Well, I normally abstain from all sorts of "chain" letters on Facebook, but this one intrigued me. It begged to ask the age-old questions of your personal top ten list of albums that you "couldn't live without". I answered and posted in brief on that site, but I figured my choices screamed for some analysis. So, here they are, in no particular order, whatsoever.
1. Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band - The Beatles (1967)
Obvious choice. This was actually the first compact disc I ever listened to on my first CD boom box. My grandparents had purchased "Anthology 1" and the boom box for my Christmas present in 1995. Strangely enough that same night I listened to my parent's copy of Sgt Peppers, and honestly thought that the weird build-up at the end of "A Day in the Life" was my CD player going haywire and I stopped playback immediately. The next morning I listened to it again and was hooked. I generally go through a Beatles-phase at least once, maybe twice a year, and always begin with this disc.
2. The Dark Side of the Moon - Pink Floyd (1973)
Another obvious choice, and once again, one with roots in my childhood. I remember my brother buying this CD maybe his junior year of high school, in one of his CD buying stages. I made a tape of it (on that same aforementioned boom box) and wore it out. Granted it took a few years for me to listen to the whole thing ad nauseum, but I was immediately drawn to the big singles "Money" and "Time". Flash forward over ten years or so and I think I've purchased DSotM about 10 times, either to replace mine own sore and scratched up copies, or to give away as gifts. One of the albums (along with a few others on this list) that I immediately think of when someone asks for names of albums that everyone should own. Getting to see the whole thing performed in sequence by Roger Waters was a definite highlight.
3. Abbey Road - The Beatles (1969)
Just about my favorite Beatles album, if they hadn't made Sgt Pepper's. Perhaps it's because it's the last true Beatles album, and ends with perhaps one of their best lines (Her Majesty not included, it was supposed to be earlier in the album, was axed, and an intrepid recording tech, instructed to not throw anything away, left it on the album). Some of the Beatles' best moments, in my opinion come from this album. "Something", "Oh, Darling", and "Here Comes the Sun" have each suffered multiple plays every time I pull the album out. If you buy TWO Beatles albums, I think this should be the second.
4. Kind of Blue - Miles Davis (1959)
While not the album that introduced me to jazz as a genre (that title belongs to the Ray Brown Trio's Don't Get Sassy) Kind of Blue did introduce me to what a truly great jazz album could achieve. Nothing on the album feels forced in any way, the ambiance just sits heavy, evoking blue smokey dens, dimly lit. Probably greatest album to listen to while watching the first snow storm of the year, with a great beer handy.
5. Bach Cello Suites - Pablo Casals (recorded 1936-1939)
Not the first collection of my favorite cello literature I purchased, and far from the last, Casals' seminal recordings of a bygone era still manage to fascinate me every time I listen to them. With the suites, each cellist (and you don't have to be one to do this) finds particular cellists' versions that suit their particular taste. While I don't see eye to eye with Pau on every piece, the majority of his interpretations still make me smile. If I could play these like any cellist, it would be like Casals. Granted, every cellist on earth has probably made that claim at least once.
6. Beethoven: The Late Quartets - Emerson String Quartet
I don't think I should have to explain this one. Beethoven truly at his finest, writing quartets in his final years, not for fame or money, but seemingly just for his own amusement and contentment. Let alone that most musicologists agree that some of his best work is here, the fact that when they were premiered, no one really understood them! I like to think of Beethoven, having already perfected the music of his mentors and peers during his lifetime, wanted to show the world just a small hint of what lay in the future for classical music. Emerson, while not always the "best" interpretation (if such a thing exists) is just a good solid jumping off point.
**note, beyond this is where most people would give me the raised eyebrow, but I'm not making a greatest ever list, just my favorite. With that, I'll include my favorite tracks from each album, as each of the aforementioned albums deserve a complete listening every time they spin.
7. Rubberneck - Toadies (1996)
I've often described the Toadies as my "guilty pleasure" band. I say that because while I do love listening to all genres of music, and could quite easily be contented merely listening to all brands of "classical" or "classic rock", I always find myself back to the Toadies when I just want to have a good time, relieve some stress, or just plain drive around in the summer with the windows down. This album, while I don't consider it their best album as a band, is just solid. I can listen to it end to end, back to back, for hours (a feat I'm pretty sure I've done more than a few times). This was the album I listened to the most with my friends and by my lonesome in high school, but it still doesn't sound dated to me. One of the perks, I suppose, of the music not really falling into a sub-genre other than "Alternative Rock". Still one of the best live shows I've ever seen, and this album makes a valiant effort at conveying that. Favorite track: "I Burn"
8. The Battle of Los Angeles - Rage Against the Machine (1999)
This album changed a lot of what I thought about modern bands. I was still in middle school when this came out, and hadn't really ventured far into "modern" popular music. I'd mostly at that point listened to a bit of grunge/guitar pop, but still mostly stayed in my safety zone of Classical/Beatles/Dead/Foo Fighters. When I purchased this it popped that idea that all musicians were aloof from politics since the death of Lennon. Here was an immensely popular band, selling millions of records and seats, but with something to say on top. I hadn't really listened to hip-hop yet (still haven't to an extent), but I was impressed with the musical tightness of the band, Morello's incendiary guitar solos, and Zach De La Rocha's fiery delivery of socio-political propaganda. Now further on my journey I find myself agreeing with more of their lyrics, and once again, one of the best live shows I've seen. Favorite track: "Ashes in the Fall"
9. Rated "R" - Queens of the Stone Age (2000)
Once again, another concept album by a band at it's peak. Already a semi-fan of QotSA, I first heard this album playing on the P.A. just before the first time I saw the Toadies play. I picked up their first album initially, fell in love with their crunchy guitar "robot" rock, with smooth vocal lines, then unabashedly listened to this album constantly for a full summer. Still one of the albums that I can start at the beginning, play til the end, and repeat. Favorite track: "Better Living Through Chemistry"
10. Yankee Hotel Foxtrot - Wilco (2001/2002)
Well, not all my choices entered my life pre-high school graduation. In fact, I was only introduced to this band and album within the past 6 months. It took a bit of work to listen to the whole thing as a complete concept album, but eventually I found I couldn't think of it as anything but. Basically, while I know that the other 9 have stood at least a relative test of time, I feel strongly that this will as well. Must thank Matt for getting me started. Favorite track: "I'm the Man Who Loves You"
Substitutes, in the event that one of the top ten get sick, or have to miss the line-up due to suspension.
*. The Beatles (White Album) - The Beatles
*. Frances The Mute - The Mars Volta
*. Bartok Quartets - Julliard String Quartet
-w-
10 Albums you can't live without.
"You've taken your first steps into a much larger world."
Alright, I'll apologize for the Star Wars title. It just felt necessary.
So, I've picked up a couple marvelous new toys this week. Numero uno (that's 'Number one' for those of you who don't speak Spanish) is a typewriter. Specifically, an early 1960's Remington Streamliner. Matt let me borrow his (a remarkable Olympia SM-9) for a few hours and I fell in love. It seems to add so much gravitas to the words you write...you really learn to appreciate spellcheck, the backspace key, and the immediacy of gramatical correction of the Personal Computing age. I sincerely think everyone should have to take their high school typing classes on manual typewriters...
Next up is my most recent purchase, a Denon DP-37F turntable. I got this used on consignment at the local audiophile shop down in Bismarck. I'll have to replace the cartridge (already have one picked out, a Shure M-97xe) and repair/replace the mounting bracket on the tonearm, but it's supposedly one of the best entry-level audiophile turntables out there, and I got it for a pretty amazingly low price. Something about pure analog music turns my bones.
Which made me think aloud today: Maybe I'm turning into a luddite. (technically speaking, a "neo-luddite" as I'm perfectly happy with the English textile processes of the early 19th century). Obviously since you're reading this on a blog, created from a computer, uploaded onto a network of connected computers and stored on server in some large city, I'm not anti-technology at all. In fact, I welcome technicological change. I think I'm just romantically drawn to technologies that I was not around to appreciate. I loved hearing my dad tell me how to care for my turntable and LPs...and opening a new LP has once again, that heafty feel to it. Somehow it feels more real and immediate than simply downloading a new album and having it portably stored on your iPod/Zune/Sansa/etc straight away. The smell of a new pressing of vinyl, the large and colorful artwork, the grooves of the record...it's just a much more gratifying experience in my opinion.
So far, I only have 3 albums but this number will soon inflate, as I'm now bound to checking out all used record shops/yard sales/vinyl dealers for the albums that I have to own. But I think I have a pretty good first three: Dark Side of the Moon by Pink Floyd, In Rainbows by Radiohead, and No Deliverance by the Toadies. I'm thinking of ordering Kind of Blue by Miles Davis and Imagine by John Lennon, both on 180g virgin vinyl later this week at that.
So, chances are within the next few weeks, should one of you pop on by my place for a cup, we'll have some great tunes to listen to, in their intended format!
Happy listening to me!
-w-
The best Beatles tune you've (probably) never heard.
So, if you know me (and if you're reading this, you more than likely do), you probably know that I'm a huge Beatles fan. The first Compact Disc I ever owned was a Beatles disc (Anthology 1- as a Christmas gift from my grandmother) and consequently the next 8 discs I purchased were Beatles discs. I've read countless books on the band, their lives, even the individual recording sessions. Somehow....well, not really somehow, I know exactly how it happened...I missed a track. (Not counting the *hopefully* forthcoming yet-unreleased avant-garde art track "Carnival of Light")
So during the same sessions where the band recorded "Lady Madonna" they also recorded a quick Lennon tune "Hey Bulldog"- The title was originally "Hey Bullfrog" but during recording Paul suddenly started barking like a dog, Lennon quickly changed the next verse to "Bulldog" and changed the title. This track is supposedly one of the last tunes in which the whole group was in the studio together, and recorded as a unit...a few days after the session, they left for their maligned trip to India. This track was then submitted for the animated "Yellow Submarine" but only made the UK version. So, when I was younger and forcing my parents to rent the VHS from the CashWise Supermarket video store ad nauseum, I never saw (or heard) the track. When I was purchasing the Beatles discography, I'd see the Yellow Submarine soundtrack and glance at the tracklisting...mentally skipping over the track and just seeing half a disc of George Martin scores from the film and previously released tracks (mostly from the best three albums, Revolver, Rubber Soul, and Sgt Pepper's - which I already owned and adored).
The other day, whilst ripping all my Beatles CD's into a higher quality bitrate (what's the use of good headphones if the source music sounds terrible?) I was randomly searching through Wiki and found that a particular artist had covered the "rare Beatles' gem Hey Bulldog". Jesus H. I've never heard of that! Quickly searched the Beatles Bible online for facts about it and stumbled upon what's now probably one of my favorite tracks. It's Lennon to a T, and the whole group just having a blast in the studio. What's even more astounding is they allowed footage of them recording the track to be shot....so Apple a few years back found this, realized that instead of the Promo-material for the Lady Madonna single, it was them recording Bulldog. Great video. I particularly like seeing John at the piano and George with a Gibson SG. Anyway, I've ameliorated my mistake, purchased the Yellow Submarine "Songtrack" (the remastered version from 1999) and fallen in love with my "new" Beatles track. Enjoy.
Lyrics:
Sheepdog
Standing in the rain
Bullfrog
Doing it again
Some kind of happiness is measured out in miles
What makes you think you're something special when you smile?
Child-like
No one understands
Jack knife
In your sweaty hands
Some kind of innocence is measured out in years
You don't know what it's like to listen to your fears
You can talk to me
You can talk to me
You can talk to me, if you're lonely you can talk to me.
Yeah hey, oh!
Ho, ho!
Yeah!
Ho, ho, ho, ho!
Ho, ho!
Big man (Yeah)
Walking in the park
Wigwam
Frightened of the dark
Some kind of solitude is measured out in you
You think you know me but you haven't got a clue.
You can talk to me
You can talk to me
You can talk to me, if you're lonely you can talk to me.
Hey!
Wahoo woof! Woof!
Hey bulldog! Hey bulldog!
Hey bulldog! Hey bulldog!
-w-
As promised, the A/V section!
Once again, this is all in my own subjective opinion. (But most views are backed up vociferously online :D ) Keep in mind, low-bitrate mp3's will stick out even more on a good source/headphone. I basically re-ripped my entire collection in a higher bitrate after I tried listening to the standard 128Kbps rip I had of Dark Side of the Moon on a good pair of headphones. I recommend either ripping with LAME or Vorbis encoders at a decent bitrate. (read 256 kb/s or higher).
For MP3 players: The ubiquitous iPod is virtually laughed at in every respectable hi-fi corner. A few great versions came out - the first-gen Shuffle and the 5.5-gen Video (with the GUI replaced with RockBox) are the two biggies, but anything since then, including the gorgeous iPod Touch are pretty well substandard in terms of pure audio-quality. So, the big winners here (all in my opinion, mind you) are:
Sansa Clip - for $30-50, this veritable Shuffle killer is king, with pricing and one of the best sounding players available. A recent update allows for playback of lossless "Flac" encoded files and the lossy (albeit vastly better than mp3) Ogg Vorbis. I've seen pics of people using this little bastard with $1,000 headphones and portable amps. Seriously. Pick one of these up for the gym.
Sansa Fuze - A bit better than the clip in every way, but a bit pricier and bigger. This is my new DAP. Same sound signature as the Clip, but with a bigger screen, expandable memory via the microSD/SDHC port, and larger internal memory versions. Also supports playback of FLAC and Vorbis. Got mine on Black Friday from Radio Shack for $50 (reg. $99) along with an 8Gb Sandisk microSDHC card from amazon.com for $20. Want an iPod Nano killer? Here's the real deal and it will save you some cashmonies!
Cowon D2 - Haven't pulled the trigger on this one yet, but I'm seriously jonesing for one. A 2.5" touch screen with a sound-quality equal to that of the Sansas. Supposedly the GUI is a bit quirky, but if you can get past that, everyone who owns one raves about the SQ and infinitely changeable EQ. Also supports the widest array of audio codecs, FLAC and Vorbis, as well as expandable memory with miniSD/SDHC cards. Downside? At least $150 with less peripherals available.
Headphones.
All these great DAPs will do you exactly squat if you're listening through the earbuds that typically come packaged with them. Unfortunatley, most people don't know that, but a growing few do, and I've sifted the pages of head-fi.org and anythingbutipod.com and grabbed a few good nods.
IEMs - "In Ear Monitors". Sounds scary. But if you're serious about your hearing, your music, and isolation. This is probably the best solution for you. The fit can be kind of alarming at first, as IEMs (also dubbed "Canalphones") are designed to fit snuggly into your ear canal. Mind you, not painfully so. Foam tips, rubber/silicone tips, and others are usually packaged with them to let you find the best fitting and comfortable wear. Why's the fit so important? Because if you don't have them snuggly and tightly in place, you'll lose all concept of isolation and soundstage. Buy a cheap pair of IEMs to see if you don't mind the fit before jumping into the abyss.
JVC FX-33/34s "Marshmallows" - For 15 American Dollars or so, these are a great entry level canalphone. Do a little bit of modification to them to open up the sparkle of the highs, and these are affordable beauts after a bit of burn-in.
JLAudio J2's - These are remarkably new phones, and I haven't quite received the 2 pairs (B1G1!) I ordered from amazon.com, but by all accounts can be compared to the bigger players in the iem world, including some 10 times the price. 25 bucks isn't bad, if they're this good. I'll report back.
SoundMagic PL-30s - Same goes as above, though they've been around a bit longer. Some seem to prefer J2's to these, but it's all subjective. And at $20, they're a virtual steal and will blow the Marshmallows out of the water as well. My father ordered a pair of these, so I'll give them a listen and once again, report back.
Now, if you're doing the listening in a quiet area and don't need the isolation, and won't bother people with sound leakage, you may as well go with full sized "cans". For that, you don't have to spend hundreds of dollars, unless you want truly "audiophile-quality" sounds.
First off, the can that everyone should own.
Koss KSC-75 - For a really low cost headphone these things sound brilliant. Once again an inexpensive mod (The so-called "Kramer" mod after the most read and one of the first poster of the mod on head-fi.org) really opens these phones up. At 60 ohms, they're a little under-driven by the typical DAP, so an amp can really make these things sing. Granted, none is really needed, but you'll find battery power goes down drastically without a dedicated headphone amp. (More on that later!) Also, if you don't like the "sporty" clip-on styling or fit, the same drivers that push these is in the Koss "PortaPro's" with a headband, which also beefs up the bass a bit. Granted, an extra 20 bucks for a headband without much change in SQ doesn't appeal to me.
Sennheiser PX-100 - These are almost the next step up from the KSC-75s, although some (myself included) prefer the former. At $30 they're pretty inexpensive but with a great sound. A good alternative to the people biased against Koss. They are collapsible and quite portable. Sennheiser's virtually always won't disappoint.
Okay, for the things I haven't tried out yet......but will eventually ;)
Grado SR-60/SR-80 - Grado, an American maker of audiophile quality headphones and cartridges came out with the SR-60 as an affordable step into high quality cans 20 plus years back and haven't changed a thing. The look tells this (although I kind of like the old-school styling) , but if you aren't set back by this these are reputably some of the best price-point/performance cans available. The 80 model changes a little, with the same drivers, but a larger, more spacious earpad and increased bass-responsiveness. A bit forward sounding to some, these are suposedly deadly for rock.
Granted, now we're moving out of the "affordable-to-starving-music-student" price range so I'll stop there. Sennheiser makes great can's in this range too, the HD515 and HD555. But I haven't had the opportunity to sample these either, but I have a sneaking suspicion you can't go wrong with either choice.
With the bigger headphones, more power will be needed to fully take advantage of the sound. Portable headphone amps come in all shapes and sizes, but two styles stick out with price in mind. The hand-made "CMoy" amps vary from maker to maker, but are relatively cheap and in large avail on eBay. Or, a new affordable alternative has recently reared it's head. FiiO, a Chinese manufacturer has released extremely affordable and portable amps, the E3 and more recently, the E5. Google those for the best prices, but they both have garnered relative praise from among the good folk from head-fi.org. I'll post my review of the E3 as soon as they arrive!
Happy Solstice!
Live vid from PK!
Here's a vid, albeit not the one I promised (still trying to find a decent video editor for that one) from the First Annual Dia De Los Toadies that Ross and I went to.
Also, I promise to post more often!
-w-
Toadies "No Deliverance" Live
Apologies for the wait!
Wow. It's been a long time since I've posted on here. So, I guess I'll have to start doing so again.
First off, I saw the Toadies once again on the same tour, granted, this time there was no 50+ hours of driving involved. Just a mere 14, to Minneapolis. We surprised Andy with tickets a week after he returned from Europe, and he had a blast. Great show, but they didn't play Dollskin, always a favorite of mine live.
I'm helping out at a local video game store for the holiday season, or as I like to say, "I've rejoined the circus." Seriously. If another over-weight middle aged woman yells at me for not having the WiiFit in stock, I'll shoot myself.
It's strange. I really don't play any games anymore, much less anything on the three "next-gen" systems...so I kinda feel really old when people are asking me about games that game out "a long time ago" that I've never even heard of. Granted, in the game business, "a long time ago" typically refers to a few months back. But, I'm still amazed at the graphics these systems can push out. Also, I still find myself wanting to play the really old classics. After watching a particular episode of the British Channel 4 series "Spaced" I found myself looking up if we had in stock Resident Evil 2. I think I may check it out and borrow my ASM's GameCube and play it. I remember me and my brother staying up late to play that creepy game....It'll pass the time before Starcraft 2 comes out, anyway.
It's now getting close to officially being winter, so alas, there's no frolfing anywhere near Minot. I'm finding I miss my daily walks in the park. I suppose I could go walk in the park now, but losing frolf discs in the snow, not to mention personal extremities to the bitter cold, somehow doesn't sound appealing.
Also, I'm trying desperately not to become a de facto audiophile, for fear of my wallet. But I've become somewhat knowledgeable in the fields of MP3 players (of the non-fruity kind) and affordable audiophile-quality headphone gear. So, in a little bit of a winter solstice gift to you all, I'll share some links to some decent stuff which would make excellent gifts/stocking stuffers!
(in the next post, of course!)
-w-
Evidence.
Here are some assorted pictures from the trip, to hold you over until I have a bit of downtime to arrange a proper viewing. (plus a great video I have yet to edit!)
-w-
