Exploring pre-CD era pop music...

Started by 71 dB, October 23, 2023, 08:04:07 AM

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71 dB

#80
Quote from: Iota on January 20, 2024, 11:09:07 AM'The World' as you put it, is indifferent to you, as it is to all of us.

Yes, I have truly been reminded about that during the past few years.

Quote from: Iota on January 20, 2024, 11:09:07 AMNot to say that many of us don't feel the way you do sometimes. Do you know the old adage, 'The difference between a good day and a bad day, is the way you look at it.'? There's a lot of truth in that I think.

Best wishes. : )

My exploration to the pre-CD era pop music has been one way to look at our days differently in order to make them feel "better", but what all of this has demonstrated to me is looking at things from a good perspective is easier said than done. At least there is a lot to think about going forward...
Spatial distortion is a serious problem deteriorating headphone listening.
Crossfeeders reduce spatial distortion and make the sound more natural
and less tiresome in headphone listening.

My Sound Cloud page <-- NEW Jan. 2024 "Harpeggiator"

DavidW

I'm pretty sure you can stream all of the Carpenters albums and singles or pay for downloads.  You can then burn those downloads on cd-r if you stick your nose up at flac files.

But is there a bunch of stuff on vinyl that never made it to digital?  You bet.

A small thing I picked up reading Thackeray's Vanity Fair recently is that there are so many popular songs that people loved back in the nineteenth century and earlier that are lost in the sands of time. 

I'm sure that there are plenty of dodgy vinyl transfers floating around YT when the label didn't care or there are only some odd limited edition cds from Japan (though usually that is just audiophile fair).

But expecting to have an easy time if you explicitly hunt for music that never made it to cd... well seems either paradoxical or entitled.


71 dB

Quote from: DavidW on January 20, 2024, 03:09:41 PMI'm pretty sure you can stream all of the Carpenters albums and singles or pay for downloads.  You can then burn those downloads on cd-r if you stick your nose up at flac files.

Sure, but that's like saying to a philatelist he/she can find pictures of rare stamps online and download + print them on paper. I can easily listen to the Carpenters on Spotify. That's not the problem. That's how I know I like their music enough to collect in on CD.

I have been able to buy 7 albums (from the 2nd through 8th). Three of them actually from a Finnish auction site Huuto.net for pretty nice price. The rest is "available", but not that cheap. The first album, Ticket to Ride, is sells for surprisingly high prices on eBay. I could get "Lovelines" for 6 euros delivered (very cheap), but it is among their weakest releases made by Richard years after Karen's death from unused older studio recordings. I just don't need that album and I rather save the 6 euros for other things. "Lovelines" is from 1989 and the production doesn't sound 70s anymore, the point of this. Certain 70s edge is gone and smoother production renders the music lame to my ears. Had Karen not died in 1983, their sound could have evolved toward the overall synth pop sound of the 80s, but that obviously didn't happen and "Lovelines" feels "out of place" stylistically, well to my ears anyway. Other Carpenters fans may disagree.

There are three more albums I'd like to have in my collection at some point: Ticket to Ride (1969), Made in America (1981) and Voice of the Heart (1983). It is a question of getting them for reasonable prices. The Carpenters were pretty huge in the 70s and one would expect there to be tons of used CDs of their albums on the market + affordable boxsets of their output, but this isn't so true.

Years ago I was spoiled with the great availability of Tangerine Dream, King Crimson and Carly Simon (only her 6th album Another Passenger caused me some trouble to get) on CD. Likewise I encountered zero problems collecting Herbie Hancock's fusion Jazz of early 70s. Now I know better to not assume anything. Every artist and band is its own case.

Quote from: DavidW on January 20, 2024, 03:09:41 PMBut is there a bunch of stuff on vinyl that never made it to digital?  You bet.

Yes, there is. Maureen McGovern's 70s output is lacking from streaming services for example. It is as if the original studio tapes are lost and the music exists only on old vinyl LPs.

Quote from: DavidW on January 20, 2024, 03:09:41 PMA small thing I picked up reading Thackeray's Vanity Fair recently is that there are so many popular songs that people loved back in the nineteenth century and earlier that are lost in the sands of time.

Interesting. I suppose this is more of the case for music much older than music from the 70s. Things of today should be preserved for the future, because future generations may see value on things we are blind to due to living too close to them.

Quote from: DavidW on January 20, 2024, 03:09:41 PMI'm sure that there are plenty of dodgy vinyl transfers floating around YT when the label didn't care or there are only some odd limited edition cds from Japan (though usually that is just audiophile fair).

Those limited edition Japanese SHM-CDs are annoying. If the Carpenters was my absolute favourite band ever, I wouldn't mind paying a lot for them, but I don't think that's the case. I like The Carpenters enough to want most of their output, but I'd rather collect old used CDs than those audiophile discs.

Quote from: DavidW on January 20, 2024, 03:09:41 PMBut expecting to have an easy time if you explicitly hunt for music that never made it to cd... well seems either paradoxical or entitled.

Well, the music that did make it to CD is sometimes hard to get and sometimes music you assume must have made it to CD never did. Sometimes music that isn't very popular made it to CD surprisingly well. This is what I have learned recently and I am in the process of adjusting my attitude and assumptions going forward. I have to say "going forward" looks less tempting it did in the beginning. I don't feel much urge to explore the pop music of the 70s if doing so causes frustration for all the energy and time invested. Also, despite all the struggles, I did manage to collect several albums of 70s pop music.

One thing I may try is doing the exploration differently: What if I listed the music that actually is well available (and somewhat cheap) on CD and then checked if any of it is to my liking? So far I have hunted for music I like and then checked the availability (for shock factor  :D  )
Spatial distortion is a serious problem deteriorating headphone listening.
Crossfeeders reduce spatial distortion and make the sound more natural
and less tiresome in headphone listening.

My Sound Cloud page <-- NEW Jan. 2024 "Harpeggiator"

DavidW

Quote from: 71 dB on January 21, 2024, 02:20:40 AMI don't feel much urge to explore the pop music of the 70s if doing so causes frustration for all the energy and time invested. Also, despite all the struggles, I did manage to collect several albums of 70s pop music.

You should just change your mindset.  Most collectors of any type that go for stuff that is rare or not easily available anymore think of it more like treasure hunting.  The search itself should be fun!

One of my favorite things to do is to seek out used bookstores for those forgotten books or books with a history.  Even if I walk out empty handed it was still fun to go out and search. 

71 dB

Quote from: DavidW on January 21, 2024, 02:56:10 AMYou should just change your mindset.  Most collectors of any type that go for stuff that is rare or not easily available anymore think of it more like treasure hunting.  The search itself should be fun!

One of my favorite things to do is to seek out used bookstores for those forgotten books or books with a history.  Even if I walk out empty handed it was still fun to go out and search. 

I have done a lot of treasure hunting with music over the years. In case of more marginal music it is what I have to do. My mindset has reflected my assumption a group like the Carpenters with tens of millions of records sold doesn't require treasure hunting. My list of albums to hunt grows longer and the process of hunting becomes overwhelming. It becomes difficult to keep in my head all the stuff I am hunting. I need to create a list of some kind. I also need to stop assuming some artists are "easy" to collect. I am just very lucky if some of them turn out that way!
Spatial distortion is a serious problem deteriorating headphone listening.
Crossfeeders reduce spatial distortion and make the sound more natural
and less tiresome in headphone listening.

My Sound Cloud page <-- NEW Jan. 2024 "Harpeggiator"

Iota

Quote from: 71 dB on January 20, 2024, 02:30:48 PM.. looking at things from a good perspective is easier said than done.

Wouldn't argue with that, the brain seems to be hardwired to look for problems, an evolutionary hangover to keep you safe on the savannah I believe. But maybe with a little reprogramming? Anyway, good luck with it all. 👍