It’s amazing the stuff you can get done while listening to some tranquil tunes. Productivity has been off the charts recently, luckily there is no union slowing me up.
My apartment is finally coming along and almost ready for visitors! (Not that it has stopped me from having any.) But I have finally finished building shelves and getting crates in for the record collection! And good pal Christi is coming in a few weeks to organize all the records, so I have to be ready with an organizational system!
That said,
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Personally, I’m probably leaning towards answer 4, but I’m open to suggestions!
For the first time in awhile I have been working the daylight shift at work this week. I really don’t mind working the evening shift, aside from I always miss all the good shows. However, this week was not the case!
Tonight I headed over to Third Thursdays at WYEP for some free beer and a dose of local music. Playing at the show was Good Night, States. Obviously, a Pittsburgh local group. This is definitly a group that you can dance to. I think out of their entire set they only had one mellow song.
WYEP will be posting a podcast of the show at somepoint (it usually takes them awhile,) but when they do check it out! I loved the second song of the set and of-course their song “Killer Of The One” which is played on the radio was awesome to hear live. Third Thursdays Podcast Link
Rarely do I look at the play count stats on my iTunes, but as I waited on hold to cancel my verizon dsl service I noticed one of the more interesting tunes near the top. It’s called, “Every Car You Chase” and it’s a mashup by Party Ben. The song combines The Police’s “Every Breath You Take” to that of “Chasing Cars” by Snow Patrol.
I’ve played this song a few times on the radio and have gotten a positive response; and out of the many mashups I collect, this is one of the better ones. So if you are in a music mood I thought I’d share:
Last night I went to a house show over on Troy Hill in Pittsburgh. The event was mostly organized by Chowes, so naturally the concert featured a group from the north eastern part of the states where she was groomed.
The group featured was an indie / folk foursome called The Low Anthem. The first thing that struck me was the musical creativeness and wide array of instruments for four people! There was a trumpet playing clarinetist named Jocie Adams who also boogied on the electric guitar, pump organ, bass and microphone. There is also the banjo trumpeter and E flat horn master, Ben Miller, who also sung vocals and played on the pump organ, drums and an array of guitars. Still going there is a fantastic bass player Jeffrey Prystowsky who also can rock out on the mic, acoustic guitar, drums and pump organ. Finally, the newest member of the group is Cyrus Scofield who is a drumming trumpeter and pump organ player.
As you can tell it’s not your average foursome. So by now you are probably thinking the sound must be “out there” with all the instruments I just listed, but it’s really not! There were some great tunes for rocking out and dancing, but also some that were more mellow and good for relaxing. All the songs though featured a compilation of the instruments in a way that each worked well with one another.
One of the most impressive songs of the evening was called the Cell Phone Song, which featured cell phones as an instrument! (At first I thought Ben was checking his text messages in the middle of a song and I was like WTF! When really he was just calling another cell phone.) The musical talent in the group is fantastic, so I’m sure if there is an instrument that fits a sound their going for, you’ll see them with it.
If you ever catch them coming to your local area, definitely check this group out! I picked up their latest cd, called, “Oh My God, Charlie Darwin” with the press number 454 out of 2000.
“The Low Anthem formed as a professional band in 2006 in Providence, RI. The founding members were Miller and Prystowsky. Their mutual interests in Americana, baseball, and morally agnostic narrative necessitated the formation of The Low Anthem. They began a collaboration with classical composer Jocie Adams in November 2007.
The Low Anthem have recorded three full-length records, toured exstensively with 100 shows in 2007, won Best Album of 2008 from the Providence Phoenix, recieved national radio play, and are building a legitimate fanbase across the Northeast.”
- Stylish
- Portable
- perfect for the record collection (sized around 2000)
Now to figure out how I am going to build my version… ideas?
The above picture is from Kenneth Brown and is said to be capable of holding 2000 albums! I can only imagine how much he would charge if I bought the unit from him… jikes!
The latest addition to my equipment collection to provide me relief and escape from all the annoying election coverage which is hiding the interesting stories. (story 1, story 2)
This beauty is capable of 33, 45 and 78 rpm speeds. The 78 speed is the main reason I bought this unit so I can finally start listening to the 78’s I’ve acquired.
What I am going to do is listen to one album from start to finish everyday, the way the artist intended. Afterwards I’ll blog what I listened to. Perhaps the thirty minutes will be a relaxing safe haven for the day…?
I picked up the collection with my buddy Ron and his Dad on our way home from the Atlantic City DJ Expo. We managed to pack all the records in the mini van with Ron in the back seat… think of it like an Ikea commercial. My parents, who were also on vacation with us, were not looking forward to stuffing their mini van full of records - infact, I’m not sure I could have even puppy dog faced that one.
Back to the boardwalk, the DJ Expo was mighty cool and quite loud. Luckily though I remembered my musician ear plugs :)! At the expo I bought myself a turntable with changeable styluses and cartridges which is capable of playing up to 78’s. I’ll snap a picture of it when it arrives. It’s like a plan all coming together… hmm.
BTW, I made my youtube debut at the expo: (For those who don’t know me, keep your eyes peeled around the 7 minute mark“It was kickin ass in there!!”- Yes, I already know I look and sound quirky in the video… it was the alcohol talking.)
So on my recent cruise around ebay I discovered “A Lot of Records” for sale… 2000 of them infact. At first i thought it was 110… then after a small incident, I quickly realized it was upto 2000+ records. So I mentioned the idea to a few people,
Christi - Pushed me into going through with the deal so we could have a Personal Conservatory.
Braden - “Did u get those records? I would of.”
J2B - Vehemently opposed the idea, but accidently left me alone as the auction ended. “opps? I said…”
Evelyn - “Oh that is a wonderful price, your should really go for it”
Mother - *laughs at the idea* (she won’t be when she sees her basement soon.)
Casey - “I am not getting involved in this one.”
Rebecca - “Those must be pretty shitty records at a price like that.”
So with those comments in mind I was talking with J2B as the auction ended. Soon J2B decided it was best to get some food and while I was left alone, the power of Christi, Evelyn and Braden took over… next thing I knew, I was calling Christi and Braden to hold up their end of the bargain and help me move 2000 records.
The start of my Personal Conservatory begins!
With that in mind, I have decided to start a sub-blog on my blog here to detail the story of the records. I also plan on listening to one album from start to finish everyday and posting what I listen to. In a few years, I hope to have listened to every record.
Do you have any ideas on a title for such a blog? I am at a loss… email me ideas!
Other than that, I am told Braden is going to be an ass and ditch me on the hike to pick up the records. Jerk. Send him hate mail here.
Last year I aquirred a rather large lot of 78 RMP records that I’ve been wanting to listen to and probably transfer into the computer at some point. Mostly though, I am looking forward to listening to the albums on the turntable rather than clicking a digital file. Yeah, eventually the records will wear, but that is the nature of the medium. I’ll take some wear and tear for the feeling of pulling a record from it’s sleeve, setting it on the platter and moving the tone arm to the edge. To me, it’s an art. Albums were compiled by the artist in a certain way for a reason and listening from start to finish exactly as the creator intended is quite an enjoyable experience. There may be tunes that I don’t care for, but there is a reason they were put between cuts 2 and 5. Cd’s and computers take the fun away; Too easy to just skip a track or download the one song.
So 33 and 45 RPM turntables are no trouble in my cave, but the 78’s have sent me to the net in search of a new [to me] turntable. Initially I wasn’t to sure if I wanted to go with something vintage or newer, but I think I’ve settled on going vintage because when I think about… older stuff usually works better, lasts longer and often in my opinion looks cooler (sometimes.) Plus, I was also thinking the technology for 78’s was perfected back in the day, so chances are the quality would be better because they really knew what was going on. Besides, in the end what matters most is the quality and type of needle you can get for the unit.
I think for quality purposes (most important to me) it looks like I’m going for a unit which requires a magnetic cartridge. Often cheaper units and portable units being sold today use a cheap ceramic cartridge. Ceramic cartridges have a more limited frequency range than their magnetic counter part, in addition the ceramic cartridges track at a significantly higher force (causing more damage and distortion.) I could go on, but if you are truly as interested in it as me I’d suggest reading about it on wikipedia as to spare the not-so-interested readers.
Unfortunately, I have yet to buy a turntable for the 78’s… but, I do have a few bids in on ebay. However, in the research and hunting I’ve come across some interesting turntable tech that I’d like to share [the point of this post!]
How about the i-pod of turntables? Designed in response to Sony’s walkman, this is one stellar unit. Meet the Audio Technica Sound Burger, a perfect complement to your morning paper read in the break room. Just pop in three “C” batteries with your fuzzy earbuds and you are good to spin. And if you are looking to make your player unique, be sure to personalize it with your very own color choice, just like your ipod.
I mentioned earlier about the art of records… an exhibit in the Arizona State University art museum called, “The Grove” brings on an interesting form. This youtube video cleverly titled, “Step into the Grove” covers it well.
The other day my grandfather and I went to Half-Price Books. By far one of my favorite book stores around! It’s just one of those stores that you can not leave empty handed. My grandfather was looking for some books on tape to use up his fathers day gift card. Quite a convenient gift since he and grandma needed something new to entertain them on the way back to New Jersey.
So while he was off getting lost, I ended up in the music section of the store and picked up 2 box sets of CD’s.
The first set of CD’s I found archives the origins of electronic music. It’s a box set of an electronic music history book, 3 cd’s and a dvd with tracks from the very first artists who created “electronic” music - the oldest track on the set dates back to 1948! Really cool. I admit, I am a slight nerd with music… which leads to the next box set I found buried.
The second set of CD’s is a 10 cd-set of early Rhythm & Blues. I am stoked about just sitting down with a beer (or wine) and some pretzels (or Hors D’oeuvres) some night and checking out the cuts. (I know, what a date that’d be - right?)
Don’t get me wrong, I like new music - I love new music of most styles and genres - but discovering where music has evolved from really intrigues me, while the new music excites me.
The first CD set: OHM+ “the early gurus of electronic music”
Some really really trippy tunes…
The second box set: Rhythm & Blues - Original Masters
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The Time for Liberty
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