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Air and Space has a fascinating article about the mechanical naughty bits of the Wright Brothers aircraft. You can all but smell the hot oil.
John Atkinson sends this link to the real scoop on what happened to NYC's famous, lamented radio row. Hint: 9/11 wasn't the first tragedy at ground zero.
Here's where we separate the musically inclined geeks from the musically inclined geeks with decent computer sound systems. Jeff Wong sent along the URL to Deutsch's Musical Illusions, so I checked out the examples on my laptop. I got nuttin'. Typical male-type guy that I am, then I read the technical note:
" In listening to these illusions, it is best to use equipment with a flat frequency response so as to avoid spectral distortion. For example, enhanced high frequency transients tend to degrade the effects. And features that alter the signal in any way, such as spatialization…
" In listening to these illusions, it is best to use equipment with a flat frequency response so as to avoid spectral distortion. For example, enhanced high frequency transients tend to degrade the effects. And features that alter the signal in any way, such as spatialization…
William Barrington-Coupe comes clean.
Jeff Wong says, "I smell a marketing opportunity for obscure classical artists: a sticker reading, As Used For Joyce Hatto Releases.
"There's no substitute for good songwriting," he begins.
I make a face, nod. I turn and look at the stage. The drummer goes into another very long snare roll. Impressively thick and busy bass riffs propel the bright guitars. The singer offers his lines with a Lou Reed-ish rhythm, a Clay Reed-ish warble, and a Bob Dylan-ish conviction.
"And this," he continues, referring to the band on stage, "ain't good songwriting."
At least we're in from the cold. The crowd is large on this Friday night in Park Slope, Brooklyn. I look around, trying to gauge the overall…
You've probably seen them on the Interwebs, now read what that happens to the "Prisoners of You Tube.
As an admirer of Walter Bagehot, The Economist's wonderfully quotable editor (1859-1877), I knew the magazine had a sense of humor. I just didn't realize it had such a talent for slapstick.
From a report on the consolidation of the Anglican and Catholic churches: "Sceptics are already casting doubt on suggestions, spread this week in parts of the British press, of a massive remerger in the global communications industry. But the prospect of a tie-up between a vast, Rome-based corporation, and a smaller rival with headquarters in southern England, has sent some analysts into a speculative…
Bob Dylan sings Seuss. It's his most personal work since Self Portrait.
Update: Now there are liner notes!
Jeff Wong, always ready to practice work-avoidence, sends along this fab-faux Louis Armstrong cover of "Oops I Did It Again." It's pretty well done, down to the fake Decca record label.
Amused, I sent it along to Michael Cogswell, director of the Queens College Louis Armstrong House & Archives and author of Louis Armstrong: The Offstage Story of Satchmo. He was already aware of it, of course, but he did say, "It kind of kicked off our realization that we must create an e-collection (ie, stuff that we were getting/discovering on the Internet and needed to save somehow as part of our…
Last Thursday, I mentioned that I'd found some great advertising in old issues of Stereophile. The ad for Moscode's 85-billion watt Black Hole amplifier was particularly amusing.
Today, Moscode's awesome George Kaye sent one to me. A picture of one, that is. Maybe there'll be a review sample waiting for me when I get home tonight.
(Just kidding, George.)