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What Counts as a Platinum Album in the Age of Digital Downloads?

 
  It’s More Complex Than You Think. And it gets interesting. Traditionally, albums achieve platinum when they sell a million records. But few people buy albums today. Few people buy music in general.    With digital downloads ubiquitous today, what meaning do platinum and gold have? And do they still have a purpose in today’s music world?    Well, it turns out that these questions are more complicated than they seem.     RIAA and the Expanding History of Music Certifications    What is the RIAA?    It’s the Recording Industry Association of America and is a conglomeration of most of the top distributors and publishers of music. Here’s what they have to say:    "The Recording Industry Association of America® (RIAA) is the trade organization that supports and promotes the creative and financial vitality of the major music companies. Its members comprise the most vibrant record industry in the world, investing in great artists to help them reach their potential and connect to their fans. Nearly 85% of all…
Score: 1.12

January 2020 Listen List - The Ones You Can't Miss

by CFC123

Periodically over the course of the new year, we will produce two lists to highlight a few of each month's new albums. This list spans multiple genres, with each album ordered best to worst – the first list is the former, the second is the latter. Of the 50 albums in both lists, these are the Ones You Can't Miss - - -    🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 Stellar    Bill Fay – Countless Braches An absolutely gorgeous album, despite the songwriter’s age and distance from his previous work. The music has a unified mood, but each song’s nuance elevates its poetic meaning. Each song has excellent lyrics, plain yet elegant piano/guitar backing music, and melodies so simply perfect that you will be amazed you have never heard them before. A poignant unfolding of Fay’s masterful songwriting, and easily the best album of the new year so far.    ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Awesome    Wire – Hive Mind This one is definitely a grower more than anything. The dynamic elements of Wire’s post-punk approach show they are truly at the top of their game. The…
Score: 1.22

January 2020 Listen List - The Ones You Might Want to Avoid

by CFC123

Periodically over the course of the new year, we will produce two lists to highlight a few of each month's new albums. This list spans multiple genres, with each album ordered best to worst – the first list is the former, the second is the latter. Now presenting, with 50 total albums on both lists, the Ones You Might Want to Avoid - - -   ⭐⭐ Pretty Decent / Recommended to Genre Fans Only Alice Boman – Dream On Alice Boman is part of the “melancholic indie singer/songwriter” genre that has blown up in recent years. As a debut, there are enough good worthwhile songs, and the whole thing has a nice lo-fi vibe as well. Fans of the genre will get plenty from the atmospheric, meditative tracks like “The More I Cry” and “Everybody Hurts.”Check this song out: “The More I Cry”     Stabbing Westward – ­Dead and Gone [EP] Definitely one for the fans, since there are only 3 songs and 2 remixes. The single “Dead and Gone” is great, one of their finest sounding songs and the other two are…
Score: 1.22

Music That Can Help with Depression

by CFC123

Music is a powerful tool. It can make us smile or cry, inspire anger or peace, even create feelings of romance or enlightenment. Music in society channels someone’s emotions and thoughts into a universal medium, relying on complex sociological interconnections that allow two individuals from different walks of life to have two unique experiences with the same song.     The power of music has been used throughout history to soothe life's ailments, and depression is historically no exception. Since depression affects over 17 million adults in the U.S. in any given year, the songs listed below are meant to help find the right direction for depression assistance. Hopefully, you can find what is right for you – and hopefully, you will keep reaching out until you find it.    National Helpline - a free, confidential, 24/7, 365-day-a-year treatment referral and information service (in English and Spanish) for individuals and families facing mental and/or substance use disorders.    “My Sweet Lord” –…
Score: 1.06

February 2020 Listen List - Don't Miss These Albums!

by CFC123

Periodically over the course of the year, we will produce two lists to highlight a few of each month's new albums. This list spans multiple genres, with each album ordered best to worst. With about 40 albums in both lists, make sure you Don't Miss These Albums! - - -      ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Amazing    Katie Gately – Loom      Loom is only Katie Gately’s second release, but she can already craft a deeply moving, complex, and emotional album. Her experimental approach is less written than designed, shaping the sound to match her chaotic yet intentional vision. The middle track “Bracer” is one of the most brilliant avant-garde/electronic pieces I have ever heard, moving through a series of increasingly intense and eerie sonic concoctions – however, this is just one-quarter of an album filled with adventurous and transportive material from start to finish.   Sepultura – Quadra     Now long past losing their original members (and, as some would say, most essential), this Brazilian group finally puts all the pieces…
Score: 1.22

February 2020 Listen List - The Less Good Albums!

by CFC123

Periodically over the course of the year, we will produce two lists to highlight a few of each month's new albums. This list spans multiple genres, with each album ordered best to worst (here’s a link to the best albums of February). With over 40 albums in both lists, here are the Less Good albums of February! - - -        ⭐⭐ Satisfactory    Wrekmeister Harmonies – We Love to Look at the Carnage     This experimental duo has never feared to let the darkness creep into their music, but beauty often shows up as well. We Love to Look at the Carnage is one of the band’s least heavy releases so far, but the brooding atmosphere is still present. The contrast between the darkness and light is not very subtle here, but the results are a complex tapestry of emotions frequently not easy to process.     Khruangbin/Leon Bridges – Texas Sun [EP]     While this is most certainly a one-off compared to their usual output, this four-track EP by Leon Bridges and Texas band Khruangbin is undoubtedly a good listen…
Score: 1.25