Friday Music Day

FMD 08/04/2017: Downstream

36 Comments

I must admit, I stream pretty much nothing. I prefer having all of my tunes on hand when I need them. Also, the few times I have messed around with it, I haven't been keen on too many of the suggestions that are thrown at me. Perhaps it's just the way the I get into to new music, but so far the format has just seemed incompatible with me.

Are you a heavy streamer? What are the positive aspects of it for you? How effective is it in getting you into new music? Or conversely, how to you use it to listen to music you're already familiar with? I could never quite figure out how to do that last part either.

36 thoughts on “FMD 08/04/2017: Downstream”

  1. I went from Pandora free music a few years ago, then was turned to Spotify, I think for WGOM mixes. I got the cheap summer subscription last year and liked having the ability to download and choose songs. Lately have been using Amazon Music, which somewhat splits the difference. The catalogue isn't endless, but with Amazon Prime you're allowed to download and skip as you like. I paid the $0.99 for three months of Amazon Music Unlimited this summer.
    It works for me. It's nice to be able to put on a playlist for the little girls when working around the house, or to have airplane music or choose my genre.
    I've broadened my horizons with the streaming apps by participating in my music choices, vs being a passive radio listener who heard things I liked, but never really paid particular attention to artists or song titles.

  2. Most days while working I listen to my private collection, or listen off Youtube or StreamingSoundtracks. When I work out I listen to my Pandora stations.

  3. I never stream. I did do a free trial of Google play a couple years ago, and it was a decent service, I suppose. It worked great when I was at work, not using any cell data, at any rate, which is the biggest drawback for me. Besides, I have more than enough room on my phone's SD card to just have all of my music on hand offline at all times.

  4.  

    01. “Wild Wild Lover” – Flat Duo Jets – Flat Duo Jets
    02. “Dance Slow Decades” – Angel Olsen – Burn Your Fire For No Witness
    03. “Go Outside” – Cults – Cults
    04. “Alice In Wonderland (Take 1) – Bill Evans Trio – Sunday At The Village Vanguard
    05. “Pretty Girl From Chile” – The Avett Brothers – Emotionalism
    06. “Bones” – Michael Kiwanuka – Home Again
    07. “Diggin Me” – Martin Sexton – The American
    08. “Surrogate” – Chromatics – Plaster Hounds
    09. “Zoal, Face Dancer” – Grimes – Geidi Primes
    10. “Master Of None” – Beach House – Beach House

     
    In personal, though random music news, EMA just started following me on IG for some reason. I thought that was pretty neat.

  5. I use Spotify almost exclusively to listen to music these days. I still buy records at shows and whatever, but Spotify is just more convenient for me? I don't have to sync stuff from my computer, I don't have to worry about not having access to something I want to listen to (usually), etc.

    I make a playlist of all the records that interest me in a year, and then "save" ones I really like or have a high interest in checking out soon. It's not perfect, but it's even more convenient than the old days of torrents and whatnot (for me!) and allows me to check out a lot of stuff.

  6. I almost exclusively stream. I use Tidal for the high quality files. It's twice the price of Spotify Premium but makes a lot more sense for an audiophile with gear that makes the splurge worthwhile. Before that, I used Spotify Premium for a couple of years, right up until I got my current receiver and speakers.

    My typical approach to music is that when I have a day off, I check out recent Pitchfork releases to see what they love, or at least really like. If I don't like it within ten or fifteen minutes - which happens on an incredibly infrequent basis - I bolt. I don't have a database for my favorite music, but I really should. I keep telling myself this is a project for a weekend when I'm off, but I'm halfway through a week off and haven't started it, so apparently I require more time off than this to make the leap.

  7. I use Spotify to check out new albums. Typically if I like it, I will then purchase for use on I-tunes.

    Also I will use Spotify to listen to an old album or to check out a song or album that I read about but probably have no interest in listening to more than once or twice.

    I will also use You Tube for the same thing.

    1. I use Spotify very much like free does. I also use it when the one of the boys wants to listen to some song they're enamored of at the moment that I don't want to purchase myself.

  8. 1. Horace Andy “Lonely Woman” Feel Good All Over: Anthology 1973-1976
    2. Horace Andy “No Man Is an Island” Feel Good All Over: Anthology 1973-1976
    3. Chatham Rise “Fall In” Chatham Rise
    4. The Bug Feat. Warrior Queen “Money Honey (Remix)” 5: Five Years of Hyperdub
    5. Current 93 “Why Caesar Is Burning II” Black Ships Ate the Sky

    6. Einstürzende Neubauten “Der 1. Weltkrieg (Percussion Version)” Lament
    7. Horace Andy “Man to Man”* Feel Good All Over: Anthology 1973-1976
    8. Fovea Hex “Long Distance” Allure*
    9. Roger Knox and the Pine Valley Cosmonauts “Wayward Dreams”* Stranger in my Land
    T. Björk “Oceania”* Medúlla
    E. Coil “Be Careful What You Wish For” Backwards

    *Notes:
    7. I feel as though he re-used these lyrics on one of the songs he did for Massive Attack, but I can't come up with which.
    8. This EP later being part 3 of Neither Speak Nor Remain Silent. This song features Robert Fripp on guitar.
    9. Bobby McLeod cover.
    T. Album version, not the superior single version featuring Kelis.

  9. I was a Beats Music subscriber for a few years; Beats' catalog was most aligned with my listening preferences. When Beats was acquired by Apple I retained my held out until I could be sure Apple Music would maintain the portions of the catalog most important to me, and I've been mostly happy since. Unfortunately, my favorite record label, ECM, doesn't do streaming on any service, but at least I can stream the albums I own via iTunes Match. I often will still purchase albums for content I can stream, simply because I don't trust it will always be there and I want the artist to get some money from my enjoyment. The only major loss has been Neil Young, who took his ball from the streaming game entirely and went home.

    Grammofy is a fairly new streaming service for classical music, and I have really come to enjoy the service. The collections are created by musicologists, who contribute recorded tracks featuring insight on the works & composers, and the platform was created to support the additional metadata classical music requires. The audio streams are CD-quality. Even better, they pass 70% of my subscription to the rights holders for the recording, which makes me feel better considering classical artists do not have broad commercial support. If Grammofy ever incorporated jazz or launched a separate service for jazz listeners, I'd be all over it.

  10. I think I'm like HJ, with the additional resistance from not being a smartphone user.
    Streaming would only happen when I'm on the internet on a computer.

    I sample things via either youtube or just downloading it and throwing it on my iPod.

    1. i think part of the problem as well is i have such a backlog of things to listen to, and always have something new (to me) at hand. i don't really need it for suggestions.

  11. I suppose I mostly stream. I really liked Rdio, but now I'm on Spotify. It's fine as well.

    Overall Spotify is more convenient than working with my personal catalog, which is extensive and served by Plex on a NAS device. Spotify works well in the various locations in my house where I listen to music. It's to the point that it's more convenient. I still like to buy music to support the artists. These days it's often in the form of vinyl records. I like many things about records. I won't go into it.

    I would like to have a dedicated listening room for music. I mean, I have two audio systems that 99.9% of the population would consider over the top. But nowhere do I have just the right room for it…and the room is probably over 50% of the battle. Maybe 70% of the battle if you include room treatments. So I tell myself to hold off on any more big spending in audio until if/when that room becomes possible.

    In any case, if I had the listening room, I'd probably push even further on the audio quality and maybe convince myself into Tidal. That would also push me even more toward buying music vs streaming. If I were smart it'd push me away from vinyl, but I suspect it'd push me to spend too much money on equipment. I guess that's who I am so it's fine.

    Oh, and I love great music, but I have an affection for well produced and well recorded music. At the cross section of these two things is the best place to be, but sometimes I enjoy that great recording quite a bit even if the music is only good. Some people who find Steely Dan to be boring will think I'm nuts for liking them so much. Enjoying the great recording, the great production, is why I end up looking at the dynamic range database more than I should and long term will inform the media I use to listen to album favorites.

    Grammofy is a fairly new streaming service for classical music, and I have really come to enjoy the service.

    I'll have to check this out. I've recently picked up listening to classical again after a long time away. If I do it right (just listen and do nothing else) it's very meditative and mind-calming. I need that.

    1. Steely Dan is a great one if you like a well produced album. Alan Parsons is another one. I remember Pink Floyd's Final Cut came out in college and was very well produced -- anything since Dark Side of the Moon (Alan Parsons again) has had special treatment.

      1. The Final Cut is a very underrated album, however I'd consider it more of a Waters record than a Pink Floyd record. Also, I believe the title track was recorded for The Wall, so that might have been produced by Ezrin (those are certainly Ezrin's strings at least).

      2. I also enjoy Donald Fagen Albums. I like layers, guys. So many layers.

        Alan Parsons Project's I Robot is an enjoyable one for me as well. Thanks for the reminder!

        1. Oooh, layers! I loves me a polished studio album.

          I'm sure I have loads of tracks I can suggest given the time. Hit Synergy "Warriors" and Legacy if you have a good bass. "Last Battle" from the Xenosaga game soundtrack, or "The Unsung War" from Ace Combat game soundtrack (turn it up!). Or "Go Forward" from the Whale Rider soundtrack (complete with haka) . Ozric Tentacles have "Plowm" (awesome low bass), or "Afroclonk", and for some real layering in the second part of Passport's "Ataraxia pt 1 & 2" or the ending of Toto's "Lea". Also "Valley in the Clouds" by David Arkenstone, "Atlas Eyes" by Tangerine Dream, "Forever the Optimist" by Patrick O'Hearne, and a nice piece "All About Satellites and Spaceships" by Seven Percent Solution.

          Or for just two layers, try Chick Corea and Gary Burton "What Game Shall We Play Today?" or Bela Fleck and Edgar Meyer "Blue Spruce"

    2. If I could get a free digital download for more vinyl purchases, I would be more inclined to purchase vinyl instead of CDs. Some labels are pretty good about that, while others aren't.*

      A room dedicated to music-listening, or even a room that is both a library & listening space, is very near the top of my dream house feature list. The only things higher are a small writing space and a foot-operated faucet for the kitchen sink.

      I suspect you'd enjoy Grammofy. The features embrace both intent, directed listening and background music for tasks or moods. The themes are much more novel than the generic collection categories in other streaming services, and the music selected almost always includes something that's either new to me or a something that I'm pleasantly surprised to see. Not remotely a Drive Time Classical service.

      * Incidentally, I feel the same way about physical books. If Amazon would be willing to give me a Kindle download for an additional 99¢ or something on the purchase price of the book, I'd be much more likely to buy a new Kindle. I couldn't say the last time I turned on my old one, which remains one of my favorite devices. I just can't justify paying 70% of the purchase price of the real book for a poorly adapted ebook version. How has Amazon escaped the monopoly lawsuits brought against Apple for iBooks?

  12. I've got a free trial of Tidal going on right now. Between it, Google, and Spotify, I'd have to say that I like the Tidal app a little better, even if it doesn't seem to have quite the catalog that Google and Spotify do.

    I like streaming services as a way of finding new stuff, but I really prefer to have my trusty 160GB iPod Classic loaded up with my music. Also, I REALLY haven't kicked the CD buying habit yet.

    ALSO also, I got The Sting soundtrack on vinyl the other day from Goodwill for $1. Good freaking times.

  13. In the office, I listen to my iPod on a dock speaker and it works well (bought an am radio to listen to Twins games ... and it doesn't pick up 96.3 ... in downtown St. Paul.)

    At home, I listen almost exclusively to one of my many mixes on Pandora (paid subscription). I actually curate them pretty extensively, but maybe too much: things are beginning to get a little stale and the suggestions don't seem all that intuitive - lately, not much new stuff seems to shows up. I go to YouTube when I want to hear specific songs, and Spotify only occasionally. A lot of my 'new' music comes by way of recommendations from the citizenry (videos and FMD and random comments and LTE's).

    My wife doesn't really want the good stereo in the family room, so it sits in the basement and doesn't get as much use as I'd like. We listen on a little Bluetooth speaker 😢

    1. Apropos of the "good stereo" placement point, ours is still in boxes, 17 years later. The "new" house did not have a good place for it, so....

    2. I've got a two-male-to-one-female stereo wire adapter (1/8") and a couple of spare wires... I've spliced my iPod in to my computer speakers at work.

    3. am radio to listen to Twins games ... and it doesn't pick up 96.3

      Maybe you should have got one that picks up FM too? 😉

          1. The author definitely has a stiffie for Syd.

            Money shouldn't be anywhere the top 50.

              1. Fascinating piece. I knew that Waters' reputation was as a pretentious asshole, but had not thought about or realized the songwriting royalties part.

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