Germs are more seminal, too - I don't even hate that you don't wanna include them here. But yeah, Circle Jerks... they had more than one moment in SoCal.
Thanks, Kevin, for answering my question - appreciate it.
The variety of thoughts on the state of music criticism in relation to the news surrounding Pitchfork has certainly sparked my mind on what we can do here. Opportunity is knocking...
Fun mailbag, Kevin -- thanks for sharing. Music reviews still serve such a vital role and I'm grateful for your work, Rosy Overdrive, The Guardian, and a few others that I trust to steer me in a helpful direction.
Hi all. Re the Spotify question, what I've found is years ago I Imported my 14,000 song library into my paid Spotify subscription via my laptop. HOWEVER, I don't have access to those 14,000 songs when I play Spotify in my car (a 2022 vehicle). Odd right? If anyone can shed any light on this I'm all ears! Thanks.
I think your insights here are spot on. It's great to see how diverse and dynamic the music world continues to be, both in terms of content and how we engage with it.
Thanks for the news sources! As for your question on streaming platforms, when not at my turntable, I prefer Apple Music to Spotify for two main reasons: interface and sound quality. While it's true that many tracks are missing, if I really like/want a record, I know I'll get it on vinyl as and when I can (if not available on vinyl, I get it on CD: I try to stick to physical records insofar as possible).
List can be fun, especially if they involve some witty banter back and forth between participants. Plus it's always a good way to find new music and expand your horizons.
And as long as we establish the ground rule that my list is always correct... 🤣🤣
On the platform question, I’ve been using Tidal since Neil Young pulled his catalogue from Spotify. The interface is very similar to Spotify, so it was an easy transition. And I was able to transfer either most or all of my Spotify playlists to Tidal. (I’m not a big playlist guy, so I didn’t have that many). On occasion I haven’t been able to find a song, but it’s pretty rare.
Yes, definitely. I get a My Daily Discovery each morning and a New Arrivals playlist that updates as new songs are released. New songs and albums are featured for me based on my prior listening. There’s an “Influencer” section that’s kinda cool for finding older artists you might not have heard of. E.g, Tidal tells me that British band NRBQ influenced R.E.M. (I had never heard of NRBQ.) Tidal Rising features up & coming artists by genre. I’ve used Amazon, Spotify, and iTunes/Apple. Tidal competes with all, and I much prefer it to Amazon and Apple.
I coulda sworn NRBQ was an American band. Shows you what I know. At any rate, they opened for R.E.M. on the Green tour, and my friend and I were 100% not ready for them. Shame really. Hearing them now, I think they're great!
I stand corrected! I misread a reference to “British invasion pop” in describing their sound to mean they were from Britain. You’re right - they are from the U.S.
This was great Kev, love it especially the Social D, Black Flag, and Fishbone mentions. You can take the girl out of Cali but you can't take Cali out of the girl!
My question is I am trying to find the article that you had your Spotify streaming history data analyzed but the search functionality is not so good here on Substack - could you please post a link to it?
I finally downloaded mine and am eager to nerd out on it, so I wanted to see again the kind of analysis that was performed on yours!
Are you planning to write about what you might find? I should also mention that all credit goes to Chris Dalla Riva for the data mining- I couldn't even read the table without his help!
I sure am and yes CDR is the guru of pop culture data analysis! If you want, would love to eventually publish it as a guest post on yours and his Substacks? Mine is using Tableau which is my jam when it comes to data viz and reading in .json files!
Yay, I'm so stoked Kev to guest on On Repeat coming up in the near future for my Be A Data Maestro Part V! I hope you like bubble charts and treemaps 🫧🌳🗺️
In terms of uploading your collection to Spotify, as an alternative I’ve been using the CloudBeats app. I uploaded my music collection (ripped from physical CDs 15 years ago) on Dropbox and I link my CloudBeats to that library. It means paying for Dropbox storage, which is fine for me. CloudBeats lets me stream from Dropbox or download to my device for offline listening and has worked well for me.
Of course!
The response on album reviews makes me feel seen 😊😇 great as always, Kevin.
Thank you!
Jawbreaker lyrics, I see youse!
Q: Top five punk bands from Southern California.
I'd add Circle Jerks and Germs, personally, but good picks!
I kept adding Circle Jerks and then taking them off. I suppose that's the fun/torture of Top 5 lists.
Germs are more seminal, too - I don't even hate that you don't wanna include them here. But yeah, Circle Jerks... they had more than one moment in SoCal.
Thanks, Kevin, for answering my question - appreciate it.
The variety of thoughts on the state of music criticism in relation to the news surrounding Pitchfork has certainly sparked my mind on what we can do here. Opportunity is knocking...
It's knocking indeed! Now we just need to figure out how best to answer. Would love to hear any ideas/thoughts you have.
For sure - nothing definite has taken shape just yet.
Thoroughly entertaining and great insight into this newsletter and who you are. Thanks for doing this. I love mailbags!
But, I still consider Social D punk (they were pioneers) and they're from Southern California, so ....
Thank you! And you're right about SD. They're one of my all-time favorite bands. I think I overthought that one a little bit.
On that last one... Pretenders the band? Or Pretenders the Substack? ;)
I'm pretty sure it's the band? I didn't know there was a Substack with the same name.
Fun mailbag, Kevin -- thanks for sharing. Music reviews still serve such a vital role and I'm grateful for your work, Rosy Overdrive, The Guardian, and a few others that I trust to steer me in a helpful direction.
Thank you! I really appreciate that.
For anyone scrolling the comments, Rosy Overdrive is a fantastic blog/resource-especially for newer/up and coming bands.
Hi all. Re the Spotify question, what I've found is years ago I Imported my 14,000 song library into my paid Spotify subscription via my laptop. HOWEVER, I don't have access to those 14,000 songs when I play Spotify in my car (a 2022 vehicle). Odd right? If anyone can shed any light on this I'm all ears! Thanks.
I think your insights here are spot on. It's great to see how diverse and dynamic the music world continues to be, both in terms of content and how we engage with it.
Thanks for answering my question...I knew I was right, LOL. Musicstackers ( and other independent music journos) UNITE!
You bet! Now we just gotta figure out how best to do it.
Love the "Lawyers, Guns & Money" lyric.
For my money (no pun intended), the best opening line ever.
Thanks for the news sources! As for your question on streaming platforms, when not at my turntable, I prefer Apple Music to Spotify for two main reasons: interface and sound quality. While it's true that many tracks are missing, if I really like/want a record, I know I'll get it on vinyl as and when I can (if not available on vinyl, I get it on CD: I try to stick to physical records insofar as possible).
Thank you! I keep trying Apple, but never stick with it. Maybe I've just been too used to Spotify.
For me, it's the other way around. Must be most definitely a habit thing.
Not surprisingly, I am impressed with your top five list of Southern California punk bands. And your sixth man is an interesting choice.
Well done
Thank you! we should probably do more of these.
List can be fun, especially if they involve some witty banter back and forth between participants. Plus it's always a good way to find new music and expand your horizons.
And as long as we establish the ground rule that my list is always correct... 🤣🤣
On the platform question, I’ve been using Tidal since Neil Young pulled his catalogue from Spotify. The interface is very similar to Spotify, so it was an easy transition. And I was able to transfer either most or all of my Spotify playlists to Tidal. (I’m not a big playlist guy, so I didn’t have that many). On occasion I haven’t been able to find a song, but it’s pretty rare.
I see that you rarely have issues finding a track, but do you think it's comparable overall to Spotify, or even Amazon Music?
Yes, definitely. I get a My Daily Discovery each morning and a New Arrivals playlist that updates as new songs are released. New songs and albums are featured for me based on my prior listening. There’s an “Influencer” section that’s kinda cool for finding older artists you might not have heard of. E.g, Tidal tells me that British band NRBQ influenced R.E.M. (I had never heard of NRBQ.) Tidal Rising features up & coming artists by genre. I’ve used Amazon, Spotify, and iTunes/Apple. Tidal competes with all, and I much prefer it to Amazon and Apple.
I coulda sworn NRBQ was an American band. Shows you what I know. At any rate, they opened for R.E.M. on the Green tour, and my friend and I were 100% not ready for them. Shame really. Hearing them now, I think they're great!
I stand corrected! I misread a reference to “British invasion pop” in describing their sound to mean they were from Britain. You’re right - they are from the U.S.
This was great Kev, love it especially the Social D, Black Flag, and Fishbone mentions. You can take the girl out of Cali but you can't take Cali out of the girl!
My question is I am trying to find the article that you had your Spotify streaming history data analyzed but the search functionality is not so good here on Substack - could you please post a link to it?
I finally downloaded mine and am eager to nerd out on it, so I wanted to see again the kind of analysis that was performed on yours!
Here’s the link: https://open.substack.com/pub/thekevinalexander/p/what-am-i-really-listening-to
Thank you Mark!
Thank you Mark!
West coast is the best coast!
Are you planning to write about what you might find? I should also mention that all credit goes to Chris Dalla Riva for the data mining- I couldn't even read the table without his help!
I sure am and yes CDR is the guru of pop culture data analysis! If you want, would love to eventually publish it as a guest post on yours and his Substacks? Mine is using Tableau which is my jam when it comes to data viz and reading in .json files!
Lmk my pren if this would be ok with you guys!
100% okay with me! Would love to host.
Yay, I'm so stoked Kev to guest on On Repeat coming up in the near future for my Be A Data Maestro Part V! I hope you like bubble charts and treemaps 🫧🌳🗺️
In terms of uploading your collection to Spotify, as an alternative I’ve been using the CloudBeats app. I uploaded my music collection (ripped from physical CDs 15 years ago) on Dropbox and I link my CloudBeats to that library. It means paying for Dropbox storage, which is fine for me. CloudBeats lets me stream from Dropbox or download to my device for offline listening and has worked well for me.
Interesting! I hadn't thought of that. I already have a Dropbox account, so that wouldn't be too big of leap for me.