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June 6, 2009 - 11:26pm
#1
Starbucks Records?! Elvis Costello's new lp doesn't sound so hot...
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starbucks is releasing records? not just cds?
these practices should not be supported by purchases.
Well, unless they're good.
next time i see bmg or sony morning blend coffee i'm buying some.
starbucks should stick to coffee.
Starbucks isn't selling coffee. They are selling the upscale, boutique lifestyle coffee experience that includes many tasteful accoutrements to sustain the mind, soul and spirit in a harsh, indifferent world.
Didn'cha know?
no yoga?
I like Starbucks coffee. $1.89 for a large brewed coffee, just .20 more than at 7-11. So I do drop by.
I don't go there for recordings but they do have some and if so moved, I can buy one. No problem. I purchased one there recently - the one with Stand By Me ("Playing for Change") that was featured a few weeks ago on - wait for it --- the Stereophile website.
I've bought a bunch of CDs from Starbucks- usually it's just licensed from other labels, but I've discovered some great stuff via their "Hear This Now" series. Other times it's just a distribution channel like any other, and if I'm there for coffee and I see an artist I like, I buy it. The PERFECT impulse buy for them, haha. I go in for that $2 cup of coffee and spend another $17 for a new CD.
Ok, out of much needed-due respect for Starbucks, WITH a new phono stage, the album is really quite natural, the pressing if very, very good, even over time. It really was a combination of the screeching mics that Elvis uses and the traditional bluegrass mix.
The top end is intentionally rolled off on the recording prior to mastering, and with better warmth in the phono replay, the bass added a lot of welcome depth and warmth, as well as slightly better width, than many other times I listened to the disc on lp (Cd is also rolled off, but naturally and with intent- it is bluegrass revival music.)
Moreover, as I came down from being high and feeling indignant to Starbucks just for principal, I realized that the packaging and presentation are top notch as well... I owe a huge apology to anyone I prevented in purchasing, bullshit marketing tactics aside.
As did I...which included some releases I wasn't able to find elsewhere. Worth the stop in...but not for the coffee.