We're in business.
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@George-K said in We're in business.:
@Aqua-Letifer said in We're in business.:
That's rad.
I lived at home during college, and that's when I really started to get into classical music. Every Sunday, I'd go to a local department store, EJ Korvettes, that had a fabulous record section.
I would browse through the bins, and pick one album, one, every week. I did that for about 3 years. Most were RCA cheapo recordings, some Seraphim, etc. Nevertheless it was a great way to get into unheard music - it was always "That looks interesting!" And, I'd drop $3.19 and buy it.
Today, it's, as you say, too convenient.
There was also a record store that I walked by on the way to catch the bus home in high school. The owner, Val (RIP), and I got along well - I was one of her first customers. After watching me buy some albums, she ended up making recommendations for me. She was great.
Checked out the link—that looks like a pretty cool shop.
For me growing up, CDs and tapes were more of a thing of course, so it was an interesting mix of buying your own stuff, and making copies of what your friends had. But you still had to buy the things or make the copies. Took some effort, so you didn't just get your hands on any old thing.
No awesome music stores near me in my home town, but it was way out in the boonies, so the nearest legitimate music store was in the mall a mile away. Which, blech, but they did have a decent collection. (It wasn't a Sam Goody or anything like that, it was just some guy who had a space in the mall.)
@Aqua-Letifer said in We're in business.:
looks like a pretty cool shop
Yes. And, despite what I posted about the big department store, having a small, local "record store" where you got personalized attention and recommendations was wonderful.
Now, some algo say, "Because you listened to XXX, you might like YYY."
Fuck you in the ass with a cactus, algo.
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@Aqua-Letifer said in We're in business.:
looks like a pretty cool shop
Yes. And, despite what I posted about the big department store, having a small, local "record store" where you got personalized attention and recommendations was wonderful.
Now, some algo say, "Because you listened to XXX, you might like YYY."
Fuck you in the ass with a cactus, algo.
@George-K said in We're in business.:
Fuck you in the ass with a cactus, algo.
I'll check out things that are "recommended" to me from time to time, but never are those any good.I'm still primarily word of mouth. It's just that that now expands to folks whose podcasts I listen to and the like.
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Dude that is great!! It is on my list to create a similar set up to listen to vinyl records, and yes I had this idea long before it became trendy I guess? Your two points about the scarcity and what makes it special are really spot on. Have you listened to any Rach3??
Btw happy birthday (either today or in 5 days) I always forget which day it is. 25th or 30th. I think 6/30.
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@George-K I have a dealer now.
I went to a record store and picked up a few new ones:Toots and the Maytals - Funky Kingston
Sting - Ten Summoner's Tales
Iron Maiden - SenjutsuThe guy there said he'd be getting a few more Maiden albums on Thursday if I wanted to stop by.
And by the way, is it any fucking wonder vinyl's still sticking around? Here's what you get when you download Maiden's newest album on Spotify:
Here's the vinyl version:
Didn't intend on it, but ended up listening to all 3 records back to back.
Really glad Bruce is back; his voice seems to be like it used to be.
Please love yourself.
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Listening to Yes's Fragile now.
How is this shit so good? I've heard "Roundabout" so many times it's almost become boring. But this is so different. Why?
It's not a nostalgic thing. My dad listened largely to WDVE and DC101 growing up, his albums were in storage.
It's not the record crackling. I heard that growing up and never gave a shit.
I think it's two things:
- With Spotify, instant access to everything means nothing is special. But you can only listen to records you own. Scarcity makes it kinda special.
- It's a huge pain in the ass to select songs, so you don't, you select albums. You let them run in their entirety, beginning to end. So you're locked in: whatever the band and producers intended, that's what you're listening to. Which forces you to pay attention.
@Aqua-Letifer said in We're in business.:
Listening to Yes's Fragile now.
How is this shit so good? I've heard "Roundabout" so many times it's almost become boring. But this is so different. Why?
It's not a nostalgic thing. My dad listened largely to WDVE and DC101 growing up, his albums were in storage.
It's not the record crackling. I heard that growing up and never gave a shit.
I think it's two things:
- With Spotify, instant access to everything means nothing is special. But you can only listen to records you own. Scarcity makes it kinda special.
- It's a huge pain in the ass to select songs, so you don't, you select albums. You let them run in their entirety, beginning to end. So you're locked in: whatever the band and producers intended, that's what you're listening to. Which forces you to pay attention.
The music from that era - 65-74 - was so damn good. So inventive. Much of it had classical and jazz roots as well.
Albums I highly recommend:
ELO - No Answer
The Move - Looking On
Any early Yes and Genesis
Love Sculpture
Audience - House On The Hill
Jimi Electric Ladyland
Traffic - Low Spark of High Heeled Boys
New York Dolls - first album
King Crimson - In the Court of the Crimson King
Queen - the first album (they got more sophisticated later but not as rock)
Kris Kristofferson - The Silver Tongued Devil and I
Dylan Blood on the Tracks
The Byrds - Greatest HitsAnd about a million more that don't come to mind at the moment.
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@Aqua-Letifer said in We're in business.:
Listening to Yes's Fragile now.
How is this shit so good? I've heard "Roundabout" so many times it's almost become boring. But this is so different. Why?
It's not a nostalgic thing. My dad listened largely to WDVE and DC101 growing up, his albums were in storage.
It's not the record crackling. I heard that growing up and never gave a shit.
I think it's two things:
- With Spotify, instant access to everything means nothing is special. But you can only listen to records you own. Scarcity makes it kinda special.
- It's a huge pain in the ass to select songs, so you don't, you select albums. You let them run in their entirety, beginning to end. So you're locked in: whatever the band and producers intended, that's what you're listening to. Which forces you to pay attention.
The music from that era - 65-74 - was so damn good. So inventive. Much of it had classical and jazz roots as well.
Albums I highly recommend:
ELO - No Answer
The Move - Looking On
Any early Yes and Genesis
Love Sculpture
Audience - House On The Hill
Jimi Electric Ladyland
Traffic - Low Spark of High Heeled Boys
New York Dolls - first album
King Crimson - In the Court of the Crimson King
Queen - the first album (they got more sophisticated later but not as rock)
Kris Kristofferson - The Silver Tongued Devil and I
Dylan Blood on the Tracks
The Byrds - Greatest HitsAnd about a million more that don't come to mind at the moment.
@Mik said in We're in business.:
@Aqua-Letifer said in We're in business.:
Listening to Yes's Fragile now.
How is this shit so good? I've heard "Roundabout" so many times it's almost become boring. But this is so different. Why?
It's not a nostalgic thing. My dad listened largely to WDVE and DC101 growing up, his albums were in storage.
It's not the record crackling. I heard that growing up and never gave a shit.
I think it's two things:
- With Spotify, instant access to everything means nothing is special. But you can only listen to records you own. Scarcity makes it kinda special.
- It's a huge pain in the ass to select songs, so you don't, you select albums. You let them run in their entirety, beginning to end. So you're locked in: whatever the band and producers intended, that's what you're listening to. Which forces you to pay attention.
The music from that era - 65-74 - was so damn good. So inventive. Much of it had classical and jazz roots as well.
Absolutely it was. My dad put the vinyl in storage, but I heard this music all. The. Time. growing up. Driving 45 minutes into town to get dinner and a movie, blasting the shit throughout the house during spring cleaning, just everywhere. Especially when my uncles were in town.
One was in the merchant marines, another a Ranger. When they were home, my parents partied. From when they'd meet up until sometimes 3 AM. This went on for decades. (Back then, they were the age I am now.)
I can't tell you how many times I'd wake up on the couch at my grandmother's house (or ours), most of the lights would be off, but my parents and uncles would still be drinking beer and bullshitting in the kitchen. Telling jokes, talking football, talking movies. Steely Dan's "Do it Again," Stevie Wonder's "Higher Ground," David Bowie's "Young Americans," and everything on "Wish You Were Here" are permanently burned in my memory.
I loved waking up to those sounds: my family hanging out, music in the living room. Absolutely loved it. I know those songs by heart.
Things got weird after my grandmother passed. Some stupid real estate bullshit caused a rift with my parents and my merchant marine uncle; he'd come into DC sometimes and we'd see live music together, but he and my parents only conversed on the phone and only when they had to. He died a couple years ago. His partner put together what I think amounted to a pretty halfass service, quite awhile after he passed at that.
My other uncle lived in Germany for awhile, about the time I was born. Got married to a nurse. We met her a few times, she was nice. By the time we moved, he had divorced and moved back home. After my grandmother died, he disappeared into West Virginia, then Montana. Rumor is she moved in with him out there, but no one's seen him for about 10, 15 years.
He used to live 4 miles away and would drop by in the mornings to read the sports section.
I've some of those albums, Mik, but that's a great list. I'll start tracking down the others.
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@Mik said in We're in business.:
It's hard to lose those touchstones of your youth. They were your foundation.
Just the tip of the shitberg.
On my mom's side, I grew up with two uncles, an aunt, and 6 cousins I was very close to. On my dad's, 7 aunts and uncles, 8 cousins. We grew up together.Today, I have my parents.
And my wonderful in-laws.
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Congrats on your set up Aqua. Happy listening.
I think it's sad that the technology for listening to music has actually gone down since I was a kid.
I have a friend who spent well over $100K converting a portion of his basement into an audio room. He tried to get his kids interested but they only want to listen to music on their cell phones.
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@Jolly said in We're in business.:
Didn't Onkyo bite the dust recently?
Yes.
https://www.lbtechreviews.com/news/hi-fi/onkyo-has-gone-bankrupt
Which is timely since that was the audio receiver I tried setting up in my basement but didn't work well with Zone 2 (nor was it user friendly) so I returned it and went with an Amazon Link Amp.
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I am anxiously waiting for the new Porcupine Tree album on vinyl to arrive.
It was released last Friday and I do have the MP3s and the FLAC files. I listened to it on my big system using the Foobar2000 App on the PC through Bluetooth to a Topping Dx3 Pro DAC to my AKitiKA Pre-amp and amp combo, out to the Klipsch RF-7 Towers and twin 12" Klipsch subwoofers.
It's like the band is right there in living room. The bass drum shakes, rattles and rolls your bones.
The FLAC files sound incredibly good. I will be doing a side by side with the Vinyl when it arrives.
I am at the the point of needing a new stylus. I have well over 1,000 hours of listening on the Nagaoka MP150. The stylus for the MP150 is not cheap and I think I might just spend a little more go for a Boron cantilevered, MP200 stylus this time around. Just waiting to find a good deal on one. I broke my Grado Opus3 cantilever and the only thing Grado has is a replacement discount program. So, no cheap and easy fix for that one. Still deciding on what to do about that one. The discount is significant. They are offering a $500 discount on their $1500 cartridge. That's the top of line in the series. They have 4 levels of pricing starting at $180 for a replacement Opus 3.
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I am anxiously waiting for the new Porcupine Tree album on vinyl to arrive.
It was released last Friday and I do have the MP3s and the FLAC files. I listened to it on my big system using the Foobar2000 App on the PC through Bluetooth to a Topping Dx3 Pro DAC to my AKitiKA Pre-amp and amp combo, out to the Klipsch RF-7 Towers and twin 12" Klipsch subwoofers.
It's like the band is right there in living room. The bass drum shakes, rattles and rolls your bones.
The FLAC files sound incredibly good. I will be doing a side by side with the Vinyl when it arrives.
I am at the the point of needing a new stylus. I have well over 1,000 hours of listening on the Nagaoka MP150. The stylus for the MP150 is not cheap and I think I might just spend a little more go for a Boron cantilevered, MP200 stylus this time around. Just waiting to find a good deal on one. I broke my Grado Opus3 cantilever and the only thing Grado has is a replacement discount program. So, no cheap and easy fix for that one. Still deciding on what to do about that one. The discount is significant. They are offering a $500 discount on their $1500 cartridge. That's the top of line in the series. They have 4 levels of pricing starting at $180 for a replacement Opus 3.
@mark said in We're in business.:
The FLAC files sound incredibly good. I will be doing a side by side with the Vinyl when it arrives.
Please report on what you find! Still trying to navigate the greater world that is the vinyl soundscape.
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@mark said in We're in business.:
The FLAC files sound incredibly good. I will be doing a side by side with the Vinyl when it arrives.
Please report on what you find! Still trying to navigate the greater world that is the vinyl soundscape.
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@Aqua-Letifer what streaming service(s) do you use?
@mark said in We're in business.:
@Aqua-Letifer what streaming service(s) do you use?
For audio? Both Spotify and Apple Music.
Please love yourself.
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@mark said in We're in business.:
@Aqua-Letifer what streaming service(s) do you use?
For audio? Both Spotify and Apple Music.
@Aqua-Letifer said in We're in business.:
@mark said in We're in business.:
@Aqua-Letifer what streaming service(s) do you use?
For audio? Both Spotify and Apple Music.
Do you see a difference? If so, what?
Selection? Quality?
"Now look here, you Baltic gas passer... " - Mik, 6/14/08
The saying, "Lite is just one damn thing after another," is a gross understatement. The damn things overlap.
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@George-K I have a dealer now.
I went to a record store and picked up a few new ones:Toots and the Maytals - Funky Kingston
Sting - Ten Summoner's Tales
Iron Maiden - SenjutsuThe guy there said he'd be getting a few more Maiden albums on Thursday if I wanted to stop by.
And by the way, is it any fucking wonder vinyl's still sticking around? Here's what you get when you download Maiden's newest album on Spotify:
Here's the vinyl version:
Didn't intend on it, but ended up listening to all 3 records back to back.
Really glad Bruce is back; his voice seems to be like it used to be.
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@Aqua-Letifer said in We're in business.:
@mark said in We're in business.:
@Aqua-Letifer what streaming service(s) do you use?
For audio? Both Spotify and Apple Music.
Do you see a difference? If so, what?
Selection? Quality?
@George-K said in We're in business.:
@Aqua-Letifer said in We're in business.:
@mark said in We're in business.:
@Aqua-Letifer what streaming service(s) do you use?
For audio? Both Spotify and Apple Music.
Do you see a difference? If so, what?
Selection? Quality?
Quality, no, but selection? Definitely. Spotify has more. But, they can and do pull albums at any moment. Usually only happens with fringe stuff but it's still pretty bullshit.
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Did you get a free mullet with that album?
@jon-nyc said in We're in business.:
Did you get a free mullet with that album?
No but I did get a sleeveless tour shirt and a coupon for a barbed wire tattoo.
