's. A score of three is given to something that is a typical example of its style with nothing too outstanding or bad about it.
By The Old Punk
All of the music that I’ve uploaded is ripped from my own collection (unless otherwise stated) or legally downloaded from the band / label. If you have any problems with downloading or playing the files, let me know where you’re getting stuck and I’ll see if I can help out.
If you’re the copyright owner and want me to take your tracks down, tell me and I’ll happily do it. Please don’t sue me. It’s not punk and I’ve got fuck all anyway. I’ve spent it all on your music.
The technical shit
I use a Sony RCD-W100 recordable CD player and Pro-Ject Debut III turntable (Ortofon OM5E cart with Stylus 10 needle) to record my vinyl to CD. All the records are pre-cleaned with a KAB EV-1 (although there are good DIY alternatives for the more technically competent) and L’Art Du Son solution. That doesn’t get rid of the scratches on some of ’em from years of hard party abuse when I was young, but that just adds to the character eh?
All CDs are ripped to my hard drive using K3b (Linux) or Foobar 2000 / EAC (Windows). Vinyl rips are tidied up using Audacity, an open source audio editor (which you can also use for recording directly from hifi to PC, splitting into individual tracks and much more besides). Any additional tagging is done with Puddletag (Linux) or MP3TAG (Windows). All files are saved and uploaded in FLAC format, and can be played using Audacious (or similar Linux players) / Foobar2000 or converted to WAV (using K3b or Foobar) and burned to disc.
The files are zipped into folders using Archive Manager (Linux) or 7-Zip (Windows). You can use the same programs to unzip them again once you’ve downloaded them to your machine.
The best thing is that all of the above software is free! Good news for thrifty punks everywhere (although a donation where asked for is a nice gesture).
This all sounds a lot more complicated than it is in practice, and the end results certainly justify the slight learning curve. Even an old git like me managed to follow the various guides available to get it all set up and working together. If you wanna try these programs but can’t quite figure it all out, give me a shout and I’ll try and point you in the right direction.
When we review something, we use this as a guide to what we think about it. A rating of 3 @s is a decent benchmark. It indicates that it ticks all the right boxes for that particular style, not necessarily that original but consistently good enough to make it enjoyable rather than endurable. Top marks are given to masters of their particular craft, while a lonely @ means it’s probably best left to completists / die-hard fans only – any standout tracks can be found elsewhere. The X is self-explanatory.
Of course, the ratings only show our personal opinions but, coupled with the sample tracks and write-ups, it’s hopefully enough to let you make a good call before splashing out the cash. If you think we’ve got it wrong, it’s easy enough to speak your mind.
And finally…
Ripping the music, creating images, uploading it all, then writing about it takes time. If you like what we’re doing please don’t forget that a ‘thanks’ costs nothing, makes everyone feel good, and is PUNK AS FUCK!
Happy listening.
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