Topic: The Music Thread

@mookysam @nessisonett pretty much the only time I use headphones is when I mow the lawn and it's with some janky earbuds that I don't care about so that's probably why I don't perceive much difference between bitrates.

I didn't even realize there was an extreme setting. I think I have it set to the lowest largely due to data caps and limited phone storage.

@mookysam anything that improves your quality life is something to celebrate so good for you on the hearing aid. Hope it helps. You lose hearing over time or was it spurred by something, if you don't mind my asking. Cause if you do mind that's quite alright.

@ralphdibny Haha! Yeah I noticed how I put the “spotty” usage of Spotify together like that but decided to leave it and see if anyone noticed the unintentional alliteration. 😅

Data usage isn’t something I’d considered, because that would definitely affect my willingness to stream media. I have an unlimited plan, so I don’t even think about it.

And Smooth McGrooves is a perfect example of how I use Spotify. I just searched him and sampled a couple of his greatest hits. I quite like good a capella every now and then. I’ve been known to pull up Pentatonix from time to time.

Despite being into music in a pretty big way I've never been technically minded enough to be able to tell when I'm listening to lossless or flac or whatever. Spotify's streaming quality sounds absolutely fine to me and I can't make out any difference with CD or vinyl versions.

Spotify suits me because of the way I like music. One of my favourite things to do in the days of old was to make mixtapes and later mix cds. I'd make compilations of my favourite tracks by my favourite artists, and then ones that mixed artists but followed a similar theme etc. And Spotify lets me do that easily and then organise them all nicely on my profile. That suits me down to the ground, and I suspect that my profile is probably way more organised (read: sillier) than most peoples, but I get a lot out of doing that so it works for me.

I absolutely get the appeal of Spotify but I almost never use it. I like to support bands by actually buying their stuff but haven’t bought a CD in ages now.

I used to buy lots of my music in physical form to also support record shops I like but CDs feel pointless now as all I do is buy it, import it to iTunes, and then it goes on a shelf. Plus, the disc and packaging seems a waste of material to me now.

I tend to get most stuff off bandcamp or digitally through the label’s shop (very little I buy is from major labels). I do still buy vinyl to support the shops but also if it’s something I really like the artwork for. Or sometimes just because I can.

Recent purchases though;

I picked up these bad boys from my local record shop last weekend. The Daniel Avery one doesn’t even come with a download code

The Jon Hopkins one is only four tracks but utterly beautiful.

Then I picked up the latest Wavves album off bandcamp and also one by JOHN (TIMESTWO) after hearing their latest song on 6 music a fair bit.

@Th3solution I used to be on unlimited but my network would do funny things like restrict speed at peak times. I tracked my data usage one month and found I wasn't even coming close for it to be worthwhile so I switched to a cheaper plan with a data cap and no speed restrictions

I've not heard of pentatonix, I'll have to check that one out!

@RogerRoger I think mine had brickbreaker too actually. Love that game, it's such a classic. I had a version called Arkanoid on my PC when I was very young

Also sorry for mentioning a capella 😅. I totally forgot that must be a nightmare for you to replace all that beautiful instrumentation with voices!

@RogerRoger Oh, no apology necessary Rog because — first, I interpreted no suggestion of such an accusation and second, I actually am a casual music fan 😂. In fact I’m probably the epitome of casual fan. If there was a casual music fan Hall of Fame, I’d have my own wing. When you look up “casual music fan” in the dictionary it reads “see Th3solution”, etc, etc…

That said, I think I do have an ear for music, despite not being well schooled in the musical arts. I’ve often thought that if I’d had the opportunity as a youngling to learn an instrument or have voice lessons that I would have been competent as a musician. My ear can usually roughly detect notes, key, and rhythm, but I don’t know the ins and outs of how it all works. When I try to sing, I know that I sound bad at least half the time. I just can’t quite get my voice to do what I want it to do for it to sound on pitch.

Which brings me back to a capella. Sometimes it comes off as being rather cheesy or shallow when compared to a full array of instrumentation, but it just leaves me in awe of the amazing things some people can do with their voice box. I love the sound of vocal harmony. A perfect rich harmony is one of the most wonderful things a human voice can produce.

And now I’m the one at risk for casting judgment, so apologies if it makes me sound like critical or condemnatory toward anyone preferring instrumental music. I love good instrumentals too. I’m flabbergasted at how a group of people can all be in perfect concert with one another in a band or orchestra to each devote a small piece toward a larger work that then sounds like one cohesive movement. If only society was good at that in other ways! 😄

Anyways, it’s a fun discussion and something I don’t usually think or spend much time doing (delve into music, that is)

@ralphdibny Pentatonix is sort of your quintessential pop music a capella group. Occasionally they do mix in instruments, but I believe they mostly make the background sounds with voice. They do a lot of covers, which is their main gig, but I think they do original pieces as well. Try out their version of “Sound of Silence” and “Bohemian Rapsody”. The latter of which has pretty interesting sounding approach to the instrumental sections of that song. Also “Radioactive” although they do have Lindsey Sterling, the internet famous violinist, accompanying them in that one.

@zupertramp Thanks. The bones in my ear are brittle and fused. I've forgotten the technical term for it, but it's apparently the main cause of hearing loss in younger adults. I started noticing it a few years ago, but it got worse after I had meningitis.

While I really like lossless music, I can't say I'm a fan of the Dolby Atmos "spatial audio". It really messes up a lot of older songs. I listened to Revolver in Dolby Atmos recently, and found it just didn't sound right. The instruments are supposed to be heard in unison, given how they come together to create textures, so hearing them separated and coming from different directions wasn't great. I think it would be better for new songs that are built around the technology.

In terms of data caps, it's fine at home as I just use WiFi, but if I'm ever on 4G it's set to play at the standard lossy bitrate. I just got a 12GB data plan for my phone, which is probably still much more than I'd use in a month. I'm not sure I'd ever want to wear my headphone in public though!

@RogerRoger I'd like to think that the record labels of extremely random country artists from the '70s paid to promote their work, but it just seems a bit too weird. 😂 The strangest is when I listened to some Mozart, then afterwards it played Cher. I mean, I know she's ancient, but even that's a stretch. I can see why the algorithm would put your partner off enough to end his subscription. I dread to think what monstrosities it played him!

I loved my first iPod, but inadvertently broke it when I plugged it into an American socket without the correct adapter. My second one was so hardy and long-lasting it seemed like it would survive nuclear apocalypse.

@Th3solution A capella is so clever when it's done right. Some of the tones and rhythms achieved are incredible. It's not something I can listen to too much of in one go, though, as eventually it becomes uncomfortable.

@Thrillho Ooh that cover art is slick! I'd love to get a record player of my own, but don't have the space. The richness and warmth of the sound is lovely.

@Thrillho Man, I haven’t listened to Wavves in years! I was way into them in like 2012, even had my own t-shirt 😂

@Voltan What do you reckon of this? (You've probably heard it already).

@TheBrandedSwordsman I have both their albums on vinyl
Some of my favorite musicians in that band. Derek Sherinian was definitely a major influence on my own playing.

@Voltan I really liked Bumblefoot's guitar on that album.(When I was listening to it a while ago).

@nessisonett How highly do you rate First Meditations by Trane? (Not to be confused with his other album, 'Meditations')

@TheBrandedSwordsman Check out this thing I did “with” Bumblefoot last year

@Voltan Thanks for sharing that dude, that certainly rocks! Amusing use of the word "with" plus I thought the trills on the keyboard towards the end of your solo were amazing. As well as that little melodic/classical sounding part before that.

@TheBrandedSwordsman It was this thing he did where he uploaded the track with some room left for a solo and anyone could download it and do their own take on it. A friend of mine challenged me to do it and this was what I got a couple hours later

@TheBrandedSwordsman Honestly not one of my favourites. Not sure why, it just hasn’t grabbed me in the same way as some of his other albums have.

😂 Bonus points for making me laugh out loud with an unexpected Mozart/Cher joke!

@nessisonett Which of his albums are the ones that have grabbed you in "that way" then?

@TheBrandedSwordsman Well Ascension and A Love Supreme are his two masterpieces IMO. And I quite like Giant Steps and Blue Train too.