captainwrong

Speaking of, this is kind of what frustrates me about this mass deletion. Surely the continual licensing of these evergreens to audiophile labels (who sell their pressings for top dollar) have got to be offsetting costs somehow. And on a related note, let's delete a bunch of titles while releasing our own LP/CD packs of stuff that a) everyone who cares has probably already got on audiophile vinyl released in the last couple of years and b) anyone who cares has probably bought a dozen times already. I understand everything can't stay in print forever, but when you look at the number of different issues of Soul Station in the last few years, you have to ask if we could have a little less Soul Station and a little more Dippin'?

Wasn't Hopson a Philly DJ? I wanna say I have a CD of his WHAT show from 69.

In all seriousness, can I just tell you all about the SPLITTING HEADACHE I have from a visit tonight to my local record store, where the speakers above the bins are aimed right at your ears and cranked to 11? After about ten minutes, I almost left empty handed because I just wanted some silence and couldn't even think of what it was I was looking for anymore. The funny thing is, it wasn't even music I'd expect to be that loud, like some metal or hip-hop. It was some kinda wimpy folksy indie rock. Good riddance to that anyway.

I have a basement. There's a narrow and awkward spiral staircase that goes down to it that I think scares the wife a little. It is my lair. It is also the only place in the house where I can listen to music (relatively) undisturbed. I consider myself very lucky.

You've just given me a million dollar idea. It'll be an attachment for the iPod with a loop of surface noise and some random crackles that mixes in with your mp3s. Maybe I could make it skip every now and again and I'll have to add a little bit of distortion every 20 minutes or so to simulate innergroove mistracking. Even better, I could use the motion sensor in the iPhone so you have to physically flip it over every 20 minutes.

Been on my list since it came out, but I think you just sold me on it.

If the vast majority of the listening public can't tell the difference between a well encoded mp3 and the uncompressed source, does it matter?

I don't subscribe to any 'deserve to die' thesis. I loved record shops in their heyday. I do feel the are economically unviable. The market for physical product will be twofold: a) Roughly the 25+ age range who are avid music enthusiasts, a small proportion of that total population. b) Those in the 25+ age range who have only a little interest in music and tend to buy the big sellers; buying a CD out of a rack remains an easier way of acquiring the odd recording if the mysteries of downloading or online purchasing are too much. CDs will continue to be made as long as group b) are demanding them - but they can be distributed from supermarkets. In much the same way as you can still buy film for cameras because people like my mum can't understand how you can take a picture any other way. Given the business practices of the majors in recent years I cannot see any effort being expended to satisfy group a) (that's us!). ***************** As for condemning, any criticism of physical stores here is as nothing compared with the regular assertions levelled at download quality (in the last few days I saw 'crappy MP3s' stated as a fact). This, ignoring the rapid strides being made technologically in creating downloads. It reminds me of those who continue to deny the quality of CD next to vinyl because they heard some lazy transfers in the 80s. Things have moved on. I suspect any difference between a CD and a lossless download falls into the world of sticking your CDs in the fridge or colouring the edges with marker and convincing yourself they sound better (whatever happened to reversing polarity, by the way?). It's one thing to say you like the feel, packaging of a CD and the experience of buying it in a store. But there is often a subtext that this is a better way of acquiring music that will consequently survive once the current fad passes. In my view, it's sad to see a much enjoyed way of acquiring music pass; but I look to the new opportunities opened by the new ways. Travelling by car clearly misses out on many of the experiences of travelling by stage coach; but it also offers new possibilities. It means the staging inns must adapt or close; but that is the nature of change. ***************** This is an excellent post and an excellent analogy. Pretty much sums up everything I was trying to say earlier, but much better.

Absolutely. That's what did in my all time favorite shop and I didn't blame the guy one bit for cutting his overhead and going the eBay route. But the flipside is, for the shops left, if I'm looking for used stuff, it doesn't give me much incentive to come in if I know they're putting anything I'd want on eBay.

Recently, the biggest used vinyl store in town folded. This is a place I've been shopping at for 20+ years (and a half dozen locations.) I discovered a lot of good music there over the years. But, when I got right down to it, my visits there had slowed down considerably in the last 5 years. While I always appreciated having a local store like that, it had gotten harder to find anything good there. Part of that was increased competition, but most of it had to do with the store owner posting all the really good stuff straight to eBay. The leftovers weren't exactly special to begin with and the prices seemed to keep going up (including one time when the owner let me paw through a partially priced stack and I literally watched the prices go up before my eyes!) Not to mention the quality control was going way down. I'd see scratchy 45s with no sleeve priced at $20, just waiting for a wannabe beat digger who didn't know any better, LPs that should have been left in the dank basement they came from, etc., etc. While it's easy to blame mp3s for the demise of records stores, in my expirence a lot of store owners have changed their own priorities. About ten years ago, several around here went to eBay, first for a few things, then permanently. Others just stopped caring like the one I mentioned above. We still have a few record shops in town, but I still feel the cream of the crop is going to eBay (I know their seller IDs.) I can get new stuff easily, but anything used, outlook not so good. Can't say I blame them. I've done my share of eBay shopping too. It's kind of a chicken or the egg situation. Did store owners turn to eBay because that's where people like me shopped? Or did people like me go to eBay because that's where the stores were putting their best stuff? Not to mention the fact that it's easily been 10 years since I've been in one of these mythical record stores where the staff is knowledgeable about a wide variety of music and helpful to a fault. All too many shops I've been in are staffed by hipsters with rock critic tastes. I long ago gave up on walking in a store and blindly buying the clerk's suggestion. So, I can see this isn't a popular opinion, but I kind of see where this guy is coming from. If you have a store you like, well, color me jealous. Don't get me wrong, we have two good stores left, but neither are truly great record stores like the kind I used to go to. While I wish neither of their purveyors ill will, both could close and, as long as there's still the Internet, it wouldn't change my day too much.

Funny. I just bought a mono Kulu Se Mama that appears to have come from the Capitol club. (It has a Capitol number on the spine.)

that looks exactly like the disc I have which is the Jazz Heritage version of the Riverside King Oliver set. Good stuff, but I'm sure the set Chuck listed is miles better.

Same here.

Yeah, I'll almost be relieved when I'm through the last of my booster pack credit. I haven't had time to really delve into what I've downloaded.

Second the Kirk. Great album.

Y'know, I have Bad Walkin' Woman. Found the cover years before I finally found a record to put in it. And I still haven't listened to it. Maybe I should.

When you see the RVG of War - Platinum Jazz, you'll know they've reached it.

Grr...should have waited. Would have loved to get it in green.

Good list. I've downloaded quite a few of those myself.

Excellent point. Guess this may be the first real look at the damage from the consumer side anyway.

I guess with this scam at least you get a CD. Ironically, I stumbled across some ten year old JazzTimes cleaning yesterday and there was a big ad for 32 Jazz "Now at Best Buy!!! $6.99!!!"

Amazon Marketplace Out of Print = $$$. I often wonder if anyone actually buys this grossly overpriced stuff.

Inside Sauter-Finnegan, Sons of Sauter-Finnegan and Carlie Barnett - Redskin Romp. If you know anything about these records, they all have beautiful Jim Flora covers. These records are all in beautiful shape (one has a slight stain on the back but that's it.) I paid more for them than I'd care to admit, but I've been looking for them forever and the covers are in such good shape. Not my copies, but mine are as nice, in not nicer (and mine are LPs, not 45 albums):

I'd assume they are Scorpio. It's also safe to assume they are digital in source. Sidenote: somewhere along the way, someone told me vinyl.com is related to Scorpio. So, if you want to check out the title lists, that's where they are.

That's what always cracks me up about electronica artists live. The guy's sitting there with a laptop, and for all the audience knows, he could be checking his eBay auctions while iTunes is playing. The most boring "act" I ever saw was Oval opening for Tortoise. 45 minutes of a chubby nerdy guy sitting at a table behind a laptop. I felt like I was at work watching the guy across the room with my headphones up too loud.