Today I started what I hope to be a daily offering of Christmas holiday themed YouTube videos. I have plenty of obscure songs not found on YouTube so I will share these treasures with everyone out there. All of these tracks come from Christmas music obsessed people--Andy Cirzan, et al.-- who spend their time searching for them and then share them via playlist downloads on the web. What I will do is take the ones I like best and provide them individually on YT. Sound quality is an issue on some of these recordings but it is not my fault! I realize most of them come from old vinyl that is not in the best of condition. But it is surprising to me that they were not digitized in a higher quality fashion. Since I am a digitizer of vinyl myself, I can attest to having taken some very poor condition records and turning them into some great quality mp3 files. The mono ones come out even better sounding than their stereo counterparts. If I had access to all this Christmas vinyl that I will be uploading, I would make some really great sounding files with the software I use. Alas, we'll have to work with what he have at hand.
My first upload for the season is one from Andy Cirzan titled, "A Little Bit Colder" by Cristy Lane. After a little bit of research I learned that this is the original 1971 version released on the very obscure Extremely Brave record label. She re-recorded this song for a 1983 release and it has nowhere near the charm of this early 70's nugget.
Saturday, November 3, 2018
Monday, October 29, 2018
New Turntable 6 Years Later
Looking at my old posts I saw that it's been 6 and 1/2 years since I purchased my turntable. And over 500 records later and it's still going strong. Here's the breakdown of how many albums I digitized since then:
2013: 10
2014: 44
2015: 13
2016: 192
2017: 164
2018: 113 (thus far)
As you can see, 2016 was the year I really started getting down to this meticulous work. I had been gathering albums from thrift stores and acquired quite a number before deciding to digitize them. At the moment I still have around 30-40 that need to be done.
This has significantly increased my music library and saved me tons of money. Sure, the quality is not the same as from a cd. But for the price it's well worth it. Well worth it indeed, considering a few of these thrift store finds I have sold for $25 each. Think about that; paying $1, sometimes $2, and reselling for $25. You could say in some cases I'm getting music absolutely free!
Since I'm not a record collector, rather a music collector, I have no desire in keeping most of these thrift store records. Thus I plan to sell these at a garage sale sometime next year. The plan was to hold this event this year but things didn't quite pan out properly. That includes the weather suddenly going from 80° to 50°.
I am starting to wonder if I should change the stylus soon. According to what I've read it should be replaced after 200 hours of play. Let's say each record is about 30 minutes. That means that after 400 records it's time for a new stylus. And as you can see from the above numbers I have played well over 500. That's not including the records I didn't digitize but just played to see if they were in good condition.
Some of the records I plan to keep because they are of my favorite artists. But most I have no interest in having. I am not a vinyl person. Once I record these things into mp3 files I will most likely never play them on a turntable again. I don't have emotional attachments to them because they're not from my childhood nor were they given to me as gifts nor are they being passed down to me. But some have nostalgic qualities and I would just like to keep them.
I will be unleashing some from my own long-time personal collection as well. A long time ago a neighbor threw out a few boxes full of records from the 1950s and 1960s. All sorts of stuff from The Beach Boys and The Beatles to Hawaiian music and traditional Mexican music. I don't know why anyone would just throw these things in the garbage. Especially The Beatles' record which was their first ever on Vee Jay records. And I know these neighbors used to hold garage sales of their own. I can't explain it. This trash treasure is where I got my first Beach Boys record from, even though I have never been a huge fan of theirs. Basically, the spoils were split up among other members of my household. I being the youngest had little say in what I wanted. Later though I would go on to inherit all of the ones which were taken, as the interest in vinyl of the other family members dwindled. So as of today I am the one with all the spoils! And now it's time for me to find a new home for them.
If records still continued to be only source of recorded music I would have run out of space years ago. Considering I now have about 500 of them along with about 2000 CDs and over 200 cassettes (before I started selling them), I don't know where I would store nearly 3000 vinyl records. Thank goodness for CDs!
2013: 10
2014: 44
2015: 13
2016: 192
2017: 164
2018: 113 (thus far)
As you can see, 2016 was the year I really started getting down to this meticulous work. I had been gathering albums from thrift stores and acquired quite a number before deciding to digitize them. At the moment I still have around 30-40 that need to be done.
This has significantly increased my music library and saved me tons of money. Sure, the quality is not the same as from a cd. But for the price it's well worth it. Well worth it indeed, considering a few of these thrift store finds I have sold for $25 each. Think about that; paying $1, sometimes $2, and reselling for $25. You could say in some cases I'm getting music absolutely free!
Since I'm not a record collector, rather a music collector, I have no desire in keeping most of these thrift store records. Thus I plan to sell these at a garage sale sometime next year. The plan was to hold this event this year but things didn't quite pan out properly. That includes the weather suddenly going from 80° to 50°.
I am starting to wonder if I should change the stylus soon. According to what I've read it should be replaced after 200 hours of play. Let's say each record is about 30 minutes. That means that after 400 records it's time for a new stylus. And as you can see from the above numbers I have played well over 500. That's not including the records I didn't digitize but just played to see if they were in good condition.
Some of the records I plan to keep because they are of my favorite artists. But most I have no interest in having. I am not a vinyl person. Once I record these things into mp3 files I will most likely never play them on a turntable again. I don't have emotional attachments to them because they're not from my childhood nor were they given to me as gifts nor are they being passed down to me. But some have nostalgic qualities and I would just like to keep them.
I will be unleashing some from my own long-time personal collection as well. A long time ago a neighbor threw out a few boxes full of records from the 1950s and 1960s. All sorts of stuff from The Beach Boys and The Beatles to Hawaiian music and traditional Mexican music. I don't know why anyone would just throw these things in the garbage. Especially The Beatles' record which was their first ever on Vee Jay records. And I know these neighbors used to hold garage sales of their own. I can't explain it. This trash treasure is where I got my first Beach Boys record from, even though I have never been a huge fan of theirs. Basically, the spoils were split up among other members of my household. I being the youngest had little say in what I wanted. Later though I would go on to inherit all of the ones which were taken, as the interest in vinyl of the other family members dwindled. So as of today I am the one with all the spoils! And now it's time for me to find a new home for them.
If records still continued to be only source of recorded music I would have run out of space years ago. Considering I now have about 500 of them along with about 2000 CDs and over 200 cassettes (before I started selling them), I don't know where I would store nearly 3000 vinyl records. Thank goodness for CDs!
Tuesday, October 2, 2018
What do The Buckinghams, Gilberto Gil & The Temptations Have In Common?
Some time ago--I mean like years ago--I discovered a piece of background noise that was used in at least 3 different songs. I call it background noise because that's what it is. Not music. Rather it's the sound of children's voices having fun.
You might ask how I can tell that such a soundbite is the very same one on 3 very different songs. After all, it's a pretty obscure clip and just used for effect in the songs. And most regular listeners wouldn't even play attention to the clip, much less realize that it's the same one. But the key for me to having recognized the recordings as being one and the same is in the voice of what seems to be an adult shouting something like, "Harry!" It could be Larry or Gary or Barry. I'm going with Harry. But whatever the actual name is it's the same one. Also there's a little bit of children's voices before and after the "Harry!" that serves to prove it's the same soundbite.
I know you're all dying to know just what this recording is and where it appears. So here we go. The first recording is the longest and clearest of the three. It is found on "Have You Noticed You're Alive (reprise)" by The Buckinghams from 1967. The "Harry!" yell is heard right around the 11 second mark:
The next this clip is found on is a totally different song. Totally different country, too. It's at the beginning of a song by Brazilian singer/songwriter Gilberto Gil called "Domingo No Parque" from 1968. The title translates to "Sunday at the Park." The "Harry!" shriek can be heard right around the 8 second mark. The beginning part of the clip is less audible and clear. But from the Harry part on you can tell it's the same as the one on The Buckinghams tune.
Finally, on a third and still very different song you can hear this background noise once again. This time it's on The Temptations song "Ain't No Justice" from 1973. On this song you can hear much of the beginning of the clip up to the point of the Harry. And then the music gets louder and the clip less audible. Oh, and the clip seems to be only on the right channel/speaker. You can hear "Harry!" right around the 3:16 mark:
There you have it! Were you able to hear it on all three songs? Are you convinced it's the same clip? Do you wonder where this soundbite was recorded and when? I sure do. And how did it ever circulate around to 3 different record labels (Columbia, Phillips, Motown, respectively)? Also I can't help but wonder if this same clip was used in any other songs.
I've been meaning to write this post for soooo long. I always had a hard time remembering which Buckinghams' tune had the clip. But there it all is.
You might ask how I can tell that such a soundbite is the very same one on 3 very different songs. After all, it's a pretty obscure clip and just used for effect in the songs. And most regular listeners wouldn't even play attention to the clip, much less realize that it's the same one. But the key for me to having recognized the recordings as being one and the same is in the voice of what seems to be an adult shouting something like, "Harry!" It could be Larry or Gary or Barry. I'm going with Harry. But whatever the actual name is it's the same one. Also there's a little bit of children's voices before and after the "Harry!" that serves to prove it's the same soundbite.
I know you're all dying to know just what this recording is and where it appears. So here we go. The first recording is the longest and clearest of the three. It is found on "Have You Noticed You're Alive (reprise)" by The Buckinghams from 1967. The "Harry!" yell is heard right around the 11 second mark:
The next this clip is found on is a totally different song. Totally different country, too. It's at the beginning of a song by Brazilian singer/songwriter Gilberto Gil called "Domingo No Parque" from 1968. The title translates to "Sunday at the Park." The "Harry!" shriek can be heard right around the 8 second mark. The beginning part of the clip is less audible and clear. But from the Harry part on you can tell it's the same as the one on The Buckinghams tune.
Finally, on a third and still very different song you can hear this background noise once again. This time it's on The Temptations song "Ain't No Justice" from 1973. On this song you can hear much of the beginning of the clip up to the point of the Harry. And then the music gets louder and the clip less audible. Oh, and the clip seems to be only on the right channel/speaker. You can hear "Harry!" right around the 3:16 mark:
There you have it! Were you able to hear it on all three songs? Are you convinced it's the same clip? Do you wonder where this soundbite was recorded and when? I sure do. And how did it ever circulate around to 3 different record labels (Columbia, Phillips, Motown, respectively)? Also I can't help but wonder if this same clip was used in any other songs.
I've been meaning to write this post for soooo long. I always had a hard time remembering which Buckinghams' tune had the clip. But there it all is.
Sunday, May 20, 2018
Simon & Garfunkel Live At Kraft Hall 1968
For the last several days I have been watching live performances of Simon & Garfunkel from back in the 60's. The one I am particularly fond of is the live at Kraft Music Hall from 1968:
There are several 10-20 minute performances of theirs from around the world on YouTube but I especially like this one because there is a beautiful reverb that paints each song here. And two of my all-time favorite S&G songs are here: For Emily, Whenever I May Find Her & Patterns.
My first listening experience with "For Emily..." was the version on the 1972 best of collection. It was a live version and I was somewhat annoyed with live versions of songs on hits packages where I expected familiar studio recordings. Not really knowing this song meant it wasn't too burdensome for me to listen to it, but there were other songs on this album that I did know and was disappointed to hear live versions taking the seat of the ones I knew.
Mind you I was much younger then--in junior high, high school even--so I did not care too much for unfamiliar slow songs. But over the years "For Emily..." has grown deeply on me and has become a must-have S&G song. It is this live version from 1969, however, that is the penultimate classic for me. The original album version plays like a completely different song with more instruments and effects. This live version is Garfunkel's solo vocal with Simon's 12-string acoustic guitar and it is absolutely splendid!
A few days ago I decided to see if there was a live version video of this song on YouTube since so many wonderful things are now available on there to watch. To my surprise I came across this Kraft Hall version and I fell in love all over again. While the sonic fidelity may not be pleasing to many, I found it to be perfectly uplifting with an aforementioned large-hall reverb effect that added so much to the song. The sound source is from a mono film camera so there's plenty of noise and a flat, unequalized response. But that is good enough for me. Perfect even. I would eschew hi-fidelity, multi-track stereo any day for beautiful sounds captured by a single microphone and some wonderful, natural reverb.
To add to this wonderful live version of "For Emily...", there are some subtle strings which poke through just before the third verse. Just makes the song even more beautiful.
Watching this video also led me to learn the guitar intro to it and realize that the guitar solo in the middle is not as terribly complicated as the live '69 version had me believe all these years.
Among the other black & white videos I found of theirs was another where "For Emily..." was performed. While it was another fantastic rendition, there was absolutely no reverb and I just gotta have my fix of reverb otherwise it sounds too close and intimate. The only benefit to the no-reverb version is that you can hear every nuance of Garfunkel's effortless voice vibrato.
I only wish that this S&G Kraft Hall performance were longer. Would love to hear a few other of my favorites done there, including "Blessed", "A Hazy Shade of Winter" and "Scarborough Fair."
But there is one more performance I really enjoyed from this set. "Patterns" became a favorite song of mine the first time I heard it way back in my cassette days. And to hear them sing it here over the studio backing track is nothing short of what I define as the pinnacle sound of 60's pop/rock music. Once again that natural reverb sounds gorgeous and even adds an element of eeriness combined with the largely dark lyrics. Sound quality not an issue for me. Yes, it's not what I consider to be ideal but in my opinion a little de-hissing would be sufficient. In fact, it's the lo-fi-ness of the recording that makes it sonically more appealing to me. In this era of overproduction and limitless sonic technological improvements, there is much to be said about the simplicity of basic recording techniques and analog equipment.
I recommend watching the entire 19-minute performance but if the desire is to only see the ones I've written about, here they are:
Beware of other versions out there. Some YouTube users take the video, remove the original audio and superimpose audio from another source, usually a cd. I'm not a fan of this. I say leave the original audio in place no matter how bad it may sound to your ears. Some of us enjoy lo-fi!
And here is one that I uploaded myself:
There are several 10-20 minute performances of theirs from around the world on YouTube but I especially like this one because there is a beautiful reverb that paints each song here. And two of my all-time favorite S&G songs are here: For Emily, Whenever I May Find Her & Patterns.
My first listening experience with "For Emily..." was the version on the 1972 best of collection. It was a live version and I was somewhat annoyed with live versions of songs on hits packages where I expected familiar studio recordings. Not really knowing this song meant it wasn't too burdensome for me to listen to it, but there were other songs on this album that I did know and was disappointed to hear live versions taking the seat of the ones I knew.
Mind you I was much younger then--in junior high, high school even--so I did not care too much for unfamiliar slow songs. But over the years "For Emily..." has grown deeply on me and has become a must-have S&G song. It is this live version from 1969, however, that is the penultimate classic for me. The original album version plays like a completely different song with more instruments and effects. This live version is Garfunkel's solo vocal with Simon's 12-string acoustic guitar and it is absolutely splendid!
A few days ago I decided to see if there was a live version video of this song on YouTube since so many wonderful things are now available on there to watch. To my surprise I came across this Kraft Hall version and I fell in love all over again. While the sonic fidelity may not be pleasing to many, I found it to be perfectly uplifting with an aforementioned large-hall reverb effect that added so much to the song. The sound source is from a mono film camera so there's plenty of noise and a flat, unequalized response. But that is good enough for me. Perfect even. I would eschew hi-fidelity, multi-track stereo any day for beautiful sounds captured by a single microphone and some wonderful, natural reverb.
To add to this wonderful live version of "For Emily...", there are some subtle strings which poke through just before the third verse. Just makes the song even more beautiful.
Watching this video also led me to learn the guitar intro to it and realize that the guitar solo in the middle is not as terribly complicated as the live '69 version had me believe all these years.
Among the other black & white videos I found of theirs was another where "For Emily..." was performed. While it was another fantastic rendition, there was absolutely no reverb and I just gotta have my fix of reverb otherwise it sounds too close and intimate. The only benefit to the no-reverb version is that you can hear every nuance of Garfunkel's effortless voice vibrato.
I only wish that this S&G Kraft Hall performance were longer. Would love to hear a few other of my favorites done there, including "Blessed", "A Hazy Shade of Winter" and "Scarborough Fair."
But there is one more performance I really enjoyed from this set. "Patterns" became a favorite song of mine the first time I heard it way back in my cassette days. And to hear them sing it here over the studio backing track is nothing short of what I define as the pinnacle sound of 60's pop/rock music. Once again that natural reverb sounds gorgeous and even adds an element of eeriness combined with the largely dark lyrics. Sound quality not an issue for me. Yes, it's not what I consider to be ideal but in my opinion a little de-hissing would be sufficient. In fact, it's the lo-fi-ness of the recording that makes it sonically more appealing to me. In this era of overproduction and limitless sonic technological improvements, there is much to be said about the simplicity of basic recording techniques and analog equipment.
I recommend watching the entire 19-minute performance but if the desire is to only see the ones I've written about, here they are:
Beware of other versions out there. Some YouTube users take the video, remove the original audio and superimpose audio from another source, usually a cd. I'm not a fan of this. I say leave the original audio in place no matter how bad it may sound to your ears. Some of us enjoy lo-fi!
And here is one that I uploaded myself:
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