Friday, June 29, 2007

Prince's Marketing Strategy

Planet EarthBoldness has never been a problem for Prince. And so the pattern continues as he plans to release his next album, Planet Earth, by newspaper in the UK.

It amuses me to no end how ticked off the record stores appear to be about this, but frankly, they can suck it. Last I saw, the list price of a CD was still around $18, which is about what I paid for the first CD I bought back in the late 80s (it was U2's The Joshua Tree, in case anyone cares). So I have no love for whomever is setting the prices on music. And don't give me that pathetic piracy angle as an excuse - the price on CDs has been fixed this high way before people were storing music on their hard drives.

Tuesday, June 26, 2007

Heavy Metal Poisoning

Framing ArmegeddonDon't believe Dr. Righteous. Heavy metal's not poison!
  • Album art (click the pic for full size) for Iced Earth's Framing Armageddon (Something Wicked Part I) is up at the official site, plus some news on the disc from Schaffer.

  • Rush's limited run DVD (do I have to call it an MVI?) for Snakes & Arrows streets today. it contains a 96 kHz/24-bit stereo mix (which should play on any DVD player), a Dolby Digital 5.1 surround mix, 192 kbps mp3 files (CBR), a 45 minute documentary, and other doo-dads.

  • Beastie Boys new CD, The Mix-Up, also comes out today. It's entirely instrumental, although they hope to release another version of it with vocals performed by other artists.

Monday, June 25, 2007

Led Zeppelin to Reunite?

Normally I'd say no, but I was dead wrong about the Black Sabbath/Dio thing, so what do I know? More here.

EDIT: Plant has refuted the rumors.

Friday, June 22, 2007

Slayer's Christ Illusion To Be Re-Released

Yep, and all we get out of it is one new song, an original take of "Black Serenade," and a really short run-time DVD. Double-dipping is alive and well in the CD market.

Wednesday, June 13, 2007

Fellowship of the Ring Soundtrack: Complete!

Fellowship of the RingRecently I purchased the uber soundtrack box set, The Fellowship of the Ring: The Complete Recordings. This monstrosity contains three CDs and a DVD-Audio (which contains all the music of the CDs in 24-bit two channel and 5.1 surround for DVD-Audio players, and 2.0 and 5.1 Dolby Digital if you have a regular DVD player). It contains all the music of the Extended Edition of the movie.

It's great to hear things I stupidly didn't realize weren't on the original one-discer, such as the music that's played at Bilbo's birthday party. It also has a fair amount of singing in it (Gandalf and Bilbo singing "The Road Goes Ever On", for example), which is a bit weird the first time around, but in actuality, a nice addition.

The 24-bit DVD-Audio on my home rig sounds really nice and smooth. It's a great experience which clearly beats listening to the CDs on a lousy car stereo or through computer speakers.

The discs come in a box that's similar in appearance to the 4-disc DVD sets, although the cardboard is a bit flimsier (and the DVD is housed on a stupid rubber peg, separately from the CDs [which are in their own book-like plastic container]). It also comes with a 40+ page booklet talking about the score, and a nice little ribbon to help pull the stuff out of the box.

Howard Shore really pulled out all the stops when composing for this film, and his work stands heads and shoulders above any other film soundtrack that I've heard in recent memory. And now we finally have a set that does his work justice, rather than continuing to suffer through the "greatest hits" nature of the one-disc soundtrack version. The set is a bit pricey at over $60 list, but with some hunting, you can get it down to $40. A must buy for any self-respecting music lover.

Tuesday, June 12, 2007

Inexpensive Headphones, an Analysis

Faithful readers of Band Chat have already discovered that I'm a bit more of a stickler than the average music listener when it comes to sound quality. Sadly, getting equipment that will provide fantastic sound can cost quite a bit. But a cheap way to get you a good deal of the way to bliss is to invest in a decent set of headphones. Fact: this can be a trying experience, since I'm convinced every headphone that comes with today's popular mp3 players (i.e. iPods) is total crap. After chucking more than a couple of pairs at the wall in frustration, I've found a few, all under $100 (and some under $20!), that will definitely enhance your listening experience.

Grado SR60The first time I was in the market for decent headphones, I decided to not mess around, and purchased the Grado SR60. At $69, one is going to be hard pressed to find a better headphone at under $100. The highs are crisp, the bass is tight, and they're designed efficiently enough that my mp3 player doesn't have trouble driving them (you may need some extra volume boost, but not much). You get an extra thick cord plus a gold 1/4" adapter plug (for plugging into a stereo amplifier or receiver). The earpieces swivel so you can easily lay them flat for storage and travel.

The only thing going against them is the design, which is beyond retro and very uncool for 2007. The large pads fit over most of your ear, and will no doubt get sweaty-disgusting if you decide to use them for gym workouts. They're also a bit tight on the head, but with continued use, and (if you're careful) slightly bending the headband outward, you can overcome this. Aesthetics aside, if you only buy one 'phone for general purpose listening, purchase these. Highly recommended.

Koss KSC75If you're in the market for something cheaper, lighter, and portable (for walking around and workouts), go for the Koss KSC75. At about $15-20, the clip-on style may be unusual at first, but the sound more than makes up for it. They're not quite as rich as the SR60s (they have a bit more "sparkle"), but they are surprisingly balanced for such a small headphone. Koss also guarantees them for life - just ship 'em back to Koss if they break, with $6 for shipping, and they'll fix 'er up and send them back to you. I did this with the earlier model, the KSC50 (now discontinued), when one of the channels stopped working, and I got them back in no time.

The only problem I've had with the KSC75s is they tend to slip a bit after I've been exercising/running for a while (your mileage will vary depending on your ears), but the kooks at Head-fi.org came up with a solution. Buy the cheap Durabrand PR355 radio at Wal-Mart for $5, snap out the lousy drivers from the headband that comes in the package, snap out the earpieces of the KSC75s, then snap the KSC75 drivers into the headband. With your new stylin' mod, the KSC 75s will press flatter against your ears, so you'll get a little more bass, lose a little sparkle, and they'll stay on your head. Or you can go for the KTX Pro 1, PortaPro, or SportaPro, which supposedly use similar drivers, and are headband style out of the gate.

You can't go wrong with any of the headphones I mentioned above, but it is important to note that they have an "open" design. They don't close around your ears, so sound will leak out to your neighbor (not good for libraries). They will also be difficult to hear without cranking the volume if you traveling on an airplane or walking down a busy street. For these situations you want a "sealed" design. The only problem is that most headphones of this type that are under $100 are terrible.

AKG K 26 PAfter researching closed 'phones, I decided on the AKG K 26 P. They are compact, the earpieces can swivel to lie flat, and the headband collapses so the whole she-bang can fit in a small cloth carrying bag (included!). All for about $45 (although I got mine for $35 shipped on sale).

Initially, however, I was disillusioned. Although the closed design did a fantastic job of isolating me from the outside world, the sound was nowhere as good as the phones above. The bass was too strong and muddy, plus the tone was very nasal. If I sat the AKG back and up on my ears I got a little less bass, but something still wasn't right.

On a lark, I took a guy's advice on Head-fi.org: I turned my mp3 player's EQ on and set it to the "Rock" setting. Lo, it sounded close to correct! This setting is all about boosting the highs and lows and lowering the midrange, so I found if I used the custom EQ setting on my player to boost the highs, lower the mids, and flatten the bass (the rock setting is way too overpowering bass-wise), then it was pretty damn good

My current theory is the dumbasses who made this headphone purposefully broke them in such a way so they would sound good with the "Rock" setting on iPods. Good grief. At least the 'phones are actually capable of producing good sound, at a low volume level, albeit with a bit of tweaking.

Closed design conclusion: if you are willing to tweak, the K 26 P may be ok for you. I'm probably going to hold onto mine since I only plan on using them in a small number of situations, and can always fall back on the other items in my collection. But if you are looking to limit the number of headphones in your house, and need the closed design, consider another option. One popular suggestion is the beyerdynamic DT 231, which appears to be superior to the K 26 P, although it will run you about $60.

Monday, June 11, 2007

Overture of the Wicked, a Review

Overture of the WickedIt's been about three and a half years since Iced Earth released The Glorious Burden, and now fans finally have a new release to enjoy. Overture of the Wicked is an EP of four songs which is a prelude to the full album release of Framing Armageddon (due in September or October). Overture contains a new single, "Ten Thousand Strong," plus a re-recording of the "Something Wicked" trilogy (the last three songs on Something Wicked This Way Comes).

Although the band has been hit with difficulties as of late (drummer Richard Christy [also of the band Death] joined The Howard Stern Show, one guitarist was arrested for rape, and another left due to business reasons), you'd never guess by this recording. The new song, "Ten Thousand Strong", reminds me of a fast "Declaration Day". It doesn't feature a solo, but it drives and gallops fiercely, and does a good job of hinting at what we can expect in the Fall.

The new version of the "Something Wicked" trilogy made me respect the orginal piece more. Jon Schaffer's playing on this is exceptionally tight and very palm-muted. There is also less midrange in his tone than in the original (this is expected, since this tone is prominently featured in the last IE and latest Demons & Wizards records).

The solos really soar this time around. It's unclear to me who plays them, since the EP says the lead player is Tim Mills, but that Schaffer plays the leads; I suspect it's Mills. Too bad he's not around anymore.

"New" drummer Brent Smedley, back from Alive In Athens, is extraordinarily good. He is pounding mightily on the damn things and sounds a lot like Christy. There is very slick double-bass (especially on "The Coming Curse," where it sounds like a machine gun).

Sadly, the only negative is vocalist Tim Owens, whose voice is very pushed back in the mix, and does a very good job of sounding like Dio. He isn't terrible, but it's times like this that I really miss Matt Barlow, who many consider to be the voice of the band. It's a damn shame that he's singing again (for Pyramaze), but not for this band.

Overall this disc is a fine addition to the Iced Earth catalog and is a definite buy for fans of both the band and heavy metal in general.

Wednesday, June 06, 2007

Summer Album Stack-Up

Doug!Not that I want to pimp Amazon, but if you need some back catalog stuff to fill out your collection, they're having a decent sale:
  • All studio Rush albums up to Hold Your Fire for $7.97.
  • U2 albums up to The Unforgettable Fire for $7.97.
  • The Joshua Tree, Rattle & Hum, and Achtung Baby by U2 are $9.97.
  • Pink Floyd single-discers range from $8.97 (e.g. A Momentary Lapse of Reason) to $11.97 (e.g. Meddle, Animals). The SACD of The Dark Side of the Moon is a great deal at $10.97.
There are some other good things there, such as Siamese Dream by Smashing Pumpkins (at $9.97), so browse around.

New Releases

Remember to pick up your copies of Marilyn Manson's Eat Me, Drink Me and Iced Earth's Overture of the Wicked. Both were released yesterday.