"The Death of the Home Stereo System" CNN

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charmerci

Re: "The Death of the Home Stereo System" CNN
« Reply #40 on: 18 Jul 2020, 06:01 am »
Oh, I'd just like to add - even with the singers/groups that I like from before the early 80's, their quality went way down. Any of the former Beatles, Aerosmith, Hall & Oates, Carly Simon, Jeff Lynn, Doobie Bros, Allman Bros., just about anybody I liked are just mediocre to bad in their decline (mostly, there are a few exceptions) through the 80's and later. Same thing with jazz artists in the 60's and 70's. Everything became slick and produced for the big names. 

I really want to hear someone/something new, creative, dynamic and I'm open but very little today moves me at all.
There was a discussion here a year or so ago where someone mentioned a "dumb" song from the early 60's but when I listened to the 2:15 minute long so, I identified over 10 changes - background vocals coming and going, saxophone coming and going, breaks, chord changes, solos, etc. It was incredibly creative and never heard the same repetitive 6 notes from the bass player, for example.

mav52

Re: "The Death of the Home Stereo System" CNN
« Reply #41 on: 18 Jul 2020, 02:53 pm »
Oh, I'd just like to add - even with the singers/groups that I like from before the early 80's, their quality went way down. Any of the former Beatles, Aerosmith, Hall & Oates, Carly Simon, Jeff Lynn, Doobie Bros, Allman Bros., just about anybody I liked are just mediocre to bad in their decline (mostly, there are a few exceptions) through the 80's and later. Same thing with jazz artists in the 60's and 70's. Everything became slick and produced for the big names. 

I really want to hear someone/something new, creative, dynamic and I'm open but very little today moves me at all.
There was a discussion here a year or so ago where someone mentioned a "dumb" song from the early 60's but when I listened to the 2:15 minute long so, I identified over 10 changes - background vocals coming and going, saxophone coming and going, breaks, chord changes, solos, etc. It was incredibly creative and never heard the same repetitive 6 notes from the bass player, for example.

Home stereo might be dead per CNN, but its alive in my home and in more than one room.  Sure the music today, maybe because I'm 67 doesn't jell well with me, but I'm still enjoying music from the 60's, 70's 80's be it Blues, Jazz, Classic Rock.  I just don't hear music these days like was performed by the Allman Brothers at Fillmore East Live.  I was 19 and without doubt one of the best concerts I've ever been to.  PS: My wife a huge Elvis and Beatles fan still spins (LP) her huge collection of music by these artist.

Tyson

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Re: "The Death of the Home Stereo System" CNN
« Reply #42 on: 18 Jul 2020, 04:39 pm »
Oh, I'd just like to add - even with the singers/groups that I like from before the early 80's, their quality went way down. Any of the former Beatles, Aerosmith, Hall & Oates, Carly Simon, Jeff Lynn, Doobie Bros, Allman Bros., just about anybody I liked are just mediocre to bad in their decline (mostly, there are a few exceptions) through the 80's and later. Same thing with jazz artists in the 60's and 70's. Everything became slick and produced for the big names. 

I really want to hear someone/something new, creative, dynamic and I'm open but very little today moves me at all.
There was a discussion here a year or so ago where someone mentioned a "dumb" song from the early 60's but when I listened to the 2:15 minute long so, I identified over 10 changes - background vocals coming and going, saxophone coming and going, breaks, chord changes, solos, etc. It was incredibly creative and never heard the same repetitive 6 notes from the bass player, for example.


Welcome to the thread where old men complain that things were way better "back in my day".  Haha.

dB Cooper

Re: "The Death of the Home Stereo System" CNN
« Reply #43 on: 18 Jul 2020, 07:33 pm »
I just don't hear music these days like was performed by the Allman Brothers at Fillmore East Live.  I was 19 and without doubt one of the best concerts I've ever been to
That album spent a solid year always on my TT. To play something else, I had to remove it. I only discovered recently that at least one of those shows was professionally video'd (you can find them on YouTube). Don't know why it hasn't been joined with the quality audio and released.

Not only one of the great live albums, one of the best live recordings of that era.

Jon L

Re: "The Death of the Home Stereo System" CNN
« Reply #44 on: 18 Jul 2020, 08:07 pm »
That album spent a solid year always on my TT. To play something else, I had to remove it. I only discovered recently that at least one of those shows was professionally video'd (you can find them on YouTube). Don't know why it hasn't been joined with the quality audio and released.

Not only one of the great live albums, one of the best live recordings of that era.

Inspires me to link of couple of more recent live gems, with much better sound quality  :thumb:

Emmylou and Knopfler
https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=jK_9ppta_M0&list=LM

MUST listen at around 6:10 when Tom Morello guitar solo kicks in.  Holy Cow!
https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=B-c6GphpAeY&list=LM

roscoe65

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Re: "The Death of the Home Stereo System" CNN
« Reply #45 on: 18 Jul 2020, 10:17 pm »
I’m 55 years old and have been actively in this hobby since 1985.  Growing up, the #1 gift every middle school male wanted was a stereo.  If you were lucky and your parents had money they bought you a component stack with a big pair of HPM-100s.  Most guys had to make due with the “Compact” stereo/POS.  This was a liberating step toward independence since you could now control your own music.  Just as important was the way we consumed music.  Music discovery was from the radio, magazines, or record stores.  If you wanted to hear a song you had to own a copy of the media.  We couldn’t afford every album we wanted, so we bought what we could and taped our friends’ records.  When someone got a new album we would hand out at his house and listen.  Music was a social activity.  This continued until streaming, downloads, and portable media players (starting with the Walkman) allowed individual access to far more music in a portable format.  Earbuds became the dominant method listening to digital media.

There is not a dearth of high-quality live and recorded music.  I live in an area with a lot of small (<1500 seat) venues.  Sound in live venues is better than it has ever been and the musical quality and performance has all the energy of early 80’s punk shows.  These shows are packed with music lovers of 18-80.  Unfortunately, Live Nation is making some moves that will kill a lot of touring bands, but we will see how it goes.

I see a lot of younger music lovers investing a lot of money into their headphone setups.  More than I have spent on amps and speakers.  It was pretty common for kids to move out right after high school when I was young, but this is virtually impossible for kids today.  Health insurance, student loans, and rising living costs have delayed the time when kids move out and even further delay the time when they buy a house.  A lot of two-channel stereo systems are attached to a workstation in a bedroom.

Freo-1

Re: "The Death of the Home Stereo System" CNN
« Reply #46 on: 18 Jul 2020, 11:55 pm »
I also invested some funds into a headphone setup.  One can definitely get real high end sound at a lower price point with headphones. 

I.Greyhound Fan

Re: "The Death of the Home Stereo System" CNN
« Reply #47 on: 19 Jul 2020, 12:29 am »
You're all missing the point, it's not the equipment, it's the music. I grew up in the 60's/70's, and I quit buying LPs/CDs  in the mid 80's when the music all went to shit. There was absolutely no new good band through the 90's, 2000's, 2010's. Can anyone name 10 new good band from today that are worth listening to? With today's so-called music, we don't need high-end system to play that shit, just an IPhone will do. When our generation dies off, the small remaining high-end audio market will be no more.

PS. there are always a few young odd balls try to tell you how much they like classic rock and they've been listening to them since they were kids because their parents or grandparents listened to them, but it's not the same, they've never lived it.

I agree to some extent.  There is some good music, you just have to look for it.

But look at Adele.  She has this fabulous voice and a few really good songs but much of it is crap and it is all very poorly recorded.  What a shame.

Don_S

Re: "The Death of the Home Stereo System" CNN
« Reply #48 on: 19 Jul 2020, 12:54 am »
Jon,

Your two links kind of make two points. Yes it is newly produced music but they are old songs by old-timers.

I am not a classic rock fan. That music is a bit tired for me but it is the music I grew up with. I too am having a hard time finding any new real talent.

A couple of decades ago the manager of the hi-fi store I frequented said I was one of his last 2-channel customers. The store had to go HT to survive. Well, two decades later I am now in a new home and was able to add a second 2-channel system. Even my video system is only 2-channel. Quality 2-channel, not 5-7 misplaced crappy speakers. Take that HT. Guess I am a dinosaur. Hear me roar.  :jester:

Freo-1

Re: "The Death of the Home Stereo System" CNN
« Reply #49 on: 19 Jul 2020, 01:22 am »
Jon,



A couple of decades ago the manager of the hi-fi store I frequented said I was one of his last 2-channel customers. The store had to go HT to survive. Well, two decades later I am now in a new home and was able to add a second 2-channel system. Even my video system is only 2-channel. Quality 2-channel, not 5-7 misplaced crappy speakers. Take that HT. Guess I am a dinosaur. Hear me roar.  :jester:


Well stated.  +1


BTW, check out the James Hunter Six.  Excellent new music with lots of old time soul/R&B. 

Freo-1

Re: "The Death of the Home Stereo System" CNN
« Reply #50 on: 19 Jul 2020, 01:26 am »
As a classical music enthusiast,   there are a lot of younger exciting performers.   Some, such as 2 Cellos are great not only with classical,  but with popular music  as well. 

russellberg

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Re: "The Death of the Home Stereo System" CNN
« Reply #51 on: 19 Jul 2020, 01:49 am »
I find new music with Spotify and listen to it on Tidal. Spotify’s Discover Weekly playlist is algorithm’ed to find stuff you like. I listen to that regularly and create new playlists that contain only the songs I like. Once I have 4-5 songs in there I will check out the Recommended Songs that Spotify suggests at the bottom of my new playlists. I will add more songs that I like from that list and keep refreshing the recommendations until I have enough new music that I really like in my list. The compression in Spotify is not great so I use Soundiiz to synch my Spotify playlists to Tidal where I can listen to them in higher quality. Once you setup up Soundiiz you do not have to do anything it just keeps your playlist synced up. While I do have to pay for two services I get the best of both worlds: Spotify’s superior new music discovery and Tidal’s superior sound quality. For me it works great and I am constantly discovering new music that is out of the mainstream that I really love. 

dB Cooper

Re: "The Death of the Home Stereo System" CNN
« Reply #52 on: 19 Jul 2020, 03:56 am »
Agreed that new music is easier to find than at any point in history thanks to the plethora of streaming services out there. This is a good thing aside from the fact that musicians are making less than ever under this system.

The point is that a quality audio system isn't a priority amongst young people today, as it once was; they're fine with a 'smart speaker' and this doesn't bode well for the long term health of the audio 'hobby'.


mix4fix

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Re: "The Death of the Home Stereo System" CNN
« Reply #53 on: 19 Jul 2020, 07:01 pm »
There are 300 million people in the USA. There will always be people posting on A.C. (and the like), attenting audio shows, having local meets, and just listening on a better grade of equipment. CNN can suck it.

rcag_ils

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Re: "The Death of the Home Stereo System" CNN
« Reply #54 on: 20 Jul 2020, 01:04 am »
Back in days in my era, to make it in music you'd better know how to play. Then the major players either killed themselves or died of OD, like Jimmy Hendrix, Jim Morrison and a few others. Rock music had no leadership, then the punks came out, then the hair bands, then the goo goo gaga shit. All synthesizer, drum machine shit. Sure, they all remade and mixed in a couple of classic hits in their CDs, but they ruined the shit out of them.

What bugs me the most is this 50 some year old dude at work always tell people he liked to listen to the new music, like Justin Bieber and Beyonce , WTF man, what's this world coming to?

WGH

Re: "The Death of the Home Stereo System" CNN
« Reply #55 on: 20 Jul 2020, 02:03 am »
Back in days in my era, to make it in music you'd better know how to play.

I know, The Monkees would never have made it big if they didn't know how to play.

Back in 1965 we used to go the The Cellar in Arlington Heights, IL (we walked) to see The Shadows of Knight play "Gloria", they were energetic, pretty rough but they played music.

Docere

Re: "The Death of the Home Stereo System" CNN
« Reply #56 on: 20 Jul 2020, 08:05 am »
Lots of interesting new music out there and there have never been more ways to find it. Sure, the streaming algorithms can become a positive reinforcement loop... so feed them something different or explore using other methods. I find that most music sounds better on my system than it would on something... I liked less :icon_lol: irrespective of whether the music would pass audiophile muster or not. Sure dynamically compressed sounds like what it is... but I can still enjoy and appreciate it. And there is a variety of fine-sounding and musically-interesting stuff being made out there - lots actually (well, lots that I like - more than I can reasonably listen to). Caveat: I'm not really into commercial/pop/mainstream music and have not had great expectations for it: I'm not referring to it in my comments - there is too much interesting stuff, motivated by more than maximising income, for that.

As for kids today, I don't recall that may people my age being into quality audio when I was young either (I'm 50-ish now). I was, but I know of few (no?) others from a broad circle of friends who were very much into music. Yeah, we'd get together and listen to music in all kinds of places - but many (most) of those systems were not great and it didn't matter. But equally, listening through a nice system back then was also amazing experience. Maybe these music-loving kids with headphones will buy something that is more socially inclusive when their time is right.
« Last Edit: 21 Jul 2020, 05:32 am by Docere »

WGH

Re: "The Death of the Home Stereo System" CNN
« Reply #57 on: 20 Jul 2020, 10:29 pm »
What bugs me the most is this 50 some year old dude at work always tell people he liked to listen to the new music, like Justin Bieber and Beyonce , WTF man, what's this world coming to?

Chromatica, the new Lady Gaga album is entertaining, great as cardio music too. The Jabra Elite 75t wireless earbuds sound like a home stereo system in your head. The phone software has a hearing test, each earbud is calibrated for perfect frequency response in each ear. Bluetooth sound quality has come a long way.



Back in my day..... (continued)

The 2 part series Laurel Canyon on Epix is a amazing documentary about the musical and creative alchemy that took place in an L.A. canyon featuring the music of Joni Mitchell, Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, The Doors, Linda Ronstadt, Eagles, and many more. Best heard on a big home theater speakers.

Also watch the companion documentary "Echo In The Canyon" on Netflix.
"A look at how musical groups such as The Byrds, The Beach Boys, Buffalo Springfield, and The Mamas & the Papas birthed the beginnings of the Laurel Canyon music scene" before Joni and the gang.

Also on Netflix - "ZZ Top: That Little Band From Texas". A documentary about everyone's favorite blues band, see the boys before the beards. Crank it up!

rcag_ils

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Re: "The Death of the Home Stereo System" CNN
« Reply #58 on: 22 Jul 2020, 12:18 am »
Other than the shit music from the mid 80's to 2020, the movies with "surround sound" are another hi-end stereo killer. I remember when Top Gun just came out, the airmen in my barrack all bought 5 speakers with subwoofer, hooked them up to their TV, and played the shit out of that Top Gun VHS. From that day on, I started collecting as many vinyl records as I could get my hands on. I literally paid $.50 a record in near mint condition. People were not giving them away fast enough, got to make room for those CDs.

WGH

Re: "The Death of the Home Stereo System" CNN
« Reply #59 on: 22 Jul 2020, 01:52 am »
My friend Tom has you beat, he doesn't like any music made after about 1964, preferably in mono. He has a huge library of classic doo-wop music.

Kidd Squidd's Mystery Jukebox on KXCI on Saturday afternoon (2:00 pm Tucson time) always has a theme. Kidd is a local Tucson legend and a musicologist, his shows are a deep dive into all types of music and always varied. Some shows are terrific, some OK, some not my taste at all but I always check it out. You may like it. Last Saturday was rain themed songs because we are waiting for the summer monsoons to start.
Live stream: https://kxci.org/

Saturday the 11th Kidd's show dove into early music, it was great. All vinyl too.
Stream this past show. Each show is available for 2 weeks.
https://www.radiofreeamerica.com/show/kidd-squidd-s-mystery-jukebox-1-kxci-91-3-community-radio

Jimmy Preston Rock the Joint
78rpm Gotham 1949

Little Jimmy Smith Rock That Boogie
78rpm Acorn 1949

Tennessee Ernie Ford Shotgun Boogie
Best Of Capitol 1951

Roscoe Gordon T-Model Boogie
78rpm DUKE 1951

Joe Maphis & Rose Lee Dim Lights Thick Smoke
Hillbilly Fever Rhino 1953

Jimmy Liggins & His Drops of Joy Nite Life Boogie
78rpm Specialty 1949

Jimmy Reed Boogie in the Dark
45rpm Vee-Jay 1953

Hank Snow I'm Movin' On
I'm Movin' On and Other Great Country Hits RCA 1950

Piano Red Rockin with Red
Piano Red Rocks Bear Family 1950

Merrill E. Moore The House of Blue Lights
We're Gonna Rock Proper 1953

Big Joe Turner Honey Hush
Big, Bad & Blue: The Big Joe Turner Anthology Rhino 1953

Ravens Rock Me All Night Long
78rpm Mercury 1952

Hank Williams My Bucket's Got A Hole In it
24 Of Hank Williams Greatest Hits Polydor 1949

Arthur Smith Guitar Boogie
78rpm Super Disc 1945

Dominoes Have Mercy Baby
78rpm Federal 1952

Moon Mullican Cherokee Boogie
78rpm King 1951

Little Johnny Jones Hoy Hoy
Jump Blues Classics Rhino 1953

Gene O'Quin Texas Boogie
Boogie Woogie Fever Bear Family 1951

Clarence "Gatemouth" Brown Boogie Rambler
Texas Music Rhino 1949

Bill Haley & His Comets Rock the Joint
From Western Swing To Rock PROPERBOX 1952

T-Bone Walker Strollin' with Bones
78rpm Imperial 1950

Don Tosti's Boogie Boys Pachuco Boogie
78rpm unk. 1948

Ella Mae Morse Down the Road Apiece
Barrelhouse, Boogie & The Blues Bear Family 1948

Little Junior's Blue Flames Love My Baby
Sun Records, The Blues Years 1950-1958 Charly Records 1953

Jackie Brenston & His Delta Cats Rocket 88
78rpm Chess 1951

Johnny Horton Tennessee Jive
45 rpm Mercury Records 1953

Ray Charles Mess Around
45rpm Atlantic 1953

Muddy Waters Muddy Jumps One
78rpm Aristocrat 1948

Bill Haley & The Saddlemen Rocket 88
From Western Swing to Rock Proper Records 1951

Clovers Down In The Alley
Five Cool Cats Edsel/Rhino 1953

Eddie Cletro Flyin' Saucer Boogie
45rpm Lariat 1952

Lalo Guererro Marihuana Boogie
78rpm Imperial 1953

Clyde McPhatter & The Drifters Money Honey
Radio Radio Vol. 4 Mischief 1953

Helen Humes They Raided the Joint
Knockin' Myself Out Jazz Legends 1947

Muddy Waters I Can't Be Satisfied
Anthology MCA Records 1948

L.C. Smith & The southern Playboys Radio Boogie
RadioRadio2 Mischief Music 1953

Ruth Brown Wild Wild Young Men
Teenage 1951-1960 Bear Family 1953

Bill Haley w/Haley's Comets Crazy Man Crazy
From Western Swing To Rock (BoxSet) PROPERBOX 1953

Wynonie Harris Good Rockin' Tonight
78rpm King 1948

Louis Prima & Keely Smith Oh Babe
45rpm Robin Hood 1950

Five Keys Hucklebuck w/ Jimmy
78rpm Aladdin 1951

Delmore Brothers Blues Stay Away From me L
Freight Train Boogie Ace 1949

Sonny Parker She Sets My Soul On Fire
Boogie Uproar: Gems from the Peacock Vaults One Day Music 1951

Peggy Lee Yeah Yeah Yeah
45rpm Capitol 1951

Papa Cairo and his Boys Big Texas (English)
Cajun Hit Parade Vol. 5 unk. 1949

Archibald Stack-a-Lee
78rpm Imperial 1950

Louis Jordan & His Tympany 5 Beans and Cornbread
Best Of MCA 1949

Roy Brown Cadillac Baby
Good Rockin' Man Fantastic Voyage 1949

Little Esther & The Dominoes The Deacon Moves in
Best Of Rhino 1951

Champion Jack Dupree Shim Sham Shimmy
78rpm ROBIN 1953

John Lee Hooker Boogie Chillen
Legends Of Guitar-Electric Blues 2 unk. 1948

Little Junior's Blue Flames Mystery Train
Sun Records, The Blues Years 1950-1958 Charly Records 1953

Arthur "Big Boy" Crudup That's all Right
78rpm RCA 1947

Jimmy Forrest Night Train
The Backbeat Of Rock'n'Roll Famous Flames 1952