January 3, 2026
Buffering? Not in my bunker
Ask HN: How to go back to listening to MP3s?
Are MP3s back? Offline lifers clash with streaming super-fans
TLDR: A viral thread asks how to ditch streaming and return to MP3s, sparking a clash between offline purists and discovery-loving streamers. Self-hosters champion Jellyfin and a revived WinAmp, while Pandora and YouTube fans defend algorithms; it’s a control-versus-convenience showdown with prepper humor and serious nostalgia.
An Ask HN thread lit up over a simple question: how do you go back to MP3s? The original poster went full prepper mode: if you don’t own local copies, the music “doesn’t exist,” streaming services can change or remove songs, and if a gamma ray burst zaps the internet, the tunes in those metal-boxed MP3 players will still slap. Cue the crowd: some cheered “same here,” claiming MP3s mean freedom—no buffering, no disappearing albums, no surprise edits. Others fired back with “discovery matters,” praising algorithm-powered playlists and that sweet new-song serendipity.
Self-hosters flexed instantly: Jellyfin got the top shout, plus old-school players like XMMS and Audacious. One commenter runs a home system with mpd (a simple music server) and a NAS (networked storage) feeding every device like a personal radio station. Nostalgia charged in with WinAmp making a comeback—the llama lives. Meanwhile, streaming loyalists hyped Pandora’s eerily accurate taste-matching and YouTube’s endless rabbit holes. Joke of the day: “Buffering? Not in my bunker,” while others teased MP3 hoarders for labeling their drives “doomsday disco.” The drama boils down to control vs convenience: own everything forever, or let the algorithm surprise you. Either way, the comments turned a tech question into a culture war over how we vibe.
Key Points
- •The author asks about switching back to listening to MP3s and states they never stopped.
- •They prefer local copies of music over online access due to perceived internet fragility and service instability.
- •They cite concerns about songs being censored, altered, or canceled as a reason to avoid relying on online platforms.
- •They describe an offline setup using multiple MP3 players connected to a small mixer and a 1990s sound system.
- •They store MP3 players in metal containers and boxes for shielding when not in use.