What % of your CDs would you be happy with in MP3 format only?

[Reign in Acai]

Fuck Money, I'm leaving my grandchildren my cd collection.

 

[JayKeeley]

I guess 100 would be enough to survive but 1000... 2000 units are needed for proper nutrition. The excuse is pretty obvious: As a metal addict you have to be self-sufficient. If you all of a sudden need to hear a certain solo from a Slayer album, see a picture of Lemmy holding a Koskenkorva bottle, study the matrix carvings of Venom vinyls or simply compare the different versions of 'Manitou' 7" you really can't count on anything else than your own record collection.

Hmm. I'm not sure why this is a benchmark just because some random person said it.

Nevertheless, even if it can be quantified and it does equal 1000 "units", then my argument stands even stronger: 'tis better to have 1000 good units than 500 good units and 500 duds.

The ability to sample songs before you buy has empowered us to make better decisions with less risk. Nobody here has bought something they didn't like? Nobody here has sold and traded away their crappy CDs?

This romantic idea of buying something shit and sticking with it just because you've already bought it just sounds self-righteous, almost as if you're cutting off your nose to spite your own face.

My CD collection will be EVEN better now that I know what I'm buying is great! And this is the way the world turns. People will read a review, solicit information on forum boards such as this, read interviews etc and instead of going right out to buy it BLIND, they will sample the tracks on the band website or go to the myspace page.

Of course recognizing that most of the time that samples are the best tracks on the album (and for J, just as movie trailers are the best bits of a film), it's even more prudent to be able to listen to the whole thing!

This also means that bands can't release shitty albums based on shitty hype and backhander reviews by their closet street teams because their potential audience is one step ahead. It removes complacency in making a solid album, and unfortunately, in a genre where SO MUCH crap exists, we need to be able to filter the crap from the good without enriching the folks that ripped us off with a steaming turd.

If all bands only released classic gems, then all of this would be a moot point. Power to the people!

 

[Jim LotFP]

This also means that shitty bands can't release shitty albums based on shitty hype and backhander reviews by their closet street teams because their potential audience is one step ahead. It removes complacency in making a solid album, and unfortunately, in a genre where SO MUCH crap exists, we need to be able to filter the crap from the good without enriching the folks that ripped us off with a steaming turd.

You're right... no shitty bands have released shitty albums that have sold shit.

 

[Conspicuously Absent]

This also means that bands can't release shitty albums based on shitty hype and backhander reviews by their closet street teams because their potential audience is one step ahead. It removes complacency in making a solid album, and unfortunately, in a genre where SO MUCH crap exists, we need to be able to filter the crap from the good without enriching the folks that ripped us off with a steaming turd.

If all bands only released classic gems, then all of this would be a moot point. Power to the people!

I agree there. You old school music purists should love sampling, it will reduce the amount of shit released and flooding good genre's with total shite.

 

[J.]

How is sampling reducing shit bands? Like JayK said, they release their best song, and naive fans buy into it.

Pimply faced nerdy sites like MySpace simply allow any schmo with a guitar and keyboard to make music now and get it out there. So if anything, there's more shit than ever before.

This also means that bands can't release shitty albums based on shitty hype and backhander reviews by their closet street teams because their potential audience is one step ahead.

I give you The Sword, Mithras, Deathspell Omega.....

 

[JayKeeley]

Haha, that Mithras thing will live in infamy.

I have to hand it to RC, and in particular, NAD, who got the exclusive on that whole "he was sleeping with the Terrorizer editor-in-chief" deal.

The shame of it all is that it really is a great album, but marred with so much scandal.