Big_Stacks"I don't worry about hittin' power, cause I don't give 'em nuttin' to hit." 4,670 Posts
DocMcCoy said:
tabira said:
Big_Stacks said:
Hey,
Simply put, music is the soundtrack of my life. Records have been there from the very beginning. Hell, "Journey to Satchidanada" (Alice Coltrane) was instrumental in pulling my wife! We bonded around our mutual affinity to music.
Peace,
Big Stacks from Kakalak
Damn of all the records.Sorry Stacks but I love your wife already
As date music goes, that is kind of out there...
Hey Doc
As my wife goes, "She's not just another woman, she's not, ooooh noooooo!!!"
One other thing the article doesn't point out is that even if said obscure song is available online, well, it's not like it's setting the world on fire. There have been countless times that I've come across great unknown tunes on YT that still remain virtually unknown with only a smattering of views. In time will that change? Sure it will, but it's no guarantee that some fetished 45 only side will ever truly be wider known outside of a record collecting community just because it now has an online profile.
This is another aspect of physical collecting irreplaceable by digital acces. Ive never been into collecting to sell on, but I know my collection represents an investment that I can possibly cash in at some point. Try selling your terabytes of music. Big difference to a lot of people.
Well in a way it's a rather good thing. The internet makes accessible music that is now quite distant and difficult to collect (I respect collecting but that's a choice, a beautiful and unpractical one).
But the new way doesn't prevent a culture of really digging and finding gems. The number of blogs and stuff that are/were promoting obscurities... of course often largely dependent on older collectors, but not just vinyl, it obviously doesn't depend on format. Some people still want a very personal relation with the music and not just download and be happy with the classics (and I suppose there's always been the two kinds of people in about the same balance).
And for that, what I tried to tell Okem, you still need to do the journey, everyone with his pair of ears and initial preconceptions. Taste is still acquired.
So in the end, it changes fuck all. Music has always switched formats. Music has always been an iceberg with 90% obscurity. If you care about the music, you take time with it. Of course it's ridiculous that I can download an obscure African album from 40 years ago minutes after hearing of its existence. Of course we're a bit spoiled. Of course it's tempting to just seek satisfaction and be impatient. Of course you immerse less in the culture and scenes if you're in front of your PC. But in the end, it's still your ears doing the work, and that's what matters, the experience, not how you got the album.
I relate the article to my own heyday, that post-punk wasteland 78-82.
I recall being at a Zounds gig, east city, there were 10 attendees and the band of 4. From a city of millions.
Of the 10, 3 were AnR/journos. 7 of us mouthed the words and checked out the chords.
After the gig we all had a few beers with the band.
Ended up making friends with 3 of those fans and starting a shitty band. Still in contact with dudes today.
The point is, back then you had to invest real time and effort into seeking this stuff out. And when you did, you met like minded people, who sought that stuff out too, who were invested in the same mindset from music, politics, social parameters, age, and so on.
And the same goes for the record shops of the time.
That has largely been lost, replaced by chat rooms and websites. Some call it progress. I don't think clicking the mouse, chin held in palm, is anything like that experience.
My collection is as important to me as it ever was.
If you have passion for your collection, if its something that takes up your time/money/thoughts then yes in a way its an extension of you, as much as material objects can be an extention anyway, maybe refection would be a better word.
The whole record buying/playing/collecting thing to me is a ritual, I love searing for the music (even if the way I do that has changed) I love playing the music, I love the sleeve notes, turning the record over and then pulling a random joint from the collection.
I had a memory come back to me yesterday, as a young child right up to my early teens I was fascinated by my grandmothers record collection (not so much the music as most of it wasn't to my taste) but I loved how she had a record cabinet, pulled out joints to play, would go to the shop to buy another one. Maybe that all rubbed of on me, my collection is as special to me as my grans apeard to be to her.
I just cant see me ever stopping collecting, even if record plants closed today and another record was never made Id still carry on.
I buy mostly new music these days and the only thing I don't like about collecting is the price, the price of new joints is crazy, its an expensive hobby but I love it.
That has largely been lost, replaced by chat rooms and websites. Some call it progress. I don't think clicking the mouse, chin held in palm, is anything like that experience.
I relate the article to my own heyday, that post-punk wasteland 78-82.
I recall being at a Zounds gig, east city, there were 10 attendees and the band of 4. From a city of millions.
Of the 10, 3 were AnR/journos. 7 of us mouthed the words and checked out the chords.
After the gig we all had a few beers with the band.
Ended up making friends with 3 of those fans and starting a shitty band. Still in contact with dudes today.
The point is, back then you had to invest real time and effort into seeking this stuff out. And when you did, you met like minded people, who sought that stuff out too, who were invested in the same mindset from music, politics, social parameters, age, and so on.
And the same goes for the record shops of the time.
That has largely been lost, replaced by chat rooms and websites. Some call it progress. I don't think clicking the mouse, chin held in palm, is anything like that experience.
This is where the writer is coming from. People connecting.
But the discussion going on here is great.
One thing that seems clear is, for dance/hip hop DJ culture, records have a different meaning and connects people differently than for rockists.
I appreciate the easiness of listening to any band these days. I remember the days of having to shell out hard earned money to listen to a tape or record. Sometimes they sucked, and I was regretful that I had wasted my money. Now I can preview all the songs and keep an eye out for the records that I liked.
All my records are listenable all the way through. All the one or two trackers have been sold, and I downloaded or ripped the individual songs to my computer. To me, I only want to have a record if it's listenable the whole way through because that's how I listen to them.
I like the sentiment earlier about records being a biography. Any album that was significant in my past, I've kept a record of. It's really nice to pull out Jawbreaker and reminisce over all my high school break-ups, or a Black Flag record that immediately puts me in my old Toyota pickup truck blasting dubbed tapes through a shitty stereo. It's incredible how an album can take you back to a time and place.
I really like the social process of buying and selling records. I do most of it in person and I love selling to kids that are getting excited about a band I know, or even telling me about a band I don't know. I just bought a jazz collection for this nice old man named Gerry. When I went to his house, I found out that like me he was a photographer, played saxaphone, and loved music. We had a great time and he was happy to see his collection go to someone excited about music. I've been getting up before the sunrise, heading to the record room, and listening to this collection. Some of it sucks and some of it is amazing, but I like understanding his taste as an individual music lover. I hear the best stories when I buy at garage sales. I met a 65 year old mexican lady that had a bunch of fania records and they were all signed to her. She had on a wife-beater and a tilted fedora and was pretty good looking for a 65 year old lady. She told me, "Oh I used to date him, and him, and him." She got to reminisce about old days, and every time I listen to one of those records that says "To Carmen" I think about her.
I suppose like the article says, what's missing from records is the social interaction of music nerds talking to music nerds. On the other hand, we here are all music nerds. To be fair, the internet has brought us together and helped us all discover and discuss the music we love. I'm certainly better off for this forum and the ability to listen to anything any time I want. I was so happy to find this forum and finally find a common aesthete with other people, even though most of you hate my San Diego flip-flops.
I suppose like anything, the internet is a tool to use. The mark of your character is how you use that tool. I will always remain someone who is passionate about music. How I listen to it remains to be seen.
Comments
Hey Doc
As my wife goes, "She's not just another woman, she's not, ooooh noooooo!!!"
Peace,
Big Stacks from Kakalak
This is another aspect of physical collecting irreplaceable by digital acces. Ive never been into collecting to sell on, but I know my collection represents an investment that I can possibly cash in at some point. Try selling your terabytes of music. Big difference to a lot of people.
But the new way doesn't prevent a culture of really digging and finding gems. The number of blogs and stuff that are/were promoting obscurities... of course often largely dependent on older collectors, but not just vinyl, it obviously doesn't depend on format. Some people still want a very personal relation with the music and not just download and be happy with the classics (and I suppose there's always been the two kinds of people in about the same balance).
And for that, what I tried to tell Okem, you still need to do the journey, everyone with his pair of ears and initial preconceptions. Taste is still acquired.
So in the end, it changes fuck all. Music has always switched formats. Music has always been an iceberg with 90% obscurity. If you care about the music, you take time with it. Of course it's ridiculous that I can download an obscure African album from 40 years ago minutes after hearing of its existence. Of course we're a bit spoiled. Of course it's tempting to just seek satisfaction and be impatient. Of course you immerse less in the culture and scenes if you're in front of your PC. But in the end, it's still your ears doing the work, and that's what matters, the experience, not how you got the album.
I recall being at a Zounds gig, east city, there were 10 attendees and the band of 4. From a city of millions.
Of the 10, 3 were AnR/journos. 7 of us mouthed the words and checked out the chords.
After the gig we all had a few beers with the band.
Ended up making friends with 3 of those fans and starting a shitty band. Still in contact with dudes today.
The point is, back then you had to invest real time and effort into seeking this stuff out. And when you did, you met like minded people, who sought that stuff out too, who were invested in the same mindset from music, politics, social parameters, age, and so on.
And the same goes for the record shops of the time.
That has largely been lost, replaced by chat rooms and websites. Some call it progress. I don't think clicking the mouse, chin held in palm, is anything like that experience.
If you have passion for your collection, if its something that takes up your time/money/thoughts then yes in a way its an extension of you, as much as material objects can be an extention anyway, maybe refection would be a better word.
The whole record buying/playing/collecting thing to me is a ritual, I love searing for the music (even if the way I do that has changed) I love playing the music, I love the sleeve notes, turning the record over and then pulling a random joint from the collection.
I had a memory come back to me yesterday, as a young child right up to my early teens I was fascinated by my grandmothers record collection (not so much the music as most of it wasn't to my taste) but I loved how she had a record cabinet, pulled out joints to play, would go to the shop to buy another one. Maybe that all rubbed of on me, my collection is as special to me as my grans apeard to be to her.
I just cant see me ever stopping collecting, even if record plants closed today and another record was never made Id still carry on.
I buy mostly new music these days and the only thing I don't like about collecting is the price, the price of new joints is crazy, its an expensive hobby but I love it.
HOW DARE YOU DISRESPECT OUR RELATIONSHIP
This is where the writer is coming from. People connecting.
But the discussion going on here is great.
One thing that seems clear is, for dance/hip hop DJ culture, records have a different meaning and connects people differently than for rockists.
Does the hat mean ODub is in the follically-challenged club?
All my records are listenable all the way through. All the one or two trackers have been sold, and I downloaded or ripped the individual songs to my computer. To me, I only want to have a record if it's listenable the whole way through because that's how I listen to them.
I like the sentiment earlier about records being a biography. Any album that was significant in my past, I've kept a record of. It's really nice to pull out Jawbreaker and reminisce over all my high school break-ups, or a Black Flag record that immediately puts me in my old Toyota pickup truck blasting dubbed tapes through a shitty stereo. It's incredible how an album can take you back to a time and place.
I really like the social process of buying and selling records. I do most of it in person and I love selling to kids that are getting excited about a band I know, or even telling me about a band I don't know. I just bought a jazz collection for this nice old man named Gerry. When I went to his house, I found out that like me he was a photographer, played saxaphone, and loved music. We had a great time and he was happy to see his collection go to someone excited about music. I've been getting up before the sunrise, heading to the record room, and listening to this collection. Some of it sucks and some of it is amazing, but I like understanding his taste as an individual music lover. I hear the best stories when I buy at garage sales. I met a 65 year old mexican lady that had a bunch of fania records and they were all signed to her. She had on a wife-beater and a tilted fedora and was pretty good looking for a 65 year old lady. She told me, "Oh I used to date him, and him, and him." She got to reminisce about old days, and every time I listen to one of those records that says "To Carmen" I think about her.
I suppose like the article says, what's missing from records is the social interaction of music nerds talking to music nerds. On the other hand, we here are all music nerds. To be fair, the internet has brought us together and helped us all discover and discuss the music we love. I'm certainly better off for this forum and the ability to listen to anything any time I want. I was so happy to find this forum and finally find a common aesthete with other people, even though most of you hate my San Diego flip-flops.
I suppose like anything, the internet is a tool to use. The mark of your character is how you use that tool. I will always remain someone who is passionate about music. How I listen to it remains to be seen.