Scream Bloody Virgin- Permanent Failure
Nope, hold the phone. Here we go.
Scream Bloody Virgin- Meaningful Hangovers
Hmmmm looks a bit hokey in print. Might be better as a lyric in some Jeff Tweedy-ish kinda song. Must chew on it a bit.....
Thursday, August 30, 2007
Space
I haven't done a good music philosophy post in a while, so here goes.
Walking around the city today my iPod switched over from Clipse ("Chinese New Year) to Dream Theater ("The Silent Man"). Now I was really enjoying the Clipse song. Ben turned me onto him a little while ago, and I think it is one of the more interesting commercial hip hop albums I have heard in a very long time. Granted I am not an expert on the subject, but I like the blend between the abstract and the booty shaking. The Dream Theater song starts as simple as can be, with a strummed acoustic guitar. Which sounded beautiful. Absolute beauty. Hot puppy sleeping in the grass on a lazy summer afternoon kinda of beautiful. You could hear the care that went into the room and mic placements. Then the voice comes in on top and everything is in a beautiful space. It sounded like Petrucci and LeBrie were sitting on 14th street performing for me in a cavernous yet acoustically precise theater.
Clipse had no space. Clipse has no instruments. Everything is completely virtual and compressed up the wazoo. Clipse doesn't want to be the quietest mp3 on the iPod. Listen to any recent metal album from the last 2 years. Hell, listen to a lot of recent indie releases like that Arcade Fire abomination. Can you envision where it was recorded? Can you see the room? The downside of freely available high quality recording solutions is we have lost our sense of space. I am 100% as guilty of it as anyone else. Listen to my music. It sounds like it was recorded somewhere in the Matrix. You can't envision my environment. There isn't an environment. My music is made somewhere between lines of code in emulation software. The most my music breathes is when I use drum samples that were blatantly recorded in a real drum room.
No wonder a higher quality music format was never accepted by the public and we all collectively took a step back with mp3s. What would you even want to listen to in high definition audio? All my favorite DVD Audio discs are 20-30 year old albums. People have started working very hard to make albums sound louder and bigger and heavier and more epic. But who is striving to make music sound *better*? Who is the next George Martin? Glyn Johns? Tom Dowd?
Shit the Gods of Fire aren't even using real DRUMS on the next album. And we were seen as relics for using a real kit on the first record. There are a lot of problems with Wrath of the Gods, but you can hear where it was recorded. You hear imperfections in my amp. You can hear the natural inconsistencies in the drumming. Unfortunately it is a losing war. I have shamefully stepped back from all of my analog ideals in favor of louder bigger and heavier.
How are you supposed to get kids to go to rock concerts if they don't even know what a rock room is supposed to sound like? I was pretty shocked the first time I saw a band called Death by Stereo use severe vocal and full mix compression during their set opening for Mastodon. The Bowery Ballroom no longer sounded like a concert venue. There were just pretty dudes sounding like the iPod. I'm sure I wouldn't survive a Linkin Park or Good Charlotte show, or any of those people. Trying to make your music "sound like the records" now means to do as much as possible to remove the live environment as possible. So when you are in a space, you are still in a virtual world.
As I plunge deeper and deeper into the matrix and forget everything I originally loved about recorded sound I hear a beautifully played acoustic guitar reminding me that we all feel relaxed with a little bit of space.
Walking around the city today my iPod switched over from Clipse ("Chinese New Year) to Dream Theater ("The Silent Man"). Now I was really enjoying the Clipse song. Ben turned me onto him a little while ago, and I think it is one of the more interesting commercial hip hop albums I have heard in a very long time. Granted I am not an expert on the subject, but I like the blend between the abstract and the booty shaking. The Dream Theater song starts as simple as can be, with a strummed acoustic guitar. Which sounded beautiful. Absolute beauty. Hot puppy sleeping in the grass on a lazy summer afternoon kinda of beautiful. You could hear the care that went into the room and mic placements. Then the voice comes in on top and everything is in a beautiful space. It sounded like Petrucci and LeBrie were sitting on 14th street performing for me in a cavernous yet acoustically precise theater.
Clipse had no space. Clipse has no instruments. Everything is completely virtual and compressed up the wazoo. Clipse doesn't want to be the quietest mp3 on the iPod. Listen to any recent metal album from the last 2 years. Hell, listen to a lot of recent indie releases like that Arcade Fire abomination. Can you envision where it was recorded? Can you see the room? The downside of freely available high quality recording solutions is we have lost our sense of space. I am 100% as guilty of it as anyone else. Listen to my music. It sounds like it was recorded somewhere in the Matrix. You can't envision my environment. There isn't an environment. My music is made somewhere between lines of code in emulation software. The most my music breathes is when I use drum samples that were blatantly recorded in a real drum room.
No wonder a higher quality music format was never accepted by the public and we all collectively took a step back with mp3s. What would you even want to listen to in high definition audio? All my favorite DVD Audio discs are 20-30 year old albums. People have started working very hard to make albums sound louder and bigger and heavier and more epic. But who is striving to make music sound *better*? Who is the next George Martin? Glyn Johns? Tom Dowd?
Shit the Gods of Fire aren't even using real DRUMS on the next album. And we were seen as relics for using a real kit on the first record. There are a lot of problems with Wrath of the Gods, but you can hear where it was recorded. You hear imperfections in my amp. You can hear the natural inconsistencies in the drumming. Unfortunately it is a losing war. I have shamefully stepped back from all of my analog ideals in favor of louder bigger and heavier.
How are you supposed to get kids to go to rock concerts if they don't even know what a rock room is supposed to sound like? I was pretty shocked the first time I saw a band called Death by Stereo use severe vocal and full mix compression during their set opening for Mastodon. The Bowery Ballroom no longer sounded like a concert venue. There were just pretty dudes sounding like the iPod. I'm sure I wouldn't survive a Linkin Park or Good Charlotte show, or any of those people. Trying to make your music "sound like the records" now means to do as much as possible to remove the live environment as possible. So when you are in a space, you are still in a virtual world.
As I plunge deeper and deeper into the matrix and forget everything I originally loved about recorded sound I hear a beautifully played acoustic guitar reminding me that we all feel relaxed with a little bit of space.
Wednesday, August 29, 2007
Austin is go!
Plane tickets and hotel have been reserved! Now we all just gotta hope Ms. Bollocks makes the roster!
She already warned me that I will be referred to by everyone as "Mr. Bollocks" since no one knows me. I'm pretty fine with that. Since I play the rock and roll and always try to get involved in cool or offbeat things usually a girl is tagging along with me. I think it is pretty rad that the roles are being reversed and I'm the person supporting, not being supported. This time I'll be the person tagging along. I will make new friends among the "derby widows" as they are apparently called.
Not that it sounds like there will be any shortage of things to do. Aside from checking out the games and the official burlesque show after-party, I am grilling Graham for a list of awesome shit and BBQ. Apparently I need to see a movie at the Alamo Movie House. Any one got any other suggestions of fun things to do?
Unfortunately we are going to be there right after the Austin City Limits festival so rock shows are rather limited. The only thing that even hits the radar is Interpol/Liars at Stubb's. Shitty bands from Brooklyn that I do not want to see when I am here are going to be in Texas the same time as me! Woo?
She already warned me that I will be referred to by everyone as "Mr. Bollocks" since no one knows me. I'm pretty fine with that. Since I play the rock and roll and always try to get involved in cool or offbeat things usually a girl is tagging along with me. I think it is pretty rad that the roles are being reversed and I'm the person supporting, not being supported. This time I'll be the person tagging along. I will make new friends among the "derby widows" as they are apparently called.
Not that it sounds like there will be any shortage of things to do. Aside from checking out the games and the official burlesque show after-party, I am grilling Graham for a list of awesome shit and BBQ. Apparently I need to see a movie at the Alamo Movie House. Any one got any other suggestions of fun things to do?
Unfortunately we are going to be there right after the Austin City Limits festival so rock shows are rather limited. The only thing that even hits the radar is Interpol/Liars at Stubb's. Shitty bands from Brooklyn that I do not want to see when I am here are going to be in Texas the same time as me! Woo?
Tuesday, August 28, 2007
Shows!
Well now that the Cure have fagged out what am I seeing?
Funny you ask.....
9/8 Heaven and Hell/Alice Cooper/Queensryche
9/25 Steve Vai
9/26 Megadeth
10/5 Melvins/Big Business
10/9 Qui (David Yow from Jesus Lizard)
10/15 Bad Religion
11/30 Ween
Schedule is looking a bit weak. Gotta find more love to fill it with. What should I be seeing?
Funny you ask.....
9/8 Heaven and Hell/Alice Cooper/Queensryche
9/25 Steve Vai
9/26 Megadeth
10/5 Melvins/Big Business
10/9 Qui (David Yow from Jesus Lizard)
10/15 Bad Religion
11/30 Ween
Schedule is looking a bit weak. Gotta find more love to fill it with. What should I be seeing?
Saturday, August 25, 2007
F- the Cure
So the Cure canceled their US tour to work on their new album. I guess looking at that recent photo of them on the left it is a mixed blessing. It is like someone spliced a Pride parade with LARPers. Ehhhh fuck 'em. That last album really sucked anyway. If Jon can't get behind them anymore how am I supposed to? No but seriously I wanted to sing "Why Can't I Be You" at karaoke yesterday but there wasn't any in the book. Looks like the Japanese are done with the Cure also.
Friday, August 24, 2007
The least worst of "Latency Issues"
Yes, a "clip show!" Chris remarked yesterday that he finally decided to see what the whole big deal of this blog was only to find the whiny depressing post. Well, for the uninitiated, here are what I consider some of the more interesting or funny posts I have done. This kids, is an exercise in self-indulgence that even takes me aback a bit, but that seems to be the theme of the week......
#1 The Ted Nugent post
#2 Please be as awesome as Rush
#3 What the hell do I do in the shower for 25 minutes?
#4 The Absinthe party
#5 The joy of sedatives
#6 How random is your iPod?
Dere you go. Happy Friday! What am I doing this weekend? First I'm going to see Dream Theater, then I'm going to see Dream Theater, and then Sunday night is BLOOD CITY SHACK UP with free beer! They are playing Trash in WillyB. Everyone should come out. Steve is a great friend of mine and one hell of an antagonistic frontman. They are on at 9, free beers start at 8. Yay!
#1 The Ted Nugent post
#2 Please be as awesome as Rush
#3 What the hell do I do in the shower for 25 minutes?
#4 The Absinthe party
#5 The joy of sedatives
#6 How random is your iPod?
Dere you go. Happy Friday! What am I doing this weekend? First I'm going to see Dream Theater, then I'm going to see Dream Theater, and then Sunday night is BLOOD CITY SHACK UP with free beer! They are playing Trash in WillyB. Everyone should come out. Steve is a great friend of mine and one hell of an antagonistic frontman. They are on at 9, free beers start at 8. Yay!
BINGO!
This happened probably about a month ago now, but to counter the POD (post of depression) below, and since I saw this photo on my desktop with the intent to blog about it, here goes.A few of us met up at Pete's Candy Store before heading over to McCarren Park Pool for a free screening of Repo Man. While drinking our beers a very organized game of bingo started up. So we all grabbed cards. When Graham's girlfriend Kat found out you can play up to THREE CARDS AT ONCE she went to town. The prizes changed every round. I won a juicer. My other option was corn on the cob holders which Kat was fiercely fighting for. I imagine I know what their housewarming gift will be when they find a new place............
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)