Im always on the lookout Marco, but there's very little that makes ot into my collection permanently. Digital is very good for not committing money to a shit album.
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No worries, mate. I'm finding interesting new stuff all the time, especially with indie, blues, electronica and classical genres :)
Marco.
So what are the criteria for choice - I know mine.
Right back in the teens and into the twenties, whilst becoming an adult, and in what I argue was a period of great musical art and revolution, and before the corporations got their hands on it, I was absolutely 'shaken' by much that I heard.
It was for me because the songs spoke of the politics (small 'p') of the world; human interactions, and abuses, injustices, and the problems to be faced. I could list all the vital formative ones, and I'm sure many here would also empathise.
But it is essentially a learning process, and one develops; Three Blind Mice may well be enchanting and exciting for a three year old, but not for one of ten, and so it goes on into a more complex understanding both intellectually, and more importantly, emotionally; the way what we hear resonates with our personal experiences, and reinforces our values.
For me, I keep little music compared with most here, but it is seminal to my growth and development, and my vinyl is historically positioned on a shelf as a record of that. I have duplicated much in CD also, and I use it as references to my own earlier emotional reactions, in my attempts to aid my current artistically similar aspirations.
If you think 'pop' is not a powerful form, then look at just how often references are made to it on news media, usually in caption form. The period I refer to was groundbreaking and shapeshifting, and has really changed society. Whether or not we address the issues positively to produce a better future, is moot.
Ah, the shit album problem. Back when I were a lad, and had very little money, an album was a major purchase. I spent hours in record shops, flipping through the racks, trying to decide which album to buy; knowing that it would be months before my next purchase. I remember to this day my bitter disappointment when an LP I got as a birthday present turned out to be a stinker. I played it lots of times, hoping to 'get' it, then gave up on the thing. I also held on to several other rubbish LPs, but sold most of them when I ran out of money during a period of unemployment.
Now, even in terms of physical media, it's a non-issue. I got a £20 Fopp voucher as one of my birthday presents. At their prices, that means I can buy four albums, or two lots of the 'five albums by ...' series, making ten albums in total. Birthdays and Christmas aside, if I wanted to, I could spend £20 a week on albums, every week of the year. Even if half turned out to be rubbish, it'd be no big deal.
Like it or not. The artistic revolution of the sixties and seventies was fueled by LSD and Cannabis. I have no doubt most creative people were using those and and this was the influence that brought on such radical changes. What was previously 'pop music' became the message board for the more serious feelings of young people.
Ah yes Fopp. I was once led there but they dont have an online store, or didnt. A strange turn of events when most record companies are doing the opposite. No idea to this day if they sell anything worthwhile and guess i never will..
It's interesting how you get your memory jogged, reminded recently of saxophonist Candy Dolfur and a song Lilly Was Here with David A Stewart. Bought the Vinyl copy off eBay.
Absolutely stunning album, produced by David Stewart himself on the Anxious label.
I worked for them and it's a sorry tale how the chain died.
We did have an online store for a while and it was actually based in my shop in Southampton - one of the largest branches - but it was only ever a half-hearted effort and we didn't do much business. It was essentially like visiting the shop itself via remote rather than accessing the vast warehouses of the major online retailers ..
The few branches still open - Bristol Park Street is a cracking little example - are mostly owned by HMV now but they kept the Fopp ethos of ultra-value prices and interesting back cat/artist selections, as well as an esoteric literature section :)