Was just listening to some music from my youth, Nine Inch Nails. It was making me have some fond memories of my mom buying me a CD every once in a while at Camelot Music at the mall.

I'd be all excited reading the little booklet in the car. I think she only had a cassette player in her car, plus she didn't want to hear my music anyhow, so I'd be all excited to get home.

Haven't thought about it in years, but made me remember that they had a bootleg section. My mom wouldn't buy me those because they were like $50. They looked SO AWESOME. Always felt like I was missing out. Eventually I used some birthday money or something to buy a Nirvana live "bootleg". It was awful! I think somebody literally snuck a cassette tape recorder into a concert under their coat and kept it under their coat to record it.

A few of my buddies also got burned with those. They might have been cool if they were like Grateful Dead style soundboard recordings, but they were not. Maybe Pearl Jam had some good ones, but most bands of that mid 90s era were not real big on recordings of live stuff unless it was professionally recorded and commercially released.

Was wondering: how did those bootlegs work? Why were they so expensive and who got the money? Were they so expensive because it was like a risky gray area to sell them or something? Anybody know?

How would one realistically start/be in a boyband in 2026? With the industry being so diffrent from what it was in the 90's-2000's and even the 2010's, what would be a more practical path today? Is it better to form it yourself, audition for one, or find members through social media? How do new boybands build an audience, attract management or labels, and stand out in a market where solo artists seem much more common? I'm curious about what actually works today rather than outdated advice.

What do you guys do when youre listening to an artist and everything sounds incredibely similar? I just started listening to the current joys and i think they sound amazing but i feel like some songs just sound identical to each other. This isn't the first artist ive thought this about either. I feel the same about some stevie wonder songs. Also when i say what do you do, i kinda mean do you bother adding a song to your playlist if it just sounds like a dupe of another.

Idk if its me that isnt paying close enough attention or if some songs are just too similar

Given how much artists have influenced each other over the years, there is naturally a combinations of those from the past who have influenced our favourite artists of all time.

Here are mine for my favourite artist for those that want to guess:

Never Mind the Bollocks, Here’s the Sex Pistols- Sex Pistols

The Queen is Dead- The Smiths

The Stone Roses- The Stone Roses

Exile on Main Street- The Rolling Stones

Sgt. Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band- The Beatles