Vinyl Me Please Classics

The thing is that classics could genuinely be amazing. High quality pressing, fantasyland source material and tapes, the leading industry names overseeing the mastering and a frankly bargain price. It could be amazing if they didn't insist on picking MOR throw aways on the basis that the band/ artist who recorded them also did some good stuff.

It genuinely has the potential to be the best sub on offer anywhere. Maybe the low price of the sub means they need to dip down the list but then they should bung the price up a couple of dollars instead to preserve the quality and stop fucking around. If the material is consistently good then I'm sure folks would find a little bit more.
 
I wasn’t around during the old forums, but I’ve seen some of Storf’s remarks on Reddit before he left. On more than several occasions, I thought he came off sort of condescending and rude. That said, I don’t know him. At all. So personally, I don’t feel comfortable labeling him as anything but someone who is just as passionate about music and vinyl collecting as we are (if not even more so). I also think his writing isn’t the best, but whatever.

It does appear that he may select titles more for his personal preferences and less for the sake of solid curation. The fact we have so many Stax albums in the Classics track is indication enough for me. But... and maybe this is an unpopular opinion... that doesn’t really bother me. As long as the album is good, I don’t care why it was selected. And the albums I don’t think are that good (i.e. Money Talks) I‘ll skip and hope I like the next one more.

Maybe I would feel differently if I had personally interacted with him in the old forums. I have read some pretty negative experiences from others here.
 
jfitzy said:
I wasn’t around during the old forums, but I’ve seen some of Storf’s remarks on Reddit before he left. On more than several occasions, I thought he came off sort of condescending and rude. That said, I don’t know him. At all. So personally, I don’t feel comfortable labeling him as anything but someone who is just as passionate about music and vinyl collecting as we are (if not even more so). I also think his writing isn’t the best, but whatever.

It does appear that he may select titles more for his personal preferences and less for the sake of solid curation. The fact we have so many Stax albums in the Classics track is indication enough for me. But... and maybe this is an unpopular opinion... that doesn’t really bother me. As long as the album is good, I don’t care why it was selected. And the albums I don’t think are that good (i.e. Money Talks) I‘ll skip and hope I like the next one more.

Maybe I would feel differently if I had personally interacted with him in the old forums. I have read some pretty negative experiences from others here.
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The selections as of late are just disappointing to me considering how much of a strong start the Classics track had.
 
jfitzy said:
I wasn’t around during the old forums, but I’ve seen some of Storf’s remarks on Reddit before he left. On more than several occasions, I thought he came off sort of condescending and rude. That said, I don’t know him. At all. So personally, I don’t feel comfortable labeling him as anything but someone who is just as passionate about music and vinyl collecting as we are (if not even more so). I also think his writing isn’t the best, but whatever.

It does appear that he may select titles more for his personal preferences and less for the sake of solid curation. The fact we have so many Stax albums in the Classics track is indication enough for me. But... and maybe this is an unpopular opinion... that doesn’t really bother me. As long as the album is good, I don’t care why it was selected. And the albums I don’t think are that good (i.e. Money Talks) I‘ll skip and hope I like the next one more.

Maybe I would feel differently if I had personally interacted with him in the old forums. I have read some pretty negative experiences from others here.
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Storf was a mixed bag, sometimes he was awesome and delightful, sometimes he was downright snarky and rude.
It's been discussed on here but for a while there were a number of us that tried to defend Storf but then gradually, we too saw the dark side of him and it became harder and harder to defend him.
By the time the forum shutdown, it felt like he had gone to a dark place and could only answer with sarcasm or by insulting people even those who were hyping up new releases.
This spilled onto Reddit and soon afterwards Storf no longer commented directly on Reddit (the forum was shut down by this point).
I hope he is happier now that he's on social media less, just like these Classics picks, it was clear that his mindset on social media was spiraling fast. He does not take criticism well at all.
 
TCell said:
Yeah, I don't know that we're best buds, but I do get questions answered and RotM hints from him occasionally. He's a good dude. I don't think he picks to fill out his collection except Sorcerer (and maybe some of the Willie Nelson picks). To be fair though, I don't know if I'd like the internet picking apart my music picks either. If you don't like his selections, we all have the ability to unsubscribe, or swap, or even swap for credit. I mean I've passed on 4 of the last 6 Classics.

And, fwiw, I've only ever gotten two albums that I "requested" (and they were surely already planned and not because of me): Wayne Shorter - Schzophrenia and Immortal Otis Redding.
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Storf and I are pretty cool too and I admit I try to get in his ear on occasion something on my wishlist and he seems receptive to my tastes.

But for the record, not a single suggestion of mine has actually gotten the VMP treatment. :(
 
MikeH said:
The selections as of late are just disappointing to me considering how much of a strong start the Classics track had.
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That's been my biggest complaint of late. 2020 seems to have fallen off of a cliff. Three fantastic choices (Aretha, Otis, and Tyner), a couple of solid choices (Herbie and Garner), and the rest were head-scratchers.
 
CCKrone said:
Storf was a mixed bag, sometimes he was awesome and delightful, sometimes he was downright snarky and rude.
It's been discussed on here but for a while there were a number of us that tried to defend Storf but then gradually, we too saw the dark side of him and it became harder and harder to defend him.
By the time the forum shutdown, it felt like he had gone to a dark place and could only answer with sarcasm or by insulting people even those who were hyping up new releases.
This spilled onto Reddit and soon afterwards Storf no longer commented directly on Reddit (the forum was shut down by this point).
I hope he is happier now that he's on social media less, just like these Classics picks, it was clear that his mindset on social media was spiraling fast. He does not take criticism well at all.
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Being in a position such as that definitely requires some thick skin. People are going to critique your choices and I think that’s absolutely fair. But it sounds like being a bit sensitive and the social media bullshit wasn’t a good combo for him. I know my mental health made a huge improvement once I deleted Facebook and Twitter.
 
RobbieBobby said:
Is that really going to be the pick? I even understood the Patrice Rushen pick, especially after seeing how much some people actually really dig that album. But who the hell is excited for Al Jarreau?
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I don't think it will be that. But that's one of the leading guesses over on reddit based on the very very limited clues.
 
We're all basing this on speculation from one hint on Reddit and knowing Storf's hints, I doubt it's as simple as the place the original record charted. It wouldn't shock me if that's more the number of the album from a given studio. For instance, Grant Green's Feelin' the Spirit is 132nd release of the 4000 Modern Jazz series from Blue Note. Hasn't had a re-release in a long time.
 
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RobbieBobby said:
Is that really going to be the pick? I even understood the Patrice Rushen pick, especially after seeing how much some people actually really dig that album. But who the hell is excited for Al Jarreau?
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Patrice Rushen’s Straight From The Heart is a magnificent album! That’s why so many people dig that album. I didn’t question why that was a Classics ROTM at all. I was rather impressed! 😍👌

Al Jarreau though........🤦‍♂️ I’m definitely not excited to receive an Al Jarreau Classics ROTM 🙅‍♂️😑
 
Storf didn’t say he didn’t have the albums and so he was going to get VMP to repress them. He said he didn’t have the albums because he knew VMP will repress them. Thats a key distinction.

IE: At the same time he was collecting the records, he was also no doubt figuring out what the next couple of years curation of Classics was, and had some Stax records in mind. He therefore did not purchase them yet because he knows they’re coming down the line. That’s not the same thing as what you all are accusing him of.
 
A Lost Highway said:
Storf didn’t say he didn’t have the albums and so he was going to get VMP to repress them. He said he didn’t have the albums because he knew VMP will repress them. Thats a key distinction.

IE: At the same time he was collecting the records, he was also no doubt figuring out what the next couple of years curation of Classics was, and had some Stax records in mind. He therefore did not purchase them yet because he knows they’re coming down the line. That’s not the same thing as what you all are accusing him of.
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I don't think the distinction matters because Storf did say that certain titles were out of consideration due to the fact that he had them in his collection. The discussion surrounding the choice of Sorcerer and, even though it is not related to this particular track, the discussion on Red Headed Stranger come to mind quickly.

A trustworthy curator would mostly choose from the titles that he or she knows well, but instead we have someone who takes pride in not knowing his selections that much. I think any criticism regarding his questionable curations of late should be considered seriously.
 
CCKrone said:
Storf was a mixed bag, sometimes he was awesome and delightful, sometimes he was downright snarky and rude.
It's been discussed on here but for a while there were a number of us that tried to defend Storf but then gradually, we too saw the dark side of him and it became harder and harder to defend him.
By the time the forum shutdown, it felt like he had gone to a dark place and could only answer with sarcasm or by insulting people even those who were hyping up new releases.
This spilled onto Reddit and soon afterwards Storf no longer commented directly on Reddit (the forum was shut down by this point).
I hope he is happier now that he's on social media less, just like these Classics picks, it was clear that his mindset on social media was spiraling fast. He does not take criticism well at all.
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Just wanted to add to this. Im not going to comment on Storf's character (which I have seen some good and bad examples over the years on the old forum) but what really irked me was when he let on that he listens to his music through speakers made of an old record (the doobie brothers).

I really don't care what set-up people have and the vinyl community as a whole often gets a bad rep for snobbery, but to be the spokesperson for a vinyl company and regularly comment on the sound quality of your releases whilst using poor-quality novelty speakers is really bad in my opinion. The fact is that with those speakers there is no chance he is hearing the same sounds which those people with actual speakers are hearing, so he has no grounds to defend or comment on the quality in my opinion.
 
What I took out of the article is that we have, at most, 6 more Stax records coming from VMP. Hahaha. Hope they're good ones. Weeeeee.

On a serious note, Storf is just a dude who picks music for a record distributor. One of the big downfalls of social media is that, if you make yourself accessible, the worst of the internet then has access to you. I don't know if Storf has particularly thin skin, because I have no idea how I'd react if every third message to me was berating me or critiquing my pick. That said, when you have a position like he does and you make yourself accessible there is a certain amount of professionalism that should come with it. It went both ways on reddit. He was snarky sometimes and the community was shitty to him. It's a bummer all around.

I don't like all the picks. But, I like enough of them to keep subscribed.
 
NathanRicaud said:
Patrice Rushen’s Straight From The Heart is a magnificent album! That’s why so many people dig that album. I didn’t question why that was a Classics ROTM at all. I was rather impressed! 😍👌

Al Jarreau though........🤦‍♂️ I’m definitely not excited to receive an Al Jarreau Classics ROTM 🙅‍♂️😑
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I'm really curious on how the albums get ranked at the end of the year. I see Patrice getting voted out first which is a shame because it has really grown on me.

I wouldn't mind blasting some Al Jarreau while I'm out sailing my yacht . Just have to hit the lottery and buy a yacht first.
 
Rahawk2 said:
I'm really curious on how the albums get ranked at the end of the year. I see Patrice getting voted out first which is a shame because it has really grown on me.
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Especially as Forget Me Nots and Remind Me are absolute turntable classics!!! And like I've mentioned previously, Side A are all funky 80's Volleyball, Cocktails, VIP beach-party, Miami Vice, Sunset vibes kinda tracks! 🍹🏄‍♂️🏐🏖🌴💃🕺

But to be honest, I don't even care if Patrice Rushen goes out first because I know most people don't care for that kind of aesthetic and aren't into that disco-funk, luxurious, feel-good, party vibes! 💁‍♂️🐬
 
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