Stands For Decibels

Ministry- 2.5

Definitely not my cup of tea. But I kind of liked it- I mean I can connect the god dam dots. So, if I kind of liked it I'll bet that all the Napalm Death and Megadeth and whatever death guys pretty much of think of this as sissy-ass metal.  I bet Jesus Built My Hotrod could even be played on WCCC radio. I even got a kick out of the title- 69 (suck seed and suck egg- clever). I'm not sure how often I'll play this but it's not a bad listen.

Supergrass

Look in the dictionary for a definition of Brit-Pop and you'll find a picture of Supergrass. These guys are huge in the UK- not so much in the states. Shame. This is infectiously catchy pop music with great harmonies, lively riffs, and youthful energy.  I had a great time making this and I hope y'all liked it.

Deep Purple- 4.5

So what do you do when a lose a lead singer like Ian Gillan and a bassist like Roger Glover? You go out and get David Coverdale and Glenn Hughes- not too shabby. For me Richie Blackmore was always the driving force of the band- no matter the lineup.  As solid a Deep Purple album as you'll find- every cut just kick's it. You Fool No One is THE highlight of the record for me and one of my favorite songs of all time and then it's followed by What's Going On Here- ayfkm- awesome!. Great intensity and great energy throughout. Dare I say a "classic".

dB's-3.0

I'm a big fan of power pop and I'm a fan of the dB's. I remember when these guys from NC were every bit as vital as REM as far as I was concerned. Ok, throw Big Star in there too. But I'm listening to Falling Off The Sky and I'm thinking ok, it's been 30 years and maybe I'm not giving them a fair shake. Maybe I've gotten old. Maybe they've gotten old. So I revisited  Stands For Decibels and Repercussion and guess what? Gone is the reverence for Brit-pop. Gone is the quirkiness. Gone is the experimentation. Gone is the youthful exuberance. Gone is the post punk jangle pop that put them on the map. It's not a terrible record- it's just not vital. If I want to listen to the dB's- I'm pulling out one of those first 2.

Rush- 3.0

The quintessential purveyors of modern prog rock these 3 guys just have it right. One could say that it's just more of the same- and it kind of is. While I feel the dB's have lost a lot of their edge and angst and their new record is kind of a little bit boring the same cannot be said of Rush. The musicality and energy and production is all spot on. And I'm not even a fan of their music. In fact I don't own a single cd or record. But' I can appreciate them being at the pinnacle of their musical prowess for this many years- there is no questioning their talent.

Discussion:
Vinyl is gone and soon the compact disc will join it as a thing of the past. The audio file formats that you can now choose from to store your music is becoming staggering.
1. Do you feel that these compressed digital files are giving us inferior audio quality. Do you care? Is it just too convenient?
2. Do you feel the price to download these digital audio files is reasonable.
3. If D'Arcy's favorite guy (Mr Neil Young) comes up with a superior audio format- would you be willing to pay extra for better sound quality? How much extra- if at all?
4. Do you still buy cd's and/or vinyl?

I still buy cd's and I still buy vinyl- not like I used to, however. Do I think they sound better than digital downloads?- yes. I would definitely pay more for better sonic quality in a downloadable digital format. But it would have to be priced more competitively than if I were to buy a cd and/or vinyl recording. Plus, I still like the "package".