Mike's Picks

[Frau_Blucher]

You know, that new mini-app in the upper right corner? Whadya think of his picks? What about the tool? Hey, what about a new non-forum section of what members are listening to??? [:p]

So far here, I've seen...

Calvin Harris
Cut Copy
Death Cab for Cutie
Brazilian Girls
The Duke Spirit
The Uglysuit
Ladytron
Coldplay
British Sea Power

...I'll let the former slide for the latter. [;)]

[schwenko]

[quote]Originally posted by Blir
[br]You know, that new mini-app in the upper right corner? Whadya think of his picks? What about the tool? Hey, what about a new non-forum section of what members are listening to??? [:p]

So far here, I've seen...

Calvin Harris
Cut Copy
Death Cab for Cutie
Brazilian Girls
The Duke Spirit
The Uglysuit
Ladytron
Coldplay
British Sea Power

...I'll let the former slide for the latter. [;)]
[/quote]

Thanks for pointing that out
I'll pay attention to it in the future..
but for now, can you tell me what Ladytron song was played before Yazoo at Terminal 5, and where it can be found(bought)?[:D]

[MikeP]

Thanks for the feedback ... I just felt like I should give new music a nudge for those who might be interested in hearing some new tuneage. Yes, I'm still paying attention even though I know you, Blir, and DJCraig could run circles around me.

I wish the app would rotate the albums every 10 seconds or so rather than relying on refresh but I thought it was a nice little app. Personally, I'm buying most of my new music in the form of downloads now. <a href="http://www.jdoqocy.com/click-3160705-10364534" target="_top">eMusic</a> <img src="http://www.tqlkg.com/image-3160705-10364534" width="1" height="1" border="0"/> has been a godsend ... an astounding selection and totally worth the $20/month subscription -- you should see all of the great reissues available like Cherry Red label stuff, Sparks, etc.

And yes, it's pimping but it helps pay for the site.[:I]

[Frau_Blucher]

Well first, I doubt I know more but rather just blather more about it. [B)]

Question for those eMusic DLs - can you keep those or is it dependent on continued subscription? Good quality, ease, etc?

[MikeP]

[quote][i]Originally posted by Blir[/i]
<br>Well first, I doubt I know more but rather just blather more about it. [B)]

Question for those eMusic DLs - can you keep those or is it dependent on continued subscription? Good quality, ease, etc?
[/quote]
Regarding eMusic -- believe me, I resisted for some time thinking that you lose 'em when you cancel but it's not the case at all. You keep everything you d/l. They use high quality VBR (using the LAME encoder at -alt-preset standard) and they include artwork in the files now. Their target market is the serious music lover/connoisseur since they are able to bring the price point down to $0.20 to $0.30 per song. It also encourages you to download entire albums more often than not, which is a good thing. I still wonder how they can pull it off and still give the labels and artists their fair shake of the profits, but volume certainly enters into the equation. The only -- and very minor IMO -- drawback is that they feature only indie labels, but holy shee-it is there tons to choose from. My "saved for later" list keeps growing each month with no end in sight.

One thing to keep in mind is that you have to use up your alloted downloads each month -- they won't carry over but seriously, anyone who loves music is going to use them up without blinking. In fact, I still buy one or two booster packs per month -- which give you additional downloads -- just to keep up. I'm definitely the proverbial kid in the candy store at eMusic.

I'm curious if anyone else has found other services worthwhile? I know some allow you to sample tons of music but you don't get to keep it long-term.

The fact that there are no retail stores left that are worth a toss other than Amoeba out here in SoCal means far less physical product for me, other than the occasional Ideal Copy and Amazon order. Yes, kinda sad but I'd rather put the music first. Besides, my damn CD collection is bursting at the seams in my tiny condo.

[SwampThing]

I can vouch for eMusic. I've been using them since May 2006. Here is a small sampling of my downloads over the last 12 months:

Aracde Fire
Beach House
British Sea Power
Camper van Beethoven
Cocteau Twins
Cut Copy
Felt
Mercury Rev
My Morning Jacket
Pale Saints
Slowdive
Sparks
Spirtualized
The Alarm
The Mary Onettes

I believe most the downloads are 256-320 kbps (VBR), joint Stereo LAME encoded.







<font size="1">[b]Favorites of 2008 (so far):[/b]
Beach House - Devotion
British Sea Power - Do You Like Rock Music?
Cut Copy - In Ghost Colours
Crystal Stilts - Crystal Stilts
Elbow - The Seldom Seen Kid
</font>

[Mathman]

I have used eMusic for over 5 years, and I keep renewing at the yearly rate. Something else that is nice - once you download a song - if you lose it - downloading it again does not count against your total for the month. The upgrade to their system makes downloading easier, too. Well worth your while for current music. I've discovered a lot of things trying to get rid of those last one or two cuts a month.

[SwampThing]

FYI - eMusic just released a nice chunk of the 4AD catalog. This includes ep's and single's, plus all those cool various artist releases.

<font size="1">[b]Favorites of 2008 (so far):[/b]
Beach House - Devotion
British Sea Power - Do You Like Rock Music?
Cut Copy - In Ghost Colours
Crystal Stilts - Crystal Stilts
Elbow - The Seldom Seen Kid
</font>