How relevant is rare music anymore?
platurn
1 Post
Just curious as to what you Soulstrutters think at this point since practically every piece of music that's been put to wax by humans is now available for download in some far corner of the web if you know how to look for it.
Do people (or more so DJs/record collectors) care about music's limited availability the way we used to? Do you still get excited when you finally find that one thing you've been looking for forever, on record?
Is vinyl culture really making a comeback?
Do people (or more so DJs/record collectors) care about music's limited availability the way we used to? Do you still get excited when you finally find that one thing you've been looking for forever, on record?
Is vinyl culture really making a comeback?
Comments
There are still things that the interwebs can't help you with though, which I quite like.
I've collected records casually for a long ass time but I've never really coveted shit just because it was raer. That said, my balls sweat heavily when I chance upon a long time want. I don't know why that is considering I usually already have it in digital format. Must be the physicality of the item and the fact that I'm old enough to remember a time when the internet didn't exist.
I think raerness is still important. Just as good as giving a crowd a buzz from a song they all know and can sing along too, is the pleasure from dropping some ish they've never heard before but are all feeling.
Although these days I can never tell if a bar full of *young people* who are vigourously nodding and swaying to a track do so because they like it, or because they're being ironic or something.
WELCOME hommie!
so true - and chances are its not because they like it, sadly.
it's a sad time we live in, maybe the dark ages of music... it's almost like everyone lacks soul and depth of character and identity... sheep (no pun intended) if you will....
I'm a younger generation record collector/occasional dj, and I'm pretty indifferent to the rarity of a record. I buy rare stuff low, get a clean rip, play it for a few months, and sell it high. My collection consists of just enough records to throw a vinyl only night. Mostly cheap classics in various genres.
My attitude towards records probably has little to do with what the original poster meant by vinyl culture, but as a serious music fan I can't imagine living without vinyl. There's some stuff you really can't find online in a high quality format. And I've learned as much about music by digging through dollar bins as I have learned on the internet.
I think record digging is still relevant for folks who are serious about music. Some do it, some don't, it's true. It's not a disqualifier, but I definitely think dudes who think they can get it all online for free at this point, are kind of missing the point. There is still plenty of stuff that is not easy to get on the internet, for one; for two, I think that the mentality and the routine of looking for records and listening to them with the intent of finding something out - whatever that is, be it a break for a disco edit, a sound or a loop, a groove, or just a classic to play out - that mentality, that focus, is a little different than that of nabbing mp3s because you already know you need it, or you know to look for them. It's cutting your own trail through the wilderness versus following someone else's.
A lot of DJs and producers have fallen by the wayside, vinyl-wise, definitely. But I don't think it's a coincidence that few of them lead the pack in their lane. IMO, no offense to anyone, but to me that's a bit of a sucker move right there. The most thorough guys in the music game are still buying actual records.
Plus, you never want to be that dude who when everyone shows up to play vinyl, you don't have the joints or you are caught asking if you can bring your laptop. :nagl:
In fact, you want to be the dude who shows up who does have the joints, and then some.
"How relevant is rare music anymore?"
shouldn't this be
"Is rare music still relevant?", or "How relevant is rare music now?"
'is' and 'anymore' together does not seem to compute. DB Cooper to breakdown the grammar syntax.
Recently I've just been buying the records I want to listen to, and have cared very little about their play out potential, rarity, etc. However, for a few years me and some friends had a monthly night that had a really openminded audience - you could play almost anything, which meant we always tried to find new stuff to play. That's sort of what I'm missing these days - hopefully I'll get back into it. For me personally though, the vastness of online music is definitely a mixed thing. I'm glad I'm able to hear rare/impossible records, mixes, remixes and everything that's out there, but sometimes it's just too overwhelming. That's when you throw on a Thelonious Monk album and just chill the fuck out.
That's true, and the amount of great reissues/comps coming out is also a mixed thing - I used to pick up new quality comps that interested be, but now there's an overwhelming amount! Soundway, Jazzman, Numero and many more... Definitely a factor that means less motivation to buy some OGs for me, especially when quality reissues are done right.
That's true, and the amount of great reissues/comps coming out is also a mixed thing - I used to pick up new quality comps that interested be, but now there's an overwhelming amount! Soundway, Jazzman, Numero and many more... Definitely a factor that means less motivation to buy some OGs for me, especially when quality reissues are done right. Take the Lyman Woodard album for example - great stuff, but not something I personally feel inclined to drop loot on when I have the Waxpo reissue... I'd rather buy something I haven't heard before.
I think sales of dj-oriented music on vinyl is gonna continue to decline but in rock and pop it will grow as more and more stop buying cds. Myself, I'm just starting listening to my vinyl collection again, especially Spotify has killed all other ways of listening to new music.
i am so out of the loop, is this a real thing? trendsetters dancing ironically to music they don;t like? i don;t get it...
About damn time, too!
Haha... seriously! Welcome homie
For what it's worth, I'm sure I get more trainspotters when I DJ from tunes that I've bought online than stuff I've bought on wax and then ripped. That's anecdotal of course, and reflects the gigs and types of music I play as much as anything, but I think it still says something about the validity of online digging from a DJs perspective.
Hey Flaturn,
First of all, welcome to Soul Strut!!! You made a cool first post. To respond to your question, Jonny's post I quoted aptly states my position. I'm old-school (40 years old), so I'm from the era when you hunted down, physically, the records you wanted. I'll never give that up.
Peace,
Big Stacks from Kakalak
What's up Platurn! It's about time!
I honestly think records can be a real distraction from some of that more important stuff. Not all the time, not for everyone, but there's only so many hours any on person has to look for and listen to music, and probably 99 percent of DJs would be better served just going through a whole Motown discography of common stuff searching out things they don't have. There are a lot of f**king retarded beats and mixes and remixes and edits that have been made pretty much just because something was rare.
Oh and welcome to Soulstrut Platurn!
preaching to the choir here, and i think that's one big difference between a lot of record/music lovers vs those people out there in the pews:
Becky wants to hear "what's hot" right now, i.e. what everyone else is playing.
Jonny's point about the way in which we search through vinyl and how it forces/encourages you to discover things on your own that you weren't already up on is pretty much the anti-thesis of that.