I do know Pillar, Skillet and Switchfoot. Some others are less interesting. But the point is that if I can hear the good lyrics, I like it. (It should be fast anyway.)

Sounds like someone doesn't have an iPod.
What "mp3" player do you use then? :confused:

:D ;)

And 3 more Canada-bands just entered my collection, one track free, courtesy of iTunes (offer good until next Tuesday):

In Flight Safety
Jets Overhead
Young Galaxy

Nice. Maybe you can get a newer player because my dad does that too; when he feels 'retro' (he's going on 50) he puts on an old record he ripped to cassette a while ago.

I own a record player and about 200 records and still buy records. IMHO, vinyl sounds better than digital. Just my opinion though, not trying to start a holy war of digital versus analog.

I've still got a crate of vinyl but no record player. I've also got a crate of cassettes and about 400 cds. For me it's about convenience really. The kids would kill my albums if I tried to play them (if I had something to play them on). They would soon be rendered unplayable. Between scratches, dirt and warping I find vinyl just a bit too delicate. I find MP3s a convenient format. I can burn and play about ten albums in the car without having to change disks. If it gets scratched I can just burn another one instead of having to spend another $30 replacing it. I have over 17 days worth of music on my iTunes to choose from and listen to as I work without having to find and load a CD. I love my music but I'm not much of a purist when it comes to having the best speakers or whatever. It would be nice but I don't have the time or money to go nuts with my stereo gear.

You can restore that vinyl and that is also why I buy 180 gram vinyl when I can. I have records from the 1950s in my possession, do you think a CD will last 60 years?

Not the way my kids treat them :D. It really hurts to find your favourite CD lying in a smear of jam and grit.

I have an iPod touch and an iPhone, when your organization spends over 6 million dollars on apple equipment you tend to get lots of apple SWAG. I also have a 3rd gen nano.

Yeah, but if I recall, I don't think CDs can even store data for that long, and hard drives certainly will never last that long either. I just think vinyl sounds better too, I can feel the vibration the record makes when it plays through the needle and I think it gives more character to the music as well. I don't think digital can emulate that just yet. Not saying technology won't get better nor am I claiming to be an audiophile.

Just a dude with an opinion is all.

That's the thing they don't have to. If the HDD dies you can restore your music to a new one from your back up. What happens if that 50s record gets fatally chipped? You'd be lucky to find a replacement in good condition. You can restore your digital music to the latest media and it's identical to what you lost (assuming you have backups of course :rolleyes:).

I can't say I appreciate a nice ambient track being punctuated by pops and cracks. What I do miss though is 12" square cover art. Digital music really needs some sort of interactive full screen cover art experience to complete the transition to digital.

The obsolescence of media formats is a major problem, I agree with you. And it wouldn't surprise me THAT much if there comes a time when CDs are no longer sold, but a few people are pressing and buying vinyl records. So, really, I mostly agree with what you are saying.

The Library of Congress is rightly concerned about the longevity of CD media, given the large amount of CDs in their collection, and is studying the issue. (The link in this paragraph is to a .pdf of a study paper from the Library of Congress.)

Although they are seeing some lifespan issues with CDs (an upward trend in BLER rates as CDs age, for example, but the CDs still play flawlessly), I don't think that the situation with pressed compact disc media is quite as dire as you are hinting at.

Trevor

Alan Ellis, OiNK, Waffles, What and the RIAA
 

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And precisely that is the essence of it.

Recently, the RIAA suffered a major defeat when Alan Ellis, founder of the private bit-torrent tracker OiNK, was found innocent of criminal activity. (The article is well worth a read.)

If I recall correctly, a number of OiNK users were previously found guilty, including a well-known rock musician who was a millionaire many time over. He admitted what he had done. He described OiNK as "the world’s largest music library", a very convenient place from which to download music that simply wasn’t available anywhere else.

If the music industry would bother to establish a user-friendly online resource, and make hard-to-find-stuff available, he said he would never have used OiNK. But they don’t.

He is not alone. Numerous studies show that file-sharers purchase more music, not less. Despite RIAA propaganda.

The closest legal alternative to now-defunct OiNK and its heirs like Waffles and What is the iTunes Music Store. But last I heard they were not offering lossless downloads. (God knows why...or perhaps not!) And besides, there is a wealth of old and independent music that is simply not available through the iTunes Store.

I don’t see any signs that the buggy-makers are coming to their senses anytime soon.

-- ArcticStones


PS. I forgot to mention one exciting legal alternative: Spotify. It’s a superb alternative if you’re living in the UK, France, Spain, Finland, Sweden or Norway -- which I currently am. Fortunately, I’ve also heard that they do accept sign-ups from almost any other country. There is a free service (which I use) and a reasonably priced Premium service. The wealth of music available is amazing! And it’s legit. :)
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Now that it's finally been established that you possess both an iPod and an iPhone, could you briefly describe those few features which the iTMS lacks? [Seems to me that -- rather than being a whole different story -- those answers would be slightly more germane to this thread than one's penchant for vinyl.]

As a blissfully satisfied iTMS consumer, i'd sincerely like to learn what features i'm missing out on unawares.

Whew, I don't know where to begin. How about the Beatles, who basically changed the world? Or the Rolling Stones, who played their own part? Oh yeah--they also wrote the best songs ever.

But I gotta say, Madonna or even Michael Jackson definitely fit your description, I'd say. I'd agree with you there, whole heartedly.

Really? With the number of people who listen to their music? Talent aside (that's subjective after all), both of those artists are highly listened to artist. As a result they affect other musicians and our day to day lives. I suppose I just tend to look at the total number of people affected more than anything else...in that case, I think you might be wrong about Michael and Madonna.

Well, some musicians have many talents. They compile them on synth, then release them. It's for appreciation. For example, Jean-Michel Jarre. Greatest instrumental composer I've heard, along with Mike Oldfield. But J-M Jarre at least plays a laser harp on performances. Anyone seen either of these?

I totally get that argument, and zillions of people do listen to their music. But as near as I can tell, nothing really significant has sprung from either of those artists, unless you count people who do the moonwalk and pop stars who dress like prostitutes.

One of the problems when one talks about musical/cultural influences between, say, the Beatles and Madonna, is that the Beatles influenced everyone. I can't tag Madonna's influence at all, except female pop stars who look like they should be soliciting johns on the street corner. I understand Lady Gaga is real talented, but she looks like a fashion victim to me.

And one of the biggest reason for the Beatles' influence--apart from the fact that they were geniuses--is that the music industry was not splintered as it is now. There is a certain fan base that worships Madonna. The rest are divided between the dozens of sub-genres that exist today. Back then, there was basically one unified fan base. When Sgt. Pepper came out in the Summer of 1967, it was blaring from everyone's windows. This can't be said for any of today's musicians, I don't think. Or so I've read.