of course, the same argument can be made for vinyl packaging. i have a 3-record
+ 7" set of "minimal wave" music released by wierd records. the package on this is
absolutely beautiful. the booklet reprints flyers and photos from "wierd" nights in
NYC up to that time. it made me feel like i had a window in on something really
interesting that i missed. the night has since been reactivated and i plan on going.
the problem with vinyl is, i don't have a lot of time to sit and listen to something in
my home. i ended up making a CDR of my favorite songs on the records. i've
listened to it a few times, but find it lacking because it's just a dub to me, with no
artwork.
the difference between vinyl and CDs is that vinyl *can't* be portable in its natural
state. CDs can, but the players are larger and the packaging is still often carried
around. or the big thing in the 90s, people lugging around CD sleeve booklets.
it's increased portability/convenience/laziness that has driven people to embrace
ipods and mp3s - even though CDs have enough of several worlds (portability,
tangibility, sound quality).
something else people haven't thought of is the secondary market. even now, if a
record or CD isn't up to snuff or just not as essential as paying rent, you can sell
them used through any number of online (and some physical) outlets. if physical
copies evaporate altogether, the possibility of getting a fraction of your investment
back (including to pour back into new music purchases) evaporates as well. while
the secondary market doesn't directly benefit the artist, it can be a barometer of
their popularity. seeing that people are willing to pony up $$$ on ebay for an OOP
nurse with wound or aphex disc can lead to reissues, new reviews, reassessment
by the press and fans, possibly even live shows.
---------- Original Message ----------------------------------
From: "Irene McC" <substar@telkomsa.net>
Date: Fri, 26 Oct 2007 19:05:43 +0200
quoted 34 lines You make a very valid point.>You make a very valid point.
>
>CD's are, by their very nature, far less tactile, visceral objects than the lush
>beauty of a vinyl with a beautiful gatefold cover. I have a large collection of
>milk crates full of my beloved vinyl from ... well, very long ago ;-) and you'd
>have to really prise it off me with a gun against my head. But there are few
>CD's I have such a strong emotional attachment to, now that you bring this
>up. As much as I might love the actual music on the CD's, there is no longer
>that mother-hennish protective love that I have for my record collection.
>
>I also agree with your comments on font choice and ultra-minimal artwork.
>Gone are the days of beautiful fold-outs and little messages scratched into
>the run-out grooves (well, maybe vinyl is still there, but not quite to the
>extent of ALL music/ albums being released to that medium).
>
>I
>*
>
>
>On 26 Oct 2007 at 9:45, chthonic wrote:
>
>> this is one thing that has pissed me off a bit about a lot of CDs in
>> recent years, especially minimal electronica. the CD design is basically
>> a flat color with small amounts of helvetica type, perhaps a small vector
>> graphic. the center and/or back panels of the insert may even be totally
>> blank. artists like this may be trying to impart something specific with
>> design like this, or perhaps it's just laziness, or that they don't really
>> care about visual presentation. i think those sorts of attitudes have led
>> to people feeling they are getting less or even to the point of not caring
>> if the CD art is lost because what are they really losing?
>
>
>
>--------------------------------------------------------------------
-
quoted 2 lines To unsubscribe, e-mail: idm-unsubscribe@hyperreal.org>To unsubscribe, e-mail: idm-unsubscribe@hyperreal.org
>For additional commands, e-mail: idm-help@hyperreal.org
________________________________________________________________
Sent via the WebMail system at chthonicstreams.com
---------------------------------------------------------------------
To unsubscribe, e-mail: idm-unsubscribe@hyperreal.org
For additional commands, e-mail: idm-help@hyperreal.org