For me that's the case anyhow.

Now you can get damn near anything you want. It's too easy. Back in the day, me and my friends used to go on these extravagant treasure hunts for material. And it was tough for us cause we lived in St. Louis. There wasn't much of shit to be found there. And you were always looking for that diamond in the rough that was gonna make somebody's jaw drop. You know, that shit that you would hold on to for weeks before you'd dub a copy for somebody. Makin' cats beg for it.

Ahh...those were the days.

There's was this one spot I used to go to. Had to drive quite a piece, but not too bad by today's standards. Great place, but the problem was that they wouldn't hold anything for you. So I had to drive a couple hundred miles not knowing if the stuff they confirmed was there before I left would still be there when I arrived. It was only after about 6 or 7 of these trips and over $1000 spent that the owner started holding stuff for me. But the trips were worth it because you came back with shit nobody else had at the time. Of course, all that stuff is secondhand...hell even thirdhand now.

There's no fun in it anymore.

I guess so...

bananacologne said:

No, no, no...

bananacologne said:

Hey!!! Those are the boots u gave me!!!

it is true,

it is still fun but in a totally different way...

I know you're point, but before I had to pay for them, now I get them for free

Yes, I guess you want what you can't have and when it was tough to get high quality Prince bootlegs, I was probably more excited when I got one. I'll never forget in '88 when I got the "Small Club" boot...that blew my mind beyond what anything could now.

But you can't beat "The Royal Hub" and the Prince multimedia newsgroup and every other way to share Prince's unreleased/live music now. This is definitely better than sending cassette tapes all over the earth trading with people that way.

TonyC said:

And that's precisely the point. I'll bet that copy of "Small Club" meant even more if you were one of the only ones you knew with it.

Don't get me wrong. I still enjoy them, but part of the thrill was in the hunt.

Romance1600 said:

co-sign.

TonyC said:

I just got this as a Christmas gift... It is priceless for someone like me who never had a chance to listen to this music.


.
[This message was edited Thu Jan 8 15:23:40 PST 2004 by sag10]

Let's see...before the internet I was "lucky" enough to find a few HORRIBLE sounding and cheaply produced bootlegs for anywhere from $30-$50 or so for A SINGLE CD. I had The Black Album (oh, the quality was so awful!) and a few other pieces of crap. I figured that all bootlegs were like that...but of course would still buy one if I was somewhere and happened to come across one.

Now? I have almost everything - and at no cost (except the computer and internet access, obviously). And you still have to look around and hunt them down, so you still have the thrill of seeking them out. It's not like you go on Google and type "Prince bootlegs" and start downloading or anything. Thankfully, there's Housequake and the Org and the Hub...but you gotta do some leg work just to find out about those, you know? I have SO many live shows and unreleased studio tracks and rehearsals...and I listen to all of them. I'm IN the fucking Dawn, and I welcome my DANG self.

bananacologne said:

those boots remind me of the ones susan wore in the "sex shooter" video!!!

violator said:

I agree, I miss those days of going to the record stores in Westwood, CA and finding everything under the sun. But I definitely have saved thousands on the Net and found stuff I would never have known about otherwise. I would think Prince was happy that bootleggers aren't making money off of him as much now, but at the same time I've talked to a few musicians about their own bootlegs on the net, and the main complaint they have is that it was never meant to be released, so it's like an unfinished painting. Sure the fans love it, but you can see why the artist may not want anyone to hear or see it until it's done, or good enough for release.

bananacologne said:

f**kin scary bc !!!

theblueangel said:

I think some folks are missing my point. The internet has definitely made acquiring boots easier and with much less risk. And if you're one who was constantly coming across shitty boots back in the day I can certainly understand your frustration. This is simply about the fun that went into finding and discovering something rare and unique. Prince boots nowadays are as common as anything you'd find at your local Best Buy. There's literally nothing I couldn't get if I wanted it. While I enjoy the ease of acquiring them, there is a fun to it that, IMO, is lost now.

DMSR said:

Now that's a wonderful point right there. With the net I have certainly been made aware of so much out there that I had no idea existed previously.

violator said:

I hear what you're saying...but for me, although I can get anything, I have to put some time and effort in at the computer, and I also need a bit of luck. For example, I won't be able to get the new Xenophobia set right away, but at some point it'll show up in one of my spots and I'll gleefully download the whole thing and listen to it everywhere I go for the next few weeks. I dunno. I get EXTREMELY excited when I download a new Prince song, let alone a whole bootleg. I could care less about some stupid artwork. I guess I never really was old enough to know how to look for bootlegs the old school way...

theblueangel said:

heheh..i actually agre with you both...
I used to do that 'hunting' thing as well...trekking all over the place to find these little hole in the wall record stores that no-one knew about...it was almost kinda like prohibition & the speakeasies back in the day...I remember this one store i used to go into...you couldn't really even 'say' the word "bootleg"
...you had to go up to the counter (he kept all of the boots locked up and out of site behind the counter) and you'd have go to the counter and know some sort of code word or phrase or something before he'd pull you aside and let you see what he had available that day...it was all hush hush and shit...
yeah I'll admit there was some fun/adventure in that... although it wasn't fun paying so much $$$ for stuff you weren't even sure you were going to be able to hear (this was before the internet...back then there were no reviews on content or sound quality..it was like a crap shoot.)

I've recently dicovered that these days is much more easy and much less of a gamble with all of the data reviews on the web...but like Blueangel said, you do still have to do SOME hunting...and there is even still some of the 'speakeasy' vibe that still exists...you kinda can't say EXACTLY what you mean yaknow? So there is still some 'fun' to be had...

Its just gotten less expensive. And thank god too because I've got a Wife,two kids, a dog and a turtle to feed. I can't be spending $1,000's of dollars on boots like back in the old days!

Sure there are places you can still pay a decent amount for boots if you really want...but as I've very recently found there are also some very kind & generous fellow music lovers out there as well who will gladly share with you for free! My hats off to them...and in the end I'm glad it evolved into this new environment...because thats the best thing really...the more people everywhere hear all of the great rare live rehearsal music thats out there the better...its the real most exciting music...and after all its always about the music right?

well i gotta go ..off to another music speakeasy...(shhh...cmere...todays secret codeword is...)


[This message was edited Fri Jan 9 3:44:09 PST 2004 by justhemusic]

theblueangel said:

u my muthafucka sometimes

rdhull said:

yeah, i meant to comment on that line too...that shit cracked me up bluangel...

Hey - I'm an artist, and my only aim is to please...

I love y'all.

Well, it was more fun in the past when not everyone knew about them. These days you have posts appearing in these pages saying: "I just downloaded some rare Prnce boot jamz from Kazaa! I have "Extraluveable", "Open Book", "Big Tal Wall" and "Friendloversistermother/Wife! When were this amazing jams rcorded?"

That's why I love fakes. They can still be a good watershed to tell the difference between people who shouldn't be getting this stuff and people who are ready for it. My guideline is, if you do not own at least 90% of his official output stay the hell away from bootlegs.

Cause I wanna keep them to myself!

Although it is much easier to acquire boots these days

sadly the quality is going down.

and I swear it is not different to trading tapes like we used to. Now come on everyione who wants to tell me there is no loss because its a totally digital transfer.

Now I will tll you about the MANY losers out tehre who are trading mp3 sourced discs as originals. Some are not losers, som ejust got burned and didnt even know of it until someone told them later it was an mp3 sourced disc.

So someone downloads a complete boot off the net, converts it to wav, edits it and trades it as an original copy, someone gets that transfers it to mp3 , puts it on thenet , same loser does it again , downloads the boot off the net, converts it to wav, edits it and trades it as an original copy,

just HOW is that different from getting 2nd, 3rd hell even 4th generation copies ? ITS NOT !

I dont accept trades anymore unelss they are proved to NPOT be mp3 sourced, there is a significant difference between mp3 quality and an original wav file.

I have just about everything in mp3, if I wanted taht on an audio cd I could burn it myself and listen to it in the car or whatever , but I am NEVER going to trade that disc as an original copy.

But sadly so many people are doing that these days - it is geting too dangerous to trade.

I either request a sample disc with a sample of a track fgrom each boot so I can test it myself with an audio editor or if they have the know-how they can do it themselves and show me the proof.

Every disc I trade I have checked and are huranteed to NOT me mp3 sourced - all are DIRECT copies of originals.

I think old traders and NEW alike should start doing this

The quality of boots as good as it is anyway is getting worse because of these people. The only we can get this is at the source. If they realise people arent going to accept these discs then hopefully that will be the end of this garbage.

See? 'Funky' ain't having no fun.

violator said:

I agree that when ppl got boots, ppl discussed them and were more informed since they came with booklets which contained valuable information. Now, ppl just download the stuff and say "I just downloaded this song, Moonbeam Levels..is this Prince?" Oh Lord...I know we all have to start somewhere. Ppl NEVER started this rough before downloaded music was this popular.

FunkyStrange said:

to keep from editing away

FunkyStrange said:

Hmmm. Actually there isn't, unless you're using a crap codec and most people are using LAME (or similiar) these days anyway. See what happens is that the MP3 format removes all the unnecessary information to human ears from the original file and further conversions have nothing to remove anymore. When you reconvert something back to wav it's essentially still the same MP3 data, but just in a different broader format. Converting that again back to MP3 provides no further loss (at least if it's been converted with the same settings and a typical codec). MP3 doesn't degenerate like tape copies. And what's more important, no hiss.

There are however several other ways to screw up audio quality in conversions. And using one of those ancient codecs is certainly one.

Boots I had before the internet:

Cross the Line
Extra Lovable
Paisley Libido
The Royal Jewels
He's Got the Look
Live at the LA Sports Arena 1989 (Colored records)
Live in Houston 1981 (Great Show even as a boot)
Live on Arsenio Hall Show 1991 (Prince and the New Power Genelation (That was hilarious))
Black Album +8

Since having the net, I got most of these tracks in BETTER quality.

rdhull said:

what is you point ?

are you trying to prove something ?

and what is there to edit ?

damn just get over yourself man

FunkyStrange said:[quote]
- it is geting too dangerous to trade.


sounds like a job for Columbo.
he's no stranger to danger.