What are you listening to?

[movieman1957]

You get the cover art when you buy the song/album. You copy the songs into a playlist and then you can print the list. With that you only get the cover art and the list of songs. (You also don't get lyrics but you can put them in the songs on itunes yourself.)

When you download anything it is kind of hit and miss whether you get the composer and/or the year released. You don't get any liner notes or producer credits or anything like that. So it comes down to, in most cases, whether it is worth spending the extra $2-$5 for a CD for the information.

I would like to have that in some cases. Jimmy Webb is one of my favorite composers. When I add his name by hand or download I can then play everything I have written by him. This would bring up several different artists doing his music. For other songwriters with a reputation (i.e. Carole King, etc.) this could make a pretty interesting playlist. I enjoy filling those things in when I can get them but you won't always get them.

[MichiganJ]

Looks like the boys' are selling quite well on iTunes, especially in the UK. Interesting which songs are the most popular.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2010/no ... nes-charts

[movieman1957]

I heard that for the first week The Beatles on itunes sold 450,000 albums and 2,000,000 singles. "Here Comes The Sun" topped the singles sales.

[pvitari]

I got up this morning thinking it was just going to be another Saturday. Sat down on the computer and opened up youtube first to listen to some Carolina Chocolate Drops while surfing the web. Decided idly to find their website and see if they were ever going to play Atlanta. What do I find? They're here TONIGHT. Dec. 4! At the Variety Playhouse. I nearly broke a wrist getting to the Variety's website to buy a ticket. :) I can't wait for 8 p.m. tonight!

If you don't know who the Carolina Chocolate Drops are, they're this UTTERFLY AWESOME band (two men, one woman, all virtuosos on a variety of instruments... and they sing and dance and even juggle their instruments!) that plays traditional black string band music. It's a type of music that almost died out, but thanks to the CCD and other groups it's enjoying a revival.

Just go to youtube, search for Carolina Chocolate Drops and I guarantee you won't be able to stop listening. :)

[ChiO]

If you're a fan of Michael Jackson or the Jackson Five or Soul music or music history, check out http://www.chicagoreader.com/ for an article on the discovery and restoration of the first Jackson Five studio recording. A clip is included.

Background on a couple of the references in the article: One-derful Records (a part of the One-derful/Mar-V-lus/M-Pac label group), one of Chicago's many Soul and R'n'B labels, started in 1962 and closed in 1971. Probably the biggest Pop hit on the label was "Twine Time" by Alvin Cash & the Crawlers (#14, 1965), but the great one was the original version of the classic "Shake a Tail Feather" by The Five Du-Tones (#51, 1963). As were most of the Chicago labels, studios and non-Chicago-based distribution headquarters, it was located on "Record Row", 1200-2400 S. Michigan Ave. In addition to One-derful Records, these are some of the labels that were there: Chess/Checker/Argo, Vee-Jay, Decca/Brunswick, Capitol, Constellation, King.

[movieman1957]

This isn't so much listening as it was watching a good deal of a special PBS showed last night about celebrated pianist Glenn Gould. Eccentric and interesting on top of being a fine, if maddening, pianist made this documentary worth watching.

One of the most interesting parts of it had to do with a performance by Gould and Leonard Bernstein and the NY Philharmonic of Brahms 1st Piano Concerto. They were so far apart on the interpretation of it that Bernstein made a pre-concert comment about that very thing. He did include a little humor but no one could recall an announcement where the conductor made a point of announcing that he and the soloist were so far apart that he almost disavowed any responsibility for what the audience was about to hear.

Later Gould even said that an audience, as a collective thing, was evil. He wasn't mean about it and certainly wasn't talking about individuals but they become this other thing and he didn't much care for it.

[MichiganJ]

I'm sorry to have missed the special. Nobody plays Bach like Gould.

[charliechaplinfan]

I got an ipod for Christmas (I'm late to the modern world) and itunes vouchers. My taste is very ecletic and spans years, I'm amazed, a lot of the music I want is really cheap to download because it's so old. I'm like a kid in a sweet shop. I downloaded some Leonard Cohen last night, even after listening to all the previews when I listened it through I thought he was quite depressing in the way he sang some of his songs. Perhaps he's an acquired taste.

[movieman1957]

I got a new ipod. My Maureen talked my dad into replacing the one I had. As fate would have it my old one, 5 years and two months, finally went to that big techno trash can in the sky.

Way more than I'll need but it also does way more than my old one. Spent a few nights finding new stuff and downloading my CDs. I just love having all my music at my fingertips.

Don't know much about Cohen to render an opinion. My big finds have been some lovely New Age music. For some that is an acquired taste as well. It might well be too boring for some.

[knitwit45]

I received the loveliest gift of music from dear Alison. She put together sound tracks, music from the movies, a wealth of music that I love (Gershwin, Cole Porter, Fred and Ginger movies). Because of time issues, I haven't had a chance to start them yet, but as Alison said, I'm like a kid in a sweet shop....the anticipation is delicious!!! Tomorrow I start!

Thanks Alison!!!!!

[charliechaplinfan]

I got a new ipod. My Maureen talked my dad into replacing the one I had. As fate would have it my old one, 5 years and two months, finally went to that big techno trash can in the sky.

Way more than I'll need but it also does way more than my old one. Spent a few nights finding new stuff and downloading my CDs. I just love having all my music at my fingertips.

Don't know much about Cohen to render an opinion. My big finds have been some lovely New Age music. For some that is an acquired taste as well. It might well be too boring for some.

Is it easy to reload the tracks? Being new to this I've got all my tunes stored on itunes on my computer so if my ipod went bump I think I wolud only have to connect a new ipod to load them up. I don't find itunes the most straightforward of applications to use.

Nancy, I'm glad you like them Nancy, there's hours there of my favorite films and tracks.

[movieman1957]

I didn't keep everything on my computer. It sounded redundant. itunes will get easier. The basic process is not all that hard. It will be great.

What a lovely thing for you to do for Nancy. I bet she'll have fun.

[ChiO]

CCF said:

I downloaded some Leonard Cohen last night, even after listening to all the previews when I listened it through I thought he was quite depressing in the way he sang some of his songs. Perhaps he's an acquired taste.

Quite depressing? Yes, I guess, at times. One might even say "bleak". Acquired taste? I suppose. But in the Spring of 1968, it seemed at the time that Songs of Leonard Cohen was aimed right at me. Your eyes are soft with sorrow/Hey/That's no way/To say/Goodbye. Yikes! "Sisters of Mercy" (actually a song of Hope), "Winter Lady", "Suzanne." Then re-living it three years later in McCABE AND MRS. MILLER. And pummeling me later with "Bird on the Wire" and "Hallelujah."

Of that late-60s singer-songwriter phase, for me there's Leonard Cohen, Tim Buckley, Laura Nyro, Tim Hardin and then everyone else (sorry Joni and Neil; Dylan, of course, is in his own category).

[charliechaplinfan]

I've added more Dusty, I love Dusty in Memphis, some Judy Collins and Baez sings Dylan. I keep looking at Barbra Streisand but her very early stuff but I'm not sure.

I like Leonard Cohen's songs, his delivery takes getting used to, unlike Dylan who I got into immediately, I love his way of singing and in my opinion his songs are usually better sang by him, with the exception for Tambourine Man and for my husband Along The Watchtower. I was just going to download a Leonard Cohen album but it's so much cheaper to download 32 songs in this instance. I love Marianne, I even wanted to calla child Marianne, not just because of the song but hubby didn't like it.

Whilst I'm new to this, I've noticed in some instances it's still a lot cheaper to buy the CDs than download the music, is there anything wrong with buying and loading it on to itunes?