Long Live Rock?

      A couple big topics in the world of Music YouTube lately have been; "Does New Music Suck?" and "Is Rock Music Dead?" and "Is AI Going to Replace Musicians?". You might be surprised to know, I have some opinions on these questions that I haven't really heard anyone discussing. Before I get to that, here are my general observations about the state of Rock Music. I don't believe Rock is dead. It might be on life support, but it's not quite dead yet. 25 years ago, Radiohead mused that there was nothing new that could be done with the guitar. Maybe that's true, but there are still great bands putting out great albums every week. Most of it is the pastiche of the nineties, or the sixties, like The Lemon Twigs, but it's good stuff. The main problem for "new" Rock Music is there are now only two outlets for a band to be discovered - The Internet and College radio. The issues with these platforms are a matter of scope. The Internet is a vast arena of content that on the surface appears to have no "Gatekeepers", but actually does. A band breaking through on the internet is only slightly more likely than winning the lottery due to the sheer amount of posted content and nostalgia for the past. College radio has a much smaller scope of broadcast coverage, although there are a few stations that have decent streaming audiences, like KEXP in Seattle. Breaking through to the mainstream on College radio is also a long shot. I also disagree with the premise that new music sucks. Certainly, if you go on the internet and listen to an episode of Casey Kassem's Top 40 from the 70's, when I was growing up, that "new music" is superior to the new music on today's Top 40 radio. Yes, I know that's just my opinion, but come on...it's true. Back then, record labels and DJ's were the gatekeepers. Now it's algorithms and streaming. Rock radio, in general, today is mostly nostalgia. Other than College radio, Rock stations only play "Classic" Rock". When I was a kid, that WAS Rock radio. It seems counter-intuitive, but it seemed easier to find new Rock music back when all we had was radio and music magazines...before the Internet. Much of YouTube is young people "reacting" to classic rock music that they've supposedly never heard before; like The Beatles, Led Zeppelin and RUSH or the "Vinyl Community" discussing reissues of albums by The Beatles, Led Zeppelin and RUSH. NOSTALGIA! At least that's what I'm being fed by the algorithm. Results may vary. As far as AI goes...who knows. If AI replaces Travis Scott then I say "Thank you robot". 

     You've probably heard most of that before. Now, I'm going to blame the kids (and their parents). The Western world has become a place where kids go to school to get a job that they can support themselves on and helicopter parents are flying around all over the place. "Risk" and "Failure" are to be avoided at all costs. It's unimaginable today that four kids from Liverpool could run off to London, have a club residency, go to Germany with a minor in the band (George Harrison), play until all hours of the morning for drunk sailors, come back as conquering heroes and invade America. I'm not asking for anything that exciting, but could we allow kids to be a little more free range again. Let them try things that may not be practical. God forbid, let them fail...or succeed spectacularly. Take some chances before they have a mortgage and a family and health insurance. Whatever happened to scenes like CBGB's or The Whiskey A-Go-Go or The Cavern Club where kids could start a band and learn their musical chops playing shows all the time? Where are the kids like Geddy Lee, Alex Lifeson and Neil Peart playing 300 shows a year, driving around the country in an old van, taking turns driving all night from show to show? Today, if you allowed your kid to do that someone would call Child Protective Services. It's the loss of these opportunities for bands to develop that's killing Rock music. Most of the successful "Classic Rock" bands had no Plan B. They were committed and willing to take chances and pay the price for the music. Everything today is a hedge. Why risk all of that when you can sit in your room with a laptop, record an album and try to go viral on the internet? Why play 300 shows a year when you can get a few shows in your town opening for other bands and try to sell some merch to their fans? Do you want to know what really sucks? Never taking chances and being stuck in shitty, straight jobs until the day you die. Peace.

Discogs Median Value: Box Sets

      I generally don't buy box sets, unless they're on sale or used. While I'm a completist, I don't really need outtakes and alternate versions of songs. I've been holding out on the Revolver box because of the expense, even though I would actually like the alternate version of "Rain". So anyhow, my collection of box sets is a mixed bag of acquisitions. 

1. Dio - A Decade of Dio ( $258.33 )

     This set includes Dio's albums from 1983-93. Mine is a cut-out that I won for free from the Record Den in an online contest. So, the price was right. I won because I commented that Dio is my favorite metal frontman, which is true. I still haven't listened to all the records, yet. I just keep listening to Holy Diver and Last in Line. I need to rectify that situation soon.

2. Goo Goo Dolls - Pickpockets, Petty Thieves and Tiny Victories ( $150.00 )

     This set includes their first five albums. Goo Goo Dolls are one of my guilty pleasures. This was a Record Store Day release, but I held out until it was marked down and I had a gift certificate. 

3. Cheap Trick - The Classic Albums ( $144.96 )

     This set spans from the debut album to Dream Police and also has At Budokan. I probably own more copies and formats of Budokan than any other record in my collection. I fell in love with it when I was a kid and it's still my favorite live album. I also have O.G. copies of all these albums, but the set is awesome and pristine. 

4. Guided by Voices - Suitcase 3 ( $138.29 )

     This collection is the highest valued CD I own. 

5. The Flaming Lips - Heady Nuggs ( $132.39 )

     I don't actually own this box set, but Discogs insists that I do. Record Den broke up a box set and sold it as individual records. I bought some of them, entered them into my Discogs account, and now I supposedly own it. 

6. Triumph - Allied Forces 40th Anniversary ( $131.39 )

     This is a fantastic box set to commemorate a great album. It was a Record Store Day release and I ponied up for it. Worth every penny. 

7. The Beatles - The Beatles ( $117.50 )

     This CD box set was a birthday gift from my parents. It's the 2009 remasters of all the UK albums in a glossy, black box with the apple on it. Beautiful packaging. 

8. Shadowy Men on a Shadowy Planet - Oh, I Guess We Were a Fucking Surf Band After All ( $109.00 )

     I got in line at midnight to get this set for Record Store Day. Record Den only received one copy and I had to have it. There was only one guy ahead of me, and luckily it wasn't on his radar. They are a great band, but are only semi-famous because the Kids in the Hall used their song "Having an Average Weekend" for their theme. 

9. Various - Manchester, North of England ( $103.58 )

     This CD box covers the Manchester indie music scene from 1977-93. Lots of amazing bands included in this set. 

10. Various - Children of Nuggets ( $77.96 )

     Great psych rock collection that covers the years 1976-96. This was a marked down, cut-out. The first track is a Dukes of Stratosphear ( XTC ) song. It includes many Sound Mind favorites, such as, Teenage Fanclub, The Hoodoo Gurus, The Dream Syndicate, The Soft Boys and The Smithereens. It also has the song "I Helped Patrick McGoohan Escape" by The Times. Really cool set. Peace.

Discogs Median Value: Records

      One of the Vinyl Community YouTubers I enjoy watching is Tim from the University of Vinyl. Today he released a video about the most valuable records in his collection according to their median value on Discogs. This video was in response to the stock market plummeting the last two days and not intended as financial advice. So, I decided it would be fun to do the same thing on Sound Mind. Today I will list my Top 10 albums and tomorrow it will be box sets. Spoiler alert: half of my Top 10 is albums by RUSH. 

1. RUSH - RUSH ( $694.50 )

     Buying this record for $5.97 was the greatest bit of Karma I've ever experienced. When I moved to Cleveland from Detroit, I gave my US Mercury copy of RUSH's debut album to a friend as a going away gift. Shortly after settling in, I went to a small record store that specialized in classical music, but also had some used rock albums. I was stunned to find a rare Canadian Moon records copy of the same album on the shelf. It's not in pristine condition, but well worth the six bucks I spent on it. 

2. Misfits - Walk Among Us ( $450.00 ) 

     I know virtually nothing about Misfits, except that Glen Danzig was in the band. I was surprised to find this record in my father-in-law's collection after he passed. I cleaned it up and gave it a spin and it sounded amazing. I was equally surprised to see how valuable it was when I entered it into Discogs. 

3. RUSH - Test For Echo ( $222.26 )

     The reissues of these Nineties RUSH albums, on vinyl, from 2015 go for quite a bit on Discogs. I bought all of them because I'm a completist. In truth, Test For Echo is probably my least favorite RUSH album. Hopefully, for my family, it's still worth something after I'm dead. 

4. RUSH - Counterparts ( $202.19 )

     This is another vinyl reissue from 2015. I remember going to a midnight release at Dearborn Music to pick this album up on CD back in 1993. Just about everyone else at the midnight release was there for Vs. by Pearl Jam, but not me. 

5. RUSH - Snakes & Arrows ( $188.99 )

     This was actually released on LP in 2007 and I had a copy of it in my hand. I didn't buy it because it was $40. It's Max value on Discogs today is almost $300. I have the 2016 reissue, which is still quite valuable. I wish I had bought it in 2007, though. Great album. 

6. RUSH - Roll the Bones ( $163.04 )

     Yet another 2015 vinyl reissue. That makes 5  of my top 6 most valuable albums being RUSH records. Crazy. 

7. Sparklehorse - Good Morning Spider ( $126.54 ) 

     It's remarkable that Sparklehorse would be this high in my collection. Must have been a limited reissue. 

8. The Zombies - Oddessey and Oracle ( $123.50 )

     I found this record in a random cardboard box of albums at a thrift store. I know we were on vacation, but I don't remember where. The jacket is in rough shape, but the record is near mint and sounds fantastic. What a miraculous find!

9. Ben Folds Five - Whatever and Ever Amen ( $115.00 )

     This is a 2017 reissue on blue vinyl. One of my favorite albums of the '90's and Ben Folds is a Top 5 pianist in my opinion.

10. The Beatles - The Beatles ( $112.19 )

     Of course, The Beatles had to crack this list. This is the 2014 Mono reissue on vinyl. I own several different pressings of the White Album and this is my personal favorite. It's worth the price for the mono version of "Mother Nature's Son" alone. 

Honorable Mention: Doves - Kingdom of Rust came in at #11 at $111.11. What are the odds of that? Peace.