http://youtube.com/watch?v=rPV6fiuivuISorry Krul, you know I like you, but I think people just are too goddamn romantic when it comes to vinyl. Vinyl isn't special,
mp3's killed the black beauty
Aah, you were hiding it! 
Damn that pic brings back some nice memories 
Too bad I wasn't there to see you at basement.
Anyways, on topic (though it's getting pretty hard to defend my viewpoints, because no, I've never been to a pressing plant)
And I certainly do not want to imply that it's not possible to build a magnificent set without vinyl. No, I just think that the tendency towards digital music has had its impact on the track selections that dj's are making these days. How many low quality samples do you have to wade through until you finally find something which strikes you as special?
Also, like I said before, sometimes you just gotta listen to the whole thing until you finally understand what the track is all about. Just imagine if the sample of knights of the jaguar for example didn't have those marvellous strings in it, I don't know about you, but I would think of it as just another mediocre track.
I dunno, maybe I am a bit too romantic about vinyl, but as a dj, you're also a collector, and it's always nice if your collection is tangible.
PS: when Zabiela comes to belgium, I'll be the first one to buy tickets
Damn that pic brings back some nice memories Too bad I wasn't there to see you at basement.Anyways, on topic (though it's getting pretty hard to defend my viewpoints, because no, I've never been to a pressing plant
)mmm......yes. Of course the music is thé most important aspect, but still...I don't think anyone will disagree if I say that vinyl has a different sound than mp3. But OK, that's a moot point when you're spinning in a club I guess; nobody will hear the difference since it's so small.The medium is irrelevant, it's the music where the true art is.
And I certainly do not want to imply that it's not possible to build a magnificent set without vinyl. No, I just think that the tendency towards digital music has had its impact on the track selections that dj's are making these days. How many low quality samples do you have to wade through until you finally find something which strikes you as special?
Also, like I said before, sometimes you just gotta listen to the whole thing until you finally understand what the track is all about. Just imagine if the sample of knights of the jaguar for example didn't have those marvellous strings in it, I don't know about you, but I would think of it as just another mediocre track.
I dunno, maybe I am a bit too romantic about vinyl, but as a dj, you're also a collector, and it's always nice if your collection is tangible.
PS: when Zabiela comes to belgium, I'll be the first one to buy tickets
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chrisdisco
- mnml maxi
- Posts: 919
- Joined: Fri Mar 31, 2006 1:31 pm
i dont care about vinyl, but i do care about record shops. i finally got around to adding my 2 cents to the original blog post. my thoughts:
Chris' delayed thoughts on the sorry death of Cisco, aka my first Japanese love.
You like digital, I like bananas, we all should like record shops. I don’t buy records. Never have. The digital revolution is great for me because now I can get all the tracks I used to never be able to get because I refused to submit to the record addiction (from what I’ve seen it is generally more addictive and expensive than nicotine). But. But the death of Cisco greatly upsets me. Despite the fact I would never buy records, I would still go there on a weekly basis. It was ritual. I would buy plenty of cds, find out about all the gigs coming up and get a sense for what is being released. Yes, you can do all this digitally. But it creates a completely different form and sense of community. The comments that have been made so far reflect a similar sense of loss that in the slow (inevitable?) death of record stores you are losing a ‘brick in the wall’ (as one of the comments put it). And I think this really does make a difference – yes we can all still buy and listen digitally, and no I don’t think it means doom and gloom for techno (there are plenty of advantages), but it points towards a fundamentally different, and ultimately not particularly satisfying form of interaction and community. It points towards concepts like ‘silent discos’ where everybody uses headphones on the dancefloor instead – a cute concept perhaps, but also one that completely atomises the crowd and destroys the shared experience of listening to the same speakers and interacting on the dancefloor. So we will all decide digitally and interact anonymously on blogs and boards and so on, but this is a different dynamic and a different form of interaction (these thoughts are also what made me feel strangely uncomfortable about this recent post about the lack of joy from visiting a record store: http://ronanfitzgerald.net/houseisafeel ... 01/18/249/). I remember walking into Cisco, hearing something I had never heard before, fumbling in my bad Japanese and asking ‘what is this?’ and walking out with a new cd and a new artist. I can recount plenty more stories from Cisco, most of all which involve my bad Japanese being transcended by a mutual appreciation of good music. And in such an isolating country as Japan, these brief moments of connection are rare and worthwhile. The death of Cisco is a huge loss for me personally, and as Pete rightly notes, not a particularly promising sign for things to come. Cisco is where I first discovered Ricardo Villalobos. Ditto Dan Bell. Ditto plenty others. Sure I will keep on discovering new artists as they appear on my radar, but I am not convinced that the experience will be as personal or satisfying as the kind that a place like Cisco provided. RIP Cisco.
Chris' delayed thoughts on the sorry death of Cisco, aka my first Japanese love.
You like digital, I like bananas, we all should like record shops. I don’t buy records. Never have. The digital revolution is great for me because now I can get all the tracks I used to never be able to get because I refused to submit to the record addiction (from what I’ve seen it is generally more addictive and expensive than nicotine). But. But the death of Cisco greatly upsets me. Despite the fact I would never buy records, I would still go there on a weekly basis. It was ritual. I would buy plenty of cds, find out about all the gigs coming up and get a sense for what is being released. Yes, you can do all this digitally. But it creates a completely different form and sense of community. The comments that have been made so far reflect a similar sense of loss that in the slow (inevitable?) death of record stores you are losing a ‘brick in the wall’ (as one of the comments put it). And I think this really does make a difference – yes we can all still buy and listen digitally, and no I don’t think it means doom and gloom for techno (there are plenty of advantages), but it points towards a fundamentally different, and ultimately not particularly satisfying form of interaction and community. It points towards concepts like ‘silent discos’ where everybody uses headphones on the dancefloor instead – a cute concept perhaps, but also one that completely atomises the crowd and destroys the shared experience of listening to the same speakers and interacting on the dancefloor. So we will all decide digitally and interact anonymously on blogs and boards and so on, but this is a different dynamic and a different form of interaction (these thoughts are also what made me feel strangely uncomfortable about this recent post about the lack of joy from visiting a record store: http://ronanfitzgerald.net/houseisafeel ... 01/18/249/). I remember walking into Cisco, hearing something I had never heard before, fumbling in my bad Japanese and asking ‘what is this?’ and walking out with a new cd and a new artist. I can recount plenty more stories from Cisco, most of all which involve my bad Japanese being transcended by a mutual appreciation of good music. And in such an isolating country as Japan, these brief moments of connection are rare and worthwhile. The death of Cisco is a huge loss for me personally, and as Pete rightly notes, not a particularly promising sign for things to come. Cisco is where I first discovered Ricardo Villalobos. Ditto Dan Bell. Ditto plenty others. Sure I will keep on discovering new artists as they appear on my radar, but I am not convinced that the experience will be as personal or satisfying as the kind that a place like Cisco provided. RIP Cisco.
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Der geile Ami
- mnml mmbr
- Posts: 460
- Joined: Tue May 17, 2005 5:54 pm
- Location: berlin
One thing i like about this digital revolution is that hte music is more accessible for the fans. People like to be social and hte internet provides a meeting point for musicians, djs, and fans alike. I remember enjoying the record store experience, but I do not remember casual consumers of the music hanging out there, even if they were dancing to the sounds every week. Regardless whatever medium the music is presented, people enjoy going out and hearing music while socializing. Through connections in the newer digital meeting places, I notice more connections between the various groups than before. One might be all mashed on the weekend, but during the week they can collect their thoughts and communicate with a greater variety.
The concept of owning music in any form is still a relatively new concept for mankind. We might just be in a transition phase to however societal evolution plans to take us.
The concept of owning music in any form is still a relatively new concept for mankind. We might just be in a transition phase to however societal evolution plans to take us.
freeeeeee
someone here said it very well.
label bosses that release (and play out!) digitally, then complain of low vinyl sales and mp3-stealing. the way i see it, they are the ones to blame, because they deliver something to be stolen in the first place, and then they complain it gets stolen.
PRACTICE WHAT YOU PREACH!
label bosses that release (and play out!) digitally, then complain of low vinyl sales and mp3-stealing. the way i see it, they are the ones to blame, because they deliver something to be stolen in the first place, and then they complain it gets stolen.
PRACTICE WHAT YOU PREACH!
Maybe we should be more concerned about the people deciding which acts to play on the night. It's not the kids to blame for this it's the promoters who decide who plays. I co run a night and get a lot of demo's which are not up to standard but we simply don't let them play because people would stop coming to are night. If they ask us "what do you think of are mix" we just tell them "your not ready yet".Krul wrote:
Some kid who's going to a gig for the first time in his life and sees Gui Boratto doing his live set with only a laptop will probably think "sht, I got a laptop too!" And then you end up with sloppy mixes containing the top 10 charts and illegally downloaded 120kbs tracks raping the soundsystems.
promoters who let these people play should be kicked in the face.
Digital releases are the future. For so many reasons.
Better sound
Digital releases (when mastered properly) sound -much- better than their vinyl counterparts. No worries about dirt, hisses, pops, clicks or track degradation upon subsequent plays. Also, vinyl itself has sonic limitations where digital tracks do not.
Less expensive
Lower manufacturing/packaging costs, lower distribution costs, and lower purchasing costs. What's not to like about higher profits for labels and artists along with cheaper pricing for DJs & other customers? Dropping $2 on a killer digital track makes a hell of a lot more sense than buying a $12 vinyl and getting three tracks you'd never play. In today's watered-down market, this is huge.
And to a lesser (but still very important) extent:
•No physical storage space/racks needed to store thousands of digital songs (minimal and green, IMO)
•Lower cartridge/needle cost (who wants to dump cash on needles?)
•Less material & weight to travel with or ship if playing out (adds up if you play out a lot)
•No packaging waste, shipping cost, or chemical pollution through the vinyl creation process (watch how vinyls are made and you'll see the chemicals and exactly how involved and antiquated this process is)
Better sound
Digital releases (when mastered properly) sound -much- better than their vinyl counterparts. No worries about dirt, hisses, pops, clicks or track degradation upon subsequent plays. Also, vinyl itself has sonic limitations where digital tracks do not.
Less expensive
Lower manufacturing/packaging costs, lower distribution costs, and lower purchasing costs. What's not to like about higher profits for labels and artists along with cheaper pricing for DJs & other customers? Dropping $2 on a killer digital track makes a hell of a lot more sense than buying a $12 vinyl and getting three tracks you'd never play. In today's watered-down market, this is huge.
And to a lesser (but still very important) extent:
•No physical storage space/racks needed to store thousands of digital songs (minimal and green, IMO)
•Lower cartridge/needle cost (who wants to dump cash on needles?)
•Less material & weight to travel with or ship if playing out (adds up if you play out a lot)
•No packaging waste, shipping cost, or chemical pollution through the vinyl creation process (watch how vinyls are made and you'll see the chemicals and exactly how involved and antiquated this process is)