The Internet

[Guest Gogs]

I was the one that said that the internet had done more harm than good to the Northern scene (i think it was on the POG thread) and said so because of many of the reasons already stated on this thread but i will re-iterate my thinking behind this comment:

1) People no longer have to go to venues to hear the records.

2)the internet has opened the whole scene up to the general public so that it is no longer an underground scene.

3)I actually know people who went to wigan and other venues back in the day that although they no longer have any family commitments would rather sit in thier own house (where they can smoke) with a few cans of beer (cheaper than buying out) and listen to the music provided by sites such as this.

4)There is no longer the thrill of picking up that record you have hunted out, going through 99 different sales boxes looking for, all you have to do is sit at your computer and 9/10 you will find it.

5)There's not the same thrill going out to meet people that you maybe only see once a month as you can now "talk" to them every day.

I am maybe not the best person in the world to write down what i feel but i hope you can see what i'm trying to say.

gogs

[Guest]

I know you've asked Chalky but whilst i'm here..

Age and family commitments? - nope most soulie's (sorry!) are at the age where kids are now grown up, mortgages paid off and their time is their own again.

(Although, I think more and more are starting with the grandkids committment)..

You dont have to travel half way round the country, there are events on everywhere. I can't see a reason why you can't support a local venue, even if you can't afford the petrol, journey and cost of going to a niter or travelling further a field.

Jayne.x

Not me my love.............Ive got a lovley 8 year old boy who lives with me and demands lots of my time (Dr. Who Exhibitions etc)............Then a Girlfreind who is only 29 and likes one or two decent holidays a year ! Got 20 years on my Mortgage........ Then there is Me....... collecting vintage vinyl !!!!

The Internet is quite useful for me at the moment, as I am living most of my time on a Soulful desert island !

This was not always the way by the way!

But I am still planning my way back !

Best Mossy

Edited October 22, 2008 by mossy

[Theresa]

Good post, but at 41 with 3 under-fives, your age & lifestyle isn't representative of the majority on the scene

We obviously just knock about with a lot of late starters then. If only I'd had the internet when I was younger then maybe I wouldn't have spent so long in the heavy petting phase and I might've got on to sex before I was 36...

[Guest]

maybe they do care but if one month no northern was played, just rocksteady, ska, mod would the majority of the younger crowd complain? I doubt it.

I would ! I would demand the DJ play "Dilly Dilly" or f*** right off the silly c*** !!!

Edited October 22, 2008 by mossy

[Guest]

We obviously just knock about with a lot of late starters then. If only I'd had the internet when I was younger then maybe I wouldn't have spent so long in the heavy petting phase and I might've got on to sex before I was 36...

Very good !

[Guest]

Here's a question i'd like to throw out...would some of you even met if it wasn't for the tinternet?

Yes I know...no doubt you will say we all attended this together...or that together pre internet...and quite possibly that is indeed the case...and alot of you did meet purely going to dos...but I also bet that some of your friendships have been formed over this very website...getting to know them on here before meeting in a nighter say?

So surely for that very reason alone the internet is not so much of a bad thing?

Yeah ........... all my favorite people on this scene I knew before the internet !

And when you aint seen them for 20 years ................and they still give you a big hug and welcome you back !!!!!

Q "Where the f*** have you been" ............ A "Bankrobber"?

[paultp]

I think the Tinterweb is the dogs doo-dahs for the following reasons:

We wouldn't have started These Old Shoes if we hadn't met up via the KTF forum and people from around the world wouldn't have turned up to it if we hadn't had a web site and promoted via the site and various lists. Flyers got a regular attendance from London but the net gave it wider appeal.

I buy records at half UK dealer prices and sell records around the world: Italy, France Japan, Spain, germany, the US etc.

I can hear new sounds daily, by the dozen! Why is that a bad thing? Don't agree with the "licked t'road clean wi tongue back then" atitude of trying to justufy that one new tune a month is a good thing.

The internet has turned up so many great records, known and unknown, it has thankfully put to bed the idea that was recounted to me at my first Cleethorpes that there were no more NS records left in the states

It allows people to put their opinion up to hundreds of other people without thinking before typing and insult people they have never met ....... No, sorry that isn't a good thing.

It hasn't stopped me going out, I don't go out to other than local events anymore cos I have other things to do.

Cheers

Paul

[Dave Rimmer]

From a personal point of view the internet has been a mixed blessing.

Bad Points:

1. It is much harder to sell records at venues these days, mostly because a huge number of people spend their money on the net via ebay, or even SS, before they get to the venue.

2. The ease with which information is gained via sites like this has meant that the majority of people don't buy magazines in anywhere near the same number that they used to. Back in the day there were only three ways to get info, do the digging yourself, use your contacts, or buy a magazine. Now you just post the question on SS and usually within minutes you get the answer. So, sadly, after eighteen years, Soulful Kinda Music has closed it's doors. If any one wants back issues PM me.

3. Funnily enough, not doing the magazine has left me with loads of spare time, and it's meant I've realised how crap the telly in this country really is. So I spend far too much time sitting in front of a PC (I do it all day at work as well)

The Good Points:

1. Records that I want are far more easily obtainable since internet use became common

2. I've made a lot of new friends since internet use became common (I might have made them without the internet, but who knows ?)

3. I can obtain information just as easily as everyone else through SS, and have really enjoyed constructing and building the Soulful Kinda Music website into the biggest (and I like to think best) discography resource on the web for Soul fans.

4. I've had a huge amount of fun winding up pretentious idiots who think they are the saviors of the Soul scene and are guarding my morals for future generations

So, if anyone out there wants any articles writing, on virtually any subject related to Soul, give me the subject, number of words, and a dealine, and I'll have a go

[Guest Richard Bergman]

One down side is that people are now given a platform to spout endless amounts of rhetoric

I think that kind of thing should be confined to Hyde Park Corner on a grey miserable tuesday morning.

Edited October 22, 2008 by Richard Bergman

[Guest Beeks]

Bad Points:

1. It is much harder to sell records at venues these days, mostly because a huge number of people spend their money on the net via ebay, or even SS, before they get to the venue.

Contentious point this Dave...surely every record dealers sales have rocketed not fallen since the birth of the internet?...ok they might not sell as much in the nighters...but the sales they make online surely makes up the most of their business...not only that...must be a lot easier to shift what are considered as shit records(one mans shit another mans gold) with the likes of e-bay to the less informed masses?

Edited October 22, 2008 by Beeks

[Spacehopper]

Chalky, I think some of the youngsters have a bit more interest in/knowledge of the music than you give em credit for and the reason some don't go to full on northern nights may well be that they don't want to socialise with folks the same age as their parents, especially when some of those folks go out in fancy dress.

As someone who is involved with a couple of events that mix some ska and R&B with the soul, can I just point out that it's not just youngsters who enjoy that type of event occassionally?

i think the dancin with ya dad is a big factor in keeping youngsters away at big niters etc...

as for playing ska etc while i dont wanna see it at niters or other established nites with big soul crowds there is room for nights that mix it up a bit....not every thing is black and white,if you dont go to a nite because it may play a bit of other 60s music while thats your choice you could also be missing out....i cant stand 99% of modern and most 70s but if i didnt go to nights that play a bit i would hardly go go anywhere !!...

as some of you know at go go children in bris we do mix up the 60s genres to a crowd of soulies and youngsters some of who love the soul as much as the ska (as its about 80% soul ) and come up and ask the titles of classics and go away looking for them...isnt that a good thing?....and whats surprised me most is that travelling soulies who i thought maybe put off my the other genres have actually said they like it !...it makes it refreshing,different...or maybe it gives their aching limbs a chance to recover for 10 mins !

anyway this surely should be a different thread....as for the original internet thingy....

im afraid ive got splinters in my arse cos im stuck on the bloody fence !!....its good that we can chat to people we dont know and hopefully one day meet up with and become friends....its good that i can buy a tune off ebay direct from the states for a third of what a uk dealer would ask and i could never afford !! BUT....because people put their old discs on ebay instead of selling to secondhand record shops here in the uk those shops are shutting down and the joy of spending a mornin looking through tunes in dusty shops has gone....

as for advertising gigs,i think it helps but handing out flyers,putting up posters and texting friends is far more important in my experience....

so at the end of the day good or bad for the scene ? i aint got a clue and as it will never go away we will never know...

[Pete S]

Contentious point this Dave...surely every record dealers sales have rocketed not fallen since the birth of the internet?...ok they might not sell as much in the nighters...but the sales they make online surely makes up the most of their business...not only that...must be a lot easier to shift what are considered as shit records(one mans shit another mans gold) with the likes of e-bay to the less informed masses?

I've made a living from selling records on the internet for over 10 years now, I was the first one to stop doing paper lists and go email only, and was told I must be mad. How many records have I sold since then - thousands. How many events have I been to with a box of sales? Maybe 3?

[Pete S]

I think the Tinterweb is the dogs doo-dahs for the following reasons:

We wouldn't have started These Old Shoes if we hadn't met up via the KTF forum and people from around the world wouldn't have turned up to it if we hadn't had a web site and promoted via the site and various lists. Flyers got a regular attendance from London but the net gave it wider appeal.

I buy records at half UK dealer prices and sell records around the world: Italy, France Japan, Spain, germany, the US etc.

I can hear new sounds daily, by the dozen! Why is that a bad thing? Don't agree with the "licked t'road clean wi tongue back then" atitude of trying to justufy that one new tune a month is a good thing.

The internet has turned up so many great records, known and unknown, it has thankfully put to bed the idea that was recounted to me at my first Cleethorpes that there were no more NS records left in the states

It allows people to put their opinion up to hundreds of other people without thinking before typing and insult people they have never met ....... No, sorry that isn't a good thing.

It hasn't stopped me going out, I don't go out to other than local events anymore cos I have other things to do.

Cheers

Paul

Ahem. I agree with every single word Paul says.

[Dave Rimmer]

Contentious point this Dave...surely every record dealers sales have rocketed not fallen since the birth of the internet?...ok they might not sell as much in the nighters...but the sales they make online surely makes up the most of their business...not only that...must be a lot easier to shift what are considered as shit records(one mans shit another mans gold) with the likes of e-bay to the less informed masses?

It's not a contentious point at all. It's fact. Sales on the internet have rocketed, and that's why it is harder to sell records at venues, and if, like me, you sell records at venues, the internet is a bad thing.

Fact, not contentious.

[Guest Beeks]

It's not a contentious point at all. It's fact. Sales on the internet have rocketed, and that's why it is harder to sell records at venues, and if, like me, you sell records at venues, the internet is a bad thing.

Fact, not contentious.

Surely you sell on the net as well dave?

Or are you one of these suitcase on a streetcorner traders...you can buy records and also play the Cup and Pea game while you're there

[Dave Rimmer]

Surely you sell on the net as well dave?

Or are you one of these suitcase on a streetcorner traders...you can buy records and also play the Cup and Pea game while you're there

That's not the point. I attend venues every weekend, I sell records at those venues. In the context the question was posed "Is the internet a bad thing for the Soul scene", it is with regard to selling records at venues, because as far as I'm concerned, the Soul scene, is actually out there at venues, not sitting on your own at home in front of a pc.

[Guest]

From a personal point of view the internet has been a mixed blessing.

Bad Points:

1. It is much harder to sell records at venues these days, mostly because a huge number of people spend their money on the net via ebay, or even SS, before they get to the venue.

2. The ease with which information is gained via sites like this has meant that the majority of people don't buy magazines in anywhere near the same number that they used to. Back in the day there were only three ways to get info, do the digging yourself, use your contacts, or buy a magazine. Now you just post the question on SS and usually within minutes you get the answer. So, sadly, after eighteen years, Soulful Kinda Music has closed it's doors. If any one wants back issues PM me.

Ah, I was wondering about that.. makes sense I suppose.

Sorry to hear SKM's stopped. Though, guilty since not attending as many niters, I'd usually only find time to read it at Cleethorpes and other weekenders. Triggered loads of very long weekender debates did the articles in that mag.

Jayne.x

[Guest]

Surely you sell on the net as well dave?

Or are you one of these suitcase on a streetcorner traders...you can buy records and also play the Cup and Pea game while you're there

I can think of quite a few dealers who sell at venues and dont sell on the net.

Not just dealers I guess, the number of people who you see around the record sellers with a small box of personal stuff they're trying to move on...

Having certain record dealers selling at your venue's has always been a plus and some people would turn up to see the dealers and see what was on offer. Not good

for venues if dealers are selling on the net instead. Lowton's record bar springs to mind here, it used to be absolutely crammed with sellers.

Jayne

Edited October 22, 2008 by Miss BurySoul

[Pete S]

again we digress from the topic in question but to answer your question northern already is a pretty diverse mix of genres and IMHO it doesn't need genres like mod, rocksteady, ska etc that you mention, it's not the scene or music I got into and it's not what I want to hear, even though I might like to sit and listen at home to some of it. If the scene as it is isn't good enough for those not into it then f*ck 'em as far as I'm concerned, keep away....and I bet many others feel the same. If someone wishes to get into northern they will do so because of what it is now not how someone outsiders or newcomers want it to be. I do agree the scene needs changes, or some aspects of it but there is plenty within it's already diverse scope, it's just many are afraid of change and getting out of their comfortable zones that they live in. Introduce ska rocksteady etc and it's no longer a northern scene is it?

Much as I love ska & rocksteady - there's no place for it at a Northern do. As a second room, for definite, but not to mix in with Northern

[Stubbsy]

Much as I love ska & rocksteady - there's no place for it at a Northern do. As a second room, for definite, but not to mix in with Northern

I'm deffo with Chalky and Pete on this one. At a Northern do should be soul only!

[Theresa]

I'm deffo with Chalky and Pete on this one. At a Northern do should be soul only!

Tis true, I can't be doing with that there skanking on a northern floor...

Plenty of scooter nights available for that mixed market - bit of northern, bit of ska, bit of psychobilly, bit of mod, oi, whatever.

[Guest john s]

Tis true, I can't be doing with that there skanking on a northern floor...

Plenty of scooter nights available for that mixed market - bit of northern, bit of ska, bit of psychobilly, bit of mod, oi, whatever.

I hope that's a joke!

Or do you seriously see a connection between rocksteady and oi?

Personally I loathe oi, psychobilly and whatever - but then I can't stand modern soul either!

[Guest Matt Male]

I was the one that said that the internet had done more harm than good to the Northern scene (i think it was on the POG thread) and said so because of many of the reasons already stated on this thread but i will re-iterate my thinking behind this comment:

1) People no longer have to go to venues to hear the records.

True, but so what? It doesn't stop people going to venues or going to dance with others to sounds played out on a big stage. I know which i prefer to do. The internet hasn't changed that for me. If the internet really has stopped anyone going out, then they were probably people who didn't like going out anyway.

2)the internet has opened the whole scene up to the general public so that it is no longer an underground scene.

True, 1.5 million hits on Google. But again, it doesn't seem to have made that much difference apart from maybe getting back many who left years ago. Has it ever attracted many 'new' people to the scene? I'm not sure.

3)I actually know people who went to wigan and other venues back in the day that although they no longer have any family commitments would rather sit in thier own house (where they can smoke) with a few cans of beer (cheaper than buying out) and listen to the music provided by sites such as this.

See answer to question #1

4)There is no longer the thrill of picking up that record you have hunted out, going through 99 different sales boxes looking for, all you have to do is sit at your computer and 9/10 you will find it.

True if you're looking for the popular or big sounds that everybody else is buying because they are the ones the dealers, even those with no clue, pick up on and stick on the net. If you're looking for obscure or unpopular or rarely played stuff then you've got a real search on your hands. I've been looking for three records today, can't find them anywhere. I can PM you the details if you like and if you can find them for me on the internet i will agree with you on this one. The problem with the net is that unless someone thinks it's worth selling, it just won't be there.

5)There's not the same thrill going out to meet people that you maybe only see once a month as you can now "talk" to them every day.

I am maybe not the best person in the world to write down what i feel but i hope you can see what i'm trying to say.

gogs

[Guest Matt Male]

4. I've had a huge amount of fun winding up pretentious idiots who think they are the saviors of the Soul scene and are guarding my morals for future generations

That justifies it on its own.

[Theresa]

I hope that's a joke!

Or do you seriously see a connection between rocksteady and oi?

Personally I loathe oi, psychobilly and whatever - but then I can't stand modern soul either!

We're getting off topic here, but it's not a joke, honest! You get a bit of all that at every scooter rally, depending on which do you attend. It's not to my taste either, but it obviously floats some peoples' boats. Plenty of skinheads who'd get up to any of those genres, they don't see any dichotomy. Personally I find a dancefloor swilling in beer and littered with drunken boneheads a massive turnoff, but I love scooters, northern & modern. The folks at the ferry company said there were 17000 at this year's Isle of Wight, so it continues to be popular.

[Wiganer1]

Much as I love ska & rocksteady - there's no place for it at a Northern do. As a second room, for definite, but not to mix in with Northern

==========

ABSOLUTELY PETE...ISNT THIS THE 2ND THING WEVE BOTH AGREED ON???

[Guest Matt Male]

==========

ABSOLUTELY PETE...ISNT THIS THE 2ND THING WEVE BOTH AGREED ON???

I agree with the two of you.

These pick n mix nights are just to get people in who don't like soul (but might like Ska, Reggae, 60s pop, whatever...) to fill the room up. They may as well play chart music to get the townies in after the pubs close. There are thousands of underplayed soul sounds out there without having to mix in other genres. It makes no sense to me.

[Guest john s]

I agree with the two of you.

These pick n mix nights are just to get people in who don't like soul (but might like Ska, Reggae, 60s pop, whatever...) to fill the room up. They may as well play chart music to get the townies in after the pubs close. There are thousands of underplayed soul sounds out there without having to mix in other genres. It makes no sense to me.

So how about the internet, then? Good thing or bad?

[TOAD]

IF YOUR GONNA PLAY R&B WHY NOT JAMAICAN MUSIC

[Guest john s]

IF YOUR GONNA PLAY R&B WHY NOT JAMAICAN MUSIC

R&B, Disco, House, 60s pop, TV theme tunes, Duffy.....

Edited October 22, 2008 by john s

[Guest Matt Male]

So how about the internet, then? Good thing or bad?

The what....?

[Guest Matt Male]

IF YOUR GONNA PLAY R&B WHY NOT JAMAICAN MUSIC

Because in my opinion plenty of stuff people call R&B these days is really just early and gritty soul. Look at the R&B thread, Bobby Bland, J.D. Ledbetter, Betti Lou and Bobby Adams , Charles Sheffield, Jimmy Lomax. It's all fantastic dirty soul to me . We never called it R&B years ago, it was all still northern soul. True R&B usually has its own room, like at Middleton.

[TOAD]

Because in my opinion plenty of stuff people call R&B these days is really just early and gritty soul. Look at the R&B thread, Bobby Bland, J.D. Ledbetter, Betti Lou and Bobby Adams , Charles Sheffield, Jimmy Lomax. It's all fantastic dirty soul to me . We never called it R&B years ago, it was all still northern soul. True R&B usually has its own room, like at Middleton.

ERR I THINK I CAN TELL WHAT R&B IS IVE LOTS MYSELF TROUBLE IS WITH SOME PEOPLE THEY ASUME OTHERS DONT KNOW WHAT THERE ON ABOUT IVE POSTED R&B UP IN REFOSOUL TAKE A LOOK

ANY WAY THANKS TO ALL THREE NORTHERN PROMOTERS FOR BOOKING ME TO DO A TROJAN HOUR OVER THE LAST 15 MONTHS OR SO , HOPE TO DO IT AGAIN SOON

LOOKING FORWARD TO DEESIDE DAYER WHEN ILL BE PLAYING RARE SOUL.

T

[Reg]

Because in my opinion plenty of stuff people call R&B these days is really just early and gritty soul. Look at the R&B thread, Bobby Bland, J.D. Ledbetter, Betti Lou and Bobby Adams , Charles Sheffield, Jimmy Lomax. It's all fantastic dirty soul to me . We never called it R&B years ago, it was all still northern soul. True R&B usually has its own room, like at Middleton.

I disagree a little bit Matt Years ago I don't think that "proper" R&B would ever (really) have been played on the NS Scene even though proper R&B is more like gritty soul as you say. Maybe at some venues like 6Ts but not on the whole. However some of the R&B played in R&B rooms today isn't really R&B in my opinion..it is rock and roll however you label it. IMO of course...he he

Edited October 23, 2008 by Reg

[Guest bazabod_downunder]

Although this is off topic just a tad..lol..couldn't agree more....takes me back.....youth club discos....bit of disco, bit of rock 'n' roll, bit of reggae, bit of Status Quo, then finally what we've all been waiting for some frigging Northern/Rare Soul, then a good scrap afterwards......recipe for disaster, attracts non soulies, repels soulies....keep it pure!

KTF

Baz

I agree with the two of you.

These pick n mix nights are just to get people in who don't like soul (but might like Ska, Reggae, 60s pop, whatever...) to fill the room up. They may as well play chart music to get the townies in after the pubs close. There are thousands of underplayed soul sounds out there without having to mix in other genres. It makes no sense to me.

[Guest john s]

Although this is off topic just a tad..lol..couldn't agree more....takes me back.....youth club discos....bit of disco, bit of rock 'n' roll, bit of reggae, bit of Status Quo, then finally what we've all been waiting for some frigging Northern/Rare Soul, then a good scrap afterwards......recipe for disaster, attracts non soulies, repels soulies....keep it pure!

KTF

Baz

Weird! I can't think of anything worse than going to a night wanting to hear decent 60's dance music and having to sit through loads of disco, modern, crossover, 'soulful house'...

each to their own, I suppose!

[Guest Matt Male]

ERR I THINK I CAN TELL WHAT R&B IS IVE LOTS MYSELF TROUBLE IS WITH SOME PEOPLE THEY ASUME OTHERS DONT KNOW WHAT THERE ON ABOUT IVE POSTED R&B UP IN REFOSOUL TAKE A LOOK

ANY WAY THANKS TO ALL THREE NORTHERN PROMOTERS FOR BOOKING ME TO DO A TROJAN HOUR OVER THE LAST 15 MONTHS OR SO , HOPE TO DO IT AGAIN SOON

LOOKING FORWARD TO DEESIDE DAYER WHEN ILL BE PLAYING RARE SOUL.

T

You're a touchy twat sometimes Tim. I obviously know you know your stuff.

Good luck with your spot.

[Suzannek]

Although this is off topic just a tad..lol..couldn't agree more....takes me back.....youth club discos....bit of disco, bit of rock 'n' roll, bit of reggae, bit of Status Quo, then finally what we've all been waiting for some frigging Northern/Rare Soul, then a good scrap afterwards......recipe for disaster, attracts non soulies, repels soulies....keep it pure!

KTF

Baz

Blimey that reminds me of our local disco for 12-18 year olds in Butterknowle Village Hall (my local village) once a month. Went when I was about 12 in 1983. Used to play a few ACDC/Deep Purple et al records (headbangers turn), then a few chart sounds of time (handbaggers turn), then a couple of records for the Oi/Punk followers then finally it would play something like Frankie Valli "Your Ready Now". There was these lasses who used to dance and they were brilliant, just glided across the floor with a pint in one hand and a ciggie in t'other. They were excellent dancers, well to a 12 year olds eyes. That was my first introduction to soul.

There were two discos that used to run the disco "Purple Haze" and wait for it! Slow Motion. I remember Slow Motion used to always break down.

Suz

x

[TOAD]

You're a touchy twat sometimes Tim. I obviously know you know your stuff.

Good luck with your spot.

not touchy just sarcastic

dont think mixed nights have much to do with northern soul allways thought it was a retro mod thing

first discos i atened before i got into nighters were soul and reggae in one room "normal" stuff in the other.

any way whaterver you like go out and enjoy it before you get to old or in my case ill lol

[Guest Matt Male]

not touchy just sarcastic

dont think mixed nights have much to do with northern soul allways thought it was a retro mod thing

first discos i atened before i got into nighters were soul and reggae in one room "normal" stuff in the other.

any way whaterver you like go out and enjoy it before you get to old or in my case ill lol

Well said

[Guest JoeMoran]

i've read (most) of the replies on this thread and i thought i'd throw in my two cent worth.

for a guy like me who has lived his life in ireland the internet has been an integral part of my soul life. I no longer am at the mercy of the inflated prices that UK dealers charge for records and it makes me smile to hear them moan about how USA dealers are undercuttin them.

haivng access to the internet means that i no longer have to ring up some UK dealer quoting a record from a list (that arrived a week after all the ul soulies had a scan through it) to hear that my first,second,third choices of records are gone.

it means that i can now find out what records Deejays are playing - find out where those deejays are playing and should i desire i can book my travel arrangements all from the comfort of my own home to go hear them (or use Multimap as someon previosuly posted).

it also means i can heat those records for the most part - does it take away the mystique - it does in my arse. it enhances it - here i am listening to a crackin track coming out of the PC speakers much the same way i used to listen to tapes on an old sony walkman and thinking how can i get one of those? how much? i bet its dead rare etc.

it means i have made friends with people from all over the globe - UK, USA, Europe, Antipodes and been able to hook up with them when attending nights out in ireland, UK and elsewhere. i was one of the early members of KTF - one of the most irreverent and refreshingly iconclastic BB's (for a time anyway) in the early days (and believe it or not there was a similar thread on there all those years ago). through that i met for example the These old Shoes boys (and girls) and spent a couple of nights at their clubs. met lots of the spanish guys there and hooked up with them regularly at Cleethorpes, loads of the UK folk and been part of their scenes across your island and hosted others too numerous in dublin

but i guess the thread is about whether the northern scene is suffering due to the 'easy' access to tunes and the virtual northern scene.

i very much doubt it - the people who do not travel are the people who would never travel anyway. the people who do go out and are part of the scene are the ones who have always been and always will be (until old age creeps up and wraps its wrinkled, soft comfortable arms around them).

i love going out as often as i can - the internet is an add-on to the northern scene for me.

[Guest]

i've read (most) of the replies on this thread and i thought i'd throw in my two cent worth.

for a guy like me who has lived his life in ireland the internet has been an integral part of my soul life. I no longer am at the mercy of the inflated prices that UK dealers charge for records and it makes me smile to hear them moan about how USA dealers are undercuttin them.

haivng access to the internet means that i no longer have to ring up some UK dealer quoting a record from a list (that arrived a week after all the ul soulies had a scan through it) to hear that my first,second,third choices of records are gone.

it means that i can now find out what records Deejays are playing - find out where those deejays are playing and should i desire i can book my travel arrangements all from the comfort of my own home to go hear them (or use Multimap as someon previosuly posted).

it also means i can heat those records for the most part - does it take away the mystique - it does in my arse. it enhances it - here i am listening to a crackin track coming out of the PC speakers much the same way i used to listen to tapes on an old sony walkman and thinking how can i get one of those? how much? i bet its dead rare etc.

it means i have made friends with people from all over the globe - UK, USA, Europe, Antipodes and been able to hook up with them when attending nights out in ireland, UK and elsewhere. i was one of the early members of KTF - one of the most irreverent and refreshingly iconclastic BB's (for a time anyway) in the early days (and believe it or not there was a similar thread on there all those years ago). through that i met for example the These old Shoes boys (and girls) and spent a couple of nights at their clubs. met lots of the spanish guys there and hooked up with them regularly at Cleethorpes, loads of the UK folk and been part of their scenes across your island and hosted others too numerous in dublin

but i guess the thread is about whether the northern scene is suffering due to the 'easy' access to tunes and the virtual northern scene.

i very much doubt it - the people who do not travel are the people who would never travel anyway. the people who do go out and are part of the scene are the ones who have always been and always will be (until old age creeps up and wraps its wrinkled, soft comfortable arms around them).

i love going out as often as i can - the internet is an add-on to the northern scene for me.

That is a very good, well written post. I disagree with parts but you put it across brilliantly.

Jayne.x

[Guest john s]

i was one of the early members of KTF - one of the most irreverent and refreshingly iconclastic BB's (for a time anyway) in the early days (and believe it or not there was a similar thread on there all those years ago).

I'd imagine people said the same thing about CDs, radio, records (they'll put musicians out of work), the printing press, and probably the wheel as well!

[sister dawn]

Get off your arses, travel any which way you can and support the cause, we're a long time dead, and its always better to have memories rather than regrets.

[Guest WPaulVanDyk]

Seeing as i started this and i am on you tube which someone posted a clip of

I use the internet but still go out in fact a nighter is not all nighters now so it means i can go out on a Friday least once a month to local venues cause i can't drive so me and dad have to use public transport and once finished home here by 1.30 ready to come on the net and search for whatever including tracks and CD's and records having just been out and hearing some tunes you liked wanting them so go on the net and look for them

i don't go much away from local venues because i am not as rich to attend them all and can't get there.

There is a lot that the internet can do after all we can call meet new people on here and connect with them off it if you meet them at venues. CD's can be created to more people you actually sort it on the net as we do swaps here although i don't get involved for a reason i am not sure if any cd i compiled people would be thrilled with if i don't know that it fits what we are swapping ie album tracks

[Guest WPaulVanDyk]

That's a good question about meeting.

You see my dad attended venues years ago and met loads of people and he still sees them out now when we go but due to the internet we have met loads more new people in fact many who used to attend same venues my dad did years ago although they didn't know each other

[Spacehopper]

I agree with the two of you.

These pick n mix nights are just to get people in who don't like soul (but might like Ska, Reggae, 60s pop, whatever...) to fill the room up. They may as well play chart music to get the townies in after the pubs close. There are thousands of underplayed soul sounds out there without having to mix in other genres. It makes no sense to me.

sorry i dont mean to offend but this is bollox mate !

i will say this cos my partner in crime(it seems) john s is too nice !

we do not play a mix at go go just to get 'townies' in we play it cos it works !...we dont want or NEED to fill our room up with twats..a lot of soulies come from a mod background NO ONE HAS COMPLAINED....they know with at the most 20 mins the northern will be back on...townies as you put it do not come in cos weve chosen our venue wisely,students do,are well behaved some know northern some dont but go away learning about soul...something you once did !...f*** all wrong with that...

we play plenty of underplayed soul ,we dont play other genres cos we aint got enuff tunes !

as i said in an earlier post i cant stand modern and to be honest other than its name i cant see OR HEAR any resemblance between it and 60s soul....completely different ...and when its played in the same room as 60s ,in the venues ive been to LOTS of people leave the floor while others join it....ian levines new productions a lot of you slag off have more in common with 60s...in fact ska and rocksteady can be mixed in with 60 soul better if you have the right tunes ...lots of jamaican music are covers of soul tunes...some very funky others very rnb....coxone, one of the biggest jamaican producers use to go to the states buy a big pile of 7s and take them back to ja to copy....and then youve got similiar studios and recording techniques....

remember the torch or twisted wheel may have been the first clubs to play soul all night but there were lots of little underground clubs mixing rare soul with ska etc through the 60s allnight long...it can work too...

[Dave]

I agree with the two of you.

These pick n mix nights are just to get people in who don't like soul (but might like Ska, Reggae, 60s pop, whatever...) to fill the room up. They may as well play chart music to get the townies in after the pubs close. There are thousands of underplayed soul sounds out there without having to mix in other genres. It makes no sense to me.

Oh that's what they're for, is it? It's all black and white to you isn't it?

It doesn't occur to you that some mixed nights are put on because they reflect the promoter's musical taste? Or that there might be a following for this sort of night, some of which are long-established?

Because in my opinion plenty of stuff people call R&B these days is really just early and gritty soul. Look at the R&B thread, Bobby Bland, J.D. Ledbetter, Betti Lou and Bobby Adams , Charles Sheffield, Jimmy Lomax. It's all fantastic dirty soul to me . We never called it R&B years ago, it was all still northern soul. True R&B usually has its own room, like at Middleton.

Just because a record gains acceptance in northern rooms, it doesn't mean that record miraculously ceases to be R&B!

[Guest Matt Male]

Oh that's what they're for, is it? It's all black and white to you isn't it?

It doesn't occur to you that some mixed nights are put on because they reflect the promoter's musical taste? Or that there might be a following for this sort of night, some of which are long-established?

Just my opinion Dave. I'm allowed that eh?

What's the promotor's taste got to do with anything? I like rock music but i wouldn't be sticking Van Halen and Deep Purple on alongside the soul music unless i didn't think i could get enough soulies in and needed the rock fans to pack out the room.

In my opinion they play different genres so they get a mix of more people into those different genres.

So yes it is black and white to me.

Edited October 23, 2008 by Matt Male

[Guest Matt Male]

Just because a record gains acceptance in northern rooms, it doesn't mean that record miraculously ceases to be R&B!

That wasn't what i said was it? I said what people sometimes claim is R&B is, IN MYOPINION, soul music.