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krj
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Music - Summer 2014
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Jul 1 16:03 UTC 2014 |
Just some quickie mentions of recent acquisitions and performances,
along with occasional notes on What's Left of the Music Business.
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| 76 responses total. |
krj
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response 1 of 76:
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Jul 1 16:03 UTC 2014 |
My happy discovery of recent weeks is blues guitarist Mary Flower,
who has a nice acoustic fingerpicking style which has been
really appealing to arabella & me. I just bought her
"Instrumental Breakdown" album, which compiles the instrumental-only
tunes from her early albums.
You can preview the whole album on the Bandcamp service, and
Bandcamp offers a great deal on both the CD and MP3 together.
http://maryflower.bandcamp.com/album/instrumental-breakdown
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krj
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response 2 of 76:
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Jul 1 16:10 UTC 2014 |
(( summer Agora #17 linked as Music #63 ))
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kentn
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response 3 of 76:
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Jul 1 17:09 UTC 2014 |
Thanks for the item, Ken!
The last CD I bought was a compilation album for Argent (Rod Argent's
group from the 70's).
I do still buy a CD every once in a while. I like that I can play it
without being connected to the internet. Although you can do the same
thing with an mp3 player, the sound isn't as good. I'm not always able
to listen to Youtube (which seems to be one modern replacement for
the record store turntable or radio in terms of finding out about new
music).
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walkman
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response 4 of 76:
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Jul 1 17:51 UTC 2014 |
The last CD I bought was Robyn Hitchcock's "Love From London" last year.
I don't buy CDs that often because I stream now. I do buy new releases
on Vinyl when availaible. The last Jimi Hendrix album and the last
Jello Biafra and the Guantanamo School Of Medicine album were available
on vinyl so they are in the collection. :)
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krj
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response 5 of 76:
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Jul 1 19:22 UTC 2014 |
Serious question for walkman: do you play the vinyl, or do you just
admire it? I just don't get the vinyl revival, and I'm speaking
from the experience of someone who acquired about 1500 LPs before
1990, and a handful of collectibles since then. I have not been able
to get my turntable up and running since 2000, in part because I have
not been able to make a clean decision about getting a new cartridge.
An owner of the used record store in East Lansing has told me that I
would be surprised at what they would buy from me, if I get around
to de-junking the vinyl collection down to about 750 keepers.
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tod
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response 6 of 76:
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Jul 1 20:56 UTC 2014 |
The latest from Ice T's Body Count (it's a cover of Suicidal
Tendencies' Institutionalized)
www.youtube.com/watch?v=fqIp3i1ZBzI
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walkman
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response 7 of 76:
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Jul 2 00:05 UTC 2014 |
#5 Yes, I actually do play vinyl. I also like making my own digital
backups and then using them over the "official" digital files.
I have a turntable within arm's distance to where I'm sitting. I keep
all my records in the other room because they do not fit where I'm at.
So when I am going to sit for a while, sometimes I gather a couple
records and bring them back to my desk area.
I also have about 3,000 CDs on a shelf within arms reach but I never
ever play those. All of my CD's were ripped to ALAC and can be readily
played through iTunes. The CD's are backup.
Summary: at my desk it's iTunes lossless for digital, turntable for
vinyl.
When I'm on the go, I generally use mp3s if I'm away from wifi and
streaming with wifi. I honestly don't use streaming as much as I should
to justify the cost. I have been known to carry around Minidisc players
and (big surprise) Sony Walkman cassette players (I prefer the Sports
models because they are high quality and low maintenance). I have sock
drawers full these things to my wife's dismay and a wall of tapes. LOL
Now, am I one of those "analog is better guys?" No. I do think analog is
more fun. I LOVE my tapes and I LOVE my records. It's hard to get
attached to a file. But digital is definitely superior in quality and
convenience. I know people can spend $80,000 and get analog to sound
better but that's not practical. My computer has a MODI DAC from Schiit
and one of their Magni headphone amps (combined $200) and it is a good
pairing for the ALAC library. Very affordable setup that will knock the
socks off of most analog setups. http://schiit.com/
#6 I torrented Body Count's old album (FLAC) with the Cop Killer song
and a few days later he was on Conan promoting a new album. Awesome
coincidence. I had that CD once when it was new and for some reason I
don't have it now. If i had to guess my brother stole it from me.
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walkman
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response 8 of 76:
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Jul 2 00:17 UTC 2014 |
#5 PS 1500 records is a very impressive collection! Check out the value
of some of those records. You will probably be surprised at how much
they are worth. I have many that are worth $80-100 all day long.
Also, if you replace your head shell, you can get a cheaper needle and
get great sound. I am now using a Shure M44-7 and I think the
replacement needles are like $30. I used to use Ortofon but I can
appreciate the fuller sound on the oldschool Shure. I discovered the
richness of Shure when I bought a jukebox that had a broken needle. I
ordered a replacement (totally shocked it was still in production) and
loved the sound so much I ordered another one for my turntable. I guess
DJ's swear by them too. Who knew?
http://www.amazon.com/Shure-M44-7-Standard-Turntable-
Cartridge/dp/B00008W2LW/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1404260121&sr=8-
1&keywords=m44-7
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walkman
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response 9 of 76:
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Jul 2 00:19 UTC 2014 |
(also, check out the reviews on that needle! 5 solid stars)
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walkman
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response 10 of 76:
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Jul 3 13:08 UTC 2014 |
I had an interesting conversation with the owner of Weirdsville Records
in Mount Clemens yesterday. We were talking about buying preferences of
people and the digital media vs everything else.
There are still people buying used records and books and the digital
does affect the bottom line of these stores but not to the extent that
they can't survive. There's a resurgence of book/record buyers. The
owner is expanding to a newer location. Will it last? Time will tell.
There are still a lot of people who just can't get into a book on a
kindle or a phone. I respect that choice even though I am against
collecting things (after struggling with having "things" and the vast
amount of storage space such collections take up). The best thing to me
is to sell the book to a used book store instead of keeping it around
and getting something new. Keep it fluid.
I don't feel the same way about music because I play it again and again.
I am happy to make room for more records.
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