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MP3:
1 Goodyear - What's New (1:38)
2 Goodyear - He'll Cooperate (2:03)
3 Goodyear - A Definite Difference (1:47)
4 Goodyear - Welcome to Schultz's Market, What's New Reprise (4:58)
I've been obsessively collecting privately-pressed Industrial Musicals for just about 10 years now and, much to most folks' dismay, I truly believe that this weird subgenre is one of the most culturally unique musical movements of the 20th century. Employee motivation, the corporate bottom line, the detailed product descriptions – all set against the often ludicrously melodramatic strains of then-contemporary musical theatre. Thankfully, other kindred spirits at the 365 Days Project feel the same way. You do too, right? (Hello?.....Echo!...echo...)
Here's a rare one that was unearthed in the past two years, with only two known copies (so far). That's Show Biz, an early 60s EP by Goodyear. You might expect it to be about tires, right? Nope. This show is entirely about the introduction of Prime-Wrap, Goodyear's brand new plastic wrap for meats! Enjoy the anonymous, hard-working cast belt it out for The Man!
- Contributed by: Jonathan Ward
Image: Front Cover, That's Show Biz!
Media: 12" LP
Album: That's Show Biz!
Date: Early 1960s
Following her filial hiatus, the Grammy-nominated vocalist, Tracey Thorn, will finally release her debut solo album titled "Out Of The Woods" in March.
On the album, Thorn collaborated with such artists as Martin Wheeler, Tom Gandey aka Cagedbaby, Charles Webster, Sasse and Darshan Jesrani (Metro Area), Alex Santos, and others, but mostly with Ewan Pearson who produced the majority of the album's material (7 tracks), including the first single "It's All True."
"After years of making records with Ben [Watt], it just seemed time to take a break, and do something fresh. I've got together with a few different producers and collaborators, and we've come up with a record that (I hope) is a true reflection of who I am right now and what I love right now," said Thorn, who is best known as being one half of the duo Everything But The Girl together with her husband, DJ and producer Ben Watt.
The latest release from New York-born Bernard Emmanuel Farley aka Outputmessage is the remix EP "Sommeil", a highlight of his 2006 album "Nebulae". Outputmessage has enlisted a few friends to give their own take on the Kraftwerk-inspired original.
The EP is a royal treatment for a track that almost didn’t make it to the album. “It’s one of my favourite tracks on the album and could have been lost. I thought it was too simple but I’m glad I recorded it now,” says Farley.
Alongside Farley's own and more upbeat version, the EP features remixes from labelmates Working For A Nuclear Free City, Scissor Sisters-approved and New York-based electro pop artist My Robot Friend, and the enigmatic American Pop Band whose identity is shrouded in mystery. Lastly, Person does the thing for DJs, supplying a club-friendly final cut and completes the package.
This afternoon, I’m off to Microsoft’s Vista launch shindig. I’m hoping there will be clowns and ponies. After all, Microsoft can afford a party.
As for the OS itself, I can’t resist relevant quotes from Star Trek III:
Uhura: Would you look at that!
Kirk: My friends, the great experiment: The Excelsior. Ready for trial runs.
Sulu: She’s supposed to have transwarp drive.
Scotty: Aye, and if my grandmother had wheels, she’d be a wagon!
Kirk: Come, come, Mr. Scott. Young minds, fresh ideas. Be tolerant!
…
[later, as the Excelsior’s transwarp is easily sabotaged …]
Scotty: The more they overthink the plumbing, the easier it is to stop up the drain.
Hey, I’m nothing if not a geek. Now, is it odd-numbered or even-numbered Windows releases that are the good ones?
Humor aside, I’m cautiously optimistic. Earth-shaking OS upgrade for music? Of course not. Then again, earth-shaking is generally not what any of us want from our operating system in the first place. What Vista does promise is improved audio performance and reliability and, hopefully, a worthy upgrade for existing XP users — maybe not the best choice for all Windows users as of tomorrow’s public release, but very possibly over the coming months. I expect more details as I test it with music software and hardware alongside my Mac and Linux rigs.
Now that Microsoft has done their work, though, it’s time to start ours:
More technical information: I’ll be talking to representatives of the Vista music and audio team tomorrow, and look forward to sharing that conversation alongside the detailed notes we got from Cakewalk’s CTO Noel. These are talented folks, they’re musicians, and they understand the world beyond Microsoft.
Full Vista review: Once Microsoft finally sends Vista, you can be sure I’ll be testing it. (Sounds as though Boot Camp on the MacBook isn’t quite ready to handle it, but when it is, I’ll even give Vista a try in parallel and dual-boot on Intel Mac.)
Do you develop hardware and software? If so, we’d love to keep track of what’s been tested on Vista and what needs updating. We’re especially interested in independent, open source, free, and shareware apps. In the midst of upgrades for CDMusic and Motion in 2006, we didn’t get to do the amount of Mac Universal Binary coverage we’d planned. I intend to get it right this time with Vista (and for the Mac, Leopard this summer) and keep an actual page up where we track what works and what doesn’t, and what you need to know. Sure, a lot of you may stay with XP, but with others upgrading and new machines shipping with Vista (I hear not everyone runs Mac OS or Ubuntu), we’ll want to keep up so you can keep making music.
Mac and Linux users, fret not: this will remain a three-platform site. Even if Microsoft does have clowns tonight, or, you know, a bag of swag and an open bar. (I’ll have a Vistatini, please?) Yes, I hear there will be techno-protesters, too, though, sorry, I can think of better things to protest. (Wars and stuff, you know. Readers here probably don’t know, but I have a history doing human rights advocacy as a volunteer, so to me, Microsoft just doesn’t get my blood boiling somehow.)
Users and developers alike, any tips or questions you’ve got, drop us a line and help be part of our Vista Special Report.
Community, compatibility, drivers, operating systems, software, troubleshooting, upgrades, Vista, Windows
While on the subject of Gallo Speakers, here’s about as far as you can get from the baby-sized A’Diva satellites: speakers that tower 78″ tall, pack some 12 4″ aluminum woofers each, and deliver nearly omni-directional sound. Micro speakers (5″ each), yes, but in a slender but tall enclosure.
The Reference 5LS speakers, due third quarter 2007 but shown recently at CES in prototype form, alternate mid-range spheres with tweeter cylinders vertically. The idea is to deal with phase and dispersion issues in a nearly (though not quite) omni-directional speaker. Gallo also showed off a reference amp that would couple with the speakers (the Reference SA).
Click through for some drool-inducing photos. Now I need to make up a reason to build a sound art installation with these units. (I have until later 2007, after all.)
I never copy and paste press releases, but since people are already asking for more details and there’s nothing up on the Web yet, here’s an excerpt with more of the technical bits (and happily, Gallo tends heavier on actual technical specs in their PR than the usual marketing-speak!):
CES, gear lust, hardware, installations, monitoring, previews, speakersScheduled to be released to the public in the third quarter of 2007, the towering speaker stands 78” tall, boasts an incredible 12 custom aluminum 4” woofers and features seven of AGA’s proprietary CDT II tweeters, which possess power-handling, off-axis response and efficiency that approach the textbook definition of ideal. In addition, the Reference 5LS has eight 4″ carbon fiber midrange drivers, each housed it its own 5″ spherical enclosure.
“The Reference 5LS is really the ‘big brother’ of our flagship Reference 3.1,” states Anthony Gallo, award-winning speaker designer and founder of AGA. “While it’s not completely omni-directional, it is the closest any line source has ever come to being omni-directional. This loudspeaker is the culmination of more than 25 years of loudspeaker design research. After a lengthy development cycle, we’re extremely excited to unveil our new flagship to the public at the CES show.”
Many line sources horizontally offset their various drivers, but AGA alternates tweeter cylinders with mid-range spheres - one atop the other - in perfect vertical alignment. Because of this, the phase and dispersion problems caused by driver offset are entirely eliminated.
Capable of being driven by a single, capable amplifier, the 5LS offers the options of bi- or tri-wiring, as well as bi- or tri-amping. Although capable of handling massive power, the crossover-less design and high efficiency of both the CDT II tweeters and carbon-fiber midrange drivers are perfect matches for low-powered, high-performance amplifiers. The first-order low-pass filter used for the bass drivers (The only crossover employed in the 5LS) can be bypassed, enabling the LF enclosure to be driven from the LFE output of a processor, or from a separate amplifier.
At 7” wide by 11” deep, the Reference 5LS sports quite a slender profile. The twelve 4” woofers fire out the back and equal the cone surface of a 15” subwoofer, while offering speed and transparency that a large single driver cannot match. In addition, the Reference 5LS features AGA’s patented S2 Technology, as well as their trademark spherical enclosure, which eliminates any external diffraction.
For even more groundbreaking performance, the company’s optional Reference SA amplifier, which features volume, phase and crossover adjustments, is ideal for this application. The Reference SA allows the speaker to be placed for optimal imaging and soundstaging performance, and then fine-tuned for bass using the SA’s control facilities.
