Year: 2008/Archives

Like Hope

In response to will.i.am’s obama-nation, here’s john.he.is with a viral video response, “McCain 08, Like Hope But Different:”

yet again, via Puddles of Thought.

Presidential Inaugurations cast

This week’s HV cast is for President’s Day-
Excerpts from:
• Calvin Coolidge, Inaugural Address, Wednesday, March 4, 1925.
(No inaugural recording exists of Herbert Hoover.)
• Franklin D. Roosevelt, First Inaugural Address, Saturday, March 4, 1933.
• Harry S. Truman, Inaugural Address, Thursday, January 20, 1949.
• Dwight D. Eisenhower, First Inaugural Address, Tuesday, January 20, 1953.
• John F. Kennedy, Inaugural Address, Friday, January 20, 1961.
• Lyndon B. Johnson, Inaugural Address, Wednesday, January 20, 1965.
• Richard M. Nixon, Second Inaugural Address, Saturday, January 20, 1973.
• Gerald Ford, Remarks On Taking The Oath Of Office, Friday Aug. 9, 1974.
• Jimmy Carter, Inaugural Address, Thursday, January 20, 1977.
• Ronald Reagan, Second Inaugural Address, Monday, January 21, 1985.
• George H. W. Bush, Inaugural Address, Friday, January 20, 1989.
• Bill Clinton, First Inaugural Address, Thursday, January 20, 1993.
• George W. Bush, Inaugural Address, Saturday, January 20, 2001.

“Presidential Inaugurations” (10:08 mp3):

Becoming a Trombone

A trombone takes fire, ice, wood, and greased steel balls to become a musical instrument. Filmed at the S.E. Shires company, from Discovery’s Science Channel series, “How It’s Made – Trombones:”

Distribute via PRX

The Public Radio Exchange has long been an audio indie’s direct conduit to station airwaves. Hundreds of stations have bought thousands of pieces for local broadcast. Now PRX provides the same possibility, for national distributors like Audible and us, Hearing Voices: “New Ways To Distribute Your Work on PRX.”

HV has already purchased about a dozen pieces from producers via PRX’s new distro deal. If you’re a producer who wants us to hear your work: join PRX, upload audio, and send us your URL.

Valentine’s Day, 2008

(photos/text © Jake Warga)

It’s the anniversary of some massacre, that much I know, that much is comforting. It’s another invented holiday to remind me of what’s missing. They all do, they hurt. My romantic dinner is a slice of pizza, the only smile tonight, the crust, big nose, it’s all in the geometry, you see it right? A bachelor’s bite. The pizza place doesn’t smell like pizza, but that’s neither here nor there.

I fell in love tonight. She was shopping for glue, I was shopping for a juicer. Wanted the manual squeeze ones, but they only have an electric one, suspiciously cheap, in five languages, from a country I’ve never been, from a people whose language I’ll never speak, neither here nor there. I’m in a country where 9:30 at night, on Valentine’s day, I can buy a slice of pizza and an electric juicer. More…

Movement Soul- video

In 1963-4 two Atlanta residents collected live recordings at freedom movement events in the deep south, mass meetings, sermons, rallies, interviews. Their collection, now at the Library of Congress, is called “Movement Soul.” This interview is with one of the recordists, David Baker; slideshow sequenced by Max Darham. “Movement Soul: Civil Rights- Live:”

South Park Studio

If Hearing Voices was a South Park character, built with SP Studio:

via Puddles of Thought.

Hi-Fi Dies

The people who master music CDs have gone compression crazy, sez this Rolling Stone article “The Death of High Fidelity.” In this “loudness war,” fought for the ears of radio listeners, their sonic weapons maximize a constant volume by boosting the softer sections, clipping the peaks, and squishing the dynamics,. What’s left is a flatline of loud, like the soundwave to the right (of an Arctic Monkeys song).

via SALT-y Rob.

Fostex FR-2 LE

Been using the FR-2 Field Memory Recorder for a few months now. Really like the sound of the mic pre-amps, and the internal phantom power also seems to drive my mic-of-choice well (ShureVP-88 Stereo Condenser). Net result is a noticeably cleaner sound, especially compared to the consumer mini-dat ‘chines I’d been using as back-up and on bike trips.

It’s about the size of a thick hardcover book; bigger than I thot — funny how even tho I read the specs, 206 x 132x 57 mm (8.1 x 5.2 x 2.2 inches), my desire for a small machine still made me think this thing would be more compact. Also it has internal stereo mics and speaker, neither features I wanted. But it is light, has a speedy USB2.0 post, and other flash-recorders had more serious probs for me.*

One tragic flaw: The Fostex back battery case cover is a pain-in-ass and doomed to bust someday; cuz the batteries have to be placed just right or they stick out and keep cover from closing properly.

So it’s a fine machine, sounds great, is rugged (except battery cover). But: I paid $500 for my Fostex, and it’s now $600; so at that price the Oade Bros Marantz 660 mod may be the better deal.

Here’s some recordings, the first with the VP88 of some close relatives, currently incarcerated, “Cognitive Evo Group, Univ of LA- External Mic”
(0:34 mp3):

Continuing the incarceration theme, when internationally known producer Scott Carrier came to visit, it wasn’t long before I was off to the cop-shop to bail Scott outta jail. So I brought my recorder along and taped his coerced confession, using the internal stereo mics. The Fostex was just sitting on the truck seat and picked up pretty well, “Car Talk- Internal mics” (0:30 mp3):

And again with the internal mics, here’s the gate thru which we later DID NOT trespass, when the criminal returned to the scene of the crime, “Gate Swing- Internal mics” (0:32 mp3):

Scott sez he’s learned his lesson. We at HV remain skeptical, having heard this declaration from him before.

*My probs w/ other $400-600 recorders: The Zoom H4 is a piece of plastic shit, w/ no vol dial– just a switch w/ three level presets (haven’t seen H2 yet). The M-Audio Microtrack only has an internal battery, which rules it out for long road trips w/o frequent AC, especially on bikes. Edirol R-09 is hissy; as is, the outta-box non-Oade Marantz 660 (see: Transom review).

2 Minute Film Noir

ZBS Productions new series is 2 Minute Film Noir, “stories about gangsters, bimbos, cons, cops, lovers, losers, platinum blondes, mink coats, high heels, and neon signs reflecting on rain-slicked streets.”

It’s radio dramedy at its finest, and they’ve allowed us to sneak prevu the series right here. So, ladies and gentleman, butter your popcorn, grab your dates, and head into the audio theatre. It’s time for the 2MFN world premiere, with “You’re In For It Now, Pal” (1:30):

And here’s the gorgeous series poster (illustration by Jaye Oliver):

Frozen Grand Central

Improv Everywhere, suppliers of slo-mo Home Depot shoppers , have an improved improv, Frozen Grand Central:

Over 200 Improv Everywhere Agents froze in place at the exact same second for five minutes in the Main Concourse of Grand Central Station. Over 500,000 people rush through Grand Central every day, but today, things slowed down just a bit as commuters and tourists alike stopped to notice what was happening around them.

Antonioni Explodes

Bombs become the beat in this final scene of Michelangelo Antonioni’s 1970 film “Zabriskie Point”. Music by Pink Floyd:

Embarrassed

From sound designer David Grimes comes this cut-up speech-song, “Embarrassed” (1:36 mp3):

Grimes also did the sound for It’s JerryTime’s video “B Train Blues.”

Caucus-ocracy

Seattle’s The Stranger columnist Dan Savage on yesterday’s democracy inaction– I mean, in action: “The Cloverfield Caucus:”

Maybe the caucus system works—when precincts have at most 10 people in them and no one gives a fuck about the election. But it’s total pandemonium right now at Stevens Elementary… The gym resembles the Brooklyn Bridge scene in Cloverfield—only without the promise of giant, derivative monster showing up to put Capitol Hill caucus-goers out of our misery. And instead of bloodied hipsters asking each other “What the hell is that?” over and over again, it’s roughly 1500 people wearing tasteful scarfs asking each other, “Where the hell is the line for my precinct table?”

Chrysti Cliches

This eeem from HV’s radio compadre, Chrysti the Wordsmith:

As some of you already know, I’ve signed a contract with Riverbend Press (formerly Falcon Press in Helena) to concoct material for a ‘cliche-a-day’ desk calendar. It will be published in October: 365 synopses of common expressions in the tradition of the ‘word-a-day’ calendars that verbivores enjoy.

The publisher just sent me a draft page of the calendar [below], and I am quite inspired by it. I have to share it with you, in hopes that you will send me cliche suggestions, and to simply show it off!

So for the next several months, I’ll have my geeky head buried in dictionaries large and small, tracing the stories behind a year’s worth of cliches.

So submit those cliches to Chrysti, and tell her HV sent ya.

Doopee Time

Way back in WFMU’s blog is an album that continues to dazzle me, Yann Tomita’s Doopee Time. Sez Station Manager Ken:

Here’s a strange and wonderful record called Doopee Time by the Japanese composer and experimentalist Yann Tomita. Trying to describe this record (or Tomita) is difficult – part muzak, part dada comedy, part I Dream of Jeannie, with a running commentary by The Doopees, two Japanese doll women named Suzie and Caroline.

All the Doopee mp3s are up at WFMU; here’s a few of my faves:

“Air By Bus” (4:15 mp3):

“Caroline Cries to Chopin Opus 28 No 4” (1:57 mp3):

“What’s The Time?” (0:33 mp3):

StoryCorps- Death Penalty

StoryCorps cuts yet another devastating slice of real-life this week, “Hector Black remembers the murder of his daughter, Patricia Nuckles, by an intruder in her home.” (3:00):

Lee Metcalf

At least monthly friends and I are tromping trails in the Lee Metcalf Wilderness. But I never knew much about its namesake, ‘cept he was once Montana’s US Senator — until now.

Turns out our spectacular wilderness area was well-named. Lee Metcalf’s legislative life is detailed in this Center for the Rocky Mountain West essay by Pat Williams (another fmr US congressman): “Montana’s Metcalf blazed his own trail.”

After Metcalf’s US Army service, including the Normandy invasion and the Battle of the Bulge, he helped design the first free elections in Germany. He introduced Medicare ten years before its passage. The Elementary and Secondary Education Act was originally the Murray-Metcalf Bill. The Peace Corps passed Congress under the leadership of Metcalf and Mike Mansfield — another amazing Montana Senator. Sez Williams:

“However, it was as a conservationist — environmentalist — that Metcalf made seminal change for the West and the nation.… From the initial Wilderness Act to landscape restoration, pesticide control to fish and wildlife refuges, Lee Metcalf moved doggedly and with success to preserve the best of the West and in doing so he not only created a whole body of conservation laws for the nation, but he also changed the way we envisioned ourselves on the land.”

Thanks, Lee.

Here’s Lava Lake in the Lee Metcalf Wilderness, site of a 2004 Hearing Voices high-level meeting (elevation 7106 feet):

Photo: Sam Gardner – USDA Forest Service, Aug 13, 2005 Gallatin National Forest

Musicians vs Music Biz

In The Observer, Simon Napier-Bell, manager of bands from the Yardbirds to Wham!, details a history of adversarial relationships between musicians and their record labels: “The life and crimes of the music biz:”

‘Systematic thievery,’ said the Dixie Chicks in their writ against Sony. ‘Intentionally fraudulent,’ claimed US music lawyer Don Engel.

via WFMU’s blog.

Vienna Vegetable Orchestra

From their site: “The Vegetable Orchestra performs music solely on instruments made of vegetables. Using carrot flutes, pumpkin basses, leek violins, leek-zucchini-vibrators, cucumberophones and celery bongos, the orchestra creates its own extraordinary and vegetabile sound universe. The ensemble overcomes preserved and marinated sound conceptions or tirelessly re-stewed listening habits, putting its focus on expanding the variety of vegetable instruments, developing novel musical ideas and exploring fresh vegetable sound gardens.”

From their automate CD, here’s an excerpt of “cut 2” (1:03 mp3):