Yes, they still exist.
Hey everybody, welcome to National Record Store Day. Independent record stores all around the nation want you to know that they're putting up a fight against the forces of shrinking retail space. Did you know that there are over 2,400 stores still in business? Yeah sure, Tower Records went away and the selection (if you want to use that word) has gotten progressively worse at places like Barnes & Noble, Borders, and Best Buy. That's okay, they never really cared about the music lover anyway.…
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26 - Mark Saleski
more vinyl was sold last year that sacd.
sacd never took off because only a tiny portion of the buy public cares about good sound.
27 - Mark Saleski
and let's be clear here...i'm not saying that i don't care about sound, just that folks who do are in the minority.
28 - Mat Brewster
I love the idea of independent record shops, but I have to admit I don't really frequent them.
When I was in high school there was this great little shop I used to go to all the time. The owner was this cool old dude who used to hold stuff back for me, loan me a few bucks when I was down and let me hang around his shop for ages just chatting.
But since then I haven't had that experience. I guess that stems from moving around from state to state and country to country that I haven't been able to develop that sort of relationship with a shop. Now and again I will venture into a local place, but half the time they don't carry what I want, their prices are more than I want to pay and the kid behind the counter doesn't seem to care if I'm there. I suppose if I went more I might develop the kind of relationship that Mark mentions, but it honestly has never really seemed worth it.
I download most of my music now. I like the physical media too. I like the artwork and the linter notes. But not usually enough to spend 18 bucks on it.
I like good sound quality too, but I still download lots of mp3s. Honestly I don't have the machinery to make up the difference. Currently I listen through my iPod either through buds or some cheap speakers I bought at Carefour. I knew I'd only be here for a year or two and I simply wasn't gonna throw down big cash on souped up speakers.
Back home my speakers aren't that much better. I've simply never been able to afford to spend hundreds or thousands of dollars on a system. I've never been settled enough either.
Maybe someday I'll be able too. Maybe then I'll regret the inferior quality mp3s I own.
Does that make me an inferior music fan? Does that kick me out of the cool kids sandbox? I still love music. I spend the bulk of my life obsessing over it.
I understand folks wishing the brick and mortar stores would stick around. I dig on the feelings Mark just wrote about. They just don't really belong to me anymore.
29 - Brian aka Guppusmaximus
sacd never took off because only a tiny portion of the buy public cares about good sound.
Man..Are you kidding? Where do you get your info?
SACD never took off because of DVD-A for a number of reasons but maybe you should do some research.
Most of the public doesn't care about good sound because they haven't heard the difference for themselves. It's not because they can't hear it or they don't care. Most of your Mp3 players are now offering flac,wma(lossless)& aac(lossless) and have been for awhile.
30 - Tom Johnson
Like DVD-A took off. Neither took off because of buyer apathy. The public doesn't care, Brian. They just plain don't. I don't know anyone in real life who actually gives a dump about sound quality. That I can only find a small handful of people on the internet who care enough to argue about things such as this says it all - we are in the extreme minority.
SACD is alive, by the way - several labels are still producing new titles, and Mobile Fidelity just started producing titles in SACD. Those who care about the difference in sound quality already know.
You know, I'm tired of being told by you that I'm an idiot for any opinion I express - do you ever get the feeling that people are getting really tired of you jumping all over them every damned time they try to have a civil conversation on Blogcritics? Because it is so tiring. Jesus, man, it gets OLD.
31 - Brian aka Guppusmaximus
You know, I'm tired of being told by you that I'm an idiot for any opinion I express...
Tom?? When did I EVER call you an idiot?!?!
I don't call people names on this board..I JUST DON"T!!!
Why should I stop posting passionate comments about music & technology on blogcritics just because YOU(nobody else) get insensitive about someone disagreeing with your remarks & comments?!
SACD is alive, by the way
And sure enough, it will lose that format war against DVD-A...There you go! I'm calling it!
SACD only has any real distinction in sound in the lower frequencies compared to PCM(CD)other than the surround sound mix. SACD in the high frequency range is quite mediocre, even compared to a good CD-system one-bit DAC, and of course clearly inferior to a CD-player with a real multi-bit converter.
On the contrary, DVD-A is in theory 250 times better than the CD-system at all frequencies!
AND, it includes artwork,lyrics & linear notes on the actual DVD.
32 - El Bicho
Give me a break. If people cared about so much about audio quality, they wouldn't listen to music on AM.
And sound quality wasn't the only reason CDs took off. They are more durable, are portable, and take up less room at home and in the stores. None of which has to do with sound quality.
You can be passionate all you want, but it doesn't give you any extra insight as your comments bare out.
33 - Douglas Mays
This whole thread has gotten really stupid. Let the smoke clear. In a few years we'll see who is eating their words. I know that my words will stand.
geez,
DM
34 - Tom Johnson
I don't think there's any smoke to clear - the majority of us just expressed a love of the physical, tangible side of music, and someone else rampaged us for caring about things, which is just an utterly ridiculous thing to attack people about. I would love to see this person's home - I am hoping his house is devoid of all posters, paintings, sculptures, books, and especially CDs and DVDs, since all are so ridiculous and so easily duplicable in the digital medium.
As for SACD vs. DVD-A, who gives a dump? I simply stated that SACD is alive and doing pretty well, all things considered, and those who care already know, or should have, if they truly cared. It's not like HDDVD vs. Blu-Ray - one doesn't have to win. They can and will coexist side by side. Given the choice, I'll take whatever I can use in a car without having to install any aftermarket players, thanks. (Hybrid SACD, I know.) But, overall, I don't care. CDs suit me fine.
35 - El Bicho
"In a few years we'll see who is eating their words. I know that my words will stand."
Then apparently we don't need to wait a few years.
36 - Douglas Mays
"If people cared so much about audio quality, they wouldn't listen to music on AM".
Listen to music as their main source on AM? Who does that anymore? Only those who only have access to AM. AM now comes in stereo. That is a technical advancement. The computer is merely a glorified transistor radio.
Yeah, give it a few years for the smoke to clear. It will take a while for something to take control of the situation.
DM.
37 - Brian aka Guppusmaximus
and someone else rampaged us for caring about things, which is just an utterly ridiculous thing to attack people about...
Really,Tom... You definitely have lost it. I don't see anywhere on this thread where I have "rampaged" anyone who cared about things.
Holy Jebus, forgive me for not going along with the glorified nodding session in this thread. And just an FYI... I started my comments in a positive manner about the return of Blind Melon but no one cared to comment on that. I personally think that you guys do the same thing. You look for the comments that I make that don't agree with your opinion 100% and try to spin it like I'm all jaded & negative. I'll move on... I don't wanna upset the ladies.
38 - Mark Saleski
I don't wanna upset the ladies.
very classy.
oh, and not at all negative either!
and sorry, i forgot about the Blind Melon comment, and meant to say that i don't think i've ever heard one of their tunes outside of "No Rain". i never really liked that song and did no further investigations.
39 - Brian aka Guppusmaximus
Yea.. I really didn't like their first album. Maybe just a few songs and they weren't the hits. This new album is pretty cool because it sounds,to me, like they aren't trying to please everyone or be the next "big thing".
40 - Mark Saleski
does the rest of the album with "No Rain" on it (i'm assuming it's on the first one?) sound a lot different than that song?
41 - Brian aka Guppusmaximus
If I remember correctly, the other songs were more the jam band type of songs & they had some good energy. "No Rain" was definitely NOT a song I liked.
But, you should check out the rest of the album. I may have not liked it but I don't think it got the credit it deserved for being different. Though it did get lumped in with the "Alternative" crap of its time...That's the tragedy.