Just Saying -- the soapbox thread

[oeslicoalfin]

The chaff from milling the rice -- basically the shell around the part that you actually cook and eat. (If you eat brown rice, you sometimes get a grain with a husk around it. That's part of the chaff.) It goes from the milling machinery to the firebox.

And yeah, it is not green in any way at all, other than the fact that it's making use of the chaff, rather than dumping it in a river or something.

Depends of definition of green, but much more sustainable than nuclear reactors that split atoms to generate heat to spin a turbine to generate electricity...
Once all the chaff is burned, you can make potash fertilizer and return it to the rice paddy - much better than sticking spent nuclear waste in 55 gallon drums and finding a place where they will be safe for greater than 2,500 years until the first half-life occurs - longer than recorded human history (and you still need to wait that long for the second half-life), etc.

[midwayfair]

This week I discovered that you *literally* can't sell music in 2021 in some cases without social media sites. And I don't just mean "You can't communicate with anyone who would buy it," either.

Since I can't just give Apple or Spotify money to make my music available for streaming, I have to use a distribution service. (This HAS to be some sort of legal culpability thing, right? There's no way companies like that would just leave the money on the table, especially Apple ...) And for the distribution services I was looking at (and the one I picked), you need social media accounts with a follower threshold. I guess it's a good thing I didn't delete my Twitter account years ago when I ditched Facebook.

I did, however, have to rename my personal YouTube channel, because no one subscribes to the band's.

[matmosphere]

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLX3CN4-sw0zOgp-ahZ5vrVgpZGydHEr1s

It's a list of videos, this time. All stationary steam engines running rice mills in Myanmar, all at least 90 years old, some 100, one 120 years old, all still chugging along.

It isn't as stupid as you might think, too. They're usually in remote, rural areas where electricity is not reliable, and fuel costs a lot of money. Steam engines will run on anything burnable... like, say, the chaff from the rice, which the mill owner would otherwise have to pay to have taken away, so the engine effectively runs for free.

That's pretty relaxing to watch. I can't imagine it could be fueled by the chaff alone, but cool non the less.

[jimilee]

This week I discovered that you *literally* can't sell music in 2021 in some cases without social media sites. And I don't just mean "You can't communicate with anyone who would buy it," either.

Since I can't just give Apple or Spotify money to make my music available for streaming, I have to use a distribution service. (This HAS to be some sort of legal culpability thing, right? There's no way companies like that would just leave the money on the table, especially Apple ...) And for the distribution services I was looking at (and the one I picked), you need social media accounts with a follower threshold. I guess it's a good thing I didn't delete my Twitter account years ago when I ditched Facebook.

I did, however, have to rename my personal YouTube channel, because no one subscribes to the band's.

Daaaamn. Does anyone buy music anymore? I do from my favorite artists, but I stream or listen to XM radio mostly.


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[matmosphere]

I still buy some stuff on vinyl, but generally just buy things on Bandcamp Friday anymore.

[davent]

At the very least try to pick up Mojo & Uncut magazines (monthly) for the included comp cd's, can count on them to introduce me to a couple dozen artists and pieces of music i've never heard before. That'll lead to searching out albums and cd's to add.

Vinyl shopping, record cleaning is a winter activity and i'm still mostly doing outside jobs but that's drawing to a close, so soon, back to the vinyl.

Edit, we have a local college station that provides lots of new ear candy so that's always on in the house except when i'm dj'ing the stereo.

[alanp]

I still buy some stuff on vinyl, but generally just buy things on Bandcamp Friday anymore.

Same here. I used to enjoy buying vinyl in town, but now that shop doesn't sell media of any sort except playstation games. (They still sell stereos and televisions, but not things to play on said appliances.)

I 'find' new bands through word of mouth online (here and a few other forums) and through random youtube recommendations, myself.

[jimilee]

I buy Vinyl occasionally, but for the most part, I was just curious if anyone bought music anymore. Interesting mix.

[midwayfair]

Daaaamn. Does anyone buy music anymore? I do from my favorite artists, but I stream or listen to XM radio mostly.

Do you save tracks to playlists on any platform?

Lots of people do, that's sort of the modern equivalent of buying.

[Bio77]

This week I discovered that you *literally* can't sell music in 2021 in some cases without social media sites. And I don't just mean "You can't communicate with anyone who would buy it," either.

Since I can't just give Apple or Spotify money to make my music available for streaming, I have to use a distribution service. (This HAS to be some sort of legal culpability thing, right? There's no way companies like that would just leave the money on the table, especially Apple ...) And for the distribution services I was looking at (and the one I picked), you need social media accounts with a follower threshold. I guess it's a good thing I didn't delete my Twitter account years ago when I ditched Facebook.

I did, however, have to rename my personal YouTube channel, because no one subscribes to the band's.

It's been a number of years since I've release any music, but CDBaby is how I got songs listed on most of the major steaming services. You just put your music with them and they get it listed on all the sites.  I still make a sweet ~$40 bucks a year 

[gordo]

I've purchased stuff from Bandcamp and CDBaby in the past.  I usually buy the CD and rip it so I can add it to my ripped CD collection in the car.  Kinda sad that the mechanisms have changed so much and I'm not on ANY form of social media (curmudgeon) so I'd be SOL if I had tunes to sell.

That said, I hope to start writing again because dumping my old stuff to SoundCloud kind of recharged me.

[jimilee]

Daaaamn. Does anyone buy music anymore? I do from my favorite artists, but I stream or listen to XM radio mostly.

Do you save tracks to playlists on any platform?

Lots of people do, that's sort of the modern equivalent of buying.

This might sound crazy, but I'm too OCD for a playlist. Makes me nuts. But listening to XM radio is ok.


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[gordo]

I've had an XM account forever but I'm finding that even they don't mix it up enough.  I like Jim Ladd's show but that's about it.  Pandora is free and should be because it's got an even MORE limited scope.  I had a Pandora subscription but cancelled during covid because I mostly listen in the car on my commute.  No commute=no subscription.  I'm finally throwing in the towel on my XM subscription as well.

I balk at the price of most concert tix these days so maybe I've officially hit old age.  The wife and I hit a show with her buddy and I found out the tix were $160 to see Kevin Costner's band.  And he sounds like if Kevin Costner had a band.  Good band and it was disturbing to watch age 50+ women get all greasy but was pretty much a good bar band with a no name front man.

At the end of the show he plays a recording of Bruce Cockburn's "Last Night of the World" (worth Googling...he's a hero of mine) and wanders around the stage toasting everyone with a bottle of Dom.  Very weird.

[mjg]

Daaaamn. Does anyone buy music anymore? I do from my favorite artists, but I stream or listen to XM radio mostly.

Do you save tracks to playlists on any platform?

Lots of people do, that's sort of the modern equivalent of buying.

This might sound crazy, but I'm too OCD for a playlist. Makes me nuts. But listening to XM radio is ok.


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Last year I listened to my music collection alphabetically by artist name.   The year before it was alphabetically by song name.  OCD?  Yeah a bit. 

[gordo]

Lately there has to be an order to SOMETHING.