St. Vincent - Actor

4AD (Beggars Group USA) is selling Actor on FLAC for 10$.

Unfortunately, you can only download the MP3 version when you buy the vinyl.

Blue Note vinyl reissue series

I just bought a Blue Note record: Kenny Burrell Midnight Blue. It's part of a reissue series that includes many jazz classic like Herbie Hancock Maiden Voyage. All the vinyls come with a CD copy of the album.

Some time ago I saw a copy at the downtown Montreal Archambault but it was overpriced (as one might except). Today I did some shopping at L'oblique and found this vinyl (with CD) for 19.99$. They also carry other records of the reissue series.

Strangely enough this release isn't available on Amazon.


-- Post From My iPhone

Metric

There is an interesting article on Metric in the LA Times. They released their new album Fantasies without a record label, instead pushing on digital purchases and a Radiohead-like deluxe boxset. And best of all, it paid off.

Fantasies is available in MP3 and FLAC on their website "I Love Metric" for 8.99$ USD. Even better, get the vinyl with the digital download for 24.99$. You download the album in FLAC right now, the mailman delivers the vinyl a few days later. PERFECT.

The album is also available on Zunior, but it's more expensive (10.88$) with you want the FLAC version.

Record labels should be worried, very worried!

New Bob Dylan vinyl comes with CD

As seen on Amazon, the new Bob Dylan vinyl will include a CD copy (with the same tracks). It's not a lossless digital version per se, you still have to rip it and... give the CD to a friend. It's a good deal nonetheless.

I also spotted a Jason Molina vinyl with a CD copy of the album. Released in 2004!

More interesting articles on Gizmodo

The cover art of the different formats. From great big 12x12 covers to... nothing! It's true, the cover art is disappearing. That's why I buy vinyl. But a voucher for a lossless download wouldn't be too much to ask, would it?

How to calibrate your turntable.

And the music format timeline.

Boomkat

Boomkat is an online store I discovered while reading Gizmodo's excellent How to discover music in 2009. It a British record store specialized in electronic / techno music, but they also have some rock records. They sell CDs and vinyls and lots of their titles are available in FLAC. Unfortunately, with the exchange rate, it can be quite expensive as they charge per tracks.

As one example favorable there's Mokira' Sueismine offered in FLAC for 3.95 British pounds. That's about 7$ CAD or 6$ USD.

A more expensive example would be Monk's Black Monk Time available at 8.95 British pounds. That's over 13$ USD.

With the pricing structure and with all the unknown artists it's a good place to discover new music and buy a few tracks here and there.

I'll give it a try for sure.

Lots of music-related posts on Gizmodo

So it's "listening test" week at Gizmodo. There is a lot of interesting posts. It's a little off-topic to this blog, but still, here's a few articles that stands out:

The difference between 100$ and 100,000$ speakers

How to discover music in 2009. They mention a few online record store with lossless music offerings. I'll check it out!

Why we need audiophiles

Why analog audio cables really aren't all the same