True music discovery ...

[Yesterday's Gone]

Since the main stream switch from CD players to mp3 players I've been amazed that a persons whole music collection (or at least more than the average person can make their way through in a weeks time) became so accessible and portable.

Last year it was time to upgrade my first mp3 player so having seen the difference between iTunes and the Zune software I began to look seriously at the Zune HD.

So I took the plunge and bought a non hip and trendy Zune HD for myself and my wife. After unboxing the product I was amazed at how small it was and stunning the screen was. But the greatest benefit to the Zune platform was the optional Zune Pass.

Let me say that I looked at Napster and Rhapsody but was never compelled enough to purchase. I have had a XM radio subscription and loved it (before the merger).

So I decided to take Microsoft up on the 14 day trial and let me say that I have never regretted that decision. The music discovery began with some older albums that I lost touch with ... I found some imports that I wasn't able to get from anywhere else (Thunder - great British rock band), sprinkled in some classic albums (Led Zepplin), and looked at newer bands that I would never have given a second look at (Paramore and Evanescence).

With most of these I took advantage of the 'all you can eat' download feature of the Zune Pass. Led Zepplin was the only one that required me to purchase - this was purchased using 8 of my 10 song credits for that month. Although there are some bands that are not available (Def Leppard, AC/DC just to name a few) and other require purchase only. They offer a wide range of music genres, artists and probably 90 percent of the music is available on the subscription download.

I don't want to start an iPod/Zune fight but rather give my support for a great product that is truly designed for music discovery. So if you are in the market for a new mp3 player give the Zune HD a good look or if you are a multitasker you can hold out for the new Windows 7 phones (later this year). The apps on the Zune HD are limited but the Zune Pass is worth more than almost any app.

I will say that I love the option to download songs from the Zune marketplace directly from my player (using wifi) ... or tagging a song with my HD radio and searching for other songs by that artist ... or streaming an album directly from the marketplace.

** There is a rumor that a second gen Zune HD could be on its way later this year based more on the Windows 7 phone platform - opening it up to larger app development options, plus the Zune Pass.

[m c dornan]

All this technogeek talk... My Victrola's good enough for me!

Seriously, I got left behind a while ago in the music-playing game.

[Yesterday's Gone]

Mar 31, 2010 22:09:02 GMT -5 m c dornan said:

All this technogeek talk... My Victrola's good enough for me!

Seriously, I got left behind a while ago in the music-playing game.

There's nothing wrong with listening to good music on vinyl ...

[H2IZCOOL]

Apr 1, 2010 20:24:50 GMT -5 Yesterday's Gone said:

Mar 31, 2010 22:09:02 GMT -5 m c dornan said:

All this technogeek talk... My Victrola's good enough for me!

Seriously, I got left behind a while ago in the music-playing game.

There's nothing wrong with listening to good music on vinyl ...

A lot of people feel that if you move away from vinyl, you lose a lot of the fidelity. The main problem with vinyl (other than requiring more storage space is portability. You are not going to install a turntable in your car and take a stack of albums with you!

I am slowly copying my vinyl collection to cd and mp3 (I make mp3 copies on the computer and disc as well and make audio cds also.) I haven't gotten to the point of wanting an Ipod or anything like that. When I'm on the Metro, I'd rather read. But I need the music in the car.

Oh, BTW. Rob, I'm glad you've come back as well as joined Clicksville. We've been dwindling and need to get our old members back!

[Ken]

Hi YG,

I don't own an ipod or Zune, but I have no problem with them at all.

Two of my nieces LOVE their ipods and basically never leave the house without them lol!

I remember seeing the Zune on my local noon news during a "computer" segment.

The only thing I don't understand is why someone (and I've heard of people doing this) dump their entire CD collection onto their mp3 player and then get rid of the CD's - what if the mp3 player packs it in?

[Pete70s]

Personally, I don't think vinyl will ever completely go away. Too many generations of people grew up with the format, and still consider it the "only way" to really appreciate music.

I tend to blame the advent of the compact disc in the 80's for the decline in music quality. In the days of vinyl, you'd have 2 sides of music with 5-6 songs per side, and they'd have a certain "flow" to them that made albums a great listening experience from start to finish. Since CD's came along, you can fit more songs on, so in the early 90's artists started filling up their CD's with 15-20 songs to fill in the 70+ minutes a CD allows.

There's two drawbacks to that: One, artists would tend to fill up their CD's with a bunch of crap songs, and two, people who bought the CD's would buy them for the radio "hits" and totally disregard the rest of the CD. And now with Napster and iTunes it's too easy to get ONLY the songs you hear on the radio and disregard the rest. So now it's like, why do artists even BOTHER recording full CD's anymore?

The days of the "Classic Album" are, for the most part, over. While every now and then a CD comes out that is consistently good from start to finish, I don't think we'll ever see another "Dark Side Of The Moon" or "Sgt. Pepper". Maybe I'm wrong , that's just how I see it, and perhaps Dave can enlighten us more on the subject..

In 1996, I remember seeing my friend's band cover a song by Hootie & The Blowfish from "Cracked Rear View", and NOBODY in the audience knew it! That was at the time when Hootie was one of the biggest acts in the world, and nobody recognized a song from a current multi-platinum CD! That shows how much people just don't bother with the songs they don't hear on the radio constantly, which to me is a SAD thing.

In today's fast-paced world, people don't take the time to sit and listen to vinyl albums like they used to, and like Ed mentioned, you can't play vinyl in the car!

For the first time in my life, I don't currently own a turntable. I have boxes and boxes of 45's but I keep them mostly for nostalgic purposes. Most of what I listen to is on my computer, and I do have back-up disks of everything in case something happens.

I thought about buying a turntable, maybe a classic 70's type record changer with a radio and tape deck, because I do get weepy for "the good old days", and would really like to start up a collection of 70's/80's metal on vinyl. But, for shits and giggles i looked on Ebay, and a lot of that stuff is fetching more money than I'm willing to pay for a used LP that I already have on my computer and iPod in CD quality. If I could go to flea markets and find stuff for $1 a record, I would, just as a hobby. But it HAS been acknowledged by the media that vinyl is making a comeback of sorts....

[m c dornan]

Pete:
yeah by the late 60s you had concept LPs and album-oriented groups with all good songs on their records. But before that you always had LPs with one (two at most) singles on 'em and the rest all filler.

[dave910]

Great post Pete,

One thing I can tell you: people aren't buying CD's like they used to. Perhaps it's for the reasons you aforementioned. Kids today aren't as enthusiastic about an upcoming CD release. This can be due that the music gets leaked early on the internet. This doesn't make labels very happy! Unless you are a blockbuster act (i.e. Lady Gaga or Lil' Wayne) you aren't going to be selling millions of CD's. I feel bad for the bands coming up now that have to have a hit out the box. The only contemporary band that was able to grow a following despite sluggish CD sales on their first few releases is Kings of Leon. This is only because their label RCA believed in the band. Most of the time, this isn't the case.

I do think the advent of itunes has helped revive the singles market. I have even purchased individual songs on the site for myself. At least this is helping the artists.

Finding vinyl is becoming extremely rare. Yet I have found releases from Kid Rock, Green Day, Coldplay and Kings of Leon on vinyl. New songs from Green Day and the "discovered" song from Jimi Hendrix can be found on a 45! Your best bet is a mom and pop record store or bustling about on a Sunday at a nearby flea market for some of those classic gems from the 70's and 80's.

[H2IZCOOL]

Apr 4, 2010 0:29:00 GMT -5 m c dornan said:

Pete:
yeah by the late 60s you had concept LPs and album-oriented groups with all good songs on their records. But before that you always had LPs with one (two at most) singles on 'em and the rest all filler.

I can think of few albums prior to the early Beatles albums where people bought the album for more than a song or two. Maybe Harry Belafonte's Calypso in '57 and some Kingston Trio folk albums.

Even Elvis' forte was singles, and most of his other stuff was largely unheaerd back then.

The only popular LPs were Greatest Hits types.

Like you say, MC, most regular albums contained one or two songs and the rest filler.

[Yesterday's Gone]

I agree with most of the points ... although most of our CDs have been burned to mp3/wma we still have the CDs. Granted I am no longer as anal about keeping the CD spun in just the right direction and alphabetical order. I have bought a handful of CDs (most of which have been signed by the artist) recently, but have transitioned more towards digital purchases.

I think vinyl and even cassettes forced artists to think of how they grouped the songs. If there is a large grouping of filler songs a person is less likely to keep listening - or they will naturally skip to track 8 ... I will say that I grew up during the heyday of the cassette mix tapes. I remember queing up two cassettes trying to get the perfect tape. Once I moved over to CDs (it was actually a swift process) creating mixed tapes became much easier.

Of course now creating a playlist is so easy, but I will say there was a certain amount of pleasure that was gained by looking over all of my collection - looking for a perfect song that lasted exactly 3:47.

Prior to picking up the Zune Pass I would have simply not even giving a newer band a chance. I didn't want to spend $15-20 for a CD that would likely only have one or two songs worth anything. Since I able to download most of the stuff because of the subscription aspect I have even found my self listening to different genres of music (post modern punk like The Bravery and White Lies) ... before I was more into metal and classic rock.

I find myself clicking on the 'Bio' and 'Related Artists' feature of the new Zune. Oddly enough I have actually found a few artists that have pulled of a full album that I will listen to all of the way through.