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Post subject: Re: My interest in owning tangible music has been decreasing
Posted: Sat Feb 06, 2016 11:58 am
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Back in the dinosaur days, I remember going to a record store where they had phone type booths complete with headphones. You picked up a demo vinyl record or several from the clerk at the counter, took it to the booth and checked it out for approval prior to purchase. Lineups stood outside your cubicle awaiting their turn. Other stores might play your selection over their sound system, still others just gave you your disc to purchase.

CDs came along, and maybe one would get lucky to preview the purchase before laying cash out. This was less likely, for a variety of reasons; however, the Internet and companies like Tower Records, Amazon, and many others made this feature more available.

MP3 and similar digital formats for download make previews a common practice, although rare occasions exist where previews are nowhere to be found.

Records had quality issues from great audiophile early pressings to terrible generational and bootleg pressings, off center holes, warps, bumps, inferior material, equalization, mono and stereo choices that were good and bad, different performance recordings that were region specific, and amongst other things, fraudulent distribution. As strange as it is, some of these characteristics, including different record covers and/or various labels for the same album, have made records collectable. Rarity plays a part and, because records are an older and more fragile technology, the chance of locating another limited recording seems, for the most part, more unlikely (some tapes also fall into this category).

CD quality and playback has been all over the map simply because of the nature of its technology. Audiophile and inferior recordings exist here too. Then there is the war amongst electronic firms unwilling to come to a consensus, and there are profits to fuel differences in decoding practices amongst other things. Are CDs compatible? In general, yes. Are they and their players' equal? No. The longevity and durability factors were debunked after initial promises.

Looking at some CDs in a collection you may find 2 or more that at first appear to be the same (same version, distributor, packaging, pricing, etc.); but, a closer look shows they are not identical. The differences are downplayed by design. Older CDs hit the market from the Netherlands that proposed to be equal in looks and quality from that of the primary distributor. They looked the same, but they did not mimick the original in sound quality, and even tracks may be different. Copies from well used analog masters found their way to market sometimes, and people discovered or suspected they did not get what they paid for or expected. Many times it took an expert to tell the difference. It took some time before this rip off became public knowledge. Many of the cases/covers were emblazoned with made in Holland or something to that fact (I'm sorry I don't recall exactly). Holland makes fantastic recordings, however, this specific rogue practice did not share in the quality.

Digital media such as MP3 most often allows us to preview before purchase. Again, digital standardization is something we may never see in our lifetime as future tweaks, competition, and planned obsolescence takes the stage. Are we downloading the original? Hmm? Maybe.

Goodbye Elcaset . . . Hello, combined digital and analog (for about $15,000)(Hey, remember when entry level big screens cost that much?!) Recently - http://elpj.com and an earlier version/article http://www.theabsolutesound.com/article ... turntable/

For some, that hardware may be a reason for increasing tangible music ownership; although, I'm sure only a few would take the leap . . . but, if the cost comes down . . .

Having a choice is great, but obviously there are pitfalls in each.IMHO.

Hey! What the hey!? I'll probably expire before and after a lot of these choices do.
:lol:
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Post subject: Re: My interest in owning tangible music has been decreasing
Posted: Sat Feb 06, 2016 12:56 pm
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In the lost era of vinyl, who didn't open their new album, plop it on, and study the cover and liner notes?? The concept of "taking in the whole album" was important. Annnnd ...you listened to the whole album, good and bad. Fast forward to today, the vast listening audience only wants to download the "best two songs". In a recent interview, Nicki Sixx questioned the making of an entire album: "What's the point of making an album when the vast listening audience only downloads two songs from it? The only people buying the entire album are the hardcore fans, with everybody else just borrowing it from them for free. We used to tour to sell albums. Now we only make albums so we can tour." The bottom line is the music industry has switched from being able to be profitable from selling music to playing live music. And -- for me personally -- I am not going to limit my music collection by paying 10x what I have to just so the "artist gets their share". Artists have to figure out how to make money by playing live. That is the new reality...

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Post subject: Re: My interest in owning tangible music has been decreasing
Posted: Sat Feb 06, 2016 8:32 pm
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01GT eibach wrote:
In the lost era of vinyl, who didn't open their new album, plop it on, and study the cover and liner notes?? The concept of "taking in the whole album" was important. Annnnd ...you listened to the whole album, good and bad. Fast forward to today, the vast listening audience only wants to download the "best two songs".

That there was no "fast forward" was a blessing, in many ways. Sure, you could lift and move the stylus at the risk of making a small dent in the groove, but for concept albums, there was no visible pause between the songs.

With digital music, you don't even have to fast forward, but can instantly position. And most music players can't even play songs back-to-back without a small breaks between songs, which has killed concept albums more than anything else.
They don't do surround sound or quadrophonic either. And stereo systems of today are utter crap compared to even the horrible boom boxes of the 80s, not to say anything of a real stereo system. 2" mono bluetooth speakers playing bad mp3s with loudness pumped to only have 3-6 dB of dynamics, and people are content. I don't get it. But I guess it explains some of the music choices, because much of the old music will be inaudible on today's systems.

Sorry for ranting.


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Post subject: Re: My interest in owning tangible music has been decreasing
Posted: Sun Feb 07, 2016 12:18 am
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arth1 wrote:
bluesguy55 wrote:
I buy CD's directly from artist's whenever possible at live events where they may be promoting their music and have CD's on hand , hey , maybe they need gas money while on the road .

I'm proud to support musicians , they gotta make a living too.


That might make you feel good, but artists buying each other's CDs is a net loss for the artists. Only the record companies and CD manufacturers win.

Say you buy five CDs from other artists at $12 a piece. And let's be very generous and say that the artist gets half of that. You have now spent $60, of which $30 goes to artists. If those five artists you bought from all do the same, the net effect is that each artist is spends $60, get $30 back, and as a result is $30 poorer. Meanwile, the label executives laugh their way to the bank.

If you don't produce music yourself, sure, spend! But the artist will make more if you pirate the music and drop $10 in the hat.

I don't think it's entirely the money they're concerned about. Countless times at gigs I've talked to the band and purchased their CD's/vinyls to show them that I really dig their music and they're making other people happy.
If you just see the money perspective then please go to a god damn gig by a band from these days. You'll see that there's a lot more to it than just money


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Post subject: Re: My interest in owning tangible music has been decreasing
Posted: Sun Feb 07, 2016 12:36 am
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arth1 wrote:
01GT eibach wrote:
In the lost era of vinyl, who didn't open their new album, plop it on, and study the cover and liner notes?? The concept of "taking in the whole album" was important. Annnnd ...you listened to the whole album, good and bad. Fast forward to today, the vast listening audience only wants to download the "best two songs".

That there was no "fast forward" was a blessing, in many ways. Sure, you could lift and move the stylus at the risk of making a small dent in the groove, but for concept albums, there was no visible pause between the songs.

With digital music, you don't even have to fast forward, but can instantly position. And most music players can't even play songs back-to-back without a small breaks between songs, which has killed concept albums more than anything else.
They don't do surround sound or quadrophonic either. And stereo systems of today are utter crap compared to even the horrible boom boxes of the 80s, not to say anything of a real stereo system. 2" mono bluetooth speakers playing bad mp3s with loudness pumped to only have 3-6 dB of dynamics, and people are content. I don't get it. But I guess it explains some of the music choices, because much of the old music will be inaudible on today's systems.

Sorry for ranting.

My iTunes downloaded Dark Side Of The Moon plays non stop in its entirety.

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Post subject: Re: My interest in owning tangible music has been decreasing
Posted: Sun Feb 07, 2016 4:25 am
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arth1 wrote:
01GT eibach wrote:
In the lost era of vinyl, who didn't open their new album, plop it on, and study the cover and liner notes?? The concept of "taking in the whole album" was important. Annnnd ...you listened to the whole album, good and bad. Fast forward to today, the vast listening audience only wants to download the "best two songs".

That there was no "fast forward" was a blessing, in many ways. Sure, you could lift and move the stylus at the risk of making a small dent in the groove, but for concept albums, there was no visible pause between the songs.

With digital music, you don't even have to fast forward, but can instantly position. And most music players can't even play songs back-to-back without a small breaks between songs, which has killed concept albums more than anything else.
They don't do surround sound or quadrophonic either. And stereo systems of today are utter crap compared to even the horrible boom boxes of the 80s, not to say anything of a real stereo system. 2" mono bluetooth speakers playing bad mp3s with loudness pumped to only have 3-6 dB of dynamics, and people are content. I don't get it. But I guess it explains some of the music choices, because much of the old music will be inaudible on today's systems.

Sorry for ranting.


+1000

8)

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Post subject: Re: My interest in owning tangible music has been decreasing
Posted: Sun Feb 07, 2016 11:27 am
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arth1 wrote:
... most music players can't even play songs back-to-back without a small breaks between songs, which has killed concept albums more than anything else.
Using iTunes you have the option to "join tracks" so they play seamlessly and in sequence and will not be split up into separate songs during a shuffled playback. The issue there is that they essentially become one file and as such, naming the file can be a challenge. It also eliminates the ability to skip to a specific song within the joined file. I do admit to having difficulty finding the joining option from time to time but it is there. Each new version of iTunes appears to move some of the features and commands around, making it time consuming sometimes to find them. I have found the easiest way to join tracks is when ripping music from CD. I preview the disc prior to ripping to determine if I wish to join any tracks. Then highlight the tracks in question from within the CD dialog box and right-click to find the join option.

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Post subject: Re: My interest in owning tangible music has been decreasing
Posted: Sun Feb 07, 2016 1:07 pm
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BMW-KTM wrote:
arth1 wrote:
... most music players can't even play songs back-to-back without a small breaks between songs, which has killed concept albums more than anything else.
Using iTunes you have the option to "join tracks" so they play seamlessly and in sequence and will not be split up into separate songs during a shuffled playback. The issue there is that they essentially become one file and as such, naming the file can be a challenge. It also eliminates the ability to skip to a specific song within the joined file. I do admit to having difficulty finding the joining option from time to time but it is there. Each new version of iTunes appears to move some of the features and commands around, making it time consuming sometimes to find them. I have found the easiest way to join tracks is when ripping music from CD. I preview the disc prior to ripping to determine if I wish to join any tracks. Then highlight the tracks in question from within the CD dialog box and right-click to find the join option.

Foobar2000 offers gapless playing of separate files, if the album has been ripped with the pause length information, like for instance with EAC (Exact Audio Copy). But it's about the only program that does. Perhaps Neil Young's Pono or Sony's $1000+ walkman do?
It's surely a loss for concept albums that this isn't standard.


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Post subject: Re: My interest in owning tangible music has been decreasing
Posted: Sun Feb 14, 2016 8:25 am
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Screamin Armadillo wrote:
I still buy CDs and LPs regularly...if possible, directly from the artist or the artist's website.

I often/usually rip the CD to my laptop and download it to my phone, and I have a turntable with a USB out port that allows me (with appropriate software) to digitize a vinyl LP.

Having a tangible physical copy is good for me, partially because I want to hear the artist's work in total and partially because I like to have a hard-copy backup if the electronic device fails. (Yes, I understand the cloud and how it works...I still like to do this the old fashioned way).

I also prefer books over a reader app or device, although I use both.

I'm a partial luddite.


I feel the same way, though, I don't buy vinyl anymore.

Still, I miss the days when you could actually read liner notes, study the crazy artwork and get extras inside. I remember getting the four portraits and the double-sided poster out of the Beatles white album and the cardboard cutouts from Sgt. Pepper. I received a wall poster that came with a cassette. It was half the size of the one that came with the LP and it was folded so many times you couldn't make it flat again.

Remember backmasking?


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Post subject: Re: My interest in owning tangible music has been decreasing
Posted: Sun Feb 14, 2016 10:34 pm
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stratmansteve wrote:
Screamin Armadillo wrote:
I still buy CDs and LPs regularly...if possible, directly from the artist or the artist's website.

I often/usually rip the CD to my laptop and download it to my phone, and I have a turntable with a USB out port that allows me (with appropriate software) to digitize a vinyl LP.

Having a tangible physical copy is good for me, partially because I want to hear the artist's work in total and partially because I like to have a hard-copy backup if the electronic device fails. (Yes, I understand the cloud and how it works...I still like to do this the old fashioned way).

I also prefer books over a reader app or device, although I use both.

I'm a partial luddite.


I feel the same way, though, I don't buy vinyl anymore.

Still, I miss the days when you could actually read liner notes, study the crazy artwork and get extras inside. I remember getting the four portraits and the double-sided poster out of the Beatles white album and the cardboard cutouts from Sgt. Pepper. I received a wall poster that came with a cassette. It was half the size of the one that came with the LP and it was folded so many times you couldn't make it flat again.

Remember backmasking?


Great question Steve, yes I do :D

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Post subject: Re: My interest in owning tangible music has been decreasing
Posted: Mon Feb 15, 2016 12:03 am
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Solid Body Love Songs wrote:
stratmansteve wrote:
Screamin Armadillo wrote:
I still buy CDs and LPs regularly...if possible, directly from the artist or the artist's website.

I often/usually rip the CD to my laptop and download it to my phone, and I have a turntable with a USB out port that allows me (with appropriate software) to digitize a vinyl LP.

Having a tangible physical copy is good for me, partially because I want to hear the artist's work in total and partially because I like to have a hard-copy backup if the electronic device fails. (Yes, I understand the cloud and how it works...I still like to do this the old fashioned way).

I also prefer books over a reader app or device, although I use both.

I'm a partial luddite.


I feel the same way, though, I don't buy vinyl anymore.

Still, I miss the days when you could actually read liner notes, study the crazy artwork and get extras inside. I remember getting the four portraits and the double-sided poster out of the Beatles white album and the cardboard cutouts from Sgt. Pepper. I received a wall poster that came with a cassette. It was half the size of the one that came with the LP and it was folded so many times you couldn't make it flat again.

Remember backmasking?


Great question Steve, yes I do :D

I believe the intro to Metallica's Blackened was backmasked. I remember TV talk shows that would discuss "hidden satanic messages" on metal albums lol!

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Post subject: Re: My interest in owning tangible music has been decreasing
Posted: Mon Feb 15, 2016 12:31 pm
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It seems that CDs put the kibosh on back masking . . . that was until software (and a resurgence of vinyl) resurrected it. :D

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