I'm Listening To ...

[Innertuber]

Well, I'm listending to all kinds of new stuff. Bought another CD collectiion over the weekend. 90 cd's for about 30 bucks it worked out to be. Right now, I'm listening to Spyro Gyra Featuring Jay Beckenstein, next up is Rimsky-Korsakov's Scheherazade. I've never heard of a lot of the music, but I'm going to broaden my horizons. Well I actually spent $120, at a couple sales, but I also got a drill press, a Delta bandsaw, some looooong kwik clamps and a box full of twine, string, plant stakes, a silver big pyrex ancient warming dish, a zillion cloth napkins, ye ole candle, a huge bag full of ribbon (WAF) and lots of general junk. Do I sound like a pack rat?

 

Oh, we rode our bicycles to the first sale, I was riding an ole Raleigh 3-speed (another 10 dollar garage sale find). It has an English Brooks leather saddle which sat unused in Florida storage for decades at least. Well, just as I pulled into their driveway, "CLINK". I looked down and the front bolt and a couple inches of the seat was on the driveway. Hey! I'm not that fat!!! Well, the seat was shot and the first box I looked in had a bike seat for 2 bucks. I am now riding on a new no-name seat, great timing! I'm learning a lot about bike repairs (unfortunately I fear).

 

From the airbook I have written in my mind titled, "Tips From A Cheap-O" - when people have a couple cds for sale, they usually say 2 bucks a piece. I say how much for all of them and they go silent in calculation (some actually go pale obviously having never made it past basic math. Advanced cyphering puts them in a coma like state). Often, their answer is hollered, "Hon, can you get me anuther Bud? I usally offer around 30-50 cents each for all. Sometimes I pay around a buck if I really like the genre. The pitfall is some are scratched, some have no sleeves, etc, and sometimes there a few homemade ones slipped in there. But at that rate, I assume 80% will be useable. Out of the 90 I think they are all playable, but maybe 15-20 have nothing but the disk. The real rate of defects is very low if playability is the main criteria. I probably am under 1% rejection rate.

 

Oh, here's another tidbit to ponder. Depending on your actual tax circumstance when you file, donations are one of the things that usually they don't throttle you back on. Those LPs and CDs (using Turbo tax De-deductIT, if donated to say Goodwill, might be worth 3-5 bucks each. At say a 25% incremental tax rate, that donation gives you maybe a buck or a little more. That's what LPs tend to sell for at garage sales (I'm not talking collector grade stuff here). Point being, dropping stuff off at your local fav charity might make as much coin as your own sale, and it's one HECK of a lot easier! You probably knew that so I'm lecturing the choir here.

 

Disclaimer - I'm not a CPA and this advice is worth what you paid for it. I could never sit through 30 or so hours of accounting class (unless I had really good, small headphones).

 

Now, if I could just find a really great garage sale Cyclocross bike to ride to work...

 

Happy listening and junk hunting.

 

[theob]

It sounds great on my cicsplay/asio4all / benchmark set up. It makes me inspired to want to get 24/192 capability. Thinking of getting an es juli card to get asio 2.0 capability and spdif and toslink output for my benchmark. At $140 it seems like a good idea. Anbody have problems with juli on a dell xp sp2 set up?

 

[airdronian]

I would have bought the album just for the rework of "Reelin in the years".

 

I also enjoyed the photos of the live site off the Columbia River in Washington State. We camped a few miles up river one time. Great scenery there.

 

[TimH]

Hey airdronian, I saw the Dan of Steel at that venue, which is called The Gorge. Awe inspiring place to see shows. So I was pretty excited when I saw the cover, but I think the liner notes say that the recording was done at several other venues, if I'm not mistaken and which you probably knew. But nonetheless a great listen. The backup singers doing the "you got to shake it baby, you got to shake it..." in Babylon Sister is very cool.

 

Where did you camp?

 

A recommendation along those lines, if you don't already have it, is Fagen's recent effort, Morph the Cat. Some very funky stuff with really great production in the recording.

 

Enjoy.

 

TheOtherTim

 

 

[airdronian]

Hey back - I've learned of Morph the Cat but not heard it. DF has a trilogy of albums (Nightfly, Kamakiriad, and Morph) in the MVI format. MVI - there is another thread topic.

 

You always get great musicians with SD - the Two Against Nature release was a case in point - horns and vocals.

 

I forget the name of the campground, we are WH associate members. It was at Crescent Bar, near Quincy, WA. We had 35C in the day and 22C at night - I didn't care about the breeze, it was WARM.

 

I think I read that SD is playing at Chateau Ste. Michelle winery this summer - would kill to see that - but can't handle the jail time !

 

 

 

 

[Innertuber]

Tonight

 

Off to see Chick Stanley Al Lenny 2night!

 

http://return2forever.com/

 

[The Computer Audiophile]

I am way jealous! Those are some great musicians!

 

[TimH]

'Tuber - I'm seeing them Saturday night. Can't wait, should be a mind-blower. Missed seeing them back in the 70's and never thought I'd get the chance. Would love to hear your review. I'd say have a nice time, but I think that's a slam dunk.

 

In other concert news, there were some earlier discussions in this thread regarding Mark Knopfler and Dire Straits, and we went and saw MK this past Sunday evening. Great show. I really enjoy his most recent album, Kill to Get Crimson. The show was excellent and interesting. The nature of his music and the tone he sets with his sort of mellow and mature stage presence lends to a nice listening experience. There were actually times where he was basically challenging his band to see how *quiet* they could get and still carry the emotion of the song. Pretty rare for a "rock" concert. I have to say, though, that live does not measure up sonically with the gorgeous production he puts into his recordings. Still, a great time. BTW, nice write-up about him in the new Rolling Stone.

 

Now, on to some serious Fusion with the R2F boys!

 

TheOtherTim

 

 

[Innertuber]

Hey OT

 

Cool on MK. He's in Clearwater too, I got cheap and wouldn't fork over the $150 to see him. Do you ever listen to Chris Rea? Check out The Road To Hell. In fact, I have a playlist that my wife and I listen to all the time that is random MK, Chris Rea and Fixx. Those 3 fit like a glove to me. If your not a CR fan, you will be if you like MK. Chris plays a little more slide.

 

Lessee here. They basically played two sets. The first one was what I'd call electric.

 

Al D. I have always loved, at least since about 1978 or so for me. He is just freaking incredible. I think the only other guy that comes to mind in his league for me is John Petrucci. Different styles tho. The band's level of musicianship is just over the top. Absolutely the best instrumental group I've ever seen live. Not at all pretentious. Fun and great. Fourplay is up there too, they sing some which my wife liked. These guys just play with razor honed chops from probably 4 of the most skilled, experienced, tasteful musicians on the planet.

 

Chick is all over the place, sounding like Wakeman, Keith Emerson, Bob James and on and on. What a great composer and legend. Not much else to say there.

 

That said, the sound quality was a bit of a disappointment. Ruth Eckerd Hall is supposed to be great. I was bitching instantly to my wife. I would describe it as from about 1,000 to maybe 10,000 Hz it sounded gutted. Like everything was on a compressor. No ride on the symbols, Al was riffing but you couldn't hear it. I think it was basically a mix problem, although the PA could have been weak. I don't really know bout that.

 

After the second song the crowd was screaming "turn up Al". I knew then I was spot on. You couldn't really hear Al's leads at all. Some guy walked onstage and turned up his amps. It got better. I kinda compare everything to the image in my mind of Jeff Beck live. You could probably hear his pick hit the floor if he flipped it. It looked like they only had one mike on all the cymbals, which might have contributed to my issues. I hate to guess at the reasons, all I know was it should have sounded better.

 

For the second set Al was on acoustic and Stanley on upright. Sound was much better as everything overall was softer.

 

Stanley and Chick talked a good bit which was fun. Everyone did solos which were hot, several in general. Stanley had everyone thumpin and goovin a few times. What a fun guy to watch. Note for note Stanley. Al and Chick played in unison and we aint talkin whole notes. Stanley did a great solo on the upright that lasted .... I dunno ... 10 minutes? The crowd loves every one of these guys and was overtly appreciative. Al and Chick traded licks and then they'd both just grin. Al really seemed to have to be having fun.

 

I think Al is one of the fastest guys I've seen and he stays melodic. That's a rarity. When you see them, stare at his right hand when he's playing rhythm "chords". He mutes a lot for an abrasive sound. His hand, seriously, is just a total blur. He's got total conservation of motion. Robin Trower is like that. I was transfixed.

 

Stanley had the Townsend windmill going, slapping, thumping, strumming, pounding, dragging, bow you name it. He didn't ride his bass, but did about everything else. He is the the 426 hemi of bass. Now I like a lot of others too, but Stanley is just mo funner than anybody to watch and listen to live. By fun I mean like Jim Creeggan in Bare N Ladies is fun to watch on upright. Stanley plays while he plays. Too much.

 

I'd never paid attention to Lenny White before. That guy has a real soft touch and his rhythm is totally unique. I was more than impressed. You don't see this guy flailing and pounding, what a cool drummer. Frankly, I'd say last night he changed my impression of what a good drummer should be. So different than the rock drummers I've grown up admiring. I always liked Carter Beauford in DMB a lot as a unique player and I guess Lenny is what these guys aspire to be. Lenny's sticks/hands are seldom more than a couple inches above the drums.

 

You're gonna love seeing them. It is a fun show by humble guys that are masters. It's like they're going, wow, you remember us? Thanks for coming. Post how it goes. Man, I'm tempted to pile wife in the car and drive to Orlando too! Enjoy!

 

IT

 

 

 

 

 

[TimH]

Great review, 'Tuber, thanks! First, yes, my wife has actually been a Chris Rea fan from way back. I never really listened to much, but I definitely will now.

 

Regarding the R2F show, I have seen a couple of comments in reviews, blogs, etc that their sound has been a problem in some locations. Too bad, you'd think these guys would demand better. I will go in prepared to compromise a bit. But yeah, I'll bet that even with that, it was still incredible. So much talent on the stage. Looking forward to those Chick and Al 64th notes in unison! Yes, Al is amazing. I was listening to something of his the other day and noted how fast and clean it was. A lot of guitarists would cheat or hammer some of this fast stuff, but Al nails it. Good to hear Stanley has fun also.

 

Can't wait! We're driving to Atlanta from the Charlotte area tomorrow (Saturday) to see the show and driving back on Sunday. Will report back with my impressions.

 

TheOtherTim

 

 

[TimH]

'Tuber,

 

I really hate to bum you out, but the sound at our show last night was really quite good. Better than I expected. Loud, but very clean. My wife and I have taken to wearing custom earplugs to most shows we go to these days, and we both did not wear ours last night. I may regret it, but like I said it was clean and I didn't want to miss the whole sonic experience.

 

What a night. I know I'm going to sound like a total kool-aid drinking fanboy here, but seriously, this concert experience ranks in my top five of all time. They were outstanding. The crowd (Atlanta) was one of the most sophisticated I've seen and very into it. And I really think the guys felt that and played enthusiastically and well. As you said, they were really enjoying themselves and wanted the crowd to totally get in on the fun.

 

First set was electric based, intermission, second set acoustic based. "Jester and Tyrant" as encore. Each of them took the mic once in between songs for a little chat, usually funny. Lenny White did this fairly serious diss of P. Diddy and rap in general - "They don't even play instruments. These are instruments! That's boy band music. This is Man music!" Ha! They were all on fire. Chick as the ringleader, playing different styles effortlessly. Great to hear the Fender Rhodes and synthesizer work again. Stanley's solo on the upright was a mind blower. Massive standing O afterwards. Al, OMG, Al. He would do riffs with Chick perfectly and then during solo time he would occasionally pull off these 10 or 15 second bursts of speed that were just ridiculous. Like I said, hate to say it, but his sound level was fine - he came through great. Lenny was smooth and precise and sort of scary calm while busting out these completely stupid time signatures.

 

These guys are insanely talented. With the obvious exception of fine symphonic musicians, these guys put everyone else to shame. Embarassingly so. All night I was either laughing, shaking my head, or dropping my jaw. I probably deserve a "Settle down Beavis!" here, but this one really did get to me. Still sort of buzzing from it.

 

I really hope they are filming one of these shows for DVD so everyone can see this. It was unreal.

 

TheOtherTim

 

 

[Innertuber]

Sounds like a great show. I really liked them too in spite of my sound comments. I'm dragging out all my Al LPs again. You probably saw the 4 guys in black slinking around the stage with video cameras. I'd for sure pre-order that DVD. If you don't see these guys you're missing out!

 

[bmerikal]

I use eMusic to find new music. If I love it, I buy the CD. If not, I haven't spent that much and got to hear something I wouldn't have heard otherwise.

 

Here's my 'best of eMusic' list: The reason you joined eMusic!

 

Bill

 

 

[g0rf]

What I am listening to....................

 

 

Artist: David Gray

Title: A Century Ends

Genre: Folk Rock?

Good song to sample: Any, but the first track "Shine" is as good an introduction as any.

Similar artists: Come and go.

Interesting notes: Born in Sale near Manchester, only made it big outside Ireland with 4th album "Whiteladder"

Recording quality: EAC FLAC from my CD

Comments:

 

[markr]

I bought a lot of music last year. The notables to me were: d/l's from NIN ( Ghosts, The Slip [free d/l's]) The Eagles Long Road Out of Eden, Walter Becker's Circus Money. CD's of note were: Alejando Escovedo's Real Animal, Bob Dylan's Modern Times, Corrine Bailey Rae's first album, James McMurtry's Just Us Kids, John Mellencamp's Life, Death Love and Freedom, R.Plant and Alison Krause's Raising Sand, Mudcrutch's Mudcrutch, REM's Accelerate, Herbie Hancock's The River, Rob Fetter's Musician. I bought much more music online and in CD format that is older and venerable as well. The one performance that knocked me totally out and still is knocking me out is Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds Dig!! Lazurus Dig!!!

 

Does anyone else have this problem?

 

markr

 

 

 

 

 

 

[alcina]

Artist: Il Giardino Armonico

Title: Il Giardino Armonico Anthology (11 CDs)

Genre: Classical / Baroque

Good song to sample: CD 4, Track 12: Vivaldi: Theme and 19 variations on "La Follia"

 

Similar artists: Hmmm....the closest in stylistic approach (i.e. "characterful") to performing Baroque music would probably be Jeah-Christophe Spinosi, but really they're nothing alike! Emmanuell Haïm is also "spirited" and worth listening to IMHO.

 

Interesting notes: In a world full of historically informed Baroque peformers, Il Giardino Armonico have a certain...unique...sound, which comprises lots of energy and attack, usually coupled with close miking. Much gritty string bowing - they must get through a lot of rosin! This can get grating, but when it works, it works really, really well. It works fantastically with lively Italianate music (like the works of Vivaldi and some Handel) but less well with stately Germanic music such as Bach. In some very recent recordings I've heard from Il Giardino Armonico, they've got even more quirky to the point of obtuseness (I really don't want to hear the bass player humming his lines more loudly than he plays it!), but this anthology ranges over their recordings of the last 10 years or so. If you like your Baroque music played by Klemperer and the Berlin Philharmonic, you'll probably loathe Il Giardino. But if you're willing to listen to a performance with an open mind, purely for the sound experience, you'll porobably enjoy at least some of the recordings

 

Recording quality: The recordings of this set are generally good, and they're well mastered. Close miking is a feature of the intimate soundscape that the band appear to be going for, so you get a lot of breathing along to the music recorded. The earlier recordings are more "standard" Baroque interpretations/recordings (less closely miked).

 

Comments: I'm listenting to this FLAC through iTunes using Fluke, which installs all the necessary bits to play FLACs (and Oggs etc.) in iTunes, but will only import 16/44 so your hi-def tracks won't import. It imports most of a FLAC's tagging, except the track numbers, which is irritating particualrly with Classical music where you *do* want to play the tracks in the right order! I don't have an intel mac so I can't use Songbird. I use Cog usually to play FLACs but its GUI is somewhat limited, so I'm experimenting with iTunes and Fluke.

 

Still trying to work out if the Apogee Duet is better, worse or just different from my Maranz CD75

 

Alcina

 

[LAMF]

 

[morfeeus]

Artist: RA , Saliva & Dark New Day

Title: RA-Black Sun, Saliva-Cinco Diablo , Dark New Day-Twelve Year Silence

Genre: Melodic New Hard Rock

Good song to sample: RA- Broken Hearted Soul. Saliva-Family Reunion, Dark New Day-Follow The Sundown

Similar artists:

Interesting notes: I've been there from the 70's to present as an audiophlie enjoying then and now.

Recording quality:16 Bit 44.1 Khz

Comments: These albums being the new and latest of optimum recording tech at the commercial level to achieve the best quality in overall sound including bottom end LF with clarity, definition and bass slam.

 

BTW I do utilize an EQ to enhance the lower extremeties provided with my sound card.

 

 

[TheRocker]

Artist: Michael Powers

Title: Onyx Root

Genre: Delta Blues

Good songs to sample: Successful Son, Another Man Done, Psychotic Reaction

Recording Quality: Sounds good to me!

 

 

[markr]

Thanks for the blast Peter. - I like what I hear of Michael so far. Don't have any of his work at hand, but the internet came through - as usual. You're up a bit late aren't you? Hope you are well.

 

http://www.michaelpowers.com/

http://www.myspace.com/powersblues

 

markr

 

[TheRocker]

Hi Mark,

long time, no hear! Yes I am up late, I sacrifice sleep to find time to catch up on the gossip!

 

I always seem to have too much other stuff to do and not enough time to trawl forums!

Work is getting in the way of living!

 

I am still gradually digitising my vinyl using the Duet, but again, it is a time consuming job that I really don't get a good bite at.

 

 

 

 

 

[markr]

... the 'gossip' (cough). I get the insomnia too. Work was getting in the way of living for the last year (10 years?) for me as well - I'm now looking for another job. Two months now. I'll find something... I'm living 'just enough' right now! Keep on digitizing! I just ordered Michael Powers Onyx Root from Waterloo Records (along with a Buddy Guy album as well) . The previews and whole songs I found on the web are awesome. I'm surprised that I hadn't heard of this guy before now.

 

Feel like I should put a "Listening to" up here. Let's see....... How about what I'm Listening to NOW?

 

Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds

Dig!!! Lazarus Dig!!!

Rockin' Punkin' Blue

Check out: Today's Lesson, We Call Upon the Author, Hold On To Yourself - this disc is great front to back actually

Note: Shouldn't this band (or Grinderman) have won a Grammy by now?

Quality is in the ear of the beholder. I think they've hit on a great sound on this one

Just LISTEN

 

Peter - take time to smell the roses man....

markr

 

 

 

 

 

[markr]

.. some really good live audio streams that were created this week locally. Listen hear:

 

http://www.npr.org/music/sxsw/index.html

 

markr

 

[Bob Pain]

Just loaded J River Jukebox and ripped this to wav. sound quality is amazing

 

[TheRocker]

Listening to a couple of New Swing albums:

 

Artist: Alien Fashion Show

Title:Alien Fashion Show

Genre: I would call this 'Cabaret Swing'

Recording Quality: Sounds good to me!

Good tracks: 1. Slim and Sally, 3. Detroit Swing City, 6. Crazy Moon and 12. Crawfish Pie (my favourite)

 

Alien Fashion Show

 

 

Artist: The Atomic Fireballs

Title: Torch This Place

Genre: Neo Jump Swing

Recording Quality: Good but seems to be at a quite loud level.

Good Tracks: 5. Lover Lies, 8. Hit By A Brick (my favourite), 12. Starve A Fever

 

Torch This Place