By Jonathan Mensink

Staff Writer

I must confess: I download mp3s. In my defense, however, I must point out that I know where to draw the line. If anyone were to ask to see my CD collection, I would have more to show than a spindle of CDs with a permanent marker nearby. In fact, I could show more than one hundred legally purchased music albums. I could have just as easily downloaded all of the music contained on these albums, but I did not. I know where to draw the line. The line is between music intended for albums and music intended for immediate consumption.

Music intended for albums is, above all, music that is best experienced in totality. Consider classic rock and roll albums like The Beatles's ``Sergeant Pepper's Lonely Heart's Club Band'' or The Who's ``Tommy.'' To download ``Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds'' from the former or ``Pinball Wizard'' from the latter would be the equivalent of viewing the Sistine Chapel's ceiling through a pin hole. Perhaps viewing small fragments of Michelangelo's painting individually would nurture an appreciation for each element of the composition, but most choose to immerse themselves in the complete work. As for me, I choose to immerse myself in the musical artist's complete work: the album.

Albums, I have determined, have some definitive characteristics. As alluded to earlier, albums are more than a mere collection of songs; rather, albums contain a composition of musical work.

Collections and compositions differ along lines of listening pleasure. Collections often prompt listeners to skip a track here and there, listen to just one song, or sometimes sell the collection to a second hand store and download mp3s of any particular favorites from the collection. In a word, collections are divisible.

In contrast, compositions beg to be listened to in their entirety. For example, I can seldom listen to any of Weezer's debut album without wanting to listen to the entire album. In compositions, like Weezer's debut, the quality of listening remains too high throughout to listen to just one song.

In addition, albums offer more than just music to listen to. Albums have meaning, which most listeners grasp through the musical artist's lyrics. To more completely fit the album concept, musical artists like Pearl Jam will invoke meaning in both the music and in the album's visual art.

For example, Pearl Jam, as part of the lyric sheet for their album, ``Vitalogy,'' presents the lyrics of ``The Whipping'' as having been written on a petition to President Clinton. By juxtaposing their lyrics with this petition, Pearl Jam reveals the meaning within its music and reinforces it in creative fashion. Mp3 stockpilers with ``The Whipping'' on one of their playlists will miss Pearl Jam's visual art, which can only be obtained by purchasing the album.

As mp3 stockpilers have discovered, however, not all albums, or collections of songs, are worthy of purchase. Some music appears to be intended primarily for immediate consumption, whether it be via radio, music video, or internet download. Immediately consumable music consists almost entirely of hits often made by one-hit wonders. These hits make it onto the ``Now that's what I call music'' compilations and inevitably onto hard drives throughout the country.

I admit that I have downloaded some of these guilty pleasures and some of them have even proven worthy of burning to CD, yet none of them has cost me anything. Nothing about Default's ``Wasting My Time,'' for example, suggests to me that I should purchase an entire album, or collection of songs, by the group. I would prefer consuming Default's music immediately and in small doses.

Of course, because I have not heard an entire album by Default or any of the other groups I would file under the immediate consumption category, I cannot jump to too many conclusions. I can, however, establish a standard, or a line between what I purchase and what I download without feeling guilty.

I purchase albums and download songs. I could download everything and save myself some money, but I think fifteen dollars is a fair exchange for an album that is a complete composition of musical and visual art.