From: owner-ecto-digest@smoe.org (ecto-digest) To: ecto-digest@smoe.org Subject: ecto-digest V4 #214 Reply-To: ecto@smoe.org Sender: owner-ecto-digest@smoe.org Errors-To: owner-ecto-digest@smoe.org Precedence: bulk ecto-digest Friday, July 3 1998 Volume 04 : Number 214 Today's Subjects: ----------------- About the Samson site, from Happy ["Xenu's Sister" ] Re: info and opinions on Minidiscs and mics please [Dirk Kastens ] The long weekend ["Mitchell A. Pravatiner" ] The downside of being an American ["Mitchell A. Pravatiner" ] Re: info and opinions on Minidiscs and mics please [Philip David Morgan <] Re: ANNOUNCEMENT RE ECTO WEB PAGES (was Re: define "ectophilic") [meredit] Emm Gryner [Steve I ] ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Thu, 02 Jul 1998 14:14:35 -0500 From: "Xenu's Sister" Subject: About the Samson site, from Happy Direct from the Hapster: - ----- "So let me fill you in on the reality of the Samson Music website. Yes, it's currently the lamest thing on the Internet. However, they've had a webmaster on staff for more than a month now. Problem is, she's a graphic artist and has been commissioned to do other work for Samson. That's the reason for the awful delay. The website is being constructed right now and she's doing a page for me.........Pix, info, soundclips etc. I understand she's doing a really cool site. There won't be any sales through the website just yet, as Samson hasn't currently the room for a shipping area. I believe they'll be moving into a bigger building and the long-range plan is to eventually be able to do business over the Internet. You can believe that I have been on their case from the start about the web page. It's just been a matter of mishaps and interruptions. A tragedy occurred recently, where one of the other Samson Artists lost their Manager in a tragic accident. That brought things to a grinding halt for a while, but all is back in motion. Please feel free to pass this on to anyone else who inquires about the website. " - ------ It's good to know they're at least somewhat aware of what should be done. So...well...I think anyone who was planning on contacting Samson in some way about the site should go ahead and do so. They need to know that there are folks clamoring. Maybe they'll hire this woman an assistant. Vickie Lisa McPherson Memorial Page http://www.primenet.com/~cultxpt/lisa.htm ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 02 Jul 1998 22:52:09 +0200 From: Dirk Kastens Subject: Re: info and opinions on Minidiscs and mics please At 19:51 01.07.98 EDT, Paul2k@aol.com wrote: >I know that there have been discussions of mics on this list before...i was >hoping that the same people with experience with microphones and also anyone >with an opinion on minidisc players could help me out and give me clues as to >what is good and what isn't with regards to products and technical jargon. I have a Sony MDS-JE510 for a few months now and I'm very satisfied with it. I never liked the handling of tape media (long spooling times, degrading sound) and that's the reason why I didn't copy many CDs onto my DAT. OK, the sound is equal to the CD, but you always have to rewind the tape and the editing facilities are poor. I made a long sound comparison of MD and CD and I often couldn't tell the difference. Only critical audio material like classic, jazz or other excellent acoustic recordings sound a bit thinner or falsified. But only if you know the original. You should copy CDs digitally because the AD converters are not the best in reasonable recorders. The benefits of MD are the editing facilities. You can enter up to 1500 characters for titles, the track marks of the CD are copied to the MD automatically, you can cut, copy and move your audio material, the medium is small and light. For example, if you record a radio show you can cut out the announcements and ads afterwards so that you only keep the songs that you like. Dirk ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 02 Jul 1998 22:50:54 +0200 From: Dirk Kastens Subject: Re: info and opinions on Minidiscs and mics please At 19:51 01.07.98 EDT, Paul2k@aol.com wrote: >I know that there have been discussions of mics on this list before...i was >hoping that the same people with experience with microphones and also anyone >with an opinion on minidisc players could help me out and give me clues as to >what is good and what isn't with regards to products and technical jargon. I have a Sony MDS-JE510 for a few months now and I'm very satisfied with it. I never liked the handling of tape media (long spooling times, degrading sound) and that's the reason why I didn't copy many CDs onto my DAT. OK, the sound is equal to the CD, but you always have to rewind the tape and the editing facilities are poor. I made a long sound comparison of MD and CD and I often couldn't tell the difference. Only critical audio material like classic, jazz or other excellent acoustic recordings sound a bit thinner or falsified. But only if you know the original. You should copy CDs digitally because the AD converters are not the best in reasonable recorders. The benefits of MD are the editing facilities. You can enter up to 1500 characters for titles, the track marks of the CD are copied to the MD automatically, you can cut, copy and move your audio material, the medium is small and light. For example, if you record a radio show you can cut out the announcements and ads afterwards so that you only keep the songs that you like. Dirk ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 02 Jul 1998 16:58:08 -0400 From: Horter!!!! Subject: Re: Interesting Mary Margaret O'Hara Story At 12:40 PM 7/2/98 EDT, ABershaw@aol.com wrote: >She spent hours locked away in her room every day with her sowing >machine, which she had shipped over. Andy would only see her at >dinner time when everyone dined together. MMO's boyfriend/manager >Jody Colero was extremely protective of her & no-one, he insisted, >including Andy, was permitted to disturb her during these all day >sowing marathons. Well you reap what you sow.... Not sure how that fits in, but my mind wouldn't let me NOT say it. Even after walking away from the keyboard several times to reconsider. Sounds like an excellent book. Apologies Alan :-) Tom np: Radio Iodine: Tiny Warnings-WOW!!! Picked this up for $3 at a record show after hearing about it here. Thank you thank you. Sounds to me like they may have out-garbaged garbage on this one. What else do they have out? Another show in a couple weeks. :-) nr: Nick Hornby: About a Boy ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 2 Jul 1998 17:13:35 -0400 From: mpower@fcmc.COM (Marc Power (Technology)) Subject: info and opinions on Minidiscs and mics please ZZZzzzzaaaaaappppp! Marc delurks after about two years. 2 thingz you are either trying to: 1) record shows in which case a DAT walkman ($600) + two PZM mikes ($50 each from radioshack) is simply the best solution for the money. Several bands I know have put out live CD's from DAT tape masters recorded in this manner. You are getting pro quality microphones and going down to a digital media at a good sampling rate. It really is tough to beat for ~$700 or 2) multi-track recording in this case I have had a lot of success with the Roland VS-880 8-track hard disk recording console ($1800), if you get the optional effects card ($300) you can process a standard mike SM57/SM58 ($100) through a mic simulator, which gives you a choice of classy Neuman & AKG & Other mikes to emulate. I have done A/B comparisons and you really have to be a heavy mike-head to tell the diff, in a couple of cases the simulation worked better than the real mike and the sim was the sound used. The effects card also gives you 2xstereo channels of Rolands top-of-the-line effects, pre and/or post fader + inserts. At the really low budget, the Sony TC-870(?) is a recording walkman with built-in stereo mikes that effectively records live performances, certainly better than the average recording walkman and its only $130! In Space we Trust, Marc. SpaceRock Central - Strange Daze 98 SpaceRock Festival - "SpaceRock is music, which, by design, expands AWARENESS, thru SPACE, MIND and TIME" Axiom I, the SpaceRock Manifesto ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 02 Jul 1998 17:26:21 -0500 From: "Xenu's Sister" Subject: Re: the samson site At 02:03 PM 7/2/98 +0100, Steve Fagg wrote: >It had passed me by that Happy was paying for the tour herself. I >hope Samson will be funding other aspects of the album's promotion, >even if only in the form of an advance on royalties. Otherwise it's >hard to see what Happy will have gained by signing with them. I >guess I'm out of touch with how these things are done. I'm no expert, but everything (sessions, cutting, promotions, tours) always comes out of the artist's pocket, even if the label does pay for certain or even most things in advance. Many artists/groups have been rudely surprised when they end up owing the record companies a huge chunk of change for things that were taken for granted. Of course, Happy and Kevin are so savvy and have lots of savvy connections, they waited for the right company and the right contract. That still doesn't mean that Happy isn't paying for most everything, just that *she* doesn't have to put up the money up front. It'll all come out of record sales, tour proceeds and merchandise. (Note that I'm talking out of my ass, with zero knowledge of Happy's contract with Samson, but that's the way it almost certainly is.) > >In my defence, I would just say that if Samson are going to fall down >anywhere, I'd rather they failed to maintain their web site than that >they should drop the ball when it comes to getting radio exposure for >Happy, getting the CDs into stores, or publicising the album's >existence in the media. All very important of course, more important than the web, but the web is a strong 4th on that list. >That said, I agree that Samson would do well to get their act together >on the Web-front. This *is* the late 1990s, and the Web is now a >significant place to do business and publicity. I think there's merit >in Jill's idea of people writing to Samson to apply footwear to >posterior. :-) *HUG* Vickie Vatican Rescinds 'Blessed' Status Of World's Meek 'Screw The Meek,' Says Pope VATICAN CITY--In a historic reversal of its nearly 2,000-year-old pro-meek stance, the Catholic Church announced Tuesday that it is permanently rescinding the traditional "blessed" status of the world's meek. (for more, see http://www.theonion.com/) ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 2 Jul 1998 17:32:00 -0500 (CDT) From: "Mitchell A. Pravatiner" Subject: The long weekend Wishing everyone a happy 3-day 4th of July weekend. I hope that many of you will be able to devote some of it to pondering what you would like to contribute to this year's Happy Birthday Project tapes, maybe even translating into action. Have a good one. Mitch ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 2 Jul 1998 17:34:33 -0500 (CDT) From: "Mitchell A. Pravatiner" Subject: The downside of being an American It dawned on me, just as I mailed my previous post, that it is not a long holiday weekend outside the United States. For all that, I hope that ectophiles in other countries will still be able to devote some thought and action to the HBP during their standard-length weekend. Mitch ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 2 Jul 1998 15:46:31 -0700 (PDT) From: charley darbo Subject: Bastille day TV Save the date, everyone: Rufus Wainwright, the current center of _my_ musical universe, will be on Conan O'Brien on July 14. And you though Americans had no reason to celebrate Bastille day! - --Ch.D n.p. Rufus Wainwright: _Rufus_Wainwright_ n.r. Yeats: _Mythologies_ _________________________________________________________ DO YOU YAHOO!? Get your free @yahoo.com address at http://mail.yahoo.com ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 02 Jul 1998 18:36:07 -0400 From: Philip David Morgan Subject: Re: info and opinions on Minidiscs and mics please Hello, Kim: > I've been using Minidisc equipment for about 8 months and have been > delighted with the result. The convenience of size and re-recordability > are phenomenal... The compression algorithms now in use produce recordings > that are indistinguishable from the CDs I've recorded and I've been *very* > happy with Minidisc recordings I've made in my home studio. Minidisc > recorders also tend to require *much* less maintenance and care than DAT > machines -- especially portables. I've just finished listening to my first MiniDisc waxing (I can't divulge the nature of the project as it could lead to something very special later on) - in fact, I specifically bought my Sony MZ-R30 to create recordings rather than OD on Sony's own pre-recorded catalogue. Luckily, I still have my old Realistic (Radio Shack) stereo microphone (both L & R channels recorded with same singular mic), and that was how I did my first effort. Al fresco with birds in the background (very lovely effect). Storytelling, music and poetry in a handy medium that's far more portable than anything else I've used to date. Kim, thank you very much for the URL link to the MiniDisc Community. I will certainly bookmark and use it often. And I'm definitely getting on their mailing list. For the moment, I'm particularly entranced by Sony's "MD Color Collection" discs (four color-coded discs in the series). I bought a batch of them when I bought my MZ-R30 at an electronics store in Chinatown; they had the best prices on each (beat _that_, Circuit City!). Now, back to plans for creating the music and story library I've wanted to have but couldn't find in a Virgin or a Tower...heh heh heh... Philip David (Nylon & Steel haven't had it this good - yet!) 7/2/1998 - --- http://www.li.net/~philipda/dianaw.htm [The Diane Wolkstein Pages] - --- "The enemy of art is the absence of limitations." - - Orson Welles, as cited by Henry Jaglom. ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 02 Jul 1998 19:07:53 -0400 From: meredith Subject: Re: ANNOUNCEMENT RE ECTO WEB PAGES (was Re: define "ectophilic") Hi! A note for the Lynx users among you regarding the new ecto pages: Steve Fagg noted: >I note that the Ecto page at smoe.org only shows a blank page in Lynx. >I'm sure it looks just fine though for those with today's browsing >technology! ;-) Mike Curry pointed that out to me last night as well. Don't worry, the unfinished comment (which I'm sure is the reason for the invisbility in Lynx) no longer exists in my version of the page. It's always been my intent to keep the pages easily viewable and navigable in any browser, including Lynx. I'm funny that way (and besides, woj would kick my ass if I didn't ;). Please keep in mind, though, that an HTML guru I am not, so as the pages go up if anyone finds anything bizarre or just plain wrong, please let me know and I'll fix it. All I care about is that it looks like it's supposed to... I'm sure that's making some of the webmeisters in the audience cringe, but hey. If I were a professional, I'd be getting paid for this sort of thing. :) +==========================================================================+ | Meredith Tarr meth@smoe.org | | New Haven, CT USA http://www.smoe.org/~meth | +==========================================================================+ | "things are more beautiful when they're obscure" -- veda hille | | *** TRAJECTORY: the Veda Hille mailing list *** | | *** http://www.smoe.org/meth/trajectory.html *** | +==========================================================================+ ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 02 Jul 1998 23:54:08 -0400 From: Steve I Subject: Emm Gryner Meth typed, re: Emm Gryner >Help me -- what am I missing? (I figure I've *got* to be missing >something, considering what I've been reading and who's been writing it.) Maybe nothing, as always your mileage may vary. I never thought so until Neile mentioned it, but it may be that Emm's music is too "pop" for some ectophiles' ears. I haven't heard _Public_ yet, but all the extra production on this album can only contribute to that feeling. It's ironic that this question pops up so soon on the tails of the Lilith Fair artists discussion; perhaps like some other Lilith artists, Emm falls on the more mainstream pop side of ecto. I know I tend to like this aspect of ectoish music, and I've liked Emm enough to go to the trouble of setting up and maintaining a website for her. The only other thing I can offer is that by far the vast majority of the shows I've seen her do are stripped-down, solo acoustic performances. In my opinion this is where she shines. I don't know if she'll have a band for her upcoming tour or not. I doubt this has been a satisfying answer for Meth or anyone else, but I can say that I love Emm as a songwriter and a performer. I urge the rest of you to see for yourself if Emm appeals to your ears. http://webhome.idirect.com/~nsounds/emm/ Steve ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Steve I | Check out cool Toronto artists Sarah Slean & Emm Gryner Toronto, CAN | at NORTHERN SOUNDS: http://webhome.idirect.com/~nsounds/ ------------------------------ End of ecto-digest V4 #214 **************************