Droughts in Listening & Buying

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nightsblood
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Droughts in Listening & Buying

Post by nightsblood »

(if this should go into a different forum, no worries)

So how long have you gone without playing any of your records or buying any albums?

Yesterday I noticed I left a copy of the MX 'Rockz!' LP on my turntable after I last played it. And that was about 6 months ago; I found it in a used store in late July, spun it a few times, and.... apparently I never put it away. Which means that I haven't played a single vinyl record in almost 6 months. I think it's fair to say that's a bit of a drought.

Do other people go through long periods of not playing their records?

Now I have been playing CDs a lot in the last 6 months. My schedule's been kinda insane, so my commute to and from work was about the only chance I had to listen to much, so the car's CD player has been working overtime. But still, when I have had a little free time here and there, I haven't gone near my turntable.

Part of it's probably the fact that I've barely bought any vinyl in the past year and a half. Since April 2016 (so about 20 months) I think I've bought a grand total of 1 single and 4 LPs, three of which I already owned copies of. Grand total, maybe $60. My want list has gotten pretty small; the things left on it are mostly obscure US singles that are very hard to find and insanely expensive 12" items that I'm not able or willing to pay the going rate for. Thus, there's just not any vinyl that I want that I am able to buy.

And in that same time frame I may have bought 2 CDs; all the discs I've been playing are 'old stuff' that I just hadn't dusted off in ages. There are a few more recent titles that I haven't gotten around to picking up, but I don't feel in any rush to purchase them.

MP3s? Nope. Cancelled my emusic subscription almost a year ago. Was tired of d/ling stuff just to use up credits, playing songs a few times, then forgetting all about them.

SO even when it comes to buying music, I'm in a drought.

Now this isn't a bad thing necessarily; I've quite enjoyed revisiting old favorites that haven't been played in ages. And spending less money certainly isn't a bad thing, especially given all the other expenses that cropped up last year.

But it is still strange to realize that I haven't touched my turntable in half a year. :( :?: :?
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Zanker
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Re: Droughts in Listening & Buying

Post by Zanker »

nightsblood wrote:(if this should go into a different forum, no worries)

So how long have you gone without playing any of your records or buying any albums?

Yesterday I noticed I left a copy of the MX 'Rockz!' LP on my turntable after I last played it. And that was about 6 months ago; I found it in a used store in late July, spun it a few times, and.... apparently I never put it away. Which means that I haven't played a single vinyl record in almost 6 months. I think it's fair to say that's a bit of a drought.

Do other people go through long periods of not playing their records?

Now I have been playing CDs a lot in the last 6 months. My schedule's been kinda insane, so my commute to and from work was about the only chance I had to listen to much, so the car's CD player has been working overtime. But still, when I have had a little free time here and there, I haven't gone near my turntable.

Part of it's probably the fact that I've barely bought any vinyl in the past year and a half. Since April 2016 (so about 20 months) I think I've bought a grand total of 1 single and 4 LPs, three of which I already owned copies of. Grand total, maybe $60. My want list has gotten pretty small; the things left on it are mostly obscure US singles that are very hard to find and insanely expensive 12" items that I'm not able or willing to pay the going rate for. Thus, there's just not any vinyl that I want that I am able to buy.

And in that same time frame I may have bought 2 CDs; all the discs I've been playing are 'old stuff' that I just hadn't dusted off in ages. There are a few more recent titles that I haven't gotten around to picking up, but I don't feel in any rush to purchase them.

MP3s? Nope. Cancelled my emusic subscription almost a year ago. Was tired of d/ling stuff just to use up credits, playing songs a few times, then forgetting all about them.

SO even when it comes to buying music, I'm in a drought.

Now this isn't a bad thing necessarily; I've quite enjoyed revisiting old favorites that haven't been played in ages. And spending less money certainly isn't a bad thing, especially given all the other expenses that cropped up last year.

But it is still strange to realize that I haven't touched my turntable in half a year. :( :?: :?
Well 6 months is a long time to not have a record played but sometimes it can take a few weeks, maybe tops a few months. When i listen to a record i lay down and listen to it and do nothing else. Listening to a record for me is not background music. I have Cd's for that. To listen to a record i take my time for it.
I buy a lot of records and CD's to be honest. CD's are easy for in the car and records can stack up for a bit before i have a listen. Sometimes i don't feel like listening to music for a while.
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Khnud
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Re: Droughts in Listening & Buying

Post by Khnud »

The turntable I normally use is connected to my computer, and I listen through headphones. Since my tinnitus has gotten a lot worse lately, I've been consciously avoiding exposing my ears to too much headphone usage. And the turntable in the living room is not really an option as my son sleeps in the next room and would most likely wake up if I'd start it. So yeah, I don't listen as much as I normally do right now. There are records I've had for more than three years, maybe more, that I still haven't listened to yet.

I still listen to CD's in the car, but I don't commute so I don't drive that much.

As for buying, it's at an all time low. Prices are ridiculous most of the time, hardly any interesting eBay auctions ever since Jim finished Selling his collection a while ago. Just a lot of over priced Buy It Now listings. That sucks.
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Astra Wally
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Re: Droughts in Listening & Buying

Post by Astra Wally »

I need music (not only metal) in my life so I listen to music on a daily basis, almost without exception. On average, it represents one hour and half of music per day (when I'm at home, on my way to work, at the gym, etc etc).

Buying? Less than one vinyl record per month... and it's not going to change unless prices and postage rates go down. I don't need much more records anyway, and started to sell many of them already.
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Avenger
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Re: Droughts in Listening & Buying

Post by Avenger »

Outside of re-issues of material being pressed on CD officially for the first time, my purchases have been at an all time low the last two years. My want list consists of only a handful of items that are all very rare and the once or twice they come up for sale every few years the "buy it now" or bidding war price is far more ridiculous then I'm willing to pay. Other then that I'm always looking to upgrade the copies of original pressings in my collection that aren't of the condition I'm happy with but now of days so many sellers either misgrade or outright lie about the condition of the items they sell while providing low quality images that don't clearly indicate any flaws, I'll rarely purchase a replacement copy unless I can almost guarantee it's of the condition I'm seeking.

Regarding listening frequency, I try to at least listen to something every day. Sometimes that's just a single demo or even an EP depending on how busy I am or the time of day that I have an opportunity. If the only chance I have is at 3:00 AM when I get home because I’m working a night shift and my girlfriend is sleeping, I will go without because I'm against using headphones. Other times I'll literally listen for several hours consecutively if I'm doing something like housework, traveling or sitting in an office during a slow work day. 80% of my collection has been digitized, so I rarely listen to physical discs outside of when something new arrives, I haven't ripped it or it's not on the SD Card in my phone to listen to in my vehicle. Part of the reason I stopped dealing with vinyl many years ago and only have a handful of my absolute favorites left is because it was a chore to deal with. Physical storage space is a concern and having to flip the record over after just a few songs is annoying. The vinyl guys may not agree but that's my personal take. The few vinyls I have left are more just for the enlarged artwork and novelty factor. If I was able to I'd probably frame them and cover a wall since I'll only pull one out and listen to it a couple times a year these days.
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