for those who never gave up their turntables
GENERAL OBSERVATIONS feature articles that don’t fit comfortably into any of the other categories. As most “experts” suggest not overwhelming readers with a plethora of categories, a lot of things find their way here.
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I AM DISCONTINUING THE SERVICE that sends pop-up messages to readers. Subscribing to these pop-ups—called push notifications—required you to click on the bell (the large image pictured above)) in the lower corner of this blog. Due to their negative impact on the speed and efficiency of this blog, these notifications will cease immediately. [Read more] “no more bell, no more pop-up notifications”
DISPOSABLE POP MUSIC has been with us for a long time. In fact, long enough that Tin Pan Alley and Brill Building seem almost legendary. The attitude that the music you listen to somehow defines who you are is recent. It originated with teenage boys who took their record collections dead serious in the ’60s. [Read more] “we took our record collections dead serious in the ’60s!”
MOST OF THE INFORMATION about the criteria required for an RIAA Gold Record awarded an album from 1958 through 1974 and singles through 1988 found on the internet is incorrect. This applies to almost every website I have seen, especially Wikipedia. Believe it or not, this even applies to the RIAA’s own website! [Read more] “understanding riaa gold and platinum record awards”
DAVID BOWIE’S “SPACE ODDITY” was released in mid-1969. In Italy, new lyrics were composed that transformed the tale of Major Tom’s dilemma in outer space into a unique Italian Space Oddity. This “new” song was titled “Ragazzo Solo, Ragazza Sola,” which translates to “Lonely Boy, Lonely Girl.” [Read more] “the amazing italian space oddity”
I HAVE BEEN BUYING RECORDS for sixty years and collecting them for about the same length of time. As far back as I can remember, I have referred to LPs and EPs and prerecorded tapes as ‘albums.’ Since the Digital Revolution of the ’80s, I have referred to tapes, EPs, LPs, and CDs as albums
During this time, I called a seven-inch, 45 rpm record with one track per side a ‘single’ while calling a seven-inch, 45 rpm record with two or three tracks per side an ‘EP.’ [Read more] “why do we refer to LPs and CDs as “albums”?”
SHRINK-WRAPPING ALBUMS did not become standard practice for the American record industry until 1963–1964. Prior to that, EP albums and LP albums were shipped to wholesalers and retailers without any protection! Then Robert B. Cohen, a rack jobber in New Jersey, started wrapping records in protective plastic sleeves, making him the “Godfather of Shrinkwrapped Albums.” [Read more] “was robert cohen the godfather of shrinkwrapped albums?”
I HAD TO ANSWER THIS QUESTION: “Who was the first rock band to sell a million albums?” It was on Quora and immediately seized my attention. Why? Because not only had I never thought about it, but I had never heard a record-collecting friend or a professional music writer address it. [Read more] “who was the first rock band to sell a million albums?”
IF YOU ARE A SUBSCRIBER TO THIS BLOG (Rather Rare Records) and you do not receive updates and other notifications via email from this blog, listen up! It appears that I initially misunderstood quite a few things in setting this blog up, including the subscription process and how emails are sent to subscribers. [Read more] “important: do you receive email notifications from this blog?”
WHEN REQUIRED TO POST A PROFILE on the internet, I usually write, “Mystical liberal likes long walks alone at night in the dark in the city in the rain with an umbrella and a flask of 10-year-old Laphroaig.” While this bit of irony works for some readers, others want a little more in terms of personal background information. [Read more] “a little personal background information”