i can appreciate good artwork as much as the next dude but i've pretty much always listened to music the same way - compiled the best songs into whatever format i was working with at the time (tape, cdr, playlist) and listen to that, completely separate from the original artifacts. so artwork is really something i only ever looked at if i wanted to know who the producer was or something. frankly some records i appreciate more for not having the shitty artwork.
― internetkonnektivität (electricsound), Sunday, 23 August 2009 23:56 (fifteen years ago) link
i have a car and that is mostly why i buy cds
― winston, Monday, 24 August 2009 04:21 (fifteen years ago) link
Honestly, though, I usually listen to records I love 30-40 times and then I can barely, if ever, listen to them again. Wilco's a ghost is born is my favorite record of the decade, and I've barely listened to it since 2005. By then, my brain's had enough of the record for a lifetime.
How old are you? I found that after about 10 years, I bought a lot of albums I previously weeded out by favorite groups. Now that I'm digitizing my collection, it's not as big a deal. I'm still keeping 60% of my CDs. I'm ripping in FLAC with dbpoweramp, correct some tagging and make playlists with Mediamonkey, and listen in three rooms with Squeezebox. I will be able to fit everything on my 6TB NAS server with room to spare, and have everything backed up twice, one on extra drives at home, another at work. It's nice to be able to have access to everything at work.
I think it's crucial to use lossless files. You can easily convert them to another format with a batch converter without losing anything. Buying CDs is still the cheapest option, because you can get deals on them new and used for under $10 each. $1 to $2 a song for FLAC is just not an option. The CDs you don't want to keep, you can sell, and end up spending only $2 to $5 on the music.
I'm listening to more of my music more often now that I can play it simultaneously in multiple rooms. Living with someone else the past couple years, I had stopped listening later at night because she goes to sleep earlier. Now I can put on some closed headphones and have access to the whole collection from bed on the Duet remote.
― Fastnbulbous, Monday, 24 August 2009 13:38 (fifteen years ago) link
i mean, one of the biggest obstacles for me re: digital is that iTunes keeps changing how it organizes things.
Like for a while it was just artist/song/album and then with a recent update you can put files in one pile while labeling it another with "sort by." Also my iphone used to recognize "sort by" so I'd sort all my compilations by "#" so the errant comp tracks just show up at the end. The new iPhone update no longer recognizes "sort by" and my iphone tracks are now a shitty jumble again.
Who knows what iTunes will change to? Or even if we'll be using itunes in 10 years?
― patti lmaonnaise (Whiney G. Weingarten), Monday, 24 August 2009 13:44 (fifteen years ago) link
where we're going, we don't need iTunes
― tony dayo (dyao), Monday, 24 August 2009 13:45 (fifteen years ago) link
iTunes is just a ID3 tag editor isn't it (at least for mp3 files) and it's such an 800 pound gorilla that I'm sure whatever player we'll be using in the future, Mp3-O-Matic 5000 or whatever, will definitely be "iTunes compatible"
the Album Artist field is such a life saver w/r/t rap albums...and Sort By is great for those who catalog by last name, among others
― tony dayo (dyao), Monday, 24 August 2009 13:46 (fifteen years ago) link
but completely useless for people that use iphones
― patti lmaonnaise (Whiney G. Weingarten), Monday, 24 August 2009 13:49 (fifteen years ago) link
Co-sign on Squeezeboxes. I set some up recently and love being able to listen anywhere in the house.
The ease of maintaining off-site back-ups is one of the biggest advantages of going digital.
― Brad C., Monday, 24 August 2009 14:01 (fifteen years ago) link
Wow, a lot of good stuff here!
Fastnbulbous, I'm 22.
I'm actually reconsidering going all-digital after reading through some of the stuff you all have said here. The comments where people said stuff like "Someone can just steal your hard drive or your hard drive could die, and then you'll lose all your music!" struck me as all too true.
I will also admit that I feel affectively different towards .mp3s than I do CDs. My relationship with the music does change. And probably not for the better.
― kshighway, Monday, 24 August 2009 22:13 (fifteen years ago) link
met a guy who owns this company today, seems like an interesting idea in terms of having your collection on hand whereever you are.
http://www.psonar.com/
― Crackle Box, Monday, 24 August 2009 22:20 (fifteen years ago) link
-i'm at the point storage-wise where i hate having cds, just more shit i don't have room for.
-i mostly listen to music on my ipod, but that's all almost full and it's also old and acting like it might conk out. my digital music is all over the place storage-wise and organization-wise, it's a mess.
-love listening to vinyl, but i don't spend that much time listening to music at home.
so basically no media choices are super appealing at the moment. if i was really serious i would get a new ipod and another hard drive and back up/organize all my stuff, but spending the time and money on that is lower than a lot of other things on my list.
― Ømår Littel (Jordan), Monday, 24 August 2009 22:24 (fifteen years ago) link
gonna go out on a limb here & say we still will be. while one of the governing tropes of thinking about the digital age is "everything moves at a very accelerated pace," I don't think the speed is nearly as dizzying as it was until about five years ago. things have slowed down; most of the "new" developments in digital communication aren't so much new developments as they are tweaks on already extant concepts. the iTunes we're using in 10 years may have gone through a bunch of reconfiguring, but it'll still be what we're using, I'd guess. I could be wrong! but I believe pretty strongly that the speed-of-technology's-growth paradigm is itself one we've outgrown; that a settling-in has taken place.
― Man Is Nairf! (J0hn D.), Monday, 24 August 2009 22:27 (fifteen years ago) link
I think that's a pretty big limb considering how hard to imagine iPods it was ten years ago (the fact that Apple "came back" at all is kind of amazing in its own right.) These kind of leaps can happen totally unexpectedly and can leave everything else in the dust pretty quickly.
― Alex in SF, Monday, 24 August 2009 22:33 (fifteen years ago) link
ha, I think you're both right, which is why I now use iTunes exclusively and why I buy as much as I can on CD and then rip it to MP3 when adding it to my library
― nate dogg is a feeling (HI DERE), Monday, 24 August 2009 22:35 (fifteen years ago) link
do digital people keep upgrading the albums they like from mp3 to flac to whatever comes next? seems tiresome. or maybe most people don't care that much about how things sound. i mean, a lot of people listen to horrible internet mp3 sound and don't seem to care.
― scott seward, Monday, 24 August 2009 22:35 (fifteen years ago) link
That said even if we aren't using iTunes, I think that something will exist to allow you to transfer your mp3s to whatever is replacing them. One of the main reasons people are so unattached to CDs is it's easy to convert them to mp3s. Don't think people would be quite as keen to give up mp3s if they couldn't be similarly carried over to whatever new format will exist.
― Alex in SF, Monday, 24 August 2009 22:36 (fifteen years ago) link
xp I don't think so. But most of the people I know who maintain huge digital collections have ripped their collections @ 320s + where the differences are subtle to non-existent.
― Alex in SF, Monday, 24 August 2009 22:37 (fifteen years ago) link
this seems like a waste of time tbh, everything will be streaming in less than 10 years, probably more like 5. i heard someone in the movie industry saying that blu-ray is already archaic.
― (*゚ー゚)θ L(。・_・) °~ヾ(・ε・ *) (Steve Shasta), Monday, 24 August 2009 22:44 (fifteen years ago) link
I'll hang to my archaic CDs thankyouverymuch. I somehow doubt everything that has ever been or ever will be recorded will be available streaming, but I could be wrong.
― Alex in SF, Monday, 24 August 2009 22:48 (fifteen years ago) link
yeah you can't stream OOP stuff on blogs now rite...
― (*゚ー゚)θ L(。・_・) °~ヾ(・ε・ *) (Steve Shasta), Monday, 24 August 2009 22:49 (fifteen years ago) link
No to mention I suspect that this limitless streaming is going to somehow involve a lot of commercial advertisements somewhere.
― Alex in SF, Monday, 24 August 2009 22:50 (fifteen years ago) link
Yes, the next paradigm shift is clearly streaming from centralised cloud-based storage, eliminating the need for personal collections of anything bar metadata. I'm already heading in that direction [insert Eurocentric Spotify Premium gloat here - £10 per month for ad-free high-bitrate is money well spent IMO], and I unreservedly welcome it.
― mike t-diva, Monday, 24 August 2009 22:51 (fifteen years ago) link
I fucking hate paradigms
― cool app (uh oh I'm having a fantasy), Monday, 24 August 2009 22:54 (fifteen years ago) link
yeah you can't stream OOP stuff on blogs now rite..
eh, I've spent a fair chunk of this afternoon looking for old Dolly Parton and Buck Owens MP3s and let me tell you there is a LOT of out of print stuff that is just not on the internet
― go Nick go! Scrub that paint! Scrub it!! Yeah!! (Shakey Mo Collier), Monday, 24 August 2009 22:54 (fifteen years ago) link
basically whenever one medium replaces another, a bunch of stuff gets lost and I don't find that particularly exciting or awesome
― go Nick go! Scrub that paint! Scrub it!! Yeah!! (Shakey Mo Collier), Monday, 24 August 2009 22:55 (fifteen years ago) link
being someone who still buys CDs, can someone tell me how they handle 'liner notes'?
I've been doing this narrative podcast thing recently, introducing tracks, and people are asking me 'wow you are so well researched' and... I'm just... 50% of that stuff is straight from the booklet that comes with the CD and a surprising number of my friends respond to that by saying 'that's exactly what I mean'
― Milton Parker, Monday, 24 August 2009 22:58 (fifteen years ago) link
Roughly two-thirds of my digital music collection is on Lala.com, which I know because once you register for the site, you can sync your iTunes library with your Lala account and then listen to anything in Lala's database that you already own at any computer.
― jaymc, Monday, 24 August 2009 23:00 (fifteen years ago) link
"old Dolly Parton and Buck Owens MP3s"these were on CDs at some point? that is kind of surprising that they're not somewhere out there...
― Philip Nunez, Monday, 24 August 2009 23:01 (fifteen years ago) link
Can someone explain Media Monkey to me?
Though most of my music collection is on CD/vinyl, I have loads of promos on my computer that just feel ... disorganised. Would Media Monkey make my life neater?
― djh, Monday, 24 August 2009 23:01 (fifteen years ago) link
I have no idea if they were ever on CD (but I kind of doubt it) - I'm talking about stuff like Joshua, Hello My Name is Dolly, Just Because I'm a Woman, etc. Same goes for Buck's 60s LPs.
― go Nick go! Scrub that paint! Scrub it!! Yeah!! (Shakey Mo Collier), Monday, 24 August 2009 23:03 (fifteen years ago) link
there is a LOAD of stuff that is just plain not out there
which in a way is both gratifying & frustrating
― Man Is Nairf! (J0hn D.), Monday, 24 August 2009 23:03 (fifteen years ago) link
xp milton: seriously ... I have a good number of free jazz large ensemble recordings I've downloaded, and I have no clue how the current I-tunes/mp3 system would even manage listing all the musicians.
― free jazz and mumia (sarahel), Monday, 24 August 2009 23:04 (fifteen years ago) link
to really have access to everything ever recorded you would def have to have 1) a computer 2) a turntable 3) a CD player 4) a cassette deck and...shit a record player that plays 78s maybe proably? A wax cylinder? 8 track player?
― the turdlike genius of Jeff Tweete´ (M@tt He1ges0n), Monday, 24 August 2009 23:05 (fifteen years ago) link
I dunno what's gratifying about it but it annoys me that this fact is always glossed over by hyped-up digital acolytes
― go Nick go! Scrub that paint! Scrub it!! Yeah!! (Shakey Mo Collier), Monday, 24 August 2009 23:06 (fifteen years ago) link
I mean its not like this stuff I'm looking for is obscure - these were hits! By major artists! With huge distribution networks! But a few decades later *poof* gone.
― go Nick go! Scrub that paint! Scrub it!! Yeah!! (Shakey Mo Collier), Monday, 24 August 2009 23:07 (fifteen years ago) link
xp Was anything really released exclusively on 8-track?
― Alex in SF, Monday, 24 August 2009 23:07 (fifteen years ago) link
The loss of cassettes is kind sad though.
― Alex in SF, Monday, 24 August 2009 23:08 (fifteen years ago) link
shakey, you should learn about google blog search, i think everything is out there, it's just a matter of how you look for it:
http://boxofmuzik.blogspot.com/2009/04/dolly-parton-rare-album.html
― (*゚ー゚)θ L(。・_・) °~ヾ(・ε・ *) (Steve Shasta), Monday, 24 August 2009 23:08 (fifteen years ago) link
those files are all gone shasta nice try
― go Nick go! Scrub that paint! Scrub it!! Yeah!! (Shakey Mo Collier), Monday, 24 August 2009 23:09 (fifteen years ago) link
Due to a violation of our terms of use, the file has been removed from the server.
don't get me wrong I'm so glad the record company that owns those albums is being so diligent to make sure Dolly fans can only hear that music on albums purchased from used record dealers. which doesn't make them any money anyway.
fucking people. I hate them.
― go Nick go! Scrub that paint! Scrub it!! Yeah!! (Shakey Mo Collier), Monday, 24 August 2009 23:11 (fifteen years ago) link
Hey they aren't going to undercut the 17-disc Dolly Parton Boxed Set that's coming out next year!
― Alex in SF, Monday, 24 August 2009 23:12 (fifteen years ago) link
I dunno what's gratifying about it
perhaps I haven't gone into my big ol crush on oblivion & things that get lost to history here but I think I take as much pleasure in things I can't find as others do in like finding things
― Man Is Nairf! (J0hn D.), Monday, 24 August 2009 23:15 (fifteen years ago) link
well then if there's no blogs, there are torrentz:http://www.torrentz.com/9d3f1bd617739c27a411978313ce445e7fa1dc76
― (*゚ー゚)θ L(。・_・) °~ヾ(・ε・ *) (Steve Shasta), Monday, 24 August 2009 23:15 (fifteen years ago) link
You aren't exactly proving your point, Steve.
― Alex in SF, Monday, 24 August 2009 23:16 (fifteen years ago) link
I ain't installing now torrent client software on my machine at work, that is asking for trouble
― go Nick go! Scrub that paint! Scrub it!! Yeah!! (Shakey Mo Collier), Monday, 24 August 2009 23:17 (fifteen years ago) link
I mean this stuff is currently scattered hither and yon in various formats and variable quality. What exactly is going to unite everything together again? Spotify?
― Alex in SF, Monday, 24 August 2009 23:17 (fifteen years ago) link
er I AIN'T BE INSTALLIN NO TORRENT dadgummit
is what I meant to say
― go Nick go! Scrub that paint! Scrub it!! Yeah!! (Shakey Mo Collier), Monday, 24 August 2009 23:18 (fifteen years ago) link
MediaMonkey is simply a media library jukebox like MP or iTunes that happens to be lower-bloat (loads quickly and uses fewer resources), with integral folder browser and tag macros. Ideal for those who have their own preferred file organization scheme (eg slsk sharers), or in iPod mp3 players.
@ Milton: I've taken to just keeping hi-res scans of album liners. Since I never had a turntable (ie 12" media) this was fairly easy.
@ others: burning DVD-R backup is pretty silly. After 2 annual rounds of this (losing 2 days of free-time each time), I discovered that I could back up for < $80 total investment with a discount HDD and USB enclosure. If you have an spare old drive a USB enclosure is maybe $15-20.
― Derelict, Monday, 24 August 2009 23:22 (fifteen years ago) link
above should read non iPod mp3 players. Ie, a lot of more audiophile players didn't support tags well until the last 2 years, so users ended up needing hierarchical folder organization that iTunes evidently no longer uses by default.
― Derelict, Monday, 24 August 2009 23:26 (fifteen years ago) link
and yeah I can recode them using Amadeus, but it's a giant PITA< I don't need 24 bit versions of Australian garage punk
― go polish your nose ring (sleeve), Wednesday, 2 October 2024 19:42 (one week ago) link
I discovered this recently trying to make a mix CD of recent stuff
I’ve never downloaded anything but MP3s from Bandcamp.
― o. nate, Friday, 4 October 2024 02:31 (one week ago) link
People are still burning CDs?
― ArchCarrier, Friday, 4 October 2024 13:48 (one week ago) link
for the car, yes
― go polish your nose ring (sleeve), Friday, 4 October 2024 14:17 (one week ago) link
not just cds though. i've had problems with playing files on my (cheap) portable device because the files were 'better' than the usual files and i had to downsample them to get them to play.
― koogs, Friday, 4 October 2024 14:28 (one week ago) link
wild
― go polish your nose ring (sleeve), Friday, 4 October 2024 14:32 (one week ago) link