Thursday, December 29, 2005

the effect of electricity on music



I'm excited and sad.

Excited because one of my interests, "the effect of electricity on music" is the subject, and the title, of an 8 part radio series from the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation called The Wire. It's on ABC Radio National, on The Night Air at 8.30pm on Sundays, Part one repeated Friday at 9.35pm, Part Two repeated Saturday at midnight.

I'm sad because although I heard the first episode last week, it was in the car, and the ABC haven't made it available for download. I'm sad because I'll also be away next time it is on and won't be able to record it.

Last week's Episode 1– Hallo, Hallo reflected on how electricity has changed the way we think of the human voice, the way we communicate sound to large groups of people, and the way we now take for granted that sound is something that can be preserved, stored and heard again.

Although the programs themselves are not available The Wire site has the background, playlists and the complete interviews, some over an hour long (unfortunately in Real Player format), on which the programs are based as well as links to resources such as Fessenden and Marconi: Their Differing Technologies.

Thursday, December 22, 2005

roses are #FF0000, violets are #0000FF

A lane, garbage truck, car that needs time to start in lane, Cast Iron Balcony, Barista, AGB, boynton, Gummo, wbb, plus someone claiming to be Nabs. Real bloody characters all.

Talk turns to the good old days, dial up, text, irc, newsgroups.. [I wanted to up the ante and go way back with talk of acoustic couplers, punch cards and an Osborne Luggable but I had a sneaking suspicion Gummo might trump me]

A nice start to xmas.

From the geek love book:

Roses are #FF0000,
Violets are #0000FF
all of my base,
are belong to you

Thursday, December 15, 2005

you learn something everyday

When Elektra released Too Fast for Love, it was a disaster. The priority for the label was an Australian band called Cold Chisel, and everybody in the promotions department was intent on making them the next big thing. I happened to be listening in on a conference call when I heard a regional promotions man say to the head of the radio department, "Listen, I've got a station in Denver and another in Colorado Springs that just added Motley Crue. They're not interested in Cold Chisel, but I'll keep working on them"

Tom Zutaut, Manager of Motley Crue, from THE DIRT: Motley Crue. Confessions of the World's Most Notorious Rock Band. With Neil Strauss.

Friday, December 09, 2005

zimmy. to the white phone: london's calling for you

Bob has been doing the Clash's "London Calling" at his last London concerts.

Via
Dylan Daily

Friday, December 02, 2005

come back again, I'm just crazy 'bout you ..

There was a time when a Prime Minister didn't fawn over cricket yobs and had style in clothing and taste in music.

On reading this I wondered if he had some Quad ESL's but they are not American. He is probably misled about Class A amps and possibly deluded about DACs but I have fallen in love all over again after seeing this bit of delightful hifi nerdery:

"..took 15 years to find the perfect sound system..",

"I started with the speakers, by an American Armenian. They're not directional speakers, they don't hit you, they go round you. Problem was it was very hard to drive them. Years later I found the only A-class amplifier built, the Gryphon, and I've got a digital analog converter. It's a knockout sound, makes your hair stand up. Not good for home units, not good for neighbours"


From: Dividends of a fervent listener: Paul Keating, the only PM to have appeared on the cover of Rolling Stone, The Financial Review 28/11/2005