posted by dgags @ 7:24 PM
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posted by dgags @ 11:09 AM
24 comments
This is almost the complete truth. I have a wall of about 1,400 CDs. My iPod and iTunes on my computer have essentially reduced these to backup files -- some with interesting cover art. The rest of the truth, though, is that these CDs contain digital information -- information that is much denser than the information contained in the mp3 files on my iPod.
In other words, CDs sound better than mp3s.
This is a bit of a cliche, but like most cliches it is one because it is the truth.
For all music, but particularly for classical music, it sounds better from a CD, and this is true even when listening to iTunes on my stereo. The difference is subtle, but it exists.
But not forever.
I think that the real death knell for CDs (at least for people like me) will come when hard drives (whether in portable players, laptops or desktops) are large enough and downloads are fast enough that CD quality sound files (or even better -- remember that the CD standard is essentially arbitrary) can replace mp3 quality files. At that point there really will be no need to have CDs as anything other than backup.
Cuban goes on to examine how these changes in music consumption patterns will inevitably lead to changes in music distribution methods. What is odd about his forecast is that he seems to predict that the product will look essentially like that currently offered by iTunes (single song or album availability) but that the medium of distribution will remain housed within a brick-and-mortar retailer ("record" store, Wal-Mart, etc. -- albeit through the use of a self-serve kiosk).
What he doesn't mention is: A) how this solves his previously identified problem regarding digital rights management ("If I want to buy downloads from the net, it’s like trying to figure out which mortga(g)e to take out on a house. No(t) because of the cost, but because of all the rules and regulations. Do I want to limit myself to 5 computers. Do I want to always keep my subscription live. Do I want to store the music in a proprietary format that only a couple devices can use. Those are all tough decisions to make when the only thing I know with certainty is that the device I’m using as an MP3 player today, is NOT going to be the device I’m going to be using 18 months from now."), and B) why the end distributor is likely to be a brick-and-mortar retailer rather than on online retailer who will be accessed by consumers wherever they are (at home or wirelessly).
Isn't the end of this more likely to be a product that weds the wireless communication of a Blackberry with the storage (increased storage, moreover) and playback capacity of an iPod? With such a device you could theoretically walk down the street listening to a song which spurs the memory of another song -- one you'd just have to have. Within seconds you could buy the song, download it directly to your device and be ready to listen to it when the current song ends. Direct to player (as Cuban intends), with no middleman whatsoever.
And everything in full CD sound quality.
posted by dgags @ 2:12 PM
1 comments
Who: Luna
What: Penthouse
When: August 8, 1995
Why: Losing Galaxie 500 was a shame, but the result, as is often the case, was a positive development. Out of the ashes sprang both Magic Hour – a great noise rock outfit whose No Excess Is Absurd barely missed making this list, and whose mid-90s shows at the Lounge Ax remain among my very favorite concert memories – and Luna. Dean Wareham hooked up with an Australian, a Feelie and a great guitarist to form this group and release a series of terrific albums culminating in Penthouse. The album consists mostly of moody languor, with a couple of faster-paced numbers thrown in as a change of pace. The album’s centerpiece is “23 Minutes In
Who: Son Volt
What: Trace
When: September 19, 1995
Why: Losing Uncle Tupelo was a shame, but the result, as is often the case, was a positive development. Out of the ashes sprang both Wilco – more about them later – and Son Volt ... wait a minute, I’ve got this terrible feeling of déjà vu, I ...
The dynamic at work in Uncle Tupelo was actually more like that in Sebadoh, even as the post-breakup dynamic was more than a bit like Luna. Like Sebadoh, Uncle Tupelo featured two songwriters with different and compelling visions of what their band should be – visions that eventually resulted in two completely different career paths. Jeff Tweedy initially took the poppy route with Wilco, a route which eventually morphed into their artier, critic-friendly work in the Oughts (as well as a date at Madison Square Garden) – emphasizing the alt in alt-country. Jay Farrar took a more traditionally country route with Trace, albeit through an American Stars ‘n’ Bars prism. Rockers are here aplenty, but it is the slow country tunes that really stick in the memory. “Tear-Stained Eye" features plenty of banjo, pedal steel and delicious harmonies to raise Gram Parsons’ ashes from the desert; “Ten Second News” pairs the Times Beach dioxin contamination and the 1993 Mississippi River flood to paint a bleak portrait of mid-1990s Midwest living; the album’s closer, “Mystify Me” takes a page from Exile On Main Street with a bit of bluesy country honk. The staying power may not have been there for Son Volt as it has for Wilco, but for this brief moment, Farrar set the bar high.
Who: Mysteries Of Life
What: Keep A Secret
When: February 27, 1996
Why: A bit of a
The key to the record’s sound, as is so often the case with great albums, is the instrumentation: guitar & bass yes, but also cello and a standup drum kit (heavy on the tom and the high-hat). All were used in the service of a set of spectacularly tuneful mid-tempo rockers written by Smith. I first heard of the existence of this album on an NPR story, and the sad truth is that I don’t believe I’ve heard it anywhere else on the radio since.
posted by dgags @ 11:07 AM
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posted by dgags @ 9:59 PM
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posted by dgags @ 10:20 AM
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Who: Sebadoh
What: Bakesale
When: September 1, 1994
Why: One of the stranger bands to trod the alt-rock earth. Born of Lou Barlow’s ejection from Dinosaur Jr., the band began as thrash rock kings and ended as high-end power balladeers. In between a majestic peak was reached with this album – perfectly balanced on the cusp between where they had been and where they were going, full of thrashy, speedy power ballads. The key to the band when they were at their best was the tension between the two primary songwriters, Barlow and Jason Lowenstein. Their dynamic was familiar to Husker Du fans – as with Bob Mould and Grant Hart, they never seemed to collaborate so much as compete -- but when they were both at the top of their games (as on Bakesale), the result is a sustained volley of pure pleasure. This is shown to its greatest extent on the pairing of “Not A Friend” and “Not Too Amused.” It seems almost impossible that these songs weren’t written (the first by Barlow, the second by Lowenstein) with each other in mind, but the lyrics are so bitter that it also seems impossible that they could have been written to each other while the band was still intact:
I'm not a good friend, I'm not a friend at all
It's never resolved, I'm nervous when you call
My words are limp, and my mind is dry
I try to be polite, but I feel like I'm stuck for life
I follow my heart, it leads me far from you
No matter how close we are, I'm far, far away
I have too much now to fill my day today
I'm not a good friend, I'm not a friend at all
I don't need obligations to our crippled conversations
I’d never tell you, it’s something you should know
I'm not a friend at all, oh, please let me go
Somehow I don't trust you
I don't trust myself
And I may never forgive you
‘Cuz I can't forgive myself
Somehow I don't trust you
I don't trust myself
And I may never forgive you
‘Cuz I can't forgive myself
Don't break my stride
Don't break my stride
Don't break my stride
Don't break my stride
What was that you just said?
That didn't make any sense to me
It's not the way I see it, man
I'm almost tired of listening to you
Why do you tie me up with words?
The way your eye shifts makes me wanna go
Black-jawed living room couch professor
When will you be through with me? I'd like to know
Everywhere I go I feel it
But I won't talk, I won't get stuck with you
Everyone's so lonely I dig it
But I'm afraid I can't share this with you
So don't make me your captive
I don't feel like talking your shit
I nod my broken head
I'm not too amused with humans
Who: P.J. Harvey
What: To Bring You My Love
When: February 28, 1995
Why: The blues, as channeled by a skinny little British woman. Demographically she is as far from Blind Lemon Jefferson as a human can get. In spirit – pretty damn close. Polly Jean has had some great albums in her career, but this remains the most thematically and musically consistent. The themes: sex and death. The music: classic blues riffs – killer blues riffs. Liz Phair’s album on this list is a one of the great albums ever by a chick, but this is what a real woman sounds like.
Who: Radiohead
What: The Bends
When: April 4, 1995
Why: In 1993 Radiohead was a one-hit Nirvana sound-alike. Now I’ll grant that the one hit remains one of my favorite songs, but apart from “Creep,” Pablo Honey had (and has) little to offer. With this album, Radiohead began at a leap to become what they are today – the best band in the world. While they’ve grown and changed with each record since, The Bends is probably still their most influential album – if only because Coldplay, Travis, etc. are still stuck on aping it so successfully (in terms of the quality of the imitation as well as the impact on their bottom lines). The record lacks the conceptual pretensions of the band’s later albums, but doesn’t lack for great songs. Like waves on a beach, they just keep coming: “Planet Telex,” “The Bends,” “High And Dry,” “Fake Plastic Trees,” “(Nice Dream),” “My Iron Lung,” and on and on and on. What a great band sounds like before they decide to become artistes (not that they ever really lost anything in that exchange) – a truly great alt-rock record.
posted by dgags @ 8:39 PM
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posted by dgags @ 7:43 PM
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posted by dgags @ 7:03 PM
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posted by dgags @ 11:28 AM
1 comments
posted by dgags @ 11:08 AM
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What Goes Through Your Mind?
