Readers: we need to talk. It's nothing bad. The Second Disc isn't going away, isn't reducing its output, nothing like that. We just need to talk about a few things.
Around five months ago, The Second Disc was started with a list of great reissues that were released in 2009. It was a post copied from a Facebook note written some weeks before. A modest beginning, to be sure. It's hard to have high expectations about anything you're just starting out on, particularly a blog. How many blogs must pass through the Internet day after day, never to be updated past a few early bursts of creativity?
It is now five months later, and it is estimated that, within 48 hours, The Second Disc will have accumulated more than 50,000 hits in five months. Again, not a big deal - but in fact, it is. It is a very big deal.
The Second Disc was started with a few goals in mind. First was to get all the news and views I had about back catalogue music out there. It was territory that was all-too-rarely explored, but it was an important place. The catalogue music fan is an interesting breed; while others are content to let music pass them by - in a dorm room, on the street, on terrible earbuds - those who read The Second Disc are the kind of people who listen to music, who let it take them to a particular place, whether it's going back a handful of years, to another era in history, whatever. Some may gripe about how music isn't like it was then, but we can all reflect that the music of "then" still holds up now, and serves to color our memories, our dreams, ourselves.
Another goal was to use the vast range of knowledge about catalogue music for good. We've seen labels treat our old favorites well in some cases, and not so well in others. With the features on The Second Disc like Reissue Theory or Back Tracks, the goal is to make sure all music, regardless of its origins, gets a little bit of respect.
One never knows where the journey of The Second Disc will end up. (In an ideal world, I'd say it'd end up as a reissue label, licensing content from the major labels and doing it up right. But who knows!) In any case, the whole point of this is: thank you. The Internet has been around for so many years, but it's still delightfully crazy to think that from us to you, there are thousands of people who've read these musical ramblings.
Besides that thanks, I shall leave you with a challenge: what would you, the reader, like to see from The Second Disc? There are so many titles getting reissued that may be falling through the cracks. Don't be afraid to speak up if you see one going missing. Think an album desperately needs a new remaster and some bonus tracks? Tell us. The possibilities are endless - lately, for instance, there's been some talk about trying to track down the movers and shakers in this industry and figure out what makes them tick.
But don't hesitate. Let us know. Post a comment. Send an e-mail, even (theseconddisc AT gmail DOT com). You count. Of course you count. You take the time to read this, you deserve nothing less. And a note of thanks for making a blog about old music seem less crazy in practice.
RoyalScam says
And thank you for starting this excellent blog, Mike!
Since the demise of ICE magazine, it's been hard...really hard...to find suitable replacements. To gather the same info I used to read in one excellent issue, I now have to venture to at least 5 different websites (yours included, plus Pause&Play, MusicTAP, SH and ICE forums...)
Yet the one thing I can't seem to replace is the CD Watchdog column, where people like us found problems with reissues (wrong versions of songs, bad edits and mastering, etc) and the Watchdog was able to contact the person or people responsible for the errors and hold their feet to the fire. Many recalls and replacement discs came from that excellent resource.
Robert Altman says
Why not a "Prince Week" in Reissue Theory? Dirty Mind, 1999, Purple Rain, Sign 'O' the Times, and Love Symbol Album--five must read posts for sure.
Will says
More clarity about what is a wish-list of bonus tracks, and what is an actual release. I'm sure you're being clear if one reads carefully, but for someone who just skims words, make it blatant. Maybe color coded or something.
And a link to AlbumArtExchange.com, just for fun.
Dennis says
Mike, always a pleasure to read your blog, so a massive thanks for all the time you devote to it + bring up all those subjects.
As an additional thing, maybe a kind of 'what could have been' - quite often albums get rereleased and you ask yourself why did the company miss this or that b-side/extended version etc - take a rerelease and list all the stuff that could've been possible instead.
Regarding remasters, I wish they would finally do some nice BERLIN and GO-GO's remasters, maybe you can do a post on either or both of them?
Will says
I agree with everything Mike said! You can probably get in touch with Terri Nunn via BerlinPage.com.
Ranasakawa says
Keep it up!
I must admit I'm not a big fan of a large proportion of the re-issues being discussed here. i.e. Wham,Barry Manilow, 80s Pop crap etc, hate that stuff with a passion.
However items such as the recent Miles Davis post was fantastic!
Eddie Scott says
Keep up the good work!
I'll second the comments made by the "Royal Scam" in that we'd like to see something like the ICE Magazine's "CD Watchdog" to address problems with CD reissues.
As for CDs I'd like to see remastered;
Rufus & Chaka Khan-all albums and a comprehensive collection
Prince-all WB albums from the '80s
Bruce Springsteen-all albums from the '70s & '80s
Ohio Players-all albums on Mercury
Dennis says
one thing - is there any chance you could include a kind of search engine or search feature on the site?