I Used to Be 'With It' and Then They Changed What 'It' Was!

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Niegs
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Or is Rick an old man yelling at a cloud?





I grew up with dad's LPs and 8-tracks (not a lot, but I got into 60s rock in elementary school when most were into current late 80s, early 90s whatever). Moved from tapes to CDs quickly, but still made radio mixes as we did hovering to hear choice songs.

In that time, an older critic said the skip button ruined the music listening experience and he wasn't wrong compared to how most used LPs. I haven't ever bothered with streaming as I'm very particular (and cheap) and still like to hunt down artists via various web sources. I can't say I even know what a Taylor Swift or Kendrick Lamar sounds like but what I do hear blasting from shitty phone or portable speakers sounds 'samey'.

Your thoughts on the current state of music?
Biffer
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There's lots of great new music around, you've just got to be prepared to step out if your comfort zone. I was at a small indy festival in Edinburgh recently and saw Deadletter, Hamish Hawk, The KVB, Rolla, all excellent.

Part of the problem late mudfle age guys have us they can't identify with all the female singer songwriters who gave broken through because they're used to all male bands. That's a fault with them, not anyone else.
And are there two g’s in Bugger Off?
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Guy Smiley
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I pay for Spotify premium. I realise there are some arguments for not using Spotify based on artist royalties, but I'm a shameless consumer and I want my product.

Paying for premium means I get no ads. I get a weekly 'discover' playlist based on what the algorithm figures I'm into. I play that game by making sure I 'like' tunes that switch me on and that 'liked songs' playlist, saved to 'local' on my phone is my soundtrack at work. Currently, that has 1645songs in it and I do cull whenever I decide something isn't doing it for me anymore.

I hear heaps of new music this way along with a shitload of older stuff I hadn't previously heard. My hearing has been assaulted with all manner of noise over the years to the point where fine distinctions in quality or bit rate are beyond my capacity to discern.

I only know one Taylor Smith song and that's because a friend taunted me with it every day for 3 weeks hiking in Nepal's back country. I couldn't tell you anything about a lot of 'big name' artists because I don't listen to mainstream, commercial output.

I reckon Beato here and others like him are too concerned with what the industry is providing them at the cost of not getting off their arses and looking around. There is a shitload of excellent music being made all over the world. We've never had it so good.







epwc
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Loads of brilliant music being made, I try to go to at least one gig a month, London is a great place for live music with venues ranging from places like the Lexington (150 capacity maybe) to the O2

I don’t listen to music radio apart from 6 music very occasionally.
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laurent
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I grew up on Brel, Brassens, and Jazz standard (from my father) and classical from my mother.

I listen to mostly indy/alt rock however my music collection goes from Baroque to metal.

Current commercial stuff leaves me cold there are still good music made but it feels harder to get.

I don't stream mostly because I have around 1000 CD and Vynils (all ripped to Flac) and would rather listen to that than pay for a shitty service.
Slick
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Biffer wrote: Thu Jun 27, 2024 6:00 am There's lots of great new music around, you've just got to be prepared to step out if your comfort zone. I was at a small indy festival in Edinburgh recently and saw Deadletter, Hamish Hawk, The KVB, Rolla, all excellent.

Part of the problem late mudfle age guys have us they can't identify with all the female singer songwriters who gave broken through because they're used to all male bands. That's a fault with them, not anyone else.
Speak for yourself old boy, I actively seek female artists as I tend to like what they do and enjoy sharing it with my daughter.

I also use Spotify to find new music but probably lean more on 6Music which is constantly playing in our house - although I do find many of the DJ’s unbelievably patronising
All the money you made will never buy back your soul
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Calculon
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He's right for the reasons he states in his videos on this
topic. The great thing however is that loads of young people, especially the ones who are a bit more knowledgeable and have the most interest in music know this
Sinkers
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Interesting video.
Same as many have posted already, my tastes are a combination of older and less mainstream, so can't really comment on quality of current popular music.
Luckily there's a deep well of old stuff and a fair amount of more current niche output so that I am still exploring and discovering something virtually every week. Admittedly with less effort than the old trips to the local record shop or gig but virtual crate digging still counts in my mind.
The great contradiction of the internet and algorithms - you can get drowned in mediocrity and bollox that you become desensitized to it or you use it more selectively and having the whole world's music accessible to you can be a wonderful thing.

Oh and loved the comment on sleeve notes!!!!!
Biffer
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Slick wrote: Thu Jun 27, 2024 6:47 am
Biffer wrote: Thu Jun 27, 2024 6:00 am There's lots of great new music around, you've just got to be prepared to step out if your comfort zone. I was at a small indy festival in Edinburgh recently and saw Deadletter, Hamish Hawk, The KVB, Rolla, all excellent.

Part of the problem late mudfle age guys have us they can't identify with all the female singer songwriters who gave broken through because they're used to all male bands. That's a fault with them, not anyone else.
Speak for yourself old boy, I actively seek female artists as I tend to like what they do and enjoy sharing it with my daughter.

I also use Spotify to find new music but probably lean more on 6Music which is constantly playing in our house - although I do find many of the DJ’s unbelievably patronising
😂

I didn’t mean all of us, obviously!

I also listen to a lot of radio6, great way to hear new music
And are there two g’s in Bugger Off?
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sturginho
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Slick wrote: Thu Jun 27, 2024 6:47 am
Biffer wrote: Thu Jun 27, 2024 6:00 am There's lots of great new music around, you've just got to be prepared to step out if your comfort zone. I was at a small indy festival in Edinburgh recently and saw Deadletter, Hamish Hawk, The KVB, Rolla, all excellent.

Part of the problem late mudfle age guys have us they can't identify with all the female singer songwriters who gave broken through because they're used to all male bands. That's a fault with them, not anyone else.
Speak for yourself old boy, I actively seek female artists as I tend to like what they do and enjoy sharing it with my daughter.

I also use Spotify to find new music but probably lean more on 6Music which is constantly playing in our house - although I do find many of the DJ’s unbelievably patronising
Right on!





sockwithaticket
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I don't necessarily disagree with his criticism of digital production enabling people to tweak absolutely everything and over-producing the shit out of stuff. Even in the more niche, alternative genres that make up the bulk of my listening you can hear the obvious influence of autotune or sampled drums or stitched takes in far, far too many artists. Not sure that I'd call that music being too easy to make so much as it's an abandonment of interest in rawness. The democratisation of music making that technological adavances has heralded has been huge for expanding the talent pool of artists outside of the mainstream, allowing people to realise their creative vision who might never have stood a chance if they had to stick with traditional methods and going via the label system.

Lack of sonic diversity and bands following trends has always happened. Whether it's disco or Britpop, Glam Rock or Grunge, sounds come and go. While they're hot lots of people jump on the bandwagon.

I could be wrong, but I only perceive AI music as a threat to soulless, mainstream pop music. I can't pretend that I'll notice or care if that goes away. It will probably sate all the people who don't really care about music, but like having some tuneful background noise, others will keep seeking out the real thing.

The Corollary of music being easy to consume is that it's never been easier to find bands you like and support them in more meaningful ways like going to a show or buying merch and we still have the options of buying CDs or digital versions of the music. Thinking back to my youth and initial music discovery in the 00s all we had to go on were free sampler CDs from magazines and the reviews therein. I ended up with more than a few albums I didn't really like because one song on a sampler grabbed me. Then we had Myspace where bands could put up a few songs, even allow you to download them for free, and the illegal download sites like Limewire and Kazaa. I bought more music when having those tools available because I was able to try before I bought. Even then, it wasn't that convenient and th availability of non-mainstream stuff was heavily reliant on others uploading, so you didn't get exposed to quite as much as now. A streaming service like Spotify is the ultimate try before you buy for me, I have playlists bursting at the seams with more music than I can realistically afford to buy, but I still do pick up something new most months and I go to more shows because I know more bands and I pick up more merch than I realistically need. It also allows me to go back and dive into artists I'd maybe only heard about back in my youth, but never got around to listning to. I love hardcore and metalcore, some names like Earth Crisis, Integrity and Turmoil from the early 90s I was aware of because they'd get mentioned as influences by bands in magazines, but their CDs were very difficult to get hold of here in the UK and their presence on download sites was non-existent. Now I can listen to them with no fuss.

Skipping songs or focusing on singles is a bogus complaint. People have always done that, it might be easier for them to do so now, but the behaviour has always existed. Artists still put out albums because there's an appetite for them and/or they think they have enough songs worth putting out as one. What I see now is a more mixed release approach. Sometimes a band doesn't have an album's worth of material or material that would sit together as a coherent album experience, so they'll put out a stand alone single, maybe two or perhaps they'll put out an EP, but the bands I see doing this are also still putting out albums when they feel it's worth doing.

If anything I think this is making albums better, bands know that they every track needs to earn its place, it's no longer viable or worthwhile to release a few hit singles surrounded by a bunch of filler.

The other element of this accessiblity, particularly with the older artists he kept referencing, is that they can be kept alive in a way that possibly they wouldn't have been if people kept having to make a choice between purchasing an old CD or a new one.

He doesn't know many young people if he doesn't think they still get attached to particular artists and make them part of their identity.

So basically, I think that whole video was 'old man yelling at clouds'
sockwithaticket
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sturginho wrote: Thu Jun 27, 2024 8:46 am
Slick wrote: Thu Jun 27, 2024 6:47 am
Biffer wrote: Thu Jun 27, 2024 6:00 am There's lots of great new music around, you've just got to be prepared to step out if your comfort zone. I was at a small indy festival in Edinburgh recently and saw Deadletter, Hamish Hawk, The KVB, Rolla, all excellent.

Part of the problem late mudfle age guys have us they can't identify with all the female singer songwriters who gave broken through because they're used to all male bands. That's a fault with them, not anyone else.
Speak for yourself old boy, I actively seek female artists as I tend to like what they do and enjoy sharing it with my daughter.

I also use Spotify to find new music but probably lean more on 6Music which is constantly playing in our house - although I do find many of the DJ’s unbelievably patronising
Right on!





Heavy music has had an absolute explosion of female fronted artists in recent years, it's great. In the 'core scenes I've found a bunch of new bands like Spaced, Gel, Initiate, Capra, Terminal Sleep, Dying Wish, Crave Death, Roman Candle and more.
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Tichtheid
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I mostly agree with sock's post except for the idea that AI will only affect mainstream bubblegum pop. It (AI) is becoming so sophisticated and the pace with which it learns is accelerating to the point where it will be very easy to capture, say, the nuance of Chet Baker singing My Funny Valentine, with his lack of confidence as a vocalist, the breathy quality of the recording, the intimacy, all of it, at the press of a button it will churn this stuff out.

As for female fronted heavy bands, I've been listening to a fair bit of Jinjer, a Ukrainian band fronted by a woman with a great scream

Slick
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Biffer wrote: Thu Jun 27, 2024 8:18 am
Slick wrote: Thu Jun 27, 2024 6:47 am
Biffer wrote: Thu Jun 27, 2024 6:00 am There's lots of great new music around, you've just got to be prepared to step out if your comfort zone. I was at a small indy festival in Edinburgh recently and saw Deadletter, Hamish Hawk, The KVB, Rolla, all excellent.

Part of the problem late mudfle age guys have us they can't identify with all the female singer songwriters who gave broken through because they're used to all male bands. That's a fault with them, not anyone else.
Speak for yourself old boy, I actively seek female artists as I tend to like what they do and enjoy sharing it with my daughter.

I also use Spotify to find new music but probably lean more on 6Music which is constantly playing in our house - although I do find many of the DJ’s unbelievably patronising
😂

I didn’t mean all of us, obviously!

I also listen to a lot of radio6, great way to hear new music
Everyone hates you now.
All the money you made will never buy back your soul
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sturginho
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There's a lot to unpick here, but I'll have a go. Firstly it's fair to say that Rick always comes across as an old man shouting at clouds :grin:

The first point about music being "too easy" to make. It's a fair point that producers and musicians don't need to be as creative or innovative to achieve the sound that they want, but I don't think it necessarily follows that this means that the music they create is less creative or innovative as a result. I think the lack of creative music stems more from the fact that label execs, producers etc know what kind of song sells well these days, they have it down to a very precise formula at this point, so they just want to keep on making more of the same. Variety just doesn't sell as well as formulaic.

The second point he makes is the easiness of making music means that labels don't sign traditional rock bands, and whilst there are still labels that specialise in rock and metal, this is certainly true of the big labels. Why pay millions for the next Freddie Mercury to create their Bohemian Rhapsody, when they can just have the latest x-factor flavour of the week to lay down some vocals and have their in house team of producers do the rest? The flip side of this is that it's now possible for musicians who never would have been signed even in the good old days to self publish and gain a following (I believe that Bob Vylan went this route?)

With regard to his second point about music being too easy to consume, I kinda get what he's saying. If I open up spotify, I have access to more music than I could ever possibly hope to listen to in my life. So what the hell do I pick first? Sometimes I don't want to think about what to listen to and just let the dreaded algorithm pick for me. This is where you get people listening to the same old formulaic bollocks over and over despite having virtually all the worlds music to choose from. The good, creative music is still there and is still being made but you do have to go looking for it, and for some people that's just too much effort.

This article in the Guardian: https://www.theguardian.com/music/artic ... -for-music
argues that actually streaming is making music less accessible for kids, not more. They make a good point, hanging out outside the local record store simply isn't a thing for kids any more because those stores aren't there any more. My eldest has her own phone now, and she uses it to listen to music, but she isn't old enough for her own spotify account, so she uses the 'kids' version which decides what she is and isnt allowed to listen to. As a parent I disagree with this, as I should be the one who decides what is appropriate for her, not them.

TL;DR Rick is an old man shouting at clouds, but some of what he says is true.
Biffer
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Slick wrote: Thu Jun 27, 2024 10:23 am
Biffer wrote: Thu Jun 27, 2024 8:18 am
Slick wrote: Thu Jun 27, 2024 6:47 am

Speak for yourself old boy, I actively seek female artists as I tend to like what they do and enjoy sharing it with my daughter.

I also use Spotify to find new music but probably lean more on 6Music which is constantly playing in our house - although I do find many of the DJ’s unbelievably patronising
😂

I didn’t mean all of us, obviously!

I also listen to a lot of radio6, great way to hear new music
Everyone hates you now.
Now?
And are there two g’s in Bugger Off?
Biffer
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sturginho wrote: Thu Jun 27, 2024 10:34 am There's a lot to unpick here, but I'll have a go. Firstly it's fair to say that Rick always comes across as an old man shouting at clouds :grin:

The first point about music being "too easy" to make. It's a fair point that producers and musicians don't need to be as creative or innovative to achieve the sound that they want, but I don't think it necessarily follows that this means that the music they create is less creative or innovative as a result. I think the lack of creative music stems more from the fact that label execs, producers etc know what kind of song sells well these days, they have it down to a very precise formula at this point, so they just want to keep on making more of the same. Variety just doesn't sell as well as formulaic.

The second point he makes is the easiness of making music means that labels don't sign traditional rock bands, and whilst there are still labels that specialise in rock and metal, this is certainly true of the big labels. Why pay millions for the next Freddie Mercury to create their Bohemian Rhapsody, when they can just have the latest x-factor flavour of the week to lay down some vocals and have their in house team of producers do the rest? The flip side of this is that it's now possible for musicians who never would have been signed even in the good old days to self publish and gain a following (I believe that Bob Vylan went this route?)

With regard to his second point about music being too easy to consume, I kinda get what he's saying. If I open up spotify, I have access to more music than I could ever possibly hope to listen to in my life. So what the hell do I pick first? Sometimes I don't want to think about what to listen to and just let the dreaded algorithm pick for me. This is where you get people listening to the same old formulaic bollocks over and over despite having virtually all the worlds music to choose from. The good, creative music is still there and is still being made but you do have to go looking for it, and for some people that's just too much effort.

This article in the Guardian: https://www.theguardian.com/music/artic ... -for-music
argues that actually streaming is making music less accessible for kids, not more. They make a good point, hanging out outside the local record store simply isn't a thing for kids any more because those stores aren't there any more. My eldest has her own phone now, and she uses it to listen to music, but she isn't old enough for her own spotify account, so she uses the 'kids' version which decides what she is and isnt allowed to listen to. As a parent I disagree with this, as I should be the one who decides what is appropriate for her, not them.

TL;DR Rick is an old man shouting at clouds, but some of what he says is true.
Another thing, which is true across many areas, is that people no longer own music. We used to buy LPs, CDsetc, and have a collection, as it were. Now we just rent it. Same is true of films, and the more people move to ebooks that’ll happen there too.
And are there two g’s in Bugger Off?
inactionman
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I'm finding my tastes are going back in time, not forward. I was listening to Nina Simone this morning, and have got Johnny Cash on now. I'm learning piano so had a bit of Tchaikovsky on last night. I can't remember the last time I listened to radio 1 or similar so I'm wildly out of touch with modern music


There are so many curious things that are influencing how music is experienced, I remember borrowing my mate's dodgy warbly copies of his sister's Cure LPs, and I'm sure many other's first introductions to certain bands was similar. I can remember buying every copy of NME (I was never so much a fan of melody maker) to read gig reviews - many of which I'd have never have been aware of and would never have gone to otherwise. I also loved the demo and mix tapes on the front - most were forgettable, some were shocking, enough were awesome - and all were just whatever the hell the NME staffers wanted to throw out. Not so much now.

I'd have hated to have just been presented music by algorithm or sales campaign, further shrinking my world. Music spreads by communities, technology just makes the physical process of sharing easier.
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tabascoboy
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Biffer wrote: Thu Jun 27, 2024 10:55 am
Another thing, which is true across many areas, is that people no longer own music. We used to buy LPs, CDsetc, and have a collection, as it were. Now we just rent it. Same is true of films, and the more people move to ebooks that’ll happen there too.
Maybe it's just because I'm older, but I much prefer to own audio-visual media on CD or bluray and am averse to streaming - though this maybe because I have no need to listen on the move and prefer to experience through home cinema and decent hifi. Just had an order arrived yesterday of 6 CDs in fact. The only change for me is that I have largely moved to eBooks now because of storage space though still buy some physical books.

Stopped actively listening to and following "new" music for a few years around 2009 and still really have very little idea of what is cool and popular and what isn't. Have watched many documentaries and live concerts though featuring older rock/pop music recently mainly 60s through the 80s. My only exposure to music now really comes from TV / movie soundtracks.
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Sandstorm
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Calculon wrote: Thu Jun 27, 2024 6:52 am He's right for the reasons he states in his videos on this
topic. The great thing however is that loads of young people, especially the ones who are a bit more knowledgeable and have the most interest in music know this
It's always been this way. When I was young, some people sought out new and obscure music by diving into back-alley record stores & really broadened their horizons. Others just listened to the Top 40 and bought the next U2 album.

These days it's much easier to go find new stuff, but some people are just lazy/disinterested. And Joshua Tree is still a classic.
charltom
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Following on from a post earlier, I am wondering if I am going to have to pay for Spotify, which I never have.

I have hundreds of CDs and some vinyl but ripped them years ago and put them on a QNAP (server) for playing with Sonos etc. Moved house a couple of times, had small children, had remarkably little time to listen, and then recently tried to set it all back up.

I can see that the tracks are there, but I can't bloody well work out how the hell to get Sonos (and hi-fi via Sonos) to play them. So short of going through all of my CDs to work out what isn't scratched and playing them all in one room, I've no access to all the music I've bought.

Should I be trying Spotify and trying to build it all back up in there? Can't stand not being able to use what I've bought...
epwc
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I've never used Sonos but this should still work.

Best to check what firmware/software is on the existing, check whether the QNAP is visible over the network, that sort of thing
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tabascoboy
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Don't know much about SONOS but it seems to support a very wide range of audio file formats. Were the CDs ripped to some very strange file format or a common one?
epwc
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I think Sonos supports any format that would have been normal back then, probably even ogg

I'd imagine it's going to be a network issue
Biffer
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Maybe there's an element in your network setup that only recognises 2.4 GHz and something has defaulted to 5?
And are there two g’s in Bugger Off?
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Sandstorm
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Have you tried rebooting it?
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tabascoboy
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epwc wrote: Thu Jun 27, 2024 12:46 pm I think Sonos supports any format that would have been normal back then, probably even ogg

I'd imagine it's going to be a network issue
Wasn't sure if charltom meant the files are visible only on the QNAP, or the SONOS as well but unplayable...
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Sandstorm
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tabascoboy wrote: Thu Jun 27, 2024 12:54 pm
epwc wrote: Thu Jun 27, 2024 12:46 pm I think Sonos supports any format that would have been normal back then, probably even ogg

I'd imagine it's going to be a network issue
Wasn't sure if charltom meant the files are visible only on the QNAP, or the SONOS as well but unplayable...
I'd update the (ancient) QNAP firmware first, then check if Sonos and QNAP are on the same subnet.
epwc
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Rereading his post I don't think he's looked at the networking side of it at all. You want to be able to "see" both Sonos and QNAP from your PC

First step is to make sure both Sonos and QNAP are connected to your WIFI (assuming it's not a wired connection)

If they're both connected to your WIFI but can't see each other then it's going to be software setup so locate and reinstall the necessary software for the QNAP first (I think), get the server up and running and then try again to connect the Sonos

BUT just in case you could check the IP addresses, both devices will have a MAC address (should be on a sticker on the device), if you can find that you can find their network address (or whether they're connected to your network)

https://blog.invgate.com/how-to-locate- ... ac-address
epwc
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Sandstorm wrote: Thu Jun 27, 2024 1:00 pm I'd update the (ancient) QNAP firmware first, then check if Sonos and QNAP are on the same subnet.
Yep, many less words than me :)
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Calculon
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Sandstorm wrote: Thu Jun 27, 2024 12:03 pm
Calculon wrote: Thu Jun 27, 2024 6:52 am He's right for the reasons he states in his videos on this
topic. The great thing however is that loads of young people, especially the ones who are a bit more knowledgeable and have the most interest in music know this
It's always been this way. When I was young, some people sought out new and obscure music by diving into back-alley record stores & really broadened their horizons. Others just listened to the Top 40 and bought the next U2 album.

These days it's much easier to go find new stuff, but some people are just lazy/disinterested. And Joshua Tree is still a classic.
In my youth and we listened to, and enjoyed a mix of older and new music. The difference is many kids today are pretty disparaging of current music and prefer the older stuff
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Niegs
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sockwithaticket wrote: Thu Jun 27, 2024 9:03 am
If anything I think this is making albums better, bands know that they every track needs to earn its place, it's no longer viable or worthwhile to release a few hit singles surrounded by a bunch of filler.
Excellent point. Now maybe I tend to be a bit narrow in my tastes but there are a ton of 80s and 90s bands I 'love' but really can't stand or, at best have no interest in a sizeable collection of their songs.

Every year, I'm finding bands with complete albums of enjoyable tracks and as they tend to be smaller indie acts I don't think they're conforming to a trend or using tech to 'cheat'.
epwc
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I think it's a great time for non mainstream music. My kids listen to loads of older stuff that they've picked up through me and all the newer stuff through gigs, mates, Spotify etc
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Niegs
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I agree with those saying some elements are nothing new... like the industry has, at least since ww2, chased bands that sounded like the most popular bands and maybe fringe DJs and your gig going buddy promoted those outside that window, but it's easier now than ever to find outliers (I regularly listen to synthwave acts from France, Italy and Germany all discovered via youtube).

What I'd be interested in is a service that explores bands that were on the periphery or simply have been forgotten in previous eras. Like 'oldies' stations here not only stick to the same handful of bands, but also just a few (or even one!) songs from those bands. What ELSE was on the radio, or college/indie/pirate radio back in 1983, 1975, 1962, 1958? Maybe Spotify does that now, but for all the looking back on the past, old guys tend to have a narrow view of what was great. Maybe the rest wasn't so good? (Though I constantly think there's a potential 'favourite' track or even band for me time has forgot...)
Biffer
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Calculon wrote: Thu Jun 27, 2024 1:11 pm
Sandstorm wrote: Thu Jun 27, 2024 12:03 pm
Calculon wrote: Thu Jun 27, 2024 6:52 am He's right for the reasons he states in his videos on this
topic. The great thing however is that loads of young people, especially the ones who are a bit more knowledgeable and have the most interest in music know this
It's always been this way. When I was young, some people sought out new and obscure music by diving into back-alley record stores & really broadened their horizons. Others just listened to the Top 40 and bought the next U2 album.

These days it's much easier to go find new stuff, but some people are just lazy/disinterested. And Joshua Tree is still a classic.
In my youth and we listened to, and enjoyed a mix of older and new music. The difference is many kids today are pretty disparaging of current music and prefer the older stuff
When I was young (80s), there were still plenty of people who thought new music was rubbish and the older stuff was better.
And are there two g’s in Bugger Off?
Sinkers
Posts: 475
Joined: Tue Jun 30, 2020 6:04 am

I find Mixcloud an excellent source for discovering new (to me) music.

Any other recommendations?
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sturginho
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Joined: Tue Jun 30, 2020 12:51 pm

Niegs wrote: Thu Jun 27, 2024 1:32 pm I agree with those saying some elements are nothing new... like the industry has, at least since ww2, chased bands that sounded like the most popular bands and maybe fringe DJs and your gig going buddy promoted those outside that window, but it's easier now than ever to find outliers (I regularly listen to synthwave acts from France, Italy and Germany all discovered via youtube).

What I'd be interested in is a service that explores bands that were on the periphery or simply have been forgotten in previous eras. Like 'oldies' stations here not only stick to the same handful of bands, but also just a few (or even one!) songs from those bands. What ELSE was on the radio, or college/indie/pirate radio back in 1983, 1975, 1962, 1958? Maybe Spotify does that now, but for all the looking back on the past, old guys tend to have a narrow view of what was great. Maybe the rest wasn't so good? (Though I constantly think there's a potential 'favourite' track or even band for me time has forgot...)
Radio stations are worse than ever! You have "oldies" stations which play songs from the 80s or 90s which despite having a decade worth of music to choose from, repeat the same songs over and over.
Back in our day we had MTV, nowadays MTV doesnt have any music, and other music TV channels are not worth bothering with. Least of all Kerrang TV who only seem to have 3 songs

(oh no, am I turning into Rick?)
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Calculon
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Biffer wrote: Thu Jun 27, 2024 1:50 pm
Calculon wrote: Thu Jun 27, 2024 1:11 pm
Sandstorm wrote: Thu Jun 27, 2024 12:03 pm

It's always been this way. When I was young, some people sought out new and obscure music by diving into back-alley record stores & really broadened their horizons. Others just listened to the Top 40 and bought the next U2 album.

These days it's much easier to go find new stuff, but some people are just lazy/disinterested. And Joshua Tree is still a classic.
In my youth and we listened to, and enjoyed a mix of older and new music. The difference is many kids today are pretty disparaging of current music and prefer the older stuff
When I was young (80s), there were still plenty of people who thought new music was rubbish and the older stuff was better.
Sure, but not plenty of kids who thought so
Biffer
Posts: 9141
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Calculon wrote: Thu Jun 27, 2024 3:00 pm
Biffer wrote: Thu Jun 27, 2024 1:50 pm
Calculon wrote: Thu Jun 27, 2024 1:11 pm

In my youth and we listened to, and enjoyed a mix of older and new music. The difference is many kids today are pretty disparaging of current music and prefer the older stuff
When I was young (80s), there were still plenty of people who thought new music was rubbish and the older stuff was better.
Sure, but not plenty of kids who thought so
I disagree. I knew plenty of folk my own age who wanted thought new stuff was crap and we’re into Led Zep, Pink Floyd, Bob Dylan etc. me, for instance.
And are there two g’s in Bugger Off?
robmatic
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Calculon wrote: Thu Jun 27, 2024 1:11 pm
Sandstorm wrote: Thu Jun 27, 2024 12:03 pm
Calculon wrote: Thu Jun 27, 2024 6:52 am He's right for the reasons he states in his videos on this
topic. The great thing however is that loads of young people, especially the ones who are a bit more knowledgeable and have the most interest in music know this
It's always been this way. When I was young, some people sought out new and obscure music by diving into back-alley record stores & really broadened their horizons. Others just listened to the Top 40 and bought the next U2 album.

These days it's much easier to go find new stuff, but some people are just lazy/disinterested. And Joshua Tree is still a classic.
In my youth and we listened to, and enjoyed a mix of older and new music. The difference is many kids today are pretty disparaging of current music and prefer the older stuff
I think they have better access to the older music now because of streaming. It takes much less effort to go back to the source of what current bands are just repackaging.
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