Apples To Apples

All of those commentators are right: the cd is dead and music files dwarf any form of music format. It’s been so long since I bought a cd that I was actually surprised when I drove home and saw a box full of cds sitting in front of my door.
I couldn’t wait to emerse myself in them.
Notsomuch for the music, but for the content. You see, one of the was one of the new Hendrix reissues (I know, I know) that boasts better fidelity and a dvd. To that point, the dvd is a joke-it only runs about 15 minutes-but you do get to see a salivating Eddie Kramer break down key tracks and I dig shit like that.
I love watching people like him, George Martin, Roy Thomas Baker, whoever, sitting in front of a big console and isolating tracks.
Who wouldn’t give a toe to be that guy?
For the brief running time, I suppose it is pretty interesting-and considering what I paid for the disc, I’d even suggest that it was worth the price of admission.
Especially considering it would have been the same price to download the file from iTunes or Amazon.
The beauty of those services is how immediate it is and how it’s now becoming the only option available for some of those out-of-print titles. I recently did a review of The Dream Syndicate’s Medicine Show for Glorious Noise after remembering how great that album was. I could have shelled over $50 for an original copy of the out-of-print cd of that title, half of that for the vinyl version, or gone cheaper for a cassette copy that would surely rub the oxide off the moment I began to play it on my never-used NAD cassette deck.
Or I could have-and I did-download the entire album and the companion live e.p. for under $10. In just a few moments on a Sunday night at 10:30, I was listening to a relic from my past.
But those discs grabbed my attention. Sure, I immediately uploaded them to my iPod (in fact, the last time I tried to use my NAD cd player, it skipped, jumped, and was more hassle than it was worth) but then I opened up the disc and read the liner notes just like old times.
When you make a price point that’s comparable to a download, there’s a chance that I’ll choose the cd. Unless it’s a new artist, in which case, I’m gonna stay with the file until I’m sure that I want a permanent, hard copy. Full disclosure, I get a lot of stuff for free to review and have the luxury of deleting it after I’m done with it, but even then there’s another option. You’ll often be granted access to an audio stream, which I use a lot and then compose the review on the fly. After two or three spins, I’ll determine if the release is hard drive worthy and then download the file. If it meets an even higher criteria, there’s a chance that I may buy the actual disc of it.
Deerhunter, Animal Collective, and Love Is All seem to be sure things.
Classic albums and others from my past also take priority-but even then, it’s not a sure thing. If you’re still going to jack me for $15 a disc, I’m going to look for a free copy.
Haven’t you heard? We’re tired of getting ripped off and we know you’re making a nice profit on every cd!
At the same time, it’s hilarious that only NOW has Universal Music gotten the hint and they're offering most of their catalog for $10.
You’re a little late, hoss. That would have been huge news a decade ago when it counted.
The labels need to fess up and start following Apple’s lead. I know I recently poked fun at their hissy fit with Amazon, but let’s be honest-there’s really nobody that can touch them in terms of technology and developing products that appeal to our most human emotions.
Like music.
If they can bring the remaining two things that still have me buying cds-album art and lossless audio-then I’ll be stopping my cd purchases for good. It's practically there right now (this was the first cd purchase for me in 2010).
And because Jobs is a music fan like you and I, there’s a good chance that the last bastion of physical music appeal is coming soon. The iPad sounds and looks awesome. It's the kind of device that would enable you to listen to music and look at the album art at the same time. Or watch the video for the lead track. Or watch the producer isolate tracks on the "making of" documentary that came with your album purchase. Or maybe it would even let you isolate the tracks and do it yourself.
Hell, I should copyright that idea for an iPad application!
And now that Apple has bought EMI records (acquiring the Beatles’ catalog in the process), they be able to press forward with those ideas-starting with rock music’s most famous band.
Sure, other labels can stick to their guns and try to force up music prices again, but with Apple as a loss leader with a nice catalog of artists to promote, those labels are facing a losing battle and a diminishing market share.
There is very little to not convince me that Steve Jobs is working on a completely different level than most other CEOs and that his vision is at a point where I’d be a fool not to put Apple ahead of any other copy when it comes to computers, phones, or any other electronic device.
Plus, he's a music fan on top of it all.
I can't say the same thing about Bill Gates.

Lou Zoom

Wow. I don't know what to make of this.
Not so much the idea of an IPhone application that helps old people, but that Lou Reed is marketing it and in some ways leading people to believe that he developed it.
Yes, it's Lou saturated in color to hide his wrinkles promoting an application that zooms your IPhone contacts.
Nothing wrong with that...but Lou Reed?
It's neither funny nor all that motivating; do they really think that Lou in oversized glasses and poking a $300 phone with a Japanese Sai is good marketing?
And the name Lou Zoom? Reeks of his ego more than a memorable name for an app that may indeed have a market.

Daily Deal Disturbs Douchebags At Apple

It pains me to admit this but I haven’t bought a cd in quite a while. I received some great discs for Christmas because my awesome mother-in-law looked at my Amazon wish list and pretty much dismantled it. She did that a few years ago too, and I didn’t have the heart to tell her that the version of Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap was actually the Australian version-so I got the remastered US version (which actually was nice because my existing copy was the crappy-sounding domestic).
Anyway, I don’t buy cds that much any longer because my expensive NAD player is on the fritz and I just seem to immediately burn the disc to ITunes anyway. For some of you, additional cds are a matter of space and to that I would suggest “Buy a home a designate a room for your indulgences.”
I have one; it’s the one with a bunch of my daughter’s toys littering the floor.
I love the convenience of ITunes, and to be fair, I love the same characteristics of Amazon. Strangely, I still use Amazon for physical purchases (sorry Insound and Newbury) because as soon as I get above $25, that shit gets shipped free and without sales tax.
On occasion, I get those dreaded sale emails that usually get the automatic “shift/delete” treatment, unless it’s address from one of those aforementioned retails who know I’m a softy for anything music related.
Lately, Amazon has been sending me emails about their Daily Deals which amount to big discounts on MP3s, but only for a specific time. Admittedly, I completely forget to check my email sometimes (even with the Blackberry notifies-I really go to town with the “delete prior” function on those).
But Amazon is worthy of a look and they’ve got enough data on me that they can swing for the bleachers and get a home run every now and then. Since I didn’t buy Chutes Too Narrow from them, I forgive them for suggesting it to me. But it was the price that had me doing a spit-take and clicking on their link for more titles.
The Daily Deal for that Shins release was a mere $5 for an MP3 copy of the album. I immediately found enough material that made the $5 price point attractive and Amazon has remained a fond retailer in my eyes even more than when they dangled this drool-worthy price point. Hell, I’ve got a wrong-sized furnace filter in the next room that’s at least three titles at that price.
Apparently, ITunes must know that $5 a title is a good deal too as they’re using their 70% market share to muscle against Amazon. As cool as Steve Jobs thinks that he is and as much attention as he gets when he farts, you would think there’d be enough hippie idealism left in his well-compensated skull to not worry about such things as Amazon Daily Deals. But the reality is much different as Apple has been making threats to the labels that allow their titles to be offered for little more than a steal, advising them that they will not be featured in any ITunes promotional offerings.
So if you’re keeping score-when labels bitch and moan about the $0.99 price point, Apple caves, but when music fans get a chance to download an entire album for $5 at a competing retailer-never mind its one that will ever make a real dent in Apple’s market share, they get all roided up and pissy.
I thought Jobs was all passionate about music ‘n shit, but it’s obvious that he’s worried about things like “power” and “respect” even on items that won’t add dime one to his bottom line or take away from it either.
Meanwhile, my fucking Extras episode that I bought from ITunes stopped playing after a few views (I can hear the audio just fine, but get nothing but color static on the display), and I can’t find anyone at Apple to help fix it.
Their advice? Buy the episode again.
No thanks, maybe I’ll order the complete season from Amazon instead.

And The Drummer's, He's So Shattered, Trying To Keep Uptime

Paul Lamere is a badass who is much smarter than me and who runs a nifty website about music technology called Music Machinery. One of his most entertaining posts recently was on the topic of “the loudness war,” or “how compression is killing the sonic glory of rock music” (an actual quote…from me). Anyway, he studied a few tracks from various artists and compiled the results to see how the dynamic range is pathetic, particularly with the new Metallica album.
It’s true; repeated listening of that album will give you audio fatigue and cause you to physically harm other people.
But I already knew about this from other stories about Death Magnetic and how the dude who mastered it would like his name removed from the brittle piece of shit. But the real discover that Mr. Lamere made was in providing computer evidence that The Stooges Raw Power placed them as the loudest band of all time (in terms of dynamic range, anyway) while Brian Eno may be the quietist.
Full story here.
Another great find that Lamere did was from a few months ago, when he created a computer program that is able to decipher when drummers utilize a click track.
For those not familiar with what a click track is, it is essentially an electronic metronome that many drummers use during recording. The idea is that they are able to create a near-perfect tempo by using this tool. The weird thing is-and maybe this is a male, penis thing-that some drummers consider using a click track “cheating,” stating that if you’re not able to keep a perfect tempo at all times then you’re some kind of pussy.
Personally, you’re making a record; make it as pristine and perfect as you want. I’ve got no problem with drummers that use a click track and totally admire the ones that don’t, particularly when you don’t notice a difference. On many of the recordings that I did, I totally used the metronome feature when drumming. Mostly because I was always speeding up and fucking the entire thing up. And when you have wasted an entire afternoon because you can keep time for four minutes, you tend to use whatever tools are available.
But knowing how hard it was made hearing a comment that Phil Rudd made several years ago stand out even more. When you listen to his work-particularly his drumming on Highway To Hell and Back In Black- you can’t help but notice how near-perfect it is. The dude is completely in the pocket and does not deviate. Rudd claimed that these recordings were done without the aid of a click track. Both of these albums were produced by Robert “Mutt” Lange, a notorious perfectionist and a vocal supporter of click tracks. Lange is an introverted wealthy weirdo, so we don’t have his remembrance on if Rudd performed to a click track.
That’s where Lamere comes in (the actual track was plotted by Arren Lex).
I asked him to consider hooking up a Rudd fueled AC/DC track and see if the drummer was a liar or not. From the test, it appears that Phil Rudd is being honest when he states that he does not play with a click track.
Of surprising note: Neil Peart does.

CDs=8-Tracks

According to The Lefsetz Letter, a blog that I totally enjoy reading, I am reaching the point where my cd collection is obsolete and will be worth a total of, oh, around $347 by the end of this year.

Sometime in the next twelve to eighteen months CD sales are going to decline so precipitously as to cause the major labels to rethink their digital strategy. With the iTunes Store no replacement for discs, they’ll be forced to authorize a new method of distribution, just to maintain their bottom lines.

You’ve seen this movie. With film. For fifteen years seers predicted digital would eclipse the old format. This finally happened a year ago, when Konica Minolta exited the camera business and Nikon essentially stopped making film cameras. Same thing is going to happen in the music business, with CDs, it’s just a matter of when.

Would someone remind me why I sold off all those records twenty years ago?
I'm becoming increasingly frightened that my idea of music is completely archaic that I'll become yet another forgotten hold-out that record companies will eventually write off.
And this after moving nearly 2,000 individual discs into a new home while people can carry double that in an iPod.
I have no right to make fun of 8-tracks, RCA SelectaVision, or Betamax tapes any longer.

The Decline of the Independent Record Store

Tower Records has finally gone under. On October 6, the company was sold to Great American Group (the parent company of such “wonderful” stores like F.Y.E.) and the existing stores are currently being liquidated for a going out of business sale that will see the locations close by the end of the year.
We have no Tower Records in Iowa; they could be found in larger cities and, for someone like me, became a destination point whenever I traveled to a location fortunate enough to have one. The stores were a destination point because they housed a huge inventory selection. I was used to being a “special order” kind of guy, so it was very refreshing to walk into a Tower Records and find a band’s entire catalog available and even some import titles.

My first ever visit to a Tower was in the mid-80’s when cds were still fairly novel and when certain titles were hard to find. It was in Orange County, California, and I walked out with a vinyl import copy of XTC’s Go Two, an import cd copy of XTC’s The Big Express, an import cd copy of The Smiths’ Meat Is Murder and another vinyl album that I can’t remember the name of. How I got the vinyl back to Iowa un-warped and in one piece also remain a mystery.
The feeling of walking into a record store like that got me thinking of the various record stores that have managed to give me some joy. They’re the type of locations that, if you were unfortunate enough to be there with me, you’d become one of those “Are you done yet?” type of people while I’d still be on the “M” section.
Sadly, a lot of the stores that made an impact with me didn’t make enough of an impact with others; a lot of them are no longer in business but for those that are, I’ve tried to provide links if available. Here’s something that boggles my mind: I can remember what albums that I bought at some of these stores. This has to be a sign of some mental illness.

• DISC JOCKEY RECORDS (Keokuk, Iowa)-A chain, I know, but it was in my hometown and they did special orders. They had a fairly decent selection otherwise and they even had an import section. I’ll give them credit for later stocking titles that normally wouldn’t sell in small town Iowa; at least they listened to their customers. They did a terrible job of recommending titles, though. A worker there who was a grade ahead of me suggested that I get Planet P Project’s Pink World and Lita Ford’s Dancin’ On The Edge. Both efforts where awful and I immediately returned them. Typically, I would take a razor blade and make a deep, visually hidden cut in the first track. When you returned a record, it had to skip on their fancy Technics turntable before they would take it back and issue a refund. This trick ensured that every return I made was “legit” and helped me avoid future ridicule if someone found a Lita Ford or Planet P Project album in my collection. Oh, and the douchebag also sold me on the notion that the Planet P Project album was pressed on pink vinyl. Only his promotional copy was, but regardless of the color of the vinyl, that album sucked huge balls. Another dude made fun of the band named Scritti Polliti when I ordered the 12” for “Hypnotize” there. Record store clerks in Keokuk, Iowa don’t have the right to make fun of anyone’s music taste, in my opinion.
• UNKNOWN RECORD STORE (Quincy, Illinois)-I tried to run a search to find the name of this independent record store that was located in downtown Quincy, Illinois, but had no luck. Quincy was about 45 minutes away and was a frequent destination point when I first got my drivers license. This was an important store because it was the first store that also had used records. Thus began my tradition of bringing old records for them to buy and then turn around with the in-store credit to get albums that I wanted. The owner was a friendly middle-aged dude with a mustache. He was really into progressive rock and recommended that I buy Supertramp Brother Where You Bound, the first album that they did without vocalist Rodger Hodgson. It had a 16 minute long title track and guitar work from David Gilmour. It’s quite possible that I let the guy know I was a huge Pink Floyd fan at the time, which may explain why he recommended this album to me. In any event, it was a bad recommendation; I sold it back to the store for a loss a few months later and picked up a used vinyl copy of XTC’s Black Sea. That album, in case you’re wondering, is awesome.
  The store did a good job of stocking high priced import cds, particularly when domestic versions of the title weren’t available. If you’re good at math, you can add up how much money I actually loss when I sold vinyl copies to them at $3 a pop only to turn around and buy an import version of The Sex Pistols Never Mind The Bullocks at the hefty price of $30. This was also the same store where I bought the obligatory copy of Bob Marley’s Legend, thereby starting my love of reggae music.
• WEIRD HAROLD’S (Burlington, Iowa)-Still open and still with a huge vinyl collection. They also have a nice selection of used cds that can occasionally provide a customer with a great find. The store’s been around since 1972 and it’s still run by Dennis (or Denny, I can’t remember) who’s a nice guy. He’s not real up on rare titles (I got a first run edition of Stone Roses’ first album cheap) but he knows the value of the classic rock collection. While in radio, I would bring tons of promotional copies here, unload them for next to nothing, and have enough in-store credit to build the station’s library as well as my own. His wife owns the art store that it’s attached to, which may explain why it’s still around today. Small independent record stores in the downtown of a river town typically don’t last this long. I’ve never had anything recommended here; they just ring up the shit and say “Thank you.” Oh, and if you’re looking for that copy of Mason Proffit or Missouri, this is the place that will normally have it on the shelves. No shit.
• BJ RECORDS (Iowa City, Iowa)-It ain’t around anymore, but back in the day it was one cool record store. Lots of indie titles and a little added snobbery (the section for Madonna was listed as Madorka, but this was when she was still fairly new and her cultural relevance was questionable). We’d car trip up to Iowa City to be around the cool college kids and we’d find ourselves here (along with the headshops that sold bongs and one-hitters). They’d tolerate us at BJ’s and answer our stupid questions (“Does New Order sound like The Smiths?”). I got lots of Smiths imports here and this is where I bought my first Butthole Surfers album. When I arrived home, my Dad noticed this and said “Mother look, your Son bought a Butthole Surfers album.” I think he was suggesting that I was wasting my money, but you and I know better. When it started to struggle, the store closed, then re-opened, but customer indifference helped it close again. The last time I was there they had hardly any titles on the shelves and the place looked deserted. It was sad, particularly when one remembers how thriving it was. I didn’t even notice a clerk there on the last visit, until I noticed a black middle-aged dude with dreadlocks sitting on the floor behind the counter on my way out. I think all he cared about was that I didn’t try to rip off the last remaining inventory that the store had.
• THE RECORD COLLECTOR (Iowa City, Iowa)-Hard to find (originally), limited space (originally) for complete titles, and an extremely pretentious staff that consisted of a lot of local band members. What more could one ask for in a record store! They would have laughed me out of the store if I would have asked the “New Order/The Smiths” question that I asked at BJ’s. A lot of the conceitedness comes directly from owner Kirk Walther, who started the store with a crate of records and a whole lot of music knowledge over a quarter-century ago. He now spends the majority of his time in back, selling used shit on Ebay, buying record collections (ala “High Fidelity) and leaving the day-to-day operations to the college kids who seem fairly knowledgeable on sub-genres that I have no interest in. He’s a great guy once you get to know him and he is consistent with his recommendations. At the original location, it always seemed that they didn’t have much in stock, but what they had, you wanted. The key was to visit frequently; a lot of gems would come through the door only to be sold quickly if you didn’t get them first. He would pay top dollar for radio concert discs, which created an awesome merchant-consumer bond; I'd get mega bucks for those Led Zeppelin discs and walk away with something I really wanted. The newest location is easy to find, but hard to find parking for which makes destination visits a pain. Plus, they seemed to have focused more on trip-hop, dance music, and other club beats which ain’t my bag. There’s still fondness in my heart for ‘em, and it’s nice to know they’re still doing what they do.
• LET IT BE RECORDS (Minneapolis, MN)-Now reduced to an online store/mail order, but at one time it was a great independent record store located in the heart of downtown Minneapolis. The high rents must have killed ‘em. Lots of catalog and an extremely knowledgeable staff that helped you when needed. There was a rumor that the store had a “secret” basement warehouse filled with additional collectables. Maybe it is true, especially considering they continue to do online stuff. Minneapolis used to have a lot of great record stores (Northern Lights on Hennepin was another) but now the independents seemed to have vanished or sucked up by the national chains.
• HOMER RECORDS (Omaha, NE)-A totally badass record store (several locations) in a totally unbadassed state (Nebraska?!). Huge amounts of titles and a very friendly staff. I remember one time a clerk helping me during a moment of not knowing what it was I wanted to buy. He asked what I was listening to at the moment (Cat Power) and he located a hard to find title for me. He then went on to recommend another title. He then did something that I never had happen before: he opened the cd and let me listen to it at a listening station. I felt so obligated to buy it, even after I determined that I didn’t want it after I listened to it. When he wasn’t looking, I put it down in an unrelated section and bought the titles that I knew I wanted. Sorry, buddy. I just didn’t have the heart to tell him it sucked, especially after he so enthusiastically recommended it. A great store, though.
• SLACKERS (Columbia, MO)-On the first few trips to Columbia, Missouri, I totally missed this place. When I did see it, it didn’t look like much on the outside and I didn’t go in. I usually went down the road to Streetside Records instead. But on the third visit to Columbia, I was downtown and it was getting late, yet the place was still opened. The outside was misleading, because inside, the store had two levels of album titles and a great selection of used. I never had anybody recommend anything here, but one dude did find the album that They Might Be Giants’ “Snowball In Hell” was on for me. Once, I was struggling with paying top dollar on an import version of a T-Rex album. They had the same title there, priced at the same cost of a domestic version. Score! They also had a used copy of Syd Barrett's Barrett and I'm still kicking myself for now picking up the other used version of The Madcap Laughs. I already had it (on vinyl and cd) but this copy had bonus tracks. And bonus tracks are a music geek's best friend. I also got the limited edition version of Spiritualized's Let It Come Down for something like ten bucks. Anyway, a cool store that I now hit every time I’m in Columbia.
• VINTAGE VINYL (St. Louis, MO)-Located across the street from The Pageant, this store has a great selection of new and used titles. Once, I went there with the sole intention of buying an Alexander “Skip” Spence album and an album by The Cherry Valance. They had them both, and even had the Spence title used, which makes them cool in my book. What's cool is that it's sometimes open even after the show at The Pageant is over. There's nothing that's worse for the pocketbook than when you're record shopping in the afterglow of a concert.

Time, the loss of the indie-minded stores, and pricing have really diminished how frequently I visit record stores; to be honest, I typically order things online via Insound or Amazon. I do miss the interpersonal relations that occur when shopping in person, but honestly, I’ve noticed a huge difference in the passion of the people working at these stores than in years past. And that’s a problem, particularly when people are ordering more via online outlets and/or downloading music free. Give me a reason to shop there and I’ll give you my hard earned dollar. After all, people like me are dwindling fast. A recent conversation with a twentysomething proved this. When I asked how he gets new music, he immediately stated that he downloaded all of his songs and has a collection on his harddrive that numbers into the thousands. When I asked if he pays for them, without missing a beat, he said “What? Do you think I’m stupid?” Record companies did an awful job of lending their support of independent record stores and help foster the climate of music fans that view the art as a disposable commodity. There are fewer people who are passionate about things like the interaction of music lovers, the liner notes, the artwork, and by undermining the dwindling outlets that housed these geeks, the industry has assisted their own downfall. And even though Tower Records’ poor bookkeeping and poorly managed growth plans helped put them in the predicament they’re in, I can’t help but think that record companies, particularly the major labels, helped contribute to their downfall.