From: owner-ecto-digest@smoe.org (ecto-digest) To: ecto-digest@smoe.org Subject: ecto-digest V16 #103 Reply-To: ecto@smoe.org Sender: owner-ecto-digest@smoe.org Errors-To: owner-ecto-digest@smoe.org Precedence: bulk ecto-digest Sunday, May 15 2011 Volume 16 : Number 103 To unsubscribe: e-mail ecto-digest-request@smoe.org and put the word unsubscribe in the message body. Today's Subjects: ----------------- towhomitmayconcern [Adam Kimmel ] Re: towhomitmayconcern [Bernie Mojzes ] Re: towhomitmayconcern [Joseph Zitt ] ---------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Sat, 14 May 2011 03:50:41 -0800 From: Adam Kimmel Subject: towhomitmayconcern Late again, but I've had to ponder this: It's an interesting question. When I started going to ecto-type gigs (Thea Gilmore and Kathleen Edwards, for instance) I was amazed at how many middle-aged men were in attendance -- often the same ones. I raised this with my partner, who just said we were all dirty old men, which wasn't very helpful. I don't have an iPhone (sorry, I lost the thread on that) but, even at my age, I'm not ready to write off the music scene quite yet. I've written off the music press and no longer listen to the radio, but there's still some great stuff coming through. Just over here, in the last couple of years, we've had Florence and the Machine, Laura Marling and Anna Calvi all spring up (and, despite the hype they are all very, very good). Now, thanks to Spotify -- which I really should use more - I can tell that I'm not going to like Rumer but I'm pretty interested in Wild Beasts. Sure, I'll always think that the music of my youth, when I felt that I was on a voyage of discovery (of life as well as music) will always resonate with me, but I'd like to think I'm still open to new stuff. I may make it hard for myself by not listening to the radio or not going to that many gigs any more, but it's still out there. Of course, the fact that I've been sitting here listening solidly to show tunes from the 50s, 60s and 70s kind of undermines my point. Adam K ____________________________________________________________ Send any screenshot to your friends in seconds... Works in all emails, instant messengers, blogs, forums and social networks. TRY IM TOOLPACK at http://www.imtoolpack.com/default.aspx?rc=if2 for FREE ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 14 May 2011 11:08:09 -0400 (EDT) From: Bernie Mojzes Subject: Re: towhomitmayconcern Well, I think you're all doing it wrong. I'm not getting older. It's just that all the damned kids 'round here are getting younger. On a serious note - my listening habits have changed as a matter of necessity (in that my spousal unit strongly values silence, and music while she's trying to work breaks her concentration; also, some of the stuff I love, she can't stand). But I've also changed what I'm looking for, I think. Gone from craving newer, weirder, more experimental, more punk, more prog, more toward whatever extreme any genre is geared toward, and more interested in listening for depth and subtlety. Which doesn't preclude things being new, weird, experimental, etc., but leads me to listen closer to that stuff that has depth and subtlety, and ignore the stuff that doesn't. Or perhaps I've just started learning how to apply Sturgeon's Law a little better. My reading habits have also gone from voracious to looking for depth and subtlety, and have little patience for stories that read like they're constructed from cinder blocks. I do wonder, though, how much of this selectiveness is a matter of the change in the supply chain. I remember as a kid spending an hour in the Sam Goody's looking for anything worth buying in the glut of REO Speedwagon and Rolling Stones "Emotional Rescue" and whatnot. When I found something non-mainstream, it was a treasure. It was an import, or in the cut-out bin. Now, whatever I want, it's there, for download from any number of places, or can be ordered online, and amazon will tell me, "people who bought that album also liked these other albums..." So in a sense, the magic of discovering something new and rare has changed to being bombarded by a whole bunch of really good stuff, and trying to filter that down to only the stuff I love best. Bernie On Fri, 13 May 2011, Ella McCrystle wrote: > Hi Peter et al, > > I must make the obligatory nod to how hectic life in general these days is, > and that's probably why I'm with Neile in the "I hate my cell phone. Why > would I want a fancy one?" camp. I think we all get too much email also. (I > do own a nice iPod though, but all the "app" nonsense drives me bonkers.) I > tend to lurk, but I always find time to read, click links & search out > recommendations. While my main taste is pretty purely ecto, I also go to > Sonisphere yearly and traipse around the classical world (where I grew up) as > well as loving pure old rock (Led Zeppelin, Jethro Tull et al.) I do find > that I need to seek out music from trusted sources and often find it through > the net because there just isn't a regular decent radio station where I live; > so that iPod is quite well traveled and owns three different charging plugs > so I can charge it in most countries. I'm over-run at times with a list of > things to buy. I hate buying e-music, but often do. In general I'm the same > as I've always been: perpetually annoyed with the "mainstream" music > business, worried about the quality of music and yet still falling in love > with new stuff pretty regularly. My best way to find new artists is to stay > tuned to emails and concerts from favorite artists. Often they will recommend > great new listens as well as using them to open, etc. On the list member's > age... I am, however, definitely getting older, and that is also not > changing. > > That's my general not-helpful take on your questions. Ella > > ----- Original Message ----- From: "Neile Graham" > To: "ecto" > Sent: Friday, May 13, 2011 1:32 AM > Subject: Re: towhomitmayconcern > > >> If it's any consolation, I don't have an iPhone and am unlikely to get one >> because I'm too cheap to pay the monthly fees. My cell phone costs me >> $100/year and it's rarely turned on and that's about all it's worth to me. >> I have an iPod so I'm not missing out on *that* much. Well, the immediate >> internet access, but I can be patient. >> >> I do look for music samples--I find it fun, and run them when I'm doing >> other things. Like right now I'm running the video link that Sue sent from >> Phantogram. I'm not watching it, though. (Video mostly bores me.) >> >> Does sound interesting, Sue. >> >> Vinyl is making a comeback everywhere. Carina Round is working on >> fundraising to reissue her first album on vinyl, and a lot of artists I >> love like Smoke Fairies do singles. >> >> Unfortunately, the belt on our turntable fell apart and the local retro >> stereo repair store is now empty so we haven't even looked into getting it >> fixed. >> >> I also think a lot of us don't post as much as we used to--I certainly >> don't, though I like to try to remember to tell you all what I'm listening >> to. >> >> --Neile >> >> On May 12, 2011, at 4:16 PM, Peter Clark wrote: >> >>> There were two questions, one about the list and the other about artists. >>> Thanks for answering both. I guess I'm old enough that the apparent >>> glories of the internet are just that: apparent. My six months old iPhone >>> is more of a prop than a phone. I have Pandora and Shazam loaded as >>> apps, period. I'm not interested in using it for anything else than a >>> phone. I'll be happy enough with people thinking I'm hip. >>> >>> Similarly, the net. I was grateful enough to have discovered this list a >>> dozen years ago and still depend on it for new artists, etc., probably >>> more than I should judging from the alternative sources noted by other >>> responders. Looks like I need to up my game. One drawback is that being >>> heavily committed to vinyl as a medium, much/most of the Ecto list is >>> unavailable. I'm rather in Michael's position, dancing as hard as i can >>> just to stay in place and grabbing vinyl versions when I come across them. >>> Alas, the audio business has no collective interest in music remotely >>> Ecto. Seemingly if it's not Golden Age of jazz or 50's classical >>> recording, you can't be serious about software, which of course is patent >>> nonsense, but it's an uphill fight. >>> >>> Thanks for helping me locate my place in the universe. >>> >>> >>> >>> Peter Clark >>> >>> -=High Performance Analogue=- >>> redpoint-audio-design.com >>> >>> >>> On May 12, 2011, at 10:37 AM, neile wrote: >>> >>>> Hi, Peter-- >>>> >>>> I'm not sure whether you're asking about list members or music. >>>> >>>> Most (not all, obviously) "younger" people don't look to list-serves for >>>> information about music as we did. There's so much out there on the web >>>> in >>>> blogs and sites like Pitchfork and Stereogum and groupings within social >>>> media like Twitter and Facebook. >>>> >>>> I've found most of my new music from places like Mojo, the UK music >>>> magazine and Wears the Trousers, a female-focused music site. >>>> >>>> I also still get some great suggestions from this list, though I feel >>>> like >>>> my tastes are rather outliers here. >>>> >>>> For my tastes, there's no musical drought at all. As far as great new >>>> music, I think there's tons of it--maybe more than ever because ofhte >>>> possibilties in new media. >>>> >>>> Right now I'm enjoying the new Unthanks' release, _Last_, Emma McKenna's >>>> _Run With It_, Lamb's _5_, tUnE-yArDs' _W H O K I L L _, and exciting >>>> news >>>> about a new Inga Liljestrom CD just landed in my email inbox. >>>> >>>> There are a lot of people within the ecto area doing amazing new work, as >>>> well as some great retro-flavoured folk rock at a new height. The musical >>>> world feels rich to me. >>>> >>>> --Neile >>>> >>>> On Thu, 12 May 2011, Peter Clark wrote: >>>> >>>>> There was a comment in the past few days about the comparative agedness >>>>> of the list members. Since I'm one of the Old Ones I'm curious as to >>>>> whether there's any received wisdom about why this is so. >>>>> Observations? Also, there was comment about the apparent fact that the >>>>> list's contents are not being refreshed by either new work or fresh >>>>> talent. I've noticed this myself, though hope springs eternal and I'm >>>>> ever vigilant for contemporary work. Are there any thoughts about the >>>>> comparative drought of the last decade or so? Is this part of the >>>>> observed decline of the music biz even though anyone with a Mac can >>>>> record a CD in their living room? Are we seeing an example of what >>>>> happened to '60s R&B, it just plain ran out of juice in a single decade? >>>>> Just sayin'. >>>>> >>>>> >>>>> >>>>> Peter Clark >>>>> >>>>> -=High Performance Analogue=- >>>>> redpoint-audio-design.com - -- brni i don't want the world, i just want your half. http://www.kappamaki.com/ http://brni.livejournal.com/ ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 14 May 2011 13:41:23 -0400 From: Joseph Zitt Subject: Re: towhomitmayconcern On Sat, May 14, 2011 at 11:08 AM, Bernie Mojzes wrote: > I do wonder, though, how much of this selectiveness is a matter of the > change in the supply chain. I remember as a kid spending an hour in the Sam > Goody's looking for anything worth buying in the glut of REO Speedwagon and > Rolling Stones "Emotional Rescue" and whatnot. When I found something > non-mainstream, it was a treasure. It was an import, or in the cut-out bin. > Now, whatever I want, it's there, for download from any number of places, or > can be ordered online, and amazon will tell me, "people who bought that > album also liked these other albums..." So in a sense, the magic of > discovering something new and rare has changed to being bombarded by a whole > bunch of really good stuff, and trying to filter that down to only the stuff > I love best. A good point. It's cointer-intuitive but true that having too much available can be a problem. One site that I follow has well over a dozen new albums each day, and the All Music Guide weekly listing shows almost as large a list of new discs. We don't get nearly as many in to our store nowadays, but there are still more than I can listen to, There's a recent best-seller, "The Paradox of Choice" that addresses this, I believe. But I haven't read it yet, my "To Read" stack being similarly overloaded. - -- Joseph Zitt ::http://www.josephzitt.com ------------------------------ End of ecto-digest V16 #103 ***************************