# Our Musical Dilemma



## Guest (May 4, 2015)

I was in a CD and DVD store today and found a Mingus Big Band Live In Tokyo CD. It didn't have Mingus on it since he's dead but it was his band with a different bassist. It was marked down to $3 and it was brand new not used. So I decided to buy it and the cashier said it was in the 50% off aisle and so charged me $1.56--a for a new CD. 

Part of me likes this, of course, because who would turn down a great jazz recording brand new that's cheaper than most used CDs? But another part of me winces. If jazz was valued in this society, such a CD would never be gotten that cheap. It was that cheap because they wanted to move it. Would a Katy Perry CD be that cheap even used? I strongly doubt it.

We're in an age where trash is valued and gold is discarded. The problem is, there's so much more trash than gold. We'll never run out of it because we make so much of it without even trying. On the other hand, it's not like jazz is going to dry up and blow away. So maybe we jazz lovers are getting the better part of the deal. The downside is, if jazz can't sell, the amount of jazz available for consumption declines with it.

I'm just musing, not offering any complaint or solution--if indeed either proves to be necessary. What say you?


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## GreenMamba (Oct 14, 2012)

Victor Redseal said:


> Would a Katy Perry CD be that cheap even used? I strongly doubt it.


It might. Often books on remainder are pretty big sellers that had too large print runs. Cheap used CDs online are often from once poplar acts. That's all it is: supply exceeding demand.


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## brotagonist (Jul 11, 2013)

What say I?

It's not a Mingus CD  Like you said, Mingus is dead and this album is by the remnants of his band. The group is trying to cash in on Mingus' fame by continuing to use his name. Clearly, few fans are interested in this album. That's why it's so cheap. The same with the Velvet Underground album that came out after Lou Reed left the group, or the Doors album(s?) that came out after Jim Morrison's death. Almost nobody wants those albums.


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## Antiquarian (Apr 29, 2014)

Victor Redseal said:


> We're in an age where trash is valued and gold is discarded. What say you?


Just point me in the direction where the gold is discarded, and I'm there.

But seriously, I know where you are coming from. I bought a John Mayall & The Bluesbreakers CD at Virgin Records for a ridiculously low price awhile ago, and I consider that gold. Others may consider that trash; who's to say? But I have to agree with you that there does seem to be more valued trash out there. It's an epidemic of cultural malaise.


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