decline of the cd

When CDs first started to appear, they were treated and handled with serious respect(kind of how audiophiles handle lps now) but over time the respect for the format has been in serious decline. I think the first thing that started the trend was CD "wallets". Stripping off the case and storing just the disc and artwork. You used to have a nice rack or wall of alphabetized CDs now it's a wallet thrown in the back of your car. It didn't take long for the artwork to disappear or the disc to end up on the floor. Even if it got trashed, you could probably pick it up again used for a couple bucks. Selling your CDs used was another experience that makes you value them less. You bought it for $12 and sold it for a $1 and there are 10 of them in a bin for $3.99. A waffle maker holds its value better.
The rise of CD Burners was another nail. Suddenly you could buy a 100 disc spindle of blank CDs to record on for short money. They cost pennies each. How many of these have you seen getting scratched and crushed on the floor? Lose it, Scratch it, Burn another who cares. All this coupled with the rise of the MP3 served to undercut the real and perceived value of a CD. Unfortunately as the perceived value of the CD fell, manufacturer's and distributor's kept trying to sell them at the price that they held in the past. This gap in perception between consumer and label, is primarily responsible for driving people out of record stores and into downloading, burning.

It also demonstrates how product life cycles are becoming much shorter. Look at movies. The VHS tape had a long reign and with it came the video store. DVDs appeared but stores were able to survive (It's still a video store even when it's full of DVDs. Just like it is still a Record Store even though it is full of CDs) The new technology might have even bought them a couple more years. Then there was Netflix and suddenly video stores seem kind of lame. Now Netflix has been around for a few years and it is trying to shift away from mail delivery to something that would mimic "on demand". Netflix makes Video Rental look like a dinosaur but is undercut in a tenth of the time by "on demand". DVDs need to react faster than CDs and close the perception gap on value with the consumer. A DVD is headed towards life as a one use disposable item and needs to be priced accordingly. People will go the movies for 5-10 bucks and be happy. If DVDs dropped in price, you could still have people feeling good about getting them-but convenience and price are key. No one is going to be going to a video store. They need to be somewhere else. Because convenience and immediacy are perhaps even more important than price in driving new trends and sales.
Immediate access wherever you are is as important as the content. You may have the best movie,song, video, whatever, but if you lack the delivery system to send it to someones phone, laptop, next fashionable mobile device you are out of luck. And even if you have the best new idea

GHOSTFACE KILLAH - Back Like That

It seems like Ghost has got this break up song on every album and they are always good
Part 2. Stay warm

Ghostface Killah Run

Don Status. Nothing will heat up a cold Wed like a double shot of Ghost. Here is part one.

Soul Seven "everything is everything"

Now Again/Soultex/fatbeats give you Soul Seven "everything is everything" LP 3 tracks studio and one side live. A lot of unheard funk gives you rarity without hooks or sacrices sound quality. This is top grade funk, well recorded and catchy as hell.
The 3 studio tracks are all solid songs from 1969. 2 should sound familar as they are reworkings of the Meters and the Markeys. The other track turned up on the Funky 16 Corners comp which is highly recommended as is the unrelated website with the same name. The band were all students at Bishop College in Dalls Tx.
2nd track on the live side is an organ heavy insturmental that is killer almost proggy. They keep it uptempo and burn threw a full album side of live funk. Band is extremely tight as a former marching band should be.

God Squad Jesus Christ Greatest Hits LP

The Goad Squad featuring Leonard Caston. Rare Earth Records 1972. Basically a compilation of covers of songs related to Jesus. An organ driven "my sweet lord" sounds like roller rink material until the vocals kick in and the organ player cuts loose a little. Spirit in the Sky is worse than the original. The choral vocals are horrific. Once again the organ leads the charge on an orchestral "bridge over troubled waters" at least they keep it instrumental. I would say it is a little too animated to be muzak, and gets a lift near the end when the strings and organ work together, but even still why bother? A cover of "let it be" is pointless and this version is on par with the rest of the record. The roller rink organ rears it's head and makes me wonder why I am not throwing this lp across the room. They start side 2 on think ice, covering the Ramsey Lewis classic "wade in the water". Added vocals and piano instead of an organ keep it interesting. The get funky on "put your hand in the hand" but the bass and guitar get off set by the organ and JC superstar female backing chorus. "Heaven Help us All" is an instrumental track that has a couple moments, but finish listening to it and "Amazing Grace" is up next so watch out. Now if covering "Let it Be" is pointless, covering "Amazing Grace" is just stupid. But the God Squad have some tricks ups their sleeve, if you can make it past the first verse of overblown vocals, you get a double time workout for the rest of the tune(thankfully short)- a nice surprise. They close with their best groove on "oh happy day"
This record seems to shoot itself in the foot every time it hints at doing something worthwhile. I don't know why I had high hopes for this, but they were not met. 2 tracks you might throw on mixtapes just to be that guy, but otherwise forget able. I guess it is that Rare Earth record label that keeps me thinking the records will be good. It is a super hippy design, but it never pans out. Maybe that Toe Fat LP will be the one.............

Amanda Ambrose Lauging LP

Saw this in a Salvation Army with some other 70s soul and discoy records. Water damage cover, but she covers "gimme shelter". I am a sucker for Rolling Stones and Led Zep covers so this gets bought regardless of the condition. 1973. Bee Gee records?? 6 backing vocalists including Ms Snoox Hamilton -now where is her album?
Her take on Gimme Shelter was not what I expected and although not bad, it didn't have any of the menace of the original. Track 3 on side 2 "That Ain't Where It's At" has a nice G rated jazzy groove. Kinda like what you might hear playing in the background on Good Times. Have seen her records described as "soul jazz" on ebay and that seems accurate -maybe in a Roberta Flack/Stevie Wonder vein, but not at that level. "Power" the last track on side one is an upbeat mover with a groove similar to "cool jerk" with some nice horn stabs. Record has it's moments but at only 3/9 hot tracks it is not essential. She has a self titled LP on Dunwich with a couple Beatle's cover that looks good. She looks a little like Lauryn Hill on the cover of that one.
What is amazing is the lack of info online about her. Although she did have a track on the "zealous records presents Soul Sides" comp lp "sad songs" which is on this LP.

Code of Honor 7"

I used to look at this 7" in the Toxic Shock catalog and in various zines and always meant to mailorder it, but for some reason I never did. Now am forced to see it priced for way too much money all the time. ARGHGHGGHHHHHH

Skating and hardcore why did I pass this up when I was 16?It even had the cryptic and vaguely ominous title "What are we gonna do?" As if this 7" wasn't good enough, check the cover to their split LP with Sick Pleasure(also the cover of their complete CD collection) for total B&W Skate Rock Brilliance. It is amazing to think about how few records were coming out back then and most of them were amazing. Compare that with the glut of shit that drops weekly that you will never remember if you even hear it. Good old nostalgia, guess I could buy the CD and get over it.... nope