So I decided, for no particular reason, that I want the album "Izzy Stradlin and the Ju Ju Hounds", the 1992 solo release from the ex-Guns'n'Roses guitarist. It's a great album, and the only reason I didn't buy it back in the day was because my buddy had it and we just listened to his copy. I guess these days record execs would call that stealing.
The CD is out-of-print, so all you can get is a Japanese import or a used copy. That's fine, I don't really want a CD that I'm going to rip once and then stash in the closet'o'junk for the rest of eternity, anyway. Check iTunes, check Amazon, search the web - *nobody* has a downloadable copy. WTF? It's an obscure album, but it's not *that* obscure.
So I'm poking around the web some more, and I discover that it's available on the iTunes Ireland store, but not the US store. OK, that's pretty stupid, but whatever. I'll pay for it in Euros and eat the currency conversion, I've got a ton of iTunes credits from gift cards, anyway. "Oops, sorry, your account is for the US store, not the Ireland store." Really, Apple? WHAT FUCKING DIFFERENCE DOES IT MAKE??
And then these jackholes wonder why people download shit.
> So I decided, for no particular reason, that I want the album "Izzy Stradlin and the > Ju Ju Hounds", the 1992 solo release from the ex-Guns'n'Roses guitarist. It's a great > album, and the only reason I didn't buy it back in the day was because my buddy had > it and we just listened to his copy. I guess these days record execs would call that > stealing. > > The CD is out-of-print, so all you can get is a Japanese import or a used copy. > That's fine, I don't really want a CD that I'm going to rip once and then stash in > the closet'o'junk for the rest of eternity, anyway. Check iTunes, check Amazon, > search the web - *nobody* has a downloadable copy. WTF? It's an obscure album, but > it's not *that* obscure. > > So I'm poking around the web some more, and I discover that it's available on the > iTunes Ireland store, but not the US store. OK, that's pretty stupid, but whatever. > I'll pay for it in Euros and eat the currency conversion, I've got a ton of iTunes > credits from gift cards, anyway. "Oops, sorry, your account is for the US store, not > the Ireland store." Really, Apple? WHAT FUCKING DIFFERENCE DOES IT MAKE?? > > And then these jackholes wonder why people download shit.
it's downloading right now;
3 great solo albums form the legendary GN'R guitarist and songwriter.
As an extra bonus i have added the rare Pressure Drop Ep with 3 unreleased song that was released before the first album in 1992.
Duff McKagan plays bass on two of the records.
Izzy Stradlin' And The Ju Ju Hounds (1992)
Personnel Izzy Stradlin guitar, vocals, harmonica, percussion Jimmy Ashhurst bass, backing vocals Charlie Quintana drums, percussion, backing vocals Rick Richards guitar, percussion
Tracks 1. Somebody Knockin' 2. Pressure Drop 3. Time Gone By 4. Shuffle It All 5. Bucket O' Trouble 6. Train Tracks 7. How Will It Go 8. Cuttin' the Rug 9. Take a Look at the Guy 10. Come On Now Inside
Izzy Stradlin - 117 (1998)
Personnel Izzy Stradlin Vocals, Guitar, Bass Rick Richards Guitar Duff Mckagan Bass Taz Bentley Drums, Percussion Eddie Ashworth Mandolin
Tracks 1. Aint It A Bitch 2. Gotta Say 3. Memphis Cover: Chuck Berry 4. Old Hat 5. Bleedin 6. Parasite 7. Good Enough 8. 117 Degrees 9. Here Before You 10. Up Jumped The Devil 11. Grunt 12. Freight Train 13. Methanol 14. Surf Roach
Izzy Stradlin - The River (2001)
Personnel Izzy Stradlin Vocals, Guitar Rick Richards Guitar Duff Mckagan Bass Taz Bentley Drums Ian Mclagan Keyboards
Tracks 1. Jump In Now 2. Head On Out 3. River 4. Far Below Me Now 5. What I Told You 6. Get Away 7. Underground 8. Shall Walk 9. Run-In 10. Feelin Alright
Izzy And The Ju Ju Hounds - Pressure Drop (EP) (1992)
1. Pressure Drop 2. Been A Fix (Unreleased) 3. Came Unglued (Unreleased) 4. Can't Hear Em (Unreleased)
I actually have that CD. It doesn't sound anything like GnR to me. I bought it because of a song that sounds like the Rolling Stones. It may not be iTunes fault that it is not available here. Like you said, US record companies suck. How is it that stuff is re-issued in Japan and not here? I figure it must be a way they screw the band out of royalties or something.
> I actually have that CD. It doesn't sound anything like GnR to me. I bought it > because of a song that sounds like the Rolling Stones.
Exactly. To tell you the truth, I think it has aged better than GnR. I like GnR, but they definitely sound like a artifact from the '80s at this point.
> It may not be iTunes fault > that it is not available here. Like you said, US record companies suck. How is it > that stuff is re-issued in Japan and not here? I figure it must be a way they screw > the band out of royalties or something.
Yeah, I'm sure it's the record companies. Apple would be happy to take my money if they could.
I think the way it works in Japan is they just license the tracks to Japanese labels, and the Japanese labels can pretty much do what they want with them. Stuff is more available just because the Japanese labels suck less. Probably because they don't have roots in the Mob the way US labels do.
> So I decided, for no particular reason, that I want the album "Izzy Stradlin and the > Ju Ju Hounds", the 1992 solo release from the ex-Guns'n'Roses guitarist. It's a great > album, and the only reason I didn't buy it back in the day was because my buddy had > it and we just listened to his copy. I guess these days record execs would call that > stealing. > > The CD is out-of-print, so all you can get is a Japanese import or a used copy. > That's fine, I don't really want a CD that I'm going to rip once and then stash in > the closet'o'junk for the rest of eternity, anyway. Check iTunes, check Amazon, > search the web - *nobody* has a downloadable copy. WTF? It's an obscure album, but > it's not *that* obscure. > > So I'm poking around the web some more, and I discover that it's available on the > iTunes Ireland store, but not the US store. OK, that's pretty stupid, but whatever. > I'll pay for it in Euros and eat the currency conversion, I've got a ton of iTunes > credits from gift cards, anyway. "Oops, sorry, your account is for the US store, not > the Ireland store." Really, Apple? WHAT FUCKING DIFFERENCE DOES IT MAKE?? > > And then these jackholes wonder why people download shit.
Hehe... had similar issues this week. (Epoc Live "Ruffneck Soul" EP)
Want to buy _any_ CD/Vinyl? Just drive to the store and pop yer money on the checkout counter. Pay, and go away.
Want to buy digital? ->
Oh sorry, for downloading a complete album from Amazon MP3 store, installing our special downloader is mandatory. Not for single tracks btw...
Oh sorry, registration needed here! (everywhere). Even if i'm just paying via PayPal. (Did i have to do this registration in brick-and-mortar record stores? Friggin' no! It's a crappy download, not a shipped parcel!)
Oh sorry, we offer only a hilarious completely FLASH-ONLY website (Beatport).
And not every store even has the information about how the files are encoded.
The best bit was www.tradebit.de - while the same 5-track EP costd $9.99 at www.tradebit.com/their actual download partner 7digital.com, the german shop wanted to charge me a friggin' 9.99€!
By the way: It's the same in regard to charging the same amount in different currencies also for the software industry - see Agnitum (Outpost Firewall) for example. $49.95 vs. 49.95€. Fuck you, all.
Thats's (also) why "oh-so-simple" digital distribution still sucks big time for me.
> Hehe... had similar issues this week. (Epoc Live "Ruffneck Soul" EP) > > Want to buy _any_ CD/Vinyl? Just drive to the store and pop yer money on the checkout > counter. Pay, and go away. > > Want to buy digital? -> > > Oh sorry, for downloading a complete album from Amazon MP3 store, installing our > special downloader is mandatory. Not for single tracks btw... > > Oh sorry, registration needed here! (everywhere). Even if i'm just paying via PayPal. > (Did i have to do this registration in brick-and-mortar record stores? Friggin' no! > It's a crappy download, not a shipped parcel!) > > Oh sorry, we offer only a hilarious completely FLASH-ONLY website (Beatport). > > And not every store even has the information about how the files are encoded. > > The best bit was www.tradebit.de - while the same 5-track EP costd $9.99 at > www.tradebit.com/their actual download partner 7digital.com, the german shop wanted > to charge me a friggin' 9.99€! > > By the way: It's the same in regard to charging the same amount in different > currencies also for the software industry - see Agnitum (Outpost Firewall) for > example. $49.95 vs. 49.95€. Fuck you, all. > > Thats's (also) why "oh-so-simple" digital distribution still sucks big time for me.
I buy quite a lot of MP3 stuff from HMV Digital. Its a British site but they're generally reasonably priced and you just get what you paid for.
> I think the way it works in Japan is they just license the tracks to Japanese labels, > and the Japanese labels can pretty much do what they want with them. Stuff is more > available just because the Japanese labels suck less. Probably because they don't > have roots in the Mob the way US labels do.
At least in the US most songs have at some time been mastered to CD, even if you can't get it right now. Here in Australia anything old is simply ignored, not even dragged out of the closet for conversion, unless it was a big seller or was known overseas. At least half of all Australian Top 40 material from the 70s has never been heard of since. So the music fans here spend all the time finding old records and doing the conversions ourselves.
>That's fine, I don't really want a CD that I'm going to rip once and then stash in the >closet'o'junk for the rest of eternity, anyway.
LOL, just about every CD (and DVD for that matter) I've brought is a rip and stash job. I rip it and tuck it away because they are way too fragile to use on a daily or monthly basis.
About 3 months ago, I finally decided to fill in a massive hole in my video collection and buy Star Trek The Original Series (TOS) on DVD or BluRay, and hunted around Big W, K-Mart, and all of the other local DVD shops - no luck, no stock. Then I went to JB HiFi, and they said "No it is now no longer being produced, and you wont find it anywhere - we've had an exclusive deal in Australia for the last 12 months, but that has now expired and it is now no longer sold *anywhere* in Australia".
So, I hunted around on eBay, brought it from a UK seller, ripped it, and stashed the DVDs.
I could easily have downloaded a torrent of all episodes, but I always try and do the right thing.
But, like everything else on CD / DVD / BluRay, it's *way* too fragile to use on a daily / monthly basis.
Oh well, I guess I'll live with my AVI rips on HDD.
And, if anyone tries to tell me they aren't 100% legal, I'll pull out my tea-chests full of DVDs / CDs and shove them up where the sun don't shine. LOL.
> At least in the US most songs have at some time been mastered to CD, even if you > can't get it right now. Here in Australia anything old is simply ignored, not even > dragged out of the closet for conversion, unless it was a big seller or was known > overseas. At least half of all Australian Top 40 material from the 70s has never been > heard of since. So the music fans here spend all the time finding old records and > doing the conversions ourselves.
Stuff from Australia goes out of print too quickly. Billy Thorpe - Children of the Sun (the real version) was re-issued and went out of print before I even knew it was out. Now is sells for a shitload of money.
At least I did get my hands on a rare German issue of the Tarney/Spencer - Band Run For Your Life. From what I've read only 1500 were made back in 1993. Anything that has surfaced since has been bootlegs.