How do you listen to King Crimson?

MP3's are killing the CD ,the trouble is that MP3 just isn't the same qualty as a CD and the higher fidelity (FLAC) format's are pretty hard to find.

So now the LP is making a comeback because of the low qualty CD remasters and crummy fidelity of the MP3.

The point of digital in the first place was a higher qualty alternative to the LP and what do we get,garbage.

I don't know if you can say there was a single 'point' to digital. DAT was for higher quality. MP3 was for portability. Turns out people will sacrifice quality for portability, ease of access, etc.

For a while I honestly tried to be an audiophile, and when I backed up all my CDs (thankfully before they were stolen; unthankfully right before a hard drive failure) I did the FLAC thing. But for all the extra space they take and (at the time) music players that didn't recognize FLAC or read the tags correctly, I didn't hear much of a difference. Maybe if I were sat at home in front of my gigantic speakers like those old commercials. But in the gym, in the car, walking with headphones ... MP3s are fine. Even streaming from YouTube is fine.

As a consumer, I love the lack of physical media. I'm not too sad CDs are going away. And I think the record player thing is just weird, like an affectation. Everyone hated records when they were our only option. :p But I've met so many hipster social media designer types who have scotch and record listening parties. No harm done, to each their own, but it just seems like a thing to do.
 
Hated records?

Shoot, I never hated my records, as an adult or a kid. I wish (crazy ex) I still had them...
 
Something has definitely been lost in the transition from physical media. Having all the songs in the world at your fingertips makes you flip through songs like flipping through channels. In the "old days", I'd be at the record store for hours deciding what to get and looking for gems. Then when you buy something, it was awesome to get it home (or into the car cassette deck) and listen for the first time. There's nothing like that anymore.
 
As far as I'm aware, their music is unavailable by any modern electronic means. Am I supposed to go on Ebay and buy old CDs to rip or something? My cassettes from the 80s have long since dissolved.

I'd recommend getting a library card.
 
This is just a technicality, but I'd like to point out that a CD is a digital source of music.

I presume that what some of us mean by digital is actually a non-physical copy of the music. Although, and this is another technicality, a digital music file always has to be stored on some form of physical carrier. If not a CD, then a hard drive.

In this sense I think the CD still has a place in the world. Of course I say this as someone who grew up with CDs so I may have a certain attachment.

Personally, I like the feeling of owning a "hardcopy" of the music, artwork and all.

I still buy CDs, paying for the music is sadly something that has become "commendable" but not seen as necessary.

And if I'm going to be paying for the music, buying a CD actually makes a lot of sense. Given the volatilty of a computer hard drive, I want to be sure to have an identical backup copy. My CDs are in fact my "master copies" which are converted to various formats on a hard drive. I have everything on an old Ipod classic which gets a lot of use with some good headphones. But I always have the CDs in case anything goes wrong. Just imagine losing thousands of (insert currency) worth of music. Half a lifetime of "collecting" music wasted because of hard drive detoriation or outright failure. Ouch.

I'd like to also point out that all editions of the same album are not equal. You'd think that the CD era brought in a level of consistency superior to vinyl. Think again. Each new 25th/30th/ 50th etc "anniversary" edition of an album turns up with "new improved" remastering. Audiophile forums will attest that often the new masterings are in fact anything but improved. Also, CD pressings made in different countries can be surprisingly inconsistent. So, while the music from your favourite CD that you bought in 1996 might still currently be available in some format/edition or another, the original CD might actually be preferable for certain sonic reasons. In other words, think twice before discarding your old CDs in favour of new "digital" editions.
I'm a firm believer that sound quality, in fact "sound estheticism" is an important factor in appreciation of good music. As such, I have recently made the effort to hunt down out-of-production CDs instead of buying newer editions of the same music. From direct A-B comparison I can say that it's been worth it.

I'll concede however that "non-physical" music has the great attraction of not taking up much space at all. Historically, the music collectors greatest problem must have been finding somewhere to store all those big discs and keeping them organised.

However, CDs actually take up little space. It's the jewel cases which in fact are the real culprit in hogging shelf space. And for that, there are solutions, in case you're interested.

I'm thinking that with life expectancy being so high nowadays it's a good idea to try and preserve a music collection as best as possible to keep enjoying it for decades to come. And then of course it would be nice to include it in my will for the next generation to enjoy.
 
Last edited:
As far as I'm aware, their music is unavailable by any modern electronic means. Am I supposed to go on Ebay and buy old CDs to rip or something? My cassettes from the 80s have long since dissolved.

Same thing for Tool. I heard they had a new album or something.

Mmmmm there's a couple of ways around this.

There's always the Pirate Bay, if you want the free option. Before any of the professionally offended keyboard warriors pipe up I buy a tonne of vinyl but converting it mp3 is very time consuming.

The second is get the LPs if the album was made before 1990ish and on CD after 1990ish so you hear how they intended you to hear it. Might mean a cheeky upgrade on the stereo system but it's worth it.

Personally I'm a vinyl guy and I find CDs are a bit harsh and clinical. I've found it really annoying that all these trendy hipster types have bought Dark Side of the Moon on vinyl for £30 and in doing so have sent the prices of it through the roof. 10 years back it was my dirty little secret and dirt cheap too.

Speaking of Tool, they're in the studio but after 12 years I'm not holding my breath. I can't believe it's been 11 years since they played the UK (I was there!) Since then I've done responsible things like bought a house and got married!
 
There is the Disciplineglobalmobile.com website, which sells all things King Crimson, you could literally purchase their whole catalog there, they also have downloads so you don't have to wait.

I've been a fan since the 80s, so every time something new comes out, I just purchase the CD because I like having the whole package with the artwork - it's a holdover from my childhood when I'd read through liner notes while listening. I still do that.

Ebay also has a number of sellers selling used CD's too. I've completed collections by looking there.

Agreed. Purchase it direct from the band at: DGM Live CD's, download options as well as a ton of live material available to purchase as download.
 
Live is best! Like Fripp says, better a hot date than a love letter....
 

Attachments

  • IMG_6090_reduced.jpg
    IMG_6090_reduced.jpg
    156.6 KB · Views: 80
Back
Top