Hi-Fi State of Mind

The Current Setup

2012-01-12T14:13:00.001-05:00

This can change at a moments notice, but here is my current system:
Sansui 1000A (1967)
Rega P1
Marantz CD-63
Demon DR-M10HR
Polk Audio RTA 11TL

Post Xmas Schtuff

2012-01-09T16:34:00.003-05:00

Hey...I'm here, why not post, right?

My latest music acquisitions, in no particular order are:
Anthrax - Worship Music (*****) (CD)
Maroon 5 - Hands all over (****) (CD)
Victorious - Music from the Nick TV Show (****) (CD)
James Brown - Plays New Breed (Boo-Ga-Loo) - Haven't listened yet but hey - it's James Brown! (LP)

I'm currently using a friends 1967 Sansui 1000A as my primary receiver. It's a tube amp and it has a nice, warm sound to it (as most tube amps do I suppose). It's only 2 channel, so I don't have my rear speakers hooked up. I *love* the sound of the Sansui, but I almost prefer the 4-channel quadraphonic sound that my Pioneer QX-8000 produces. Kind of a toss-up really. They both have their charms. I'm lucky that I can swap out whenever I want to if I feel like changing things up.

That's all for now. I'm hoping that someone at Google gets the kinks worked out of their Blogger app for Android. If that happens, you'll probably see a lot more action in this blog. Probably.

2011-12-07T21:09:00.001-05:00

Not a lot happening lately. Lots of work, dead phone, and holidays = not a heck of a lot in the world of classic audio and/or record collecting. Fear not though - I will be back with random thoughts in those realms!

Birthday Stuff - Two Weeks Late

2011-08-26T15:12:00.000-04:00

So I've been so busy with work, etc that I forgot to post after my birthday. I was surprised with a trip to Jerry's Records in Squirrel Hill here in Pittsburgh - sort of a Mecca of vinyl East of the Mississippi. I picked up a *sealed* copy of the Black Hole soundtrack, an album of Celtic music by an Irish woman who's name I can't pronounce, and what looks to be a mid-to-late 50's album of Benny Goodman. Good stuff. I'm debating whether I should even open the Black Hole ST. I mean, the music from that movie is phenomenal (John Barry), but I dunno if I should unseal it or not. It wouldn't be the first time I unsealed an LP that I'd bought (see: Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young - So Far), but still...I'm torn. I also got the new Beastie Boys album on CD because, sadly, I couldn't find it on vinyl.

In any case, it was an *awesome* birthday - one of the best on record, actually.

Love This

2011-08-13T08:55:00.000-04:00

A blog post from a friend of mine:

Vinyl Record Architect

Cute Girl Collects Records.

2011-08-06T17:13:00.000-04:00

Hawt :

Linkage

I Almost Hate To Admit It

2011-08-03T20:14:00.000-04:00

Ok, so yeah, I know that it's supposedly uncool for someone who's into music to like pop. Well, I'm finding out that in some cases, yes, I do enjoy pop music. Of course, some of it is drek - that has always been true of "Top 40" music. But man...some of the stuff I hear on the radio, I feel the need to get onto a CD and pump it through the Quadraphonic system. And dammit, "On The Floor" by Jennifer Lopez sounds really damn good...

Back In The Saddle

2011-07-18T18:21:00.000-04:00

Well, as the title implies, I'm back! I won't bore and/or depress you with the details of what's been happening because hey - music is supposed to bring you joy, right? So by extension, a blog *about* music should aim to be joyful, fun, etc, as well, right? Suffice it to say, things are looking up around here, and about damn time says I.

Anyway, when last I left you, my Pioneer quadraphonic receiver (QX-8000 for the hi-fi nerds out there) was in the shop, after having blown the right front channel. Well I got it back, and it blew the same channel again about 2 weeks later. Hooray for warranties! Took it back, got 'er fixed, and she's singing like she's new! By the way, if you're in the Pittsburgh area, go see my buddy Tom at Vintage Hi-Fi of Pittsburgh - he and Anders will take good care of you and/or your equipment. Stereo equipment you perverts...

Additionally, I got a couple of LPs the other day as well - Judas Priest, "Screaming for Vengeance", and this:

I'd been looking for "High Voltage" for a while. It's in excellent shape, and an awesome AC/DC album. In fact, I may put it on this evening (again). :-)

Not A Lot

2011-06-29T21:32:00.000-04:00

Not a heck of a lot going on for me musically lately. Low on funds, job giving me the shaft, etc. I'll be back in the swing of things soon, and hopefully with some new musical finds. Stay tuned, and thanks!

Great Article!

2011-06-13T16:06:00.001-04:00

http://www.reviewrinserepeat.com/news/2011-06-12/record-rumblings-why-pick-vinyl

OK, So I Lied

2011-06-03T11:50:00.000-04:00

Went to a thrift store today. Picked up Rod Stewart "A Night on the Town", Michael Jackson "Thriller", and Pink Floyd "Meddle" for a buck each. Nice!

I actually already had the Floyd and MJ, but these were in better shape than my copies. And hey - a DOLLAR.

Heads Down

2011-06-03T10:31:00.000-04:00

Apologies for not updating in a while. Not a lot going on in the realm of music or music equipment for me. I've been trying to find gainful employment, beyond the job I already have. It looks like I may have something, so keep your fingers crossed for me.

A Cool Idea

2011-05-20T15:19:00.002-04:00

Is one that is soon copied.

I may do something like this myself, because...well...why not?

http://www.stereophile.com/content/room-treatments

An Unexpected Trip

2011-05-20T14:50:00.000-04:00

To Half Price Books and Records netted this:

Led Zeppelin II

The Cries of the Carrots

2011-05-20T11:23:00.001-04:00

Tool on vinyl

Yep, I have Tool on vinyl, and it's playing right now. I am that cool.

Kill Your Self-Important Asshats

2011-05-17T15:53:00.004-04:00

Question: what's worse than archival footage of questionably-talented bands doing their thing in grainy clips with horrible sound quality? The aging "punks" from the clips talking about how great and important they were/are.

I watched a documentary last night about the early punk, or "No-Wave" music scene that happened between 1975 and 1982. It's called "Kill Your Idols" - I recommend it if you have an hour and a half to burn that you never want back. You can stream it on Netflix, so at least you don't have to go out of your way for it. I suppose it could act as a warning to up-and-coming bands on how NOT to act when someone shoves a camera in your face. Basically, don't be an ego-maniacal, self-important asshat.

I seriously almost turned this thing off about 10 minutes into it. I felt bad that I subjected my wife to it at all. Now, to be fair, a few good bands (The Ramones and Sonic Youth amongst them) came from this scene, but they were, you know, talented. Several interviewees admitted that they didn't even know any chords, etc when they formed these so-called "bands". They were, apparently, trying to avoid being derivative of anything. A couple of guitar lessons wouldn't have killed them to be honest. The worst of the lot was Lydia Lunch. She started out as a groupie, eventually forming "Teenage Jesus and The Jerks". I suppose you have to have a certain amount of ego to be able to get up in front of a room full of people and play shitty "music", but seriously, Lydia made her band out to be the Black Sabbath of early punk.

And yeah, I suppose that part of the whole thing was supposed to be art, which is all well and good, but string some chords together once in a while for fuck's sake.

The second half of the film concentrated on the modern-day NYC scene, circa 2002. The Yeah Yeah Yeah's and Gogol Bordello, both reasonably talented and entertaining bands, are interviewed in this part of the film. And aside from Karen O from the Yeah Yeah Yeah's
saying "like" and "you know" about a million times during the interviews, and the guy from A.R.E. Weapons being a douche, I found them fairly interesting, and not nearly as self-flagellation inducing as the old guard interviewees.

I think the most amusing thing about this whole film is how the old-timers completely turned on the newer bands, dismissing them outright as "poseurs" (or posers, if you will) and/or being derivative of themselves. Whatever - The Strokes, Yeah Yeah Yeah's, and Gogol Bordello are at least talented and make *music*.

One Netflix reviewer put it thus:

"ZZzzzzzzzzzz. and then I wake up and its still obscure musicians glorifying obscurity and then defending their brand of obscurity. ZZzzzzzzzz."

Now, I'm not one of those people who think just because a band has become popular, that they are suddenly no good, sell-outs, or what-have-you. I'm also not in the camp that says that an obscure band, regardless of genre, is not worthy of attention and accolades. Some of the best music ever made is stuff that we sadly, may never hear. However, I know music. Some of the crap that was being served up by these bands could be considered music, but only because the noise being produced was emanating from musical instruments.

The movie itself was OK - the footage of the bands was grainy (intentionally?), and the sound quality was generally bad, but I can't fault the movie makers for the quality of the music being presented. I suppose if "No Wave" is your thing, you might dig this documentary, as some of the big names from that era are interviewed. Otherwise, save yourself the aggravation.

Riffage

2011-05-07T09:18:00.001-04:00

The greatest riffs of all time? Here's a pretty interesting list - discuss:

http://blogs.houstonpress.com/rocks/2011/05/satisfaction_the_mother_of_all.php

Pure Energy

2011-05-03T18:25:00.000-04:00

Information Society - very underrated. Go get some, if you can find it!

Oi-yey

2011-05-01T20:31:00.000-04:00

Got a copy of "Abraxas" (Santana) from a buddy of mine this afternoon. (thanks Mike!) I didn't realize just how much of that album is instrumental. That's a good thing by the way, and a pretty good album overall. I need to give it a good cleaning and listen to it again soon. However, all you ever hear from that LP is "Oye Como Va" and (sometimes) "Black Magic Woman". Commercial radio blows. One bad thing about the album though - some idiot covered the boobies with a sticker. Jerk.

Don't Dream It...Be it

2011-05-01T08:52:00.000-04:00

Great cult classic movie. Pretty bad on it's own, but if you get an audience who knows what they're doing, one of the best times you'll have in a movie theater. I've seen this movie several hundred times. The soundtrack is *excellent*. The best song in the movie (IMO), "Super Heroes", wasn't even in the American release of the flick - it was cut for time. However, it's in some of the video releases, and the song was included on the soundtrack. Go find and buy this soundtrack if you're a fan of the movie, a collector of soundtracks, or just enjoy some good, fun music. In fact, I think I'll put on the LP after I get in from my outside chores today!

And crawling on the planet's face
Some insects called the human race
Lost in time, lost in space
And meaning

Randomness

2011-04-28T21:40:00.000-04:00

I got a wild hair this evening (the Pens are out of the playoffs - I have a lot of spare time on my hands) and burned a CD with a bunch of random tunes on it. Some of these songs I had downloaded previously when I was the "Music Guy" for the Augusta Lynx of the ECHL. I always downloaded/ripped the songs onto my computer (all completely legally, of course), then transferred them to the hockey computer (first via burned CDs, then via memory stick). For no apparent reason, here's the track listing. Feel free to comment, point and laugh, or otherwise critique. I can take it, honestly! :-)

1 - Pop -N'sync
2 - California Love - 2Pac
3 - Tribal Dance - 2 Unlimited
4 - Channel Z - The B-52s
5 - Days Go By - Dirty Vegas
6 - Playing With Lightning - Expansion Union
7 - Trip Like I Do - The Crystal Method
8 - Dark Angel (Azrael) - VNV Nation
9 - Non-Stop V - Apoptygma Berzerk
10 - Bodies (XXX Remix) - Drowning Pool
11 - Stick 'Em Up - Quarashi
12 - Zero - Smashing Pumpkins
13 - Hear Me Out - The Binges
14 - Block Rockin' Beats - Chemical Brothers
15 - I Will Survive - Cake
16 - Californication - Red Hot Chili Peppers
17 - Superstition - Stevie Wonder

Math Quiz

2011-04-28T18:51:00.000-04:00

What does Aguilera plus Brown equal? Amazing.

With the exception of the Godfather himself, this is probably the best cover of this song you will ever hear or see. A close second is when James Brown performed a version of this song with Luciano Pavarotti.

Yard Crap

2011-04-26T13:11:00.001-04:00

Looking for a good read? Looking for thoughts and information about gardening, birds and/or high-end audio? Stop by and check out the blog called "Yard Crap" - you won't be disappointed!

http://yardcrap.typepad.com/yardcrap/

**ETA - I don't agree with his politics - at all. However, I can't fault him for his taste in music. Well, except for Lynyrd Skynyrd. I fuckin' hate Lynyrd Skynyrd**

New Music?

2011-04-26T12:57:00.000-04:00

If you're looking for an online source for new music and/or bands, here are 5 sites that you might have missed if you weren't looking closely:

Article by Eliot Van Buskirk

Check Your Head

2011-04-26T12:16:00.001-04:00

Classic Beastie Boys album, remastered and on vinyl. InSound also has a package deal for the LP and a t-shirt. Good stuff! Had I the $$, I would definitely be getting an LP copy of this classic party album, and the shirt too!

http://www.insound.com/Check-Your-Head-Remastered-Edition-LP-Beastie-Boys/P/INS52954/

Perhaps I'll do a review of this CD soon. I haven't listened to it in a while (or any Beasties for that matter), so it'll be fun to revisit it.

Drew...

2011-04-25T08:34:00.000-04:00

He's becoming quite the music fanatic. Ok, well perhaps not yet, but I love this picture of him, listening to some headphones, amongst rows of music and movies...

I've got Lager Fever!

2011-04-24T20:03:00.000-04:00

Spent the afternoon thus: cleaning records, eating Easter dinner with friends, cleaning more records. I cleaned probably 20 or 30 records today. I'm listening to one of them now - German drinking songs titled, "Lager Fever". It's all in German - lyrics, cover, song listing, everything. It's your basic oompah music, with the requisite yodeling. Probably won't see a lot of time on the turntable(s), but might be fun on occasion to put on when some friends are over and we've had a few brews. Or, you know, if I have a German beer-drinker over.

2011-04-24T11:01:00.002-04:00

The Ishtar stage set from their 4/23 show. Nice! Special appearance by Darter!

Bellyrockin'...

2011-04-24T10:06:00.000-04:00

Great, fun show by Ishtar last night! I ran the camera, ogled the belly dancers, helped them load out, and generally had a fabulous time! A couple of cell phone pics here.

The venue - The Geyer Performing Arts Center - is an old theater, from the same era as the Imperial Theatre, where I worked and was the T.D. for several years. Built around the same time (early 1900s), it has a LOT of similarities to the old Imperial. The Geyer is about half the size of the Imperial, holding probably 400 or so people. Nice theater though, and great people. If I lived closer to Scottdale PA, I'd probably work there on occasion.

Overall a great night. Fun show, easy cleanup and load out - what more can a tech monkey ask for, right?

Currently on the CDP

2011-04-23T14:57:00.001-04:00

Skeletons From the Closet: The Best of Grateful Dead

Turku!

2011-04-23T14:50:00.000-04:00

Go here for *amazing* music by some good, amazing friends of mine!

Turku: Nomads of the Silk Road

Yes, well then...

2011-04-23T09:37:00.000-04:00

It's been what - 3 years? That sounds about right. Well, probably a bit less than that since I last blogged about anything, really. I've been through a couple of jobs since then, but otherwise, life goes on. I've decided to make this a music blog. Not necessarily a critic blog, although I'll probably do a bit of that. This will be a blog about my love of *all* things music. The equipment that plays music, the people I know who make music, the people I know who appreciate music, and my thoughts on all of the above. I've decided to keep my previous blog posts as they are, rather than deleting them entirely. They aren't music related in any way, but feel free to peruse them if you have a few minutes you never want to see again.

I've been inspired to do this in no small part by Paul Rosenblatt who I bumped into last Saturday at Jerry's Records during Record Store Day. He was a customer of one of my previous employers, who's name will not be typed in this space. Ahem. Anyway, his architectural firm was always one of my favorite stops to make. Very nice guy, and quite talented. Turns out, we're both music fanatics, and fans of music on vinyl in particular. I hope that he and I can hang out one of these days, spin some wax, and talk music.

The family and I are headed to "dahntahn" Pittsburgh today to hang around and just check some stuff "aht". If I end up with any music, I'll be sure you know about it.

Also, I'm working a gig this evening for the lovely and talented folks of Ishtar! I get to be tech-monkey for a few hours, which is "work" I love. I mean, I get to hang out with awesome people, listen to *fabulous* music, and play with video equipment. How great is THAT? As if all that wasn't enough, it's a belly dance show. :-) Good times. I'll be sure to take some pics and post 'em somewhere for yinz guys to see. Maybe I'll even post them here, if I can remember/figure out how to do that...

Paul Frank Skurvy Black Watch

2008-08-27T22:22:00.005-04:00

Actually, that's not what this picture will be. The title of this post was the first thing that dropped in via "auto complete" when I typed "P". The post title was going to be "Picture", but hell with that...BORING. The above title is boring AND makes no sense!
On with a picture...

This is my fav-o-rite band in the whole world. Their name is Metallica, and they kick ASS. Their new album comes out on September 12th. It's called "Death Magnetic". You should buy it, because it is going to KICK ASSSSSS!
As an aside, I do have a Paul Frank Skurvy Black watch up for bid on eBay. You should go and buy it, 'cause I need moneys.

Wild Kingdom...

2008-07-20T20:55:00.004-04:00

OK, well maybe not wild kingdom, but our back yard has it's fair share of wild life, including this family of deer that visited us this evening.

Yours Truly

2008-07-16T18:44:00.000-04:00

At Kennywood!

:-(

2008-06-23T10:17:00.000-04:00

1937 - 2008

Xtina

2008-06-21T00:41:00.000-04:00

H - A - W - T

That is all...

Just because I can...

2008-06-12T00:14:00.000-04:00

Here's something that was also posted in LiveJournal, which I like, but hardly ever use. Will this one get more use? Time will tell...

Wikipedia, you never fail to entertain me...

So I'm watching the VH1 show "I Love The 80's" (OK, not so much watching, it was playing in the background as I did other stuff. That's my story and I'm sticking to it.) (and really - who DOESN'T love the 80's?!?). Anyway, they had a brief thing on about Max Headroom. Damn! Hadn't thought about him for *years*. So, off to Wikipedia I go! In the article, the "Max Headroom Pirating Incident" is mentioned. Never one to turn down an interesting sounding link, I followed it. Anyway, I won't spoil it for you, but do yourself a favor - go and be creeped out by this successful TV signal hijacking. The actual video can be watched via some of the links in the "External Links" area of the article.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Max_Headroom_pirating_incident

Not linked from Wikipedia, but this article is my favorite: http://xmbill.wordpress.com/2007/02/11/wttw-chicago-max-headroom-pirating-incident-11-22-87/

The coolest part about it? The guy and his apparent cohorts were never caught! Also interesting to note is that there hasn't been another incident of signal hijacking since.

Just wanted to share. Oh, and I'm a big ol' geek for the Art of Noise, whom have a Max Headroom connection as well:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZEPq0FvFm3g

That's all for this completely random update. What can I say - I'm feeling creative!