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Music

Enter here to talk about books, art, literature, film, TV and anything else to do with popular culture.
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Nick
Posts: 11027
Joined: July 4th, 2007, 10:10 am

Music

#1 Post by Nick » May 7th, 2009, 2:29 pm

I thought I should do something special with my 3,000th post (Good grief!)

As you will know, I am very fond of music. Last night I saw a band, who, for overall entertainment value, I would rate in the top 3 I have ever seen. (I couldn't actually tell you who was 1, 2 or 3 - that's just too hard. And changeable.) And what's more, they are performing at my regular Monday night haunt The Barge, (www.thebargepub.co.uk) next week, so I'm going to see them again. :D

Why are they so good? Their creativity, their technical ability, their humour, the tunes, their stage presence. It's the whole package. They are on tour for the rest of this month all over the country, before returning to New York, but say they will be back next year. If you have half a chance to see them, grab it with both hands!

There are a whole load of videos on the net. Take a look at www.thetwogentlemen.com and follow the links.

lewist
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Joined: July 4th, 2007, 8:53 pm

Re: Music

#2 Post by lewist » May 9th, 2009, 10:36 am

That sounds good, Nick! I am back into making music and have invested in a set of 'kitchen pipes' a very downmarket and cheap version of Scottish Smallpipes which I am converting to be bellows blown. Please note I am not in Mike Katz's league when it comes to playing them!

I even found myself at a house ceilidh at the New Year where the company included the Gaelic scholar and singer, Margaret Bennett, which was pretty good. I am also playing in the local Pipe Band.

A couple of weeks ago I reinstated my hifi system in the living room and am really enjoying the lovely sound of my Bowers and Wilkins speakers. Right at the moment I am listening to music that sends a shiver up my spine, Schubert's Impromptus, played by Alfred Brendel. I ought to be doing the garden or the shopping or something but it would be disrespectful to turn the music off.
Carpe diem. Savour every moment.

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Alan H
Posts: 24067
Joined: July 3rd, 2007, 10:26 pm

Re: Music

#3 Post by Alan H » May 9th, 2009, 12:54 pm

lewist wrote:really enjoying the lovely sound of my Bowers and Wilkins speakers.
Ah! I have a pair of DM4s I bought as a student around 1977, but they are still in their boxes after the move.
Alan Henness

There are three fundamental questions for anyone advocating Brexit:

1. What, precisely, are the significant and tangible benefits of leaving the EU?
2. What damage to the UK and its citizens is an acceptable price to pay for those benefits?
3. Which ruling of the ECJ is most persuasive of the need to leave its jurisdiction?

lewist
Posts: 4402
Joined: July 4th, 2007, 8:53 pm

Re: Music

#4 Post by lewist » May 9th, 2009, 3:10 pm

Alan H wrote:
lewist wrote:really enjoying the lovely sound of my Bowers and Wilkins speakers.
Ah! I have a pair of DM4s I bought as a student around 1977, but they are still in their boxes after the move.
They say that in these days of iPods young people are not used to good quality sound, Alan. I was in someone's house the other day and couldn't fail to notice the amazing sound setup which included Quad amps and electrostatic speakers. If I'm there again I may ask to hear it. Mind you I have no idea of their taste in music. It would be an awful waste for it to spew out... never mind. I can't afford it anyway.
Carpe diem. Savour every moment.

lewist
Posts: 4402
Joined: July 4th, 2007, 8:53 pm

Re: Music

#5 Post by lewist » May 9th, 2009, 3:18 pm

Now I have Mendelssohn chamber music courtesy of Radio 3. It's a bit crackly due to our poor reception but that might be improved through installation of a roof aerial. I might think about that. I keep telling myself to go and do something useful but it is so good sitting here with qualaity music and TH. :wink:
Carpe diem. Savour every moment.

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Alan H
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Re: Music

#6 Post by Alan H » May 9th, 2009, 3:51 pm

lewist wrote:They say that in these days of iPods young people are not used to good quality sound, Alan. I was in someone's house the other day and couldn't fail to notice the amazing sound setup which included Quad amps and electrostatic speakers. If I'm there again I may ask to hear it. Mind you I have no idea of their taste in music. It would be an awful waste for it to spew out... never mind. I can't afford it anyway.
But iPod music is high quality! Remember what we had in our day? A Phillips compact cassette tape that had a top frequency of a few kHz if you were lucky or a tranny radio, listening to Radio Luxembourg. A decent mp3 or aac track can be very good quality and will way outperform anything we listened to 30 years ago. The earpieces are frequently excellent. OK, they cannot possibly compete on bass with even a half-decent speaker, but it's not that bad! With the low noise, no pops and crackles, excellent dynamic range, I wouldn't trade in my iPhone for a cassette!

I still have my AKG K240 headphones as well (not sure which box in the loft they are in, though!). They will outperform these earpieces, but are slightly bigger!

Bloody hell! My B&W DM4s are selling for up to $700 on ebay!
Alan Henness

There are three fundamental questions for anyone advocating Brexit:

1. What, precisely, are the significant and tangible benefits of leaving the EU?
2. What damage to the UK and its citizens is an acceptable price to pay for those benefits?
3. Which ruling of the ECJ is most persuasive of the need to leave its jurisdiction?

lewist
Posts: 4402
Joined: July 4th, 2007, 8:53 pm

Re: Music

#7 Post by lewist » May 9th, 2009, 4:30 pm

Alan H wrote:A decent mp3 or aac track...
I think maybe that's the point, Alan. A lot of MP3s are at a fairly low bitrate so the sound just isn't up to scratch. I have been wondering how my Walkman (or your iPhone) would sound through the Hifi setup. With a good bitrate or one of the lossless formats either would probably be pretty good. Anyway, you need to get out the B&Ws!
Carpe diem. Savour every moment.

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Ken H
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Joined: February 22nd, 2009, 12:09 am

Re: Music

#8 Post by Ken H » May 20th, 2009, 7:07 pm

My son (also an Alan H) swears that my old vinyl records sound better than the equivalent music on CD. One album he cites as being especially true in that respect is Santana's "Santana" (1969). He gave up on mp3, saying that they don't sound that good, even at higher bitrates. I do have some mp3s, but usually I've ripped them from CDs. The downloaded ones seem to have a lot of digital "glitches" in them, at least the ones from Amazon and Walmart.

My favorite media device was the old reel to reel tape player. I brought back a Sony TC250 tape deck and a Sansui receiver from Japan, when I was in the navy. Alas, the receiver and deck are long gone. I still have a 7 inch reel of the music from Thunderball though!

Alan, do you read any ebooks on you iphone? I hear iphones and the later ipods make good readers, but not sure of the formats available. Certainly an ipod is a lot cheaper than Amazon's Kindle.
This is one of the great social functions of science - to free people of superstition. - Steven Weinberg

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getreal
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Re: Music

#9 Post by getreal » May 20th, 2009, 8:12 pm

I mostly play my Mp3 through a Bose dock and I think the quality is really good.

why am I even in this thread? I know zilch about hi fi (is it still even called that?)
"It's hard to put a leash on a dog once you've put a crown on his head"-Tyrion Lannister.

Nick
Posts: 11027
Joined: July 4th, 2007, 10:10 am

Re: Music

#10 Post by Nick » May 20th, 2009, 9:27 pm

This thread was supposed to be about music, not hi-fi! I'd like to know what music gives people pleasure, gives them goose-bumps, whatever. Technology may facilitate the reproduction of music, but is surely not the source of intense emotional feelings (unless you are an engineer perhaps... :laughter: )

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getreal
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Re: Music

#11 Post by getreal » May 20th, 2009, 9:58 pm

I snorted with laughter at that Nick!
not an attractive look, but there's only the dogs here.

I love Mozart. Not particularly difficult to do. I have even gone to a couple of opera's, which I really enjoyed. Mstly his "greatest hits" and anything from "The marraige of Figaro".

I find that the Pearl Fishers duet (the famous one) sends shivers down my back. I want it played at my funeral. Not a dry eye in the house. Guaranteed!

I also really like "Sailing By" The Radio 4 night time theme. It reminds me of sailing with friends around the west coast of scotland and waiting up at night for the late shipping forcast.
Ahh! The memories!
"It's hard to put a leash on a dog once you've put a crown on his head"-Tyrion Lannister.

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Ken H
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Re: Music

#12 Post by Ken H » May 20th, 2009, 11:09 pm

I like a lot of classical music. I started out loving the big symphonies then I got into the lighter, melodic piano and violin pieces. Mozart especially. I have most of his symphonies and piano concertos. My favorite symphonies are Tchaikovsky No.6 and Shostakovich No.10. Grieg's Piano Concerto No.1 is also a favorite.

I also like various types of jazz; Miles Davis, Brubeck, Erroll Gardner, etc. And of course, I was brought up on rock and roll. I don't think much good rock has come out since the 80's though.

My mother was a violin teacher before I was born and before she became a nurse. She later married a retired professional piano player who was born in France. He used to play for the tourists at the municipal pier, mostly old pre-war standards to which he added a lot of flourishes. We had a small house with a big piano in it. Unfortunately, I have no musical talent whatsoever!
This is one of the great social functions of science - to free people of superstition. - Steven Weinberg

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Alan H
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Joined: July 3rd, 2007, 10:26 pm

Re: Music

#13 Post by Alan H » May 20th, 2009, 11:13 pm

Ken H wrote:Alan, do you read any ebooks on you iphone? I hear iphones and the later ipods make good readers, but not sure of the formats available. Certainly an ipod is a lot cheaper than Amazon's Kindle.
No. It's OK for reading emails and some websites, but it's way too small for a book, although I think there are some books available on iTunes. I've never seen a Kindle or similar up close, but their screens are much bigger and much more practical.
Alan Henness

There are three fundamental questions for anyone advocating Brexit:

1. What, precisely, are the significant and tangible benefits of leaving the EU?
2. What damage to the UK and its citizens is an acceptable price to pay for those benefits?
3. Which ruling of the ECJ is most persuasive of the need to leave its jurisdiction?

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Ken H
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Joined: February 22nd, 2009, 12:09 am

Re: Music

#14 Post by Ken H » May 20th, 2009, 11:28 pm

I read a lot on a Palm Tungsten E, which has a screen about 2.2 inches square (13 lines of text) with no problem. So an iphone would be even larger. Many read on mobile phones with even smaller screens. It's all a matter of getting used to it.
This is one of the great social functions of science - to free people of superstition. - Steven Weinberg

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Alan H
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Joined: July 3rd, 2007, 10:26 pm

Re: Music

#15 Post by Alan H » May 20th, 2009, 11:36 pm

Ken H wrote:I read a lot on a Palm Tungsten E, which has a screen about 2.2 inches square (13 lines of text) with no problem. So an iphone would be even larger. Many read on mobile phones with even smaller screens. It's all a matter of getting used to it.
You could well be right, but it seems a bit too small to me for reading large amounts of text. If you get one, let us know how you get on.

Thinking about it, one of the problems is that, unless I'm concentrating, I can wander a bit all over the page. That's not so easy on a small screen!
Alan Henness

There are three fundamental questions for anyone advocating Brexit:

1. What, precisely, are the significant and tangible benefits of leaving the EU?
2. What damage to the UK and its citizens is an acceptable price to pay for those benefits?
3. Which ruling of the ECJ is most persuasive of the need to leave its jurisdiction?

lewist
Posts: 4402
Joined: July 4th, 2007, 8:53 pm

Re: Music

#16 Post by lewist » May 21st, 2009, 8:23 am

Nick wrote:This thread was supposed to be about music, not hi-fi! I'd like to know what music gives people pleasure, gives them goose-bumps, whatever. Technology may facilitate the reproduction of music, but is surely not the source of intense emotional feelings (unless you are an engineer perhaps... :laughter: )
Sorry for introducing hifi, Nick! However, the hifi does make listening to my new Alfred Brendel recording of the Schubert Impromptus a real pleasure!

For reasons I don't understand, yesterday morning I was thinking about singing along to my smallpipes and the Tom Paxton song Everytime came into my mind. Carolyn Hester's version used to send shivers up my spine. Yesterday the very memory of it had me in tears... and today, listening to it.
Carpe diem. Savour every moment.

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Val
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Joined: October 6th, 2007, 10:56 pm

Re: Music

#17 Post by Val » May 21st, 2009, 6:35 pm

Lewist you are just a big old softie, I am glad to say.

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getreal
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Re: Music

#18 Post by getreal » May 22nd, 2009, 6:25 pm

The music which never fails to make the hairs on the back of my neck stand up are the Gaelic Metrical psalms (I'm pretty sure that's what they are called).

These are psalms sung unaccompanied by a precentor (the lead, alwats seems to be a man) and followed by the congregation. This makes the sound seem slightly out of time and has a really eerie and haunting quality.

It's difficult to find good examples on the internet, but after much searching I managed to track down a CD which was sent from Skye.

It is the mosr beautiful form of group sining I have ever heard.

Bonus: as it is always sung in Gaelic, a language I don't understand, I am spared the god-words.

Edit: I managed to find this sample http://www.musicscotland.com/cgi-bin/sh ... 031#aRR031

Sorry for the long URL, I can't shorten them.

I defy anyone to listen to this and not feel moved.
"It's hard to put a leash on a dog once you've put a crown on his head"-Tyrion Lannister.

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Alan H
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Re: Music

#19 Post by Alan H » May 22nd, 2009, 6:55 pm

getreal wrote:I defy anyone to listen to this and not feel moved.
Me. :D
Alan Henness

There are three fundamental questions for anyone advocating Brexit:

1. What, precisely, are the significant and tangible benefits of leaving the EU?
2. What damage to the UK and its citizens is an acceptable price to pay for those benefits?
3. Which ruling of the ECJ is most persuasive of the need to leave its jurisdiction?

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getreal
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Joined: November 20th, 2008, 5:40 pm

Re: Music

#20 Post by getreal » May 22nd, 2009, 7:38 pm

Alan H wrote:
getreal wrote:I defy anyone to listen to this and not feel moved.
Me. :D
You're Kidding!!!

You didn't feel...well...it's sort of.....where's a thesaurus when you need one?

Wierd? Spooky?

I have difficulty describing how it makes me feel, but it does make my neck hairs stand up.

I was in Lochinver one sunday when the Free church was having a service and I almost went in, just to listen.

The thought, though of having to sit through a couple of hours of god talk changed my mind. I wasn't sure if that would be in gaelic too. I felt I couldn't risk it :laughter:
"It's hard to put a leash on a dog once you've put a crown on his head"-Tyrion Lannister.

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