Devil Music

I finally managed to procure a copy of Dickinson's Tyranny of Souls after going to no less than five stores since Thursday. It's a winner, regardless of the fact that it has that "up against the wall" sound of all music these days.

If you're a fan of the direction Bruce took on Accident of Birth and The Chemical Wedding, pick this one up. It's a more modern version of Iron Maiden - riffs (even in harmony) and solos galore, but with a downtuned, sludgier tone. Putting mastering issues aside for a moment, it's clear Roy Z still knows how to produce an album that old school metalheads will embrace. I think Bruce's singing is finally starting to slip (he couldn't keep it up forever), but it's not apparent unless you're really paying attention.

While in the store I also decided to add Slayer's Show No Mercy and Hell Awaits to my collection. On a quick listen they're spiffy. Yes, the production is standard 80s thrash (i.e. lots of reverb), but don't let that distract you from giving these a listen. Mercy reminds me of Metallica's debut, Kill 'Em All, for some peculiar reason, and Hell Awaits is proto Reign In Blood all the way.

Out of Exile - First Impressions

I don't know if I can quite say that the new Audioslave album "rocks more furiously" (sorry Tom), but it seems to be a decent, if not exactly distinctive, release.

The first thing I noticed was the disc's length - under 55 minutes. I applaud Audioslave for trimming the fat, something most bands are incapable of doing these days. Their first album was far too long, and the caliber of the later songs on that disc make it almost impossible to listen to it in its entirety in one sitting.

Out of Exile has its share of groovin' songs ("Your Time has Come" and "Out of Exile") and your more ballad-y numbers a la "Like A Stone" ("Be Yourself"). Most welcome are the tunes that have some honest-to-goodness nifty songwriting, like "Doesn't Remind Me". This meticulous craftsmanship didn't appear on their debut album, so it's a welcome addition to this release.

Most refreshing is Morello's soloing. He's on fire here in a way that we haven't seen since Rage's self-titled effort. Not only does Morello make some of the coolest wonky noises we've heard (a feat, considering the amount of cool wonkiness on the Rage albums), but he performs lead fretwork on this disc that leaves burnt rubber in its wake. He does this on just about every track, and color me crazy, but I predict this won't harm the popularity of the album one bit. Take note Metallica - Tom proves that putting guitar solos on an album won't hurt your street cred.

Despite all of this, I just can't help but feel that this disc, like the last one, feels bland at times, even boring. It reminds me of latter day Soundgarden, which really isn't a great thing. It just never seems to have the ferocity of Rage's first album, the alternative uniqueness of Soundgarden's Louder Than Love, or the perfect blending of the two of Badmotorfinger. The album rocks at times, but it's a generic kind of rocking for the masses, and never seems to kick the doors down.

Hello, Vandersteen VCC-1

Say hi to the Vandersteen VCC-1, the newest addition to my home theater. I was able to successfully haggle with a guy selling a near mint one (even comes with original box and manuals), so this sucker will be arriving at my door shortly. I'll finally be getting a bit more of an open sound as I watch movies and listen to surround music mixes, since everything in the front won't be thrown in the two main speakers.

At some point in the far future I'll invest in some decent surround speakers, but for now my cheesy pair I got in 1988 will suffice. Still have no idea what to do about a subwoofer - I don't need one because my main speakers put out plenty of bass, but it becomes a hassle when listening to those dumb music discs that won't put out low bass unless the sub is hooked up. Oh well - building a good sound system is a slow, steady process (unless one's rich, which I'm not).

DVD-A Goodness

Last week I finally got my Pioneer DV-563A fixed. As reported earlier, older versions of this player have trouble playing certain DVD-A titles. When my With Teeth high resolution layers refused to go, it was finally time to get the player fixed.

So I got it back in two days, completely free of charge (both of these things are a shocker, if y'all know anything about repair shops), and gave With Teeth a good spin last night. Glorious.

The stereo layer has a warmth to it that's a bit lacking on the CD side. And the surround layer blew me away. Unfortunately this disc doesn't support downmixing and I don't have a center channel (so certain musical and vocal bits are, maddeningly, missing), but this disc has convinced me its time to bite the bullet and get one. I have an offer in to purchase a used Vandersteen VCC-1, so it will complement my 2Cs.

New Dickinson Release Today

Just a quick note to remind everyone that Bruce Dickinson's new solo album, Tyranny of Souls, is out in stores today. He'll also be re-releasing his older albums with the usual array of bonus tracks and what not (probably also remastered, blech).

More news as I find the time - just been Hell these days!

A Dummy's Character Guide to the Star Wars Prequel Trilogy Universe

Or, a helping hand for those of you who need a brush-up on what you need to know to thoroughly understand and enjoy Revenge of the Sith. I've only included the characters important to Sith's plot (with one exception, due to an event that was necessary to mention). Hope this guide ensures that The Force will be with you as you watch the conclusion to this epic story sometime (hopefully) soon.

Anakin Skywalker (Jake Lloyd and Hayden Christensen) - Grew up with his mother as a slave on the desert planet of Tatooine. Freed at the age of 9 by Jedi Master Qui-Gon Jinn because Qui-Gon believes Anakin is the one who is destined to bring balance between the light and dark sides of The Force. Anakin becomes very strong with the ways of The Force, but his impatience is frowned upon by the Jedi Council. Becomes Padme Amidala's protector once a plot to assassinate her is discovered. Great supporter of Chancellor Palpatine. Suffers immeasurable psychological distress when his mother is murdered. He secretly marries Padme even though Jedi code forbids it.

Qui-Gon Jinn (Liam Neeson) - Headstrong yet immensely perceptive Jedi Master. Trains Obi-Wan Kenobi. Discovers Anakin Skywalker while on a mission to rescue Queen Padme Amidala from her home planet of Naboo, which has been illegally occupied by the Trade Federation. Intends to train Anakin in the ways of The Force but is slain by Darth Maul.

Obi-Wan Kenobi (Ewan McGregor) - Powerful Jedi Knight who becomes close with Anakin Skywalker and trains him after Qui-Gon's untimely death. Discovers that a Clone Army is being built for the Republic via orders from the Jedi, although the Jedi are unaware of any such order. Uncovers a plot by rogue Jedi Count Dooku to overthrow the Republic.

Darth Sidious (?) - Evil Sith Lord that is strong with the dark side of The Force. Sidious, with apprentice Count Dooku (Darth Tyranus) at his side, is the hidden mastermind behind the plot to overthrow the Republic. He secretly forges a plan with the Trade Federation to illegally occupy Naboo. Once this plan is thwarted, he sways, via Count Dooku, many races to leave the Republic and form a Separatist movement.

Darth Maul (Ray Park) - Former apprentice of Darth Sidious. Slays Qui-Gon Jinn, but is subsequently killed by Obi-Wan.

Count Dooku (Christopher Lee) - Former Jedi Master and trainer of Qui-Gon Jinn. Dooku turns to the Dark Side and becomes Darth Sidious's apprentice (as Darth Tyranus) after Darth Maul is killed. Almost murders Obi-Wan and Anakin (whose hand becomes severed) during the early battles of the Clone Wars, but is forced to flee when confronted by Jedi Master Yoda.

Padme Amidala (Natalie Portman) - Former elected Queen of the peaceful planet Naboo. A champion of democracy, she later becomes a Senator of the Republic and urges them to use peaceful means to settle the conflict of the Separatist movement. Secretly marries Anakin Skywalker.

Chancellor Palpatine (Ian McDiarmid) - Formerly a Senator from Naboo, is elected Chancellor during Naboo's occupation by the Trade Federation. Later, once the Separatists' power grows, is granted emergency powers and uses the Clone Army that Obi-Wan discovers in an attempt to crush the uprising. Takes to Anakin and encourages his abilities.

Jedi Masters Yoda (Frank Oz) and Mace Windu (Samuel L. Jackson) - Wisest and most powerful (respectively) of all the Jedi Masters. They perceive great danger surrounding Anakin and forbid Qui-Gon to train him, but relent and allow Obi-Wan to do so after Qui-Gon's death. They discover that the Jedi's powers to perceive threats are rapidly diminishing due to Sidious's rising power, but choose not to let the Republic know this fact.

Sith Impressions

By "popular" demand, here are my comments on Revenge of the Sith. I will try to keep this relatively plot free, but it will contain comments on overall tone, plus references to certain aspects of the movie, so those who want to discover it all on their own should not read beyond this point.

It has been said before, but it bears repeating: Revenge of the Sith is a really dark movie. Most know going into this film that it will depict how and why Anakin Skywalker becomes Darth Vader, plus the downfall of the Republic and the rise of the Empire. But it may come as a surprise to discover that George Lucas has no problem showing every bit of it in lurid detail. The anger, sadness, hopelessness, and agony of defeat are naked on screen for all to see, and it's disturbing to behold.

The question I get most often from people is, "Is it better than the last two movies?" This is a difficult question for me to answer because I actually like the last two movies. No, they weren't the stuff the first trilogy was made of (even Return of the Jedi), but how could they be? Those movies were a product of the time they came out of, and this cannot be duplicated. I enjoy The Phantom Menace and Attack of the Clones for what they are - a new glimpse into a universe that for whatever weird reason gives me great joy. I can deal with a little Jar-Jar and some childish humor and puns here and there.

Anyway, the answer to that question depends on why one doesn't like TPM and AotC. If it's due to stupid humor, silly characters, and prolonged discussions about intergalactic politics, than you should be happy with the new film. It dispenses with all that and concentrates on the fall of the Republic and the bad choices Anakin makes. This is rough business however, so while the beginning of the movie has some light moments (all done well, I might add), the majority of the film is very serious.

If, however, one is looking for Harrison Ford sparkle or witty dialog, you generally won't find it here. Ian McDiarmid gives a spellbinding performance, but his character is not as endearing as Han Solo (by design), so that type of fun is missing in this movie. This is, of course, the point. This film simply wouldn't benefit much from the razor sharp exchanges we get between Han and Leia in The Empire Strikes Back.

For me the highlight of the movie was getting all the rest of the pieces that come together to complete Darth Vader's character arc. Perhaps once Sith has been out for a while I will detail this arc, and why I feel Lucas shows genius in the way he depicts Vader. But to summarize, the arc is effectively: a young innocent boy is eager to please and selflessly wishes to spread good to others, chooses evil for misguided reasons (not necessarily for stereotypical uses of power), resigns himself to the fate that comes due to the repercussions of that choice, has renewed self-assurance when discovering he has a son, attempts to come to grips with the feelings that result from having a son (and the son's free will), and finally, his "rebirth" that comes from embracing those feelings rather than suppressing them.

The Star Wars movies have more to them than meets the eye. I thoroughly recommend watching all of them again: attempt to see beyond the 50's sci-fi/action veneer. There's heart and complex drama beneath the surface that is missing from so many current movies.

Stay tuned for more typical Band Chat pomp and fanfare.

Happy Star Wars Day

May good times be had by all of us Star Wars fanboys today. I'll be wating on line later tonight to catch the DLP showing at midnight. "I can hardly contain myself!"

Mastodon Rocks the Worcester Palladium

Mastodon is truly a unique band, and I was reminded of this simply by looking at the crowd before their show began last night. There was a wide variety of heavy metal and alternative represented via the t-shirts the audience was wearing - Tool, nin, Slayer, The Misfits, and even Rush. Earlier I had wondered exactly who this band appeals to, and it became clear that it's to those who tend to appreciate a technically proficient bent to their music.

Mastodon began promptly at 10 pm, walking on stage as sounds of a crashing surf played through the stage monitors. As all three axe-men momentarily faced away from the audience, raising their instruments skyward in tribute to the metal gods, the crowd cheered, knowing full well they were about to experience metal gods of their own. Mastodon then plowed through all thirteen plus minutes of Leviathan's "Hearts Alive", a staggeringly ballsy feat that didn't phase the crowd one bit. The band members were metal machines, spot on with all aspects of the music, performing stage mannerisms that whooped the crowd into a frenzy (no small feat considering how tiny the stage was they had to work with).

They went on to play 80% of their latest record, Leviathan (all except "Naked Burn" and "Joseph Merrick"), four songs off of Remission (including "Crusher Destroyer" and "March of the Fire Ants"), one from Lifesblood ("Hail to Fire", with "fried eggs" speech intact), plus a Melvins cover. Each song was played with razor sharp accuracy from their manly Gibson Flying Vs and Les Pauls (with an Explorer waiting in the wings - all choice selections, and proof these guys are more metal than metal).

Mastodon's performance was an impressive bit of work considering the complexity of their music. They played meticulously, stopping ever so briefly between songs to change the tuning of their instruments, during which old school horror movie dialog blared through the monitors. Mastodon seemed truly appreciative of the crowd, telling them that other recent audiences were not so receptive (clearly those folks' loss).

The only negative for me was that their set was too short - barely 70 minutes, including one encore. But hell, I was able to procure a guitar pick off the stage (Bill Kelliher apparently uses green Dunlop Tortex .88 mm; most excellent choice!), so all's good.

This was the best show I've seen in many a year. Mastodon had no delusions of grandeur, since they were hanging about before their set (I spied the bassist, Troy Sanders, making a phone call outside the club), and personally spot checking their instrument setup a la Eric Johnson. Once engaged, the crowd was surprisingly devoid of lunatics (fewer moshers than I expected), so I was able to wedge myself right up on the right side of the stage and get a great view of the band (check out the photos taken at the show). The sound mix was especially good, another rarity these days.

Catch Mastodon on this headlining tour or at Ozzfest in a town near you.

Milliways Music Minutes

Share and enjoy as the universe explodes later for your pleasure!

• Mastodon plays live tonight at the Worcester Palladium. I'm there!
  
• Rob Zombie to finish third solo album after Ozzfest.
  
• Bruce Dickinson's "Abduction" video is now available for viewing.
  
• Iron Maiden to release new double live DVD and CD on August 29. Another live CD?
  
• Watch Billy Corgan's new video. Album to be released June 21.
  
• Nin's With Teeth to enter Billboard Top 200 at Number One. To play MTV Movie Awards June 9.
  

*BOOM*

Band Chat Log File

For those who care about such things, I have added a Band Chat History and Change Log to the site. I often go back and tweak my posts, so this will detail those changes for those who don't want to miss any nuances that slipped in under the radar. Its format and location may change, but I'll always keep a link to it on the right side of this page.

With Teeth Impressions - Music

The thing I'll say right off the bat is that my comments are generally going to be about the music. I'm not a big lyric guy, and the fact that Trent makes it difficult to acquire the lyrics for With Teeth doesn't help matters. This is of course, too bad, because if there's one person whose lyrics I like reading while listening, it's Trent's.

In general, the thing that comes to mind when listening to With Teeth is that it's "safe". There isn't much here we haven't heard before. It has songs that are loud, songs that are quiet, songs that are noisy, songs that are dance-y, songs that are industrial, songs where Trent whispers, and songs where he screams. Yep, and in what's par for the nin course, sometimes Trent puts all of these ingredients in one song. So if you're looking for the musical breakthrough that was experienced on Broken or The Downward Spiral, you won't find it.

This isn't to say that With Teeth isn't a good record - it's mighty decent. There's plenty of cool sounds and textures that blast and swirl through the mix, or perhaps creep up in ways one doesn't expect (especially in the surround presentation). Although it's no surprise that there's plenty of dynamic range (loud and quiet bits), it seems even cooler this time around since so many modern artists don't recognize its importance. There are a few songs where Trent doesn't seem to be singing with the emotion he once had, but they're fewer than one might expect considering the length of his career.

The disc moves along at a fast clip since no song is longer than the 5 minute range, most are in the three minute range, and the entire record clocks in at 55 minutes (his shortest since Broken). We're used to having his albums begin with a bombast of noise, but instead, With Teeth opens quietly with "All the Love In the World" (complete with a generous helping of piano). It races along with the faster and noisier "You Know What You Are?" (in which Trent yells "fucking" better than anybody) and "The Collector", before settling into a riff-y groove with the first single, "The Hand That Feeds".

Next, we're introduced to slick (yet somehow sludgy) guitar tones in "Love Is Not Enough" before settling on one of the most pleasant songs on the disc - "Every Day Is Exactly the Same". "With Teeth" is probably the most unusual song he's recorded in a while due to its grinding guitar, bizarrely uttered chorus, and quiet middle section. Be forewarned, however, since the song will crash back in, scaring the beejeezus out of anybody within listening distance.

Pretty Hate Machine fans will undoubtedly be happy with the catchy dance stylings of "Only", which reminds one of "Down In It", straight down to the lyrics about a "tiny little dot" catching his eye. Big surprises follow as Trent's hook in "Getting Smaller" reminds one of Nirvana, with Dave Grohl's "Stay Away" drumming (obviously) lending a big helping hand in the conjuring of this grunge illusion. Then the record switches back to a sound that reminds one of his later works, as Trent works towards the offbeat "Beside You In Time" (dig the riffs set on infinite delay) and traditional ending of "Right Where It Belongs".

So With Teeth gets a "good job" rating from me. It'll please the disciples, but is unlikely to bring anyone new into his fan base.

With Teeth Impressions - Content

I've had Trent's new album for a week now, so I thought I'd throw out my feelings on the disc so far.

I'll first comment about the content of the disc. Originally Trent had planned on having elaborate packaging, but the record company scrapped the idea, so we were left with nothing. All that's inside the package are the song titles. If you go to the With Teeth section of the nin home page, you are given the ability to download the lyrics and credits. There is both a small and large file to choose from, but even the "small" file is humongous. And due to its "artistic" nature, it's a chore to scroll around to read the lyrics.

I relented and bought the DualDisc version so I could enjoy the high resolution mixes, but encountered some problems:

• Like the Judas Priest DualDisc, my computer's CD-ROM doesn't easily recognize it, thus making it a royal pain to copy. Your mileage may vary.
  
• My DVD-A player refuses to play the hi-rez audio properly. This is actually a problem my Pioneer DV-563A has with certain DVD-A discs, so I have to get its firmware upgraded at a service center.
  
• The disc does not support downmixing, so for those of us who are missing a center and/or subwoofer channel, we will not hear those parts of the surround hi-rez mix.
  

There is, however, a Dolby Digital 5.1 mix (which does support downmixing), so anyone that has a regular DVD player can listen to the surround mix (just at lower fidelity than the hi-rez layer). Also available on the DVD-Video layer is:

• The video for "The Hand That Feeds", in both stereo and DD 5.1.
  
• A discography of all of nin's "Halos" (releases), complete with 45 minutes of samples of select songs and videos. This is informative and well-implemented.
  

Comments on the music itself are forthcoming.

Copy Protection and the RIAA

I really despise the copy protection that is slowly creeping onto today's music CDs. Just today someone I know was having trouble, via iTunes, ripping her purchased copy of Amerie's Touch to mp3 files (proving to me that these schemes are only good at foiling the people who buy the music, not the the music pirates). iTunes simply didn't want to recognize the CD.

Research revealed that this disc has copy protection on it that's activated when Microsoft Windows attempts to "AutoPlay" a CD (Velvet Revolver's Contraband has the same protection). I disabled AutoPlay on the computer, but iTunes still didn't seem to want to recognize the disc. My guess is that iTunes has a "feature" in it which prevents it from being used for ripping music CDs that have copy-protection software on them. There's probably a special data area on the disc that iTunes checks for an "I'm copy protected!" flag.

I got around all of this by using Exact Audio Copy to rip the music off. I then made her:

1. Mp3s.
   
2. A non-copy protected CD of the music (in case she wants to make her own mp3s again in the future).
   

Performing this service made me oh so happy!

Of Guitar Picks and Men - Part II

Here's my update on the picks I purchased.

First up is the Ice Pix stainless steel pick. I like this sucker. It's completely inflexible and the same size as my sterling silver pick, but a bit lighter. It has small ridges cut out of it so that grips nicely in the hand. The sound while playing is similar to my #1: bell-like, and a bit dark (but not as much). It's a good choice for those who are interested in getting the benefits of a metal pick without the price of something very fancy.

Next, the Dava Control Master Control with nickel silver tip. What these guys attempted to do was to create a metal pick that has various degrees of thickness. The tip is nickel silver, but the part that you grip with your fingers is made of plastic. If you choke up on the pick, you get a feel that's similar to a heavy pick. If you hold it near the far end, it simulates a thin pick. I've found that this little guy's weight is closer towards that of a non-metal pick and it's easier to manipulate, especially when playing galloping Iron Maiden/Diamond Head style riffs. There is some chunkiness that is lost, however, when playing said riffs muted.

Wirething's steel wire pick is truly a unique item. Like the Dava sucker, it has a plastic grip so that its weight is similar to a traditional pick. The grip is textured differently on each side so that it's obvious which side is meant for your thumb (a unique trait I've not encountered before). For me this pick behaves the closest to a regular one (straight down to it being more "clicky" as it hits the guitar strings), but with some of the tone elements one gets with a metal pick.

(Note: a nod goes out to Musician's Friend for providing those three picks to me rapidly and at a fair price)

Finally, we come to the Big West titanium number from Guitar Pick Central. It's my favorite of the new batch because it's so damned unique. Its small size makes it hard to use at first, especially for those of us who are used to the 351 shape. Once one uses it enough, however, it becomes obvious that its small size is a plus when it comes to preciseness. It's as hard as a rock and gives excellent tone, but it's surprisingly light. I love it.

The only negative I've experienced with all metal picks is a squeak noise one can get from the guitar strings as metal rubs against metal. It's especially noticible when doing fast runs on the high strings. But don't let that small feature dissuade you from trying one of these babies - metal rules!

Star Wars Blackout

First, let me apologize for not writing as much as usual - I've been a very busy H-Man.

Second, let me apologize for this post being off-topic. But hell, sometimes it has to be that way.

I'm a big Star Wars nut. It's really mind-boggling to some. But there you go. Needless to say, I'm really looking forward to seeing Revenge of the Sith. Unfortunately, there are those out there who apparently don't want me to enjoy it. Those who feel the need to tell me all about the film, even though it isn't out yet.

The worst happened last week. I was reading an article on Yahoo News about the PG-13 rating, and out of the blue, the damn writer tells me a specific detail as to why the film got the rating. Thanks for ruining a cool plot point guys. It's just "great" that George has gone loco and decided to let members of the press, plus celebrities and other beautiful people (i.e. not me), see the movie to create buzz.

So, as much as it sucks to do so, I'm in a Star Wars Blackout. I won't allow any more information to reach my ears or eyes. It hella sucks because I like finding out about information that doesn't ruin the movie, such as the fact that the DLP presentation is going to have extra footage. Sadly, due to the nature of its design, my Star Wars Blackout makes it impossible for me to learn of these kinds of tidbits as well.

So keep your galactic information to yourselves until after May 19, lest I go on a Bothan Spy killing rampage.

Drivel of the Month - System of a Down

I saw a video for the new System of a Down video, "B.Y.O.B.", on Monday. To say that I was unimpressed is an understatement. This band has no idea what style they are, so the song has equal parts of hardcore, thrash, old school metal, and (dare I say) POP/Top 40 (in the chorus).

And it isn't like they took these styles and made one song that meshes it all. Nope - each part is distinct from the other, so it sounds like 4 distinct songs in one ("Here's the harcore part. Whoops, it stopped, here's the thrash part."), none of them holding a candle to any real band that plays songs in those 4 genres.

Sorry guys, I'll stick with my Mastodon for something new and fresh.

Tuesday Music

Don't forget to pick up your copies of the Revenge of the Sith soundtrack ($11.99 at Best Buy and Target) and Nine Inch Nails's With Teeth ($9.99 for CD, $11.99 for DualDisc at Best Buy, Target, and Circuit City) today. The Sith soundtrack is of note since it contains a bonus DVD, Star Wars: A Musical Journey, which shows an hour of sequences from all six movies backed with John Williams's score.

You might want to avoid opening or looking at the back of the package until after you've seen Sith, however, since the song titles for the Star Wars soundtracks usually give away key plot points of the movie.

Digital Audio Player Madness

A co-worker of mine is thinking about buying a digital audio player, which got me thinking about all the madness surrounding music files and the ways to play them. It's far too confusing for the average consumer to make an educated decision.

Here are the problems I see:

• A variety of Digital Right Management schemes make it impossible for any one player to play every type music file that can be obtained.
  
• DRM makes it difficult, by design, for a person to move files from a computer to a player, then back again, at will.
  
• There are too many different/competing types of music files (mp3, aac, ogg, wma, etc.).
  
• The average consumer has no idea that the typical music file purchased from an on-line vendor is of very poor quality - much worse than what's on a CD.
  
• Most documentation for players lists the specifications in terms of how many songs the unit can hold, which is meaningless. They should be telling the consumer how many hours of music it can hold at each of the commonly used encoding bitrates (128, 192, and 256 kbps).
  

Another issue I have is that the headphones that come with players, plus the majority of ones that are readily available for purchase at your local chain store, are of beyond terrible quality. This makes many believe that certain players are poor, which is completely false. I contend that if a person listens to the exact same music files, through the exact same headphones, at the same volume, on a variety of players, the person will conclude the difference in sound quality across the players is imperceptible.

Hopefully I can help my co-worker out rather than confuse her more. But how do you explain the lunacy behind the fact that if you purchase a song from iTunes, the only player you can easily listen to that song on is an iPod? Damn that conniving Apple and the RIAA. "Damn you all to Hell!"