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aaronk
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| Posted: 04 March 2025 at 9:24am | IP Logged
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While I'm unable to give a definitive date, I think we are getting close to rolling out a site update to the paid database. The update won't be drastic, but it will have a better design and added fields that we will be working to add information. When the update rolls out, the new fields will likely be blank until we have a chance to do a lot of data entry, but here's what I'm hoping we will see in the near future:
- Data displayed in columns
- Added "year" field to indicate what year the CD was released
- Added "country" field to indicate which country the CD was released in
- Added "CD type" field to indicate if the CD is a full-length album, V/A comp, CD single, etc.
- A table to summarize song versions and run times
- A filter system to filter database entries by song version
With these new fields, I'm also hoping that we can start adding at least some imports and CD singles, especially when the database does not list any US CDs with the 45 version of a particular song.
Also, I'm open to adding the missing Billboard Top 40 hits, as I think many of us have wanted to see those included. Furthermore, I'm open to adding lower charting songs that might be of interest, such as songs by a major artist that missed the top 40 or songs that have become legitimate "hits" over the years despite not charting well upon release.
Finally, our own forum member, vanmeter, who specializes in graphic design, was very kind to create a fresh new logo for us, which you now see displayed here on the forum.
Thank you for being a contributor to this forum and a special thanks if you've been a paid subscriber. While the membership fee isn't huge, it has helped to pay my web developer for the upcoming changes you'll see.
Edited by aaronk on 04 March 2025 at 11:09am
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Aaron Kannowski
Uptown Sound
91.9 The Peak - Classic Hip Hop
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kaqueno
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| Posted: 04 March 2025 at 9:50am | IP Logged
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The forum is taking on new life and a new design, I love
what the new changes will be and the new logo is very cool.
Aaron Thank you for your work, dedication and your time, it
is not an easy job!
I hope in the future to be able to pay for the membership,
since due to a restriction in Argentina, it prevents me
from paying for the service with a credit card or any other
payment method (if anyone can help me with this and knows
other payment methods, I would appreciate it if you could
share them privately), I have tried in recent months, but
it is impossible.
Edited by kaqueno on 04 March 2025 at 9:51am
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Marcelo - Argentina
https://www.mixcloud.com/marcelo-guzman4/ - https://www.discogs.com/user/kaqueno/collection
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Underground Dub
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| Posted: 05 March 2025 at 10:00am | IP Logged
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The new logo looks great!
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Brian W.
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| Posted: 05 March 2025 at 10:16am | IP Logged
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Nice logo, vanmeter!
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prisdeej
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| Posted: 05 March 2025 at 2:37pm | IP Logged
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Nice artwork, vanmeter! :)
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Dave L
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eriejwg
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| Posted: 05 March 2025 at 8:44pm | IP Logged
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Outstanding logo!
I just went through a major website redesign for my own
business so I know how exciting is to unveil updates.
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John Gallagher
John Gallagher Wedding & Special Event Entertainment
Snapblast Photo Booth
Erie, PA
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mjb50
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Re: lower-charting hits, how will we nominate those, and will Pat's collection be checked in order to seed the database entries?
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aaronk
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| Posted: 06 March 2025 at 9:09am | IP Logged
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mjb50 wrote:
| Re: lower-charting hits, how will we nominate those, and will Pat's collection be checked in order to seed the database entries? |
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I'm open to suggestions on what should be added. I do think several of us collect beyond the top 40, so I'm wondering if there are key artists and/or songs that would be nice to have included. Between my collection and the collections of some of our members, I think we can come up with both vinyl (for reference) and CD sources on things that we would like to see be added.
CD reissues have almost come to a grinding halt, so the only new CDs that are still being released are for new/current albums. (I will definitely be adding the new top 40 entries; I'm just backlogged at the moment.) That means the only CDs and songs we're currently adding to the database are for current artists like Sabrina Carpenter or Kendrick Lamar. While it's nice to have the new top 40 hits in the database, I would venture that most of us care more about lower charting hits by aritsts such as The Rolling Stones, Stevie Wonder, Fleetwood Mac, etc., than we do about the latest album bomb by Drake.
What are your thoughts?
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Aaron Kannowski
Uptown Sound
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PopArchivist
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Aaron I hate to say this but the CD releases from the last 2 years on have been almost all digital. CD releases for new stuff are few and far between other then Sabrina C, Adele, K. Lamar and Taylor most albums do not come out on CD they are released to Tidal, Qobuz, Itunes etc and of course listening via streaming.
I think non-top 40 hits that are extremely well known (Romantics - What I Like About You) deserve a place but then where do you draw the line. Plenty of songs that never charted are immensely popular (Stairway to Heaven, Gimme A Man After Midnight etc) too.
Plus there are radio edits for a lot of hits that are simply not on CD still but need to be noted in the database correctly. As you correctly pointed out some import CD's should be added in instances where the 45 or edit made CD but it is not a US release (Hold On To My Love by Jimmy Ruffin for example).
As far as vinyl sources how would that work? That part is a bit confusing to me. Otherwise as I told you I am working on creating a radio edit spreadsheet that would help with the Top 40 releases....
Edited by PopArchivist on 06 March 2025 at 9:58am
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"I'm a pop archivist, not a chart philosopher, I seek to listen, observe and document the chart position of music."
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aaronk
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I agree, Rich. CD releases in general are few and far between, and the eras most members are interested in (1960s to 1990s) are even more sparse with new CD reissues.
Again, I'm open to suggestions on what should be added. I'm not really looking at it like "all top 50" or "all imports for top 40 hits" but rather "bonus entries for things we're interested in." The thought process here is keeping the database expanding a little (since practically no new CDs are coming out) without biting off more than we can chew. Plus, a lot of the "new" entries will be for CDs/albums that are already in the database. We'd simply be adding some additional tracks from those CDs.
Regarding vinyl sources, what I was getting at is that I can't just add a CD entry to the database without verifying which version of the song is on the disc. A vinyl 45 would need to be referenced to see if it matches the CD or not.
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Aaron Kannowski
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aaronk
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| Posted: 06 March 2025 at 12:08pm | IP Logged
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PopArchivist wrote:
| Plenty of songs that never charted are immensely popular (Stairway to Heaven, Gimme A Man After Midnight etc) too. |
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"Gimme, Gimme, Gimme" by Abba is a great example of something that could be added. Even though it didn't chart, it was relased as a US 45, and there is a 45 version that differs from the album version. That's something I think our members would be interested in knowing, don't you?
"Stairway To Heaven" is not as interesting since there weren't any 45s released in 1972, other than a promo that has the full-length album version. I'm not against adding it, though.
Edited by aaronk on 06 March 2025 at 12:09pm
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Aaron Kannowski
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Ringmaster_D
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I definitely like the idea of adding lower-charting hits where the single versions are drastically different from the album version. Somewhat arbitrary, I know, but even if we get
some of the great research from this chat board into the "header" of these entries that would be great start, even if the CD sources come at a later date (or not at all).
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LunarLaugh
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If we are allowing certain non top 40 entries, I think they should be represented by different font color to keep them differentiated
from selections that made the top 40.
I have to say, I enjoy the new logo although I admittedly miss the zero in "40" being a compact disc. Fairly small criticism.
This is a true massive undertaking and I applaud the efforts thus far.
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aaronk
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| Posted: 11 March 2025 at 5:07pm | IP Logged
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LunarLaugh wrote:
If we are allowing certain non top 40 entries, I think they should be represented by different font color to keep them differentiated from selections that made the top 40.
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Ron raised this point, too, so we will figure out a way to flag the non top 40 entries.
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Aaron Kannowski
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PopArchivist
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As I stated earlier for Top 40 entries I am working on every existing top 40 radio edit being identified and given to Aaron so that while it many not have made CD someone can know that it exists. How you want to handle this in the database is up to you.
I will add one thing that always bothered me about what Pat did. If the site truly wants to be "Top 40 music on CD" the promo and maxi-singles need some kind of mention. For all purposes they are "on CD" and released in the US. I realize how long it would take to update the database with the promo information but for instance if you were looking for Carly Simon's Let The River Run you can have a listing for the promo version since it is on a CD. Takes a minute to update the database like that and now when I go to search I can now seek out that edit version on the promo since I now know it exists.
These additions help make for a better "CD" database when we already know that the top 40 has went all digital each year for years now. I mean I get it if you don't want to include CD Maxi or CD promo single running times but they are just as much a part of a complete "Top 40 Music on CD" as anything else out there.
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"I'm a pop archivist, not a chart philosopher, I seek to listen, observe and document the chart position of music."
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aaronk
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| Posted: 13 March 2025 at 10:18am | IP Logged
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Rich, I completely agree, and you're not alone in wanting CD singles to be added to the database. Pat most likely excluded them from the beginning because it would have required an enormous amount of additional data entry, and it's likely he didn't have a "complete" library of CD singles to work with. By contrast, he truly has (or at least had) every disc listed in the database to be able to check them personally.
That said, I think there can be special cases (bonus entries) where some CD singles and imports can be added, especially for songs where people are still looking for a specific 45 version or promo edit and don't know where to find it. I'm thinking specifically of "Back To Back Hits" CD singles and/or import CD singles that have US 45 versions we've rarely (or never) seen show up anywhere else.
As for promo CD singles, most of us know that for the entire decade of the 1990s essentially every top 40 hit was on a promo CD in the "hit" radio version. Sure, a few exceptions pop up here and there, but largely it can be assumed that you'll find what you're looking for on a promo CD for the 1990s. I'd put those in a "maybe someday" category as far as database adds go. Including that the "Radio Edit" exists at all is, however, very helpful information and should be summarized in the notes area. I'm all about adding that info once you've passed it along to me.
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Aaron Kannowski
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Topic: New logo & site updates
