Do you still buy CD's or just download ?

Just curious....

As I'm chipping away at my Tikiyaki Orchestra recordings, I'm curious if people in here still buy CD's, or just download now.

When I get to about 12 or 13 tracks, the plan is to release a CD, but the last thing I want is to be sitting on 500 plus CD's, if people are downloading more than buying CD's.

Of course, wave and aif files sound alot better than mp3's, so a manufactured CD will sound better, but I don't want to bother pressing CD's if no people are mostly downloading now.

Any opinions on this ? Should I bother pressing, of just sell strictly as downloads ?

Call me old school, but I'd much rather have something physical in my hands along with cool artwork and graphics on the cover and credits to read........ remember when album cover artwork was half the coolness of getting a new album? I'll take a CD over a download anyday.

I just bought the new Shins CD. It's great, and you get a sticker!

..sbim

On 2007-02-11 19:16, Lukeulele wrote:
Call me old school, but I'd much rather have something physical in my hands along with cool artwork and graphics on the cover and credits to read........ remember when album cover artwork was half the coolness of getting a new album? I'll take a CD over a download anyday.

I absolutely do. That's a big part of me wanting to release a CD....doing the artwork....attaching images to the music...especially Exotica...so much cool tiki imagery to put forth. I just don't want to spend the money making CD's if the people I'm hoping to sell to would just download it instead. Then I'm stuck with boxes of CD's, and have laid out money unnecessarily.

So, I'm curious as to what people do in here to buy music.

I like to have the "hard copy" to hold on to. Otherwise, one power surge and it's all over.

I just had a listen to your tunes on the Tikiyaki site. Definitely put me on your list when the CD is ready!

In fact, if you do a "pre-sale" to finance the CD, I'm in. Just let me know.

On 2007-02-11 21:36, spy-tiki wrote:
I like to have the "hard copy" to hold on to. Otherwise, one power surge and it's all over.

I just had a listen to your tunes on the Tikiyaki site. Definitely put me on your list when the CD is ready!

In fact, if you do a "pre-sale" to finance the CD, I'm in. Just let me know.

Wow, SPY TIKI, thanx ! I appreciate that, (from down the road in Burbank!) I really want to make CD's, cos the sound quality is way better than that of an mp3, and it's nice to make an actual "product" to sell. Downloads are cool, but they're so "invisible" and I don't really feel like I'm actually releasing anything "official".

I will definitely let you and evryone else in here know when a CD is available.

I got into the iTunes thing and have downloaded tons of stuff there.....but if it is something I like (especially exotica and jazz) I buy the CD. I like the cover art and inserts and also like to have something in my hand. I have over 500 CDs and will continue to buy them. :music:

I still buy CDs. If I'm looking for single tracks, then I'll download. But for full "albums"...give me something to hold in my hands!

You don't have to print 500. The same prosumer technology that allows us to duplicate and transcode CDs can make you your own CDs.

You can print color CD covers, duplicate and print graphics for the front of CDs, etc. You can print as many as you want,whenever you want. The quality is excellent. Unless you have distribution already set up to major stores, I wouldn't print more than 100 at a time.

Anyway, bring them to any major Tiki event and we'll buy 'em!

) I really want to make CD's, cos the sound quality is way better than that of an mp3…

That’s true. But you can encode from 24bits audiofiles to apple-lossless and have a better sound than a CD, which always has 16bit depth.

KK

On 2007-02-12 08:07, Cammo wrote:
You don't have to print 500. The same prosumer technology that allows us to duplicate and transcode CDs can make you your own CDs.

You can print color CD covers, duplicate and print graphics for the front of CDs, etc. You can print as many as you want,whenever you want. The quality is excellent. Unless you have distribution already set up to major stores, I wouldn't print more than 100 at a time.

Anyway, bring them to any major Tiki event and we'll buy 'em!

Yea, but I don't think you can beat a manufactured CD for print quality, both on the disc and the printed materials. I do CD mastering as part of my studio services but duplication, I feel is best done at a plant. Besides, all that work is very time consuming. :o

As fas as 24 bit mp3's are concerned...very interesting point, but isn't there still file compression when making the mp3 ? I would imagine that the bandwidth of a 24 bit mp3 still doesn't compare to that of a 16 bit aif or wave file. Hmmm...have to research this a bit.

The stuff sounds pretty big in my studio, and the listening station on my site is flash and everything is in mono, which is really missing the point of these recordings, which have some nice stereo stuff going on. So, reducing it to strictly mp3's is cool for downloading, but the sonic quality will really be brought home on a CD.

Anyway, thanx guys for the input...keep the comments coming !

[ Edited by: tikiyaki 2007-02-12 08:56 ]

Quality-wise, big dupe houses do pretty much what they do at my local print house, but on a larger scale. And I always think the quality of the graphics transcends the medium - a great tiki design printed at a slightly lower dpi is better than a lousy one printed higher.

We'll find out, cause I'm doing exactly this for a rather popular Hawaiian band from the L.A. area right now. I'll post results and pricing info when it's done.

And 'lossless' compression is over-rated. Most of the higher quality MP3 compression routines are in fact compressed lossless, they compress by skimming over the duplicate info that makes up a lot of recorded sound. WAV files were created before decoding on the fly was affordable to home listeners; I'd argue it's as of today an antiquated format. (!)

Anyway, it's your band...

I was kinda with the CD people until I got my iPod and now...its kinda all about having TONS of stuff on a single small source of entertainment. I have learned to forego packaging in deference to AMAZING AMOUNTS of obscure music --also genre programming & playlists make it possible to create some real interesting juxtapositions of related (or non-related) music--plus blogs like Konos' get you some 'vinyl' MP3 stuff that if you were thrifting you might NEVER find--and with a cheap pair of external computer speakers, you get portable EXOTICA IN HI-FI for anywhere!
do i fear crash or data disappearance of any kind? OF COURSE --but i have plenty of back-ups.
CD packaging is NOTHING compared to LP and I think thats how I can do without

On 2007-02-12 10:04, bb moondog wrote:
I was kinda with the CD people until I got my iPod and now...its kinda all about having TONS of stuff on a single small source of entertainment. I have learned to forego packaging in deference to AMAZING AMOUNTS of obscure music --also genre programming & playlists make it possible to create some real interesting juxtapositions of related (or non-related) music--plus blogs like Konos' get you some 'vinyl' MP3 stuff that if you were thrifting you might NEVER find--and with a cheap pair of external computer speakers, you get portable EXOTICA IN HI-FI for anywhere!
do i fear crash or data disappearance of any kind? OF COURSE --but i have plenty of back-ups.
CD packaging is NOTHING compared to LP and I think thats how I can do without

I myself am thinking along that mindset for me personally....I'm in the process of ripping and dumping my CD's with the minimalist mindset of having alot of music in a small space. Now that I have it all in one small space, I'm also forgoing the cover art and liner notes. That's me as a CONSUMER....as an ARTIST, I'm still in love with the idea of creating a product with visual as well as audio appeal...something you can hold onto and look at, as well as hand to someone or sell. True I sell downloads...(I sold one this morning....I'm guessing it was prompted by this very thread....if it was someone in here...THANX!).....but the idea of selling a complete, packaged body of work is still exciting to me, as an ARTIST.

Therein, lies the personal struggle, and reason for this thread.

I buy mostly LPs, 78s, and CDs.

Haven't downloaded yet. Old school so far.

Still buy LP's and 45's, and CD's.

But I can see the I-Pod attraction to having EVERYthing at your fingertips, not to mention not having to get up all the time to dust the next LP! I'm sure I'll get around to that someday soon.

But I'll always buy CD if it's available. Love having the artwork, the linernotes, the lyrics, the thank you's - all in my hot little hands, not over on my laptop.

From talking to people in the tiki and surf music crowds.
I'd say its a mix. alot do download and love that.
But there are alot of old school hold outs.
I am a firm believer in buying a real cd.
and when I say real cd, I mean a silver one, not a blue or gold cdr.

plus I saw a bumper sticker that said everytime you download,
God kills a kitten, so I dont want to mess with God, or lovable kittens.

Jeff(bigtikidude)

Thought I would take a minute and chime in... I still like to have a CD with pretty pictures to stare at and info to gleen knowledgies out of. Also it's a real treat when you get a little extra out of the deal. The Pyronauts CD Surf and destroy not only is killer CD it also came with a poster. A few other CD's I have picked have come with interactive slide shows, video and games. Make for a nifty package worthy of theh 12+ clams your throwin down. On the flipside, the ease of downlaoding digital files cannot be denied. Especially for the one hit wonders or checking out something new. I also like the fact of minimal storage. I guess if there is enough extra goodies or great art the CD would be my choice, but it is just single panel dealio with no real info, then I would rather just use an mp3.

Chongolio

I still purchase all of my music at the local music shop. I've downloaded a few songs here and there (off of comps and whatnot) from the internet or after recieving a gift card for itunes or something.
WHat I purchase really depends on the type of music store I go to. I have some that are excellent for vinyl (good selection, good prices) so I buy vinyl there. Other stores have a gerat used selection of CD's - so I buy Cd's there. I try to never buy new if I can avoid it (from stores - new from the band direct is a different story), as the used ones sound just as good.

Once I get the vinyl or CD home - I download it to my computer so I can enjoy it from my Ipod. BUT I love having the actual REAL copy of the vinyl/cd as backup (in case of computer failure and backup failure) becuase of the information that comes with the CD booklet (like Chongo said) or vinyl sleeve.

Downloaded music seems so temporary, but CD's and (definately moreso) vinyl seem more perminant.

Just my 2 coconuts worth...

Well....it seems alot of people in here still like CD's. Good to know, and of course, it'd be great to keep hearing people's perspective on this.

As a recording artist, that's good to hear, because I like releasing product (hard copy) and the idea that am mp3 feels more "temporary" as someone said, is kinda how I feel about it. Tho' I rarely download music,I take my stuff off of my CD's and put it into my iTunes library.

On 2007-02-12 09:25, Cammo wrote:
And 'lossless' compression is over-rated. Most of the higher quality MP3 compression routines are in fact compressed lossless, they compress by skimming over the duplicate info that makes up a lot of recorded sound. WAV files were created before decoding on the fly was affordable to home listeners; I'd argue it's as of today an antiquated format. (!)

Anyway, it's your band...

I don’t want to get into audio-geek discussions on THIS board. One last thing from me: I still buy LPs because I want the media suit the era of the music, if I can afford. I much more rarely buy CDs, but working in the music business gets me some for free now and then - which I appreciate.
So even though I have many CDs, I never liked them as much as the original vinyl releases, which always sounded better to me. The few exceptions are mastered carefully by specialists for the type of music. New recordings on CD are even worse, because of loudness-wars and semi-pros handling the niche markets- you can get away with much more technically on CDs than on vinyl.

Downloads on the other hand are convenient, affordable and have the advantage of 16bit+ master files. Mp3 is just the oldest and most common format, but not the best algorhythm as far as I have learned. Apple and OggVorbis are about the same quality/size ratio, ahead of mp3.

I understand that people love the coupling of graphics and music, that’s what I am about! I believe whatever the media will be in the future, this couple is here to stay. Take the internet: you first see a bandlogo, a photo, a button - lots of graphic stuff before you hear something in this media. It’s not like radio, and we have to buy music magazines to see the bands.

KK

Call me old school, but I have not got into music downloading at all. I love music, and have an extensive collection of both CDs and vinyl.

I am hesitant to get into the whole Ipod/mp3 downloading. When you have literally thousands of both records and CDs, it is hard to justify acquiring music in yet another format. I love the ritual of selecting which CDs I will take along with me on a trip, and do not feel the need to constantly carry a digital copy of my entire library with me at all times. And although there are many cool LPs available for free download, many that I do not yet own, I am wary of the greed/glutton factor that can intrude into one's life. (Those who see my basement LP collection may say that this intrusion has already happened)

I do enjoy music, and I will still buy a good CD - especially when it is to support a good band that I just heard perform live. On rarer ocassions, I will buy vinyl (I just picked up a clean version of Martin Denny's Forbidden Island)

By the way, I still have an operable 8-track recorder, and if I need to, I can convert from CD to 8-track. Sometimes it is more important to treasure the nostalgic moments in your life, than adapt to the latest technology.

Vern

What’s so interesting to see, is what will survive, in terms of the content. From the days of Edison (or Emil Berliner) we still know some music, even though nobody listens to wax cylinders anymore. The top tunes are being transferred, one way or another, format-change after format-change.
It’s in the minds of the audience how much of our loved sounds will be heard in the future. The good, memorable ones. Sure there are oddball curiosities available for free, but if you never listen to them, you will one day find they clutter up your shelves, iPod or computer - nothing more. Free giveaways make music look cheaper than it really is - so that marketing tool is two sided in the long-run.
Before records and sheet-music, all music had to be memorized. Some chants might be a couple of hundred years old. My guess is, this is the best way of “storing” music. It has to be memorable on it’s own strength. Not by hearing it a lot, like top-40 radio or oldies stations, that’s forced memory - who wants that?
If I knew a drummer who can whistle an original tune, I might still have a band!

KK

Many excellent points raised here about having the hard copy. I'm a freak when it comes to liner notes. I want to know the musicians that played on each song, their instruments and even the equipment the recording was made with. Plus I think it's great when you have the musicians signature or note in or on the cd cover. The tiki/surf/lounge community is unusual in the sense that artists are generally happy to sign your cd. It's just that much cooler when Pablus or Tony Marisco signs your cd and you can reread what they wrote when you reach for that cd again. We like it when the visual artist signs a painting, or mug to me is this is no different.

I do it all. Vinyl, Cd's, mp3's, you name it. I still even pick up the occaisional cassette at a garage sale. My last 8 track player broke last year so I've backed off on them for now!
I have discovered so much new music and so many new artists though downloading and cross referencing, that it has become an invaluable tool. Especially since until recently I was living in a small town where there was no hip local music store.

The debate on this subject will likely go on long after CD's go the way of the cassette and the 8 track, but one interesting aspect to this is a band caled Carbon Silicon Inc.
Legendary member of The Clash, Mick Jones, and the notorious guitarist Tony James of PIL fame founded this band, and offer ALL their recordings for download right on their website, including cover art and notes - FOR FREE!!! You can still buy their CD's if you want, but they encourage you to download and create your own CD's.

Here's a quote from Mick,, my guitar hero...
"We’re Embracing the Digital Revolution, not inventing it and that’s because we ..... HAVE TO - just like thousands of other NEW groups out there....

The Digital Genie is SO out of the bottle now and I believe it came to save Rock and Roll not destroy it......."

http://www.carbonsiliconinc.com/home/default.aspx

I for one am curious to see how their strategy plays out. The times, they are a changin'.

Here’s a new technology that shortcircuits the artist with the listener - and the old punks idea of revolution is to give their music away for free.
The 50s had their revolution when someone came up with 45rpm 7''s - better sound, cheap and thus indie labels were born, no rock’n roll like we know without that. Even if they cost money, but it was a different music.

KK

On 2007-02-13 08:03, Kawentzmann wrote:

[i]
I understand that people love the coupling of graphics and music, that’s what I am about! I believe whatever the media will be in the future, this couple is here to stay. Take the internet: you first see a bandlogo, a photo, a button - lots of graphic stuff before you hear something in this media. It’s not like radio, and we have to buy music magazines to see the bands.

EXACTLY!!! I am so intrigued and driven by this. The juxtaposition of visual art and audio art is a drivin' passion of mine. Personally. I am more captivated by images than words. That is why I love instro tunes and artwork. The art and music create their own story in the theatre of my mind. Way better than the standard BS being spoon fed to the masses via the tele and radio.

Tune in, bug out.

Chongolio

P.S listen to Coconut Wired and throw off the chains of your oppressor!

With in the last year, we've lost three record stores in my area so now I'm pretty much religated to downloading the music. At least with the new iTunes, you get to see the album artwork. That is super important to me too, Chongo. When ever I'm near a good record store or especially an Ameoba, that always spells trouble for my wallet. Alot of the time, the art sells me on music that I might not otherwise think of buying.

Why not do both? Big production cd's and full color glossy booklet inserts cost mucho bucks, and my
friends and I end up just ripping the songs to my external HD for storage, and for the ipod, which dj's
the annual luau anyway.

Sometimes downloading and getting to play those songs instantly is a huge plus! Pressing vinyl is another
story....

Also: I've never seen a power surge wipe out a hard drive. I trust my hard drive more than a misplaced and
scratched cd....

Cheers!

Does this mean vinyl is not an option? Doh! I just started buying cds as I thought I'd better try keep up with the kids and hipsters! Took two week before I realised that I needed a special cd player! Buggered three needles in the process!! What's that dearest? Oh yes, I mean styluses!

Seriously though I just finished burning 50 HULAPUNK cds on an old cd burner that took 9 minutes to burn 20 minutes of music! You do the math. Took forever but it means I have 50 cds to give away with the limited edition POCKETIKI that'll be out soon. I did enjoy doing it and for me it was putting the artwork together that was the best part. The labels look cool. Well worth the effort!

As we discussed before, I'm looking forward to doing the 'Tiki Comp' cd for issue #3 of POCKETIKI and YOU are certainly going to be a highlight. I'm looking forward to working with you. Thanks for your interest. I've got a few acts lined up, but if there is anyone else out there who would like to be considered...Get in touch!

You can put me down for one of your cds that's for sure!

Trader Jim (Make mine a MAI-TAI!).

An appropriate and highly relevant question for these troubled and technologically trendy times, Tikiyaki! Hell, look what happened to media monster Tower Records U.S. (although there may be more to that story than meets the ears).

Not wishing to repeat the previous posts, I will express my opinion slightly differently, as well as pro and re-gressively.

Phase I: When I was a youngster and old enough to be interested in music (1970s), I bought 8-track, then vinyl.

Chronologically this is what then followed.....

Phase II (1980s), eliminate the 8-track, add cassettes.

Phase III (late 1980s), eliminate cassettes and the buying thereof, but still keep cassette recorders and blank cassettes to make compilations.

Phase IV (early 1990s) -- and far later than most! -- embrace CD technology, but continue collecting vinyl, and wishing that vinyl sounded like the quality of the CD.

Phase V (mid-1990s), getting furiously fed up with vinyl -- the crackles, the pops, the skips, the warping, the lack of availability, the lack of copyright dates; the dusty fingers and nasal passages from hours of sifting through used record bins, and rarely finding much of anything good; the expensive, hard to find and short-lasting phonograph needles; the heaviness and awkwardness of bringing vinyl anywhere to DJ with; etc., etc., etc.

Phase VI (also mid-1990s), get rid of nearly all my vinyl (as so much of it had been/was being released on CD, to my ecstatic reception, from the master tapes, and included so much more information in the liner notes, etc.), and record any out-of-print vinyl to CD. (The latter frustrated me to no end when, shortly after, some of what I recorded from vinyl to CD, was released from the master tapes to CD!)

Phase VII (additionally also mid-1990s): except as a curio from the past, vinyl is now my enemy. I argue constantly with snooty vinyl collectors and DJs: 'I can DJ a gig with 500 CDs conveniently located in one, easy-to-access carrying case -- many compilations containing songs I would potentially play, enhancing the variety and scope of my potential playlists, without cluttering up my travelled collection almost entirely with full-length albums, containing only 1-3 songs I would potentially play anyway; my music never skips, I don't require headphones, I don't require having to flip anything over, I can load and queue up songs in a matter of seconds, and I don't need a grounding wire. But you, you sad, vinyl snob DJ, struggling to your gig with crates of vinyl, and having only a minimal amount of material to choose from as a result, your obstinate devotion to the PVC platter has hindered you. Go back home to your living room where you and your vinyl belong!'

Phase VIII (late 1990s), what happened to the wonderfully progressive, historical preservation production of re-releasing out-of-print niche-genre albums onto CD? Cripe! Now I must find the vinyl again and record it onto CD, or start a poll to get the album released on CD! Great big, bouncing, buggering bollocks!

Phase IX (mid-2000s), online file and album sharing? Brilliant! And it's free? Though I love many examples of album art, being always more interested in the music, than in the source of where the music came from or the format it comes on, free and pay per online music format downloads are my new devotion. It may take a lot of time and research to find what one is looking for (especially when one's library of music is already extensive), but the journey is well worth the time and effort, and money saved. It's an alternative form of shopping.

Phase X (2005-today), though I was initially and violently against it, laptop DJing (or HDJing, as I call it) is even more convenient than lugging about CDs, CD players, and a mixer. And not only that, I have available to me far, far more music than I would care to bring whilst DJing with my CD players and massive CD wallets. (A bit of an overkill, I know, and of course I would never get round to playing all that I have -- even within one particular genre -- but it's nice to have the option.)

As far as buying CDs, not often anymore. Of course, I have thousands already, and don't require more. What I do require is the music from the past that is no longer issued. Should such music from the past be reissued from the master tapes I will buy the CD. Otherwise, I will stick to free downloads and ripping vinyl to disc. And I should note that I back up all my downloads and album shares on disc, so they're not just on my computer -- or in other's cases, their iPod.

[ Edited by: DJ Terence Gunn 2007-02-26 14:26 ]

I'm pleased for you Terence! Enjoyed your post. It is still assuring for an old foggy like me to know that you still use vinyl on occasions, even if only as a means to an end. Personally, I couldn't live without it...pops, crackles, warts 'n' all!

Trader Jim (Make mine 45rpm!).

PS. In the the mid to late 90s, here in the UK, I used to have (technically still have I guess?) a record label named 'REAL Records'. See if you track down the 45s by The Statics, The Spoiled Brats, Mr Suave, Speed, The Superfly TNT's, and Cee Bee Beaumont/VAT 69/The Morton Knights/Go-Kart 800...Collectively, 'The North 7 Action Sound'! We loved em all! Still do!!!

[ Edited by: POCKETIKI 2007-02-26 16:13 ]

I buy cd's. I have never bought a download. I think my wife paid for an Etta James song once, but I still found the cd used and bought it. I buy 80% of my cd's used. I dont think I've ever had a bad one. I kept all my albums (yeah I'm old school) over 3,000 of them. I never bought very many eight tracks, maybe 12. I always made my own custom cassettes and I kept all those, probably close to 300. Cd's came out in '83 and I didnt jump on board til '89. I was still trekking to Hollywood and buying my albums for anywhere from .66 cents to $1.98 each. I remember back in the 70's taking 6 albums to party to help with the music, then I would supply 2 or 3 90 minute cassettes...Now I can pack my 80 gb Ipod and take 22,000 songs with me...It's wild, it's crazy, I love it...I love music...

DJ Terence

Thanx for that detailed post. I follwed a similar path, only I started with CD's in 1988 I believe. Now, I don't really buy music, cos I sit around creating it all day....with a few exceptions.

yea, the hipsters here in LA still go gaga over vinyl, but really, other than the nostalgia of it and the large artwork, I stick with the digital stuff.

Still, nothing puts s smile on my face like a nice big record cover to look at, but in my attempt to become more minimalist, I refrain from collecting any more vinyl, and I'm even getting rid of the CD's as we speak. I'm still struggling with this.

Case in point....I went to the final night of the Lava Lounge sat night to see the Blue Hawaiians close the place out for good, and I brought their "SWAY" CD with me. I can listen to that CD over and over, as I have for the past 10 years....I never grow tired of it. In the context of an iPod, the experience will lose something. The deliberate act of actually bringing that CD and putting it in the player STILL keeps me holding on to that CD....Not ALL CD's, but that one for sure....I can listen to an hour of Beatles on Shuffle on an iPod and enjoy them as random selections too, so maybe it differs with each instance. I don't know, but i DO like having a "collection" of songs by a particular artist, and a well sequenced album is still an art I appreciate.

As for pressing vinyl, the cost is just astronomical at thos point. My friend with a label researched it, so I will definintely press a CD, only instead of the usual 1000 first run order, I will most likely do 500. If I sell out, that's a success.

I'm glad people are joining in this discussion, as it's nice to know how people are buying music these days.

Mahalo

I just downloaded your songs. Keep up the good work. I will download more as they come available. As far as downloading goes, that is pretty much what I do, from emusic.com, I don't own a stereo, just my computer and sony cd walkman thing that I never use. I bought a record player from Crosley so I could listen to Pet Sounds on record.

I was CD but now I am strictly download. The only exception being local bands selling at shows but then I quickly convert. I love emusic much cheaper than iTunes. I think it is great to have all my music so easily available and I find that with iPod shuffle I end up listening to stuff that I long forgot I had. For the record last download was Rev. Horton Heat.

For free and legal music check out http://www.3hive.com. I also recently discovered Songbird which is an awesome audio player that has tons of features that make downloading music much easier. Check it out at http://www.songbirdnest.com

Here is their description: Songbird™ is a desktop Web player, a digital jukebox and Web browser mash-up. Like Winamp, it supports extensions and skins feathers. Like Firefox®, it is built from Mozilla®, cross-platform and open source.

On 2007-02-27 15:45, jhofman wrote:
I just downloaded your songs. Keep up the good work. I will download more as they come available. As far as downloading goes, that is pretty much what I do, from emusic.com, I don't own a stereo, just my computer and sony cd walkman thing that I never use. I bought a record player from Crosley so I could listen to Pet Sounds on record.

How did I not see this post for the past 6 days ???

Thanx for downloading the songs. I will update the Tikiyaki Orchestra thread in this section of the board as they become available.

Aloha

Tikiyaki

i never buy cds only vinyl. the sound is so good. plus i can't find these albums on cd

I should've mentioned in my previous post that quite possibly the best and largest source for hearing about and buying a variety of newly re-issued or issued for the first time, out of print vintage music on CD, is Collector's Choice Music (www.ccmusic.com). There are many genres (pop, rock, rock n roll, jump blues, doo wop, soul, vocal, jazz, soundtracks, country/western, rockabilly, Showtunes, R&B, etc.) and categories (New Releases, Limited Editions, Imports, Exclusives, etc.) available, all compiled into one source. I highly recommend receiving their monthly catalog (it's free!). Many of their selections you will not find at mega store places like Amazon.com, Barnes & Noble, Virgin, etc. Basically speaking, Collector's Choice does the chore of searching for vintage music, limited editions, CD debuts, re-issues, and exclusives for you -- music you would normally have to search several online sites to find.

And -- unless the originals masters were lost or destroyed -- all these CD issues and re-issues are from the original master tapes -- the way the music was meant to sound like.

As well, they feature the occasional DVD (music-related, of course!), 'The Best Of Hootenanny' being such a New Release.

Some current standouts (exclusives, limited editions, etc.) on CD:

The Avalanches - Ski Surfin'
(session men Billy Strange, Hal Blaine, Tommy Tedesco, and a pre-Bread David Gates, pound out surf-styled songs about skiing.)

Arthur Lyman: The Singles Collection (40 single sides, 2 CD set)

'Bell, Book, And Candle'/'1001 Arabian Nights' - George Duning

Lord Buckley: A Most Immaculately Hip Aristocrat

'Diamond Head'/'Gone With The Wave' - Johnny Williams/Lalo Schifrin (Two terrific soundtracks!)

'Alice's Adventures In Wonderland'/'Petulia' - John Barry
(I've been waiting years and years for 'Alice's' to come out on CD, and now it finally is! To my knowledge, John Barry's only musical, and it is unbelievably fantastic!)

Sergio Mendes & Brasil '77 - 'Homecooking'
(Whether from the 1960s or 1970s, I've always liked whatever this group has done. You'll find Sergio Mendes & Brasil '66's debut album here, as well.)

Sly & The Family Stone (EVERY album from their catalog, from their 1967 debut 'A Whole New Thing' to their final from 1974 'Small Talk'. Each of the 7 albums contains bonus tracks, some never released before.)

'The Liquidator' - Lalo Schifrin
(Shirley Bassey sings a powerful main and end title to Schifrin's pulsing, creeping, and bossa-beats, jazz and brass. Contains the entire soundtrack from the film ((unlike the vinyl record)). Up there with the best of the Bond scores!)

Bridgette Bardot: And God Created Woman
(Rrrrr! RRRRRRrrrr!)

Dionne Warwick: a load of album exlusives on CD for the first time

And there is so much, much more!

No, you won't find any rare one-off Exotica albums here, but you'll find plenty of other music to decrease the digits of your checking account.

[ Edited by: DJ Terence Gunn 2007-03-08 14:17 ]

I thought I would add my thoughts here. I have a 45 jukebox in my tiki bar, vintage '68 Rock-o-la. I also have about 500 CDs. However I have ripped all of them to MP3 at the highest rate and now all of them sit on my server. I like CD artwork and liner notes but many artists are putting those up on Itunes or their website to download. Digital downloads of music has caused me to buy music I would not have before. I think artists would directly benefit from downloading of their works instead of paying Corporations to distribute their music. Corporations are only interested in striping out quality just to appeal to a larger market. Look at American Idol and all the crap that is in the pop marketplace now. Even good singers (Aguilera, Steffani) have to have the same pop sound when they are capable of much more. Plus with niche markets the money pool is very limited, why give the Corps a cut if you don't have to. Most people under 30 are all digital and expect music to be digital. They don't like paying for a whole CD for one song and the cover, when they can pay a buck for a song and download the CD cover from the bands website.

-Lingam

Good point Lingam. I will be offering digital downloads as well as CD sales...you can download some of the CD already at http://www.tikiyakiorchestra.com.
When the CD's is officially released, I will digitally distribute it to all the channels, iTunes etc.

One thing to consider, which I did, is that the "under 30" demographic is all digital, but, in my estimation, about 90% of the niche market of Tiki enthusiasts and Exotica lovers are OVER the age of 30. Notice, that most of the responses to this thread are of the "I still buy CD's and vinyl" opinion.

As per Chongolio's excellent suggestion, I'm including a little "treat" in the CD...a Tikiyaki Orchestra Drink coaster, as to use for your cocktail, while listening. I may add a drink umbrella into the plastic spine area too, if money permits....All in the name of making the CD purchase more "special", fun, and add a little value to it.

The downloaders will be able to download from my page, or one of the other Digital Distribution outles (legal, and Not-so-Legal, I'm sure)

Anyway, I'm still working on a Summer release. I'm almost finished....

[ Edited by: tikiyaki 2007-04-24 19:33 ]

An umbrella in the CD case spine...that's a brilliant idea!

I don't think I'm the first to come up with it, but getting that and a full color drink coaster would be cool, yea?

I have to look at the cost. The drink coasters are for sure, tho'.

CDs and LPs are always great because not only do you get the music (as you do in downloads), but you also get the CD inserts. I love to look at the artwork and read the linear notes. Actually it's kind of sad now with CDs because the album art is so small - but buying a CD is always more satisfying than downloading. Downloading is only more for convience...

Talking of wax cylinders.
Here’s a link to hawaiian recordings from the 1910s. For stream and download.

http://cylinders.library.ucsb.edu/search.php?query=hawaii*&queryType=@attr+1=21

KK

[ Edited by: Kawentzmann 2007-05-14 22:01 ]

Hi all,

Thanks for the interesting post, Tikiyaki.

I'm ok with the pops and scratches of vinyl. It just doesn't bother me that much. And collecting records, at thrifts especially, is hard work, but it can be a lot of fun too. (Though I won't defend record snobbery -- that sucks -- and is generally stupid). For me, I just play whatever I have: LPs, CDs, 45s, even cassettes. I try to avoid the "what's better" argument, and make do with what I have. Otherwise I feel like I'm falling into that trap of always needing the next new piece of equipment or software, and that game tires me out, quite frankly.

As far as Terence's point about DJing, I can imagine lugging stuff around to different venues loses its appeal pretty quickly, and a laptop would be the way to go. For me, I'm a DJ on the radio -- but that's really different: I'm not setting up the equipment every week! Still I will say this about the few times I've DJ'd in public and my experience at the radio station: I like the physical activity of handling records, cuing them up, and generally working with them. I just don't get that same "physicality" with CDs and digital computer files that I get with records. I'm sure I'm in the minority, but it's important to me. I find playing digital files a bit boring compared to playing records.

Just my 2 cents. To answer tikiyaki's question specifically - I'm happy with a vinyl copy of something, and prefer that over CD/digital. If I can't find it on vinyl -- or if my vinyl copy is too beat up or maybe I have a mono version of a record that should be in stereo -- I'll go digital. Just my preference, that's all.
In the end, the important thing is getting your hands on the music you love. If the format makes you love it that much more, that's an extra bonus.

~glen
http://www.jetsetplanet.com

[ Edited by: I, Zombie 2007-05-15 10:43 ]

Nothing beats an LP for its cover art and sound. Barring that, CDs are next, which often have nice art, essays, and whatnot. Computers drive me nuts; if I had to mess around with an iPod I might lose my mind, although it does have certain advantages.

As an indie musician, I find this a really intriguing topic. When a band only sells a couple hundred cds, creating a new one is a very expensive proposition. Even if you can do the music totally DIY at home, you're probably in for over a thousand dollars in production cost for a "pro" cd. Obviously, not doing this for the money!

I, too, long for the glorious artwork of vinyl. On the other hand, digital could provide us with other new ideas, especially animation, that aren't viable in print. I just wish there was a good way to distribute them and at least cover the band's costs. Even if you go all-digital, DIY distribution is expensive.

The best thing I can suggest is buy indie music whenever possible, and try to avoid buying big corporate music. And support bands that play live!