits to get attention. Funnily enough, only the Gotye track, which I can't understand, seems to be a recent genuine crossover hit.

So a forum that talks about the different beats or bass lines on a hip hop track might get some comments but anything with general appeal is too deep for the superficial 140 character generation.

Repercussions? Well, it reflects the superficiality of humanity. Quick solutions, simple explanations, caricatures and headline slogans are all we care about. No time or inclination for depth.

And the inevitable conclusion?

The destruction of the species, I'm afraid.

We've lost that loving feeling indeed.