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hopefully they teach their new employees how to properly press records... i've gotten many good united pressings but most are quite mediocre if not blatantly defective. their plating sucks and they're pressing too many records to have consistent quality control (i think they operate 24/7).

"Me and the gambler, we couldn't agree
We got in a fight over Tennessee,
Pulled our guns and he fell with a thud
And I rode away on a Tennessee Stud"

James Driftwood

I have a dream.

That one day all of the people interested in vinyl, turntables and audio equipment can read a story devoid of Michael’s political thoughts.

I have a dream.

That last paragraph was completely out of left field. I can’t even enjoy reading about records and audio - on a site about records and audio - without being virtue signaled about something completely irrelevant. Why do I come here???

Politics and the like only hurt, never help. It is getting to the point where one can't even exist or breath without permission or being harshly judged without evidence backed facts.
So far it is apparently wrong and soon to be illegal I guess to be not on any side, to be educated, to be intellectual, to have concern for others, to be ethical or fair, to be anything other than evangelical Christian or non-religious, even to have a broad taste in music. If it isn't one side of government or groups trying to impose it's will on everyone, it's the other. It seems living in peace is forbidden.
I happen to agree with what MF posted and I agree with ML "everything does seem to be turning to shit everywhere" and I can show proof unfortunately.

While, on the face of it, this may appear to be very encouraging for vinyl as a format, what disappoints me is that it involves GZ Media and United Record Pressing. Neither one of these can be considered quality oriented operations as respects vinyl record pressing? I would rather see facilities being commissioned by people whose focus is on producing quality vinyl records with strict quality control. I avoid anything that is pressed by Memphis Record Pressing and United, like the plague. What America needs is more vinyl pressing manufacturers like Cleveland's Gotta Groove Records which, in my experience, produces the best quality records in the U.S.A.

Tennessee is perfect.

That way it's more cost effective to get the records to where they will be burned!

Let's see if book publishers follow suit.

(I apologize, I didn't mean to take a political stand, really just joking about things, in general.)

The same joke could apply to all the record and book burnings that those cursed liberal states would endorse.

"Tolerance" is a BS word. It implies disapproval of something but allowing it to exist.

I prefer, honestly, "apathy."

As in, "I am apathetic about someone's gender, race, etc."

I think it is better to not care about these differences rather than saying we 'tolerate' them.

Hope that made sense, I meant it in a wholey positive way.

Or take any freebies.

Then we could all gladly pay $50 to $100 per album made out of material we could eat after playing it once. And there would quotas on who would be pressed having nothing to do with talent or what people want to hear. Businesses and people are moving to TN due to the business climate and lower cost of living and not having to put up with all the PC crap. It seems conservatives are a lot more tolerant of liberals and progressive artist's music than the other way.

when someone makes a statement supporting human rights and opposing bigotry on their own platform.

to read the bill? I have heard some talking points, and some over-the-top rhetoric, but again, did anyone take the time to read it? I read through it, and what they are proposing seems reasonable. Don't forget, this bill only prohibits formal teachings to K-3, but in 4th grade, they can have formal instruction. Do you realize the age we are talking about? If I remember correctly, about 10 years of age. Again, perfectly reasonable. I didn't get anything like that when I was 10, hell I barely received anything in high school, and it was called Biology then. I have three grown children, and I can tell you, I wouldn't have wanted my children under 10 to have any sort of sexual content taught to them. You call it basic human rights, I call it indoctrination, and I'm not okay with that. They are my minor children, and I am their parent. I pay taxes to the district I live in, and I agree with this reasonable bill. However, I don't have a problem after 10 years of age. Again, I feel that age is reasonable. This is not a "basic human rights" issue, it is about putting the decision into the hands of the parents, and not all of the "anyone can be elected to" school boards we have seen throughout the country.

Now that is out of the way, I just want to say that I appreciate and welcome differing opinions, but not on my favorite site regarding vinyl. I am not going to tell you your business, but I too wish this would be a political-free zone. Michael, I get that you don't like DeSantis. You have earned your opinion, as have I. Malachi, I do not know if Michael has children, but I am guessing you do not due to your age. I'm not saying you have to have skin in the game to have an opinion, but it certainly wouldn't hurt. I think the comment that we should stop bitching, and return to listening to our Kid Rock CD's is pretty condescending. How are you better than any person that trolls this site, and gets banished by Michael?

I completely agree with you as to Parent's responsibility and NOT teaching or indoctrinating 5 to 10 year olds concerning the topic of sex and sexuality. In the early 70s, we had a health course in high school which included sexual behavior information; primarily, on sexually transmitted diseases.

I thought Fremer was an attorney like me, non-practicing, who should know better and read the legislation prior to making assumptions as to its content.

"My only concern is that the TN legislature will forbid the pressing of records by LGBTQ artists, gay themed albums and Disney products" That is a dumb comment and you should remove it from the article!

I've seen him lowering the bar and hanging out with one of those crazed right wingers at a Stones show in Philly.

Please read the bill. Essentially it prohibits sexual orientation and gender identity from classrooms from kindergarten through third grade. That's not profound, dozens of other states have passed similar laws, and please understand that it is not only within their right to do - but it is their job to oversee curriculum.

Disney can disagree all they want. Was it petty or childish for DeSantis to strip it of it's self governing privileges? I think so. Nut I think it's important to recognize the difference between this childish action vs an unconstitutional restriction on Disney's right to free speech. At no point can a governor tell a company that they cannot produce content that violates their first amendment rights.

Such a thing will, and cannot happen in Tennessee. Government oversight of curriculum is not the same as government violation of freedom of speech. A legislature cannot ban records by LGBT artist or Disney. That's preposterous, and the Supreme Court would easily deem it a violation.

I love that we're producing more vinyl btw! Wonderful news! I hope they emphasize quality.

One other thing. Look it's totally cool and within your right to tell us how you feel anytime on your site or blog or whatever. Please recognize that a lot of people are totally hungover from politics though. The Orange Menace, the riots, and Covid have totally put a lot of people way off. Music can be an amazing way to escape from this BS just as much as it can be a conduit and expression of it.

What I'm saying in a nutshell is that it's a fine line, and when readers get the sense that your posts are more about political opinions they seek to escape from - and less about what they actually tune in for - they may stop tuning in.

It is painfully vague and, in some places, contradicts itself. It prohibits teachers from discussing anything related to sexual identity through grade 3, but then fails to define what that means. The age limits are not really defined, as it says elsewhere that any instruction must be "age appropriate", whatever that means. If one student has two fathers or two mothers, or if Johnnie comes to class one day as Joanie, the teacher had better keep their mouth shut about that fact. If any student is scorned and made fun of by the others the teacher had better stay out of it or they can be sued. Overall, a very poorly written piece of legislation that attempts to deny the realities of life and may violate the First Amendment.

You saved me the trouble of writing just that.
By the way, do posters no longer spell or grammar check before posting?

I am an audiophile and I like to discuss politics, too. Interesting thing is that I do not know one audiophile fellow here in my Vienna, who would not be interested to share his/her thoughts. To be honest, I find it very interesting to read the polarized comments here. I welcome it.
Just wondering, why is the majority of the haters of political discussion living on the right side of the fence?

Glad you allow adults to post what they want. One your sister website, the (still fairly new) editor-in-chief spends a lot of time policing comments. Your approach evinces confidence in the value you bring to your readers and in the value your readers bring to your content. His does not.

The right wing nut jobs all protest against Mikey’s freedom of speech but are fine with the Southern laws restricting the freedoms of liberals. The ways of the Nazi sympathizers. Don’t like the label? Then don’t act the part.

This comment is for you, anomaly7. As a religious, Conservative intellectual Jew, I cannot be associated with either the right wing Nazis or the left wing Commies. My comments concerning the topic were concerning Mr. Fremer's uncalled for comments concerning Tennessee and Florida politics, not free speech.

I’ll take awkward segues for $500, Alex.

The great conservative intellectual William F. Buckley once said, “Liberals claim to want to give a hearing to other views, but then are shocked and offended to discover that there are other views.” Who shuts down free speach at college campuses when they don't agree with the viewpoint of the speaker. Liberals are scared to death that Elon Musk will restore free speak. Who leads the cancel culture and boycotts on businesses they don't agree with. It appears that some on this site is starting early by the reference to Kid Rock. We can decide on our own just like we did with CNN+.

William F. Buckley once said of Donald Trump, "this is a narcissist we don't want in politics".

but i'd like to make a few points real quick.

1. i'm not sure what CNN+ has to do with any of this. seems like more vague conspiracy shit that's brought up to waste everyone's time and distract us from the real issues.

2. my stance on what's happening in florida is simply a pro-human stance. teaching young kids that some people might end up romantically/sexually gravitating towards a person of the same gender/sex, or feeling that they don't belong in their gender assigned at birth, is NOT "indoctrination." rather, it's teaching acceptance of basic human differences that are proven by science. it's as simple a human difference as "there are old people and there are young people" or "there are people who come from different place." teaching acceptance of such basic human differences at a young age INCLUDING gender and sexuality differences would lead to a better society that's more tolerant of said differences. the fact that this is a political issue is idiotic. the reason i have an opinion on this is because seeing such bigotry and hatred exist in the world for absolutely no fucking reason is really depressing and makes the world a worse place. FOR NO FUCKING REASON! imagine how much more advanced (and pleasant!) society would be if racism, sexism, homophobia, transphobia, and classism didn't exist... except those things unfortunately do exist and it keeps humanity from reaching its full potential.

anyway, that's it, i'm outta here. to the sensible voices of reason in this comments section (especially TomL who provided us an excellent analysis of this nonsense florida bill), thank you for passionately arguing about the fine details of this shit so i don't have to. and to the people who consider discussion of basic human rights to be some sort of unspecified "indoctrination" or whatever, fuck off. i don't want to have anything to do with you.

I'm glad to see any entity invest in new vinyl production. This is great news for the industry and great news for people who live in the area of the plant with new potential job openings.

LPs pressed at their Czech Rep plant are just fraught with ticks and noise. Do they even know what quality control is? Horrible performance on many releases.

Are there any immediate giveaways? I can go on discogs and start looking up dead wax but I was wondering if there was an easier way. For that matter, other pressings too.

The problem with both sides is they take things too far. Going after Disney is a childish move. But at the same time is first grade the place to be telling kids about gender or just the place to tell them to be kind to all other students?
Informing kids that the way they see the world might be different than the way someone of a different race experiences it is a good thing. And asking them to be aware of the way they treat people that look different is also good. Having little kids ask if they were born bad because they are white is probably not a good thing. Segregating the students to teach them about race seems idiotic. Teach them to notice instances where they could be acting in a racist way but telling them that white people are inherently racist seems like grouping one color of people and saying they all have a characteristic that just some have....
Teachers can't kick out kids that get loud and belligerent in class anymore because that could be racist. Somehow teaching right and wrong and respect isn't a good thing? If we can teach them that a variety of different sexual orientations are a good social norm then why can't we teach them that respect for others can be a good social norm too.
Teachers can't send little 2nd grade girls home to change when they are wearing short shorts that show off their butt cheeks because that would be sexist. But we can teach them who they might be wanting to show those cheeks to?
I know that some will say the extreme examples given are made up or are the rare case but if you don't have a very well defined curriculum for either of these things then you have teachers (some who aren't very good) getting a chance to really inject their own beliefs.
Just imagine if it were decided that religion is a big thing in this country so teachers should teach 6 year old kids about God. Oh the screams we would hear....

I live in TN. I quit all social media a few years ago. Lots of folks are “escaping” from NY and CA finding freedom and common sense in this wonderful low tax conservative state. Please keep your NY politics in that state and enjoy.

It's Michael's blog and he keep writing whatever he wants. Anyone that doesn't like it, doesn't have to visit here anymore. Simple as that.

This is why I usually won't engage with people on these issues.
Nobody-and I do mean NOBODY-is telling white kids that they are "inherently racist" because of the color of their skin. That's a straw man argument, an exaggerated fallacy set up to change the subject. Nobody currently alive was responsible for slavery or starting racism. That's different from teaching history as it actually happened and recognizing that what happened in the past has had repercussions in the present. And where did this stuff about "butt cheeks" come from?
When you concede yourself that you are using "extreme examples" that are "made up" then you are going "too far".

with the political agenda garbage!!! I don't come here to AP to read all this krapp, especially coming from one of the main writers. Stop it Michael Fremer!!!! I have a gigantic amount of respect for the Steve Hoffman Forums, they have a ZERO tolerance for politics. There are a gazillion other sites to visit to read about someone's political agenda, I don't need it creeping into my hobby.
This is horse dung, I come here to read about a new pressing plant only to be onslaught by all this....HORSE DUNG!!!

LPs pressed from this substance are notoriously crackly.
They also have a peculiar odor.

...that we have a POLITICAL discussion that's gone sideways. The person who actually thinks that their articulate powers of persuasion will finally convince those with the opposite viewpoint is a fool or a politician. Avid readers united in their love of vinyl broken into separate factions. To what end? Now that IS horseshit!

1) The CNN+ failure shows how replete with disdain "the people" are with WOKE agendas and Liberalism these days.  Just wait and see what happens this Midterm!

2) I am a conservative republican. However, I'm open to considering different ideas/opinions.....which seems to be a very difficult concept for most Liberals to reciprocate. As far as introducing young children to sexuality/identity politics, 0-12 years old (from non-parental authority figures) I think is a Morally reprehensible idea.  Let children figure this out on their own - Nature's way. This is not a "Human rights" issue. Children are not fully formed adults/humans and not capable of forming their own resolute opinions (at this age).

While we're at it, zero tolerance policy for man-buns will be strictly enforced!!!

...launched by anyone is a welcome occurrence.

Leonard Bernstein, Aaron Copland, Michael Tilson Thomas, one member of Queen? I never discriminated against sexual orientation in my huge music library. Do you believe as a "White" child that I cared about gender or race of the music I was listening to (I listened to doo wop, rock, pop, opera and classical music from 3 years old).

No, children should NOT be thinking about sex or discrimination of people when they are under 10 years old. That's child abuse unless they ask a question of a parent, religious consultant or physician.

I don't want a sexual pervert or predator of straight or gay or other sexual orientation teaching my kids or grandkids ever.

Shelby Lynne, Joe Jackson (Night and Day is stupendous and beautifully recorded), Billy Strayhorn.....

Been to Europe in the last 50 years? In the USA The default price is $3. So complain about about a buck? (not a typo)