Been a long time
It’s been forever since I’ve posted here. A lot has been happening and well, I’ve just been lazy. So, once again I am going to try and poet more regularly.Got a few audio related things rolling around in the noggin.But first, a funny bit about the power of music and the art of mis-communication:
Shine A Light
performance: it’s the stones
sound: shrill
mood: okay
Martin Scorsese’s Shine A Light entertains a bit, but ultimately doesn’t illuminate anything, least of all The Rolling Stones. It may be a film made for true fans by a true fan and I’m not. I like some Stones songs, but they’ve never hit me the way they hit others. The movie is categorized as a documentary. I guess it is if you’re using the old Blockbuster Video categories; It’s not a narrative film so therefore it’s a documentary. The only thing I found out about the stones was that they are old and still doing what they’ve been doing for 40 years and I ain’t knocking that. However, I’ve seen concert video of them before and the only thing this film brings to the table is a smaller venue and Martin Scorsese. There’s very little that makes this a cinematic experience beyond the editing (which was fairly typical for a concert film) and the sound editing (which was awful!). Continue reading ‘Shine A Light’
gear heads
I used to think audiophiles were gear heads, and they (we) are. But I must say; after researching the camera market recently (I got a nice DSLR. I’m very happy), I’ve discovered that photography hobbyists, camera enthusiasts, prosumer shutterbugs are the biggest gear heads around. They make audio junkies look like sane people. When audiophiles talk about gear at least they include the music the gear makes. I mean, that’s always the point. But photo hobbyists may talk for an hour and never once reference a photograph. They quote stats with as much religious fervor as hardcore audiophiles do, however, they are also downright zealots when it comes to brands. Audio people will mix and match, try different combos of amps, preamps, turntables; different brands, etc. But camera gear heads are married to their brands. Admittedly, they have to be because so many things are proprietary. That said, Canonites can’t stand Nikonians and nobody likes the Pentaxians. I think a Canonite mother would disown her son if he brought home a Olympian girlfriend. I hear there’s trouble brewing between the Sigmarians and the Leicans. And did I mention nobody likes Pentaxians? It’s because they’re jealous of us. 
the great debate
in school I had a great teacher who posed an interesting query of me and my work: Do you want to be the guy who makes great paint, or the guy who makes great paintings? I took it to mean, that obsessing over tools and techniques can take away a bit from obessesing over process and results.
Artists, Musicians, Coders, anyone in a specialized field probably has had some sort of experience with this… “I need the latest and gretest, that will make my work AWESOME!” Probably not, but you will certainly amass lots of equipment that will gather much dust.
With music (listening for me) I’ve amassed cables, stands, power conditioners, headphones, sources, speakers, etc. My collection of gear thankfully is spread throughout the country and in the hands of people who can actually use the stuff. In all this time, my favorite speakers are still my old Spica TC-50s (in a box), my favorite CD player is still my old Marantz 63se (in jackson), and my fave turntable is my Rega P2 (in my house). Learning to make the best with what you got is hard, but can be so rewarding. Because you can enjoy the music and relax.
I’m thinking about all of this because I saw this article today: REZNOR TWO
And this one last week: REZNOR ONE.
In the end, there seems to be a place for everyone, so whether you make music, sell music, produce music, whatever; just enjoy the music.
Sharon Jones
Well, I am going to try and write more this year (even if it’s just infosnacking) hopefully it’ll be more. first real post is about Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings. Thanks myspace music. They’ve been around a few years and are a joy to hear check out the tracks below.
and see more info about her here
eventually CBuck and I will recommend something besides R&B, Soul or Blues (not that there’s anything wrong with that)
wow.
I just actually read the new itunes agreement.. it’s very long. I never had to read this stuff when buying vinyl at a store.A few things of note:
3. Objectionable Material. You understand that by using the Service, you may encounter content that may be deemed offensive, indecent, or objectionable, which content may or may not be identified as having explicit language. Nevertheless, you agree to use the Service at your sole risk and that Apple shall have no liability to you for content that may be found to be offensive, indecent, or objectionable. Content types (including genres, sub-genres and Podcast categories and sub-categories and the like) and descriptions are provided for convenience, and you acknowledge and agree that Apple does not guarantee their accuracy.
ohhhhh, dirty.
(iv) You shall be able to store Products from up to five different Accounts on certain devices, such as an iPod or iPhone, and Apple TV at a time; provided that each iPhone may sync ring tone Products with only a single Apple-authorized device at a time, and that syncing an iPhone with another Apple-authorized device will cause any ring tone Products stored on such iPhone to be erased and, if you so choose, to be replaced with any ring tone Products stored on such other Apple-authorized device. Additional restrictions apply to Movies Rentals, as described below.(v) You shall be authorized to burn an audio playlist up to seven times.(vi) You shall not be entitled to burn video Products or ring tone Products.
Damn, I wanted to plop everything on my Zune.
(xv) HDMI. An HDCP connection is required in order to view movies (purchased or rented) and TV shows transmitted over HDMI.
The movies are copy protected, well, I couldn’t rent HD via iTunes anyway.Here’s the entire agreement
Tags: aggreements, itunes, wha?The Soul is Dead - Soulive loses its soul
What happened? They used to be the baddest band in the land! Now, they’re one of the baddest bands in the land… And that last one is bad meaning bad, not bad meaning good. Now, they are this
, and this ain’t good. With new singer (scratch that) Frontman, Toussaint, the band has lost it’s soul. Alan’s drums are lifeless and can only keep time. Neal’s hammond is dull and Krasno’s guitar is just boring. And to top it off, new lead singer Toussaint is looking to Michael Bolton for inspiration. But Bolton had some soul by comparison. I know you shouldn’t talk so badly about people you don’t know because you never know, you could meet them, but this album is unforgivable. If you want some soul in your Soulive, try one of their older albums
Doin’ Something,
Turn It Out,
Soulive, or any of the Instant Live recordings (I prefer the
Conga Room in Hollywood). Now that’s soul. This new stuff is… I don’t what know it is. Well, it inspired my little angry rant. It is good for that.
buy, buy miss american pie
amazon.com has launched a MUSIC STORE. All files are 256KB MP3s with NO DRM. Only EMI and Universal right now (2 million songs give or take). But the songs are $.99 and albums are a bit cheaper than iTunes. Did I mention no DRM? AMAZON MP3






