IDM Mailing Archive

On Wed, 6 May 1998, Upaka wrote:

quoted 8 lines On a related note, I wonder why Gescom have chosen to release their new

> On a related note, I wonder why Gescom have chosen to release their new > recording in minidisc only form. Forget about the whole compression problem, > what about the fact that minidisc players are prohibitively expensive? I'm not > going to go out and buy a minidisc player to listen to what will certainly be > the only minidisc-exclusive release. It just seems rather mean to release > something in a format that almost no one can listen to. It's like saying: "I > bet you'd like to listen to this wouldn't you? Oh, well, too bad you don't > have a minidisc player, isn't it?"

FWIW, PJ at Modern Music has hinted that he may find a way

Oops. Hit the send button too quick there. What I meant to say was that PJ at Modern Music has hinted that he may find a way to make the Gescom material available to people who don't have a minidisc player. Dunno what this means, and I'm sure he won't tell until there a done deal of some sort. But I just thought I'd mention it. Greg

huh? can someone explain what a 4 x cd player is? Gescom: on james'(steady j) discog, there is a number 3 near the top of the minidisc listing.. i (misinterpreted)/took this to mean there were only 3 pressed. which made no sense to me. they really released alot of them in minidisc format? im so confused. i should sleep. andy ajsolomon@wesleyan.edu On Wed, 6 May 1998, Upaka wrote:

quoted 27 lines In a message dated 5/6/98 4:45:36 PM, you wrote:

> > In a message dated 5/6/98 4:45:36 PM, you wrote: > > >Well, it could be worse. If you like the Flaming Lips you might be > >bullied into buying another 3, seeing as their new LP comes on 4 CDs > >which are intended to all be played at the same time (or not, if you're > >feeling rebellious). What the point of it? Don't ask me. It could be > >that they were just too lazy to mix it, or that they want to sell 1 CDs > >for the price of four, or it could be just a load of gimmicky nonsense. > >but as Irene points out, who but the luxuriously rich would have 4 CD > >players to do this on. > > I think this could be interesting if each of the cds had a different mix of > the record, i.e. the vocals on one track panned differently on each disc. Then > when you played all four together it would seem like the vocals were bouncing > around the room. However, I don't think that the Flaming Lips went to so much > trouble. And I completely agree that most people would be unable to use this. > > On a related note, I wonder why Gescom have chosen to release their new > recording in minidisc only form. Forget about the whole compression problem, > what about the fact that minidisc players are prohibitively expensive? I'm not > going to go out and buy a minidisc player to listen to what will certainly be > the only minidisc-exclusive release. It just seems rather mean to release > something in a format that almost no one can listen to. It's like saying: "I > bet you'd like to listen to this wouldn't you? Oh, well, too bad you don't > have a minidisc player, isn't it?" >

On Wed, 6 May 1998, Upaka wrote:

quoted 14 lines Well, it could be worse. If you like the Flaming Lips you might be

> >Well, it could be worse. If you like the Flaming Lips you might be > >bullied into buying another 3, seeing as their new LP comes on 4 CDs > >which are intended to all be played at the same time (or not, if you're > >feeling rebellious). What the point of it? Don't ask me. It could be > >that they were just too lazy to mix it, or that they want to sell 1 CDs > >for the price of four, or it could be just a load of gimmicky nonsense. > >but as Irene points out, who but the luxuriously rich would have 4 CD > >players to do this on. > > I think this could be interesting if each of the cds had a different mix of > the record, i.e. the vocals on one track panned differently on each disc. Then > when you played all four together it would seem like the vocals were bouncing > around the room. However, I don't think that the Flaming Lips went to so much > trouble. And I completely agree that most people would be unable to use this.

Um, for the uninformed out there, this is *precisely* the amount of trouble the Lips went to. *Every* disc has a completely different part of the song on it (not just different mixes, but on some tracks the bass is on a different disc than the vocals and on a different disc than the found sounds, etc.) and is meant to be played with 3 other stereos borrowed from other people. Fosters a nice sense of sharing and community, I'd imagine. :-)

quoted 4 lines On a related note, I wonder why Gescom have chosen to release their new

> On a related note, I wonder why Gescom have chosen to release their new > recording in minidisc only form. Forget about the whole compression > problem, what about the fact that minidisc players are prohibitively > expensive? ....

As far as I know, MD players are *not* prohibitively expensive - there are some out there for $175 (or less if you go used or discount store). And I've had a MD unit for a couple of months now and I can't really tell the difference due to compression (of course, mine has a very new ATRAC version, so older ones may sound crappy). Sorry this isn't idm related at all, but I *had* to clear up the *glaring* misconceptions that were being propagated..... cya brian -------------------------------------------------------- "The most dementing of all modern sins: the inability to distinguish excellence from success." - David Hare

In a message dated 5/6/98 9:01:28 PM, you wrote:

quoted 7 lines Um, for the uninformed out there, this is *precisely* the amount of

>Um, for the uninformed out there, this is *precisely* the amount of >trouble the Lips went to. *Every* disc has a completely different part of >the song on it (not just different mixes, but on some tracks the bass is >on a different disc than the vocals and on a different disc than the found >sounds, etc.) and is meant to be played with 3 other stereos borrowed from >other people. Fosters a nice sense of sharing and community, I'd imagine. >:-)

Well, I stand corrected. That sounds like quite an interesting release. I do like the interactivity of it. I hope I have not offended any Flaming Lips fans, forgive my ignorance. As for the minidisc question, I did not mean to imply that compression made it sound bad. I just meant that if you didn't have a minidisc player, $175 seems a rather expensive price to pay just to listen to the Gescom release. It's prohibitive in that people might be disinclined to purchase the Gescom release if they had to buy a minidisc player to listen to it. /////////DTC

quoted 7 lines On a related note, I wonder why Gescom have chosen to release their new

>> On a related note, I wonder why Gescom have chosen to release their new >> recording in minidisc only form. Forget about the whole compression >> problem, what about the fact that minidisc players are prohibitively >> expensive? .... > >As far as I know, MD players are *not* prohibitively expensive - there >are some out there for $175 (or less if you go used or discount store).

get them from japan. insane quality, because they have the newest versions, and really cheap. cheaper than a less-quality version here in the states. a supplier, really quality, is http://www.minidiscnow.com shane