I downloaded mp3s of questionable origin yesterday.
You have to know that I don't normally do that. I use various music services or buy CDs to get my music and am not usually a downloader. I'm not going to get into any sort of philosophical debate or make any moral statements or judgments - I'm just providing some background info.
But yesterday I was thinking about an old favorite album of mine and wondering if by chance it was ever released on CD. I've had a copy on vinyl for years but it is long out of print and I have never really gotten around to transferring things over to digital formats. I tried once way back when and it was a nightmare. I guess they have come out with USB turntables and such since then but it's a huge project and one I just am not ready to tackle.
But there are a lot of things I have on vinyl that just aren't available on CD. Some of it is just fine that way really, but then there is the Too Late at 20 by The Act
Don't worry - most people have never heard of them. They released only a single album in 1981 before disbanding. But what an album it was. Impeccably produced 80's power pop perfection as exemplified here in "Skip The Beat"
So anyway, in my search I happened across a site where they had a rip from the vinyl available for download. I didn't hesitate and clicked through, nearly giddy waiting for the download to complete. Hands trembling as I unzipped the .rar file. Nearly shaking as I selected the tracks and started the playback in my trusty Winamp. Smiles as I hear the opening chords of the title track blare through my laptop speakers.
Fan-fucking-tastic.
So while I am enjoying the album, I am also feeling a bit guilty. But I did purchase the album at one time and have my very own copy stored nicely with my other vinyl, patiently waiting for my lazy ass to set up my music room. I also figure I would have certainly bought it on CD if it had been available. Ok, how about this? If anyone from The Act has an issue, let me know and I'll slip you a couple of bucks via Paypal or something.
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As an aside, how I found this particular group and album might be a bit of an explanation of how I approach musical discovery, and why my friends and family think I am such a freak. Keep reading at your own risk, it's scary in here...
Around 1985 there was a group called The Dream Academy that had a hit in the US with "Life in a Northern Town". The album featured David Gilmour of Pink Floyd fame on a track (I believe he may have also produced.) So this is where the freak thing comes in.
I tend to be somewhat of a completest with my collection. So while in a Pink Floyd phase, for example, I really will pick up anything that happens to have any sort of connection. It started with my buying this Dream Academy record because of the Gilmour connection. A bit of further reading / research and I discovered that Nick Laird-Clowes was in a previous band with Gilmour's brother Mark. The band was The Act and Too Late At 20 was the album. It quickly went on my "if I ever find this..." list and the rest is history.
I don't recall exactly where I found it, probably at the now defunct Record Swap in Homewood Illinois. I imagine that a good majority of my collection was acquired there - as well as a good chunk of my teenage years spent trudging through the used record bins that lined the store.
Actually, that really wasn't as far out a story as some of my more bizarre acquisition connections, but a brief glimpse nonetheless.
Anyway - hope you enjoy the track.
What do you have hiding away in your collection that you would love to get digitized?
Information is not knowledge, Knowledge is not wisdom, Wisdom is not truth, Truth is not beauty, Beauty is not love, Love is not music and Music is THE BEST
You have to know that I don't normally do that. I use various music services or buy CDs to get my music and am not usually a downloader. I'm not going to get into any sort of philosophical debate or make any moral statements or judgments - I'm just providing some background info.
