I want to talk to you about an injustice. I know there are probably bigger problems facing our nation: gas prices, the mortgage crisis, the war, and... Andy Dick's arrest (for urinating in public and pulling down a girl's tank top). But there is one thing that has been bugging me big time, and I suspect some of you too.
I pay for music. I use iTunes...a lot. It's just too easy, and I can do it from the iPhone. But you would think that for $0.99 along with the song you could also get information on, not only who the composer of the particular song is, but also on the musicians, producer, and yes, being the geek I am, the engineer. Oh... and I want the lyrics. I love to read them as I hear a song for the first time.
Am I the only one that misses looking in the booklet of a CD to find out who the drummer is? When I was preparing for my up and coming next record, the name Jim Keltner came up as a potential drummer. I jumped at the chance, as he played on some of my favorite records growing up (like those post-Beatles solo albums). I knew his name from studying the inside of album covers.
Maybe I'm old. Maybe, in an era of manufactured pop, no one cares who the programmer or session musicians are. But dang, I knew who played on the Monkee's records (The Wreaking Crew). And I would like to know, for instance, who Mark Ronson (Amy Winehouse's producer) hires to play on his records. Who is on the latest Beck record? And, on a personal note, who did Katy Perry write her "I Kissed a Girl" with?
Am I alone in this?
I played guitar on a couple of friends' recent records. No one will probably ever know what a good semi-shredder I am (damn it), since most will either download them for free or iTunes the music.
And let's not forget the "thank you"s! You can name drop famous people who may help you in the future, and please relatives and unmusical friends.
Trying to succeed as a musician or a songwriter -- meaning, being able to pay rent -- is hard enough. Let's at least give credit where credit is due.
Who do I talk to at Apple?
Not all albums "back in the day" had lyrics anyway, but they paid a lot more attention to cover art before CDs came along. When was the last time you saw a really cool piece of cover art?
Anyway, you can still buy CDs for not much more $$ than when they came out 20 years ago, and they tend to be longer too. You can generally buy them on iTunes for considerably less. If you really want the written stuff, bite the bullet and buy the CD.
I love reading the covers of CD's and continue to purchase CD's just for the pleasure of knowing everything i can about my favorite songs.
Long gone are the days of appreciating who wrote the song and played various instruments.
Maybe it is because these days songs are manufactured through a computer.
i too am frustrated at times with the lack of information included with mp3 downloads, but i've generally done a good deal of information gathering on the music prior to downloading anyhow. if i hear something i think i'll like, i'll do a bit of research on that artist-believe me, google is a good thing!-, i'll probably have listened to some of their stuff on myspace because the itunes samples are downright pathetic at 30 seconds each, i may hear a cut or two over at rhapsody and by then i'll have boned up so much on this artist i'll probably be able cite several other projects he/she is working on beyond my original search, and no who's produced and who's performed.
i miss the interaction with the guys behind the counters at record stores, but i'm generally finding out everything i need to know about someone anyhow. so it kind of all works out-at least for me it does.
(Boyce and Hart wrote a lot of the early Monkees' material, but were smart enough to save "You're Still My Favorite Girlfriend, Alice Long" for themselves.)
I used to read and re-read the liner notes of my records and cds for fun and for an education because knowing who does what can lead you to some artists you would have never heard of or bought otherwise.
In that frame, you can look at it as a good marketing tool also.
You're complaining about a non-existant problem
I thought of you when I started hearing the title of the current song. Wondered if it was your song or only the same title, not knowing the lyrics.
But, yes, we're old.... chronologically.
I'm probably missing out on some new rock bands, but I don't really care anymore. My brother, who is 10 years younger than I am, will frequently burn copies of whatever he wants me to hear. He's sent White Stripes, Wolfmother, Artic Monkeys, latest Who, or other artists.
Guess I'm just gettin' old and set in my ways. Oh, dear.