Does anybody actually PLAY those free CDs you get with Magazines, anymore?

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The ones with New Artists, from Music Mags.

(Not the newspaper ones, see other threads..)

I have several vols of "Word of Mouth" and the Uncut ones, can't be bothered with...

Excluding the 'theme' ones like the "Beyond Punk" and some of the Mojo ones. (Although I haven't played the 'LedZep' tribute ones from Uncut, although that's more as I haven't bought them...)

But something prevents me from simply throwing them away....

― mark grout (mark grout), Wednesday, 20 April 2005 09:46 (twenty years ago)

i hardly touch em.

only the reggae ones (Studio One and Trojan) from mojo get any airing in my place.

oh, and that miss kittin mix from Muzik ..

but thats it ..

― mark e (mark e), Wednesday, 20 April 2005 09:51 (twenty years ago)

yes.

― Masked Gazza, Wednesday, 20 April 2005 09:52 (twenty years ago)

Is this perhaps because yer both old?

― Sick Mouthy (Nick Southall), Wednesday, 20 April 2005 09:52 (twenty years ago)

quite possibly.

but in reality no.

i have to keep up with the demands of the backlog for the site - so dont have the time to hear stuff that doesn't really interest me ..

― mark e (mark e), Wednesday, 20 April 2005 09:58 (twenty years ago)

The Robert Plant Uncut CD is really good, mark. Unlike the Jimmy Page one it's stuff that Plant himself picked. Best one they've given away since the one Keith Richards assembled. I expect to play this more than once.

― Jeff W (zebedee), Wednesday, 20 April 2005 10:02 (twenty years ago)

Yeah, these comps really *are* more of a bother than anything else, aren't they? They never feel sequenced right, and even the thematic ones are rubbish much of the time: the recent "Mojo" Studio One thing, fer instance, features only tracks that have already been released on recent Soul Jazz comps and let«s be honest, if you're a "Mojo" reader and into jamaican music, what're the odds that you don't own those already, or at least are planning to? New music ones are even worse - damn you "Uncut", I read you to know more about crusty old rockers and know what DVD box sets I should buy this month, not to be made aware of your crappy taste in new music.

Mind you, if "XXL" started giving out free mix tapes I'd be pretty fucking psyched (if "The Source" did some I'd buy those, too, just for the novelty of a monthly installment of Benzino tracks.)

― Daniel_Rf (Daniel_Rf), Wednesday, 20 April 2005 10:23 (twenty years ago)

i've listened to some of the mojo ones more than once. there was a drug one, and a soundtrack one, and a punk one that i liked. uncut CDs i never played that much. they like a lot of that boring rootsy stuff. about a month ago i played an old one that i got with an issue of jockey slut. and i always listen to my old brave words & bloody knuckles CDs. maria has a lot of those magnet magazine CDs lying around and i don't think i've ever played one.

― scott seward (scott seward), Wednesday, 20 April 2005 10:37 (twenty years ago)

My thoughts exactly on the Mojo Studio One CD.

― dog latin (dog latin), Wednesday, 20 April 2005 10:48 (twenty years ago)

And mine. They could've at least put half a dozen un(re)released tracks on there, considering the access to the Studio One vaults that Soul Jazz has. The track selection was crap too.

Usually the Mojo ones are worth keeping though - the Southern Soul one is good, the 'Up Yours' punk/'new' punk one they did a while back was the best one - 26 tracks and only one duffer (The Strokes, obv). Oh, and 'The Score' -soundtracks comp was great.

― Dr. C (Dr. C), Wednesday, 20 April 2005 11:00 (twenty years ago)

I don't buy Uncut now, but I virtually always ended up chucking the CD away after one play. I did keep the cases though.

― Dr. C (Dr. C), Wednesday, 20 April 2005 11:02 (twenty years ago)

I think it's reflective of virtually all the compilations I own to be honest, not because they're intrinsically shit. Although that Kurt Cobain NME one from last year was on a party I was at t'other day, and didn't get forced from the stereo by me or anyone else

― DJ Mencap0))), Wednesday, 20 April 2005 11:22 (twenty years ago)

That's just it. I can't bring myself to chuck them.

Back when I started w/music, 1971 or so, the very idea of free music. The very idea. Once in a while, you'd get a freebie flexy with NME, but other times it'd be a 'snippets with commentary' if you were lucky.

Now, if you just needed 'some music' to fill in, you'd never have to buy one ever.

(Agreed: The CDs mentioned above, save the Plantie one (don't much care, there was a zep themed one a while back which is in the "must keep, don't know why" pile as opposed to the "get rid of, but how???" pile)))

― mark grout (mark grout), Wednesday, 20 April 2005 11:29 (twenty years ago)

I listened to the latest Word of Mouth CD yesterday - it was pleasant enough if not exactly surprising or especially logical.

The best thing to do with free mag CDs is rip the tracks you want, bin the CD itself and keep the case innit.

I don't think I've ever bought a mag just for the CD, apart perhaps from Volume.

― CharlieNo4 (Charlie), Wednesday, 20 April 2005 11:36 (twenty years ago)

having said that above .. i realised that i still often spin the series of mixtapes that Hip Hop Connection covermounted a while back .. especially the scratchperverts vs rawkus one especially.

oh and if anyone has a spare Muzik DFA freebie mixtape - i'd be rather chuffed to hear from you ..

― mark e (mark e), Wednesday, 20 April 2005 11:38 (twenty years ago)

Free is good, so I'll listen if I have any interest in the genre. There was some nice stuff on some of the Q ones.

― Lyra Jane (Lyra Jane), Wednesday, 20 April 2005 12:47 (twenty years ago)

I think the new artists samplers are usually just a bunch of random bands that payed to get their song on the CD. Which is why I never listen to them, and why I'd also never pay to put a song on one.

― Hurting (Hurting), Wednesday, 20 April 2005 12:57 (twenty years ago)

I have about four years of Magnet free cds that I haven't even cracked the plastic on. Now I used to pour over the CMJ cds in the early to mid 90's and mark with a star all the ones I'd want to hear again. Does CMJ even give free cds with their mag anymore?

― matt2 (matt2), Wednesday, 20 April 2005 12:59 (twenty years ago)

I agree with Scott and Dr. C- the MOJO punk one and the soundtrack one and the one that was packaged like a pill in a plastic bag that had "White Lines" and "Bass Strings" were all really good.

― Ken L (Ken L), Wednesday, 20 April 2005 13:39 (twenty years ago)

Mojo also did a good series of CDs with Raw Soul, Garage, Roots of Hip Hop(lots of irate hilarious letters about that one) and one other I think that were really good. I'll add props for their soundtrack, punk and especially drug comps.

Uncut I never listen to them unless there is a specific track I've already heard of but not heard. The Word ones again I'll pick and choose and listen to the odd track. I keep them all and throw nothing away although most of them are just kept in a cupboard and not out with the rest of my CD's.

― mms (mms), Wednesday, 20 April 2005 13:50 (twenty years ago)

I seem to remember that Select's freebie CD was OK each month, with some understandable misses on it. Got me into a few acts when i was quite young.

― Nick H (Nick H), Wednesday, 20 April 2005 13:56 (twenty years ago)

agree re the Mojo Hip Hop Wars.

- that was a good'un .. though i would have like to have heard the original David Holmes mixtape version that they tried to sort out ..

― mark e (mark e), Wednesday, 20 April 2005 13:57 (twenty years ago)

That Mojo "Roots of" series was really good, but stopped after four...

― mark grout (mark grout), Wednesday, 20 April 2005 13:58 (twenty years ago)

the old select tapes were a treasure trove to my suburban american teen self...

but theres a reason these things are free.

― b b, Wednesday, 20 April 2005 14:11 (twenty years ago)

The Hip Hop Connection label sampler cover CDs are pretty invaluable, especially if, like me, you like 1Xtra but never get around to actually listening to it (it's the new John Peel!)

― Dom Passantino (Dom Passantino), Wednesday, 20 April 2005 14:15 (twenty years ago)

Uncut made some pretty good alt. country comps going back a few years.

― kornrulez6969 (TCBeing), Wednesday, 20 April 2005 14:26 (twenty years ago)

I'm forever getting e-mails about putting a song on the next MAGNET sampler. I'm like, dude, why would I want to pay to put a song on any CD that would let me pay to put a song on it?

― Hurting (Hurting), Wednesday, 20 April 2005 14:30 (twenty years ago)

xpost as opposed to the "Current" alt.country samplers they do most months...

― mark grout (mark grout), Wednesday, 20 April 2005 14:48 (twenty years ago)

three months pass...

Right now am enjoying the MOJO Roots of The Sex Pistols comp.

― k/l (Ken L), Wednesday, 20 July 2005 14:04 (twenty years ago)

With the long version of "halleluwah" ?

― mark grout (mark grout), Wednesday, 20 July 2005 14:08 (twenty years ago)

My favorite one remains the disc I got with some old magazine named "Losing ______ " I cannot even remember the name of the mag, but it was a lot of shoegazer type stuff. It was dubbed "Orange". Good stuff.

― Brett Hickman (Bhickman), Wednesday, 20 July 2005 14:10 (twenty years ago)

"Hallelujah" is on there, but is it not the same version as on Tago Mago?

― k/l (Ken L), Wednesday, 20 July 2005 14:14 (twenty years ago)

As a person who enjoys reggae but doesn't own a huge amount of the stuff I thought the Studio One comp, and the Trojan one of three years ago, were terrific. I'll definitely be making further purchases off the back of it.
The Roots of the Sex Pistols one was great as was the drugs one which looked like a pill and came in a baggie, heh heh. Oh and the Soundtrack one. And Beyond Punk. Not Up Yours though, that had a lot of filler.
But Mojo have got it down with the CDs. Uncut less so. There's usually something worth listening to on them, but a lot of crud. The Peter Buck selected one is pretty good though - that new Richard Thompson song is superb. And the REM selected one of last year with Suicide, Laura Nyro and Merle Haggard was sweet.

Select tapes were great. The CDs less so.

― stew, Wednesday, 20 July 2005 14:41 (twenty years ago)

xpost, yeah as opposed to the Cannibalism edit.

― mark grout (mark grout), Wednesday, 20 July 2005 14:42 (twenty years ago)

That'll be 'Losing Today' probably Brett.

I really think that most cover mount CD's are worthless, the Uncut ones always seem to have Gillian Welch and Josh Rouse for some reason.

I listen to the Wire tapper CD's often openmouthed in amazement at how rubbish most of what is supposed to be 'cutting edge' actually is.

― mzui (mzui), Wednesday, 20 July 2005 14:55 (twenty years ago)

I have got a Morrissey-compiled one from the NME, which I hope will one day be worth millions of pounds.

― Peter Stringbender (PJ Miller), Wednesday, 20 July 2005 14:57 (twenty years ago)

which sex pistols tracks sound like can?

― N_RQ, Wednesday, 20 July 2005 15:08 (twenty years ago)

I thought Johnny Rotten got his vocal style from Damo Suzuki.

― k/l (Ken L), Wednesday, 20 July 2005 15:57 (twenty years ago)

FOR THE LAST TIME BRING BACK SELECT!!!!!!

― dog latin (dog latin), Wednesday, 20 July 2005 16:07 (twenty years ago)

The CDs are only good when it acts as a soundtrack for the magazines main article. Example: If the main article is about, say, the History of Studio One, it's great when you have a cd full of Studio One tracks, so that the moment the essay mentions, say, Sugar Minott...you can play the Sugar Minott and get a clearer idea of what the writer is talking about.

― Lord Custos Omicron (Lord Custos Omicron), Thursday, 21 July 2005 01:14 (twenty years ago)

the cds that come with losing today are tops. the ones that come with (cough) 'comes with a smile' have some highs but in their quest for all-exclusive tracks they end up with a lot of filler and typically drecky live stuff.

fuck uncut cds. perhaps one song, maybe two from the last six copies of it i bought (last one well over a year ago) were worth hearing again.

― shine headlights on me (electricsound), Thursday, 21 July 2005 01:50 (twenty years ago)

Free CDs are best when they're entire of themselves. And bad when they are just 'i-pod food', especially when they not good snacks...

― mark grout (mark grout), Thursday, 21 July 2005 07:03 (twenty years ago)

select revived = cheery pieces by collins and maconie on maximo park, kaiser chiefs and hard-fi; piece by petridish on why dance music is dead; free cd of flaunt it by sigue sigue sputnik.

― Marcello Carlin, Thursday, 21 July 2005 07:20 (twenty years ago)

So, keep the CD and throw mag? Just as it should be...

― mark grout (mark grout), Thursday, 21 July 2005 07:25 (twenty years ago)

well yes, unless they persuade david cavanagh to write for them again.

― Marcello Carlin, Thursday, 21 July 2005 07:26 (twenty years ago)

actually the free ACTUAL REAL CD isn't a bad idea. they give away free dvds of ACTUAL FILMS with weekend newspapers; surely they could do the same with the music monthlies rather than these stilted compilations, or is the copyright issue more complicated?

― Marcello Carlin, Thursday, 21 July 2005 07:28 (twenty years ago)

Wel, for flips sake, if they can work out the copyright for actual films, actual albums should be a walk in the park by comparison...

Mind you, what would be the equivalent of getting "Straight to hell" DVD for free? "Cut the crap" obviously...

― mark grout (mark grout), Thursday, 21 July 2005 07:32 (twenty years ago)

FREE BOWIE CD

(in microscopic print: Never Let Me Down)

― Marcello Carlin, Thursday, 21 July 2005 07:36 (twenty years ago)

They give away proper books with newspapers too sometimes, albeit in dodgy looking "special" editions. It's true though, when a lot of these shitty magazines are so album-centric, why do they give away just comps? Not that I really give a hoot either way.

What might be nice is if magazines commissioned little sessions from bands. Has that ever been done before?

― NickB (NickB), Thursday, 21 July 2005 07:38 (twenty years ago)

The Word ones really are awfully dull, and scarcely worth trawling through to find the occasional good track. In fact, they slightly depress me. Like a homework assignment.

The Uncut CDs circa 2000/2001 were diverse and frequently excellent. Then they became much more homogenised, and turned to shit... with the occasional shining exception such as the Keith Richards compilation (still frequently played).

One of my most played CDs of the past 12 months has been an froots covermount, which is just fantastic and revelatory all the way through.

Loads of the Muzik covermounts were great, eg the Blue Room mix.

Agree that Mojo does the best ones these days.

― mike t-diva (mike t-diva), Thursday, 21 July 2005 11:04 (twenty years ago)

The trojan one actually got me interested in reggae

― Seuss, Thursday, 21 July 2005 11:59 (twenty years ago)

Well, it would have been a bit daft if it had got you interested in free jazz...

― mark grout (mark grout), Thursday, 21 July 2005 12:03 (twenty years ago)

What might be nice is if magazines commissioned little sessions from bands. Has that ever been done before?

This is an awesome idea.

― dog latin (dog latin), Thursday, 21 July 2005 12:04 (twenty years ago)

The old French mag, "Sordide Sentimelthewjtwebtwe" blummin typing

Anyway, that one, used to do that as a single...

― mark grout (mark grout), Thursday, 21 July 2005 12:08 (twenty years ago)

one year passes...

Just had to add one here:

The Mojo Folky one, a couple months ago, and blimey all the tracks are excellent, or at least listenable.

That's a keeper.

(I'm getting into throwing away the rub ones now. Charity shops will not thank you for them now)

― mark grout (mark grout), Thursday, 28 September 2006 09:57 (nineteen years ago)

I love these CDs... I consistently find out about interesting new bands that I end up digging around for more stuff from - the most recent thing I can think of is a 1990s track on an 'Uncut' CD that was a lot of fun.
The series of 4 Mojo 'Roots of...' CDs are stone classics, I think.

― Tiki Theater Xymposium (Bent Over at the Arclight), Thursday, 28 September 2006 10:52 (nineteen years ago)

read the other day Q are going to stop'em ..

― mark e (mark e), Thursday, 28 September 2006 11:14 (nineteen years ago)

pity about that 'em at the end there...

― Marcello Carlin (nostudium), Thursday, 28 September 2006 11:17 (nineteen years ago)

Really? Why? (though Q's are almost always terrible - Mojo and Uncut have presented some unique stuff every once in a while)

― Tiki Theater Xymposium (Bent Over at the Arclight), Thursday, 28 September 2006 12:55 (nineteen years ago)

(as in "Q are going to stop")

― mark grout (mark grout), Thursday, 28 September 2006 12:57 (nineteen years ago)

http://www.pressgazette.co.uk/article/210906/q_scraps_freebies_with_luxurious_birthday_redesign

― StanM (StanM), Thursday, 28 September 2006 13:17 (nineteen years ago)

"You have to not be instant. Trying to dive in there straight away with a band like the Arctic Monkeys — you can't stand out by trying to capitalise on that. You have to do things in a more considered way."

Translation: we're losing the Fifty Quid Man vote.

― Marcello Carlin (nostudium), Thursday, 28 September 2006 13:29 (nineteen years ago)

Mojo Folk-psych one was good, especially the Woven Hand and Davy Graham tracks.

― Run Ruud Run (Ken L), Thursday, 28 September 2006 13:31 (nineteen years ago)

Q in 1977: 30-page cover feature on the Steve Gibbons Band.

"We can't just dive in there straight away with a band like the Sex Pistols. You have to do things in a more considered way."

Also in this issue: Is It Finally The End For The Strawbs?

― Marcello Carlin (nostudium), Thursday, 28 September 2006 13:34 (nineteen years ago)

The Davy Graham one, halfway in I thought "Hang on,I wrote something very like this" and it was. Admittedly, it was an experiment in 'speeded up guitars' but there was definitely a set of notes that more or less resembled a tune. Gosh, I thought.

― mark grout (mark grout), Thursday, 28 September 2006 13:35 (nineteen years ago)

Haha, Marcello.

― Run Ruud Run (Ken L), Thursday, 28 September 2006 13:36 (nineteen years ago)

xpost that read very like the end of 1976 Record Mirror ..

editorial: We want to be optimistic about the year ahead, but there seems to be no great movement or musical style to get excited about..

Free inside: Punk Fashion calendar for 1977.

― mark grout (mark grout), Thursday, 28 September 2006 13:36 (nineteen years ago)

With illustrations by J Edward Oliver.

ALBUMS:
Derek Jewell assesses the Stranglers and finds them wanting in comparison with the mastery magic of Gryphon.

― Marcello Carlin (nostudium), Thursday, 28 September 2006 13:39 (nineteen years ago)

Gryphon in Record Mirror? More likely Racing Cars,mate.

― mark grout (mark grout), Thursday, 28 September 2006 13:40 (nineteen years ago)

More likely Brotherhood of Man and Boney M, from what I can remember of '77 RM, but then as with everybody else I only bought it for the charts and James Hamilton's column.

― Marcello Carlin (nostudium), Thursday, 28 September 2006 13:44 (nineteen years ago)

James Hamilton? The Village Voice photographer?

― Run Ruud Run (Ken L), Thursday, 28 September 2006 13:51 (nineteen years ago)

No, James Hamilton the late great DJ whose reputation admittedly may not have crossed the Atlantic.

― Marcello Carlin (nostudium), Thursday, 28 September 2006 13:55 (nineteen years ago)

Record Mirror got merged with Music Week, for James' column if nothing else.

how long did that last, I wonder?

― mark grout (mark grout), Thursday, 28 September 2006 13:58 (nineteen years ago)

As long as the NME/Melody Maker merger did, I'd imagine.

― Marcello Carlin (nostudium), Thursday, 28 September 2006 13:59 (nineteen years ago)

the cd that came with the latest issue of The Wire is doing it for me, fwiw.

― blackmail (blackmail.is.my.life), Thursday, 28 September 2006 15:18 (nineteen years ago)

i wonder...did mark e ever get a copy of the MUZIK mixd cd?

he can have mine if he wants.

― pisces (piscesx), Thursday, 28 September 2006 15:29 (nineteen years ago)

Since "sukrat lord" (blah to scandinavian spellings) hasn't linked it from either his LJ or FT, I'll just mention that the ppl at this LJ community* are currently doing polls based on past WIRE trappers.

*warning: maybe populated by ilxers past or present.xp

― xyzzzz__ (jdesouza), Thursday, 28 September 2006 15:31 (nineteen years ago)

"Read the other day Q are going to stop'em .."

NNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO......

*Bangs head against wall*

I liked their end-of-year CDs! Dangnabbit!

― GLC (ZakAce), Thursday, 28 September 2006 19:41 (nineteen years ago)

Well, there's always the Uncut ones...

― mark grout (mark grout), Thursday, 28 September 2006 19:59 (nineteen years ago)

i like the ones that occasionally come with artrocker

― electric sound of jim [and why not] (electricsound), Thursday, 28 September 2006 22:18 (nineteen years ago)

― Dr. Joseph A. Ofalt (hyloolnuspstt), Thursday, 28 September 2006 23:34 (nineteen years ago)

pisces :

re DFA Muzik mix cd .. ta lots - i never did track a copy down.

i'm sure we can sort something out if interested, you know where to hassle me.

― mark e (mark e), Friday, 29 September 2006 06:18 (nineteen years ago)

"We can't just dive in there straight away with a band like the Sex Pistols. You have to do things in a more considered way."

Q used to have that pitiful but hilariously out-of-date section called 'New to Q' where they would finally deem bands worthy of acknowledgement in the form of a half-page feature when they'd been around for half-a-dozen years/ sold enough 'units' etc.

― M Carty (mj_c), Friday, 29 September 2006 07:55 (nineteen years ago)

Speaking of wiretapper... does anyone have a copy of wiretapper 12? mine has a scratch across the end of cd2 rendering the last two tracks unplayable...

tracks are
19 SHINING GORETEX WEATHER REPORT
20 M BENTLEY PIANO SHIP (ALTERNATIVE MIX)

kthxbye.

― Koogy Yonderboy (koogs), Friday, 29 September 2006 08:29 (nineteen years ago)

koogy. contact me, you can have my copy. ta.

― mark e (mark e), Friday, 29 September 2006 09:00 (nineteen years ago)

Very rarely, except for Q's "Best Of The Year" CDs that I check out each year to find if there's something exciting among the last year's releases that I have yet to discover.

― Geir Hongro (GeirHong), Friday, 29 September 2006 19:56 (nineteen years ago)

I think when I moved into my new apartment about a year and a half ago I finally got so pissed off at myself for keeping all these Magnet ones that I finally chucked them. Never could be bothered. The one or two I tried would only ever have one or two good songs on them and nothing earthshattering at that. Of course I could be wrong...oh shit...I've still got them. Almost all still shrinkwrapped, too. What is wrong with me? I mean it's one thing to hoard music but...god you know what? I'm just going to chuck them right now. That's it. I will actually do this.

― Punk Juice (Bimble...), Saturday, 30 September 2006 23:01 (nineteen years ago)

See, I did it. Not so hard was it? Nearly painless. I'm okay now.

― Punk Juice (Bimble...), Saturday, 30 September 2006 23:02 (nineteen years ago)

Are they back out yet?

― mark grout (mark grout), Sunday, 1 October 2006 22:55 (nineteen years ago)

anyone got a spare of that Miss Kittin muzik mix?

― eh (fandango), Sunday, 1 October 2006 23:01 (nineteen years ago)

you can have mine, if i can find it

― electric sound of jim [and why not] (electricsound), Sunday, 1 October 2006 23:03 (nineteen years ago)

postage from australia would probably sting ;) but thanks for the thought. I'm not that fussed. I'll try fleabay (when I'm more fussed) :)

― eh (fandango), Sunday, 1 October 2006 23:10 (nineteen years ago)

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