Are there no Canadian prog merchants - the Canadian equivalents of Laser's Edge, etc. - who can get better prices on CDs and shipping than an individual ordering from a source outside Canada? I always assumed there were, but I guess prog sellers are kind of rare these days.
None that I'm aware of. Ordering from LE, Cuneiform or the like would lower that a bit, but at this point I'm happy to download from bandcamp. When releases aren't available on bandcamp, is when things can get tricky. itunes US, Google downloads US, often won't even work from Canada. I've already had issues acquiring three albums that I wanted this year. It's almost like some of these bands don't want my money, lol.
neil
I am at a point in my life where most lyrics just annoy me. Modern Prog lyrics are so notoriously banal that I prefer listening to vocalists I don't understand.
Example: I've been told the lyrics on Blocco Mentale's POA are garbage. But it's all sung in beautiful Italian so I will never feel "the cringe." You guys know exactly what I'm talking about. Cosmic Christmas trees, anyone?
That said, I love Jordsjo and cannot wait for the new one to arrive from Karisma US.
The Prog Corner
Things have kind of gone full circle from when I started collecting prog imports in the 90s. We had a couple of local stores and I'd expect to pay about $30 for an Italian prog import or something like Änglagård.
I ordered the Jordsjo earlier today; with shipping came out to $32 CDN. Doesn't feel wonderful, but on the other hand this is what I paid almost 25 years ago. It only seems high because for a while it was better.
I paid $32. Too bad we don't have prog dealers in Canada. There was a brick and mortar prog store in Gatineau, Quebec (The Musical Box) but they closed about 20 years ago. It was great as they had listening stations where you could sample first.
I absolutely need a physical product (I'm a child of the 70s) so I'll have to stick to this price range.
What can this strange device be? When I touch it, it brings forth a sound (2112)
Unfortunately no. Which is why so many of us have little choice but to turn to Amazon, or the Amazon marketplace/Discogs/Ebay. First thing I do now is check Discogs and tick the "Ships from Canada" box to see if anyone here has it. Most of the time, anyway. I do still grab from the U.S. prog vendors now and then, and from Bandcamp or official band web shops. If I was a millionaire, it would be a lot more often, but the shipping adds up so quickly now, every CD is in the $35 range for me now.
Interviewer of reprobate ne'er-do-well musicians of the long-haired rock n' roll persuasion at: www.velvetthunder.co.uk and former scribe at Classic Rock Society. Only vaguely aware of anything other than music.
*** Join me in the Garden of Delights for 3 hours of tune-spinning... every Saturday at 5pm EST on Deep Nuggets radio! www.deepnuggets.com ***
There is also Freson in Montreal, a long time prog vendor. Big selection but the prices are not low.
What can this strange device be? When I touch it, it brings forth a sound (2112)
Copies of Pastoralia are on the way. Should be here end of the week...
Terrific store, and just down the street from Aux 33 Tours, too. I've visited both numerous times, and ordered via Discogs as well.
For that matter, there are a couple of great little indie record shops around here that both have a lot of prog and jazz stuff. One of which is a beautiful store called Records On Wheels (Dundas, Ontario), owned and operated by PE's own Birdy.
Interviewer of reprobate ne'er-do-well musicians of the long-haired rock n' roll persuasion at: www.velvetthunder.co.uk and former scribe at Classic Rock Society. Only vaguely aware of anything other than music.
*** Join me in the Garden of Delights for 3 hours of tune-spinning... every Saturday at 5pm EST on Deep Nuggets radio! www.deepnuggets.com ***
It used to be a chain, there were a few of them around here. The one closest to me changed its name many years ago to Looney Tunes. I've been going there since I was a young teenager, close to 35 years now. Mike (Birdy) kept the name, and his store is even better. Best one in the Toronto-Niagara corridor, in fact! He often writes his own personal writeups and has them attached to the LPs and CDs. Cool little touch that makes for an experience you just can't get by going into an HMV or something (not that those are even around anymore).
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Interviewer of reprobate ne'er-do-well musicians of the long-haired rock n' roll persuasion at: www.velvetthunder.co.uk and former scribe at Classic Rock Society. Only vaguely aware of anything other than music.
*** Join me in the Garden of Delights for 3 hours of tune-spinning... every Saturday at 5pm EST on Deep Nuggets radio! www.deepnuggets.com ***
^^I've heard of that Records on Wheels, but have never been there. There was a guy in Toronto who had a small prog-friendly music store for awhile. It was near the Danforth Music Hall, but is long gone now.
Greg and Progatron, I respect the hell out of both of you for sticking with physical product. I bought a ton of new releases last year, and no way could I be paying +$30 for each of them. To be honest, even though I like physical product and still do buy books, as opposed to kindle, I really don't miss getting CDs that much. The music is by far the most important thing, and I feel great that bandcamp gives the majority of the sale of downloads to the artist.
neil
Last edited by mozo-pg; 04-19-2021 at 07:46 PM.
What can this strange device be? When I touch it, it brings forth a sound (2112)
I guess that's personal preference ... but than imagine you listen to King Crimson, Pink Floyd etc. and don't get the lyrics. You would lose another whole dimension to it. Besides, someone's "garbage" may be another's treasure. Wouldn't harm to have a translation in the booklet and at least give you a choice. Btw, thanks for the tip where you got it from ... if I only knew it beforehand, or LE was a bit faster with the news on it ... oh well.
"Confusion Will Be My Epitaph"
my music collection increased tenfolds when I switched from drug-addicts to complete nutcases.
I think my problem stems from some of the more current bands. Those classic Prog bands did indeed pen some great lyrics: Roger Waters, Peter Gabriel, Pete Sinfield, Richard Palmer-James, Ian Anderson...I even love Jon Anderson's nonsensical words. But as I was listening to Logos' latest album I realized that I didn't need to understand what a vocalist was singing to thoroughly enjoy it. And maybe I was enjoying it a bit more BECAUSE I couldn't understand the words - it adds a bit of mystery, I suppose. And yeah, this is just one moron's opinion but I'm betting I'm not alone!!!
That said, I love Jordsjo!!!! Cannot wait to hear the whole album. Norway is on fire!!!
The Prog Corner
We now have stock but its too early for us to ship (street date is May 7th).
Taking preorders:
https://www.lasercd.com/cd/pastoralia-preorder
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