The Album Club

July 30, 2004 9:57 PM

No time to pick out your own music? Still like the CD format? Live in the UK? Well has The Rough Trade Shop got a club for you. Is this outmoded on arrival or an interesting variant on old style "X-Of-the-Month" clubs? I know I sometimes find it overwhelming to keep up with what's new'n'exciting.
posted by PinkStainlessTail (8 comments total)

Fantastic idea. Unfortunately, UK only.
posted by dobbs at 10:04 PM on July 30, 2004

I found the UK only thing particularly odd, since the Rough Trade Shop is usually quite amenable to international shipping.
posted by PinkStainlessTail at 10:08 PM on July 30, 2004

I remember reading somewhere about music becoming a utility. There's something a little odd about it, but I'm unsure why I feel that way. It's almost as tho' in the same way as you may $x a month for HBO you'll pay $x a month for music you like. I googled for music as a utility and I could only find this pdf although I'm sure I'm plagaring the music as a utility concept from elsewere.

It's odd, the music on tap thing unnerves me, and I'm not sure why. Saying that I don't have cable either. On the other hand if audiogalaxy could just work, and have everything done by everyone ever, I'd probably pony up a nice monthly sum.

I do appreciate the comments about record shops/time etc. I used to spend loads of time and money in stores (my vinyl's my only real anchor when I move around) but now I can't stand the places. They're either painfully hip, or I get racked with guilt because the people are really nice and I don't find anything I like.
posted by Flat Feet Pete at 10:25 PM on July 30, 2004

I'd be sorta interested, but golly is it £xp£niv£.
posted by bonaldi at 10:56 PM on July 30, 2004

far too expensive for a couple of CD's that you may, or may not like. it's 30 quid to sign up and for 3 CD's a month is a further 42 quid.

interesting, in a bit-of-a rip-off sort of way
posted by quarsan at 11:19 PM on July 30, 2004

For this kind of money every damn CD they sent you would have to be a winner. Listen to their compilations, for example Counter Culture 2003, and you may wonder how any one person could like every track. The music they recommend is probably too diverse for it to please everyone.

Now of course they say they tailor for your tastes, but their criteria seems very broad indeed. "Do you like guitar based music?" ... "Do you want two or three of the CD's to be guitar music?" And that's about it for tastes.
posted by dodgygeezer at 6:29 AM on July 31, 2004

It's all new music. Maybe if they were sending out CDs of the Rough Trade back catalog I would piss myself here as I stand, but they are not.
posted by destro at 6:59 AM on July 31, 2004

people still pay for music? there's so much free (and legal) music available for download, i just don't see the need anymore (except for rare exceptions ... Chutes too Narrow springs to mind).

but i'm right there with you, Flat Feet Pete, on one monthly sum for access to all the music ever made (in a lossless format, for sure). i'd easily pay something ridiculous for that, $100-200 a month?, but it's never going to happen, at least not with a big enough library and/or acceptable rights management.
posted by mrgrimm at 11:55 AM on July 31, 2004