Jason Fry of the Wall Street Journal has been hanging out in a lot of bars (for journalism's sake, you understand). He's been researching a piece on digital jukeboxes. His working theory: digital jukeboxes, like those from TouchTunes or Ecast, destroy the community-building nature of their more mechanical cousins.

He takes us to bars throughout New York City, from a couple of Blarney Stone's in lower Manhattan to Hank's Saloon in Brooklyn, and wonders if bar owners will take the time required to customize their jukebox (while, at the same time, recalling proudly how much fun it can be to "find the gems in a jukebox full of classic-rock warhorses ... Give an frat-boy jukebox an indie tinge ... Keep your rock-minded friends entertained in a country bar ... "). He

But if you're going to subscribe to Fry's theory, that with mass customization and digitization comes loss in community and the thrill of the hunt for that one good song in an otherwise terrible jukebox, you'll have to agree that digital music -- and, most specifically, iTunes -- is killing community. If people can get any song they like, why should they listen to their friend's music, or (horrors) listen to the music selected by a group of barflys? By allowing people to have whatever they want, are we destroying that ability to get along?