Album covers often distract us from whether the actual music is any good—or they can be masterpieces in their own right, regardless of what's on the disc. Some are pure art... others are total disasters. What covers do you think are the best, the most visually striking, or just your personal favorites? It’s also a decent excuse to discover some music behind a great visual that we might have missed before.
Walter Grant5 said:Yeah, there are times when we're talking about media as a physical asset. It’s basically just a trade—cash for product. Of course, that "rule" is totally imaginary; nobody actually has to follow it if they don't feel like it. My point was specifically about what was mentioned in the opening post, though. The topic at hand. A movie screening.
Since DVDs were mentioned in the first post, I'll just say...
Walter Grant5 said:I don't care about the whining. Honestly. Everyone’s got the right to vent and air their grievances, even if they're just bitching about everyday nonsense or trashing stuff that isn't even meant to be critiqued. People who feel differently (like me) have the same freedom to say so.
Expecting a refund just because a movie wasn't your cup of tea is pure fantasy. That kind of logic only exists in some weird utopia.
Not necessarily. You can walk into certain big-box retailers—maybe even some local ones, I'm not sure—and get a full refund on various goods without giving a single reason. Just like that. Buy a DVD, realize it sucks, send it back.
Movie theater screenings are a different beast, sure, but if we go down that road, people would be demanding refunds for Broadway plays or an Inter Miami CF match too. At that point, we’re just chasing absurdity.
You can return a pair of jeans, but you aren't getting a refund for watching a terrible movie. That’s actually proof the film isn't just some mediocre filler—it’s somehow elevated above the status quo. It's like: ...So you want your money back? Not a chance. You think you're in a retail store? Well, that's art for you.
At least nowadays you don't have to go in blind. You can look up everything about a movie before you even step foot in the theater—which is a double-edged sword, because once you see the reviews, you might decide it isn't worth your time at all. Then again, judging art is always a gray area; what one critic calls a masterpiece, someone else might call total garbage. But here’s the real question: how do you stop those shameless people who actually liked the movie from trying to demand a refund later just because they changed their minds? Out in the real world, there's been a trend where you can return products you aren't happy with within a week or two without much explanation—something that doesn't really fly with DVDs. And honestly, given the cost of living, movie tickets in the US are getting pretty damn expensive.
urbannomad30 said:It’s also worth noting that sampling isn't just some hip-hop thing—you see top-tier rock bands doing it too. Take Porcupine Tree using those weird radio snippets on *Stupid Dream*, or Wilco on *Yankee Hotel Foxtrot*. They actually ended up in a legal mess because they didn't clear the samples beforehand.
It still catches me off guard when I find out a staple part of some rock track is actually just a sample—like finding out the intro to Bittersweet Symphony by The Verve was built that way. Bittersweet Symphony The Verve basically lifted that orchestral vibe from The Rolling Stones—and given that the Stones employ legal teams capable of driving anyone insane, it didn't take long for the lawsuit to hit.
Let's not overlook the drum sampling aspect. For instance, that brief, fascinating drum break by G. C. Coleman—later dubbed the amen break—is a foundational element in thousands of modern tracks. It was borrowed by groups like Powerpuff Girls and , and it basically laid the groundwork for an entire genre—can you guess which one? The creator never saw a single cent from it, nor did he ever ask for it.
Sounds interesting—I'll give it a spin. I'm always down to dig up some new music. 👍
Never actually heard this guy's stuff before, but looking at the credits, his debut dropped back in '95 and features enough synth work to ensure he doesn't end up as a punchline in the Guinness 🤷
I agree—sampling shows up in all sorts of contexts. It’s a completely different beast than what Vanilla Ice was doing in Ice, Ice, Baby compared to some avant-garde piece layered with ambient field recordings. Even if Vanilla Ice-style sampling gets more public approval, it actually stirs up way more controversy than those experimental tracks.
For me, an absolutely fascinating and brilliant album is Endtroducing DJ Shadow. It actually landed in the Guinness World Records as an album constructed entirely from samples from start to finish. There isn't a single sound on there that isn't a sample—and considering the gear he used to pull it off, you really have to hand it to the guy.
Sampling is essentially taking a pre-recorded sound and repurposing it within a new context—basically, turning it into a new musical composition.
A quick history lesson: Sampling as a concept really kicks off alongside advancements in recording technology, stretching back to the 1960s—if not earlier. Back then, artists from all sorts of disciplines would pluck snippets of recorded sound from various sources (not always music, mind you) and weave them into their own work. For those interested in the more avant-garde side, look at William S. Burroughs or Timothy Leary, who sampled The Beatles for his album. You even have The Beatles themselves, and Simon & Garfunkel, who famously sampled their own material. 😁
Sampling blew up in the '80s when hip-hop and electro artists started using samples en masse—building entire tracks, even full albums, around them—and making some serious money in the process. Naturally, this triggered the first wave of lawsuits and messy legal battles (think Kraftwerk vs Afrika Bambaataa, Roy Orbison/Acuff-Rose vs 2 Live Crew, or Rick James vs MC Hammer). In these cases, whether sampling was deemed legal or not usually boiled down to a handful of specific, complicated factors.
Today, just like in the recent past, sampling is everywhere—from pop to rock (take Bittersweet Symphony by Verve). As expected, the legal precedents and opinions surrounding it remain just as controversial and convoluted.
What’s your take on sampling? Do you view it as a legitimate art form, straight-up theft, or somewhere in the gray area in between? 😁
It's a bit more complicated than it looks on the surface—as usual...
It’s not your typical jump scare, but I still can’t shake that moment in Child's Play when the woman realizes there aren't even any batteries in that damn doll—yet it keeps talking away perfectly fine... I was just a kid back then, and let's just say I didn't sleep much that night.
We’re getting older, and a bit of that cinematic magic has faded—it used to be that we’d sit there, eyes wide and mouths agape, completely hooked by a great movie or a killer soundtrack. But as the years pile up and you gain experience, things stop surprising you. They just become background noise. I mean, if you’ve sat through 10,000 horror flicks, what on earth does the 10,001st one have to do to actually rattle your cage? It made me think.
Dammit, maybe it's just weird to us now because our grandfathers would just sit at the table, messing around with their food, maybe skimming the paper, and lighting up a cigarette. They were bored out of their minds.
Sure, you could argue there are elements of Sci-Fi in there, but I’ve never really experienced it that way. It feels more like a genre mashup—and if we're being honest, there's hardly any Sci-Fi to speak of, especially in the first part.
Westerners love to drown their sorrows... They just suppress everything—emotions, problems, you name it—instead of actually dealing with them. Those defense mechanisms aren't there by accident. It’s how our grandparents handled things, and they managed to make it to old age without losing their minds.
All jokes aside... I know they provide receipts, but I'm not entirely sure about the specifics or how they calculate their rates. Ultimately, I assume an hour spent with someone dealing with a mild neurosis wouldn't cost nearly as much as an hour with a more complex case. 😁
Every service needs a clear price tag, and every service should come with a receipt. I know some of our healthcare workers—not all, obviously—tend to think their humanitarian efforts place them above tax laws, so they occasionally "forget" to issue a bill or report everything to the accountants. But let's not go there; I'm trying to maintain a certain level of chill on this forum. 😳
redharbor9 said:Look, if you think just throwing money at something fixes everything, go ahead and max out your credit cards to pay some grandma in Chicago the full amount upfront. You'll end up in the exact same spot. 🙂
Whether it’s a good or bad thing, I don't buy into psychotherapy or any of those spiritualist scams—so neither group is getting a dime from me. Not that I'd expect them to believe in me anyway. 😛
silentpilot6 said:It’s tough... people only see my mother because they come highly recommended, which is why she can get away with it. It isn't like some casual "knock-knock, I'd like to talk to a psychiatrist" or just showing up with a referral from a GP. 🙂
Does he actually issue receipts? What does the IRS have to say about those "guestimate" prices? 😁
There’s no need to rush straight into brain scans every single time. You can often spot organic issues just by looking at behavioral symptoms—plus, let’s be honest, imaging doesn't always catch the root cause anyway.
And don't get me started on psychotherapy being overpriced. You’re basically paying to vent on a couch for years on end. $100, sometimes even longer. Meeting once or twice a week for several years without seeing any actual progress or a "cure" is a massive money pit. Besides, if you take your car to a mechanic and they mess up, you have recourse. With therapists? They just shrug and claim you weren't "ready to do the work." Give me a break. If I drop tens of thousands of dollars on this and it fails, apparently it’s either my fault or the universe's fault. What a joke.
