05/18/08 - Some thoughts (rant) from me.

FILE SHARING

Obviously, Type O Negative is my favorite band.  In my opinion, they are the best band in the genre.  If you like their music, BUY it.  If you don't know whether or not you like it, buy a copy of Bloody Kisses and listen to it.  Bloody Kisses is one of the best albums / CDs ever made, and it will give you a good idea of what the band is about.  Whatever you do, don't download their music on one of those file sharing networks.  In doing so, you'd be doing yourself and the band a disservice.  Not only is it illegal, but the sound quality is often lousy, and the band doesn't get their well deserved royalties.  Buy the music.

BOOTLEGS

Ok, it's bad enough for bootlegs to even exist.  The worst thing about bootlegs is that the band doesn't get any royalties from them (not even the "real" bootlegs).  That's why they should be (and are) illegal.  That being said,  I must admit that I'm such a fan of Type O Negative, I'm guilty of buying and owning (never selling) Type O Negative bootlegs.  You can see some of them on this page. 

FAKE BOOTLEGS and FAKE CDs

What's really got me pissed off lately is these people on eBay that are selling bootlegs and passing them off as "factory pressed".  I've had about enough of that.  The sellers responsible for this should absolutely be ashamed of themselves.  It spoils the music collecting experience for music collectors as well as the eBay experience for eBay buyers.

There are at 15 (16, if you count both versions of Stone Flowers) different "real" factory pressed Type O Negative bootlegs.  You can see them toward the bottom of this page.  These do indeed exist as real factory pressed CDs (albeit unauthorized), but they are also being counterfeited (homemade - printed and burned on CD-Rs).  There are also bootlegs being passed off as "factory pressed" that never existed at all as real factory pressed CDs.  Case in point: "Berlin Sucks".

It is possible to tell the difference between the REAL factory pressed CDs and the counterfeit (homemade) ones.  The real factory pressed CDs are silver bottomed, factory pressed CDs (not CD-Rs).  Most have at least some shiny silver showing on the top side, with professional print and artwork on the shiny silver surface.  Many come with glossy booklets and/or inserts.  Most of the fake ones used to have printed paper adhesive labels on the topside.  In more recent times, with the advent of printers capable of printing direct to disc, and CDs with printable surfaces, they've been more authentic-looking.  The fake ones usually have the artwork and text printed on a dull, matte finish (sometimes silvery or gray) on the topside, with no shiny silver.  Some are glossy-topped, with the print printed on a glossy white printable surface.  Some are also shiny silver topped with black print (text only- no artwork) on top (thanks to thermal CD printers).  Even more recently, some CD-R manufacturers have come out with water resistant printable discs.  With all of this new technology and media available, it has become more difficult to spot fake CDs (CD-Rs), and easier for low-life scum, bottom feeding, unethical, shameless assholes to make and sell them. 

There are software programs out there than can positively identify and tell the difference between CD-Rs and true CDs.  One of them is "SmartBurn", available from the Lite-On IT Corporation.  You can download it here.  I don't know if it works with only Lite-On brand drives or if it works with other brands as well.  I do know that if you have a Lite-On drive, you can use SmartBurn to identify a suspect disc.  CD-Rs are identified as such, often showing the brand/manufacturer of the CD-R.  Real CDs are identified as CD-ROMs.  Thank you Bacchus, for that information.

If you've been ripped off by a seller on eBay, I urge you to file a formal complaint with eBay.  Even if you don't get your money back, you should still raise hell.

END RANT (for now)