heavyharmonies

My experience with them is that many of their releases are CD-Rs. Their artwork is fine, although minimalist.

If someone sent me CDs in FUCKING SHIT condition, I'd feel the same way. So... receiving subpar condition CDs in a trade makes you feel justified in deliberately committing fraud to the tune of $750 (I don't care what you ended up refunding, your original intent was to get Peter for 750 large). Got it.

Never gunna happen. As long as eBay and PayPal place 100% of all liability on the SELLER in all transactions, sellers have no choice but to track and insure or leave themselves completely vulnerable to scammers.

Just as a singular data point, I sent off a single CD to Germany yesterday. The package was 5 ounces in weight. I charged $14 shipping. Subtracting $1.26 eBay fee just on the shipping portion, and $0.41 Paypal fee just on the shipping (I allocated the base $0.30 payment fee to the CD itself) leaves $12.33. After bulk eBay discount, the USPS out-of-pocket shipping cost was $11.49, leaving $0.84 for packing materials, labels, and insurance. After insurance, I effectively lost money on the shipping costs. So if the international shipping costs from the U.S. seem outrageous... they are. But this seller isn't getting rich on them by any means...

No sorry, just on Live365. Dumb question: Why do you need to use Winamp? Can't you just use the web-based player the link takes you to?

Yeah, the Eagles sucked it pretty bad this weekend across the board. It's not looking good.

Excellent! One of AOR's great "One hit wonders" (albumwise at any rate).

Am giving this one a thorough listen... and I don't know what happened between last year and this year to my perception of Threshold. I *really* enjoyed March of Progress, but this one bores me to tears. I have a hard time making it through the album in one sitting, as all the songs blur together. It's too "samey" across the board. I think I need to let it sit and come back to it after a few days/weeks, because I'm really NOT enjoying it and I'm not entirely sure why.

In all fariness, isn't that going to be true of ANY project that Sweet does lead vocals for? He has such a distinctive voice. If you don't like his voice, you won't like any of these projects. Personally, I think the samples thus far sound fab. P.S., Yes, the cover art is cheesy as hell.

I'm enjoying it. Good melodies, nothing earth shattering. It sounds like every other Nickelback album, which isn't necessarily a bad thing, just not evolutionary or revolutionary. Geoff... that's two today: :baneed: Shinedown just average modern rock? Sound of Madness and Amaryllis are two of the best modern hard rock albums of the last decade. Unless that wink at the end meant (to use the across-the-pond vernacular) your taking the piss. -Dan

Geoff, you voted Harem Scarem's Overload higher than Lipservice? Seriously, that is the ONE choice above which is an absolute no brainer, do not pass GO, do NOT collect $200. Harem Scarem is easily an across-the-board winner, but in that one album comparison, Gotthard destroys HS by 18.7 miles.

Josh, What you're not getting is that your proposed solution is to leave Peter having paid $450 for a homemade CD-R. While that mey be hunky dory from your standpoint, it's still a ripoff. Delbert, What you are proposing is untenable because that then causes me financial and personal liability. 1. One of them takes issue with what they received; the other party claims that isn't what they sent. Blammo, it now becomes my fault. Given that the two of them already distrust one another, that is not a minefield I am willing to step into. 2. Routing PayPal refunds and exchanges through me ( a ) causes potential tax issues and ( b ) leaves me personally vulnerable to future chargeback issues where I would be the one left holding the bag in all this mess. No. Heavy Harmonies is not and never will be an escrow service. The moderators and I have suggested a solution that we feel minimizes loss to both parties. Whether they decide to act upon it is ultimately up to them, but I will NOT be taking on liability because two traders here can't play nice with one another. I would sooner shut down the buy/sell/trade forums. -Dan [EDIT: I have changed the title of the thread so as to be less inflammatory, and it also has ramifications to people beyond the two parties currently involved.]

I goit tired of the limited storage capacity at the package level I was using, so I have upgraded to the next level up. It tripled my monthly costs, but also tripled the storage capacity. As a result, I can now expand the length of the rotation and not have to worry about cutting tracks as the year progresses to make room for others. http://www.heavyharmonies.com/cgi-bin/radio.cgi The playlist is now just shy of 12 hours of music, and all songs are 2014 releases. The list of artists included: 21 Octayne A Sound Of Thunder Adrenaline Rush Allen/Lande Amaranthe Arion Azoria Bailey Berggren Kerslake Band Brainstorm Brother Firetribe California Breed Captain Black Beard Cold Shot Crazy Lixx Crystal Viper Cullooden Dalton Delain Devil's Heaven Diesel Elvenking Empire 21 EZ Livin' Gaeleri Gemini Syndrome Gotthard Gun Barrel Harem Scarem Harmony Helix House of Lords House of X In Faith Iron Savior Julian Angel's Beautiful Beast Kissin' Dynamite Kix L.R.S. Laney's Legion Lawless Linda & the Punch Lordi Lover Under Cover Lyriel Mind Maze Moonland Moonshine Mother Road Neonfly Night By Night Outloud Overland Pavic Pretty Maids Pretty Wild Primal Fear Project Arcadia REO Speedwagon Seven Silent Force Skintrade Slears State of Salazar Steel Panther Ten Theory Of A Deadman Thomsen Three Lions Vanden Plas Vanishing Point Vega Voyager W.E.T. Within Temptation Work of Art X-Drive

Bringing this one back around, as it's deserving of a listen if people missed it when discussion was going on. Quintessential '80s lush AOR. Agree that the song 'Diana' is fatiguing, but the rest of the album is quite good. It probably won't hit my top 5, but it's just outside.

So... where is this actually buyable other than for $30-40 as a Jap import? I see individual songs available on iTunes and Amazon, but not the actual album.

??? Umm... WHAT? It is classic Harem Scarem. Like AC/DC, they can release the same album over and over and over, but who gives a damn, it's goddamned ear candy! They could sing the phone book and I'd buy it.

There you go. That makes all the difference in the world (literally). So what happens if it is a digipak or a CD with special embossing/lettering, etc.? Do you just eat the overage for having to ship parcel rates?

Originally, the moderation team and I had considered banning Josh for what seems to be a clear cut case of fraud (intentionally sending someone a home-made CD-R when they are expecting an original pressed disc is fraud and unacceptable, no matter how justified you feel; two wrongs don't make a right!) however after some reflection (and much discussion), I have decided to restore this thread. I think it is important that both sides of this issue remain public, and I am going to urge the two parties to try and come to a mutually acceptable solution. Banning would not help Peter, and would in effect push Josh to simply try the same tactics elsewhere, whereas hopefully public pressure here and the realization that everything is exposed to the public will help reach a solution that works for both parties. Now, that said, assuming that what both Peter and Josh have recounted is the truth, there is blame to be had on both sides. When trading/selling CDs (or any collectible for that matter), it is CRITICAL to accurately describe the condition of the goods. The condition flaws that Josh says existed with the discs he received are inexcusable. Peter should know better. That said, if Josh was unhappy with the results of the trade and felt he got a raw deal, the solution was NOT to delibrately rip Peter off, which he apprently did. He knew that what he was sending Peter was NOT what Peter was expecting to receive. Period. End of discussion. So what could Josh have done? He could have posted here in the good/bad sellet/trader forum. That's what it's here for: to bring issues like this to light in hopes of scrutiny and peer pressure making it right. He could have contacted me or any other moderator and asked us to intervene in the situation... but he did neither of these. If Peter did in fact make threats as Josh claims, that too is unacceptable, although I understand the frustration, as Peter at that point had no recourse (more on that later). I have not seen the actual language that was sent or received, nor do I wish to. Understanding Peter is difficult, as English is not his native language. There may have been misinterpretation or simply venting. Regardless, we need to be careful on what we say and how we say it. Threats of violence are not permitted. Peter made the mistake of Paying Josh via PayPal gift payment. THIS IS ALMOST ALWAYS A BAD IDEA! I don't care what the circumstances are. If you pay by Gift payment, you lose all recourse in the event things go wrong. If ANYONE is asking you to use a Gift payment option for merchandise, this should set off alarm bells as a possible scam! The only exceptions are (1) you are indeed sending the money as a gift or donation with no expectation of anything in return, or (2) it is to someone close that you have worked with MANY times before and that you trust IMPLICITLY. Otherwise, do NOT use the Gift payment option. Ok.... so there's what has been done, and now there's what needs to be done moving forward. What the moderation team and I are urging both Peter and Josh to do is the following: Reverse EVERYTHING, including the original trade that caused this. Each party pays for the shipping costs to return everything they received (using trackable methods), and then Josh refunds the remainder of the funds and you both go their separate ways. You both will be out some shipping costs, but better that than someone being a "winner" and the other a "loser". This thread will remain public as a cautionary reminder of how things can go bad in a hurry and how NOT to handle it. Prospective buyers/sellers/traders can then make choices accordingly. At this point, no one is being banned from the forum. I reserve the right to change that as I see fit. This should be a fun hobby, not a stressful one that causes loss or ill will. -Dan

I'm spinning this for the second time, and... Given all the hype it has garnered and all the "ZOMFG! BesthingEVERZZZZZZ!" comments all over the Interwebz, I'm actually disappointed. It's solid. Decent. Has its moments. But not a lot of staying/sticking power to these ears. I'd give it 4/5 stars at this point, but won't make my top 5 or anywhere close. It's weird, because at times the vocals and choruses are great, but at others they are cringeworthy and give me that "nails on a chalkboard" feeling. It just doesn't pass my "ear candy" test. There's no point during the album that I find myself hitting the "Back" button to immediately re-listen to the song again because it's just so damned good. That's somewhat of a litmus test for me. I mean hell, it's certainly no Babymetal. Seriously though, it just falls short and I can't quite put my finger on why. EDIT: As I listen further, I think part of the reason is that at times I hear Harem Scarem, Def Lep, Winger, et al., but... just not as well executed; a "poor man's version" if you will. It's like they are trying SO hard to be these bands, but it comes up short of magnificence. I'll give it some relistens along the way as it may be a grower...

I revel in my wrongitude! (Is that even a word?) Seriously though, it's remarkable how albums that *should* trip your trigger don't always do so. Also, perceptions and preferences change over time. I'm sure that if I were to go back and redo Top 5 lists from several years ago, the results would be completely different, for several reasons: 1. Hearing a particular artist or style for the first time bumps it up compared to subsequent releases. We had that discussion earlier this year about the new Brother Firetribe. Because they set the bar so high with the first 2 CDs, this one no longer hits you with the same impact because it's no longer new, despite being a musically superior album (IMO). 2. Follow-up releases and releases from other artists in the same genre may surpass what was originally a groundbreaking release in one way or another. 3. Tastes change. For example, so-called "modern hard rock" had many more detractors early on, especially from die-hard '80s hair metal fans, however that resistance has mellowed over the course of time, especially as the borders between the genres have blurred. Also, you can get "burned out" on one style or another over time and repeated plays. Sometimes you come back around; sometimes you don't. 4. What is "consistent" or "staying true" (a positive) to some people, others see as "worn out" or "rehashed" (a negative). See earlier discussion re: AC/DC releasing the same album 37 times over the course of their career. I find it interesting that occasionally I will hear a follow-up album from an artist that I perceive as "meh", then go back and re-listen to a previous release form the same artist that I thought was "OMFG! STUPERB!"... only to then realize just how similar the two are... so why does one garner a completely different aural or visceral reaction from the other? As far as Vega is concerned, through two complete listens it simple hasn't tripped those "ear candy triggers" that make a top album for me. That may change on subsequent listens, or it may not. P.S. Babymetal just plain rocks... deal with it.

No idea. I can't ship internationally for anywhere near that low, and certainly not on eBay. Possibilities (no idea if any of these are how he's personally doing it): 1. Ship without jewel cases (cuts the weight by 30-50%). 2. If you're a high-enough volume shipper and have an electronic shipping account with one of the providers, it's possible to garner discounts. The thing is though, shipping through PayPal/eBay gets you volume discounts and those still aren't enough to get the cost that low. 3. Build a certain amount of the shipping cost into every CD's price, thus lowering the appearance of shipping charges. THis goes back to my post above about the different perception across multiple pricing alternatives where the bottom line is identical. 4. Eating the cost overrun just to clear product.

Price on Amazon for the 2CD + Blu-Ray set has dropped from $29.88 to $19.88. http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00OAIHF1A/ref=ox_ya_os_product_refresh_T1

Samples of all of the following added to the main site. Click on an album cover to go to the page to listen.

Maybe fodder for a different thread, but as someone who is coming up on 5,000 eBay transactions (60% as buyer, 40% as seller) I seriously wonder why some people get hung up on shipping charges. $20 item + $10 shipping. $10 item + $20 shipping. $30 item + FREE shipping. More people will go for #1 or #3 before considering #2, yet they are all equal. When I shop, I ignore the shipping costs by themselves. When comparing items from various sellers, the only dollar amount that matters is the total out-the-door sum. How it's broken down is meaningless! If you feel an overseas seller is charging you too much for shipping, then buy from a different seller who you don't feel is overcharging for shipping. If the seller in question is STILL the cheapest when compared to other sellers even after shipping costs, then what is there to complain about? What does it matter then how much the seller is charging for shipping vs. the base item cost? P.S. "S&H" means "shipping and handling", which includes more than just raw postage. It's postage, insurance, packing, labor, overhead, etc.

Actually, I don't re-use packing materials, at least not for eBay sales. Some buyers will ding your stars or even leave neutral or negative feedback if you re-use shipping materials.