Best since spliced bread

[constance]

My big-ticket Christmas present, the one I actively campaigned for, is turning out to be as big a hit for everyone I know as it has been for me, and incidentally will be lots more work for me than I ever quite bargained for.

The backstory: I spent my high school and college years listening to music that along with my oddities of dress and attitude made me a total freak in every school I went to (though at least my university was enormous enough that I found plenty of fellow freaks to hang out with), and thus I ended up with quite a bit of music far too obscure ever to make it onto CD, or else that I never quite loved enough to want to buy a second time on CD. Stubbornly through the years I've held on to my albums and cassettes, and insisted that I have one working turntable and one working cassette player in my house at any given moment; in case I am stricken with the urge to listen to, say, Lloyd Cole and the Commotions or The Jazz Butcher Conspiracy, I want to be able to sit down and listen to them, you know? Right away. Because who knows when I'll next have that urge, and I know you know that when "Rattlesnakes" is what you want, nothing else will do.

The story proper: Anyway, I've been wanting a converter for my albums and cassettes, so that I can turn them into MP3s and listen to them anywhere and not just sitting in my living room, and so for Christmas this year, I requested and got one. It is amazing! It is so amazing that I feel compelled to mention it to people like the starry-eyed technophile I am, and I never suspected when I first started talking it up that this is one piece of technology that even die-hard technophobes can get behind, but it's true: I mention it to the guy who didn't start buying CDs until the year 2000 because he was convinced CDs were just a passing fad, and he gets as starry-eyed as I am. And then he says, "You know, I've got three/six/seventeen boxes of old albums just getting dusty in my guest room closet. Do you think maybe you could...?"

And what can I say to a request like that? I know the pain of dwindling supply, I know that sooner or later those of us with record collections we don't want to get rid of aren't going to be able to play our records any more without an investment in a piece of expensive antique equipment; and a more hardhearted person might be able to say, "sorry, Dude, convert your own records if you want them converted so much," but I totally can't. It's hard enough for me to say no when I don't empathize.

So I figure I'll be finishing the backlog of conversions in about two years. If you have anything you'd like to add to the list, now's the time to say so.

Comments

[resonant8.livejournal.com]

Exactly what's involved in this? All these years I've been saving "Carly and Lucy Simon Sing For Children" and EPs by local bands like the Fabulous Knobs and that cassette tape of the dorm talent show of 1983, but I was thinking all you'd have to do would be go down to Radio Shack and buy some kind of magical cable that would connect your stereo to your computer, but from your post I'm guessing there's more to it than that?

[tofty.livejournal.com]

Actually, there is just a cable you can attach to your stereo (though you'd still need to install the conversion software of your choice), but a traditional turntable (one not made for the purpose of conversion) typically makes for very low-volume mp3s. What I requested and got was a turntable made for the purpose; in turn, that turntable can be hooked into the stereo to convert cassette tapes, which are, I gather, less fiddly, though I haven't tried to convert any cassettes yet.

[gmth.livejournal.com]

I had no idea such a thing even existed. I wish I had known before I stored all of my old albums in the garage where the heat, cold, bugs, and rodents made it too late to convert them. :-(

[tofty.livejournal.com]

Oh, man, that really sucks. If there's anything I come across that I can share with you, I will. Do you have anything that you specially miss that I can try to hook you up with?

[gmth.livejournal.com]

Aw, that's a sweet offer. I'll have to go take a look at them again and see. Thank you. :-)

[tofty.livejournal.com]

Well, I really mean it. You've shared so much great stuff that I'm happy to do whatever I can!

[isiscolo.livejournal.com]

I'm in the same boat. Although s/garage/parents' basement.

[tofty.livejournal.com]

Well, the same offer goes for you! Just let me know if there's anything I can snag for you, my dear.

[amelia-eve.livejournal.com]

This might have a golden lining for you -- you'll be able to acquire all those MP3s for your own library as well. In fact, depending on your music database software, you may find that you can supply things from one person so you don't have to convert them for another person. This does sound very exciting and absorbing. (I gave away all my vinyl about 15 years ago, though.)

[tofty.livejournal.com]

Oh, yes, I've already thought of those things! Don't tell anyone, but I'm planning on making a few filtered posts to share with my flist. And I don't know how much overlap there'll be for the people who've requested things, but for certain, I'll be keeping the things I convert for future use. Lalalalalala, hello IIPA!

[lolaraincoat.livejournal.com]

OMG, I thought I was the only person in the UNIVERSE who still remembered The Jazz Butcher Conspiracy!

Which is to say, I feel your pain. For us, the best workaround short of getting the conversion equipment (and that day is coming, but we're still staving it off because we foresee getting into exactly the situation you mention here) has been to find sites other than iTunes or Rhapsody that sell or otherwise distribute some of this music. Some Jazz Butcher and Lloyd Cole, for example, can be found at emusic. Of course, now you don't need them ...

[tofty.livejournal.com]

Ohhh! I used to be so in love with Pat Fish. I went searching for JBC music a while back, and found some, including some free downloads (http://www.jazzbutcher.com/htdb/audio) on his website.

And even though I don't need the download sites now that I can convert my own music, it's good to know it can be found out there, for the people who know where to look. I feel that we should all be keeping the faith, somehow.

[coco-palmolive.livejournal.com]

OMG IS THAT THE OST TO ATHENS, GA INSIDE/OUT?! PLEASE SAY IT IS. I can't think of another vinyl record I miss more.

[tofty.livejournal.com]

Well, it wasn't Athens, GA, just an old R.E.M. B-side. BUT. BUT. I am doing my best to upload Athens, GA for you, so watch this space and keep your fingers crossed for my connection.

[laurelwood.livejournal.com]

These converter things are magical, aren't they? How cool that you've got one, even if it does make you every vinyl hoarder's new best friend. Now, I know my dad has something that'll convert record tracks into CD tracks. (And something else that allows him to insert lame DJ-like comments between tracks.) Is this the same thing, or is there an extra step to yours that turns them into mp3 files? *is ignorant*

Do you know, though, as I was compiling a list of antique stuff that I miss, I actually found one of them (http://www.folkways.si.edu/search/AlbumDetails.aspx?ID=2601#) on CD while googling to check the spelling of "eyfo hem"? (You're invited to laugh at the sheer dorkiness of this album, by the way.)

You're going to have so much fun with this excellent gadget! I can't wait to see the playlists you come up with.

[tofty.livejournal.com]

Does your dad add lame dj-like comments between tracks? From what little I know about him, it seems like exactly the sort of thing he'd love to do.

My converter works its magic through iTunes, so whatever iTunes can do, I can do too. Currently I have it set to import tracks as 192kpbs mp3 files, since that's generally how I convert my CDs, but if I wanted to convert to CD tracks or even WAV files, I could do it.

I do so love you for your passion for Hebrew folk music! <3<3<3<3 And other things as well, of course.