Sad News

I received news today that Andy Hughes passed away this month.
He was a collaborator with the Orb, involved in mixing and engineering albums like Live 93, Pomme Fritz, and Orbus Terrarum.

He will be missed.

Vinyl Wins Again

Excerpts from The Care and Handling of Recorded Sound Materials


Vinyl discs

Vinyl discs are adversely affected by ultraviolet light and thermal cycling (heat fluctuation). The consequence of thermal cycling is that each cycle of temperature results in a small irreversible deformation, and these deformations are cumulative. Vinyl discs are resistant to fungal growth and are unaffected by high humidity levels.

CDs

The compact disc is a laminate of 4 different materials. The bottom of the disc is made of polycarbonate onto which the pits containing the digitized sound information are stamped. A thin layer of aluminum is then applied, covering the pits. A thin lacquer coating (which becomes the top of the disc) is then applied to cover the aluminum layer, and finally the ink for the labeling.

As with any laminated products, one must wonder how the aging characteristics of each material will interact with, and affect adjacent layers.

..............................

Thus far, vinyl has proven to be the most stable of the materials that have been used in the manufacture of sound recordings. However, although stable, its life is not indefinite. Pickett and Lemcoe, in Preservation and Storage of Sound Recordings, states that "failure by chemical degradation of a vinyl disc in ordinary library environments should not occur in less than a century".

..............................

by Gilles St‑Laurent - Music Division - National Library Of Canada

A Fellow

I recently sent a message to Mountain People because I noticed that Butch - Muskatnuss samples from Mountain 003. Not just a sound but an entire loop. A really obvious one. It's the raw, incredible groove that runs through the entirity of Mountain 003.


-------------------------------------------------------------

From: [Me]
To: mountain people
Date: Jun 17, 2009 11:40 PM
Subject: you're probably already aware of this, but...

(url to track)

I normally don't care about 'appropriation' like this.
But Mountain 003 is one of my favorite records. EVER.
Did you get any credit for this?
Money?
Fillet Mignon?
A high-five?


~ Love


-------------------------------------------------------------

Then this conversation took place :
(url to blog no longer exists. It was basically an e-mail conversation between MP and Butch, wherein the latter denies using the sample then admits he may have forgotten to remove it before finishing the track.)

-------------------------------------------------------------


I hadn't intended to start any kind of dispute. And I really don't know what is being said because I can't read German. But, I have to be honest, something about this kind of appropriation just rubs me the wrong way.
An artist like Girl Talk doesn't bother me; he samples popular music and runs the sample for 4-16 bars, creating new compositions from several sources. It's like hyper sampling. It's smart. It's Steinski.

But Butch uses the Mountain 003 sample(s) throughout Muskatnuss because those samples are the bulk of the track. Take out the MP samples, and what's left? Some unneccessary textures and extra sounds?

I love Mountain 003 because of its simplicity, its deadly beatcentric accuracy. This track cannot be improved. You can't improve upon perfection.
So why try and then pass it off as an original production...?

Intro That

He wanted respect but he found fear.
He wanted wealth but he found envy.
He wanted love and he found himself.

Quitters Never Win

Where did dancerecords.com go...?
I'm not terribly upset since they stopped stocking new vinyl, but I did have $200+ in my cart. Older, discounted records that I wanted to buy.

Dumb.