Thanks, David, i enjoyed your video immensely, especially your advice at the end. You practise what you preach! I've subscribed. Now, if only I had a 10 inch record... 🙏
Great idea, David! A lot of thought provoking questions here. I love that Sandy Denny and the Strawbs album… probably the best piece of “cheap heat” in my collection. The Strawbs always seem a little under appreciated to me. Wow! Great to get a glimpse of your Dylan collection. I should really buy some of those meaty bootleg series releases… I’ve streamed most of the early ones. So good. Great story about The Clash 😂 I love Nowhere by Ride… such an amazing debut album. The cover is just so mysterious and full of power. Advice for a new channel was a very interesting question. Being a new channel myself, I thought about that quite a lot. Then realised that’d be my answer, to not overthink it and just have fun with making videos. Real life can be complicated and stressful enough without making what should be a little bit of escapism into something that’s over serious. That’s my take anyway. As always, enjoyed your video and tempted to have a go myself before having a go at the Vinyl Tag 2025. Cheers, Jack
Cheers Jack, and hope you have a great Hogmanay! I do think it's best not to take making videos too seriously, there than to put some thought into it. Like, how can I help people understand why this (or that) album is worth their time? All the best mate, and I'll see you in the new year.
Hi David, happy new year to you. I've just found this video (courtesy of Mazzy who tagged it on one of his). New subscriber now based in Sydney Australia. I found your Redux tag fascinating and am going to do a response myself. I have an Australian pressing of that Sandy Denny & The Strawbs LP, titled "All Our Own Work" over here and its on the budget 'Summit' label. My late Dad owned it but I don't think he knew what it was. I took it for myself when he passed away. I have a small channel (250+ subscribers) and tend to make my videos randomly, particularly if I'm inspired to do so by a 'Vinyl Tag' for example. I've been somewhat 'distracted' this past year so haven't dedicated much time to it. I don't worry about 'VC Gatekeepers' but I do see the smugness and snobbery from the bigger channels that barely give the smaller ones like mine any attention. I do mine for fun. Cheers and best wishes. I'll tag you when I make my reply video. 👍😊
Thanks Peter, and ta for subscribing. I do this for fun as well, but with a desire to capture memories before I completely forgetting them. These tags are such a good vehicle for getting started (or restarted) in making videos. Nice opportunities to share albums that really matter to us.
How about a series featuring band's whose live album defines them - Little Feat Waitin' for Columbus, Humble Pie Rockin' the Filmore, Peter Frampton Frampton Live
I'm with you on that guy you mention as smug and arrogant. I tried and failed to connect with his output. Your channel is one of my favorites, because you are clear and opinionated but also open and humble. I also appreciate your "life" videos and especially appreciated your breakdown of the Ayn Rand book.
Hi David - I've just uploaded my Vinyl Tag Redux response on my channel Baggy Hi-Fi. Nice mix of questions I thought. Plus I remember Volume records well (I used to live in Newcastle now in Consett.)
This was an excellent idea David! I have a Canadian reissue of that VU record. Picked that up in my high school days. Loved your assessment of The River. That’s a very cool Clash story. Genesis too! Amazing memories! Wow! That’s a lot of Bob Dylan. I saw The Strawbs do an acoustic set in Toronto back in /03 with Dave Cousins. Patty actually went to that show with me. Agree with you on Phil’s abilities behind the kit, though Ginger Baker is my favorite. Walk Across The Rooftops is outstanding. I like that Mary Chapin Carpenter album as well. The Donna’s are fun. I have a CD collection of their stuff. Despite not being a big prog enthusiast, I do love Genesis. Never got to see them, but did get to three Gabriel concerts over the years. I have a CD copy of that Ride album. ✌️
Interesting thoughs in the beginning. Tag was too early and then tags went crazy. What happens in january? At least Punk Vinyl Tag is there where it should bein january.
Great video David. I find the term 'Gatekeeping ' in the VC is a total red herring. I think people use it as shorthand for simply not liking someone. 'Oh there a gatekeeper' The definition of gatekeeping is the act of controlling access to something or someone or the process of filtering information for dissemination. Well when has that ever happened in the VC? & surely if it did you would just ignore them? I pretty certain thats what you would do. Met Mazzy, very different character to me, I really liked him. Enjoyed your tag. I've got VU!
I agree. Coupled with the idea of not liking (or warming to) someone else is potentially jealousy too.... ....that someone has more influence than you would like (or as compared to the influence you think you should (still?) have. It's why I bristled when I heard the gatekeeper term. Furthermore, and I wish I'd said this in this video, there are some channels out there who seem to revel in the obscure recommendations they keep promoting. I wanted to say that if you want to recommend an obscurity, then at least make a good effort at describing the music and, at the same time, point to music that others will probably know that may display parallels to your recommendation (or be an influence on). Otherwise, my response to that constant stream of obscure stuff is a BIG FAT meh! Also, it's good to know that you're saving that 'VU' for me. Cheers!
Hi David The whole political fiasco with ' The Tag' was absurd and unnecessary in my opinion. Anyway, it appears that it has gone rogue this year😂..so many variants, so little time. I saw John ( Baggy hi fi) had done a response and liked your questions, so i'll be having a crack at this one. Buckingham Nicks is definitely an album that needs a vinyl reissue, i only have it on CD. Great story regarding your experience at the Genesis concert and meeting the band, what a treat!. Nice one David.
Hi David, the 'Redux' is a fun tag and even though I only collect CD's, I'm interested to see just what people are listening to. One thing I noticed being a fan of drumming / percussion and hi-fi equipment most of my life, is that no one talks about the actual 'sound' of the music, not the OG / pressing etc, for example the drum sound, the timbre of the acoustic guitar, tone of the Gibson V Fender etc, the dimension and musicality of a song / melody. I guess I look for different stuff as I've never been a 'pop tart' or a fan of synth pop or electronic music. My listening tastes include Jazz / Blues / Singer-Songwriter / Americana / World Fusion / Soundtracks. Keep up the good work 😀
Thanks for your comment. I try and describe the soundstage, the timbre, the attack and decay of certain instruments (particularly with acoustic music), because all of these things matter (at least to a good proportion of us), but describing sound is bloody difficult! It's never been enough for me to hear people merely assert their favourites; I think we have to do more homework and be better than that. As an example I did a video a couple of years ago on the album 'The Graceful Ghost' by Grey de Lisle where I really tried to describe the sound. It's a fantastic Americana album, which you might already know. But if not, search for that video on my channel. I thoroughly recommend that album, as it looks like it might be up your street.
@@davidatkinson-Music-and-More Thanks for the feedback and input, please message me with another way to contact you, as I'd like to have a chat and meetup.
What a great video David. I confess I don't have time to watch all the folk talking about their collections but I really enjoy your videos. The reason? You're enthusiastic about music and you're definitely not a snob about what is and isn't good. I might not agree with you on every point but I have to say that you've made me re-visit loads of records that I haven't payed for ages. That Sandy Denny Pickwick one was a belter. Keep up the great work.
Thank you Jeff. We can't expect others to agree with us on every recommendation, can we? But isn't it great to tap into our differences of opinion. There's many, many times when I've revisited an album long discarded, on the recommendation of someone else, and found myself enjoying that album afresh.
Andrew, Tales From The Crate came up with Vinyl Tag and did it for a number of years. There were no other tags and everyone was very excited about doing it. He rarely does a video now which is a disappointment as he had one of the best channels. I remember these questions and enjoyed I got that VU album this year
Nice one Steve. After looking back into old Tags I thought "there are some bloody good questions here, ones that could/should be given a fresh airing", as there must be loads of people who hadn't seen (or responded to) them; people who joined the VC only in recent years (a bit like me). I'm please to see that, Like @Harrispilton22, you're saving that 'VU' album for me!
Thanks for this. I enjoyed it. No waffle. Well presented and interesting, which from what I've seen is unusual in this space. And from someone else in the North East (I live in County Durham). Some common interests: I too saw The Clash live - on the tour when councils were trying to ban them around the time of their first album. Very small venue, very small crowd in Nottingham. Great gig except that Joe Strummer spent the whole gig trying to tell the crowd (who ignored him) to smash up the venues bars because they weren't allowing alochol to be served. I felt he was just trying to stir up trouble to get a newspaper headline. Saw them againg a year or so later in Leicester - I think at the Uni but it might have been de Montfeaurt Hall. "Give Em Enough Rope" had come out and the place was heaving. Hated the gig. They'd become the American rock stars they claimed to detest. 999 were my favourite band. I followed them around the country and saw them live probably about 30 times in total. Never once disappointed, but their record label were more interested in The Stranglers and Hugh Cornwall's girlfriend Hazel O'Connor than the band, so they didn't get the marketing push they deserved. Personally, I loathe the term "community" as it invariably, regardles of subject area, it's a term that tends to be used all the time by narcissistic egomaniacs trying to impress and set themselves up as the "leaders" and influencers of that "communuty". This week investigating "the vinyl community" has been a real eye-opener. Endless toxic livestreams that are just lots of whinging and bitching about "she said he said". Jason Roxas is still being whinged at on a daily live stream for the fourth day running because he had the cheek to show a clip from a video that was behind a Patreon paywall. Having now seen the video he's totally justified in publishing it as it shows how the whole vinyl tag really was a contemptuous power grab by those in the Pacific North West trying to present their little clique as THE leaders of the vinyl community. Pathetic! All that being said, I am launching my own Music Review channel next week ("Sound Reviews UK") and will start with Vinyl Tag 2025 for the reasons you gave - it's a great way to introduce your background, the music you lkike, and put stuff into context so it made sense to do that before doing reviews on eg the new Magazine "Give me Everything" box set. I looked at the CD vinyl tag but thought the questions were unimainative so I won't do that, but I might well end up doing a "Redux" based on your presentation. I will break the rules on mine because although I buy most albums on CD and vinyl my preferred format for sound quality is CD, ao I mix them all in together. My favourite format by a long way is "Surround Sound" and it hacks me off that people keep saying it's a "gimmick". Stereo's a gimmick too then! Both formats are taking multiple channels of recording and trying to work them into an "atificial" speaker format, whether it's two (stereo) or five (5.1, DTS, Atmos etc) or more. Bands like Hawkwind were MADE for surround sound and in general it makes for a more immersive experience. I'd overplayed Jethro Tull's "Thick as a Brick" (my favouritet album) but surround sound gave it a whole new lease of life. Anyway, thanks for reading. Now subscribed :-)
Thanks Ian. Phew, that's a long comment. You sound like you were a bit more of a punk purist than I was back in the day. I loved The 'Give 'Em Enough Rope' tour. Like you say, they were well on the way to becoming that mid-Atlantic 'rock' band, leaving their (questionable, in truth) punk credentials behind, but they were still a great band. I never saw 999, and your suggestion that the label got behind The Stranglers makes a lot of sense. It's that 'gatekeeper' thing once more - the record company DECIDES who is going to be successful, rather than leave it to the marketplace. This might be wearing rose-tinted spectacles, but it seems to me that the early-70s was a time when the music business was making so much money, if allowed bands and artists much more freedom in what they were outputting. I would differ with you on the 'community' angle. Only a few will be trying to dominate; the rest of us are grateful for the engagement, and are enjoying developing friendships borne of shared interests. I said my piece about the 'closed-shop' nature of those who are very active in the PNW in my reply to Norman Maslow's comment. Like I suggested to him, people can choose to subscribe or not to their various outputs, and as such any 'gatekeeper' status or 'power-grab' doesn't mean anything to almost everyone in the 'VC'. Most get on with their lives, enjoy making and viewing each other's videos, sometimes build friendships, and ignore what they choose to. Overall, I'd say this is a healthy state of affairs.
I don't think many (if any) other people will do this tag. Doesn't matter much. If some have a go for fun, that's all good with me. Rob's Beatle Tag is too much for me though! 🤣
Wonderful design for an amp. With age my hearing has declined, so a system such as yours would be wasted on me. My Marantz amp and Gale speakers are fine.
Hello David, I am just starting to watch this, but your opening is inaccurate. Edwin, the tag creator, has been making videos for over five years. This past year, he has been quiet for personal reasons but has been a very active creator. Anyway, in the comments of another livestream, Edwin mentioned that he had created this year's tag and was ready to post it (unaware to me). But he did ask the best time to post it that day. Based on my experience, my answer was 9 AM - Noon Pacific time. We both just coincidentally live on the West Coast (there was no Pacific Northwest conclave to do all this), but that timeframe is when I usually post my own videos. Again, nothing was pre-planned or arranged between anyone else. Edwin created the tag all on his own after Mr. Walker made a video stating he wouldn't do the tag this time (after creating good tags two years in a row). No conspiracy or group effort to have Edwin do this. When I saw Edwin's original video, I recorded a response later that day but hadn't posted it yet. After reading a few initial comments, which several people complained about the early time, I was invited to a private Patreon stream. We all discussed the remarks and the early timing. I suggested we contact Edwin to see if he might be private until January. But after our conversation, those on that separate stream decided against saying anything and decided the audience would decide. It is not up to anyone else to tell him what to do. The following day, my response went live and got over 5k views overnight. Some of the folks in the UK had issues with my original title, including OFFICIAL and the Trademark TM.. My humor there apparently went over their heads. I have since removed that portion. Over 60 responses to Edwin's tag have been in the two weeks since. It has found an audience. I have seen about ten new channels in their responses. Sorry for the long comment, but I wanted to summarize the reality of all this. Cheers, and happy Christmas and New Year to you! I know no gatekeepers. I am certainly not one. . BEATLES! Of course we would get along in person. Crap, I got along with Rob Walker for two days !!!
Hi Norman, Thanks so much for the considered and lengthy comment. Good to see you got that Beatles reference in!! 🤣 I won't challenge you on the timeline and the closeness of those in the PNW VC. Re the timeline, I can only express an opinion that the impression can be taken that there has been a bit of 'circling the wagons' around Edwin's tag, and comments about humourless Brits haven't had us rolling in the aisles. But, regardless, the Tag have proven to have legs, not least because in includes some good questions, which I'll get to in my own response. As for those in the PNW and California establishing good friendships, that's been fantastic to see and I subscribe to loads of people you have come to know personally. Your occasional get-togethers in person make for good viewing too (Coffee Dave and the good Doc are favourites). It might be simply the nature of the beast, but the livestreams have a whiff of exclusivity about them, like a closed shop, but in the end none of this really matters. People can easily decide to view, participate, or ignore as they see fit. On balance, it's just great to see people talk with enthusiasm about music. You correctly understood my comments on 'gatekeepers', a bloody preposterous notion given the openness of the YT platform, and the ability of artists (real, actual music makers) to organically build their audience bit by bit. How good is that, compared to the old way of conceited music journalists telling us what we should like and dislike? Anyway, cheers for the comment. As for us getting along, that was more about me trying to express a view that we (people) don't HAVE to get along in order to respect and enjoy what others have to say in discussing musical tastes. Enjoy the Christmas break.
@@davidatkinson-Music-and-More Nice reply, David. I will say that circling the wagons comment is valid only so far, and I will always support channels I like when they create a tag I feel I can contribute and be creative with. This time, it just happened to be someone who lives somewhat in my section of the world. I've jumped on many of these tags over the past six or seven years since I've been making videos. It really is just a falsely created drama, in my opinion.
The Vinyl Tag started in June 2016 by non Vinyl Community channels. I bought Dream Of Life by Patti Smith but purged it. I didn’t like the 80s production. I realized that if I want to hear Patti Smith I always pull the first 3 albums. I find it a bit humorous that Bruce Springsteen is considered to be the voice of the common working man. Considering he never held a regular job. I’ve seen videos of the Clash busking tour and they are so good. I wonder if the Wealey Festival is mentioned in that King Crimson Book. I was there in 71. The Donna’s started out punky.
Just for you VR - ua-cam.com/video/Is9ql5azKRc/v-deo.html On other matters, I love the first three Patti Smith albums too, and have time for all her work. I don't mind 'Dream of Life's polish. I still think it sounds great. As for Springsteen, he acknowledges in his own book that he's a fraud and has never worked a proper job. His act is mostly artifice, but regardless, if his audience finds resonance in his songs that's all good for me. After all, George Orwell was upper middle class. Hey ho. Cheers for commenting!
Ha! No. I was playing a Bill Nelson whilst I was getting ready to speak to camera, and then lifted the tonearm. It looks like it's in the run-off, but it's not in contact with the record.
Sir,I have never viewed your channel,but I have two questions.What countreyt do you live in?I see the Patty S. and Grand Funk all the time.Second querry,What piece of audio equipment,I assume,is to your left? Doc BC
Thanks for your question. I'm in the UK. And that piece of equipment appears in this video: ua-cam.com/video/KgSLkNRr8YU/v-deo.html Hope you find it interesting!
Hi Dave , over the years vinyl tags throw up the occasional good question so to combine a few makes for a interesting set of questions.. for myself live stream appearances are best kept to a minimum.. but Mazzy loves the sound of his voice so much he can’t stay off them . I should have realised they’d be a stampede to do the 2025 vinyl tag .. but December 3rd!
Yes Rob, you know that I agree that the Tag was released too early, a bit like "get it out before anyone else does", but still, there are some good questions and it's no surprise that people are doing it. I'll give it a go in the New Year, although I will be picking the best album of 1975, and not '74. As for livestreams, I've done a few with @frenchvinyladdict and we circulated a kind of agenda beforehand, did a bit of homework, picked-out a few albums to show, and the streams all felt 'tight' (and fun to do!), and with the minimum of waffle. Far too many livestreams feel like you're intruding on someone else's casual conversation, with what's said over two or three hours could have easily been fitted into an hour.
Hi David, Edwin here. Just wanted to take the opportunity to introduce myself. I am the guy who made the 2025 Vinyl Tag (Yes too early). I just want to clarify some information so that it’s clear for your audience. Nobody asked me to make the Vinyl Tag. I decided all by myself. I was never influenced by Mazzy or Rachel. Again it’s all on me. I’m certainly not a nobody in the VC. I mean I’m not as important as yourself, but I have a decent following (similar to Rob Walker actually) and I have been involved and interactive with the VC for 7 years. Yes my video output was down this year, (I didn’t realize that was also disqualifying for creating the Vinyl Tag), but I should not have to explain that or should it matter. In the end, it’s all a learning process, and I will take what I have learnt and move forward. For me the Vinyl tag has been great. There’s been around 80 response videos as of today. 80 individuals that took the time to create a video in response to the Vinyl Tag I created. No doubt there will be more but let’s not disparage the VC members that want to respond and answer the questions. Now if you want to (or others) criticize my questions, or my delivery, my musical tastes, that’s ok, I can handle it. I look forward to any other Vinyl Tags and will continue to participate in responding to them. I enjoy your channel and your Vinyl Tag Redux idea is fantastic. Happy Holidays 🎅🏼🎄
Hi Edwin, Thanks for the comment, and making it clear the Vinyl Tag was independently created by you. It looks to me that the furore blew up because Norman got behind it super-enthusiastically ('official' and all that). We've both shared viewpoints after he commented on the timeline under this very video, and I'd probably conclude that, apart from it being 'early' (that issue has now been flogged to death) it had the look of it being pushed too hard (sorry, I'm repeating myself here). But regardless, the questions are fine and I'll be getting around to it once the dust settles after Christmas. As for being 'important', there's none of us that are more important than anyone else (see my comment in the video about 'gatekeepers'). Prior to you putting out the tag, I'd not given the tag idea a second thought (just not on my radar). If pushed, I might have said I would have expected a 2025 tag to be done by someone I might recognise, but that's not a rule or anything like that. Obviously, you've had a bit of pushback, but it seems that plenty of people are having a go at doing it, and that'll outshine the criticisms soon enough. Most of us post videos at pretty random intervals, and I just hadn't seen you up to this point. Maybe you were more active at a time when I was just getting started at posting music videos. None of this matters, of course, as someone has already said it's a storm in a teacup. Look out for my tag 'entry'. Coming soon(ish).
Thoughtful questions but why the obsession with lps where are the singles. Personally I believe there should be a music community with singles, tapes, cds 78s etc.
Good point. I suspect the reason is that there's simply more that can be said about an album and where the artist/band were at that particular point in their career. People do throw in videos on singles quite often, and I'm sure there are specialist channels discussing 78s. In the end, it's about the music rather than the format.
What a stupid thing for people who make VC videos to get upset over!!! I’ve watched a bunch of old VC men act like children over an end of year video coming out 3 weeks early? Grow up guys!!!!!!
Thanks, David, i enjoyed your video immensely, especially your advice at the end. You practise what you preach! I've subscribed. Now, if only I had a 10 inch record... 🙏
Great idea, David! A lot of thought provoking questions here. I love that Sandy Denny and the Strawbs album… probably the best piece of “cheap heat” in my collection. The Strawbs always seem a little under appreciated to me. Wow! Great to get a glimpse of your Dylan collection. I should really buy some of those meaty bootleg series releases… I’ve streamed most of the early ones. So good. Great story about The Clash 😂 I love Nowhere by Ride… such an amazing debut album. The cover is just so mysterious and full of power. Advice for a new channel was a very interesting question. Being a new channel myself, I thought about that quite a lot. Then realised that’d be my answer, to not overthink it and just have fun with making videos. Real life can be complicated and stressful enough without making what should be a little bit of escapism into something that’s over serious. That’s my take anyway. As always, enjoyed your video and tempted to have a go myself before having a go at the Vinyl Tag 2025. Cheers, Jack
Cheers Jack, and hope you have a great Hogmanay!
I do think it's best not to take making videos too seriously, there than to put some thought into it. Like, how can I help people understand why this (or that) album is worth their time? All the best mate, and I'll see you in the new year.
Love this idea, David! Great tag!
Cheers☘️
Hi David, happy new year to you. I've just found this video (courtesy of Mazzy who tagged it on one of his). New subscriber now based in Sydney Australia. I found your Redux tag fascinating and am going to do a response myself.
I have an Australian pressing of that Sandy Denny & The Strawbs LP, titled "All Our Own Work" over here and its on the budget 'Summit' label. My late Dad owned it but I don't think he knew what it was. I took it for myself when he passed away.
I have a small channel (250+ subscribers) and tend to make my videos randomly, particularly if I'm inspired to do so by a 'Vinyl Tag' for example. I've been somewhat 'distracted' this past year so haven't dedicated much time to it.
I don't worry about 'VC Gatekeepers' but I do see the smugness and snobbery from the bigger channels that barely give the smaller ones like mine any attention. I do mine for fun.
Cheers and best wishes. I'll tag you when I make my reply video. 👍😊
Thanks Peter, and ta for subscribing. I do this for fun as well, but with a desire to capture memories before I completely forgetting them. These tags are such a good vehicle for getting started (or restarted) in making videos. Nice opportunities to share albums that really matter to us.
How about a series featuring band's whose live album defines them - Little Feat Waitin' for Columbus, Humble Pie Rockin' the Filmore, Peter Frampton Frampton Live
'Made in Japan', 'Genesis Live', 'Live Dates', 'Rock and Roll Animal'? That's a good thought. Cheers!
I'm with you on that guy you mention as smug and arrogant. I tried and failed to connect with his output. Your channel is one of my favorites, because you are clear and opinionated but also open and humble. I also appreciate your "life" videos and especially appreciated your breakdown of the Ayn Rand book.
Thank you.
Intriguing idea, David. I should read that King Crimson book. I will take this under consideration!
Hi David - I've just uploaded my Vinyl Tag Redux response on my channel Baggy Hi-Fi. Nice mix of questions I thought. Plus I remember Volume records well (I used to live in Newcastle now in Consett.)
Excellent, Idea, David.
This was an excellent idea David! I have a Canadian reissue of that VU record. Picked that up in my high school days. Loved your assessment of The River. That’s a very cool Clash story. Genesis too! Amazing memories! Wow! That’s a lot of Bob Dylan. I saw The Strawbs do an acoustic set in Toronto back in /03 with Dave Cousins. Patty actually went to that show with me. Agree with you on Phil’s abilities behind the kit, though Ginger Baker is my favorite. Walk Across The Rooftops is outstanding. I like that Mary Chapin Carpenter album as well. The Donna’s are fun. I have a CD collection of their stuff. Despite not being a big prog enthusiast, I do love Genesis. Never got to see them, but did get to three Gabriel concerts over the years. I have a CD copy of that Ride album. ✌️
At last! Someone else who appreciates Mary Chaplin Carpenter!
Interesting thoughs in the beginning. Tag was too early and then tags went crazy. What happens in january? At least Punk Vinyl Tag is there where it should bein january.
Great video David. I find the term 'Gatekeeping ' in the VC is a total red herring. I think people use it as shorthand for simply not liking someone. 'Oh there a gatekeeper' The definition of gatekeeping is the act of controlling access to something or someone or the process of filtering information for dissemination. Well when has that ever happened in the VC? & surely if it did you would just ignore them? I pretty certain thats what you would do. Met Mazzy, very different character to me, I really liked him. Enjoyed your tag. I've got VU!
I agree. Coupled with the idea of not liking (or warming to) someone else is potentially jealousy too.... ....that someone has more influence than you would like (or as compared to the influence you think you should (still?) have. It's why I bristled when I heard the gatekeeper term.
Furthermore, and I wish I'd said this in this video, there are some channels out there who seem to revel in the obscure recommendations they keep promoting. I wanted to say that if you want to recommend an obscurity, then at least make a good effort at describing the music and, at the same time, point to music that others will probably know that may display parallels to your recommendation (or be an influence on). Otherwise, my response to that constant stream of obscure stuff is a BIG FAT meh!
Also, it's good to know that you're saving that 'VU' for me. Cheers!
Hi David
The whole political fiasco with ' The Tag' was absurd and unnecessary in my opinion.
Anyway, it appears that it has gone rogue this year😂..so many variants, so little time.
I saw John ( Baggy hi fi) had done a response and liked your questions, so i'll be having a crack at this one.
Buckingham Nicks is definitely an album that needs a vinyl reissue, i only have it on CD.
Great story regarding your experience at the Genesis concert and meeting the band, what a treat!.
Nice one David.
Cheers Rob. Yes, it was so good to meet the band, but unfortunately I was too young to come up with any conversation worth having!!
Hi David, the 'Redux' is a fun tag and even though I only collect CD's, I'm interested to see just what people are listening to. One thing I noticed being a fan of drumming / percussion and hi-fi equipment most of my life, is that no one talks about the actual 'sound' of the music, not the OG / pressing etc, for example the drum sound, the timbre of the acoustic guitar, tone of the Gibson V Fender etc, the dimension and musicality of a song / melody. I guess I look for different stuff as I've never been a 'pop tart' or a fan of synth pop or electronic music. My listening tastes include Jazz / Blues / Singer-Songwriter / Americana / World Fusion / Soundtracks. Keep up the good work 😀
Thanks for your comment. I try and describe the soundstage, the timbre, the attack and decay of certain instruments (particularly with acoustic music), because all of these things matter (at least to a good proportion of us), but describing sound is bloody difficult! It's never been enough for me to hear people merely assert their favourites; I think we have to do more homework and be better than that. As an example I did a video a couple of years ago on the album 'The Graceful Ghost' by Grey de Lisle where I really tried to describe the sound. It's a fantastic Americana album, which you might already know. But if not, search for that video on my channel. I thoroughly recommend that album, as it looks like it might be up your street.
@@davidatkinson-Music-and-More Thanks for the feedback and input, please message me with another way to contact you, as I'd like to have a chat and meetup.
What a great video David. I confess I don't have time to watch all the folk talking about their collections but I really enjoy your videos. The reason? You're enthusiastic about music and you're definitely not a snob about what is and isn't good. I might not agree with you on every point but I have to say that you've made me re-visit loads of records that I haven't payed for ages. That Sandy Denny Pickwick one was a belter. Keep up the great work.
Thank you Jeff. We can't expect others to agree with us on every recommendation, can we? But isn't it great to tap into our differences of opinion. There's many, many times when I've revisited an album long discarded, on the recommendation of someone else, and found myself enjoying that album afresh.
Andrew, Tales From The Crate came up with Vinyl Tag and did it for a number of years. There were no other tags and everyone was very excited about doing it. He rarely does a video now which is a disappointment as he had one of the best channels. I remember these questions and enjoyed I got that VU album this year
Nice one Steve. After looking back into old Tags I thought "there are some bloody good questions here, ones that could/should be given a fresh airing", as there must be loads of people who hadn't seen (or responded to) them; people who joined the VC only in recent years (a bit like me).
I'm please to see that, Like @Harrispilton22, you're saving that 'VU' album for me!
Thanks for this. I enjoyed it. No waffle. Well presented and interesting, which from what I've seen is unusual in this space. And from someone else in the North East (I live in County Durham).
Some common interests: I too saw The Clash live - on the tour when councils were trying to ban them around the time of their first album. Very small venue, very small crowd in Nottingham. Great gig except that Joe Strummer spent the whole gig trying to tell the crowd (who ignored him) to smash up the venues bars because they weren't allowing alochol to be served. I felt he was just trying to stir up trouble to get a newspaper headline. Saw them againg a year or so later in Leicester - I think at the Uni but it might have been de Montfeaurt Hall. "Give Em Enough Rope" had come out and the place was heaving. Hated the gig. They'd become the American rock stars they claimed to detest.
999 were my favourite band. I followed them around the country and saw them live probably about 30 times in total. Never once disappointed, but their record label were more interested in The Stranglers and Hugh Cornwall's girlfriend Hazel O'Connor than the band, so they didn't get the marketing push they deserved.
Personally, I loathe the term "community" as it invariably, regardles of subject area, it's a term that tends to be used all the time by narcissistic egomaniacs trying to impress and set themselves up as the "leaders" and influencers of that "communuty". This week investigating "the vinyl community" has been a real eye-opener. Endless toxic livestreams that are just lots of whinging and bitching about "she said he said". Jason Roxas is still being whinged at on a daily live stream for the fourth day running because he had the cheek to show a clip from a video that was behind a Patreon paywall. Having now seen the video he's totally justified in publishing it as it shows how the whole vinyl tag really was a contemptuous power grab by those in the Pacific North West trying to present their little clique as THE leaders of the vinyl community. Pathetic!
All that being said, I am launching my own Music Review channel next week ("Sound Reviews UK") and will start with Vinyl Tag 2025 for the reasons you gave - it's a great way to introduce your background, the music you lkike, and put stuff into context so it made sense to do that before doing reviews on eg the new Magazine "Give me Everything" box set. I looked at the CD vinyl tag but thought the questions were unimainative so I won't do that, but I might well end up doing a "Redux" based on your presentation. I will break the rules on mine because although I buy most albums on CD and vinyl my preferred format for sound quality is CD, ao I mix them all in together. My favourite format by a long way is "Surround Sound" and it hacks me off that people keep saying it's a "gimmick". Stereo's a gimmick too then! Both formats are taking multiple channels of recording and trying to work them into an "atificial" speaker format, whether it's two (stereo) or five (5.1, DTS, Atmos etc) or more. Bands like Hawkwind were MADE for surround sound and in general it makes for a more immersive experience. I'd overplayed Jethro Tull's "Thick as a Brick" (my favouritet album) but surround sound gave it a whole new lease of life.
Anyway, thanks for reading. Now subscribed :-)
Thanks Ian. Phew, that's a long comment. You sound like you were a bit more of a punk purist than I was back in the day. I loved The 'Give 'Em Enough Rope' tour. Like you say, they were well on the way to becoming that mid-Atlantic 'rock' band, leaving their (questionable, in truth) punk credentials behind, but they were still a great band. I never saw 999, and your suggestion that the label got behind The Stranglers makes a lot of sense. It's that 'gatekeeper' thing once more - the record company DECIDES who is going to be successful, rather than leave it to the marketplace. This might be wearing rose-tinted spectacles, but it seems to me that the early-70s was a time when the music business was making so much money, if allowed bands and artists much more freedom in what they were outputting.
I would differ with you on the 'community' angle. Only a few will be trying to dominate; the rest of us are grateful for the engagement, and are enjoying developing friendships borne of shared interests. I said my piece about the 'closed-shop' nature of those who are very active in the PNW in my reply to Norman Maslow's comment. Like I suggested to him, people can choose to subscribe or not to their various outputs, and as such any 'gatekeeper' status or 'power-grab' doesn't mean anything to almost everyone in the 'VC'. Most get on with their lives, enjoy making and viewing each other's videos, sometimes build friendships, and ignore what they choose to. Overall, I'd say this is a healthy state of affairs.
I think this is an excellent idea I hope this will overtake the earlier vinyl tag. Don’t forget Robs Beatles tag….👍
I don't think many (if any) other people will do this tag. Doesn't matter much. If some have a go for fun, that's all good with me. Rob's Beatle Tag is too much for me though! 🤣
Fun video David. Question, what is the silver machine on the shelf next to your deck? It looks like a mini spaceship or some type of grill.
It flew in last week from New Jersey. Apparently there's a few of them about!
It's all explained here: ua-cam.com/video/KgSLkNRr8YU/v-deo.html
Cheers!
Wonderful design for an amp. With age my hearing has declined, so a system such as yours would be wasted on me. My Marantz amp and Gale speakers are fine.
Pure Reason Revolution are a great band (in my opinion). Their latest album is excellent.
Hello David, I am just starting to watch this, but your opening is inaccurate. Edwin, the tag creator, has been making videos for over five years. This past year, he has been quiet for personal reasons but has been a very active creator. Anyway, in the comments of another livestream, Edwin mentioned that he had created this year's tag and was ready to post it (unaware to me). But he did ask the best time to post it that day. Based on my experience, my answer was 9 AM - Noon Pacific time. We both just coincidentally live on the West Coast (there was no Pacific Northwest conclave to do all this), but that timeframe is when I usually post my own videos.
Again, nothing was pre-planned or arranged between anyone else. Edwin created the tag all on his own after Mr. Walker made a video stating he wouldn't do the tag this time (after creating good tags two years in a row). No conspiracy or group effort to have Edwin do this.
When I saw Edwin's original video, I recorded a response later that day but hadn't posted it yet. After reading a few initial comments, which several people complained about the early time, I was invited to a private Patreon stream. We all discussed the remarks and the early timing. I suggested we contact Edwin to see if he might be private until January. But after our conversation, those on that separate stream decided against saying anything and decided the audience would decide. It is not up to anyone else to tell him what to do.
The following day, my response went live and got over 5k views overnight. Some of the folks in the UK had issues with my original title, including OFFICIAL and the Trademark TM.. My humor there apparently went over their heads. I have since removed that portion.
Over 60 responses to Edwin's tag have been in the two weeks since. It has found an audience. I have seen about ten new channels in their responses.
Sorry for the long comment, but I wanted to summarize the reality of all this. Cheers, and happy Christmas and New Year to you!
I know no gatekeepers. I am certainly not one. . BEATLES!
Of course we would get along in person. Crap, I got along with Rob Walker for two days !!!
Hi Norman, Thanks so much for the considered and lengthy comment. Good to see you got that Beatles reference in!! 🤣
I won't challenge you on the timeline and the closeness of those in the PNW VC. Re the timeline, I can only express an opinion that the impression can be taken that there has been a bit of 'circling the wagons' around Edwin's tag, and comments about humourless Brits haven't had us rolling in the aisles. But, regardless, the Tag have proven to have legs, not least because in includes some good questions, which I'll get to in my own response.
As for those in the PNW and California establishing good friendships, that's been fantastic to see and I subscribe to loads of people you have come to know personally. Your occasional get-togethers in person make for good viewing too (Coffee Dave and the good Doc are favourites). It might be simply the nature of the beast, but the livestreams have a whiff of exclusivity about them, like a closed shop, but in the end none of this really matters. People can easily decide to view, participate, or ignore as they see fit. On balance, it's just great to see people talk with enthusiasm about music.
You correctly understood my comments on 'gatekeepers', a bloody preposterous notion given the openness of the YT platform, and the ability of artists (real, actual music makers) to organically build their audience bit by bit. How good is that, compared to the old way of conceited music journalists telling us what we should like and dislike?
Anyway, cheers for the comment. As for us getting along, that was more about me trying to express a view that we (people) don't HAVE to get along in order to respect and enjoy what others have to say in discussing musical tastes. Enjoy the Christmas break.
@@davidatkinson-Music-and-More Nice reply, David. I will say that circling the wagons comment is valid only so far, and I will always support channels I like when they create a tag I feel I can contribute and be creative with. This time, it just happened to be someone who lives somewhat in my section of the world. I've jumped on many of these tags over the past six or seven years since I've been making videos.
It really is just a falsely created drama, in my opinion.
The Vinyl Tag started in June 2016 by non Vinyl Community channels. I bought Dream Of Life by Patti Smith but purged it. I didn’t like the 80s production. I realized that if I want to hear Patti Smith I always pull the first 3 albums. I find it a bit humorous that Bruce Springsteen is considered to be the voice of the common working man. Considering he never held a regular job. I’ve seen videos of the Clash busking tour and they are so good. I wonder if the Wealey Festival is mentioned in that King Crimson Book. I was there in 71. The Donna’s started out punky.
Just for you VR - ua-cam.com/video/Is9ql5azKRc/v-deo.html
On other matters, I love the first three Patti Smith albums too, and have time for all her work. I don't mind 'Dream of Life's polish. I still think it sounds great. As for Springsteen, he acknowledges in his own book that he's a fraud and has never worked a proper job. His act is mostly artifice, but regardless, if his audience finds resonance in his songs that's all good for me. After all, George Orwell was upper middle class. Hey ho. Cheers for commenting!
Did you leave your deck spinning in the run off?
Ha! No. I was playing a Bill Nelson whilst I was getting ready to speak to camera, and then lifted the tonearm. It looks like it's in the run-off, but it's not in contact with the record.
Thank goodness. It was stressing me out 😀
Cultosaurus Erectus!
Sir,I have never viewed your channel,but I have two questions.What countreyt do you live in?I see the Patty S. and Grand Funk all the time.Second querry,What piece of audio equipment,I assume,is to your left? Doc BC
Thanks for your question. I'm in the UK. And that piece of equipment appears in this video: ua-cam.com/video/KgSLkNRr8YU/v-deo.html Hope you find it interesting!
Hi Dave , over the years vinyl tags throw up the occasional good question so to combine a few makes for a interesting set of questions.. for myself live stream appearances are best kept to a minimum.. but Mazzy loves the sound of his voice so much he can’t stay off them . I should have realised they’d be a stampede to do the 2025 vinyl tag .. but December 3rd!
Yes Rob, you know that I agree that the Tag was released too early, a bit like "get it out before anyone else does", but still, there are some good questions and it's no surprise that people are doing it. I'll give it a go in the New Year, although I will be picking the best album of 1975, and not '74.
As for livestreams, I've done a few with @frenchvinyladdict and we circulated a kind of agenda beforehand, did a bit of homework, picked-out a few albums to show, and the streams all felt 'tight' (and fun to do!), and with the minimum of waffle. Far too many livestreams feel like you're intruding on someone else's casual conversation, with what's said over two or three hours could have easily been fitted into an hour.
Hi David, Edwin here. Just wanted to take the opportunity to introduce myself. I am the guy who made the 2025 Vinyl Tag (Yes too early). I just want to clarify some information so that it’s clear for your audience. Nobody asked me to make the Vinyl Tag. I decided all by myself. I was never influenced by Mazzy or Rachel. Again it’s all on me. I’m certainly not a nobody in the VC. I mean I’m not as important as yourself, but I have a decent following (similar to Rob Walker actually) and I have been involved and interactive with the VC for 7 years. Yes my video output was down this year, (I didn’t realize that was also disqualifying for creating the Vinyl Tag), but I should not have to explain that or should it matter. In the end, it’s all a learning process, and I will take what I have learnt and move forward. For me the Vinyl tag has been great. There’s been around 80 response videos as of today. 80 individuals that took the time to create a video in response to the Vinyl Tag I created. No doubt there will be more but let’s not disparage the VC members that want to respond and answer the questions. Now if you want to (or others) criticize my questions, or my delivery, my musical tastes, that’s ok, I can handle it. I look forward to any other Vinyl Tags and will continue to participate in responding to them. I enjoy your channel and your Vinyl Tag Redux idea is fantastic. Happy Holidays 🎅🏼🎄
Hi Edwin, Thanks for the comment, and making it clear the Vinyl Tag was independently created by you. It looks to me that the furore blew up because Norman got behind it super-enthusiastically ('official' and all that). We've both shared viewpoints after he commented on the timeline under this very video, and I'd probably conclude that, apart from it being 'early' (that issue has now been flogged to death) it had the look of it being pushed too hard (sorry, I'm repeating myself here). But regardless, the questions are fine and I'll be getting around to it once the dust settles after Christmas.
As for being 'important', there's none of us that are more important than anyone else (see my comment in the video about 'gatekeepers'). Prior to you putting out the tag, I'd not given the tag idea a second thought (just not on my radar). If pushed, I might have said I would have expected a 2025 tag to be done by someone I might recognise, but that's not a rule or anything like that. Obviously, you've had a bit of pushback, but it seems that plenty of people are having a go at doing it, and that'll outshine the criticisms soon enough.
Most of us post videos at pretty random intervals, and I just hadn't seen you up to this point. Maybe you were more active at a time when I was just getting started at posting music videos. None of this matters, of course, as someone has already said it's a storm in a teacup.
Look out for my tag 'entry'. Coming soon(ish).
Cultösaurus Erectus
Indeed. Cheers.
Nice one Dave - I’ll do this unofficial redux version - Small channel “wankers and other fuckers TM” unite
Cheers Gav. Everyone deserves to be heard....at least once!
@ I shout to the void ………..and sometimes it answers …..
@ 😂😂 I hope it says something nice!
@ … normally goes ……
Buy more records …😻
Thoughtful questions but why the obsession with lps where are the singles. Personally I believe there should be a music community with singles, tapes, cds 78s etc.
Good point. I suspect the reason is that there's simply more that can be said about an album and where the artist/band were at that particular point in their career. People do throw in videos on singles quite often, and I'm sure there are specialist channels discussing 78s. In the end, it's about the music rather than the format.
what the heck?
ua-cam.com/users/shortsuv_fVkM_arM?si=LdiE5O6IF_L4BZxJ
The truth is out there ….
What a stupid thing for people who make VC videos to get upset over!!! I’ve watched a bunch of old VC men act like children over an end of year video coming out 3 weeks early? Grow up guys!!!!!!
Who cares