Nirvana’s Unplugged In New York. I know why I bought it - at the time it was a new concept: take something hard-rockish/grunge and turn it acoustic. After all, Clapton had success with the same formula. Turns out it was just a moment in time. I put it on recently, and my wife and I were both like “what the hell is this?” Cobain sounds board, drained and tired. And there is absolutely nothing musically interesting on this recording. At the time it was good. But now, to me, it sounds forgettable.
What Recordings Of Yours Did Not Age Well?
I happened to be scrolling through Napster in the Red Garland section and found "Red Alert", an album that I bought on vinyl in 1978 when I had a Sansui 771 receiver, Technics turntable with Shure V15 Type III, and generic 12 inch 3-way speakers. I remember that I'd heard a tune from the album on the local FM jazz station and went out and bought the album the same day. I hadn't listened to the album in 30 years. I cued it up on Napster and sat down and listened to it. Tidal and Amazon do not have this recording. It was a pleasant listening experience, but nothing that would make me want to buy it today if I didn't own it....and if I never hear it again, I won't miss it. For the life of me I can't remember what tune on the LP convinced me to buy it. Back in 1978, I was very discriminating how I spent my money on recordings because I was recently out of college....and a music purchase had to really count.
Do you have any recordings that didn't age well in this regard?
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@mitch4t It’s value on eBay is of no interest to me, especially in that price range. But thanks for the info. |
Tiny Tim's Greatest Hits is the one dependable disc in my collection-- no matter what life brings, it remains the solid bedrock supporting my psyche ! Seriously, I don't buy a lot of disposable pop music, so in my case, it's the fact that the listener changes that affects how appealing a given disc might be on a given day, in a given decade. . . |
Totally unrelated but, "you flock of seagulls" is my favorite "Pulp Fiction" line. |
I agree. But then, I always thought, even though it is a fun track, was the weakest track on "Moving Waves". The side long "Eruption" is close to brilliant, and the beauty of songs like "Le Clochard", "Moving Waves", "Focus II", are far better then "Hocus Pocus". For me, it is a bit sad that this great prog band is remembered mostely for a somewhat silly song. But, at least, it is played by musicians with monster chops. |
Overall, I haven't had too many recordings that haven't aged well. At least since I discovered prog, and all its subgenres (avant-prog, Zeuhl, Canterbury, symph, technical-metal, prog-meal, etc). Since I tend to only enjoy music with the following attributes: very high level of musicianship, complexity, deep and broad emotional and intellectual content, avoidance of verse>chorus>bridge format that relies on hooks, the music I listen to tends to age well, because those attributes don't fade. Great musicianship, a good level of complexity, etc, do not age, even if things like vintage synth sounds may. So, just because a Genesis, PFM, YES, or Univers Zero, recording from the '70's may have dated keyboard sounds, the music itself is just as creative, complex, extremely will played as it was back then. I also listen to plenty of Jazz (post bop, fusion, chamber jazz, M-Base, avant-garde jazz), and modern, avant-garde, atonal, serial and contemporary classical music, and these also age well for much the same reasons as those listed above. |
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@gochurchgo Awright, spill the beans. |
70's rock is what hasn't aged well for me. I'm drawn to much more complex music these days, jazz, classical, electronic now far more appealing to me. 70's rock is nostalgic for me, used to romanticize those days, now I recall the druggie days much less fondly. Funny, I love the 50's and 60's music, evokes feelings of more innocent times. |
@sns : 70's rock is what hasn't aged well for me. I'm drawn to much more complex music these days, jazz, classical, electronic now far more appealing to me. 70's rock is nostalgic for me, used to romanticize those days, now I recall the druggie days much less fondly. Funny, I love the 50's and 60's music, evokes feelings of more innocent times. My drug days were actually pretty "innocent'-- I never got into anything hard and outgrew what I did do in my early twenties. I had friends who weren't so lucky, though. Eventually lost my best friend to meth. In my early twenties, I began an exploration of Jazz that's continued to this day (I'm 65, now). I still enjoy some 70's Rock but it only comprises a small fraction of my listening time. Aside from Jazz, I enjoy various types of acoustic music. Never did get into Classical, though. While I appreciate the skill/complexity involved, it doesn't engage me emotionally or rhythmically. |
"Funny, as i grew up EVERY rock LP turned in to crap!"
Yes, this is the genre that gives me most playback problems. I don't know of it's memory playing tricks or perhaps my Heybrook speakers were much better than I thought, or maybe it's the vinyl/CD transfer issue but too many favourites just don't have the same impact today as they had back when. For example I'm finding it hard to get this Buffalo Tom classic to play back with the same impact as I remember from the 1990s.
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cd318 , the way I did it was to growup . Jazz and classical are a big help . Cheers
Maybe, maybe not. I don't mind the odd bit of jazz and classical now and then but I'd never want to give up on the sheer visceral thrill, impact and speed of rock.
Anyone can grow old but not everyone has to grow slower. Music and metabolism are most definitely linked. At least in my case.
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