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Geek Culture / Death to the CD!!!

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Allanon Shadeslayer
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Posted: 21st May 2009 06:59
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As I've grown up in highschool, my musical appreciation and taste has matured as well. When my parents bought me an iPod for christmas (A much appreciated gift by the way) I made the unfortunate mistake of newly discovering my current favorite artists by downloading their studio albums from iTunes. I nearly have all studio albums of my favorite artists now. As I downloaded them I immediately burned the albums to disc.

Then, for reasons unknown to me, I decided to delete all of my songs in iTunes and start over by ripping the cds back onto iTunes so I would have a cleaned up music library. As soon as I had the first listen, I noticed that there were two second gaps between each track! In my rush of purchase I forgot to change the default burn settings!

And as I listen to my iPod, I am overwhelmed by nostalgia: Tearing off the plastic coating of a fresh, jewel cased CD, reading the goodies inside front to back, all while playing the new CD in a SONY Discman.

I feel suddenly compelled to re-buy the studio albums in the official CD, but I fear CD's will eventually be flushed out (and with them the ability to play them). I actually discovered that many artists release stuff on vinyl, but it is WAY to expensive (I'll do that when I'm the CEO of a large company )

Is it a complete waste of money to re-purchase these on the CD? The connection with the artist to me is much more of an experience of you buy the jewel cased official CD. It's less to buy the music to listen to and more to serve as a collectible, I'm very passionate about my music. Is it really any different than coin collecting?

Any thoughts, comments, or general conversation is appreciated!

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bond1
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Posted: 21st May 2009 07:14
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If it's worth it to you, I say go for it.

It's the same reason why my wife thinks I'm insane for keeping all my old childhood video games neatly boxed in the closet. Even though I don't play them often, I still like to get them out every once in a while, read the boxes, look at the manuals, and be 12 years old all over again.

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Allanon Shadeslayer
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Posted: 21st May 2009 07:18
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Lol! Nice to hear somebody praising instead of ridiculing

All I hear at home is "That's the biggest waste of money ever! It doesn't make sense!"

Don't get me wrong, I love my iPod (Thank you Mom and Dad)
It is very convenient. But like stated above, the nostalgic experience of a CD I think is preferable.

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code master
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Posted: 21st May 2009 07:32
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I absolutely LOVE CD's.
I'm actually gonna buy a bunch of random cheap albums from Amazon merely for the purpose of owning lots of CD's.
Not to mention all the music that comes along with that.

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Lonnehart
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Posted: 21st May 2009 07:59
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Wow... after reading all this I'm starting to treasure my cassette tapes more. And to think it was just nearly a decade ago when CDs were the bleeding edge of portable storage tech.
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Van B
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Posted: 21st May 2009 09:31
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The CD format will never die, if you consider how much media is out there on CD format, well it would be counter-productive to lose that format any time soon.

I know what you mean though, buying CD's is incomparable to iTunes/MP3. I like Pearl Jam, and they always have great CD cases, inlays, artwork etc. I tend to buy the CD from Amazon, then convert it myself, putting the CD away for safe keeping.


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Allanon Shadeslayer
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Posted: 21st May 2009 17:20
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@ Lonnehart

Yes, Same goes for Cassette tapes. I owned a couple of them as a very small child so I can't truly relate to it, but i image it's the same thing.

@ Van B

yes, I dont' think they will die incredibly soon as data storage but what about as playable media? When will all CD players leave the shelves?

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Jeku
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Posted: 21st May 2009 17:47 Edited at: 21st May 2009 17:47
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There are definitely some bands that I will prefer to buy their CDs than just download their songs from a service. It feels a bit more personal. In the long run, though, I would imagine the artist would make more pure profit from selling his tracks in MP3 format than having to mass produce CDs, cases, etc. You could adversely be hurting the artist by buying their CD. Now, I don't pretend to know the costs of having a record deal and the profit margins afforded to the artists in their contracts, but it's still a thought.

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Allanon Shadeslayer
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Posted: 21st May 2009 18:57
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Yes, perhaps, but it will be a sad day when it comes...

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Van B
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Posted: 21st May 2009 19:25
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I see Allanon, but the thing is that I don't even remember the last time I put a CD in a hifi and played it - I buy an album, convert it to mp3 and then the CD might never come out of it's case again.

It's the tangible nature of buying a CD album instead of iTunes or whatever that I like, maybe just old fashioned though. I listen to music all the time, at work constantly, and if I'm working at home I need music as well - and CD's just ain't convenient. When we only had tapes and vinyl, I'd buy the vinyl and record it to tape, only playing the vinyl when I could be bothered with the ritual.

People these days have lost connection with music IMO, if it's a choice of spending £10 on a CD or £5 on iTunes, I'd go for the CD every time.

But getting back to your point - My brother got me this nice amplifier one year for xmas, and they make a matching CD player for like £100. Now before MP3's I would have bought it without question, but these days spending real money on a CD player that is just a CD player takes a lot of justifying. £20 get's a DVD player that can support MP3 CD's and DVD's, so in terms of hassle, the £20 DVD player is about 20 times more convenient at 1/5th the cost. So I do see a fairly quick death to CD players that can only play CD's, no matter what audiophiles say about expensive hifi equipment. I did buy a nice pair of Bose headphones for my MP3 player though, seems to me that there's better ways to spend money on audio equipment these days. I for one don't miss the days of spending £30 on a turntable needle!.


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Demon Air 3D
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Posted: 21st May 2009 19:30
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I hate it when you only have the choice to download something, I always love to look at the box.
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xplosys
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Posted: 21st May 2009 20:46
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I know exectly what you mean. I felt the same way about my 8 track tapes.

Brian.

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Little Bill
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Posted: 21st May 2009 21:59
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I buy the MP3's from iTunes because I want to able to hear a song on the radio, think to myself, "Hey, I want that song" and download it for like 79p which then can go straight onto my MP3 player. I disliked having to go down HMV, finding out they don't do the single for the song I want, then having to purchase the entire damn album for £12. Then having to go home, rip it off the CD then putting it on my MP3 player.

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Allanon Shadeslayer
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Posted: 21st May 2009 22:52
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Oh, the fact that mp3 is more convenient is unquestionable. And I will still buy mp3s without hesitation if it's a single song

but I'm talking about my favorite artists. You know you love an artist when you willingly listen to a studio album from track 1 to the last all the way through and you love every second of it! I want the hard copy of the original album rather than just the download.

i.e. KoRn released an album awhile ago called "Follow the Leader" If you bought the jewel cased, original cd, you got a neat little sticker on the front that said "48 seconds of silence from KoRn, (The music starts on track 13)" And indeed there were twelve 3 to five second tracks of silence at the beginning! With a download, you don't get the simple uniqueness of that. Also, the physical CD just has a song called "My gift to you" at the end that lasts for 13 minutes long, the first half is a song followed by silence and then a hidden track. on iTunes it names the hidden track and there's no surprise in listening to it.

My point is mp3s are great, i have nothing against them. But I think Albums need to be appreciated as albums. I think iTunes has cheapened some of it.

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JRH
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Posted: 22nd May 2009 00:14
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I don't have a CD player, yet I buy CDs. Much to my preference as I have lost my entire music collection on numerous occassions, and that's a real waste of money.

Get the CDs, no doubt about it!

JRH

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Omega gamer 89
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Posted: 22nd May 2009 03:47
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I really dont have any preference either way, altohugh I do see were you guys are coming from. One thing I DO like better about buying the CD is that it usually comes with a lyrics book, which is more convenient than having to go track the lyrics down.
I also thought that this was relevant.

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Libervurto
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Posted: 22nd May 2009 03:55 Edited at: 22nd May 2009 03:59
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It's the same with games; downloads are just not the same as having a physical object you can touch and keep in alphabetical order for no good reason
Ahhh, that new game manual smell!

If you were thinking of collecting them to sell in a few years I don't think that would work as there are so many CD's around.
CD's are cheap, that's why they'll stick around for a good 10 years more or so, until we come up with something better or blu rays get cheaper. I wonder how long it will be before we ditch the CD drive?
Soon it will all be downloads and nothing will be real any more.

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Allanon Shadeslayer
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Posted: 22nd May 2009 06:41
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No, not collecting to sell..

just like you were talking about

dozens of insignificant collectible cases/boxes etc to organize artist by album chronologies of artists etc.

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Allanon Shadeslayer
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Posted: 22nd May 2009 06:42
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Lol!

"Yeah man, that IS every Led Zeppelin Studio Album"

"Uhm,... I have them .. too!!!" (Stamps foot)

awkward silence

"...downloads?"

awkward silence

"...yeah"

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Darth Vader
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Posted: 22nd May 2009 11:22
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@Allanon Shadeslayer
I think that if you go back into iTunes music store and buy the songs again, it will say you've already purchased the song and it will let you re-download it! I know that happened when I went to re-download all my iPod apps. Not 100% sure if it's the same for music, but it's worth a try!

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the_winch
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Posted: 23rd May 2009 00:35 Edited at: 23rd May 2009 00:36
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Cds are fine until you have a couple of hundred of them. Then storing and moving them is a pain.

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Lonnehart
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Posted: 23rd May 2009 03:42
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I've seen large stacks of CDs... a room with wall to wall CD stacks in fact (a good friend of mine is really obsessed with his music). It's nice that you can put that entire room of CDs inside several iPods (I think it takes more than one for that many songs).

Xplosys.... You still have 8-tracks??? O_O
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Seppuku Arts
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Posted: 23rd May 2009 04:16 Edited at: 23rd May 2009 04:17
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CDs will probably die out eventually, but from a DJ perspective...(or at least an amatuer who's done very little ) it's probably wise to keep all of your CDs and to keep buying them, because there are still plenty of CDJs out there and I know that some prefer using CDs instead of digital media. For you to use a laptop or even an iPod for DJing it costs around about £200 per DJ per venue, if you're a DJ who is hired out or moves between venues or is an amatuer starting out, that's quite expensive. Though the upside of digital DJing is that you can carry a lot more music with you.

Though as a sentimental person I would want to see the CD go, what will I buy my uncle for Christmas? An iTunes card? I'm sure he'll be offended and tell me that it won't work with his Zune...and how much he hates iTunes


Personally I buy all of my music as CDs - I've got some music my Dad bought of iTunes on my computer and it won't play in any other media player, which kind of sucks as I've decided to start using WinAmp.

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NeX the Fairly Fast Ferret
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Posted: 23rd May 2009 12:46
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What about a downloadable music format that emulates a CD case? An archive containing the MP3 tracks and data that can be interpreted by a collection browser.

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Pus In Boots
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Posted: 23rd May 2009 17:54
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For the first time since I discovered downloadable music, I bought a couple of Foo Fighters CDs the other day from HMV. Thing is, I only bought them on CD because I had money to splash and because my dad's credit on mp3fiesta had run out. It was difficult for me to part with the money because I knew it could be bought cheaper online. Nonetheless, I bought it and now that it's on my iPod, I've been wrestling with the decision to get a refund! I've decided to keep the CDs, but I had to convice myself they were worth keeping. On the whole, CDs still have that feeling of authenticity to them and I can see why there is still a market for them. However, I would only end up listening to them on my iPod. Plus, iPods/MP3 players have the added convenience of having all your music in one place.

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RalphY
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Posted: 23rd May 2009 18:41
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I'm a CD and vinyl collector myself. I will only buy an album from iTunes if it's from an artist I have not listened to before and I'm not sure I will like them or not. If I do like them I always buy the album on CD as well. I also have a nice amp and DVD audio/CD player which sounds much better than an iPod (though I have one of them for use in the car/at work).

I imagine it's for the same reason anyone collects anything, I would at least argue my collection is more functional than a stamp collection .

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Jeku
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Posted: 23rd May 2009 20:02
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Quote: "I've been wrestling with the decision to get a refund!"


You can get a refund for an opened CD?

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David R
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Posted: 23rd May 2009 20:10 Edited at: 23rd May 2009 20:12
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Quote: "You can get a refund for an opened CD?"


Whilst most shops say they won't refund you, the laws of trading standards are above their authority. Anything that is defective or not fit for purpose for any coherent reason can be returned. Most of the time you have to make a massive fuss in order for them to actually do it though.

EDIT: Same thing with flash memory. A lot of shops say they won't allow returns on goods with flash memory in them. Managed to get money back on my mum's nano though, simply by making enough fuss and not leaving the store etc.

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Allanon Shadeslayer
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Posted: 26th May 2009 01:55
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@ Nex

something that emulates a CD case is a good idea and iTunes has done a good job

but I STILL would say it is nothing like holding the art in your hands

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NeX the Fairly Fast Ferret
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Posted: 26th May 2009 01:57
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Okay, how about we make it better than flat 2D art? Flash based, for instance.

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Jeku
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Posted: 26th May 2009 03:39
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Flash is not "better" than flat art that you can hold in your hands.

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Bozzy
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Posted: 26th May 2009 03:43
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But imagine flash art that you could hold in your hands. Apparently, some South Korean thing is working on a flexible TV, so maybe it will happen

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The Wilderbeast
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Posted: 26th May 2009 13:46
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You can get flexible LCD displays, but it still wouldn't feel the same as having the actual CD. I mean I just went out and bought a Vinyl, I'm going to rip it to my PC anyways so what was the point? Because you can stick it on your wall and have something to show, it means something.

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Mr Makealotofsmoke
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Posted: 26th May 2009 14:51
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CD has a much better sound to it (not compressed like mp3's) although its hard to tell the diff on crappy stereo's. Pretty much mp3 320kbps is good, but flac is a lot better.

Records > CD > > mp3 > Cassette

i also like getting the cd case and all the manuals and crap.

Also not all of us have unlimited internet to be able to download everything....

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Jeku
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Posted: 26th May 2009 17:40 Edited at: 26th May 2009 17:41
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Quote: "CD has a much better sound to it (not compressed like mp3's)"


You can convert the CD or vinyl to FLAC and it will be exactly the same quality as the source.

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Allanon Shadeslayer
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Posted: 26th May 2009 19:58
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Lol! speaking of vinyl

goodness I would get vinyl if i could afford it.

113 us dollars for one record now (at least the one i looked at)

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The Wilderbeast
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Posted: 26th May 2009 20:16
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Quote: "113 us dollars for one record now (at least the one i looked at)"


They sell them for about £8 second hand where I am D:

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RalphY
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Posted: 26th May 2009 21:53
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yeah I get most of mine for about £8 (apart from a few collectors ones).

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The Wilderbeast
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Posted: 26th May 2009 22:06
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I feel so retro now, I have a couple on my wall xD You don't get that feeling with digital downloads.

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Keo C
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Posted: 27th May 2009 04:24
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Quote: "I feel so retro now, I have a couple on my wall xD You don't get that feeling with digital downloads."


I guess you could get the same feeling by gluing HDDs to your wall.


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FredP
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Posted: 27th May 2009 06:15 Edited at: 27th May 2009 06:17
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Quote: "I know exectly what you mean. I felt the same way about my 8 track tapes."


I just got a turntable to play records on...now I have to find records for it.
I think CDs are cool because you have physical media and cover art is always cool.
Downloading is a more efficient way of getting music and,one day soon,there will be very little physical media and almost everyone will download just about everything.

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Allanon Shadeslayer
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Posted: 28th May 2009 05:45
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Quote: "I guess you could get the same feeling by gluing HDDs to your wall"


lol... genius

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