Independent Music Stores

Independent Music Stores – The Last To Know

September 7, 2014 by Beaver on the Beats 1 Comment

“Once upon a time it was just the radio stations that knew about a new music release before we did. These days now that it’s all on-line, we’re the last to know.”

This was what a local independent music store owner said frustratedly to me this week as she searched on-line for a long time, unsuccessfully trying to find out about 3 new album releases from internationally-known music artists I asked her about buying, and pre-ordering if possible.

“I’ll keep looking for them, but the only way for now seems to be pre-ordering digital copies”, she said.

(Not the particular albums I was looking for this week in my local, independent music store, but you get the picture)

The experience that I’d hoped to instead have in that music store was this…

I might be able to pre-order the albums from her. If not, she’d at least say “Yes, we’ll have them as soon as they’re released. Come back then”.

I’d leave the store happy.

Then I’d count down the days in anticipation and excitement of going back to the music store on the release date to pick up my new musical joy I’d been waiting to get my hands on and hear.

On the release date, I would go back to the music store and gladly hand over my money to the owner and walk away with my new record or cd.

I’d take it home and put it on. I’d listen to all of the sounds of the recording that the artist who made the music recorded and wanted me to hear. I’d admire the album art work. Check out the names of the artists who worked on the album and where it was recorded. I’d read the acknowledgments or other messages written by the artist.

It would be a happy, happy musical day for me.

I miss those good ol’ days. They weren’t so long ago.

Independent music store owners undoubtedly miss them too.

I suppose we should count our blessings that in the bad new days of digital music consumption, some independent music stores still have their doors open to go in and ask – that those store owners are passionate enough about music to stay open whilst barely making enough money to pay themselves a wage.

Yes, I know it’s all been said before but it needs to be said again and again.

Blessed be the independent music store owners.

Blessed be the music artists who release their music on vinyl and cd.

Damned be digital music consumption and it’s ever-increasing global monopoly.

Anyone out there apart from me and music store owners, feeling frustrated and saddened by these bad new days in the world of music?

Funk fans out there who aren’t sure, hear this beloved George Clinton & The P-Funk All Stars song in its dirty, compressed mp3 format, and mull over the format in which you’ll be buying the highly-anticipated new Funkadelic album that George Clinton has just announced is coming our way…

George Clinton & The P-Funk All Stars – ‘Funky Kind (Gonna Knock It Down)’ – T.A.P.O.A.F.O.M (1996)

Filed Under: Music Sound Quality, Music Stores Tagged With: digital music, funkadelic, funky kind, george clinton, music store, pre order music, pre order vinyl, record store

The MP3 Tragedy

September 9, 2013 by Beaver on the Beats 2 Comments

Sound quality matters. Ever so much.

The movement from the sweet, tasty sounds of vinyl…

…to not-anywhere-near-as-amazing, but still okay sounding CD’s…

…to unbearable MP3 versions & their loss of sounds…

01 Blackbird – MP3 – Blackbird (2013) – Fat Freddys Drop

…is a tragedy of epic proportions.

Don’t you think so?

Or am I going on about nothing?

Don’t know what I’m talking about?

Or I’m right, but just need to shut up about it, accept that it’s happening/happened and get on with things in our new world of musical dissemination and listening?

Tell me, please. I need to know.

What’s the future trajectory for the sound quality of our music?

Is it hopeless for me to have hope? To try and resist the ‘inevitable’? Are we doomed for a future where we have to buy our music from and store it on a computer? In shitty MP3 format? Once upon a time I heard that technology was supposed to give us better things than we had before. Well tragically for all of us, it hasn’t turned out that way for music.

5 Awesome Reasons to Buy Your Music on Vinyl or CD

1. Hearing all the sounds in the music that the artist created for you to hear.

Fat Freddys Drop recording

2. Enjoying the album’s visual and written arts – and supporting the visual artists & authors creating it. Front Cover. Back Cover. Booklet. Inserts. & any other extra bits the artist might include for you.

3. Supporting the music artists trying to make a living from the valuable contributions they are making to the goodness in the world.

4. If buying it from your local independent music store, supporting both those music store owners and music in general.

5. Enjoying the sensory delights of having the vinyl or cd in your hot little hands, smelling it, touching it, seeing it, putting it into your record or CD player and waiting in anticipation for the sounds of music.

Any reasons I missed? Number 1 (sound) is enough to give MP3 a complete miss anyway. Isn’t it?

Increase your listening pleasure. Don’t miss out on hearing every single sound the artist who created the music wanted you to hear. Choose vinyl or CD where you can, over shitty MP3 versions. I will, for as long as I still can anyway (in hope that it’s forever).

Filed Under: Aotearoa (New Zealand), Fat Freddys Drop, Music Sound Quality, Music Stores Tagged With: buy cds, buy vinyl, mp3, sound quality, vinyl, vinyl music

Independent Colombian Music Stores for Independent Colombian Music

August 16, 2013 by Beaver on the Beats Leave a Comment

These are some of the exciting new Colombian sound pleasures I have ahead of me.

All are Colombian fusion music CD’s.

All are original, real CD’s with good sound quality. I can listen to all the sounds of the original recorded music (unlike in MP3 or MP4 format). Real CD’s with the album artwork, artists names & track names in real print.

All CD’s bought from 2 music stores in Bogota:

1. Musiteca (Cra 8 # 18-81 Local 203-Tel 284 3263)

2. W Records (Tel 247 4045) – in the same complex as Musiteca

Musiteca & W Records are independent record stores.

Both music stores sell lots of independent Colombian music CD’s that can be hard to find elsewhere.

In both stores you can tell them what music you like, and they will put all the options in front of you to listen and choose from.

I love love love my visits to these Bogota music stores for all my Colombian music needs.

I am really excited about my new Colombian fusion music goodies from Musiteca & W Records. I will let you know what I find.

Any independent music stores left where you live?

There aren’t enough of them left anywhere in the world.

I usually find the people running those independent music stores are passionate about music and about supporting music artists – including local and independent ones.

I think those independent music stores are worth supporting wherever you can so that they don’t all disappear from the world.

If you’re in Bogota remember to find Musiteca and W Records for buying independent Colombian music.

Filed Under: Colombian Music, Music Sound Quality, Music Stores Tagged With: Bogota music stores, colombian music, colombian music stores, Musiteca, W Records

Jamaican Music and Dance – Culture Snapshots

August 4, 2013 by Beaver on the Beats Leave a Comment

Three weeks in 3 of Jamaica’s major musical hubs – Kingston, Montego Bay & Negril – checking outand soaking up as much Jamaican music and dance culture as possible.

Not much time to truly know anything much about any place. No time to know anything about the rest of Jamaica (including Ochos Rios – another hub).But enough time to experience some things of Jamaican music & dance culture – which I’m happy to be told are wrong. And lots of time to talk with Jamaicans themselves.

Snapshots…

Edgy, Non-Touristy Kingston

City life, busy life. Urban sprawl amongst green mountains. Few tourists. Go about your business without any attention.

Kingston, Jamaica

Parties. Some live shows. Clubs. Bars. Recording studios. Dance crews. Festivals (check out KOTE). More parties.

Fashionable, touristy Montego Bay

Gritty, busy, small downtown + the ‘Hip Strip’ – one side of the road lined with souvenir shops, the other with expensive resorts that own most of the main beach. Shop owners and taxi drivers on the Hip Strip will talk to you to get your business, but elsewhere nobody will pay you any attention.

Montego Bay, Jamaica

Parties. Dance crews. Dancehall dance competitions & shows (including International Dancehall Queen in early August). Fashion shows. Reggae Sumfest in July. Other festivals. Some live shows. More Parties.

Chilled, touristy Negril

Miles of stunning Caribbean beach (free, as it should be) lined with an uncountable number of resorts, bars, restaurants, hustlers and hawkers competing to lure the many tourists. More rootsy and chilled vibe than MoBay- but intensely hustled. Expect that everyone who talks to you wants something from you.

Negril, Jamaica

Parties. Regular live music gigs (some original). Beach sound systems. Beach Bars & clubs. More Parties.

That’s Beaver’s over-simplified, general snapshot of Kingston, Negril and MoBay anyway.

Jamaicans Say

What do Jamaicans themselves in Kingston, Montego Bay & Negril say about Jamaican music and dance culture?

Dance

“I hear the music and I just have to dance. I can’t help it.”

Fusion Music

“Ya Mon. Jamaica have music mixing different styles. Some bands play reggae. Some bands play ska. Same play Dancehall. Some bands play mento. Some other bands play calypso.”

“You can’t mix reggae with other things. Reggae is reggae.”

Live Music

“Live shows are the best. That’s where the energy is at.”

Parties

“There are parties going on every night in MoBay at this place and that place. Take your pick.”

“Jamaican parties don’t start til about 12 am. People keep partying til the morning. When do Jamaicans ever sleep? I can get 5 or 10 minutes sleep and I’m okay.”

Jamaica’s Holy Music Grail

“Lots of international music artists come to Jamaica searching for da musical essence.“

“People outside Jamaica keep trying to steal our music culture.”

Regulating Music

“Kingston and MoBay have the same laws for shutting down events at 2 am. Parties go later in MoBay because the laws are enforced in Kingston, not in MoBay. There are tourists spending money in MoBay.”

Radio

“Any Jamaican radio stations that don’t play lots of commercials? Nah, only some that have short segments without ads. The independent radio stations are on the ground, in the streets.“

Kingston v Negril

“The difference between Negril and Kingston for music is that Kingston has the best recording studios and is great for that, but not for live shows. Lots more live shows happen in Negril and there’s lots of tourists so there’s more chance to display your talents.”

Negril’s recording studio

Talent

“Jamaica is a blessed island. We have so many music stars.“

Happiness

“Jamaica has la crème de la crème of happy people.”

Loss of Inhibitions, and Discretion

“What happens in Jamaica, stays in Jamaica.”

They are the things Jamaicans told me about their music and dance culture (plus some things I already wrote about when I was in Kingston). Some are positive, some negative, like what’s going on everywhere in the world.

Beaver Says…

Fun Jamaican Parties

Parties, Parties & more Parties can be found happening at one location or another, on every night of the week. Ask a Jamaican “What’s happening tonight?” and they’ll answer “Well, today is Wednesday [or whatever other day it is]. That means this Party is on there”.

Lots (all?) of Jamaican Parties seem to be sponsored by big corporate companies. Maybe in these days if the sponsorship wasn’t here then the parties wouldn’t happen? Way back when in Jamaica, when sound systems started up, people just set up on the street and had the party. Jamaicans can’t do that now because of laws and regulations about ‘noise’.

Music and Dance are the core of the Parties.

The dance & movement happening at those Parties is pretty darned incredible.

People at the Parties are having fun.

Free parties, are the most fun – and a realer taste of Jamaica because they don’t cost money that Jamaicans don’t have but tourists do.

Dress right for the Parties, and anywhere else you go. Image and fashion are key in some Jamaican sub-cultures, Dancehall especially.

Music in Public Spaces

The best of the musical experiences in Kingstonand even more so in Montego Bay & Negril, is being able to hear music in public and private spaces everywhere you go – day and night.

Most music you hear played in Jamaica is reggae or dancehall. Or a fusion of reggae & dancehall. Some with a tiny touch of hip hop in some.

Most music you hear in Jamaica is pretty great quality. The exception is the very badly-chosen North American pop music, from all decades + much dancehall.

I heard no rock music. No jazz music. No blues music. No world music. No metal.music, no funk music, or any other genre of music – except for the blues, jazz and Latin music played at Redbones Blues Cafe in Kingston.

Jamaicans are fiercely proud and protective of Jamaican reggae and dancehall music. So many Jamaicans I spoke with gave me the impression they weren’t interested in what’s happening musically in the rest of the world. Some were surprised to hear reggae music is created in other countries, including in their neighbouring Latin American countries.

I want musical diversity in my life, and the music I love most is a fusion of genres of some sorts. I would miss that global music diversity living in Jamaica and hearing mostly just reggae, dancehall and terrible USA pop music around me.But whatever the type of music being played in Jamaica – it is all music, and it is being heard by people in public spaces everywhere – day and night. It made my Jamaican days happy ones.

Hearing music makes life richer. Especially in public life .

I want more of it in my life, and everyone else’s.

Better yet if the music is great.

Music and dance are truly alive, well, and pumping in and through Jamaica.

There might’ve been less original, live shows as I’d hoped to find. I might’ve been disappointed that it was hard to find contemporary Jamaican music to buy in Jamaica. There might be more Dancehall than I can handle, and pop music that I’m not into. But the music is there – being played, and being heard. I love being around it. I love being in it. `

Jamaica – may you never ever “Hush”!

Jamaica Again

Definitely more Jamaican music and dance vibes on it’s Caribbean shores are coming in my lifetime. I just need a little rest for now :).

Until I get back I’ve got my take-away bag of contemporary Jamaican music to delve into soon. Lots of musical surprises are awaiting me and that’s a pretty exciting thing yes?

My music bag got bigger at Montego Bay Airport on my way out of Jamaica. I found what I think might be THE coolest airport shop of any kind in the world – and definitely 1 of the 3 best music stores I found in Jamaica: Tad’s International.

Reggae music in the airportmusic shop, as well as in all other Jamaican airport stores, is the last thing you hear as you leave Jamaica. It’s a beautiful thing 🙂 .

Filed Under: Dance, Jamaican Music, Music Stores Tagged With: jamaican dance, Jamaican Music, jamaican parties, Kingston, Montego Bay, negril

“Reggae Has a Fight”

July 21, 2013 by Beaver on the Beats Leave a Comment

“Reggae has a fight”.

“We’re losing our culture.”

These are the sorts of things people in Kingston have been saying to me all week – most of them venue and music store owners.

Gone are the days when Jamaicans bought music from music stores.

Now Jamaicans get music on-line for free or buy it from bootleggers on the streets. Economic conditions for most Jamaicans mean that is the only option for getting music, but it is a choice for many others. An important one, I think.

Gone are the days when Jamaicans bought lots of Jamaican music.

Now, the radio stations and record stores are inundated with music from North America. “Jamaicans are less and less Afro-Centric” a venue owner said to me this week. If the Jamaican wedding reception I’m listening to outside my door right now is any indication, every song from the U.S.A., that person may be right.

Gone are the days when music stores sold lots of Jamaican music.

Now, as I discovered on my missions to different Kingston music stores this week, very little current Jamaican music can be found in those stores. It is mostly foreigners like me who are looking for it. Most Jamaican music, even when made in Jamaica, is sent overseas to be pressed to CD, and not much of it comes back to Jamaican shores. “You need to go to London or New York to find Jamaican music” they tell me.

Prices in Jamaican$, U.S$ and Euros

Gone are the days when Jamaican bands played regularly in Jamaica. Gone are the days when those bands had lots of venues to play in.

Now, for many Jamaican bands to make most of their income for the whole year, they tour overseas for the Summer.

Now, there are few venues in Jamaica supporting regular live music gigs.

Gone are the days when sound systems could set up on the street and go.

Now, government regulations imposing shut down times, and requiring a sound system operator to get five or so permits, makes it hard for sound systems to be set up and to make a profit.

These are the things I’ve been told this week when searching for current/recent Jamaican music to buy and take home with me, and also for live gigs to go to. This is what that record store owner meant when he said “Reggae has a fight”.

You might say these same stories apply everywhere in the world. That’s probably true, certainly in Australia as well as most countries I’ve visited (always looking for the same thing – local music and gigs). I’m always just as disappointed about it.

Do these things affect Jamaica more than other countries where the stories are the same? I don’t know. I can’t help thinking about another thing said to me by the same Kingston music store owner who said “Reggae has a fight”:

“Reggae is Jamaica’s biggest export. What will we do when that’s gone?”

I have my bag of Jamaican music to take home with me and enjoy. It was a bigger mission finding it than I had hoped – and I wanted the bag to be bigger – but they ain’t bootlegs.

I found some live gigs in Kingston town, and a few supportive venues – but I wish there were more.

Maybe you’ve been to Jamaica? Maybe you had a different experience to me? I’d love to hear good news stories that prove I don’t know what I’m talking about.

For anyone in Kingston looking to buy current Jamaican music (on CD): Most items in my music bag are from the Music Mart in Half Way Tree (8 South Ave). A couple are from Tuff Gong. Strangely enough, every album in that bag and a couple more, I found on my way out of Kingston – at the airport music shop. Stranger still is that they were cheaper than I paid in the city.

Filed Under: Jamaican Music, Music Stores Tagged With: Jamaican Music, jamaican music stores, Jamaican music venues, music mart, Tuff Gong

What You’ll Find @ Tuff Gong International Kingston

July 19, 2013 by Beaver on the Beats 1 Comment

Tuff Gong International – Kingston, Jamaica. Founded in 1965 by Mr Bob Marley himself.

Tuff Gong’s Kingston headquarters is a place Jamaican and international music artists can and do use as a complete one-stop shop for the recording and distribution of their music – CD’s and Vinyl. The Tuff Gong compound has a recording studio, mastering room, stamper room, pressing plant and rehearsal space.

Tuff Gong also has a record store. I went there today to find current Jamaican music to buy.

After fruitless and disappointing searches at a few other record stores in Kingston this week, and knowing those same record stores go to Tuff Gong to buy, I thought my chances there would be good.

What I found at the Tuff Gong compound was this:

My mind boggling and my heart pumping fast at the thought of the incredible artistry that has graced the Tuff Gong compound, and how much music has been created there that I have loved my whole life.

Awesome, awesome, awesome antique and retro machines, furniture, instruments and other bits & bobs – my favourite part of the visit.

: vinyl in the making

Lots of unique memorabilia.

Really friendly, helpful people and a whole lot of interesting characters – a visiting Jamaican bassist living in New York, involved with Tuff Gong from the start, with a lot to say about the disappointing lack of contemporary roots reggae to be found in Jamaica; and yes, even one of the Marley family.

A very sweet and knowledgeable guide named Ricky who innocently thought he needed to explain to me it was James Brown in a photo.

Character seeping from every wall, floor and roof space, and from each object within.

The coolest vintage recording studio ever. No photos allowed inside – but trust me on this.

What I found at the Tuff Gong Record Shop was this:

A whole lot of Bob Marley, Damian Marley, Julian Marley, Kymani Marley, Cedella Marley, Ziggy Marley, Stephen Marley and Rita Marley CDs. Of course, and great – I found and bought 2 Cds I didn’t have.

A whole lot of CDs by different North American music artists (Tuff Gong is the Caribbean distributor for 3 major labels there).

And, disappointingly…

JUST ONE CD from a current Jamaican artist.

The 8 Year Affair (2013)

Protoje

I had wanted to find so much more Jamaican music in the Tuff Gong Record Store. That old school bass player I met there understood, and shared my disappointment.

Filed Under: Jamaican Music, Music Stores, Protoje Tagged With: Jamaican Music, Kingston, Marley music, Tuff Gong, Tuff Gong International

Independent Music Stores