The excitement of buying albums...

Cuttlefish

Totally agree I have started purchasing albums again after my daughter rekindled my interest in vinyl. I had resigned my albums to the attic and even sold/ given away albums but a number of years ago I got back into purchasing vinyl again and yes there is a buzz as you flick through the stacks of albums available and picking out one, or two, albums to purchase

And yes I do get a buzz with walking down Pana with a vinyl shaped bag 🀗

I do purchase mainly second hand and in Cork the *Vinyl bunker" on Camden Quay is well worth a visit

Dothebartman

Jurgen The German wrote: »

Man this thread is about the days when computer viruses were something your dublin cousins ssummer American foreign exchange student spoke about.

Not really. Back when i started using the internet is was on a 56K modem and every record shop was constantly packed selling tapes and CD's. Waiitng an hour to download 5MB song was fun. I would say its plenty relevant. Probably the beginning of the end though!

adox

The sound cellar on Nassau street was my place to go to for albums, being a metal head in the 80s.


Searching through albums looking at the covers etc was a thrill. Plenty of advice in the shop too.

Bought Kill Em All on vinyl in there on a whim.


They were things of beauty. Listen to the music while looking at and reading the album sleeve. The artwork cover so a big part of the experience too.

When CDs came out a lot of the magic was lost. They just weren’t the same experience.

SEPT 23 1989

For me it was the photography in the magazines the stage shots back stage the gear they had on while I listened to the album

Better in black and white of course

I had the price of a record/cd and the 1.10 punt bus fare return back out of town (Jump off if you saw the inspector) and I was happy for a few weeks

Diemos

adox wrote: »

The sound cellar on Nassau street was my place to go to for albums, being a metal head in the 80s.


Searching through albums looking at the covers etc was a thrill. Plenty of advice in the shop too.

Bought Kill Em All on vinyl in there on a whim.


They were things of beauty. Listen to the music while looking at and reading the album sleeve. The artwork cover so a big part of the experience too.

When CDs came out a lot of the magic was lost. They just weren’t the same experience.

Interesting....your generation seems to have lost interest when the medium shifted
Same as this generation.

Me, I think I'm just getting older, don't have the time or interest to pour into new albums.
Back in college, I could pick up multiple albums weekly. I do remember them hitting 17€ each around 05, which I thought was ludicrous.

andekwarhola

It's really sad but only to people like me and others of my age. My kids just don't know what that's like: no more than I understand stuff that was central to my parents' lives. Times move on, I guess.

Jurgen The German

adox wrote: »

The sound cellar on Nassau street was my place to go to for albums, being a metal head in the 80s.


Searching through albums looking at the covers etc was a thrill. Plenty of advice in the shop too.

Bought Kill Em All on vinyl in there on a whim.


They were things of beauty. Listen to the music while looking at and reading the album sleeve. The artwork cover so a big part of the experience too.

When CDs came out a lot of the magic was lost. They just weren’t the same experience.

Legend has it that You were in a band once, when I say band I mean a couple of lads with a washboard and a 5 gallon ceramic jug as they were the only available instruments at that point. Heady days I'm sure, a couple of flaggons of mead and ye would play anywhere.

Raconteuse

SEPT 23 1989 wrote: »

We could never have dreamed of a YouTube back then but give me album covers sleeve notes and magazines any day

You put a hell of lot into following bands back then

Instant gratification now

And onto the next thing

It’s dead

You can still embrace all that though.

SEPT 23 1989

Raconteuse wrote: »

You can still embrace all that though.

What can I embrace?

Dothebartman

Dothebartman wrote: »

Whats the big obsession with Vinyl in recent years does anyone know?

It's the only way to get people to spend money on music anymore..

Tell them they're being vintage and analogue and the hipsters will lap it up.. and pay well for it.. shower of dopes..

Terrible for the environment too..

simongurnick

The access to music now on youtube and spotify etc is amazing but the beautiful art of listening to an entire album is going by the wayside

simongurnick

The access to music now on youtube and spotify etc is amazing but the beautiful art of listening to an entire album is going by the wayside

dreamers75

simongurnick wrote: »

The access to music now on youtube and spotify etc is amazing but the beautiful art of listening to an entire album is going by the wayside

This 10000x

The 1st album I bought was Stone Roses in 1989, later in life me and a flatmate would trawl through HMV to find more.

Best album Stone Roses
Worst Album Oasis 3rd cant even remember its name

Good times, now its videos and spotify and most importantly going to see them live. We may miss the album buying problem but we get to see bands play live more due to the financial rewards for them, ****e ticket prices tho.

Best actual album ever is David Grays, 9 singles from and an 11 track album..... thats absurd but pound for pound......

andekwarhola

Dothebartman wrote: »

Whats the big obsession with Vinyl in recent years does anyone know?

There is a big nostalgia market for vinyl amongst late 30s-50s that are typically the demographic with maximum purchasing power.

I was in Golden Discs Dundrum recently and there is a big vinyl section with all the albums being flogged for between 20-30 quid.

Do the mathematics.

LeBash

I remember going to markets in the Phoenix Park and knew a guy who had all the new CDs for a 10er.

When I got my first job, every 3 or 4 weeks I'd head into HMV in Blanch because it was cheaper, then Virgin, better alternative selection. I'd head out to the car with 7 or 8 CDs and spend 10 mins picking what went on first, then flick through all the books, pick a second album and drive home.

I'd say from entering Blanch to leaving was 3-4 hours total.

Music now is way better but none of it is in a chart. Back in the 90s early 00s, there was some really great non pop stuff in the charts.

beauf

Kansas City wrote: »

For me, it's about taking time to appreciate music. There's almost a ritual involved in sliding the vinyl out of the sleeve, putting it on the record player and placing the needle down on the outer groove. If I'm sticking on a record, in listening to it right through as the artist intended and not bouncing about tracks based on a whim as I'm prone to with Spotify. I love album artwork as well and looking over the lyrics or notes that are on the sleeve. It all enriches the experience.

There is that. No argument. But a lot of music when digitized to CD originally was butchered.

Many artists went back and remastered their own CD's later when this became known. Releasing much better and closer to the original masters. Its these versions the audiophiles seek out.

beauf

I had stopped listening to new music, pretty much stuck in my CD/MP3 collection. Since I switched to a streaming service, I'm listening to a lot more stuff.

Montage of Feck

Golden discs is a fairly depressing place these days, ripoff vinyl, DVD's and 3 for 2 greatest hits cd's.

emo72

4 vinyl for 100 euro? When I was there back in the day it was the end of vinyl and we couldn't give them away for 1 pound. Oh how the (vinyl turn) tables have turned.

NewbridgeIR

EmmetSpiceland wrote: »

Golden Discs has always been a terrible music shop.

Not true.

Have a look at this Golden Discs chart from 1981 - based on sales from its Liffey Street outlet.

NewbridgeIR

beauf wrote: »

There is that. No argument. But a lot of music when digitized to CD originally was butchered.

Many artists went back and remastered their own CD's later when this became known. Releasing much better and closer to the original masters. Its these versions the audiophiles seek out.

A lot of people (me included) prefer the sound of early CDs. Flat transfers, no compression or brickwalling. Plenty of dynamic range. There have been a lot of terrible remasters (particularly in the 2000s). The Loudness Wars have a lot of answer for.

NewbridgeIR

The album format is still very much alive. Nothing like physical formats. Spotify is fine but deeply flawed in that so much is missing from it.

I started buying vinyl in December 1981 and was an early adopter of CDs – I got my first player in Easter 1986. It was part of a Sony 4-in-1 midi system. I ended up buying the Pet Shop Boys’ Please on both formats a week later – the LP cost £8, the CD was £18. Throughout the remainder of the 1980s, I primarily bought new albums on vinyl, loads of 7″ and 12″s and CDs only occasionally. During 1990 I began to notice a change. Quantities of new LPs started to decrease. My local shop would only get in a handful of vinyl copies for major label releases while a couple of boxes of cassettes would arrive for the same titles. However indie and alternative LPs continued to sell ok through the 1990s while the dance scene was very healthy with about a dozen shops the city centre specialising in 12″ singles from the 1994 to 1999 period. After that they started to drop off. All throughout the decade, my preference was to buy new albums on vinyl but as I had a full time job (and more money for music), I started buying more CDs – sometimes doubling up, but most of the time getting back catalogue reissues and compilations. I also got into box sets around then and these were perfect on CD – stuff like Nuggets, Acid Drops, Stax Singles etc – totally impractical on vinyl – and by and large, people accepted that CD was the optimum delivery method for titles like these.

Things started to take off in the 2000s – I kept buying new LPs but gradually noticed the increasing prices as most new albums were doubles. The price of CDs came down and since 2012, I have shifted to CD for most new releases – but still buying plenty of second hand records where there can be good value to be had. Back to the Pet Shop Boys – I bought the Super album in April 2016 (30 years after Please) and the LP cost €26 with the CD only €14. That kind of pricing pretty much sums up the vinyl revival. It’s great to see the format doing well but I think some people are losing perspective – dropping €30 for new reissues of common albums that mostly can be found easily used for much less. There’s also a quality issue – some vinyl reissues are shocking (Scott Walker’s 4 Men With Beards label) – while others are priced sky high. I’m also noticing a serious intolerance towards CDs – it primarily seems to be coming from Born Again Vinyl Junkies, many of whom did not buy new LPs in the lean years. In fact, hardly anyone did (especially the major label stuff) - I remember the new release shelves of Virgin and HMV in the mid-90s - they'd get maybe 10 vinyl copies in - I'd buy one, a friend would buy another and the remainder would sit there for months on end before being sold off cheap.

Keyzer

Cool thread, really nostalgic.

The album, as a concept, was a brilliant idea and, like you, I miss developing a relationship with an album - I need to get a record player and start building a vinyl collection.

I remember having the Second Coming by the Stone Roses on tape - for some reason, I only listened to side 2 for ages, probably because the first song on side 1 consisted of 4 minutes of jungle music. Anyway's, stuck on side 1 by mistake one day and just left it playing. Mind blown when 6 new songs came along, absolute rippers too.

Good luck in GD, hope you pick up some good stuff for the collection.

Ger Roe

My two 'kids' (16 and 23), have always been aware of my record collection and used to play them out of a novelty interest. In recent years however, they have become interested in 'legacy' bands and at least some of my vinyl collection has now been classed as 'cool'.

This year, they both got vinyl albums for Christmas .... Pink Floyd and Greeday. The record player has been on the go since Christmas day .... and it's wonderful.

P.S - Santa tells me he got the albums in Tower Records - fab selection and some bargains to be had too.

adox

Deleted User wrote: »

It's the only way to get people to spend money on music anymore..

Tell them they're being vintage and analogue and the hipsters will lap it up.. and pay well for it.. shower of dopes..

Terrible for the environment too..

:pac:

EmmetSpiceland

dreamers75 wrote: »

Worst Album Oasis 3rd cant even remember its name

‘Be Here Now’, a much maligned and oft dismissed Oasis album but history will judge it to be one it their best.

If they’d included the B-side track ‘Flashbax’ instead of the album track ‘Fade In-Out’ the album would have been truly excellent.

I’d recommend anyone, who was a “fan” back in the day, to go back and give it a listen. There was far too much, unfair, comparisons with the first two albums. People looking backwards instead of forwards.

It was re-released on vinyl not too long ago too.

Earthhorse

I do miss album art and liner notes; I used to love poring over the small print and finding out which band members wrote what tracks and what songs the producer played on etc.

But even before streaming services came along I was tired of buying albums based on the few songs you’d heard (and loved) only to find out the rest of the songs were phoned in. Don’t get me wrong, a great album is a beautiful thing, but it’s also a rare thing and I think getting older plays a part in that as there are fewer new sounds for you to discover. Thank God for Spotify and YouTube, both of which have revived my interest in listening to music.

And though I’ve kept my old CD collection I don’t know where people find the space to keep all their albums, especially if they’re buying vinyl!

Sir Oxman

Raconteuse wrote: »

Remember it?

I used to pore over music magazines, save up for an upcoming album, experience such excitement when heading to HMV or Virgin Megastore or Golden Discs to buy it. I was totally obsessed with music - even getting part-time jobs in both HMV and Virgin at college (not at the same time obviously). I studied music at Cork School of Music and UCC too.

It wasn't just the buying an album for its musical content - it was the artwork, the sleeve notes... it was kinda magical. Something you'd remember specifically (and it takes a lot to remember just going into a shop and buying something).

Then of course that all changed - and I've no problem with it. YouTube and Spotify are the absolute biz. But I do find I'm not investing in albums at all anymore - not even for free. Just a song I like here, a song I like there... I haven't bought an album in years and years.

Anyway, I got a €100 voucher for Golden Discs for Christmas and I'm so damn excited - I've got that "excitement about buying an album" feeling again and it takes me right back!

Yep, remember it well during the 80s - I lived in the Virgin Megastore on Aston Quay and the local Golden Discs.

Hours spent flipping through the racks of album covers. The excitement when your favourite artist had a new album out.
The heft of a vinyl LP - the cover, the artwork, the notes - a true buyer experience with pennies and pounds carefully saved up.


I must get a record player.

mvl

Have to say, for me first love was buying cassettes in my teenage years - maybe cause of the location (eastern europe) and time I grew up, or how the cassette players were more accessible for my parents ...
--> weren't they trying to revive the audio cassettes too ?

Then, first serious vinyl collection I've seen around same time was at a friends house, it was gifted to them by a french acquaintance, and have some memories about browsing it stuck in my head till adulthood: truly fascinating.

These days, when we talk about collecting more stuff than we need, can see records & books as items I'd never have enough of: think you can tell my age based on that

NewbridgeIR

EmmetSpiceland wrote: »

‘Be Here Now’, a much maligned and oft dismissed Oasis album but history will judge it to be one it their best.

If they’d included the B-side track ‘Flashbax’ instead of the album track ‘Fade In-Out’ the album would have been truly excellent.

I’d recommend anyone, who was a “fan” back in the day, to go back and give it a listen. There was far too much, unfair, comparisons with the first two albums. People looking backwards instead of forwards.

It was re-released on vinyl not too long ago too.

The production is terrible - but there's a good album buried in there. Great B-Sides though. You mentioned Flashbax and there's also Stay Young, The Fame, Going Nowhere, (I Got) The Fever......

Sold loads upon release but the second hand shops were flooded with people flogging their copies after about a month.