This is an automated archive made by the Lemmit Bot.

The original was posted on /r/piracy by /u/TranscendentalLove on 2024-10-21 04:41:56+00:00.

…this music was ONLY on the internet archive. It wasn’t on Spotify/Apple/Tidal/Deezer/Qobuz/Amazon; It wasn’t on private torrenting trackers like OiNK/What/Waffles/RED/OPS; it wasn’t on Usenet/Soulseek/public torrenting; it wasn’t even on YouTube/Facebook/Instagram/TikTok; it wasn’t available in stores; it sometimes wasn’t even CATALOGUED on MusicBrainz/Discogs/Wikipedia.

I’m talking about hand-ripped 78s that were ripped in like 10 different ways and then using audiological knowledge determined what the best rip was for the end-user.

I actually HAVE some of these, but I am finding that I didn’t write down any metadata and there is NO information on the years, artist, context, b-sides, label, etc ANYWHERE, let alone a copy.

I’m well-aware of the breadth and depth of rare music. I’m aware of obscure demos; 60s and 70s Vinyl-only pressings that were never remastered or re-released on CD; I’m aware of limited run stuff…

…NONE of that compares to music from the 1910s-1930s and how much of it was archived on the internet archive. I’m talking B-Sides and everything. EVEN THEN, they wouldn’t have everything, but they had so much.

I’m a young man – this music isn’t my forte – it became an acquired taste, like all music I now understand. So I am very intrigued and interested and love compiling and even listening to it, but I’m not in the position to truly be motivated to archive all this music like it deserves to. Yet even with my proximity to it, it sometimes feels like I’m the only one who even knows it exists.

Some of these songs are the original recordings of songs everyone knows today as standards; ballads. Some of these songs led to entire genres being formed. Some of these songs feature now-extinct sensibilities and lyrics that are just truly a delight to experience.

I miss the internet archive and I want it back. I have a slew of music I would like to cross-reference; I have many more songs and b-sides from the top (now Billboard then something else) charts of the 20s-40s I want to explore.

It’s hard to not feel like this is symbolic of where we are at as a world. It feels a bit eerie knowing this is happening, as if society is decaying in real-time around-us. I hope it’s back online soon.