Vinyl Me Please Anthology

[Dtknuckles]

I just want to say thank you for the support, in my opinion, it had to do with more than one person. I truly feel there has been a slow build to what is going to be acceptable to post about VMP outside of VMP threads. My post was basically that I had a good conversation with Matt and Lloyd because they mostly listened instead of trying to explain things away. But I included that I still have issues and was not too happy with them using the "we're working on it" line. I also mentioned I don't plan to withhold info from conversation unless it is tentative plans or spitting balling things because we all know what happens when we get some info about VMP and it doesn't happen. The status was, in my opinion, fair because they are people and should be talked about as such and I tried to do that. I got comments that I don't think were appropriate and were allowed to go on, some were definitely worse than others but the continued tone was disturbing to me and if I were to respond to any of it would have made it worse (based on a couple of comments I did make and a recent dust-up that I bear a good bit of responsibility for).

I will be meeting with Lloyd (and Matt if he can make it) in person to go over more things since we live fairly close and Lloyd has family near where I live. This doesn't excuse past situations but if they are willing to listen to customers and actually make changes that would be great and give me more hope. If it is all just a show then that would most likely be the tipping point for me.

As to the VMP slow build, I know there is a good portion of people that are extremely upset with VMP and that is totally fine. But if I can't post a status post with mixed commentary about VMP (though I would say it had a lot more skepticism than positive).

It’s good that their meeting with you and shows at least some initiative to make wrongs right. Hopefully they have realized that we are some of their most loyal customer base and there is a lot of value in getting us back and it’s not all monetary. I think most of us wanted VMP to succeed and the reason why complains were so loud and consistent were because of that and the fact that they kept making mistakes.

 

[johnpisme]

I just want to say thank you for the support, in my opinion, it had to do with more than one person. I truly feel there has been a slow build to what is going to be acceptable to post about VMP outside of VMP threads. My post was basically that I had a good conversation with Matt and Lloyd because they mostly listened instead of trying to explain things away. But I included that I still have issues and was not too happy with them using the "we're working on it" line. I also mentioned I don't plan to withhold info from conversation unless it is tentative plans or spitting balling things because we all know what happens when we get some info about VMP and it doesn't happen. The status was, in my opinion, fair because they are people and should be talked about as such and I tried to do that. I got comments that I don't think were appropriate and were allowed to go on, some were definitely worse than others but the continued tone was disturbing to me and if I were to respond to any of it would have made it worse (based on a couple of comments I did make and a recent dust-up that I bear a good bit of responsibility for).

I will be meeting with Lloyd (and Matt if he can make it) in person to go over more things since we live fairly close and Lloyd has family near where I live. This doesn't excuse past situations but if they are willing to listen to customers and actually make changes that would be great and give me more hope. If it is all just a show then that would most likely be the tipping point for me.

As to the VMP slow build, I know there is a good portion of people that are extremely upset with VMP and that is totally fine. But if I can't post a status post with mixed commentary about VMP (though I would say it had a lot more skepticism than positive).

What confuses me about this is they had a whole forum of people who gave them this feedback constantly that they could have chosen to listen to at any time. Why the one on one? Do they really think you are going to tell them anything the forum didn't think to say?

Do you think if you had been more detailed about what was talked about people would have had a different reaction? I didn't get to read much of it, but I feel like there were some people filling in blanks that maybe don't exist. Maybe just a bullet-point style list of what was said would have been better? I don't know.

Edit: after reading more about this it seems the comments got a lot worse than I had been thinking they did? All I know is I'm interested in the details of the convo, possibly mostly because I'm confused about what they thought they could gain that they didn't already have?

 

[johnpisme]

The thing about the FB group that has completely killed it for me and made me not want to actively contribute to it is the combination of shit talking the "complainers" at every opportunity along with breathlessly praising VMP constantly. I don't want to interact with this people and they seem to be constantly there. I makes me wonder if some of them aren't shills. What would make a regular paying customer act the way some of these people do? And then we have the one person we already know is a complete shill who didn't pay to be there:

There have been several times where I thought of interesting things to post in there, or at least that would not be zero-effort BS posts, but I didn't do it because of all this. Even the random serious comment I make, one of these assholes "liked" it with a sarcastic sad face crying emoji. How fucking childish are these people?

 

[Dtknuckles]

Lou has my son and I dancing around in our underwear in the living room for quite some time last night.

This is the most accessible album by far. Why is that?

For me it’s the groove. Ben Dixion is the unsung hero of this album. And the other musicians really take cue from him.

 

[Mr Moore]

Gotta say, I'm really looking forward to hearing this Lou album after the amount of praise it's received here. It was the one I was probably least looking forward to as the style is least in tune with my preferences but I'm lovin all the lovin it's getting. Holding off streaming to give it a first listen on record.

 

[Djxfactor511]

The thing about the FB group that has completely killed it for me and made me not want to actively contribute to it is the combination of shit talking the "complainers" at every opportunity along with breathlessly praising VMP constantly. I don't want to interact with this people and they seem to be constantly there. I makes me wonder if some of them aren't shills. What would make a regular paying customer act the way some of these people do? And then we have the one person we already know is a complete shill who didn't pay to be there:
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There have been several times where I thought of interesting things to post in there, or at least that would not be zero-effort BS posts, but I didn't do it because of all this. Even the random serious comment I make, one of these assholes "liked" it with a sarcastic sad face crying emoji. How fucking childish are these people?

It's why Facebook comments are a cesspool of people with too much time on their hands spreading ignorance or hailing corporate because they think it'll get them an "in" or special privileges. It's one of the main reasons why (politics aside) I went from an avid user in college to using it so sparingly now. My mom comments on local news stories (insert mandatory eye roll here) so they pop up on my feed and boy does it make me question society, our education system, and god himself.

 

[MikeH]

It's why Facebook comments are a cesspool of people with too much time on their hands spreading ignorance or hailing corporate because they think it'll get them an "in" or special privileges. It's one of the main reasons why (politics aside) I went from an avid user in college to using it so sparingly now. My mom comments on local news stories (insert mandatory eye roll here) so they pop up on my feed and boy does it make me question society, our education system, and god himself.

It's also just an awful format for something like what they are trying to do. They really need to switch to something with threads. I think they chose facebook because A) it's free and B) the age skews more toward older people in the group and facebook is easy for them to use.

The praising and shitting on anybody who has a legitimate gripe about the product is also frustrating. I spoke up about it a little yesterday and then decided that I am going to just take a back seat over there and not visit it very often. There's nothing productive happening on it.

 

[Dtknuckles]

@seeirwin

After listening to the Lou album I had some ideas about his playing.

He and Adderly are similar in a lot of ways. They both cut their teeth during the bee bop era and went on to have a very soulful sound that wasn’t in be bop. What are the ideas they use to make this distinction? Also even though they both have a very soulful sound they have very distinctive personalities on their instrument. What do they do that set them apart from each other?

Also you are a guitarist and must love Grant Green. There is some praise for his playing in the FB group about his playing on this album. For me it’s not his best. He doesn’t build in intensity like solos on other albums. A trait I think Marc Ribot borrows from him (one of my favorite contemporary guitarists). What are your thoughts on Green on this album.

And lastly, don’t know how much time you spend around here, but Mark DeClive Lowe is doing an AMA on Monday at 11Am Pacific time on the form. Thought you may be interested.

 

[MikeH]

@seeirwin

After listening to the Lou album I had some ideas about his playing.

He and Adderly are similar in a lot of ways. They both cut their teeth during the bee bop era and went on to have a very soulful sound that wasn’t in be bop. What are the ideas they use to make this distinction? Also even though they both have a very soulful sound they have very distinctive personalities on their instrument. What do they do that set them apart from each other?

Also you are a guitarist and must love Grant Green. There is some praise for his playing in the FB group about his playing on this album. For me it’s not his best. He doesn’t build in intensity like solos on other albums. A trait I think Marc Ribot borrows from him (one of my favorite contemporary guitarists). What are your thoughts on Green on this album.

And lastly, don’t know how much time you spend around here, but Mark DeClive Lowe is doing an AMA on Monday at 11Am Pacific time on the form. Thought you may be interested.

It's not Grant's best IMO either, but even not at his best, he's pretty damn good. I have been trying to get some more Grant records lately since it's one area that I am seriously lacking in. I have his Live at the Lighthouse record and Street of Dreams and then various records that he's on, but need to up my collection with him. I'm glad he's getting some new re-releases this year with BN.

 

[Dtknuckles]

It's not Grant's best IMO either, but even not at his best, he's pretty damn good. I have been trying to get some more Grant records lately since it's one area that I am seriously lacking in. I have his Live at the Lighthouse record and Street of Dreams and then various records that he's on, but need to up my collection with him. I'm glad he's getting some new re-releases this year with BN.

I wish they would reissue Feeling the Spirit. I love that album. If it would have been a record when I fist got it, I would have warn out the grooves in high school.

 

[admiraltaftbar]

Apparently they are considering send just the record without a jacket......?

Is this uncommon? The couple of boxsets that I've ever had that needed to have a single record replaced had the replacement come without an outer sleeve/jacket.

I'm waiting on a replacement A/B for my Bill Evans Ultradisc because it was warped and I was expecting it to arrive in just the inner sleeve.

 

[Enoch]

What confuses me about this is they had a whole forum of people who gave them this feedback constantly that they could have chosen to listen to at any time. Why the one on one? Do they really think you are going to tell them anything the forum didn't think to say?

Do you think if you had been more detailed about what was talked about people would have had a different reaction? I didn't get to read much of it, but I feel like there were some people filling in blanks that maybe don't exist. Maybe just a bullet-point style list of what was said would have been better? I don't know.

Edit: after reading more about this it seems the comments got a lot worse than I had been thinking they did? All I know is I'm interested in the details of the convo, possibly mostly because I'm confused about what they thought they could gain that they didn't already have?

One thing I did respect from the conversation with them is once a problem is discovered many times it can't be corrected immediately. However, my issue was it seems they kept making a similar type of mistake, basically extending themselves too far. And I brought thought up and think of the things I brought it is was the one that didn't hit home. They did reiterate that the forum closing wasn't a close but a pause. But yeah there was a lot of feedback provided there, some helpful some from anger (totally understandable).

I think it is best to no longer mention the status. But I do plan to provide updates as I can about future discussions I have with them, but I will respect their idea of not sharing potential thoughts on changes because they may not come to pass. I find that very fair because if shared and many people like the idea but it doesn't come to pass for whatever reason there is potential for backlash for an idea that wasn't an actual goal. If it is something I think should be shared I will push to be able to share it. I honestly can't say how many more sessions of communication there will be. And this could be a step to actually earning the reputation I have as communicating regularly with them.

 

[MikeH]

Is this uncommon? The couple of boxsets that I've ever had that needed to have a single record replaced had the replacement come without an outer sleeve/jacket.

I'm waiting on a replacement A/B for my Bill Evans Ultradisc because it was warped and I was expecting it to arrive in just the inner sleeve.

I don't think it is particularly uncommon but as far as I know, VMP has only done it once before with Dilla. Other times with errors/damage, they have shipped you an entirely new record sleeve included.

 

[MikeH]

I do plan to provide updates as I can about future discussions I have with them

Please do. And thanks again for talking with them and taking the time to express the frustrations that many of us have had.

 

[Enoch]

Please do. And thanks again for talking with them and taking the time to express the frustrations that many of us have had.

No problem, I have invested a lot into VMP and I want things to get better so I feel that my investment wasn't a mistake. I really do hope that them doing these types of things will be a turning point as I know they are directly reaching out to others to have a phone conversation as email is slower and harder to read tone and intent.

 

[HAIMtime]

Is this uncommon? The couple of boxsets that I've ever had that needed to have a single record replaced had the replacement come without an outer sleeve/jacket.

I'm waiting on a replacement A/B for my Bill Evans Ultradisc because it was warped and I was expecting it to arrive in just the inner sleeve.

I’m honestly not sure. I’ve just never heard that before.
How would they package it to keep the record safe?

 

[dhodo]

I’m honestly not sure. I’ve just never heard that before.
How would they package it to keep the record safe?

If a record is well packed, it really just needs an inner sleeve to help prevent scratches. Many people prefer for retailers/eBay sellers to open their new records and pack them in a generic inner sleeve, outside of the jacket, to avoid seam splits in the jackets or custom inners. I've done this many times with no problem.

 

[Nee Lewman]

Gotta say, I'm really looking forward to hearing this Lou album after the amount of praise it's received here. It was the one I was probably least looking forward to as the style is least in tune with my preferences but I'm lovin all the lovin it's getting. Holding off streaming to give it a first listen on record.

I’m an odd dissent here. I like soul jazz. I am not a fan of Patton’s work here.

 

[Dtknuckles]

I’m an odd dissent here. I like soul jazz. I am not a fan of Patton’s work here.

Really? What's not hitting for you?

I like it he does a good job of building solos by starting off keeping it simple and adding variations from there. Doesn't really steal the show, but keeping it simple.

I think the trumpet player flubs a few lines at points.

 

[Nee Lewman]

Really? What's not hitting for you?

I like it he does a good job of building solos by starting off keeping it simple and adding variations from there. Doesn't really steal the show, but keeping it simple.

I think the trumpet player flubs a few lines at points.

It sounds like 70s Wurlitzer kitsch. Like it’s an episode of Lawrence Welk.