The excitement of buying albums...

beauf · 29-12-2019 1:37pm

NewbridgeIR wrote: »

Record Collector.

Borderline was great. Remember it was Razor Cuts and then DTK (Abbey Mall) beforehand.

The Abbey Mall, jeez....dusting off parts of my memory not used in many years there.

29-12-2019 1:37pm

NewbridgeIR wrote: »

Record Collector.

Borderline was great. Remember it was Razor Cuts and then DTK (Abbey Mall) beforehand.

Used to love DTK. Lots of them here in my collection. Used spend a fortune in that place.

Raconteuse · 29-12-2019 1:38pm

Wax cylinders and reel to reel?

Oldies forum is => gramps/grandma! :pac:

(Kidding - I love reading about that stuff. On social media now, an mp3 player is considered retro, therefore I'm old too).

Raconteuse · 29-12-2019 1:41pm

Tidying up my CDs now - the amount that were robbed at my previous home when there were house parties/by asshole flatmates is a disgrace. :mad:

A great thing about getting older is the lack of strangers in your home.

EDit · 29-12-2019 1:41pm

Anesthetize wrote: »

I agree, their selection is bizarre. Lots of best-of compilations geared at old farts, the usual classic albums on over-priced vinyl, and then some Adele and Ed Sheeran albums aimed at people who only buy an album once a year.

Golden Discs is the only music shop left in my town, and I've gone in there many times to see if they stock a new release only to come out disappointed. Luckily we can still buy CDs online.

Easy enough to buy vinyl online as well —> www.discogs.com

29-12-2019 1:41pm

Raconteuse wrote: »

Tidying up my CDs now - the amount that were robbed when there was a house party/by asshole flatmates is a disgrace. :mad:

Same thing happened to me. Good few albums got lifted at house parties.

Anesthetize · 29-12-2019 1:42pm

Raconteuse wrote: »

(Kidding - I love reading about that stuff. On social media now, an mp3 player is considered retro, therefore I'm old too).

Haha, I only realised that a couple of years ago when I bought one for my nephew, and he wasn't too impressed with it.

coolshannagh28 · 29-12-2019 1:50pm

My vinyl purchasing has come full circle from my mail order purchases from Rough Trade records in the 70s to mainly mail order online from ebay , Amazon etc today.

Strumms · 29-12-2019 2:09pm

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.

They royally fûcked up with the track listing on the album... the songs they had knocking around then that appeared as b-sides like Stay Young, I Got The Fever, Angel Child, Going Nowhere... were superior to most tracks on the album... I think, Magic Pie, The Girl in The Dirty Shirt and the title track are three straight off that could and should have been binned... the more I think about it what actually influenced their inclusion is a fûcking head scratcher, some fûckup. The gulf in quality between those three tracks and the ones that ended up as besides is massive.

Sardonicat · 29-12-2019 2:32pm

Raconteuse wrote: »

Wax cylinders and reel to reel?

Oldies forum is => gramps/grandma! :pac:

(Kidding - I love reading about that stuff. On social media now, an mp3 player is considered retro, therefore I'm old too).

Can I use take this opportunity to mention that I was joking about the wax cylinders.

The first ever vinyl purchase made in my behalf was 'Waterloo ' when it was first released. Far back in mists of time, for sure but not quite wax cylinder ancient.

Ger Roe · 29-12-2019 2:42pm

beauf wrote: »

I never bought much vinyl.

We still have old 78s at home they are heavier than vinyl feel like they'll shatter not bend. No idea what they are made of.

They were made of a substance called Shellac... they certainly will shatter, if shocked with even minimal force. Don't drop or knock off them.

The grooves on a shellac record were wider than for a vinyl single or LP, in the old days, there was a separate 78 rpm needle on the reverse side of the vinyl needle and you flipped the needle around if you were going to play a 78 rpm record. Shellac also wore out far more quickly that vinyl which is why surviving 78 records sound like they are fighting to be heard over someone frying a pan full of rashers.

adox · 29-12-2019 3:31pm

beauf wrote: »

Anyone remember sound cellar bottom of Grafton Street. Is it still there. Tommy was it? He still there? Never in city center three days. I see they have an online presence so still going. Used to order more obscure stuff there.

Yeah that’s where I was talking about in my earlier post. Tommy Tighe I think it was/is

Off topic but booked a trip through him and the shop to the Monsters Of Rock festival in Castle Donnington in 1984!!

Class line up. AC/DC headlining. Van Halen second on the bill when they still had Dave Lee Roth on vocals. Gary Moore, Ozzy Osbourne, Accept and Motley Crue were the openers!

DelBoy Trotter · 29-12-2019 4:04pm

I’d agree with the general consensus that Spotify and YouTube are brilliant, but it’s not the same as buying a physical album.

I find it strange how much hate Golden Discs is getting, considering it’s been around so long and has survived the bad times and changing face of music from physical to digital!

GeetarPick · 29-12-2019 4:10pm

Preferred HMV as the one on grafton st had all of the really hard to get metal albums back in the late nineties/early 2000s. Then Napster came along.

Raconteuse · 29-12-2019 4:28pm

DelBoy Trotter wrote: »

I’d agree with the general consensus that Spotify and YouTube are brilliant, but it’s not the same as buying a physical album.

I find it strange how much hate Golden Discs is getting, considering it’s been around so long and has survived the bad times and changing face of music from physical to digital!

Same here. The one on Patrick Street in Cork is great (it took over from HMV) as are the smaller ones in Cork.

I love their logo too. On the go since '62.

Better Than Christ · 29-12-2019 4:58pm

I love the fact that, against all the odds, Golden Discs is still there, thriving. Who'd've thunk it'd've outlived HMV and Virgin? I certainly wouldn't've anyway. To me, it was always the kind of place where you'd get your granny a Johnny McEvoy tape.

I haven't bought a physical album in years. I've never been 'into' vinyl and actually buying a CD seems so archaic to me now, like taping songs off the Hotline Hitlist. Haven't illegally downloaded one in years either - it's all Spotify now. The only CD player I own is in the car, so most of my CDs reside there, under the passenger seat. I love that reassuring feeling of rooting out an album that I used to listen to as a teenager and still being able to anticipate the next track.

riclad · 29-12-2019 5:12pm

It,s in the past, like when everyone watched mtv,or top of the pops,
music fans watch videos on youtube, or use spotify or another streaming service.
Hipsters buy vinyl.
Once napster and ipod ,s and mp3 players became popular it was only a matter of time until shops like hmv would go bust.
now people play music on phone,s .
Golden disc probably survives because its small , people still buy cds as
a gift.Its rental cost is low.
Its not a large store like hmv was .
Golden discs, must be doing something right to still be in business .
In countrys like japan they still buy millions of cd,s ,to show support for
whatever kpop band they like .

Strumms · 29-12-2019 5:31pm

whomenonotme wrote: »

I spent Saturday afternoons in Borderline records in Temple Bar, Derek, Motley and Elaine worked there. Then it was into the Rock Garden for the free afternoon gig.

What was name of the basement shop on Wicklow St that had a great selection of bootleg tapes? I remember reading an interview with Adam Duritz from Counting Crows at the time, he loved that he could play a show here and get the bootleg the next day (quality was often rubbish though). There was a guy who sold bootleg tapes on O'Connell Bridge too.

This thread is jogging a lot of memories for me

The Wicklow St shop was Record Collector. Ran by a really nice man George Murray... he passed away back in 2016... he had a really encyclopedic knowledge of music, every genre. I gave him quite a bit of business over the years and often I’d be in the shop for 30 mins just yapping away about a gig or a record and as I’d leave he'd pop a tape into my pocket or the bag of purchases on the house....

He’d often be in there yapping to George Byrne of hotpress, himself too no longer of this world, actually he seemed to be there every other time I went in... pair of them enthusiastically yapping about a gig or record or whatever.

Joe_ Public · 29-12-2019 5:41pm

Better Than Christ wrote: »

I love the fact that, against all the odds, Golden Discs is still there, thriving. Who'd've thunk it'd've outlived HMV and Virgin? I certainly wouldn't've anyway. To me, it was always the kind of place where you'd get your granny a Johnny McEvoy tape.

I haven't bought a physical album in years. I've never been 'into' vinyl and actually buying a CD seems so archaic to me now, like taping songs off the Hotline Hitlist. Haven't illegally downloaded one in years either - it's all Spotify now. The only CD player I own is in the car, so most of my CDs reside there, under the passenger seat. I love that reassuring feeling of rooting out an album that I used to listen to as a teenager and still being able to anticipate the next track.

Very true. Remember a piece in one of the papers 3-4 years back with a guy who had taken over the running of Golden Discs and completely turned it around. Think he might just have been part of family that owned it, great irish success story either way.

Difference back in the day, as mentioned, was you became intimate with an album and more often than not, played it beginning to end. Now its pick and mix, i couldn't tell you the tracklist on most new albums i listen to and might even struggle to name one or two of the songs. They're just there, on the digital playlist, waiting for their turn to come around.

Ash.J.Williams · 29-12-2019 5:45pm

ILoveYourVibes wrote: »

What are you looking forward to buying !?? Any recommendations? I am looking for new bands in particular!

Rocky develera and the gravediggers

Better Than Christ · 29-12-2019 5:50pm

Joe_ Public wrote: »

Difference back in the day, as mentioned, was you became intimate with an album and more often than not, played it beginning to end. Now its pick and mix, i couldn't tell you the tracklist on most new albums i listen to and might even struggle to name one or two of the songs. They're just there, on the digital playlist, waiting for their turn to come around.

That was one of the best things about cassette tapes. If there was a song on an album that you weren't too keen on, you couldn't easily skip it. Which meant that you were more likely to give the slow-burners a chance.

whomenonotme · 29-12-2019 7:13pm

riclad wrote: »

It,s in the past, like when everyone watched mtv,or top of the pops,
music fans watch videos on youtube, or use spotify or another streaming service.
Hipsters buy vinyl.
Once napster and ipod ,s and mp3 players became popular it was only a matter of time until shops like hmv would go bust.
now people play music on phone,s .
Golden disc probably survives because its small , people still buy cds as
a gift.Its rental cost is low.
Its not a large store like hmv was .
Golden discs, must be doing something right to still be in business .
In countrys like japan they still buy millions of cd,s ,to show support for
whatever kpop band they like .

I still listen to albums start to finish, and when I'm using Tidal app on my phone I download what I want and go offline then, but mostly I'm using a portable music player when out and about (can't really call it an MP3 player these days, all FLAC files...). I hate the way Tidal, Spotify etc "suggest" music for you and automatically play it unless you change the settings.

I rarely watch music videos these days (watched more when MTV had decent shows back in the 90s). I buy CDs for a lot of the stuff I listen to, I'll use Tidal when I want to listen to something I'd forgotten about, if it's really good I'll see if the CD is still available to buy.

29-12-2019 7:27pm

I remember the guy in Freebird told me off for trying to get a student discount on £1 CD singles. Fair enough I suppose.

Kansas City · 29-12-2019 7:36pm

I can't imagine many people would call me a hipster, I'd be on the nerd end of record collecting tbh. The fact is that an artist is more likely to make money off vinyl sales than streaming so I get to give artists I like revenue while getting to listen to albums in a format I really enjoy.

Albums being cut to vinyl have to do undergo a slightly different mastering process to purely digital because of the limitations of the medium so there's going to be no heavy clipping and only minor limiting on the finished product which means less listener fatigue. Vinyl tends to shine in the mid range which is the most comfortable to the human ear which is why people tend to think of vinyl as sounding warmer. So it might all be recorded digitally as one poster said - even if it isn't recorded digitally, is going to end up in a digital format in the mastering process - but the format you listen to it in is going to have a major effect on what you hear.

Lewis_Benson · 29-12-2019 7:51pm

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, and worked on music shows on community radio.

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!

Mrs bought me a turntable and 5 of my top 10 albums of all time to play on it.
The excitement is real.

NewbridgeIR · 29-12-2019 8:09pm

What turntables are people using?

I have a Thorens TD-150 MK II.

Conor Bourke · 29-12-2019 8:12pm

I was working for Christmas so am only home to family today and gave my dad his gift of a record player and a copy of ABBA gold, it’s all gone a bit Partridge in our living room right now

he seems to be delighted.

I’ve had a glass of wine and am feeling brave, dying to go rooting in the attic to bring him down his old vinyl collection. It’s all C&W/Trad/Irish country/showbands but I’ve great memories of playing them as a child. John Denver sticks out particularly in my mind for some reason.

NewbridgeIR · 29-12-2019 8:26pm

Kansas City wrote: »

I can't imagine many people would call me a hipster, I'd be on the nerd end of record collecting tbh. The fact is that an artist is more likely to make money off vinyl sales than streaming so I get to give artists I like revenue while getting to listen to albums in a format I really enjoy.

Albums being cut to vinyl have to do undergo a slightly different mastering process to purely digital because of the limitations of the medium so there's going to be no heavy clipping and only minor limiting on the finished product which means less listener fatigue. Vinyl tends to shine in the mid range which is the most comfortable to the human ear which is why people tend to think of vinyl as sounding warmer. So it might all be recorded digitally as one poster said - even if it isn't recorded digitally, is going to end up in a digital format in the mastering process - but the format you listen to it in is going to have a major effect on what you hear.

True but there isn't always a consistent listening experience with any format.
In the dark days of the early 1990s, quite a few albums sounded awful because they were crammed onto one piece of vinyl. Neil Young's Unplugged and De La Soul 3 Feet High & Rising are probably the worst examples. The record companies were doing their utmost to phase out the format so really didn't care.

Nowadays most LPs are doubles so are cut louder but it's not unknown for new albums / reissues come with pressing defects or are noisy (pops n clicks galore). Given the high price point, this really isn't good enough. I struggle to see the attraction of paying €30 for a reissue of a common 1970s/1980s title when an original LP can be picked up for half the price and sounds better.

In recent years, there's a seriously OTT negative sentiment towards CDs. I have noticed this among my own circle. "I don't own a CD player anymore" is the new "I don't have a television". This is coming from people who weren't buying vinyl back in the 1990s. The second hand CD market is great though - loads of cheap used copies out there as people are dumping their collections. While it's not a perfect format, for any large-scale project or multi disc set (e.g Cherry Red's post-punk, folk, electronic boxes), CD is still the ideal delivery method.

MadYaker · 29-12-2019 8:51pm

NewbridgeIR wrote: »

What turntables are people using?

I have a Thorens TD-150 MK II.

Audio Technica LP140. I've been buying one vinyl a week for a few months now. WIth the ones I already had and the 200 or so my dad donated to me I'm starting to build a nice collection.

Anesthetize · 29-12-2019 8:58pm

I think the CD is the best music format of the lot. It strikes the right balance between sound quality and practicality.

I have a small vinyl collection and decent record player. But I prefer a good CD setup with separates.

As for cassettes, I started getting into music during the late 90's, and the first few albums I had were tapes. When I got my first CD player I was overjoyed and never looked back. Cassettes were a pain.

The excitement of buying albums...

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