Back in the good ol' days of retail, when physical product was still exciting for people of all ages and music lovers spent money like drunken sailors, today's new releases would have kept me busy for the entire day at the shop. Then, at the end of my day, I would have filled a shopping bag with the best of the lot to be admired, caressed and eventually blasted through my stereo system for days to come.
Take a look at some of these beauties:
Most, probably all of these would have been no-brainers in 1999. Beautifully packaged, gloriously remastered and full of classics and newly found gems.
But that's not all. Also out today, and what you would have found on the shelves at my shop are new releases from:
Matthew Sweet & Susanna Hoffs
Counting Crows
Lady Gaga
Phish
And yes....even Katey Sagal...
...because at least one person would have asked for it and so I wanted to have it ready for when he did.
Now, it's an internet free-for-all. Just wait and sooner or later most, probably all of this music will be a click away. In some instances, you won't need to spend a dime.
Why am I getting all nostalgic?
I spent the weekend listening to music as I always do. I had a blast as I always do. I especially enjoyed pulling CDs and a few boxed sets off the shelves and reading through the notes and digging the sounds coming from my stereo, without having to do an iTunes search or having to adjust my earbuds or needing to wait for the Apple "spinning rainbow wheel of death" to go away so I can choose another playlist.
And yes, another damned expensive, repackaged odious Who multi-disc bullshit boxed set may be the worst example for feeling nostalgic, but I never said I was rational. I want it. And I want the Donny Hathaway and the Miles MONO set. Katy Sagal, not so much.
6 comments:
I can't believe you didn't also include the fantastic 12 CD box set of Roger Taylor's solo work call "The Lot".
Sal:
I still prefer browsing in a store like yours to the Internet, so there's that. Does the Ry Cooder Box Set contain extras or is it just a collection of those records in one handing slip case?(not a bad thing either).
Cheers
Michael D.
For what it's worth, my take on the new Beatles BBC set...
Bruce H
http://www.vanityfair.com/online/daily/2013/10/beatles-on-air-music-review
Nice piece, Bruce. I like "There's A Place."
There is a beautiful 9 CD bootleg, modeled after the Stax singles box, that claimed to have every Beatles BBC recording. I have it and the quality is mostly great. I wonder if "On Air" has stuff that wasn't included on that set.
I am with you, brother. Pickings are pretty slim on the ground these days, but Boston/Cambridge USED to be a great music retail town, and I can't go anywhere without someone telling me how much they miss the joint where I used to work. I've got plenty of stuff archived digitally, but we both know that it is not (and will ever be) the same. I STILL love to dump the whole collection on the floor every few months, make a big mess, and burrow around like Scrooge McDuck until I settle on a "new" filing system. - bill buckner
@Michael D.
I think the Cooders are just straight, but as you said, not a bad thing.
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