Disappointed By HD Tracks and their selection of music

There is not good and bad music taste, just different. There's got to be some respect for someone that doesn't share your tastes. HDtracks has a great jazz and classical music selection.

Don't think their classical selection is so great..... Jazz selection seems pretty good though.

Have they always sold only to the US? I'm not US based, but somehow my first purchase went through.... now I can't seem to order anything...

It seems HDTracks is primarily targeting the audiophile (speaker listening) market right now.  Unlike headphones where the audiophile entry level is cheap enough for a younger crowd to become involved, speakers take a level of financial security and room in you house/apartment for proper setup.  I'd estimate key demographic they're hitting is about 35-60s, mostly male.

That means older music than (most) of what you mention.  Also (at least in 24/96 section) there doesn't seem to be much harder rock/goth/industrial what have you, or hip hop. Those genres would simply sell less well and as such are less of a priority.  Frank Zappa would make sense to have there, they may be having licensing problems though.  How is NMH in 24/96?  I always figured it would be sort of pointless as ITAOTS is so deliberately low-fi, if you read the stories about making it in the studio Jeff just wanted as much fuzz/distortion as possible, seems sort of pointless in Hi-Res.

Everything I just said is total conjecture, but it makes sense to me and is true to my experiences.  

That makes completely sense. I also second that artists like Frank Zappa (and the guy in your avatar!) are expected to be found on HDtracks.
 

Quote:

Originally Posted by Radio_head 

It seems HDTracks is primarily targeting the audiophile (speaker listening) market right now.  Unlike headphones where the audiophile entry level is cheap enough for a younger crowd to become involved, speakers take a level of financial security and room in you house/apartment for proper setup.  I'd estimate key demographic they're hitting is about 35-60s, mostly male.

 

That means older music than (most) of what you mention.  Also (at least in 24/96 section) there doesn't seem to be much harder rock/goth/industrial what have you, or hip hop. Those genres would simply sell less well and as such are less of a priority.  Frank Zappa would make sense to have there, they may be having licensing problems though.  How is NMH in 24/96?  I always figured it would be sort of pointless as ITAOTS is so deliberately low-fi, if you read the stories about making it in the studio Jeff just wanted as much fuzz/distortion as possible, seems sort of pointless in Hi-Res.

 

Everything I just said is total conjecture, but it makes sense to me and is true to my experiences.  

Quote:

Originally Posted by Radio_head 
I always figured it would be sort of pointless as ITAOTS is so deliberately low-fi, if you read the stories about making it in the studio Jeff just wanted as much fuzz/distortion as possible, seems sort of pointless in Hi-Res

I agree with this. I even feel kind of weird about having it in 16/44. Just seems like a waste of space.

Quote:

Originally Posted by OwlAndTanager 

I think it might be a waste of space, but it does sound good. Storage is still pretty cheap, even after the Thailand floods.
 

That album will never sound good.

These were a condensed version of my thoughts on the matter (copied from my RYM review) that may sum up why some don't like it:

Such a polarizing album.  Everyone I know either loves it or hates it. 

The positives: It is intensely personal to Mangum; the album is bursting with raw energy and emotion.  some of the simpler tunes are fairly catchy, but it's much more album-oriented than track oriented.  It's got a sound that is somewhat unique and has been attempted to be replicated many times since with varying degrees of success.  
The negatives:  The music isn't very good.  Mangum's voice is love or hate, but even though I have found the ability to love artists whose voices I don't adore (eg Elliott Smith,) the music is just - there's not really anything there.  I really think they could have developed into much more - have you heard Mangum on the OTC track "I have been floated"?  I think if he had kept at it instead of having whatever weird phobias about releasing a followup, we would have seen a continual evolution that would finding him branching out into some great territory.  
To those who are staunch defenders of this album, you should know I did not rate this lightly.  I have listened to this album over 100 times, waffling between love and hate, deference and indifference, finally settling squarely on the fence.  

Bottom Line:
If the emotional content/lyrical content is what does it for you, this album can be a revelation.  If it's about the music disassociated from the man, it's ho-hum.

HD Tracks is a relatively new company, they can't be expected to have a huge catalog right out of the starting gate. Their selection is of popular albums, I doubt you'll ever find music on their website that appeals to a small audience, after all their there to make money. I think you also have to consider that to make a good HD track release they need a good source (master), if that doesn't exist I don't think they'd ever offer the album, regardless of how popular the music was.

Quote:

Originally Posted by OwlAndTanager 

Ouch! Any reason you don't like Neutral Milk Hotel? I guess some people get turned off by Mangum's voice, his vocal delivery is definitely an acquired taste, but it really is a good album. Why don't you like it?

No no I don't mind the album I was talking about the sound quality. Sorry for the confusion.

EDIT: I also like the point that Radio_Head made. There aren't a lot of young people interested in HD music.