Vinyl Me Please Anthology

Dead C said:
Yeah, it's a little sloppy and I think it misses the mark, but here's kind of how I'm seeing it.

It's for people with money that want VMP to curate their record collection for them. They listen to indie bands and have "eclectic" tastes, but really just hover within the same parameters of what is played on non-commercial radio stations like KEXP. It's kind of like how SUB POP is considered a indie label, but Warner Bros owns 49% of the company. They only go so far off the grid and are still fairly tethered.

Even by looking over that Day Of The Dead box, I could pick more names of artists whose takes I'd be interested in hearing about regarding the Dead. Having some dude from Dirty Projectors or someone from the Decemberists talk about them is not a selling point.

I remember 15 years ago, when the psych rock revival was really starting to gain some traction and talking about how ridiculous it was to me that there was still so much aversion to the Grateful Dead. People were starting to embrace this throwback sound, but continuing to completely dismiss some of the primary architects. It seems like a lot of people can't remember that the Dead were still considered "uncool" and something to run from. But, shortly after, their legacy started to infiltrate that scene and then, almost overnight, they were given props. Even if you didn't listen to them, it was a good idea to wear a shirt. I saw images of some high fashion runway show recently where they all had on tour Tees.

Even now, when some people are explaining that they dismissed the Dead it was because they knew people that also liked Phish. The Dead's stigma was the same as the one with Phish, if not worse Phish actually took on some of it that they still retain, after the Dead has shaken it. That's because, prior to recently, people who listened to the Dead were considered a certain type of person. Once you start to see that the music reaches beyond that small stereotype, it's harder to argue that case.

So, now there is an acknowledgement that they overlooked the Dead for whatever reason, but for a lot of us, that still feels relatively new. That same blank dismissal that Phish gets was applied to the Grateful Dead FOREVER. They represented some hippie bullshit that nobody wanted to be associated with. All of that "When the drugs run out, people realize they are listening to a shitty band" rhetoric was standard. So, now all the same demographic of kids who 15-20 years ago wouldn't be caught "dead" even admitting that they liked a GD song are existing in a time period where the world has embraced them, and I'm sure some of that comes over time with their own heroes signaling to them that it's okay now.

For that reason, the Day Of The Dead box was probably a better introduction to the group than this thing, because it broke down those barriers in a way that showed a lot more reverence and care than I may have otherwise expected from it. You could tell that the people behind it really cared. The VMP release seems like it's targeting the same crowd, but with a less effective delivery. The price is obviously a huge difference and the Day Of The Dead box actually delivered something new. This is old stuff and most of it fairly easy to acquire. Then, you just have Jim James showing up to tell you why it's cool. Oh, and Hunter from Soundtribe, who most people won't even know who the fuck he is.
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Yeah take someone like Beringer and The National that loved the Dead so much and wanted younger listeners to be exposed to them that they rounded up all those artists for the massive tribute album

They would have been great to write the liner notes for this.

I'm actually surprised Storf didn't volunteer to stumble through the whole thing or have a VMP Rising artist transcribe each album's wiki page
 
I'm trying to figure out how this makes sense for VMP. No way they cut a deal for 7500 of these, right?

Something is up and we will find out soon enough.

I'm thinking the Box is VMP and they are basically taking preorders for the whole bundle.

I think these are getting released later individually by someone and the total of each is 7500.
 
TheThinWhiteDuke said:
Storf personifies VMP- in the vibe that it's a bunch of Spotify surfers stumbling upon bands for the first time, wiki cramming as much as they can in half an hour then acting like they know what the fuck the are talking about. It bleeds through in everything he writes and says. And reading through Reddit it's not hard to see that this is reflective in the younger culture of music listeners that never had to organically grow their musical knowledge.
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Merits of the box aside, this seems like a totally reasonable way of exploring new music to me. If anything, I’d be more concerned with Spotify pigeonholing music tastes and reinforcing established preferences — the whole “You listened to Radiohead? Here are 12 more artists that sound almost exactly like them” kinda thing. If someone wants to explore different styles of music, that’s a good thing as far as I’m concerned, regardless of how they go about it.
 
botherly said:
Out on this box. Gonna buy a few that interest me now then get the rest on black when they inevitably reissue it down the road if I still want them.

Which Live album would y'all say is essential? Live Dead?
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If you're getting into the Dead for the first time, and are doing it on vinyl, I'd recommend getting Workingman's Dead and American Beauty first. I'd follow with the three live albums: Live/Dead, Skull & Roses, and Europe '72. Depends on your musical tastes as to which one I would recommend.

Mind though, that vinyl isn't the best way to get into them. If you listen digitally or on CD, I'd skip the live step above and go directly to Dick's Picks Volume 4 and 8, Sunshine Daydream (Veneta '72), Cornell 77, and Wake Up To Find Out (3/29/90). Wouldn't recommend full live shows on vinyl to start due to format.
 
wmeugene said:
If you're getting into the Dead for the first time, and are doing it on vinyl, I'd recommend getting Workingman's Dead and American Beauty first. I'd follow with the three live albums: Live/Dead, Skull & Roses, and Europe '72. Depends on your musical tastes as to which one I would recommend.

Mind though, that vinyl isn't the best way to get into them. If you listen digitally or on CD, I'd skip the live step above and skip directly to Dick's Picks Volume 4 and 8, Sunshine Daydream (Veneta '72), Cornell 77, and Wake Up To Find Out (3/29/90). Wouldn't recommend full live shows on vinyl to start due to format.
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I think this is my plan. I’m finally happy with my digital setup at home so will get an album or two on vinyl (rhino release or maybe a MoFi if I can get a good deal) and listen to any live digitally. Thanks to all for the suggestions. Maybe it’s time for a N&G vinyl box set to go live...
 
MikeH said:
I think this is my plan. I’m finally happy with my digital setup at home so will get an album or two on vinyl (rhino release or maybe a MoFi if I can get a good deal) and listen to any live digitally. Thanks to all for the suggestions. Maybe it’s time for a N&G vinyl box set to go live...
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The WD and AB Mofis are 2lp, 45 rpm and sound amazing. I would recommend both, even at 50 a pop.
 
egoaudit said:
Merits of the box aside, this seems like a totally reasonable way of exploring new music to me. If anything, I’d be more concerned with Spotify pigeonholing music tastes and reinforcing established preferences — the whole “You listened to Radiohead? Here are 12 more artists that sound almost exactly like them” kinda thing. If someone wants to explore different styles of music, that’s a good thing as far as I’m concerned, regardless of how they go about it.
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Thank you. Agreed on all counts.

I dont care how people discover new music, as long as they do discover new music. Theres so much good stuff out there, its impossible to get into everything. Ive been a been a big music fan all my life and of course I know who the grateful dead is, I just never got into them for multiple reasons. This seems like a great setup for it.

But I also realize Im in a fortunate position financially. I dont really know if its the best strategy to make a set meant for people trying to get into the grateful dead and price it at $400+ and then make 7500 of them.
 
Hogues said:
Europe 72 is great, but for me it will always be Reckoning.
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Years ago, I was on the website for the local Seattle weekly, The Stranger, where a writer posted about how he'd never gotten into the Dead and wanted some suggestions, because he knew that he'd avoided them over preconceptions in the past. The responses that I saw were typical. Either everyone was suggesting some incredibly accessible Sugar Mag type shit, or they were trying to get him to listen to some bugged out 45 minute space jam. One is so safe that it might still leave the listener wondering what the whole hype is about, while the other is obviously not the way to go. I told him that I'd send him Jerry's Oregon State Pen show. He listened to it and wrote back and thanked me, because he really liked it and finally understood a new dimension of what he/they had to offer. I love Reckoning for that similar sound and era. Europe 72 is another dimension. Plus, I love He's Gone and Tennesee Jed and all that shit
 
wynn72 said:
Thank you. Agreed on all counts.

I dont care how people discover new music, as long as they do discover new music. Theres so much good stuff out there, its impossible to get into everything. Ive been a been a big music fan all my life and of course I know who the grateful dead is, I just never got into them for multiple reasons. This seems like a great setup for it.

But I also realize Im in a fortunate position financially. I dont really know if its the best strategy to make a set meant for people trying to get into the grateful dead and price it at $400+ and then make 7500 of them.
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With all due respect, there’s really no band I would drop $450 to “get in to.” If anything I would get an album, or stream their stuff, but would never be able to justify $450 on someone I never could get into or haven’t listened to. And with the Dead, there’s usually a reason why people don’t like them. It’s really not for everyone.

That being said, I hope you enjoy it!
 
egoaudit said:
Merits of the box aside, this seems like a totally reasonable way of exploring new music to me. If anything, I’d be more concerned with Spotify pigeonholing music tastes and reinforcing established preferences — the whole “You listened to Radiohead? Here are 12 more artists that sound almost exactly like them” kinda thing. If someone wants to explore different styles of music, that’s a good thing as far as I’m concerned, regardless of how they go about it.
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Yeah I mean- this new way of music discovery isn't all bad. There are great things: today having an eclectic musical taste is celebrated and expected- no one is going to literally kick the shit out of you anymore for liking the Grateful Dead and Steely Dan alongside Bad Brains and The Clash. People can appreciate forgotten artists like never before. On the flip side, that whole slowly built self curated musical library and knowledge and the "judge you by you CD case" culture has vanished, and maybe there is some nostalgia for that still.


But what I take the blade to is when a group acts like they are group #2 , catering to group #1 and peddling them a bunch of high end shit so they can all act like group # 2 together.
 
TheThinWhiteDuke said:
You missed my point. The Beatles Mono box is 14 albums redone to perfection with a beautiful hardbound book and is the current crown Jewel of classic rock.

This is an 8 album cash grab of nothing new or anything we won't see again.

I wasn't giving a warning not to miss out
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I didnt miss your point. I know what you meant, it wasnt subtle. I just view it a bit differently.

But I do see where youre coming from and think in terms of price and album selection it is going to be a smaller group than they think who this box will appeal to.
 
bobomac2 said:
With all due respect, there’s really no band I would drop $450 to “get in to.” If anything I would get an album, or stream their stuff, but would never be able to justify $450 on someone I never could get into or haven’t listened to. And with the Dead, there’s usually a reason why people don’t like them. It’s really not for everyone.

That being said, I hope you enjoy it!
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Fair enough. Im not going in with a blank slate. Ive heard a decent amount of dead, enough to know Ill like more of what I hear, theres just so much out there its hard to know where to start when diving in (though yes I know theres less expensive ways to find out).

I think this is a great set for people like that who want to explore more dead and have the Expendable income but that is not a 7500 pressing product. Dead heads wont want to be bothered with this material they have already dy and most beginners will just buy an album or two or check stuff out on streaming.

This should have been around 2k pressings or so but thats VMPs problem not mine. Im excited to get it.
 
bobomac2 said:
And with the Dead, there’s usually a reason why people don’t like them. It’s really not for everyone.
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I don't really agree with this point. Do a lot of people not like them, because they're not for everyone? Definitely. But the major difference with the Dead is that they are very difficult to classify or get the full scope of with a single snapshot. You can listen to a Skrillex song and determine if you're into him knowing he's a certain type of American bro-step. With the Dead, you might hear an era or a track that you're not into and falsely determine that it reflects the entirety of their catalog, when it doesn't.

That being said, I wouldn't drop $450 on this to try and "get into it" either. Still, I think you need to hear more than a single track or even a single album to determine whether or not you like them or not. While some will never be into it, I would argue that one of the reasons why a lot of people "don't like them" is because they don't actually know their music. My brother thinks he "hates" them, too. I was driving him home one night and listening to Two From The Vault, when he asked me what it was, because he was really enjoying it. I told him to Shazam it and then waiting for the "Dammit!"
 
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