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| ok... sorry, xanga, but I'm going to blogger. I figured we should break it off now before things turn abusive.
http://redherring22.blogspot.com/
yours truly,
bennett
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| Two things I don't like about the music industry, pt 1:for those of you who don't know, I'm going to school in the fall for a master's in music technology
at NYU... so in preparation for that, I'm studying all I can about
music theory, the music industry, and music technology.
I recently picked up the new Mars Volta and Hot Hot Heat CDs (both
rock) and noticed two things that really irk me that I'm sure is a
result of record industry practices and NOT what the artists had in
mind:
1) FBI ANTI-PIRACY WARNING! Both these CDs had a big obnoxious
ring of text emblazoned on their faces warning anyone that contemplates
copying the CD and pirating it not to or else the FBI will send them to
Guantanamo Bay. The Mars Volta CD also had a presidential-seal
looking FBI warning covering its artwork on the back.
Anyone who's gone through their 'rents record collections knows that,
at least at one magical point in time (the 60s), album artwork is part
of the whole package when it comes to music. I guess the
importance of album art is diminishing as electronically delivered
music gains in popularity, but I still think good album art- the cover,
in particular- can really add to the whole package. Sure,
Nevemind or Sgt Pepper's Lonely Heart's Club Band would still kick ass
even without covers... but the covers just put those albums over the
top.
So how do you think the Beatles would feel if the
RIAA/FBI/whomever slapped a big ol' FBI ANTIPIRACY WARNING right
across one of their brilliant album covers? I doubt that the Mars
Volta nor Hot Hot Heat were very happy w/ those labels, either.
Does that really discourage file sharing anyway?!
and 2) Have you ever wondered why your B-52s CD from the late 80s
(gotta love Cosmic Thing) is so much quieter than Jay-Z / Linkin Park's
Collision Course? Or any CD you've bought in the past few
years? Read this article:
http://www.prorec.com/prorec/articles.nsf/articles/8A133F52D0FD71AB86256C2E005DAF1C
yeah, a lot of it's wordy, but if anything, just look at the
pictures. Basically, there has been a competition for a while now
on making music as LOUD as possible so it stands out from the rest of
the pack. The problem with that is you lose the delicious
dynamics of the music in the process- sure, that might not be a problem
for a Lil' Jon song, but if Dark Side Of The Moon was compressed to all
hell, it would be really tough to listen to it all the way through and
to experience the musical / emotional roller coaster that the album
takes you along on.
When my band, Focusin, was
going to master our album, our engineer asked us an interesting
question: "Do you want Sheryl Crowe / Pearl Jam early 90s levels, or do
you want Linkin Park / Michelle Branch 2003 levels?" When he
brought up the waveforms of those songs, the difference was
astonishing. We opted for levels that you would be likely to find
on a late 90s recording. The other day I listened to good ol'
Heavens To Murgatroid all the way through on a long car ride, and then
Hot Hot Heat's Elevators (released this year) came on. It nearly
blew my ears out. I actually jumped and almost swerved off the
road!
Will the trend be reversed? Again, read the article above.
Maybe at some point people will grow weary of their music CONSTANTLY
YELLING AT THEM and wake up and smell the coffee... but then again,
never underestimate the stupidity of people in large groups.
This rant is over.
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| I will cristen this blog like any good jew should christen something... by talking about the strip club I went to last night.
So if you do a little math, you'll notice that yesterday was the cinco
de mayo. To celly-brate, some friends and I gathered at the Sunset Cantina on Comm Ave and ordered flights of tequila. We concluded that tequila is tequila... and that we were drunk.
After a very homoerotic dessert (chocolate fondue, three forks), we
proceeded to my neck of the woods- Malden- to go to a strip club that I
have been intrigued by for my two years of Malden residency but hadn't
found a reason to go to. Helloooo, the Squire. We were
goaded into going by a strip club connoisseur (am I allowed to use real
names on a blog?), who claimed that if it weren't already 11:45 there
were better options but the Squire would have to do. Anyhow...
I've never been to a strip club with a metal detector in the
entrance. In fact, the only times I have been through a metal
detector is at airports and maybe when I was visiting important
buildings in Washington, DC. I was pretty sure that our
waittress started out as a dancer there 30 years ago to fuel her high
school crack habit. Needless to say, this was a classy
establishment.
I agreed w/ mr. connoisseur- the Foxy Lady in Providence is a far
better club- but I'm glad I finally can check off The Squire on my
things-to-do-before-i-get-the-hell-out-of-malden-forever-and-never-admit-to-having-lived-there-ever-again
list. And now I can type no more. I'm wicked hungover.
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| gaaa... work is so boring that i've been reduced to blogging.
give me another week of this and i'll actually write a proper entry!
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