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Dec. 9th, 2009 12:07 am- 12:33 Good news, false alarm! RT @wax_fm: wax_fm Technics 1200 & 1210 turntables not facing axe; 2009 vinyl sales up 35% on 2008 tr.im/H1W9 #
the wheels of steel are no more
Nov. 30th, 2009 07:25 pmAlas, I hear tell that the Technics 1200 turntable will cease production in February.
My first encounter with this slick technology was as a college radio DJ in the early 90s when the live studio got a set to replace the ancient cement wheels we'd been using. Most of the jocks didn't like them because they were "too loose" but I and the woman with whom I split the weekly dance music show all but wept with joy and envy, as we'd been trying to mix with the aforementioned cement and it was like dragging lead back and forth.
This was back in the day when all mixing was done with actual physical records. A. and I both had to haul heavy milk crates of records to the 4th floor studio, in a building with no elevator (uphill, both ways!) The memories of the difficulties/joys are still so vivid that it's easy for me to forget that this was nearly 20 years ago, and it was a real shock to me to realize that the upcoming generation of college/club jocks don't really know how it was done before mp3s.
That the technology has advanced so dramatically that I could now (in theory at least) store the contents of those crates on a single flash drive is mind boggling when I stop to think about it. And I do still have all my vinyl and a turntable to play them on (a Stanton USB, so I can burn all my '90s "techno" to disc).
Mp3 "djing" (if it can be truly said to be proper manipulation and beatmatching when the computer does it for you) falls under "stuff I'd love to play with if I had the time". If only because I wouldn't have to haul around as much..
My first encounter with this slick technology was as a college radio DJ in the early 90s when the live studio got a set to replace the ancient cement wheels we'd been using. Most of the jocks didn't like them because they were "too loose" but I and the woman with whom I split the weekly dance music show all but wept with joy and envy, as we'd been trying to mix with the aforementioned cement and it was like dragging lead back and forth.
This was back in the day when all mixing was done with actual physical records. A. and I both had to haul heavy milk crates of records to the 4th floor studio, in a building with no elevator (uphill, both ways!) The memories of the difficulties/joys are still so vivid that it's easy for me to forget that this was nearly 20 years ago, and it was a real shock to me to realize that the upcoming generation of college/club jocks don't really know how it was done before mp3s.
That the technology has advanced so dramatically that I could now (in theory at least) store the contents of those crates on a single flash drive is mind boggling when I stop to think about it. And I do still have all my vinyl and a turntable to play them on (a Stanton USB, so I can burn all my '90s "techno" to disc).
Mp3 "djing" (if it can be truly said to be proper manipulation and beatmatching when the computer does it for you) falls under "stuff I'd love to play with if I had the time". If only because I wouldn't have to haul around as much..
love me baby, one more time
Aug. 30th, 2009 08:35 pmLately - well, now and then for the past few months - I've been queuing this up on YouTube from time to time, whenever I'm in the mood for a good, loopy, old-skool track.
High art, it ain't, but it's part of an old mixtape I got from a music penpal long gone. I got it right before a FL vacation and it was on heavy rotation on the drive down. And during (it rained the entire week). I have happy memories of that vacation (turns out it was one of the last I took with my extended family before graduating college/moving away) and so the associations are really good :)
Now and then I'll snoop teh intarwebs for the MP3s of it and 2 other tracks very similar to it (MIG 31 and MIG 33), partly for sentimental reasons but also for the thrill of the chase - given the ready availability of just about ANYTHING online I'm pleasantly surprised that these are genuinely hard to find!
Sooner or later I'll probably just get them on vinyl and make digital copies, if I can find 'em cheap (these aren't, after all, some limited edition Aphex Twin or the like - Wax.fm seems excellent for this), but right now I'm too busy enjoying the hunt :P
High art, it ain't, but it's part of an old mixtape I got from a music penpal long gone. I got it right before a FL vacation and it was on heavy rotation on the drive down. And during (it rained the entire week). I have happy memories of that vacation (turns out it was one of the last I took with my extended family before graduating college/moving away) and so the associations are really good :)
Now and then I'll snoop teh intarwebs for the MP3s of it and 2 other tracks very similar to it (MIG 31 and MIG 33), partly for sentimental reasons but also for the thrill of the chase - given the ready availability of just about ANYTHING online I'm pleasantly surprised that these are genuinely hard to find!
Sooner or later I'll probably just get them on vinyl and make digital copies, if I can find 'em cheap (these aren't, after all, some limited edition Aphex Twin or the like - Wax.fm seems excellent for this), but right now I'm too busy enjoying the hunt :P
compare/contrast
May. 21st, 2009 07:34 pmFollow up to my last post, compare:
Top US Singles of 1988
Top UK Singles of 1988
The former contains lots of pop fluff, standard rock and hair metal. The UK list, while not devoid of Whitney Houston and Phil Collins, has Theme from S'express [YouTube], Pet Shop Boys and the Timelords [YouTube], fer KLF's sake!
And these were just the number ones.
Is it any wonder I was a teenage anglophile?
Top US Singles of 1988
Top UK Singles of 1988
The former contains lots of pop fluff, standard rock and hair metal. The UK list, while not devoid of Whitney Houston and Phil Collins, has Theme from S'express [YouTube], Pet Shop Boys and the Timelords [YouTube], fer KLF's sake!
And these were just the number ones.
Is it any wonder I was a teenage anglophile?
likeable cheez
Dec. 11th, 2008 08:08 pmListening to some late '80s/early '90s pirate radio techno and marveling that Sesame's Treet was ever considered underground :P But then, Alvin and the Chipmunks style vocals and the rrrrrring hoover was both pretty standard for the genre ~15 years ago and unlike anything in the then top-40. Besides, context matters - it makes more sense at high volume on a late-night dancefloor than it does on an average home system.
Likewise, Adam Ant's "Apollo 9" is pretty catchy even though the lyrics make no sense. The video is amusing too, if only for the first documented appearance of "man pink" and a Benny Hill cameo. Besides, young Adam was awfully pretty ;)
Likewise, Adam Ant's "Apollo 9" is pretty catchy even though the lyrics make no sense. The video is amusing too, if only for the first documented appearance of "man pink" and a Benny Hill cameo. Besides, young Adam was awfully pretty ;)
old skool Thursday: liquid dancing
Dec. 4th, 2008 11:48 pmThe song may not be all that old, but the dancing surely is, and this guy does it well:
Hat tip![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
dotheranon.
Hat tip
dotheranon.old skool Saturday: mixes!
Oct. 25th, 2008 06:14 pmNo video today, just a link, but it's all you need: http://www.modernmusicsf.com/. Many, many MANY mixes from the likes of Scott Henry, DJ Feelgood, Terry Mullan, Dieselboy etc. ca. 1993-2000. Best of all? ALL FREE!
Old skool Tuesday: Everybody In the Place
Oct. 14th, 2008 09:56 pmProdigy, when they were still bouncy and sampling children's shows, before they went all Nine Inch Nails on us:
Some pretty fancy footwork in this one - enjoy :)
Some pretty fancy footwork in this one - enjoy :)
From the comments: "One of the best songs from the best drug album EVER":
Don't know that I'd say "best" but I would put forth "damn good". I don't know much about Primal Scream's history but I gather from the Wikipedia article that they were a fairly standard UK indie band until the second Summer of Love, when they went all dancey. Good thing too, as the single is only a brief taste of the dense, sensuous (love the intake of breath) 10 minute full length version.
Don't know that I'd say "best" but I would put forth "damn good". I don't know much about Primal Scream's history but I gather from the Wikipedia article that they were a fairly standard UK indie band until the second Summer of Love, when they went all dancey. Good thing too, as the single is only a brief taste of the dense, sensuous (love the intake of breath) 10 minute full length version.
old skool Sunday
Sep. 21st, 2008 09:20 pmBizarre Inc. w/ Angie Brown: "I'm Gonna Get You":
Not their best track - this was very "top 40" even 15 years ago, and not much like anything else of theirs (I still think of Such A Feeling [YouTube] as being more representative) but I post it because of all my good memories associated with it :)
This was almost always played at the 40 Watt's "disco" Saturday nights during my college years (where "disco" = anything with a dance beat, from 80's new wave to dance rock to top 40ish dance like this) and often at Boneshaker's as well - they may have shared a DJ (?)
At any rate, good times.
Not their best track - this was very "top 40" even 15 years ago, and not much like anything else of theirs (I still think of Such A Feeling [YouTube] as being more representative) but I post it because of all my good memories associated with it :)
This was almost always played at the 40 Watt's "disco" Saturday nights during my college years (where "disco" = anything with a dance beat, from 80's new wave to dance rock to top 40ish dance like this) and often at Boneshaker's as well - they may have shared a DJ (?)
At any rate, good times.
I still have this disc with the distinctive bright orange cover. Based on the date of release (1992) I'm pretty sure it was one of the "get this not that" recommendations I received from Laddie at Let the Music Play in Atlanta on one of my record runs as an impoverished college student. Great guy - he was always careful to let me know what expensive imports would be going domestic by my next visit and what vinyl simply could not be lived without until then (ahh, had I only the ease of internet shopping back then. But I digress...)
The piano riff (starting at about 3:30) is what gives this track the early morning/sunrise vibe, but incredibly it was improved upon with flutes on the Twitch #5 remix (lamentably, I can't find the music online, just the liner notes).
- Did a bit of shopping with some gift certificate/coupon-type things. I am always happy to find Wacoal bras in my size at less than half their regular price. Those things fit so WELL and last so long!
- dotheranon and I are trying out some new/old recipes that involve a lot of steamed veg. In addition to being healthier, vegetables also turn out to be cheaper than meat, at least at our grocery. So, score two :)
- I finally started filing my old rave flyers properly, in acid-free boxes and folders. What I'd like to do is display one of each in binders, chronologically, but so many of them lack years that it's going to take awhile to get them as organized as all of that.
I hope to do the same with the lace and crochet work we inherited from D.'s grandmother. These are both long term projects to do while watching movies. - Speaking of which, I watched Day Watch while filing, and may need to watch it again as it had the same surreal effects and pacing as Night Watch. I liked this one better as the plot seemed to hinge around a piece of chalk that changes the world when used to write something.
The Watch series' Moscow seems to be populated by broody guys in uncoordinated, layered winter clothing and women who seem to be comfortable wearing miniskirts and spike heels in the dead of winter :P - Crows really like French bread crumbs. And my cats really like watching crows.
- Frack, is that the time?!
more music nostalgia
Feb. 15th, 2008 07:55 pmGuru Josh "Infinity"
Not sure what made me think of this one today - just a random thought, I wonder what happened to Guru Josh? I'm not even sure I ever had the single in any format; I might have discovered it on the flip-side of Whose Law (is it Anyway?) [YouTube]
I love the track (esp. the soulful sax) but the video suffers from the fact that there's little point in focusing on the musicians in the techno genre - there's nothing really to see in terms of performance or style (especially in the case of G.J.'s unfortunately outdated-even-in-1990 hair). Vapourspace, on the other hand, got it right:
Gravitational Arch of 10
Swiss cheez
Jan. 29th, 2008 09:10 pmIt's got everything - yodeling, cleavage, lederhosen, BEER! Wait for it....
Background: This record was a #1 hit in Europe in 1989 and was allegedly made using The Manual (How to Have a Number One The Easy Way) by the Timelords (furthermore known as The KLF, whose manipulation/playing with the media has a long and amusing history). Not high art, but a silly send-up of every German stereotype available.
My own history with it: Incredibly (or not), I have it on 12" twice, if only because an Abba melody with beats is fun to dance to. During my music evangelist teenage years, one kid liked this song so much he had me put it on two mixtapes.
Background: This record was a #1 hit in Europe in 1989 and was allegedly made using The Manual (How to Have a Number One The Easy Way) by the Timelords (furthermore known as The KLF, whose manipulation/playing with the media has a long and amusing history). Not high art, but a silly send-up of every German stereotype available.
My own history with it: Incredibly (or not), I have it on 12" twice, if only because an Abba melody with beats is fun to dance to. During my music evangelist teenage years, one kid liked this song so much he had me put it on two mixtapes.
