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Post by jtmx1 on May 18, 2006 11:14:00 GMT -5
No worries, Ryan. I just didn't want to offend you by acting without your knowledge. So, I'll try to collect all the stuff I have of yours and serve it up.
About the radio's hours: So far no one has told me what they want them to be. I have to run three pieces of software on my computer to make it work, so it pretty much ties me up. If we were going to do a 24/7 station, we'd need a dedicated radio PC and perhaps a dedicated cable connection. That would give you 32 simultaneous listeners. If you wanted 100, we'd have to move up to a T1 or better.
I am willing to broadcast when people want to listen. But so far, no one has told me when that is. Yesterday was my first broadcast day and I guess I was only on for 5 hours or so. I've been on since 4:45am today and I will probably sign off--at least for a while--at 1:15 or so. That will give the world two trips through the playlist. Tonight I will add some more of Justin's stuff as I am going mix down the best tracks on A Bit Too Much. I would really like to know what everyone thinks are the gems on this tape. Here is a track listing.
Program No. 1 1. two blue murder 2. café curtains 3. heavensent 4. a shorter story 5. apple pills 6. janitorsong 7. destruction of sennacherib 8. inaudible 9. lucky stars 10. be my wife 11. no place like 12. shine on (martian mamma) 13. not coming home 14. someplace else 15. maelstrom test 16. basil’s theme 17. a garden song
Program No. 2 1. separated (by leo) 2. expatriate theme 3. circumstances (2.0) 4. future hymns (I just fell down) 5. bailey’s bed 6. inspired 7. iris (original) 8. crosslands/talk 9. circumstances (3.0) 10. fine tuner (movement/grumble) 11. “Dear Cherie” 12. Poor Richard 13. time
Before you clamor for the these, I’ve already got mixes in rotation:
A1. two blue murder A2. café curtains A3. heavensent A14. someplace else A16. basil’s theme B6. inspired B8. crosslands
Further, I know that we want the sublime original version of Iris. But which of the remaining 22 songs are among your favorites?
Jeff
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Post by chris on May 18, 2006 11:33:16 GMT -5
"Shine On (Martian Mamma)" is an awesome, if not-so-perfectly produced song. I think a lot of Justin's older stuff on here is messy and could stand for a little bit of ol' fashioned studio cleanup. "Heavensent" is another one of those -- if the vocals were louder (and yes, Justin's voice breaks, but if they were resung...) it would be an awesome recording. Even as it is, it's one of my all-time favorites of Justin's, probably in the top three.
I'm not sure how the version of "Apple Pills" you have sounds. Does it have vocals? I love that song dearly and was just messing with it the other day trying to remember how to play it. It's on the short list of songs that, if Justin and ever went back into a studio, I'd want to do with him.
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Post by jtmx1 on May 18, 2006 11:38:51 GMT -5
Ryan did his last post at just about the same time I did. I'd love for someone else to manage the project--I'd pay for that. I've got a check for the first 4 months of broadcasting if anyone wants to start up a Live365 account.
The trick to the radio station would be promoting it. There are lots of things I think would be cool. First, I'd get some of our friends involved. Zakk might be interested in the free publicity. Big David. Any other musicians we know who'd like their work featured.
Next, I'd like to see a dedicated Indigenous Radio webpage with band bios and photos and such. I'd like for people to be able to buy these songs somehow. 25 cent downloads or cheaper would be super cool. Most importantly, I'd like the website to track the broadcast somehow. And it would be nice if there were a page of liner notes/photographs of the recording sessions, etc...
But first things first. We need more programming if we are going to invest serious time and money in this project. I decided to do it this week because I am off work for a few days and I have the time to spare. I also figured it would give me something to do during the month that my family was gone. But I wanted to tell anyone interested in taking over this project that I am happy to let it go. I just wanted to demonstrate it and get people fired up about it. I think Chris, Ryan, and Justin really like the idea. So, my work is mostly done.
Jeff
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Post by chris on May 18, 2006 11:59:14 GMT -5
Not to get all MBA on you guys, but how exactly does this work? How the heck do you promote something like this -- it seems like it would be trying to shout out a message in the middle of a packed football stadium. Whenever I hear NPR talk about indie musical offerings on the web, they always talk about the sheer magnitude of offerings. And to be a sadly blunt devil's advocate, who the heck would listen? Call me narrow, but I certainly wouldn't stop and listen to the musical offerings of a group of artistic folk based in, say, South Dakota.
That said... I think this does sound like fun and interesting, and I'm all for a tiny smidgen of cash to get it going (hey, I'm still trying to get cash for my dang movie, after all). But if you're going to be targeting outsiders, I just hope you're targeting a reasonably sized market -- then again, I don't know how this stuff works, so maybe we should just shoot the moon and hope for stars. And if it doesn't take much more than loading songs every now and again and posting something somewhere, what could it hurt?
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Post by mj on May 18, 2006 12:59:39 GMT -5
Shine on (Martian Mamma) is easily one of my favorite of Justin's songs. If it isn't already in rotation, please please add it. Tankee!
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Post by jtmx1 on May 18, 2006 16:24:23 GMT -5
This is but a partial answer to Chris’ question. For the last month of the semester every Tuesday I’d return to my car to find a card stuck under my windshield wiper. These are some of the words from one of them: * * * * * The RGV’s first official myspace.com party myspace.com a place for friends get more info and RSVP at www.myspace.com/lustatplush or www.myspace.com/plushultraloungeThursday april 27 For lust at plush Brought to you by… Plush entertainment group BLUE-STEEL PR Phil da rush promotions www.partymonster.orgDrink specials $1.50 domestic beer $2.00 well drinks $100 bottles all night long 18+welcome Everyone free before 11 pm with college id Ladies free all night Plush ultra lounge At light lounge 4108 N 10th suite 700 Mcallen…928-0473 FEATURING Dj IZK vs Dj Tino House, hip hop, reggaeton, top 40 * * * * * The week before the band had their own myspace site. The idea here is a pretty good one. They have the cards, the websites, the club, the bands, and the merchandise. They are reaching out in multiple ways. What is most interesting to me is how they are using international advertising (the web) to achieve local results. I guess a lot depends on what you are trying to do. I think the radio station would be a nice way to drum up support for one of Ryan’s shows. We may only get 10 regular listeners. Which is fine. I’ve been on the air for 12 hours today and our name popped up in someone’s search 98 times. Now, our maximum number of listeners was only ever 3 and some of the time it was zero. But we’ve had at least one listener most of the day. If we were on 24/7 we would undoubted get more hits. Some of that traffic will go to our website and some will read your essays. Maybe just one or two a day at first, but more over time. We might never make any money. I think Chris is right about that. But the radio is another way of spreading influence. Certainly the internet is full of bands that will never get famous. But that is not really what we are after is it? My goal is to simply be present, to show up at the world party. Sure it’s nice when the cute girls flirt with you, but it’s also fun just being there. I have already gotten an invitation to a battle of the bands off my myspace site. So I think we are having some effect already. Jeff
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Post by chris on May 18, 2006 16:41:11 GMT -5
Understood. However, I would like to point out that my guiding principle in all musical matters is: "Will this get me laid?" If the answer is no, it's not worth my time. 8^)
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Post by Jeff on May 18, 2006 18:47:24 GMT -5
Okay, guys I am still learning how to do this. When I go online again, you can direct link to my server (my home PC) using this link: 68.203.212.90:8000 . That is me. PS don't fubar my machine by guessing my password. (I can now see how easy it would be to break into a lightly guarded system. I have an open port, so you are already in.) PPS I'll try to change those webpages if I can, but I haven't found out how yet.
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Post by Jeff on May 18, 2006 18:56:02 GMT -5
Ryan, This solves your problem, too. Open Windows Media Player. Hit Ctrl U and paste in the URL: 68.203.212.90:8000 . You now have the stream without the .pls file. The good folks at Microsoft aren't so good, really. Jeff
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Post by Jeff on May 18, 2006 19:06:26 GMT -5
BTW My roadrunner connection hardly gets above 550kbps. The smallest stereo bit rate is 40kbps. That means that I can stream to a maximum of 13 users on my connection. But the quality is pretty crappy. Today I had the quality set at 112 kbps, but that would only allow us 5 simultaneous users. How many should we shoot for? Choices are 48, 56, 64, 80, 96 kbps. That would be 11, 9, 8, 6, and 5 silmultaneous streams, respectively. What do you think?
PS I've got it on 128 kbps now. It is the first setting that sounds really good. But it would only give us 4 simultaneous users. We only hit 3 today. But this was only our second day. Should we shoot for more? Or does it pay to be exclusive? I think 6 at 80kbps sounds good for the next week.
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Post by Guest Justin on May 18, 2006 19:54:49 GMT -5
Thanks for the kind words, guys. I no longer have a copy of that "A Bit Too Much" tape, so I don't remember half or more of those songs. That said, I can recall that Chris had once joked that if he ever produced a similar collection, he'd call it "Much Too Bitta."
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Post by Tyler on May 18, 2006 22:12:45 GMT -5
T1 line: >$300 per month (low-ball quote. More probably more than my mortgage) Equipment to handle said connection $1200. Just getting the line to my house... priceless.
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Post by chris on May 19, 2006 0:01:16 GMT -5
I'm able to play it in iTunes on my Apple... since iTunes has a PC version, you might try the pls file there!
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Post by Jeff on May 19, 2006 9:44:42 GMT -5
I was too sleepy last night to rip Justin's tape. But I am up now. And that's what I plan to do this morning. I'll put the station back up when I'm finished.
Jeff
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Post by Jeff on May 19, 2006 10:52:46 GMT -5
Over the last decade I have listened to A Bit Too Much...well, a bit too much. I've played it probably 5 times for every trip through El Simple. I've always thought that it was genius work. This has left my tape in a terrible state as I've played it on countless tape decks. It has sat on the console in my car in the summer heat. It has traveled to Florida and Oklahoma. You get the idea. I am doing the best with the noise reduction tools that I have but it is full of pink noise and pulling it all the way down ruins the crispness of The Beast. So, I am tolerating a lot of it for the sake of capturing Justin's trademark sound. Keep in mind that I realized I needed to do this restoration work before I moved to McAllen. And I already started on the project 3 years ago doing 24bit/96kHz samples. But I discontinued the project when I realized that I needed to mix from the individual track outs and I didn’t have the adaptors to do that. Rather than picking up $5 worth of adaptors, I just put the project down for another 3 years. Now that I’m working on it again, I realize that those adaptors would sure be helpful.
BTW: One of Justin’s mixing tricks is particularly difficult to master around. Justin usually pans the bass to the left and his midrange plucking on the electric to the right. This is nice because it makes his lead work crisp and clear. But it generally makes the left side of the mix objectively much louder. However, the ear doesn’t recognize this because it pays attention to the moving notes on the right. The effect is that the bass is full and the mix sounds balanced. But it isn’t. And just a little compression and/or noise reduction ruins the effect. Argh!
Jeff
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Post by chris on May 19, 2006 11:24:14 GMT -5
Wait... what master are you remixing off of? Do you have some of these old masters, or are you trying to digitally enhance the semi-melted tape?
In my closet, there sits Cecil (our Portastudio 4-track) and about three dozen master tapes, ranging from the first Amy B. Altered weekend, to stuff that was probably recorded early this millennium. One of the many long-term projects I have is to fully digitize all those tapes, track by track. I was going to eventually ask for some advice on how to do that with the meager tools I have (a Mac, Peak, Deck, Garageband, etc.), but for now, I'm much to busy with editing a documentary to do that. Are there any songs, however, that I might have the masters of, that anyone can think of?
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Post by Jeff on May 19, 2006 11:35:03 GMT -5
The Destruction of Sennacherib The Assyrian came down like a wolf on the fold, And his cohorts were gleaming in purple and gold; And the sheen of their spears was like stars on the sea, When the blue wave rolls nightly on deep Galilee. Like the leaves of the forest when Summer is green, That host with their banners at sunset were seen: Like the leaves of the forest when Autumn hath blown, That host on the morrow lay withered and strown. For the Angel of Death spread his wings on the blast, And breathed in the face of the foe as he passed; And the eyes of the sleepers waxed deadly and chill, And their hearts but once heaved, and for ever grew still! And there lay the steed with his nostril all wide, But through it there rolled not the breath of his pride; And the foam of his gasping lay white on the turf, And cold as the spray of the rock-beating surf. And there lay the rider distorted and pale, With the dew on his brow, and the rust on his mail: And the tents were all silent, the banners alone, The lances unlifted, the trumpet unblown. And the widows of Ashur are loud in their wail, And the idols are broke in the temple of Baal; And the might of the Gentile, unsmote by the sword, Hath melted like snow in the glance of the Lord!
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Post by Jeff on May 19, 2006 11:45:56 GMT -5
I am using an old melted copy of a copy of a copy, I think. I will leave the final restoration to you, Chris. But these copies are good enough for now. When I fire up the radio again later, I will start the broadcast with a complete run through of A Bit Too Much. What time would be best for anyone who wants to hear it?
The hiss in my ears, as loud as can be Will only be lessened by beer number three. Destroying the Cherubs may be God's holy task But a little corrosion and He sits on his Ass.
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Post by Jeff on May 19, 2006 14:24:04 GMT -5
The Second Side of my copy of A Bit Too Much has never made sense to me. I remember once I asked Justin to very carefully tell me what the tracks were on that side. I wrote them down on a strip of paper that I put in the cassette case and referred to periodically. But now that I am actually going through and counting the tracks, I know what the problem is: My copy doesn't have Future Hymns (I Just Fell Down) and Bailey’s Bed on it. These two songs are listed in the liner notes but are not on the tape. Instead the tape moves from Circumstances (2.0), a song I know pretty well, to Justin describing the last 5 songs. I always thought that he was talking about the first three on side 2 plus the last two on side 1. But he is talking about songs I don't have.
I write this so that Justin and Chris will know to protect their copies of these songs, especially if no one else has this tape.
Jeff
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Post by Jeff on May 19, 2006 14:47:16 GMT -5
Still working. Some notes:
1. I remastered Inspired. Our old copy sucked. I did it on the soundcard that came with my old Compaq. It might have been the very first song I tried to import into the digital world. I think it was, because at the time I regarded it as Justin's best.
2. The remastering of Fine Tuner (Movement/Grumble) worked out really well. Most of the sound in the song comes from two midrange GTRs, so I was able to filter out most of the high end noise. And I didn't even lose much of the sheen. It is probably the best job I've done today.
3. When I start up the radio station, I am only going to play A Bit Too Much today. It will be on an all night loop, unless someone posts here and demands that I take it down.
4. Tomorrow I will rip the songs I skipped on El Simple. I passed them over for the sake of time. It was late and I was tired. But after I rip those I will have done all the songs that I have from Justin Chris and David.
5. Justin, can you post to the briefcase In Absence and any other Idiot Plot songs that you have. I don't know what has happened to my copies and the Idiot Plot site is down.
Jeff
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