Yo Art & GBeatzz, points well made. For me, there's a certain excitement when I go to my mailbox and I see that I've actually received mail from all over the U.S. or from all over the world--makes me feel kinda like a kid @ Christmas. But, I perfectly understand the need to have to do the digital thing. I've done it a few times because I got behind and I wanted my partner to receive their music as quickly as possible, since I was a lil' late. Or, as forestated, due to my partner's local mail situation, I'd send the music digitally.

I guess ultimately, the mode of sending the music isn't as important as the heart that goes into making the music that's being sent, nah mean?!?

Aye GBeatzz, I'm an old-head in this trading group and I remember the broken leg (happened on ice, right?!?) But, I liked how you didn't let that stop you. In fact, you made several hot mixes that were themed in conjunction with your broken leg. That showed me that were willing to "go hard" for the music and made me personally step up my music game and start doin' my home work.

Man, has it been (4) years?!? WOW!!!! I can STILL remember the first mix I ever made & sent out (I believe it was Spring Mix 03'). I can remember the music posts were so heavy that I didn't think that my lil' ole' mix could hold weight, but GBeatzz & Astro reached out to a brotha and then others quickly did the same and showed me the ropes.

Art, your email was long, but yo mine was like a book. lol

Hey All,

Serious discussion ... I Love It!

I feel you Macedonia. As a proud papa of a couple of thousand pieces of vinyl I too thought all this digital DJ'ing was for the birds (small digression.. I saw Red Alert and Jazzy Jay using Serato at a set so who am I to argue really?). It wasn't until I broke my leg a few years ago.. some of the long timers in this group remember... and couldn't get in the basement or stand up to mix that I really saw that my love of music is just that... love of music, not only DJ'ing. That was the real catalyst to growing the group. To expand my horizions musically.

Vinyl is tangible , sounds better and has a sentimental almost cultish following, but when it comes down to it skills are skills. You can mix or you can't. You can scratch or you can't . Reverb, phlange, quick starts, etc and other digital DJ ear tricks are nice but if you can't blend 2 records together you still will erase a dance floor :-). The digital age is upon us and is taking over. Embrace it.
Vinyl is also. HEAVY!!! At 42 and with a permenant bum leg now I am gladdddddd to have spent all that recouperation time encoding my vinyl. I have about 16000 LEGAL tracks now and it weighs... nothing ;-).. its all 1's and 0's, bits of data. No more lugging crates AND speakers AND tables AND amps. And the whole world of my music is now open to me at an instant, which makes me a better sounding DJ, IMOo (in my opinion only)... you know, not the same ol 200 records at a gig.
So all that being said, I love my GS family and am glad to help keep this moving toward the greatest benefit of the group, which is exposure to new sounds and cultures. We have a great international crew to get the hook up from so continue to enjoy the ride I say.

Jeff

What's going on peeps.
I happened to check the GS and caught the posts in regards to the trades. I think the lack of trading comes from a couple of aspects. One reason I suppose is that people are involved in different personal aspects of their life whether it be family, work, ect..or whatever it is which may hinder the different traders. I think another factor is the true dedication. What I believe happened was the intentions were good with people wanting to trade but then people may have got caught up in things which didnt allow them to actually trade with partners. For example, there has been many times where I would get partners and I would be the only one to send something out. And while I love sharing music, it has only been recently that I've been compiling music digitally. Most of my stuff is vinyl. So I was actually recording people's cds from different vinyl, even the international hip-hop (Hey Macedonia I feel your point of view because I'm still rocking vinyl). So I think that may have killed some people's mood to want to trade. I'm not blaming anyone if they haven't been able to send a cd because everyone gets caught up in everyday life but I do belive that's a factor. I give Kaedeepee props because he sent out emails asking people who wanted to trade to get at him and then he would do the list. I think that was a good idea because if a person couldn't trade that month, it wasn't any pressure on them.
Dag that was a long email..lol

As far as the whole download thing. I think that was one of the most brilliant things. Sending people music throw sendspace or whatever it is, is a great thing because people can get it instantly and you dont have to worry about the whole mailing thing. If I was up on technology I would do it too..lol But for people who live in different countries I think it's a great way to share music. Plus with the Royal Mail strikes that happened in the UK, I think its the best option!

paz,
Art

KDilla -

thanks, man - glad to know you're listening out there...

Macedonia, while it's on my mind, just wanna say that i've been diggin' your radiobsots poscast--really nice stuff on there bro...

Aye Deesha, can i have your autograph (wink, wink...)

can i say that i feel like a dj dinosaur within the digital domain? even though i have a podcast and i download and buy mp3s, i'm from the old guard. i'm still in love with vinyl and the digital dj takeover is rapidly leaving me behind with talks of final scratch, serato, ableton, and "controllerism" (think turntablism w/out the turntables - don't ask).

i've often feared that things are getting to a place where only those who have the hardware and software will be able to rock the party, and i wonder if that's coming to pass. i'd rock a lot more wax on my mixes for the group if encoding and file cleanup weren't so **** time-consuming. being the father of a 14-1/2 month old baby girl, time is a truly precious commodity.

once giant step started sending out zip files as promos, that was a huge wake-up call. when peanut butter wolf leaves the vinyl at home and brings the laptop to the party, you know something's up. in a world where so much music is freely traded back and forth and people are sending each other half their hard drives at the speed of light, it all gets a bit overwhelming for me.

am i showing my age too much here? (lol) i'm only 34, but the rapid pace of technology makes me feel horribly outdated.

so what does this have to do with recent comments regarding the group? well, buddah's comments regarding downloading kinda led me on a tangent, as you can see, so take it for what it's worth. sorry, had to get that out of me. as for me, i never got into the trading group looking to walk away with someone's external hard drive of files. just a regular CD or two of joints that mean something to you will do. and when time permits, i'm more than happy to return the favor. i hope things are well with each and every one of you.

keep slingin' the tunes...

it's all chill!
we just need to keep in touch and check in every so often.

GB - yeah, i've been writing like crazy. It was the Citypaper that you see me in. I recently did a review of the Stevie Wonder concert. I'd like my GS fam to check it out:
criticalmass.blogs.citypaper.net

Sending much love...work calls!

xo

Got Beatzz,
i take your points and i concede it is not the download that killed the community and as for Ally Al the man is a legend a saint in this house at least. Peace goes out to him right now.

K, you are also so accurate. It is reaching out keeping the crew in the loop that makes the difference between a community and just any old board. I appreciate both K and Deesh coming through for me recently and Miyame for being who she is too.

I will endeavour to maintain and to keep this valuable asset going like the others and Jeff. Good lookin out

B

Hey Deesha,
I saw some of your stuff in City Paper(?)or Phila Weekly. You are big time gurl!

To all,
I think downloading is not so much a deterrant to the group but the digital alternative to the CD that some might try. Ally Al always sends his "Are Friends Eclectic?" CD's via megaupload or zshare... some upload service. Complete with a jpg CD cover and tracklisting. I love it. I tend to rip all the CD's I get anyhow.. the CD's for the car and the MP3's for home or the mp3 player.
Isn't it amazing, now we are getting nostalgic for the wamrth of a CD..lol. But it's all good with me.. let the music play, however it comes at me.

Hey Buddah.. long time no speak. You know you got it coming with my CD and DVD. I would love to hear what's hot in the UK right about now if you can get the chance too.

Gotbeatzzz

Oh Deesha, I got some heat comin' @ u 2. I'll post the tracks as soon as I get it laced up.