Rick’s Canteen – Update
August 27, 2024 – My first week off from Rick’s Canteen.
Paul Arndt filled in and played a great show.
Info on Episodes 13 and 14 found below.
Episode 14 – 9.10.24
Show notes:
A request was made for more ladies, so this was my first attempt at a Rick’s Canteen Ladies’ Night. Other than a few man + woman duets, female vocalists dominated the show.
A recording of the broadcast is available for you here–
Provided your device’s media player treats you better than WordPress’s above player, the Rick’s Canteen google folder has been updated (this is always the first thing to be updated).
The Spotify playlist is below.
Episode 13 – 9.3.24
Show notes:
The focus of this show was “albums not available on streaming.” And in many cases, these LPs never found any post-vinyl format (8-track, cassette, cd, etc).
Back in 2009, long before I watched this incredible vimeo video about Paul C. Mawhinney’s life’s work entitled The Archive, I knew I wanted to collect vinyl. Considering that records create such an onerous task when transporting, I knew I wouldn’t be able to start a collection in earnest until I, more or less, settled (which kind of happened around 2014).
There are many, many reasons to collect vinyl. One reason often overlooked is the fact that so many recordings weren’t converted to a post-vinyl format (8-track, cassette, cd, mp3, etc). In the above video, Mawhinney claims that the Library of Congress estimates that, of his collection (over 1 million LPs and 1.5 million 45s), and, specifically with recordings made between 1948-1966, only 17% of that music was converted into a digital format.
This doesn’t just apply to artists that were overlooked in their time or for the stars whose fame lost its shine over time, but also includes artists still considered important who jumped across different labels (resulting in contract disputes) or whose estate decided to not allow certain records to be reproduced for whatever reason (resulting in other contract disputes). Not to be forgotten are the countless compilations pressed on vinyl over the years that never got digitally converted.
You don’t have to collect long before you come across records & 45s by artists like Ray Charles, Dee Clark, The Ink Spots, and so on before you realize even if you wanted to purchase a particular album in another format, you couldn’t. They don’t exist.
Regardless, I’m of the opinion that the music that commercially failed (and succeeded) in the middle of the 20th century is far, FAR better than our contemporary music. So, that’s where the search for that 83% comes from. And who’s to say how much of the 83% that was never converted is still in good shape, available, and not degrading in some landfill?
Side note: While in Dallas, I went to a highly-rated record store and found it didn’t have a used section (nor were used records mixed in with the sealed records). Every single records was a new pressing. So, the point I just made about finding music that had never been digitally reproduced, a strong motivation for some collectors, was moot in that store. That’s a rare occurrence. Dallas, I tell ya.
Anyhow, to get back to the actual “show notes” –
We focused on many records (the images of a few selections are found below) that you can’t find online.
A recording of the broadcast is available for you here –
Provided your device’s media player treats you better than WordPress’s above player, the Rick’s Canteen google folder has been updated (this is always the first thing to be updated).
Because you can’t find them on streaming, there isn’t a spotify playlist for this show.
See you next week.