J Larsen

But we wouldn't do that, would we??? Seriously, though - if they can figure out how to make a file that can only be played 10 times before it self destructs, they can figure out how to make a file that can only be played once before it self destructs, and then you have essentially the same system that I wished for (and am unlikely to ever get...)

That's exactly why I got my Tivoli. It doesn't stack up to my home system, but it sounds fine for background listening (which is, of course, the only kind of listening I can do at work anyway).

It's all a question of pricing. Pay-per-listen can more economical when one does not come back very often to the same music. It's like renting DVDs. Of course it's not for those who like collecting more than listening A system whereby for a monthly fee you could stream lossless files of *anything* would not be without its appeal...

I hear you, but I think in this case that the RIAA, if anything, has an incentive to overstate SACD sales (no one wants to buy into a doomed format).

The comparision with Betamax is too harsh. SACD is doing quite well on the classical market, which has a much larger proportion of audiophiles than pop or jazz. According to the RIAA, as of year-end 2005 less than 3 million SACDs had been sold in total (across all titles). That figure probably excludes hybrid discs, but still, not exactly a flourishing format.

Are you sure? I've never heard of Earl Cross, but the guy in that photo looks dead on like Butch Morris.

I tried one at Stereo Exchange in December and wasn't even close to impressed. I went with the solid-state Tivoli system instead. The Fat Man system sounded brittle to me.

Butch Morris? I'd put money on it. He was hanging out at the Tonic demonstration the other day, and still looks pretty much the same.

I got back a few grand, which I viewed as a stupid personal mistake. I lent the gov a chunk of my money at 0% - stupid, stupid, stupid. I'll plan better this year.

THIS SHOW WAS AWESOME!!!!! Great finale to my live-show-athon.

Because there is massive market demand for high-res movies and (especially) video games, but there are very few audiophiles. People don't pay close attention to music as much as they used to; background listening is the norm and hence audio quality for music files is not a big issue. Movies and video games are activities that require one's full attention, so video quality is more important to the average consumer. An important point. MG sure, but not the complete story. If the focus was only on video, then the industry would never have develloped SACD or audio-DVD. JB or to be more precise, if they wouldn't think they couild make a lot of money with those systems, they wouldn't have develloped them.. JB The development history of these formats pre-dates the paradigm shift in the consumer market. The industry ended up losing a lot of money rolling these formats out.

Because there is massive market demand for high-res movies and (especially) video games, but there are very few audiophiles. People don't pay close attention to music as much as they used to; background listening is the norm and hence audio quality for music files is not a big issue. Movies and video games are activities that require one's full attention, so video quality is more important to the average consumer. In this climate, most people would prefer to have all their music in one tiny little box that fits in their pocket and sounds "good enough to them" than have a big stereo system and cds laying all over the place. I'd prefer to have all my music in one tiny little box as long as the audio quality didn't suffer, but that's where I differ from the mainstream. I'm afraid we're just on the wrong side of the market forces on this one - not an unfamiliar position for jazz fans.

I doubt there is sufficient customer demand for each individual OJC to make it profitable to keep each one in print, however it does not require much customer demand for an MP3 to make providing it profitable.

I did the same thing as you with the emusic MP3s, but the question was will we keep the music backed up on our hard drives because of the failure rate of cdrs. Also, I think we're all wanting lossless files in this thread, in which case you'd be looking at around 10 albums to a DVD (rough estimate).

Likely not - we're getting close to fundamental limits on how much data can be read (as opposed to written) off of a magnetic disc of a given size. Also, hard discs have finite lifespans. On the other hand, there is plenty of room for improvement in download speeds, so perhaps we will be paying for the right to download a given record as often as we want. We'll find out soon enough, because the days of the widespread availability of recorded media are clearly numbered.

WTF, are you the Eveready bunny of somethin? It's been a busy week . After tonight I'm taking a break for a couple weeks - probably no more shows until Fred Frith. I forgot to mention that last night my friends and I caught a jazz set at Garage over on 7th ave after Jandek. It was sort of corny but somehow hit the spot - sometimes you need something to kind of reset your circuits after all this "out" music...

Forgot to mention - tonight I'm seeing Roky Erikson.

Fuji's cd-rs had short lifespans up until a few years ago because the dye they were using lost its reflectivity quickly. That problem is supposed to have been resolved (I know this from industry contacts, not from experience - I used to know a lot of people who worked in the physics and chemistry side of data storage).

Fact, but the esitmated lifespan of cdrs properly stored (ie in their cases and not in the sun) is over 100 years, so it is sort of a moot point. Also, there have at times been manufacturing issues with cds that caused unexpectedly short lifespans (chemical reactions between the plastic and recorded layers) - who knows if there are any more such issues waiting to be discovered in our collections in the neext 5, 10 or ?? years. I don't think it is likely, but the possibility can not be ruled out.

I felt that way about cds when they started taking over. I would welcome downloads on the assumption that they are at least as high-res as cds. Less clutter in the house, less physical junk to feel weighed down by, less worry about what happens if there is a fire, burgalary, etc, and better for the environment. There are greenhouse emissions associated with storing the stuff on servers, but far less than are associated with creating and delivering a physical product. All in all, it's just a better way to go - if it is done right. Currently it is not.

I know that this is not a shocking thing to say, but this man is a complete freak. He played an hour plus long suite (can't really say how long it was, because we left 2.5 hours into the set while the suite was still going) about assaulting a police officer for trespassing on his property, going to jail for it and wishing he had killed him. The guitar playing was pretty cool in its own way, though.

I knew it was doomed the minute I saw the notice that the basement had been condemned. That was their money-maker all along, because people dropped big money on alcohol down there.

Then I suppose it wasn't him (although I did hear Ribot say "Hi, John" to him). The others were positive ID's, though, seen them many, many times. Can't believe Tonic is gone, even though part of me knew it was inevitable all along.

Sort of, but clean shaven and less hair on his head.

I think that sometimes on the guitar a "broken chord" can also mean that you play "chunks" of the chord individually. Hendrix (and many others) did that a *lot* - he'd bang away on the bottom half of the chord for a few strokes and then play the top half with the bottom half still ringing out.