Stuart, to a great extent I agree with you that we should get back to basics and listen and talk about new finds, but, I might question how relevant the forum has become.  Don't get me wrong, i'm all for the get togethers that are now largely anachronistically called "cd club", but I wonder how relevant they are as a source for new music these days.  The group started back in the day before file sharing, blogs, the resurgence of vinyl, and well before streaming audio services, when the only way to hear something new was to spin a CD.

With instantaneous access to SO MUCH good music, is it now really necessary to get together with friends to share one's latest find except for to say ...look how clever i am that i found this before you did!

Now really, don't get me wrong, i'm all for the beer, chat and music, but really, if i want to really listen to something you recommend i listen to, the best way for me to do it is on my own without a bunch of guys talking over the music about how the Green Bay Packers are going to do on the weekend!

But really, don't get me wrong, but are we not all just a bunch of old farts hanging around listening to music together, and is that not in and of itself a little bit behind the times?  Should we heed the words of Marshall McLuwan? is the medium really the message?