MUSIC: Question From FormSpring.Me - If you could only listen to one song for the next month, which would it be?

If you could only listen to one song for the next month, which would it be?

I actually don't think I could do that. It would drive me nuts. I listen to my 120 gig iPod on shuffle constantly. I'd rather just not listen to music that month!

But if I had to choose a song, right now at this moment I'm really into "Bad Dream" by Violent Femmes. I'd probably hate it - or any song - if I had to listen to it over and over again for a month!

Ask me anything

MUSIC: R.I.P. The Compact Disc, 1982-2008?

I found this piece on NPR's All Songs Considered blog. It was my NetVibes page that led me to it.

Actually this piece on the death of cd's reminds me of vinyl's demise.

And yes, I know there are still fanatics making and buying vinyl records!

But back in high school, I had read about this format that was suppose to replace vinyl records from a magazine I saw in my electronics class. And the more I read about it, the more I started slobbering, and couldn't wait for these compact discs things.

I knew they were going to be big! And I still don't know why I didn't buy any stock in compact discs companies!

Apparently, there were some kinks to be worked out, because cd's didn't come out until I was graduating from college. So maybe it was just as well I didn't invest in any companies. I'd have probably invested in the wrong company!

Well, I missed the big change of vinyl to cd's, because I joined Peace Corps and went over to Africa. But I kept hearing how fast vinyl was dying. - OlderMusicGeek

R.I.P. The Compact Disc, 1982-2008?
by Robin Hilton

I recently came to work with two large tote bags filled with compact discs and dumped them out on a table in the middle of the office. To me, they were garbage. But for the vultures that are my fellow NPR Music producers, it was like finding a mountain of free money. They shuffled through the pile, grabbing everything that caught their eye. At one point, Stephen Thompson held up my discarded copy of Radiohead's OK Computer and incredulously asked, "Why would you get rid of this?"

For about a year now, I've been slowly purging my once-proud CD collection. Twenty-five years' worth of music, from the first disc I ever bought (Pink Floyd's The Wall) in 1984, to more recent releases.


Of course, I'm not really getting rid of them. I'm ripping everything to a massive hard drive hooked up to what has become my stereo: my computer.

This is partly because I don't like having a house overrun with thousands of CDs. Invisible sound files on a hard drive are simply more convenient. You can also do a lot more with digital files and iTunes, like delivering an endless stream of music through the house in any conceivable configuration, by artist, genre, or favorite playlists. Changing out a CD in a player feels as clunky and outdated as flipping a record on a turntable.

But I'm also purging my CDs because I believe they're a dying format. There's never been a more obvious trend. CD sales continue to plummet at a breathless -- and, if you're one of the big labels, alarming -- rate. Meanwhile, digital download sales continue to climb.

None of this is as sexy as having a tangible package of music, with artwork and liner notes. And downloading files isn't nearly as cozy as flipping through the local bands section of a record store. But the truth is, I never listen to actual CDs more than once or twice. After that, they're ripped to my computer -- I put the discs away and never look at them again.

Lately, I've felt a sense of urgency to get rid of the rest of my old CDs before they become as obsolete as 8-track tapes and cassettes.

So, what does your CD collection look like? Is it getting smaller? Do you even buy actual CDs now, or do you just download everything?

Tags: cds compact discs are dead downloads
11:38 AM ET 04-14-2008 permalink

Some of the more interesting comments...

Dude!
I did the download thing for a while, but decided that nothing beats having those lovely liner notes, in that clear plastic case, and that CD that you can pop into your hi-fi - with no loss in sound quality, and no annoying DRM to hack around. So I'm back to the ol' physical copies, either from a record store or an online outlet.

Yes - it's even worth the shrink wrap, IMHO.

Sent by Tim 2:25 PM ET 04-14-2008

My house sound system is wired to my computer and iPods go everywhere. I mainly purchase downloadable copies. I only by CDs if it is an album that can't be downloaded, but it is quickly ripped and discarded.

I do have about 600 vinyl records left.

Sent by Wayne 2:37 PM ET 04-14-2008

I hear what you are saying, Robin, but I take the opposite view. Despite having a large collection that takes up space, I like having cds. Similarly, I like having books on my shelf. Both books and cds are nice to look at for me, and each item has memories. To be sure, I rip the albums on my ipod, but just because I like having my collection when I'm out an about. Then again, I also make time to listen to an album every night before I go to bed. It is a great way for me to relax and decompress from a long day. I just sit on my sofa with a cup of coffee and magazine or a book while the music plays for about an hour.

That's great, Pablo. Bob was just asking me whether I ever just sat and listened to an album all the way through and did nothing else. I still do it, but not very often.

Sent by Pablo 2:51 PM ET 04-14-2008

I think Pablo makes a great point in comparing CD's to books, but like others have been saying, it's really all about vinyl records. Sure I have loads of music on my computer and iPod (as Pablo said, for convenience), but my "collection" is split between CD's and vinyl (mostly because promoters only send CD's nowadays), and I'll proudly display them on my shelf as long as I still enjoy listening to music.

To me, it's owning the actual "thing" that someone put countless hours of hard work into, and not just having a few sound files on my computer. That's what makes vinyl so nice, it's like having a book. The sound exists on the record, like words in a book; the grooves in the album are the real sound waves, just like the fading ink in my dad's copy of Time And Again (on loan to me for 20 years now) is real ink.

Call it "emotional" or "romantic" but isn't that what real music collectors seek? Isn't that the whole point of still going to record stores, sifting through boxes of unorganized singles?

I do 90% of my listening from my iPod and computer, but when it comes to "owning" music, I have to have it on my shelf, where I can look at it and say "yes, I own that music."

Sent by John Michael Cassetta 3:39 PM ET 04-14-2008

I am only 19 years old but I live in the flat that has shelves with old Beatles and other LPs that were mostly sent from family friends in Sweden (I am from Slovakia and during communism it was almost impossible to simply buy music). We also have shelves of old cassettes with music like Nirvana, Depeche Mode or Cure that belong to my older siblings. And I represent the generation in my family with a shelf of very few CDs.

Though there is something magical about CDs, I guess that my kids won't have any shelf with music. Probably they'll stack three ipods on the shelf and that's the end of it. :) And I like this change :)

The best thing about music downloads is that the artist no longer has to invest so much money into releasing the CD. Thus new great music is produced as an open source every day. Therefore my CD collection is increasingly getting smaller but my music collection has never been so rich and I am just in the beginning of quest for great music.

Sent by Lenka Bliss 4:57 PM ET 04-14-2008

The thing that scares me about the death of the CD and is that with it dies the Album, and in the end, the ability to truly appreciate an artist in all of its subtle detail. There's a whole generation of people who are going to be used to the idea of single song downloads, who find value in three minute pop escapism instead of the art and the artist.

My fear is that this will lead to smaller fanbases, which means less concert attendance, which in turn is going to make it way harder to make a career out of being a musician.

Or maybe I'm just a fatalist and really like the idea of a physical product.

Sent by David W. 5:53 PM ET 04-14-2008

I always buy the CD, and then put it on my computer. Have you ever been screwed by itunes from reformating your computer and losing your albums? Plus, I like the tactile response that CDs bring, a complete package, a solid album. I-tunes just is so seamless (ack). Even though cds might be a dying media, I love my trinquets!

p.s. Robin/Bob, you should analyze some of the coming festivals based on artist composition. With all these festivals springing up, it looks like long time acts like ACL are having problems figuring out who to book to meet their target audience.
http://www.austincitylimits.com/forum/tt.aspx?forumid=3

p.p.s. Throwing away OK Computer . . . you should shame yourself.

Sent by hobbesgallo 10:02 AM ET 04-15-2008

well, what can i say?

even in the vinyl days, i made over 20 mixed tapes just for myself.

and in the early days of cd's, i made a few of mixed cd's myself.

but with shuffle and a 30 gig mp3 player - i slobber over getitng a 80 gig one - plus a one tetrabyte external drive, i love my mp3's!

i miss the tactile of the big vinyl record, but i love the experience of not knowing which song or genre will be coming next. could it be could it be a luther wright and the wrongs' bluegrass version of a tune from the wall, some old cajun from clifton chenier, some weird bit from ken nordine, some classic punk from the pistols or the clash, some some south african pop music i picked up when i lived next door to south africa in the 90's, some new electronica, a pop song i picked up from my tween daughter? who knows? and that's the thrill!

Sent by OlderMusicGeek 1:28 PM ET 04-15-2008

Yes, I'm pretty much in the download camp. And it worries me. With so much music at my fingertips, I no longer listen to one album/cd over-and-over-and-over. I no longer sit through songs I don't initially appreciate but later come to love after continued listens. I no longer have every layer and turn in my head.

So many of what we agree to be the greatest albums required a commited courtship. Would Pink Floyd have created the art they did in today's digital, single based environment? Would "Pet Sounds" or "Sgt Pepper" or even "Joshua Tree" had the impact and significance they did? Would we even know about "Kind of Blue?"

I'm definately living my music life via the MP3 file, but I know I've given up a lot in doing so.

Sent by Jeffrey Mason 2:46 PM ET 04-16-2008

So, I have a collection of tapes, cds, and records, and they probably constitute less than twenty-five percent of my listening time. I knew cds were out when I took a long plane ride and brought a rug weaver size spool of cds that i was trying to sort through on the plane and the kid next to me was whipping through his I-Pod while I dropped burned cds on the floor. That said, this post reminds me of the non-problematic post http://stuffwhitepeoplelike.wordpress.com/2008/03/30/93-music-piracy/
and I guess the real question for me is kind of like Bob's post about the future of music formats, what's the future record/music store look like? I mean online stuff is okay, but I agree that there's something special about a record store and the conversations/sharing that take place person-to-person, that I don't see recreated in online music blogs, magazines, etc.

Sent by zach 8:15 PM ET 04-16-2008

OlderMusicGeek here. *waves at my, ahem, many readers, all 4 of them!*

Funny enough, I remember having a conversation with a co-worker when cd's had reached their 20th anniversary.

The co-worker was wondering what would replace cd's. I told him nothing.

"Nothing?! What do you mean nothing?!"

I explained how there wouldn't cd's or vinyl records are anything. We would just download our music onto the player.

He thought I was crazy!


Interesting enough, the next post of the All Songs Considered blog asks reader what they want in the next music format.

And there are some good ideas - such as adding a visual element and making them more social.

But the best idea is having the lyrics available and a list of who did what on the song! That is something I can't wait for!

To the future!!

A link to the original piece on NPR's All Songs Considered's website
A link to All Songs Considered

MUSIC: What's On Michelle Obama's Ipod?

I got this from Yahoo.

And if you've read my blog before, you know I'm fascinated by what people have on their mp3 player - as this, this, and this show! - OlderMusicGeek

SUMMIT NOTEBOOK: Michelle Obama's request hour
By DARLENE SUPERVILLE, Associated Press Writer – Fri Sep 25, 7:54 pm ET

PITTSBURGH – Hey, Michelle Obama — what's on your iPod?

Sara Bareilles, among other things.

If the singer-songwriter didn't know already, she — and plenty of other people, too — now know that the first lady is one of her biggest fans.

"I love her," Mrs. Obama gushed Friday, giving a shout-out to Bareilles for the performance she was giving at a concert the first lady organized for students at the Pittsburgh Creative and Performing Arts School.

"She is on my iPod. She has gotten me through many a day," Mrs. Obama said, ticking off the names of two of Bareilles' songs, "Gravity" and "Love Song." Bareilles performed the latter selection during the show.

Mrs. Obama could hardly contain her excitement as she said country crooner Trisha Yearwood, "another of my favorites," and cellist Yo-Yo Ma would be performing.

"You know, what more is there to say?" she said after uttering the world famous cellist's name. "I'm just (as) excited as you all."

MUSIC: If Abraham Lincoln Had An iPod

As usual, I'm late putting this up late. The 200th anniversary for Lincoln's birthday was back in February. But as I'm always interested on what people are listening to on their mp3 players - I watched a show on John Lennon's "iPod" and reprinted a piece on George Bush's from the BBC. So here's Abraham Lincoln. If anybody knows of similar stuff, please let me know! - OlderMusicGeek

If Abraham Lincoln Had An iPod
By Mike Hoffman

February 16, 2009 - To celebrate Presidents' Day, we have conjured up Abraham Lincoln, but in a less-than-presidential pose: with earbuds dangling from his ears.

Classical music commentator Miles Hoffman agreed to explore the 16th president's musical tastes, as well as what music Lincoln might have chosen for his iPod, had he owned one.

The Lincoln iPod would have needed a lot of memory, as the president apparently enjoyed all sorts of music and loved opera. His love of opera apparently got him into trouble during the Civil War, when he was taken to task for attending a performance while the war was ongoing. To this, the president responded, "The truth is I must have a change of some sort, or die."

"We know that Lincoln liked the opera Martha, by Friedrich von Flotow, and had it performed during the festivities for his second inaugural," Hoffman says. "Martha is not performed very often now, and it's mainly known for one very beautiful aria, 'Ach so fromm,' where the male romantic lead, Lionel, sings a love song to the title character, Martha. "We also know that one month before he died - on March 15, 1865 - Lincoln attended a performance of Mozart 's Magic Flute at the National Theatre in Washington," Hoffman says.

Another big favorite of Lincoln's was a kind of "crossover" artist, Louis Moreau Gottschalk . A Southerner by birth, born in New Orleans, Gottschalk was a one-of-a-kind composer, a virtuoso pianist and, perhaps surprisingly, a supporter of the Union cause. One of his most famous pieces is The Union (Fantasy on Patriotic Airs). When you listen to the beginning of the piece, it sounds like any flashy, 19th-century European virtuoso piano piece. But then Gottschalk launches into the tunes we all know, treating them in his own inimitable way.

Lincoln was also partial to popular music and sentimental ballads, such as the songs of Stephen Foster. One of his favorites was an old Scottish love ballad called "Annie Laurie."

Remarkably, No. 1 on Lincoln's iPod might have been his all-time favorite, "Dixie."
"It had already been a popular song before the Civil War and came from a minstrel show," Hoffman says. "Lincoln had been quoted as saying, 'I have always thought "Dixie" one of the best tunes I have ever heard.' "

"After the war," Hoffman adds, "he is reported to have said, 'That tune is now federal property, and it is good to show the rebels that, with us in power, they will be free to hear it again.' "

Comments...
David Lewis (UncleDave) wrote...
Lincoln's favorite song, it is reported, was "Listen to the Mockingbird." The polymorphously prolix composer Anthony Phillip Heinrich once played a concert at the Lincoln White House, according to John Tasker Howard. After Heinrich was done playing one his heavy, florid and long compositions, Lincoln innocently asked, "Couldn't you just play 'Listen to the Mocking Bird'?" Heinrich obliged with an improvised set of variations on the tume, which pleased the Lincolns greatly, but left Heinrich less than happy.
Wednesday, February 18, 2009 11:02:44 AM

TJ Wilkinson (bullmoose) wrote...
A very nice piece, although the story did fail to mention that Lincoln was a devotee of Scotland's national poet, Robert Burns. No doubt a fair number of the songs of Burns would have appeared on Lincoln's "iPod" as well.
Ironically, 2009 marks the 250th anniversary of Burns's birth on January 25th.
Tuesday, February 17, 2009 11:20:37 AM

Catherine Loomis (TS2_1_181) wrote...
Lincoln's i-Pod would also include sound recordings of Shakespeare's plays. I try to get my students to listen to them, since they rarely have a chance to watch the plays performed.
Monday, February 16, 2009 5:50:22 PM

A link to the original site
George Bush's iPod
John Lennon's "iPod"
What *I* listened to on my iPod before I lost it

MUSIC: John Lennon "iPod"

This is an essay that went with a PBS show. I edited it down, but you can read the whole essay here. - OlderMusicGeek

WHEN WRONG IS RIGHT
By Ed Ward

From the very first song we heard, no matter when we dropped into the Beatles story, it sounded like they were doing something utterly original. But they weren't, not entirely.

John Lennon and Paul McCartney, their young friend George Harrison, and, later, drummer Pete Best, along with John's art school friend Stu Sutcliffe, were actually rock and roll fans. Like lots of British kids, they idolized Gene Vincent, Little Richard, and the "girl group" sound coming from New York's pop factory, the Brill Building. They listened to what the British called "Tamla Motown" and to early soul singers like Arthur Alexander. These were the sounds they worked into their repertoire as the Silver Beatles, and the songs they played night after night during their arduous sojourns at the Star Club in Hamburg.

But as the Beatles searched for new stuff to copy, they began to write their own material. Try as they might, they couldn't come up with rock and roll songs that sounded like the ones they'd been hearing. Their songs sounded better, because they were their own.

This is what makes artists artists: they take little bits of things from here and there and put them together in unexpected combinations that seem new and original. Some of them are pretty obvious: one of Little Richard's trademarks is the "Ooooo!" he interjects into a lot of his hit songs. Richard got it from the world of gospel, where it's a standard of Alex Bradford, among others. The Beatles grabbed this little trick for themselves, and it's all over their first recordings: girls went wild when Lennon and McCartney stepped up to a single microphone, shook their mop tops, and went "Ooooo!".

Other borrowings aren't so obvious. JOHN LENNON'S JUKEBOX will introduce most people to a singer-guitarist named Bobby Parker. I'd never heard of him until watching this program, and all I can discover about him is that his record "Watch Your Step" was on the pop BILLBOARD charts for six weeks in 1961 and got as high as number 51. It was released on V-Tone Records, a label I'd also never heard of. The guitar lick Parker plays on this record morphed into "I Feel Fine," but also, I think, "Day Tripper." Watching Parker demonstrate it, I realized that John Lennon probably had trouble playing it: it's simple, but not nearly as simple as Parker makes it seem. And of course, Lennon had no way to watch Parker's fingers. So because John couldn't play that lick, it became another song, "I Feel Fine," which went to number one.

But it would be a mistake to assume that the music in John Lennon's jukebox was there only to be copied. Especially in pop music, it's essential that the greatest innovators remain fans, enthusiasts, explorers of the past and present.

Ditto the Lovin' Spoonful. By the time their records started appearing, the Beatles were established and deeply involved in creating their own music. The Spoonful were doing music that was similar, but different enough that John could listen to it and imagine that here was a bunch of Americans who had understandably wanted to imitate the Beatles -- but they'd gotten it wrong, just wrong enough that what they did was completely right.

In the end, the records in John Lennon's jukebox simply confirm that he was a rock and roll fan -- as if there could have been any doubt about that! -- and that he wasn't averse to lifting a little something here and there to further his own art, even if he couldn't imitate it perfectly.

**********

In 1989, a Bristol music promoter purchased at auction an old Discomatic jukebox owned by John Lennon in the 1960s. Its track list, written in Lennon's own hasty handwriting, catalogued 41 remarkable discs of American soul, R&B, and rock 'n' roll -- a collection that shaped his musical education and became the musical style source from which the Beatles sound derived. Below is a complete list of all the 45s included in the jukebox.

Some of the songs are missing on this, and a couple of songs are by artists different than the ones on John Lennon's jukebox.


1. "In the Midnight Hour"
Wilson Pickett


2. "Rescue Me"
Fontella Bass


3. "Tracks of My Tears"
Smokey Robinson


4. "My Girl"
Otis Redding


5. "1, 2, 3"
Len Barry


6. "Hi Heel Sneakers"
Tommy Tucker


7. "Walk"
Jimmy McCracklin


8. "Gonna Send You Back to Georgia"
Timmy Shaw


9. "First I Look at the Purse"
The Contours


10. "New Orleans"
Gary "U.S." Bonds


11. "Watch Your Step"
Bobby Parker


12. "Daddy Rollin' Stone"
Derek Martin


13. "Short Fat Fannie"
Larry Williams


14. "Long Tall Sally"
Little Richard


15. "Money (That's What I Want)"
Barrett Strong


16. "Hey! Baby"
Bruce Channel


17. "Positively 4th Street"
Bob Dylan


18. "Daydream"
The Lovin' Spoonful


19. "Turquoise"
Donovan


20. "Slippin' and Slidin'"
Buddy Holly


21. "Be-Bop-A-Lula"
Gene Vincent


22. "No Particular Place to Go"
Chuck Berry


23. "Steppin' Out"
Paul Revere


24. "Do You Believe in Magic"
The Lovin' Spoonful


25. "Some Other Guy"
The Big Three


26. "Twist and Shout"
The Isley Brothers


27. "She Said "Yeah""
Larry Williams


28. "Brown Eyed Handsome Man"
Buddy Holly


29. "Slippin' and Slidin'"
Little Richard


30. "Quarter to Three"
Gary "U.S." Bonds


31. "Ooh My Soul"
Little Richard


32. "Woman Love"
Gene Vincent


33. "Shop Around"
The Miracles


34. "Bring It on Home to Me"
The Animals


35. "If You Gotta Make a Fool of Somebody"
James Ray


36. "What's So Good About Goodbye"
The Miracles


37. "Bad Boy"
The Miracles
Couldn't find this on Blip.fm or YouTube!

38. "Agent Double O Soul"
Edwin Starr


39. "I've Been Good to You"
The Miracles


40. "Oh I Apologize"
Barrett Strong
Couldn't find this on Blip.fm or YouTube!

41. "Who's Lovin' You"
The Miracles

MUSIC: My Most Played Music On IPod For January 2009

This from me, and NOT some reprinted material. - OlderMusicGeek

Well, if anyone is interested, these are the most played songs on my iPod for the month of January.

5. (six-way tie) Cotton Eye Joe - Rednex, A King Of Loving - Bill Nelson, The Look Of Love - ABC, Sk8ter Boi - Avril Lavigne, S.O.S. - Abba, and This Ol' Cowboy - Marshall Tucker Band

4. (four-way tie) The Great White Buffalo - Ted Nugent, Heard It In A Love Song - Marshall Tucker Band, Sweet Soul Music - Arthur Conley, and Begin The Beguine - Mario Lanza

3. (two-way tie)
Time Won't Let Me - The Smithereens

Your Song - Ewan McGregor (from Moulin Rouge)


2. You! Me! Dancing! - Los Campesinos!


1. (two-way tie)
Drift Away - Eric Donaldson

The Ecstasy Of Gold - Ennio Morricone

MUSIC: Survey Via A Mp3 Player

This is an ancient email my youngest brother sent me. But I didn't have many mp3's or a mp3 player at the time, so I didn't do it. But I found it trying to clear out my emails, so I'm doing it now! - OlderMusicGeek

Survey via a mp3 player

RULES:
1.) Put your music player on shuffle
2.) Press forward for each question
3.) Use the song title as the answer
4.) NO CHEATING!!! What you get is what you get!

1) How am I feeling today?
Seven Deadly Sins - Flogging Molly

2) Where will I get married?
Pain In My Heart - Otis Redding

3) What is my best friends theme song?
People Are Strange - The Doors

4) What is high school like?
Today I Started Loving You Again - Chip Taylor & Carrie Rodriguez

5) What is the best thing about me?
The Wanderlust (acoustic) - Flogging Molly

6) How is today going to be?
Love Power - from the soundtrack of the original version of The Producers

7) What is in store for this weekend?
The Conductor Wore Black - Rank And File

8) What song describes my parents?
Sammy's Fancy - Gaelic Storm

9) How is my life going?
Walk Like A Man (You Can Call Me Your Man) - Grand Funk Railroad

10) What song will they play at my funeral?
The Reaction - Ennio Morricone

11) How does the world see me?
Down In The Park - Gary Numan

12) What do my friends really think of me?
Telegram Sam - T. Rex

13) Why do people secretly lust after me?
I'm Going Home - from the soundtrack of The Rocky Horror Picture Show

14) How can I make myself happy?
One Of My Turns - Pink Floyd

15) What should I do with my life?
Lack Of Interest - Slaughterhouse 6

16) Will I ever have children?
Walking In The Park With Eloise - Wings

17) What is some good advice?
All Along The Watchtower - Bob Dylan (Oh yeah, great! Like I have any idea what this song is about!)

18) What do I think my current theme song is?
Glad To See You Go - The Ramones

19) What does everyone else think my current theme song is?
The Big Issue - Chumbawumba

20) What type of men/women do you like?
Knock On Wood - Eddie Floyd

21) Will you get married?
Knee - Ken Nordine

22) What should I do with my love life?
Primitive Notion - New Order

25) What will your dying words be?
It's My Delight - The Melodians

26) Hows your day going so far?
Network 23 - Tangerine Dream

27) Hows your love life?
Duchess - The Stranglers

28) Where will your next vacation be?
Chattanooga Choo Choo - Glenn Miller

MUSIC: Stuff White People Like - #93 Music Piracy

This is from the blog, Stuff White People Like, a funny blog that I suggest everyone check out! - OlderMusicGeek

#93 Music Piracy
March 30, 2008 by clander

White people have always been renowned for having ridiculously large music collections. So when file sharing gave white people a chance to acquire all the music they ever wanted, it felt as though it was an earned right and not a privilege.

When (not if) you see a white male with a full iPod, ask him if all of his music is legal. If he does not immediately launch into a diatribe about his right to pirate music, you might have to nudge him a bit by saying “do you think that’s right?” The response will be immediate and uniform.

He will likely rattle off statistics about how most musicians don’t make any money from albums, it all comes from touring and merchandise. So by attending shows, he is able to support the musicians while simultaneously striking a blow against multinational corporations. He will proceed to walk you through the process of how record labels are set up to reward the corporation and fundamentally rob the artist of their rights, royalties and creativity. Prepare to hear the name Steve Albini a lot.

Advanced white people will also talk about how their constant downloading of music makes them an expert who can properly recommend bands to friends and co-workers, thus increasing revenues and exposure. So in fact, their “illegal” activities are the new lifeblood of the industry.

When they have finished talking, you must choose your next words wisely. It is considered rude to point out the simple fact that they are still getting music for free. Instead you should say: “Wow, I never thought of it like that. You know a lot about the music industry. What bands are you listening to right now? Who is good?”

This sentence serves two functions: it helps to reassure the white person that they are your local “music expert,” something they prize. Also, it lets them feel as though they have convinced you that their activities are part of a greater social cause and not simple piracy.

If you bring up this issue with white person who says “nah bro, I don’t give a shit, Dave Matthews has enough money as it is.” You are likely dealing with wrong kind of white person.

In the even more rare situation where someone says “it’s all paid for, and it’s all transferred from vinyl.” You have found an expert level white person and must treat the situation carefully.

Because of the availability of music online, a very strict social hierarchy has been created within white culture whereby someone with a large MP3 collection is considered “normal,” a large CD collection is considered to be “better,” and a person with a large vinyl collection is recognized as “elite.”

These elite white people abhor the fact that music piracy has made their B-sides, live performances, and bootlegs available to the masses. Their entire life’s work has been stripped of it’s rarity in terms of both object and sound on the record. The best thing you can say to them is: “vinyl still sounds better.”

However, it is recommended that you do not let this conversation drag much longer. If you let them continue talking to you they are likely to spend hours talking to you about bands you’ve never heard of and providing you with a weekly mix CD of rarities that you do not want.

Posted in Activities, Culture | 98 Comments »

Some of the more interesting comments... - OlderMusicGeek


Gustavo Arellano on March 30, 2008 at 3:49 pm
Great blog, but Mexicans made music piracy socially acceptable long before the Internet could only support MIDI. Indeed, lore has it that copies of Edison’s “Mary Has a Little Lamb” were on the streets of Mexico City before his tinfoil could cool.
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David Diego Rodriguez on March 30, 2008 at 5:55 pm
Hey, Gustavo, I bought your book, ¡Ask a Mexican!, and I lend it out to everyone I know so that they don’t have to buy it! But that’s not bootlegging, right?
http://davidrodriguez.us
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Ana on March 30, 2008 at 6:02 pm
There’s a weekly tiangi mercado in Oaxaca city that’s unreal. In addition to the expected collections of narcocorridos, Juan Gabriel, Led Zeppelin, and Jean Claude Van Damme, some stands have selections of CDs and DVDs that would rival any white person’s favorite college town record store or art house cinema. Another one would qualify as the best classical music store I’ve ever seen.

For whatever reason I rarely saw American expats shopping there, but most are older than the white people this blog is about. They buy all their food at the Soriana, Gigante is just a little too Mexican.
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lguerrrr on March 30, 2008 at 3:54 pm
Well, it is true that Mexicans are more likely to be into piracy (also Chinese, Russians and all non-white people). What makes illegal downloading of mp3s unique is that it has crossed over to what white people like. White people are known for their respect of property rights. The fact that they are willing to forgo this in the name of music is remarkable.
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asad123 on March 30, 2008 at 3:54 pm
Mix CD’s are sooooo 1998.
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demirep on March 30, 2008 at 6:45 pm
However, mixtapes never go out of style.
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deesigner on March 30, 2008 at 3:59 pm
umm… where does one find this so called “free” music?

(For research sake of course……..)
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Gustavo Arellano on March 30, 2008 at 3:59 pm
White people respect property rights, lguerrrr? You obviously never heard of Manifest Destiny.
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Chantal on March 30, 2008 at 4:07 pm
but it’s true..vinyl DOES sound better.
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Amy on March 30, 2008 at 4:30 pm
Rock on! I never realized I could be considered elite, but the thousands of CDs and hundreds of vintage vinyl attest otherwise. (I always thought I was just a music nerd.)

This blog is the bomb.
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teeveebee on March 30, 2008 at 4:46 pm
What’s vinyl?
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OlderMusicGeek on March 30, 2008 at 7:24 pm
i fear for the day when they start asking what’s a cd!

god, i’m getting old!
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Reid on March 30, 2008 at 4:59 pm
Don’t forget that everyone’s taste in music is proudly self-considered to be “eclectic”, even if it merely includes both country AND western.
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Cato on March 30, 2008 at 5:31 pm
You’re close, but not quite there…
It’s not just “vinyl still sounds better”

it’s “analog recording with tube amplifiers/preamps gives you the most accurate recreation of the natural sound”

– this brings you into the rarefied world of not just vinyl, but direct to disc vinyl recordings and the serious audiophile world of finding (and often rebuilding) tube (as opposed to transistor) amplifiers. That’s elite!
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MONO is the Great White Hope on March 30, 2008 at 6:19 pm
Vinyl is cool if you like snap, crackle, pop with your tunes. Many’s the time I’d break out a bowl of the old Rice Krispies and munch while jamming on my MP3 player just for old time’s sake.

But anyone that says the sound quality of vinyl, the virtues of analog notwithstanding, is superior to CD is just nuts.

I’m talking about mass produced LPs & 45s. It was not uncommon to see bits of lint or paper embedded in the record. Surface blemishes that were visual to the naked eye were very common and blemishes that manifest themselves to your ear on the very first needle drop were par for the course.

Most true audiophiles I know got the record onto tape– preferably reel-to-reel– first time out of the album sleeve.
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God, this was ME before cd's and mp3's! - OlderMusicGeek


Will Entrekin on March 30, 2008 at 6:43 pm
“providing you with a weekly mix CD of rarities that you do not want.”
Oh, but who doesn’t want that?
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whitekidfromwhiteplains on March 30, 2008 at 6:45 pm
White people like moby
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OlderMusicGeek cringes at this remark. :)

A link to the original blog post
A link to the blog, Stuff White People Like

MUSIC: My Favorite Song of the Day (That I Haven't Mentioned Already) - My Challenge to Myself

This from me, NOT some reprinted article. - OlderMusicGeek

I don't exactly where this idea came from - even though I just thought of it today - shows you what kind of memory I got. But I got all sorts of crazy ideas going through my head all the time - I can't keep track of them all - I'm like the Micheal Keaton character in the movie, Night Shift (IMDb link to Night Shift) - * starts singing Jumping Jack Flash*

But I remember that I kept reading and hearing about these different challenges for artists. In November, there's a challenge to writers to write a whole novel in that month. I had also heard ofa 48-hour challenge for film makers to write and film a short within 48 hours. And comic book creators have a once-a-year challenge to do a 24-page comic story in 24 hours. And in this month of February there is the RPM challenge, for musicians to write and record a cd of 10 songs or 35 minutes of music within this month.

And I wanted a challenge for myself.

I was trying to think of a way to show my love of music. I felt that I wasn't showing or explaining how much and what music means to me. After all, I am the OlderMUSICGeek. And by that, I meant that I am an older geek of MUSIC, all music, NOT a geek of just older music.

And somehow or another I remember hearing on NPR how one of the guys from Mystery Science Theatre 3000 saw one movie a day for a year and wrote a book about it.

I thought of listening to one album a day for a year and writing a blog post on it each day. It wouldn't be too difficult for me to do since I can listen to music at work. I have a 30 gig mp3 player I listen to at work with over 5000 songs on it - and I do a bit of rotating every two or three weeks. But then I thought of something that was more meaningful and would give a better reflection of me. I decided that I would write about my favorite song that I heard that day - and why I like it and why it holds meaning for me and touches me.

So I thought about it, mulled it over in my mind and even discussed it with my daughter, who told me if I wrote all 366 posts - it's a leap year - that she would give me $10. So, woo hoo, I've got to do it now!

I can't promise that I will write a piece everyday. But I will keep track of what what was my favorite song I heard that day and play catch up when I can. All the posts will be at this site, OlderMusicGeek's Stupid Entertainment Stuff, which is at http://oldermusicgeekentertainment.blogspot.com/.

I should warn you though, most of the songs will probably be alternative rock or punk rock. And a lot will probably come from the 70's and 80's. But I listen to a wide range of music besides alternative, punk and electronica - I also enjoy big band and swing, oldies, classic rock, world music, folk, bluegrass, Irish, reggae, cajun/zydeco, African, Indian, movie scores among other types. So there should still be a good bit of variety. And I won't include any song twice. If my favorite song of some day was a favorite song before, I'll just go with #2 - or #3 or whatever!

So if you don't see as many posts at this site, I hope you'll understand why. I'm a man on a mission! - to educate, explain and spread my love of music.

MUSIC: My Embarrassing First Song on My Mp3 Player!

I was going to write about this before, but I had a lot on my plate at the time and kind of spaced it off. Then the song came up again on my mp3 player.

You see, with my tax returns, I got myself a treat. I've been working hard and putting in a lot of hours, working 50-hour weeks, and decided to get myself something fun with part of the money. I got a 30 gig mp3 player. It's great and I can hold over 5000 of my songs on it.

So I had a whole bunch of music downloaded onto it. About a half to a third of it being along the lines of alternative, punk or electronic, but also some big band and swing, oldies, soul, r&b, classic rock as well as a bunch of world music including a some stuff I had from South Africa and its neighbors - music I picked up while I lived 6 1/2 years next door to South Africa and stuff I picked up since - plus some Celtic music, bluegrass and Americana and stuff from and influenced by southwest Asia (India, Nepal, Tibet, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh).

So what song should come up first from the huge expanse of music? This collection of songs from various time periods and various places? This smörgåsbord of melodies, rhythms and harmonies?

Only, of course, the most guilty of all my musical guilty pleasures! It's not necessarily that this song is worse than some of my other musical guilty pleasures. It's just that when it came out, I was old enough to know better than to enjoy this song - but I still liked it and put it on my mp3 player!

And what song would it be? (big sigh) Mmmbop by Hansen! Yes, Mmmbop by Hansen was the first song to be played on The OlderMusicGeek's mp3 player!

Well, all I can say is at least it wasn't one of my John Denver songs! Not that I listen to a bunch of John Denver. I only have 4 songs of his I listen to!

I mean they're not nearly as numerous as the number of Neil Diamond songs I listen to!!!

Okay, I shutting up now before I mention the Glen Campbell song I have downloaded!

D'oh!