Updated listening list:

Compilation (Various) - All Blues'd Up - The Songs of the Rolling Stones
Uncut Mag Compilation - Acid Daze (60's psychedlic trax from the UK)
Uncut Mag Compilation - Bob Dylan Tribute

and:

Steely Dan - Everything Must Go.

If you agree that Aja is the finest album ever recorded, the pinnacle of the arranging / recording craft, the consummate achievement that all recording should strive for... then you'll love this album. Let's do the time warp again.

Performances are excellent, arrangements are stellar, writing's as good as ever. But MAN, I wanted to hear some new ground being broken. We get to hear Walter sing one, finally - not bad. And the title track starts off with a Pharaoh Sandersesque free time thing, that's kinda nice, and gives us some much rawer vocals from DF than we're used to. Song topics have shifted, there's a bit of a breakup theme in here, less about life in the scofflaw lane. But it's largely refried Aja, just like Gaucho, Firefly, Kamarkiriad, and I imagine, Two By Nature (which I've never heard, so I'm only guessing).

I would buy a lifetime's worth of refried Aja, if they keep producing it. It is rich, deep stuff. But there was a time, when the boys were moving by leaps and bounds with each album: Thrill->Countdown->Royal->Aja was an amazing progression (yes I left out Prezel and Katy) - and then WALL. We have achieved perfection, we're not moving off it. Or something like that.

In a nutshell: Good album. No surprises. Can't have a great album without surprises.

Updated listening list:

Moby: Play
Trojan Records (sampler): 20 Reggae Classics, 1966-74
Jackie Lomax: Is This What You Want?
Fleetwood Mac: Say You Will

I should actually read the Lomax liner notes someday. Sure sounds like Ringo on most of the tracks, plus some trademark Lennon guitar sounds on a few songs. Three or four GREAT songs on this, either marred or made parfect by Lomax's voice, depending on what you think of his unconventional sound. The rest is substandard filler. Duynno if he ever did another album - this one was hot in its day (1970?), but apparently hasn't made the Clear Channel Inc. playlists. Grumble.

Grreat, yet another new posting interface. Can't imagine why they think this is better.

New truck today. WOOHOO! 2003 Chevy S-10 extended cab. Killer price.

Updated listening list:
Harvey Mandel - Cristo Redemptor
BoDeans - Home
Prince - Very Best Of

Also, one of the weird little coolnesses of a musician's life - stumbled across an old off-the-radio tape from 1983. We'd make these to help us figure out what to learn next. Some songs I had COMPLETELY forgotten about by Rick Springfield, Don Henley, the Call, and (I think) 38 Special. Plus some more that I hadn't heard for a really long time from The Cure, INXS, Chris DeBurgh (Don't Pay the Ferryman - great tune), Duran Duran, and the English Beat. Made for a magical trip down memory lane.

I've got some even older Casey Kasem countdown tapes somewhere - I should dig 'em out.

Wow, my listening list is so far outta date...

...I think I'll just start listing 'em here:

Oxford American mag: 2003 Southern Music Sampler
Steely Dan: Everything Must Go
Vanguard Records: 2001 Sampler
Cream: 20th Century Masters
Morphine: Greatest Hits, 1992-95
Jeff Beck Group: Rough 'n' Ready
Radio Deutshe Orchestra: Bach: Brandenburg Concertos 1-3, 6
Clare College Choir: Rutter: Requiem
Return to Forever: Where Have I Known You Before
Uncut Mag: Psychedelic Sampler
Return to Forever: Light as a Feather
Dusty Springfield: The Ultimate Collection

Any Mountain fans out there?

Here's the story behind the dedication for Nantucket Sleighride.

I had no idea. Apparently not the story of the song itself - not much connection to the lyrics...

Well, I HAVE been working in the studio a bit, just not talking about it here...

Voice classes at college this summer have made a real difference in my singing - my recorded voice is still not gonna give a real singer a run for the money, but it's at least less painful to listen to.

So, follow this link:
Beautiful Still
for a song I wrote for Kim last year, and finally recorded a scratch vocal for.

Or follow this link:
NoWhereRadio
for:
1) Baby Baby Girl, a song I wrote for Alyssa,
2) Lift, a rock/gospel setting for Charles Wesley's "Rejoice, the Lord Is King", and
3) a far more polished version of "Beautiful Still", performed by my friend Al Carmichael. I don't think any vocal class will ever get me singing like THAT...

Wow - Blogger weirdness. Strange new interface at the back end. Apparently I'm the victim of an autodetect scheme that says I don't support the right kind of stylesheets, and that it'll eventually be overrideable, but not yet. Sheesh.

So I gotta learn the new interface before I post anything of substance...

Nice dinner with fatsarah last night, who is neither fat, nor particularly princess-like. Especially compared to some other Princess Sarahs I know.

A couple of weeks back, I found out a fellow CCAN listee was in my summer vocal class. And a couple of fellow listees from a private list of classical composers managed to attend our DC concert, linked below.

It's always a thrill to meet people that you sort of know, but have never met. I'll have more chances this summer - NPM convention in Cincinnati in July, Homerec BBS's second annual Jamfest in Connecticut in August.

True in so many ways:

New listening list, that's all.

Oh, and check out my trip report at http://stceciliawashere.blogspot.com/.

For those of you who like that sort of thing, it's the sort of thing you might like. ;)

Report Card

Deja vu all over again...

Music History - A
Chorale - A
Organ - B+

Spring / Summer is gonna be a homegrown theory review with emphasis on ear training (2 credits) and organ (2 credits). Prof promises we'll get to service playing this time. And no more Wachet Auf. YAYYY!!!!!

Yahoo! News - Sony Buys Sonic Foundry Products

Another one bites the dust, UH
Another one bites the dust, hey hey hey yeah

Crap. This can't be good. SF has been hurting for a long time, I knew something was coming. Hadn't thought of Sony, though.

So, of my major music software investments:
Encore: Passport is owned by GVox (and sinking fast?)
Gigasampler: Giga is now owned by Tascam
EVP-73: Logic is now owned by Apple (no PC upgrades coming, I bet)
Cubase and Model-E: Steinberg is now owned by Pinnacle
Acid, Sound Forge, and Vegas: Sonic Foundry is now owned by Sony

IOW, the only music software that I use that is still owned by the people who developed it is:
B-4 and Pro-52: Propellerheads

Are they next?

That's it, except for some loop libraries. The rest is freeware, except for some stuff from PGMusic (PowerTracks Pro, Band-in-a-Box) that I haven't been using.

Missed that one

The (former) band got together Friday night - I couldn't make it, due to the choir concert. It was gonna be a jam, but I called over after the concert, Carl's son said they went out to the bar. Probably a karaoke bar - Fred and Luke used to go a lot. Sorry I missed it, though it woulda taken a LOT of drinks to get me up there, I think...

Another semester gone

Choir concerts tonight and Sunday. Prof loved my term paper on pre-1950 music technology. Think I did okay on the final. Choir's an "A" as long as I show up. Music History's floating along at about an "A-" right now.

That leaves Organ. I completely hosed up "Wachet Auf" at juries. My other piece, Foote's "Pater Noster", went okay. Ah well, public humiliation is an excellent opportunity for personal growth...

I'll be Bach

I've been doing this progressive fast thing for Lent - each week, give up something additional:

Week 1: desserts
Week 2: seconds
Week 3: alcohol (this was AFTER St. Patty's )
Week 4: snacks
Week 5: meat
Week 6: coffee
Week 7: the web

Week 7 is now upon us. I'll be back after Easter...

Potential Band Name of the Day

"Chzill".

Kind of a gangsta lounge vibe...

Check out fatsarah's reaction to last night's weirdness in EL.

Days like this make me glad I can say "my degree's from Wayne State," or "I attend Madonna." Usually, I'd bring up my three years at MSU if asked, and I really think their James Madison College was an excellent program, but MAN! What a bunch of morons!

Still Here

But not much to say. Not doing much studio work now, concentrating on mastering Bach's "Wachet Auf" Schubler Chorale. So far Bach's winning. My height (6'4") seems to be a factor in my difficulties: quoting myself from another forum, I look something like "Ichabod Crane riding a unicycle playing a calliope" when I play this piece. So, in addition to my organ shoes, I'll probably have to start carrying around a pair of 2"x4"s to prop under the organ bench. Of course, then my arms will be too high, meaning I'll probably have carpal tunnel in 6 months.

Suffering for my art, I guess. Paying my dues so I can sing the pipe organ blues...

In other news

I'm now "dedicated member" status over at Home Recording BBS. It means I get to pick my own "avatar", the little icon that appears next to my handle ("dafduc").

I think I'm going with this:

Never Mind
It appears that Fred was the glue holding us together. As soon as he left, Luke stopped showing up. So last week, Carl put an end to it. Maybe we can get together and jam, but the project is dead.

So, if I'm to keep this site going, I'll have to redesign - it can still be about my studio, and my recording projects, but not about the band. There is no band.