Paul McCartney - The Official "Memory Almost Full" Album Thread (part 3)

iTunes songs are 128Kbps AAC, with DRM. For extra cost (unbelievable really) you an get a 256Kbps AAC without DRM, but that isnt widespread yet so I don't know if that'll be an option on this new album.

If you know where to shop (*cough*find-cd.co.uk*cough*) albums on CD can be far cheaper than they are on iTunes, and in better quality. For individual tracks it's not as bad, since buying a single song is still cheaper than buying a Single CD, but it's still inferior quality-wise.

 

One of the things I like best about this album is that I didn't have to wait 4 years till it comes out.
Then I like the voice McCartney sings in. This singer is self-destructive in a way... How can a voice survive all this screaming and shouting? Ah well, his attempts at singing soft show the results...

The compositions are very interesting and I bet they will annoy a lot more critics but please all the more fans. "Chaos" was too safe for me.

The production seems to be very nice. Actually it sounds very enetertaining.

Great album - Can't wait to hear it in CD-quality!

 

Right now the basic Cd can be had on Amazon for $9.99 which is the same price as iTunes. I doubt people go to iTunes for price. It's the percieved convenience, I would think.

 

Ok, back to the CD plan. What is my cheapest outlet to get the deluxe version, but still have my sale count toward Paul reaching #1 on the album charts? I have heard that purchases at Starbucks will not count towards any of the charts.

P.S. I just read the following on another thread, is it true?

"The tracks from the iTunes store are 128 kbps AAC. Equivalent to 192 kbps MP3 and are smaller to boot. Soon the iTunes store will be selling higher-encoded songs from the EMI catalog."

 

Thanks for the great interview, Claudio, very enlightening.

For myself I think Mr Bellamy sounds like a product of cognitive therapy - he's a man on a ledge, and the attempts to talk him down are a take on cliche and form. I read Paul underwent some therapy after Linda's death and the whole lyric has the feel of therapy session exercise.

 

AAC 128Kbps isn't "equivalent" to MP3 anything. They're different codecs. 128Kbps AAC sounds better than 128Kbps MP3 in nearly all cases, but I don't think you can equate it to a bitrate of another codec.

EMI tracks should be available at 256Kbps AAC as I said. When, I don't know.

I can't help you with buying CDs in the US I'm afraid.

 

It's not just a "perceived" convenience, it's a REAL convenience and even a necessity for a lot of people. There are many people (and more every day) for whom owning a CD player seems inconvenient, old fashioned, even silly. They own iPods (or something like them), and have a dock in their living room, in their car, and on their bedside table. They don't need a CD player, so why buy the CDs?

 

The only purchase I've made from itunes was a Stevie Wonder album that was out of print and I could only find copies on ebay for over $25, but the album was available on itunes for under $6. It was an easy decision!

 

Having a teenage daughter I know it well. And in fact I've encouraged her to download because it saves me tons of money. Teenagers are too fickle and they change tastes so getting those CDs is a waste IMO. I'm an old fan so I can't fathom not having a collection but for the wallet its a good thing. "Perceived" is just my sarcasm. I think people could still buy new CDs it's just that the download culture is so used to getting things fast that I think people have forgotten about going to the store. Can't fault them really. There aren't many options.

 

I'm okay with iTunes files for what they are. I do think there's some debate about the actual sound relative to high bit rate MP3s but I'm not good one to enter into that. I've downloaded several out of print albums and iTunes has come in handy many times for me.

 

I hear you -- and I too mourn the impending death of the "album."

 

What? Concord Music is the distributor (right?) and I would think ANY shipments of CDs count towards the charts. This is interesting to me.

But still Starbucks isn't going to be the cheapest I would think. That's impulse selling at its finest. My bet is that Best Buy and Target will have a shoot out for the lowest price. Amazon has the deluxe for $18.99 right now.

 

Thanks so much, Ron.
The thing is there were some typos and all because I edited it late at night and didn't check it. I was really excited to post it for you.
I'm glad you liked the interview.
Thanks again!

 

Sean: I was awaiting for your feedback...glad you enjoyed it!

 

Well while CD Players aren't as common as they once were, all PCs and Laptops can play CDs perfectly fine. My "sound system" consists of my laptop hooked to 2.1 Speakers. Not perfect by a long way, but even with my very modest setup I can tell between 192Kbps MP3 and WMA Lossless on a lot of my songs (granted, they are mostly "busy" metal/rock songs - there would be less difference in some other genres).

 

Again Claudio ...great job. It's nice having someone interview David who actually is a "Paul geek" like the rest of us, and could ask intelligent questions.

 

I know I keep saying this, but I would be in awe of the man who co-wrote most of my favorite FISHBONE songs.
"These are the voices of modern industry....
These are the voices....
These are the voices......"

 

Great interview, Claudio!

 

That's the rub. Macca's back catalogue should be available DRM-free at 256Kbps but MAF won't because it isn't on EMI...

And I'll be damned if I'm paying a tenner ($20) just to get my hands on an exclusive version of Dance Tonight - but I'll gladly purloin a copy

 

I did enjoy it -- any chance you could post a transcript of your 2001 interview with David Kahne?

 

Yes, there is.
It was shorter than the recent one, but it was cool anyway!

 

Claudio - are your interviews published or broadcast? For whom do you do them? That was very good. It's not often someone conveys the way McCartney works the way Kahne did in that interview. Even though he tried to keep you from referencing other songs I think he realizes its impossible to avoid the references. And I don't believe for a minute that McCartney doesn't use past experiece when he records.

 

Kay Mail Order in the UK have just confirmed there will be a vinyl release of MAF, out on 25th June.

Chris

 

Thank you Glenn!
I did try to sum up what fans interested in the recording secrets would like to ask him, so in the end it turned out nicely

 

You beat me on that...I was about to post it!