How Do You Listen to Music Now?

[Delta]

This question is more for older folks like myself who grew up listening to vinyl and radio stations back in the 60s and 70s. And I'm talking technically. As an early teen I listened to music on my parents' living room stereo that was more a piece of furniture than a quality sound system. As I got older I invested into my own stereo systems. Turntable, cassette machine, receiver, speakers, eventually CD players etc. I've had some good sound systems over the years. The spring of last year when we moved back into our Florida Atlantic Oceanside condo unit after a complete renovation, I realized I had to modernize my system to cut down on space. So it was bye bye to turntable, CD player, cassette machine, large speakers, and old receiver, and hello to new receiver, smaller speakers and my laptop connected to the receiver wirelessly and all of the music coming from my ITunes playlists. Being a retired electronic engineer, this was an easy, fun transition. I love the convenience of the system and the sound quality is excellent. Do I miss the richness and scratches of listening to vinyl? For sentimental reasons, perhaps, but not really. For you younger folks, I probably sound like an archaic being from the past. As far as my recording studio, I've modernized quite a bit, but the core of my gear is still analog and tube driven. I can't see that changing. Anyway, I'd love to hear your thoughts on this, young and old.

[Dannyalcatraz]

Im a fan of CDs, after going through reel to reels, cassettes, LPs & 45s, etc.

 

I find mp3s to be...lacking. If nothing else, theres no liner notes, no cover art, no lyrics. And theres something to be said for having a physical music medium and not depending on someone elses business to supply me with my tunes.

 

Dont get me wrong, digital media have advantages physical ones cant touch, like extreme portability.

[whitefang]

HEAR, HEAR Danny!

 

I still play CDs, and vinyl too( since not ALL my collection had been reissued onto CD) I only have a small "smattering" of 45s that too, have never wound up on any vinyl LPs and therefore too, have no compact disc reissue, so..... (I too have a turntable that plays 78s that I've long had or acquired over time)

 

I've learned long ago( thanks to Bang & Olufsen) that big speakers weren't necessary for strong and rich sound, and now use a space saving Miller and Kreisal sat/sub system( my subwoofer not much bigger than the "bookshelf" speakers my buddies had in the past )

 

I'm TOO STRONG a believer that the CONSUMER should control the market, and NOT the OTHER WAY AROUND to agree to scrap perfectly working and satisfying sound equipment in order to be "trendy". Now.....

 

If somebody ELSE wants to buy that stuff FOR me, I'll be as "trendy" as anybody thinks I SHOULD be!

Whitefang

[Larryz]

I like watching DVD performances and have started collecting a few artists that I like. I have some midnight special DVD's and I love watching and listening to our old music. We were just talking about Frampton's last tour. I was amazed at how young he looked starting out with a lot of other artists back in the day (my days). Sounds better on my blue ray but here's a sample:

 

[video:youtube]

 

 

 

[Winston Psmith]

Still listening to CD's here, too.

 

I'd replaced an extensive vinyl collection with CD's, and spent a good deal of effort hunting down some more obscure releases that I just had to have. It was a lot of time and expense, so I'm really not inclined to invest in a new turntable - really, a whole new Stereo system - and start collecting records again, nostalgia aside.

 

I don't have an iPad, and I don't keep Music (or games, or movies, or social media apps, or any of that garbage) on my phone. My wife got me a Kindle Fire some years back, that I use for downloading free books. I play CD's through my computer, with a set of big studio cans (AKG K240's) on my head.

 

If it comes to look like there'll be no more CD drives in anything, then I'll convert all my CD's into AIFF files, or something. I suspect we'll be able to find used, working CD players for some time to come, though . . .

[Dannyalcatraz]

Well, I already have a 160GB iPod, and I have a little bit of a start on digitizing the old CD collection...@5k strong, last I counted...years ago.

[Song80s]

Half and half.

 

50 % originals CD;s and my 80's audio cassette tapes off the FM radio

 

Other 50% are digitized songs on iTunes for my 2 iPods. Includes my

originals and some covers.

 

Many Cd's get scratched over the decades so that media is not 100%.

 

I still like CD's.

[desertbluesman]

I actually do not listen to music much anymore, unless I am on a road trip, for that I have tons of CD's.

 

I do have 5 gigs of MP3's from the 40's 50's, 60's & the 70's, that some lady down the street gave me on a DVD.

 

I just emptied my dying MP3 player of all data, as it will get trashed soon. I did load it all on my laptop, and on several external drives for the new MP3 player to be acquired soon. I want one with Bluetooth (which the old one did not have), so I can pair it with some Bluetooth speakers that my brother in law gave me a few years back. I can bring the MP3 player and those speakers to play my backing tracks and use a small amp for the guitar on the road trips to northern Ca.

[hurricane hugo]

[font:Century Gothic]i use my ears[/font]

[Dannyalcatraz]

Nice, Hugo!

 

My other main method of music consumption is via YouTube or cable shows. Theres several bands whose CDs I havent been able to track down- they may not exist, they may be out of production, etc.- and certain live performances that AFAIK have never been commercially released via CD or DVD that I love...

 

IOW, I cant experience them without reruns or on-demand video of some kind.

[bbqbob]

I listen to CDs (around 2000) and vinyl (over 1200) mostly. I like to have a tangible object when I buy music and not some download on a device. The quality on CDS and records is also better than MP3s.

[whitefang]

I'm a bit on a fence 'bout that. Like there's other factors involved.... for instance...

 

My daughter "burned" MP3 files ONTO a CD for me and it all sounds fine. But yeah, heard through any other means and there is something lacking, IMHO.

Whitefang

[d halfnote]

I catch local acts as I can.

I also listen to a variety of online sources although the easiest of those to source when referencing others are YTube & Soundcloud, but those are not the limits.

[DocPate]

I have a pretty large collection of music from the 30s to today. Each period seems to have it's own media type. The older ones are 78s that require a turntable. The later 40s-50s were largely 45s which again we're monaural and need the turntable. The 60s transitioned into stereo 33 1/3 and cassettes (ignoring the 8 track) so enter the Cassette Playing. And of course we know about the 90s to today when we went digital.

 

So to answer the question, I still stay true to the original format. All of the above.

[Danzilla]

Mostly on CD, be it at home on the stereo system, in the car, or sometimes on the home computer. I do rip CD's to my work computer, too.

 

I still have a lot of cassette tapes, which I listen to on occasion on either the home stereo or in my car (yes, it has a cassette player built in). Just lost my copy of Kansas' "Masque" album to it.. or just to time, as it warped and sounded like crap.

 

While I have a turntable and about half of my old vinyl collection, it needs a new needle and is actually in a box on the shelf, so I don't use it. I never felt the need to be part of the vinyl resurgence and buy all the re-issues. I'm happy enough with the CDs.

 

I rarely download music, partly because I prefer having a CD that I can take with me wherever I want. I don't have an MP3 player, and my phone is strictly a talk & text model. I hate when my kids try to play music on a phone, as it sounds tinny and horrible.

[jimmac]

I do a split between CD's and FM radio. I tend to like to hear a little from the DJ about the music and they tend to play some that I would miss out on if only doing my own play list. I remember the first radio I had - AM transister pocket size. Must of been present at Christmas in the 1960's. CD is best sound for me so far. Jim

[Dannyalcatraz]

FM still plays a part in my listening. When Im driving Mom (and a few other people) around and my CD changer hosts something I strongly suspect or know she wont enjoy, I switch to a classic rock station instead of skipping to the next song or CD.

[Larryz]

I listen to FM while driving. I have two stations that get the lions share and I bounce back and forth from classic rock to classic country when either one of them tries to fade out on me LOL!

[splitting hare]

Still have all our vinyl and listen to that from time to time. Still have all our CDs and listen to them more frequently. Have an mp3 player that I rotate stuff on from time to time that I listen to in the car. Hardly listen to the radio any more in the car (or anywhere else for that matter) since our local rock radio stations don't vary their playlist, seems like they regurgitate the same 1000 songs and there is no new music on them. The local NPR station does have a few hours of music on it daily and the dj (and music programmer) does play a nice variety of stuff including newer releases as well as music from local artists, which is VERY nice to have! Other than this, I will stream music via Spotify or even out of town radio stations (WXRT from Chicago as one example).

[d halfnote]

The local NPR station does have a few hours of music on it daily and the dj (and music programmer) does play a nice variety of stuff including newer releases as well as music from local artists, which is VERY nice to have! Other than this, I will stream music via Spotify or even out of town radio stations (WXRT from Chicago as one example).

Depending on what one's interested in (or to hear new stuff one might not know abt) there are a variety of internet "stations", blogs, etc.

Sometimes I just start w/ something I like & see where the trail takes me as suggestions come up.

[Delta]

I gave up on rock radio in the early 80s when the top 40 machine took over. I'm sure today's satellite radio is much better. I'm kind of a control freak when it comes to listening to music, although I do use the shuffle mode most of the time. I actually had a gal tell me recently that she doesn't like the shuffle mode on her playlists because it doesn't play what she likes! I know what I like. I went through a phase in the 90s where I tried to be open minded and receptive to young musicians, but the vast majority of the music, I simply didn't like. Don't get me wrong, I'm always on the lookout for something new and different, but usually I'll purchase new music from older, more proven artists. I have several different playlists, Classic Rock, Newer Rock, Progressive Rock, Jazz Rock Fusion, Blues, Folk, Jazz, Classical, New World and Movie Soundtracks. The majority of the music comes from my cd collection and purchased music from Apple. A lot of my purchased music is now in storage in the form of vinyl lps.

[whitefang]

Y'know DELTA, the '90's(to me) was the last(so far) decade in which I liked the musical direction. Groups like ALICE IN CHAINS, The Wallflowers, LIVE, FOLK IMPLOSION, SILVERCHAIR, OUR LADY PEACE, FILTER, and others put out a lot of stuff I liked. Now, it's barren again and I "surf'n'search" 'round the radio until I find something I don't mind listening to. But that could be anything from "oldies" to the public jazz/classical station.

Whitefang

[d halfnote]

I gave up on rock radio in the early 80s when the top 40 machine took over. I'm sure today's satellite radio is much better. I'm kind of a control freak when it comes to listening to music, although I do use the shuffle mode most of the time. I actually had a gal tell me recently that she doesn't like the shuffle mode on her playlists because it doesn't play what she likes! I know what I like. I went through a phase in the 90s where I tried to be open minded and receptive to young musicians, but the vast majority of the music, I simply didn't like. Don't get me wrong, I'm always on the lookout for something new and different, but usually I'll purchase new music from older, more proven artists. I have several different playlists, Classic Rock, Newer Rock, Progressive Rock, Jazz Rock Fusion, Blues, Folk, Jazz, Classical, New World and Movie Soundtracks. The majority of the music comes from my cd collection and purchased music from Apple. A lot of my purchased music is now in storage in the form of vinyl lps.

 

Hit-focused radio playlists far preceded the time-frame you cite.

 

FWIW, I try 2 separate approaches:

--To seek new stuff I often just let some selector keep popping stuff up for me. I can think of no better way to hear what I don't know abt.

--To dig deeper into a subject I line up a more trail-following method that follows a study-line but sometimes still surprises me.

 

It's undeniable that as most age there's a tendency to focus on what we prefer but I think it's also true that most, no mater "boldly new" we are as young ppl, develop a tendency to think negatively abt the interests of those younger folks that come along as we age....just as our elders may've thought abt us.

 

 

 

[surfergirl]

I get most of my music on my phone with good earphones, not earbuds. We have a small stereo system, but I am an outdoor person. My Grandpa has a turntable and lots of vinyl, I do enjoy that.

Starbucks is another source. listening to James Brown now. Yesterday it was Dylan, etc., sometimes it is jazz. The Animals just came on. I leave for school at 5am to make it a 45 min trip instead of a 90 min trip, so I hang at Starbucks for about 90 min doing homework and listening to their music.

[whitefang]

I can't imagine "hanging" at a STARBUCKS. They might( don't know and not willing to chance it) insist I buy some of their "coffee".

 

But too, in many cases, young people now listen to whatever they do for the same reasons WE did in "our day" It's usually that everyone else they know does, and it's what their "friends" expect from them.

 

There are exceptions to those rules of course, but their numbers aren't(and never have been) that large. Now, unlike d, I don't go SEARCHING for anything"new", nor really feel an overwhelming NEED to, but if something "new" comes my way, I'll give it a fair listen before rejecting or accepting it. I'll do NEITHER based on the simple fact of it being "new".

Whitefang

[Eric Iverson]

Different ways: You Tube; CDs; LPs; the radio; and I still listen to cassettes, since I have about 1,000 of them with a lot of good music. Oh, and I watch music videos some times. Once in a while on TV, though it's slim pickin's these days, LOL.

I have never listened to music on an MP3.

[Winston Psmith]

Back in the Summer, we had to get a new/used car for my wife, and it came with Sirius Radio, which she's been listening to.

 

There are station devoted to various bands and artists, most of which you can probably guess, others devoted to eras, or decades of Popular Music.

 

Most interesting is a station called Deep Tracks, which often digs out very obscure tunes by otherwise well-known groups, usually from the Classic Rock well. While you're not going to hear anything really new, every so often I do hear something I'd never heard before, or something I haven't heard over the airwaves in a very long time, like the Bonzo Dog Band's We Are Normal. Listening to that, one sunny afternoon while driving through D.C. lent a proper air of absurdity to our surroundings . . .

 

[video:youtube]

[d halfnote]

I can't imagine "hanging" at a STARBUCKS. They might( don't know and not willing to chance it) insist I buy some of their "coffee".

Semi-small price for free wi-fi.

[surfergirl]

I can't imagine "hanging" at a STARBUCKS. They might( don't know and not willing to chance it) insist I buy some of their "coffee".

Semi-small price for free wi-fi.

 

Free wi-fi is always great.

Whitefang, I would rather be hanging at Starbucks studying then sitting in traffic.

[d halfnote]

[video:youtube]

Yeah, I actually don't think I've ever heard The Bonzos on radio, except for Stanshall's Rawlinson's End series.

 

BTW & FWIW, as I looked at that cover shot

I kept imagining it was BEGGAR'S BANQUET

with (L to R) B Jones, K Richard, Wyman on the ground, Jagger & Watts.