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Post by impulse on Sept 22, 2021 14:13:44 GMT -5
I haven't listened to over-the-air radio in well over a decade and haven't listened to a CD in almost that long. I stream 95% of my music. And you're 100% right, it's so much easier to find new music (and old music) than it ever has been before. I still listen to FM radio all the time. There are specialty shows I love, as well as particular hosts I enjoy listening to. Music that is curated, not chosen by some A.I. I still buy and listen to CDs too. There are so many deluxe reissues coming out these days, it's a real golden age for this 80s kid.
If you have access to a good independent radio station, I can believe it, but if you are listening to anything close to mainstream radio, it is a wasteland. The same 30 songs cycled through and picked in advance. The homogenization has gotten horrendous. I find FM radio nearly unlistenable. You can get most of those deluxe reissues at your music store or streamer of choice, as well, if you want. I am also enjoying deluxe reissues on my phone. Can you name a TV show with a finite ending? And not a miniseries. Even dramas that have a continuing central story will go on forever if they can. They only end when people (viewers or the producers) get tired of it. Breaking Bad. Vince Gilligan wanted it to end when it was at its peak, having felt The X-Files went on far to long. And he was 100% correct. And X-Files was an interesting in-between show on the done-in-one versus contained finite story-arc formats. I don't remember the source, but I remember reading a long time ago that The X-Files in particular was hugely influential in the modern ongoing meta-arc format we see so much now. It was a rudimentary example, though, and the execution wasn't great. IIRC, they tried to have that ongoing plot but Chris Carter didn't have a plan in advance and was making it up as they went. They also didn't have a specific endpoint which is evident in how it dragged out and limped to a lame ending. But I give them credit for at least lighting the spark that got us here.
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Post by impulse on Sept 22, 2021 14:19:17 GMT -5
The problem I have with streaming services is that I can watch (nearly) anything I want, anytime I want, for however long I want. Instead of being excited about this, I freeze up because I can't decide what I want to watch. That's because I'm used to the weekly viewing schedule of the networks. Certain shows come on certain days of the week. For example, this upcoming fall, CBS is making Monday nights NCIS night with the majority of those shows. Tuesday night is FBI night with those shows. NBC does something similar with the Law & Order shows and their Wednesday nights is all about the various Chicago shows. That's what gets me excited, knowing that a certain show is coming on tonight versus being able to stream said new episode the next day along with the entire history of that show whenever I feel like watching it. If that makes me old-fashioned, So Be It. It does! But that's okay. Kidding aside, I think the new Disney+ shows split the difference pretty well if you like the anticipation and buildup while preserving the on-demand convenience. New Episodes of What If come out on Wednesdays, but you can watch it at your leisure any time after. No need to race the clock or rearrange your life to catch an arbitrary time slot. That's a pretty good compromise. And sorry, but having access to everything is massively more convenient. If you don't want to stay up until 3am binging, don't*, but I don't want to go back to "catch the show at 8pm on Thursday or you missed it until the reruns this summer!" That model is laughably out of date for a busy modern lifestyle IMO. * I'm one to talk. I can usually stop by 2am though on a work night! EDITI also realize that being on a classic comic book forum. we are heavily self-selecting for a much higher ratio of people with an affinity for archaic entertainment medium formats than the average person.
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Post by Graphic Autist on Sept 22, 2021 14:25:05 GMT -5
My car is 20 years old. It has a tape deck and a CD player. It's only a 15 minute drive to work, so I just listen to the radio in my car. At home I stream my music, but I do own over 300 CDs that were all bought before 2010. They're still packed in boxes from my last move.
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Post by Slam_Bradley on Sept 22, 2021 14:25:29 GMT -5
I still listen to FM radio all the time. There are specialty shows I love, as well as particular hosts I enjoy listening to. Music that is curated, not chosen by some A.I. I still buy and listen to CDs too. There are so many deluxe reissues coming out these days, it's a real golden age for this 80s kid.
If you have access to a good independent radio station, I can believe it, but if you are listening to anything close to mainstream radio, it is a wasteland. The same 30 songs cycled through and picked in advance. The homogenization has gotten horrendous. I find FM radio nearly unlistenable. You can get most of those deluxe reissues at your music store or streamer of choice, as well, if you want. I am also enjoying deluxe reissues on my phone. Breaking Bad. Vince Gilligan wanted it to end when it was at its peak, having felt The X-Files went on far to long. And he was 100% correct. And X-Files was an interesting in-between show on the done-in-one versus contained finite story-arc formats. I don't remember the source, but I remember reading a long time ago that The X-Files in particular was hugely influential in the modern ongoing meta-arc format we see so much now. It was a rudimentary example, though, and the execution wasn't great. IIRC, they tried to have that ongoing plot but Chris Carter didn't have a plan in advance and was making it up as they went. They also didn't have a specific endpoint which is evident in how it dragged out and limped to a lame ending. But I give them credit for at least lighting the spark that got us here. The X-Files is also interesting in that it's pretty polarizing. There are people who are only interested in the "Mytharc" storyline and deride the monster-of-the week episodes. And then there are those who think the monster-of-the week episodes were a complete waste of time. I'd be curious if there's an age difference between the two camps. I was fine with both types of stories, but the series went on far too long.
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Post by Slam_Bradley on Sept 22, 2021 14:28:49 GMT -5
My car is 20 years old. It has a tape deck and a CD player. It's only a 15 minute drive to work, so I just listen to the radio in my car. At home I stream my music, but I do own over 300 CDs that were all bought before 2010. They're still packed in boxes from my last move. I still have a bunch of CDs but only one of my vehicles has a CD player and I don't use it. I also have a whole bunch of DVDs but I likely watch a DVD two or three times a year. I've even been known to pay $3.99 to rent a streaming movie on Amazon that I own on DVD to avoid having to hunt for the DVD and the remote for the DVD player. It's worth it to save the frustration.
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Post by impulse on Sept 22, 2021 14:33:55 GMT -5
Yeah, I liked both the monster of the week as well as the "Mytharc" stories when either was well-done. It just hung out too long and didn't have a clear ending laid out.
I own tons of CDs, Blu-ray's and DVDs. They live in binders as my physical originals, and I stream them when I use them.
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Post by badwolf on Sept 22, 2021 15:02:17 GMT -5
That has got to be the most convoluted way to get digital songs playing in your car in 2021. If you have a smartphone, can you not plug it in via the USB drive? I haven't had to rip a CD to get music on my phone or car in a LONG time aside from the very occasional rarity not available on Spotify. Fan edits, DVD audio rips I did myself, etc. The particular way you are doing it is not convenient, no, but that is also not close to the typical method these days. While you are free to choose to do it however you like, it's just inaccurate to act like proves digital music is not convenient. The music isn't on my smartphone though? And I'd have to transfer it to that too. Sure, I might be able to find some of it on Amazon, if I knew exactly what I wanted to listen to when I got in the car. But I want to choose from my collection, not theirs. I need to see names in front of me, which is what the USB drive does, once I've got the music on it.
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Post by impulse on Sept 22, 2021 15:13:10 GMT -5
It's pretty trivial to transfer your music from your computer to your phone, particularly if you've already gone through the step of ripping though, no? The hard part is already done. Now just plug it in, click a button and wait few minutes.
By this point, unless you are into pretty off the-beaten-path stuff (which is totally fine and I am not knocking in any way), your collection is likely a fraction of what is on Spotify/Apple Music/Google Music/pick your poison. The last of the big name holdouts from streaming (Beatles, Metallica, Pearl Jam) even came around, and there is very little that is remotely close to the orbit of mainstream music that isn't on all the streamers by now.
Whether streaming service or your own collection, I would think it's much faster to navigate from a phone than navigating a flash drive. You can use playlists, search for what you want, etc.
Again, I am not trying to knock how anyone wants to do anything. You do you. It just seems seems like you are not taking advantage of some the really easy conveniences with digital stuff, which is fine, but you choosing not to use it does not mean digital is not convenient.
Also the discovery algorithms have come a LONG way, and Spotify has curated playlists if you want to explore. I'm not on the payroll or anything, I just really like them.
I also recognize we are getting into a bit of a tangent, mods, and will move any further replies to the music thread.
Side note - oddly enough, I find ripping and organizing my media ticks the box that comic collecting used to for me, so I don't mind doing it personally.
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Post by codystarbuck on Sept 22, 2021 15:17:16 GMT -5
Re: TV show with a definite ending.
Babylon 5. It was specifically written with an ending and a 5-year story structure, pioneering the use of both story arcs, in general, and finite arcs, in particular. It's inspiration was a combination of novels and the serial structure of British sci-fi shows, particularly Blake's 7. It was still a cult show; but, it's relative success at delivering the finite ending, as well as the individual season arcs opened up a lot of channels to the possibilities of continued arcs.
Obviously, soap operas had serialized stories; but, were never ending.
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Post by badwolf on Sept 22, 2021 15:23:52 GMT -5
If you have access to a good independent radio station, I can believe it, but if you are listening to anything close to mainstream radio, it is a wasteland. The same 30 songs cycled through and picked in advance. The homogenization has gotten horrendous. I find FM radio nearly unlistenable. You can get most of those deluxe reissues at your music store or streamer of choice, as well, if you want. I am also enjoying deluxe reissues on my phone. Oh, I haven't listened to commercial radio in decades. You are right, it is the same songs over and over. The four stations I listen to are: - An old-school college station, mostly student hosts but a few older, professional ones as well -- all genres. - Two public radio stations, one classical/jazz and one indie rock oriented but with numerous specialty shows (blues, folk, electronic music) - A very local station that plays oldies & big band Besides the music, one of the things I really like about all of these is that they sound like down to earth, real people sharing the music they love. It feels intimate. As for the deluxe releases, yeah I could stream a lot of them. But I like to have the package in my hand. I like to look at all the pictures and read the booklet with the interviews or background history of the recording and whatnot. Sometimes if you buy you get a digital booklet, but it's just not the same. I hate sitting at my computer and reading long-form stuff. (Hate watching videos on the computer too.) Plus it's easy for digital stuff to disappear... And he was 100% correct. And X-Files was an interesting in-between show on the done-in-one versus contained finite story-arc formats. I don't remember the source, but I remember reading a long time ago that The X-Files in particular was hugely influential in the modern ongoing meta-arc format we see so much now. It was a rudimentary example, though, and the execution wasn't great. IIRC, they tried to have that ongoing plot but Chris Carter didn't have a plan in advance and was making it up as they went. They also didn't have a specific endpoint which is evident in how it dragged out and limped to a lame ending. But I give them credit for at least lighting the spark that got us here. I think The X-Files was the last show I followed on broadcast TV (and there hasn't been much since). I believe I dropped it at season five, after Mulder disappeared. I also got tired of the "mythology" stories that seemed to go on and on. I had been preferring the standalone stories for some time. But for a while it was really great. In addition to the "story arc" influence, it also brought a more cinematic look to television--even before widescreen became standard.
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Post by badwolf on Sept 22, 2021 15:36:53 GMT -5
It's pretty trivial to transfer your music from your computer to your phone, particularly if you've already gone through the step of ripping though, no? The hard part is already done. Now just plug it in, click a button and wait few minutes. By this point, unless you are into pretty off the-beaten-path stuff (which is totally fine and I am not knocking in any way), your collection is likely a fraction of what is on Spotify/Apple Music/Google Music/pick your poison. The last of the big name holdouts from streaming (Beatles, Metallica, Pearl Jam) even came around, and there is very little that is remotely close to the orbit of mainstream music that isn't on all the streamers by now. Whether streaming service or your own collection, I would think it's much faster to navigate from a phone than navigating a flash drive. You can use playlists, search for what you want, etc. Again, I am not trying to knock how anyone wants to do anything. You do you. It just seems seems like you are not taking advantage of some the really easy conveniences with digital stuff, which is fine, but you choosing not to use it does not mean digital is not convenient. Also the discovery algorithms have come a LONG way, and Spotify has curated playlists if you want to explore. I'm not on the payroll or anything, I just really like them. I also recognize we are getting into a bit of a tangent, mods, and will move any further replies to the music thread. Side note - oddly enough, I find ripping and organizing my media ticks the box that comic collecting used to for me, so I don't mind doing it personally. I actually find navigating on a phone very awkward and unintuitive, including Amazon's app. Using the screen in my car with the drive is better, though I wish it would save my place in the artist list when I back out to the top directory instead of putting me back at the A's. So if the choice is between a phone and a thumb drive, I'll take the latter. I'd never be able to fit all my music on a phone anyway. I have around 1000 CDs, and while it isn't all driving music there would still be too much. I even was using a larger thumb drive to hold more music, but every time I turned on the car it took a few minutes to start playing, so I had to switch to a smaller one. Which is fine, it still holds quite a bit. Yeah, I do listen to a lot of off the beaten path stuff.
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Post by impulse on Sept 22, 2021 15:51:44 GMT -5
Fair enough! The general use case does not work for everyone and there are always exceptions. But you might be surprised at capacity. Unless you're ripping in FLAC (which you might!) you can fit a TON of songs onto a modern phone. I also sometimes keep a FLAC backup and do a lower bitrate rip for car stuff etc. Well, I used to before Spotify. Ok, ok, I'll shut up about music.
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Post by Graphic Autist on Sept 22, 2021 16:10:32 GMT -5
I'm about to switch to digital for my comics enjoyment. Living in Los Angeles, my studio apartment can only fit so much. I have a large bookcase entirely filled with Omnibuses from DC and Marvel, and a filing cabinet nearly full of Marvel Epic Collections (I don't collect floppies any more...my entire collection was thrown out by my aunt in the late 90s.) There just isn't any room left for more books once that filing cabinet reaches capacity.
While I prefer physical copies for my comic book reading, I am quite happy with how comics are displayed on my iPad Pro 12.9".
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Post by badwolf on Sept 22, 2021 16:52:51 GMT -5
But you might be surprised at capacity. Unless you're ripping in FLAC (which you might!) you can fit a TON of songs onto a modern phone. I also sometimes keep a FLAC backup and do a lower bitrate rip for car stuff etc. Well, I used to before Spotify. I use 320kbps MP3. I'm always being told I'm running out of space on my phone, and I don't have that much on it. Sometimes it asks me if I want to switch to the extra card that's in it, and I say yes, and then later it asks me again. I really don't understand it at all.
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Post by codystarbuck on Sept 22, 2021 18:39:18 GMT -5
See, I still listen to radio, though it is damn hard to find a decent station. My commute is 5 minutes and I live in a university town, with everything within a 15 minute drive. I don't travel for my job, so I have no real need for a smart phone. I lived half my life without any cell phone, so I can survive. I choose my tools based on needs and my flip phone fits my needs and uses a hell of a lot less juice. It connects a phone call, which is why I have a phone. if I need it, I can access the internet; but, I do most of that kind of thing from a desktop, at home or work.
One of the aspects of my generation (X) is that we witnessed a lot of the technological and social change of the last 50 years and are pretty adaptable to the changes, while also being able to function without the technology, since we knew life before. As a group, we embraced change pretty easily; but, are also more skeptical about claims of marketing, as we know better. Obviously, in any broad and arbitrary grouping, there will be exceptions. My mother, born in 1937, was the first in our household to own and regularly use a home computer. My father (born 1931) could use them, but hated e-mail, as he preferred to compose letters (he had better handwriting than I do; I have been typing since 3rd grade, at everyone's request). I also think that, within comic fans, we also are more open to both modern and older comics, as we also witnessed the change in comic publishing that came with the Direct Market, but also read comics in the days when superheroes weren't the only option (or the main one). Well, some of us. Plenty were still DC and Marvel-only, but some of us weren't averse to Gold Key or Charlton and didn't look down on Archie or Harvey (Warren was too adult, when I was younger and horror-based, which wasn't my thing, when I was older, until I started reading some of their stuff, after they were gone). We got Golden Age reprints in our 100-pg and Giant Size comics, some Silver Age ones and then had alternatives. Now, I admit, that I don't find a lot to interest me in many modern comics; but, I still read new material; just very little DC or Marvel, apart from a few choice delicacies. Same with music; I have found little mainstream material, for the past 20 years or so, that did much for me; but, there have been choice bits, here and there (without auto-tune and vacuous lyrics or thumping base and no melody)
Looking at younger generations of comic readers, we are at a stage where they have probably read more manga than American comics, which probably greatly influences their reading preferences, since manga, traditionally, is more about visuals than dialogue. I can understand someone under 25 who finds comics from before 2000 too "wordy". I might even agree, with some writers, who describe the same thing that the artist is showing, or thinks they are writing the Great American Novel, while having Dr Doom spar with Spider-Man. If you tell the story well, no one cares about the number of words. Alan Moore and Neil Gaiman don't skimp on the verbage, but, modern audiences don't seem to have many issues with their work, vs some of the Bronze or Silver Age suspects.
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