The Mighty Musical Observations Thread

General music discussion.
Dr. Medulla
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Re: The Mighty Musical Observations Thread

Post by Dr. Medulla »

One of the intellectually interesting things about these evermore elaborate and expensive sets is that it's about undoing rock's ideal as a mass medium. The goal from the start of the rock era has been to sell as many copies as possible, with prices geared to finding that sweet spot of appealing to a wide audience and a profit for the label/artist. Baked into this has been the (flawed) idea that sales is a means of determining quality. But the pricey re-release is about rejecting mass in favour of elite, both the committed fan and one with serious disposable income. It's hard not to hear Adorno snicker, as he argued that when we buy, say, a concert ticket, what we're really doing is asserting our relative material status to others. That is, we're showing that we're peers with others who can afford it and superior to those who cannot. It's a terribly cynical assessment that precludes any genuine enjoyment or meaningful choice, but when I see these sets and their prices, it's hard to completely reject him on that point. They're status objects—perhaps not entirely, but we can't reject that component, either.
"I never doubted myself for a minute for I knew that my monkey-strong bowels were girded with strength, like the loins of a dragon ribboned with fat and the opulence of buffalo dung." - Richard Nixon, Checkers Speech, abandoned early draft

Dr. Medulla
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Re: The Mighty Musical Observations Thread

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Marky Dread wrote:
10 Jun 2021, 2:40pm
Dr. Medulla wrote:
10 Jun 2021, 2:34pm
Marky Dread wrote:
10 Jun 2021, 2:29pm
Dr. Medulla wrote:
10 Jun 2021, 1:42pm
https://ultimateclassicrock.com/all-thi ... s-box-set/

$225–$245—these things are getting to be seriously ugly class-based things. Whatever aesthetic, archival value these things provide, the absurd price tags on this stuff says it's an elite item. Fuck that on principle.
Does this mean you won't be buying me one for my birthday now?
I didn't say that.
That's okay then. I simply wouldn't feel my life was complete without a George Harrison pewter statuette.
Can I interest you in a tin Jimmy Nichol?
"I never doubted myself for a minute for I knew that my monkey-strong bowels were girded with strength, like the loins of a dragon ribboned with fat and the opulence of buffalo dung." - Richard Nixon, Checkers Speech, abandoned early draft

Flex
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Re: The Mighty Musical Observations Thread

Post by Flex »

Dr. Medulla wrote:
10 Jun 2021, 2:49pm
One of the intellectually interesting things about these evermore elaborate and expensive sets is that it's about undoing rock's ideal as a mass medium. The goal from the start of the rock era has been to sell as many copies as possible, with prices geared to finding that sweet spot of appealing to a wide audience and a profit for the label/artist. Baked into this has been the (flawed) idea that sales is a means of determining quality. But the pricey re-release is about rejecting mass in favour of elite, both the committed fan and one with serious disposable income. It's hard not to hear Adorno snicker, as he argued that when we buy, say, a concert ticket, what we're really doing is asserting our relative material status to others. That is, we're showing that we're peers with others who can afford it and superior to those who cannot. It's a terribly cynical assessment that precludes any genuine enjoyment or meaningful choice, but when I see these sets and their prices, it's hard to completely reject him on that point. They're status objects—perhaps not entirely, but we can't reject that component, either.
The recent inclusion of extremely weird totems like figurines and elaborate wooden boxes and shit like that definitely speaks to the last point.
Wiggle, wiggle, wiggle like a bowl of soup
Wiggle, wiggle, wiggle like a rolling hoop
Wiggle, wiggle, wiggle like a ton of lead
Wiggle - you can raise the dead

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Flex
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Re: The Mighty Musical Observations Thread

Post by Flex »

wasn't it gang of four that did a super deluxe of one of their recent albums that included a vial of blood? Who would want that? Who would PAY for that? Completely insane capitalist consumption weirdness.
Wiggle, wiggle, wiggle like a bowl of soup
Wiggle, wiggle, wiggle like a rolling hoop
Wiggle, wiggle, wiggle like a ton of lead
Wiggle - you can raise the dead

Pex Lives!

Dr. Medulla
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Re: The Mighty Musical Observations Thread

Post by Dr. Medulla »

Flex wrote:
10 Jun 2021, 2:53pm
Dr. Medulla wrote:
10 Jun 2021, 2:49pm
One of the intellectually interesting things about these evermore elaborate and expensive sets is that it's about undoing rock's ideal as a mass medium. The goal from the start of the rock era has been to sell as many copies as possible, with prices geared to finding that sweet spot of appealing to a wide audience and a profit for the label/artist. Baked into this has been the (flawed) idea that sales is a means of determining quality. But the pricey re-release is about rejecting mass in favour of elite, both the committed fan and one with serious disposable income. It's hard not to hear Adorno snicker, as he argued that when we buy, say, a concert ticket, what we're really doing is asserting our relative material status to others. That is, we're showing that we're peers with others who can afford it and superior to those who cannot. It's a terribly cynical assessment that precludes any genuine enjoyment or meaningful choice, but when I see these sets and their prices, it's hard to completely reject him on that point. They're status objects—perhaps not entirely, but we can't reject that component, either.
The recent inclusion of extremely weird totems like figurines and elaborate wooden boxes and shit like that definitely speaks to the last point.
Between that and NFTs, it seems like fuel for postmodernist critics who say that capitalism has basically lost faith in itself and is stuck in gouging out its own past, selling status over function.
"I never doubted myself for a minute for I knew that my monkey-strong bowels were girded with strength, like the loins of a dragon ribboned with fat and the opulence of buffalo dung." - Richard Nixon, Checkers Speech, abandoned early draft

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Re: The Mighty Musical Observations Thread

Post by Dr. Medulla »

Flex wrote:
10 Jun 2021, 2:55pm
wasn't it gang of four that did a super deluxe of one of their recent albums that included a vial of blood? Who would want that? Who would PAY for that? Completely insane capitalist consumption weirdness.
https://www.theguardian.com/music/2010/ ... -own-blood

I'd never heard that—or maybe it completely failed to imprint on my memory—but it's fucking silly, even if it were satire. There are three groups who I buy directly from—Wire, Swans, Trashcan Sinatras (the latter I'm on a Patreon monthly thingee)—but it's not about getting special attention, but an awareness that none of these bands are flush with cash and this is a way that I can help them keep going and without record company interference. Autographed items are nice and all, but it wouldn't matter to me if I got nothing extra.
"I never doubted myself for a minute for I knew that my monkey-strong bowels were girded with strength, like the loins of a dragon ribboned with fat and the opulence of buffalo dung." - Richard Nixon, Checkers Speech, abandoned early draft

Marky Dread
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Re: The Mighty Musical Observations Thread

Post by Marky Dread »

Yes but you all will all go rushing out to buy the new Mick Jones super mega awesome deluxe x 2 box set that comes with a free shed.
Image

Forces have been looting
My humanity
Curfews have been curbing
The end of liberty


We're the flowers in the dustbin...
No fuchsias for you.

"Without the common people you're nothing"

Nos Sumus Una Familia

Dr. Medulla
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Re: The Mighty Musical Observations Thread

Post by Dr. Medulla »

Marky Dread wrote:
10 Jun 2021, 3:27pm
Yes but you all will all go rushing out to buy the new Mick Jones super mega awesome deluxe x 2 box set that comes with a free shed.
I'll be honest: I'd be buying it for the shed.
"I never doubted myself for a minute for I knew that my monkey-strong bowels were girded with strength, like the loins of a dragon ribboned with fat and the opulence of buffalo dung." - Richard Nixon, Checkers Speech, abandoned early draft

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Re: The Mighty Musical Observations Thread

Post by Marky Dread »

Dr. Medulla wrote:
10 Jun 2021, 3:45pm
Marky Dread wrote:
10 Jun 2021, 3:27pm
Yes but you all will all go rushing out to buy the new Mick Jones super mega awesome deluxe x 2 box set that comes with a free shed.
I'll be honest: I'd be buying it for the shed.
Well yes of course but you'll have to wait for the second box set to get the shed key.
Image

Forces have been looting
My humanity
Curfews have been curbing
The end of liberty


We're the flowers in the dustbin...
No fuchsias for you.

"Without the common people you're nothing"

Nos Sumus Una Familia

Dr. Medulla
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Re: The Mighty Musical Observations Thread

Post by Dr. Medulla »

Marky Dread wrote:
10 Jun 2021, 3:52pm
Dr. Medulla wrote:
10 Jun 2021, 3:45pm
Marky Dread wrote:
10 Jun 2021, 3:27pm
Yes but you all will all go rushing out to buy the new Mick Jones super mega awesome deluxe x 2 box set that comes with a free shed.
I'll be honest: I'd be buying it for the shed.
Well yes of course but you'll have to wait for the second box set to get the shed key.
MICK! :angry:
"I never doubted myself for a minute for I knew that my monkey-strong bowels were girded with strength, like the loins of a dragon ribboned with fat and the opulence of buffalo dung." - Richard Nixon, Checkers Speech, abandoned early draft

Marky Dread
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Re: The Mighty Musical Observations Thread

Post by Marky Dread »

Dr. Medulla wrote:
10 Jun 2021, 1:42pm
https://ultimateclassicrock.com/all-thi ... s-box-set/

$225–$245—these things are getting to be seriously ugly class-based things. Whatever aesthetic, archival value these things provide, the absurd price tags on this stuff says it's an elite item. Fuck that on principle.
Just read my email for the Harrison box set.

George Harrison
All Things Must Pass Uber Deluxe
Boxset £859.99
Release Date: 06/08/2021....ouch!
Image

Forces have been looting
My humanity
Curfews have been curbing
The end of liberty


We're the flowers in the dustbin...
No fuchsias for you.

"Without the common people you're nothing"

Nos Sumus Una Familia

Flex
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Re: The Mighty Musical Observations Thread

Post by Flex »

The new Mick Jones album! Now available in the following configurations:

1. Single CD or LP Configuration - aka The Peasant's Choice

10 tracks. Encased in a standard case/sleeve. For people who are bad i.e. poor. cost: $15

2. 2 CD or 2 LP Configuration - aka Now We've Got You, Sucker

12 tracks. First CD/LP as above and then a second disc with 2 more tracks that could have easily fit on a single record, but now we get to charge twice as much. And you'll love it. cost: $30

3. 2 CD or 2 LP Configuration ON LIMITED COLOR VINYL - aka ooohhh... pretty colors

As above except this one costs an extra 10 bucks. There are 7 variants of this option, collect 'em all! cost: $40

4. 5 CD deluxe box - aka This is What We Used To Think Box Sets Were

All the studio tracks, demos and some live stuff housed in a box with some essays or something. Yeah, this was cool... in 1997. Get with the times, man. cost: $100

5. 4 LP deluxe box - aka How Does This One Cost More For Less Music?

Somehow this is a hundred dollars more than the 5 disc set but it actually contains much less music. Still, we've included a numbered, strictly limited (to 50,000) print of Mick's shed. Buy this and then feel like you're still missing out and buy the deluxe box in 2 more weeks.... and then the colored vinyl a month later. You have a brain disease and we're exploiting the shit out of it. cost: $150

6. 5 CD and 4 LP and 6 Cassette Super Deluxe Ultra Fan Box Set - aka Owning This Means You Are a True Fan And Also Rich

No additional music (Music? What's that?) but we're going to make you pay for the same thing replicated across 3 formats, one or more of which you almost certainly can't even play. Includes artwork by Paul Simonon depicting Mick performing some new material that we've somehow left off this thing. Has some matchbox cars that look like some buses Mick took between 1993-2007 as well as ricepaper print of Mick's favorite recipe for goulash. All housed in an expensive yet easily breakable paper mache orb. People love orbs, right? Oh, and what makes each set unique? That's right, a specially encased sliver of Mick's recently demolished shed, including a certificate of authenticity signed by none other than...well, not Mick, but Mick's handyman who used to use the shed a lot when Mick wasn't finding lost Clash tapes (none of which appear on this set). Cost: $3,500
Wiggle, wiggle, wiggle like a bowl of soup
Wiggle, wiggle, wiggle like a rolling hoop
Wiggle, wiggle, wiggle like a ton of lead
Wiggle - you can raise the dead

Pex Lives!

Kory
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Re: The Mighty Musical Observations Thread

Post by Kory »

In most cases, I buy these boxes for the nice books and ideally they also have a previously unreleased live DVD. I have a Friday night ritual of sitting down with a bottle of wine and live concert DVDs so I'm always looking to add to that collection especially if it's a band that doesn't have a lot of available footage. But yeah, I got the Mansun box and the Pylon box and they were both a wrench.

I'll still buy a Rat Patrol box.
"Suck our Earth dick, Martians!" —Doc

Marky Dread
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Re: The Mighty Musical Observations Thread

Post by Marky Dread »

Flex wrote:
10 Jun 2021, 4:09pm
The new Mick Jones album! Now available in the following configurations:

1. Single CD or LP Configuration - aka The Peasant's Choice

10 tracks. Encased in a standard case/sleeve. For people who are bad i.e. poor. cost: $15

2. 2 CD or 2 LP Configuration - aka Now We've Got You, Sucker

12 tracks. First CD/LP as above and then a second disc with 2 more tracks that could have easily fit on a single record, but now we get to charge twice as much. And you'll love it. cost: $30

3. 2 CD or 2 LP Configuration ON LIMITED COLOR VINYL - aka ooohhh... pretty colors

As above except this one costs an extra 10 bucks. There are 7 variants of this option, collect 'em all! cost: $40

4. 5 CD deluxe box - aka This is What We Used To Think Box Sets Were

All the studio tracks, demos and some live stuff housed in a box with some essays or something. Yeah, this was cool... in 1997. Get with the times, man. cost: $100

5. 4 LP deluxe box - aka How Does This One Cost More For Less Music?

Somehow this is a hundred dollars more than the 5 disc set but it actually contains much less music. Still, we've included a numbered, strictly limited (to 50,000) print of Mick's shed. Buy this and then feel like you're still missing out and buy the deluxe box in 2 more weeks.... and then the colored vinyl a month later. You have a brain disease and we're exploiting the shit out of it. cost: $150

6. 5 CD and 4 LP and 6 Cassette Super Deluxe Ultra Fan Box Set - aka Owning This Means You Are a True Fan And Also Rich

No additional music (Music? What's that?) but we're going to make you pay for the same thing replicated across 3 formats, one or more of which you almost certainly can't even play. Includes artwork by Paul Simonon depicting Mick performing some new material that we've somehow left off this thing. Has some matchbox cars that look like some buses Mick took between 1993-2007 as well as ricepaper print of Mick's favorite recipe for goulash. All housed in an expensive yet easily breakable paper mache orb. People love orbs, right? Oh, and what makes each set unique? That's right, a specially encased sliver of Mick's recently demolished shed, including a certificate of authenticity signed by none other than...well, not Mick, but Mick's handyman who used to use the shed a lot when Mick wasn't finding lost Clash tapes (none of which appear on this set). Cost: $3,500
7. The Marky Dread remixed and remastered (properly) version of all the music only....free. ;)
Image

Forces have been looting
My humanity
Curfews have been curbing
The end of liberty


We're the flowers in the dustbin...
No fuchsias for you.

"Without the common people you're nothing"

Nos Sumus Una Familia

Flex
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Re: The Mighty Musical Observations Thread

Post by Flex »

Marky Dread wrote:
10 Jun 2021, 4:14pm
7. The Marky Dread remixed and remastered (properly) version of all the music only....free. ;)
:cool: :cool: :cool: :cool:

The option the studio fat cats don't want you to hear about!
Wiggle, wiggle, wiggle like a bowl of soup
Wiggle, wiggle, wiggle like a rolling hoop
Wiggle, wiggle, wiggle like a ton of lead
Wiggle - you can raise the dead

Pex Lives!

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