Sounds from Innerspace

OccultHawk · 09-27-2020, 09:58 AM

I made a listening guide for jazz appreciation on freak fighter:

https://www.musicbanter.com/members-...ml#post1965257

also do you know about piero scaruffi?

https://www.scaruffi.com/jazz/best100.html

innerspaceboy · 09-27-2020, 10:16 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by OccultHawk

I made a listening guide for jazz appreciation on freak fighter:

https://www.musicbanter.com/members-...ml#post1965257

also do you know about piero scaruffi?

https://www.scaruffi.com/jazz/best100.html

Outstanding! Your initial listening list mirrors much of what I've compiled, and that Scaruffi content looks marvelously comprehensive! Thanks very much for chiming in!

innerspaceboy · 10-21-2020, 09:14 AM

I've had some vacation time on my hands and I wanted to stay productive, so I dedicated some time to refining and expanding my library of materials relating to the original canon of Sherlock Holmes and the early and most treasured adaptations. I've always wanted to explore classic detective fiction, and there is undeniably no better place to start than with Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.

For my physical collection, I began by tracking down an original 1967 first-single-volume-edition of The Annotated Sherlock Holmes, comprising the complete texts of the four novels and fifty-six short stories, accompanied by an introduction, notes, maps, diagrams, photographs, and drawings - an indispensable possession for all mystery fans. The book is monstrously oversized in a single mammoth volume, but fortunately I found a mahogany bookcase the exact size of the edition's slipcase to display it proudly over my fireplace. I secured a digital ebook archive of the complete texts as well to facilitate casual reading on the go and started my perusal.

Here is the book in its bookcase:

And some of the lovely annotations:

Also in the spirit of the canon, I tracked down a high-resolution copy of my favorite illustration from the original adventures published in The Strand Magazine between 1891 and 1892 by Sidney Paget and had it printed and framed for my home.

Next it seemed appropriate to secure an exhaustive audio library of all major radio adaptations of the original tales and related materials. My 223-disc Sir Arthur Conan Doyle audio collection includes the following:

- CBS Radio Mystery Theater - The New Adventures of Sherlock Holmes (83 CD Set)
- The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes BBC Radio Dramas (79 CD Set)
- The Complete Sherlock Holmes Audiobooks 9 Volumes Unabridged (60 CD Set)
- The Immortal Sherlock Holmes - Orson Welles, Mercury Theater 1938-09-25

And for my video library, I've acquired the Blu-ray Complete Collection of Basil Rathbone's portrayals of Holmes and Nigel Bruce as Dr. John H. Watson - fourteen films produced between 1939-1946, which comprises:

- The Hound of the Baskervilles (1939)
- The Adventures Of Sherlock Holmes (1939)
- The Voice Of Terror (1942)
- The Secret Weapon (1942)
- Sherlock Holmes In Washington (1943)
- Sherlock Holmes Faces Death (1943)
- The Spider Woman (1944)
- The Scarlet Claw (1944)
- The Pearl Of Death (1944)
- The House Of Fear (1945)
- The Woman In Green (1945)
- Pursuit To Algiers (1945)
- Terror By Night (1946)
- The Secret Code-Dressed To Kill (1946)

These sleuthing adventures will be a joy to explore during the remainder of my vacation.

I've done my best to survey Wikipedia's pages of the original canon as well as the wonderful Baker Street Wiki at https://bakerstreet.fandom.com to ensure that nothing was overlooked. Still, if I've omitted any other classic materials which one might regard as essential to the original Sherlock Holmes universe, I would welcome suggestions for additional content. But the library outlined above should give me plenty to explore through the chilly winter ahead.

“The game is afoot.”

innerspaceboy · 11-07-2020, 07:52 AM

My neighborhood is mostly a silent retirement community, save for my immediate next-door drunken and openly-racist neighbor who routinely blasts classic rock FM radio while he burns fires right outside my bedroom window every night when I'm trying to sleep. The music is so loud that I can’t read or do anything to distract myself from the racket. Speaking to him was hopeless, and I've had the police out but he starts it up again the very next night.

No amount of my gentle classical or ambient music could drown out his onslaught of staticy AC/DC and car adverts. I felt trapped in my own home and would likely have to endure this every night until the winter and again through all the fairer seasons. I needed a solution, and fast.

I came up with the idea to invest in a quality pair of active noise-cancelling headphones.

A very quick overview for those not immediately familiar with active noise cancellation technology - microphones built into the headphones pick up the noise around the listener. An adaptive algorithm analyzes the waveform of the background noise, then generates a signal that will either phase shift or invert the polarity of the original noise. This inverted signal (in antiphase) is then amplified and a transducer creates a sound wave directly proportional to the amplitude of the original waveform, creating destructive interference. This effectively reduces the volume of the perceivable noise.

In short, its technology frees me from being subjected to an endless loop of "Comfortably Numb," "Stairway to Heaven," "Sweet Child 'O Mine," and "Hotel California."

One of the most popular active noise-cancelling circumaural closed-back headphones on the market is the Bose QuietComfort 35, usually priced at around $300. Thankfully, Amazon offered a highly-competitive contender to those headphones at a fraction of the price.

A few quick specs of the solution I found:

Customer Reviews - 4.4 out of 5 stars from 11,799 Reviews
Best Sellers Rank - #1 in Over-Ear Headphones
Sound - Hi-Res sound via 40 mm dynamic drivers, BassUp technology, dual EQ modes
Noise Cancelation - 4-microphone hybrid active noise cancellation for music, uplink noise reduction for calls
Playtime - 60 Hours (ANC off), 40 Hours (ANC on) or use the included AUX cable for unlimited listening in wired mode.
Fast Charging - Charge for 5 minutes, listen for 4 hours
Connectivity - Bluetooth 5, AUX
Other Features - Foldable design with ergonomic headband, memory foam ear cups and multi-point rotation, travel pouch
Date First Available - March 21, 2019

And these headphones were discounted 25% off for a final price of just $44.99 with free shipping and free returns. I initially hesitated and missed the Amazon sale but found the exact same sale price from the manufacturer’s official new product listing on eBay with 779 units sold and a 5-star product rating from all buyers. I knew better than to pass up the second opportunity and ordered them on the spot.

The model is the Soundcore Life Q20 by Anker, featuring hybrid active noise-cancellation, which they explain thusly:

Hybrid ANC is the best noise cancelling technology which combines feedforward and feedback ANC by placing a microphone both on the inside and outside of the earpiece. Therefore it can suppress noise over a wider frequency range, adapt to and correct errors and is less sensitive to sound angle and user wear.

The New York Times’ Wirecutter staff review called them "The best budget noise-cancelling headphones under $100."

These headphones pair with up to two Bluetooth devices and in addition to noise-cancellation feature action controls for volume, play/pause, previous/next track, and phone call controls all from the earpiece. And as I mentioned in the specs list, the 60 hour (ANC off) / 40 hour (ANC on) wireless run time and unlimited wired listening as well as the fast-charging feature where a 5 minute charge provides 4 hours of wireless listening make these an incredibly viable solution for sudden instances of unwanted ambient noise.

The earcups swivel and the headband can be manipulated in all directions, providing resilient durability and increased comfort like you’re not wearing any headphones at all, making this model a strong contender punching well above its weight to compete with professional headsets at seven times its price point. The Q20s reduce ambient noise by up to 90%. They are particularly effective masking lower frequencies which are often the most problematic undesired sounds.

I just put them on, queue up a soft sound bed like Robert Rich’s seven-hour Somnium sleep concert, and drift off undisturbed. And with the wireless Bluetooth feature I am free to walk around my home wearing them, blissfully free of my neighbor’s sonic assault.

Problem solved.

The Batlord · 11-07-2020, 09:39 AM

Bro, you're the nerd with the ecpensive equipment. Drown out his dinosaur rock with noise music.

innerspaceboy · 11-07-2020, 12:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by The Batlord

Bro, you're the nerd with the ecpensive equipment. Drown out his dinosaur rock with noise music.

A friend of mine said the very same, encouraging me to spin Lou Reed's Metal Machine Music at full volume with my speakers pointed out the window at his house.

Thanks for indulging my rant!

OccultHawk · 11-07-2020, 02:28 PM

For real your obnoxious neighbor can be right outside your window blasting AOR FM Radio and you can’t hear it at all even if you’re just listening to gentle ambient music on those things? I don’t exactly know how noise cancellation works but I never thought it was capable of that. I’ll definitely go in for a pair of those because I hate my neighbors so much just hearing them even for a second makes me want to get my revolver. Any reminder of their existence drives me nuts. So when you say right outside your window are talking you could lean out and spit on them close? I mean, how effective does this really shut out the rest of the audio world even if you’re listening to soft music? I’m not going to buy this and be like goddamnit I can still hear these ****ing ****s, am I? Because like Batlord said I just turn up whatever I’m listening to however loud it takes. I just use rubber earbuds that clog up your whole ear so that blocks a ****load of sound. Cheap little bastard but they sound good to me.

Sidenote: I hate the mic for talking on the phone ****. I don’t talk on the ****ing phone. That solves that one.

innerspaceboy · 11-07-2020, 02:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by OccultHawk

For real your obnoxious neighbor can be right outside your window blasting AOR FM Radio and you can’t hear it at all even if you’re just listening to gentle ambient music on those things? I don’t exactly know how noise cancellation works but I never thought it was capable of that. I’ll definitely go in for a pair of those because I hate my neighbors so much just hearing them even for a second makes me want to get my revolver. Any reminder of their existence drives me nuts. So when you say right outside your window are talking you could lean out and spit on them close? I mean, how effective does this really shut out the rest of the audio world even if you’re listening to soft music? I’m not going to buy this and be like goddamnit I can still hear these ****ing ****s, am I? Because like Batlord said I just turn up whatever I’m listening to however loud it takes. I just use rubber earbuds that clog up your whole ear so that blocks a ****load of sound. Cheap little bastard but they sound good to me.

Sidenote: I hate the mic for talking on the phone ****. I don’t talk on the ****ing phone. That solves that one.

Roger on the mic. I don't remember the last time I phoned anyone.

And to address your skepticism - you're quite right. They don't vanquish the outside world entirely. They're 90% effective on the lower register, but you can still make out the sounds around you and derive the song that's playing from your general memory of AOR. And unfortunately, the tinny, crappy speakers neighbors of this nature tend to have generally favor the upper register so you have to deal with that.

They aren't magical headphones, just the best noise-cancellation headphones under the $100 price point. Based on the reviews I've read, the Bose QuietComfort series outperform these for cancellation. Nothing eliminates unwanted sound entirely.

But I'll take anything that masks it at all. And for that, I'm happy.

So far I've only been able to test music played off my server from floorspeakers in the room I'm in with and without other music being queued off the server through the headphones. The weather turned a bit so the neighbor has been indoors. The difference is noticeable but not pure silence.

I hope that helps.

The Batlord · 11-07-2020, 02:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by innerspaceboy

A friend of mine said the very same, encouraging me to spin Lou Reed's Metal Machine Music at full volume with my speakers pointed out the window at his house.

Thanks for indulging my rant!

Make it Plague Mass by Diamanda Galas.

innerspaceboy · 11-15-2020, 09:26 AM

I’ve been spending the past few weeks building and exploring an archive of ambient music veteran, Steve Roach’s vast catalog. So far I have his first 161 major album releases, but Roach has at least 199 credited to his name, 18 of which were released this year alone, so it’s quite an undertaking.

I researched various forum discussions, ambient charts, and album reviews to determine the best point of ingress for such a large discography. Steve Roach is best-known for two particular albums - Structures From Silence from 1984 and Dreamtime Return first issued in 1988. These are Berlin-Schoolesque tribal ambient records which I enjoyed but I was more interested in exploring something along the lines of beatless freeform drones so I dug deeper. I queued up the more noteworthy of his collaborations, namely those produced with fellow-ambient-guru, Robert Rich. This included both Strata and Soma from 1990 and 1992 respectively and both issued on the Hearts of Space label. I also surveyed a number of multi-disc box sets Roach had issued for a sampling of multi-hour-long mixes as soundbeds for sleep.

Initially, because I had queued these albums in the chronology by which they were originally issued, the first several hours of content were rendered inaudible. This was due to the overall mastering volume of the albums increasing as the decades progressed, in line with the loudness war and trends in mastering. Because of this, as I’d set my amplifier volume so that the loudest selections didn’t disturb my rest, for the first few nights I didn’t actually hear some of the albums in the playlist. I decided to repurpose the list as a soundscape for my work day where I could adjust the volume as needed and give the releases proper attention. I’m so glad that I did!

That’s how I discovered the majesty of Roach’s Mystic Chords & Sacred Spaces 4CD box set from 2003. Parts one and two of this set were simultaneously issued as separate 2CD releases but they are far-better experienced in the Complete Edition box set. The set clocks in at a total runtime of just over 4 hours and 55 minutes, and is wonderful for both sleep and as a background soundscape for productivity. I’ve been playing the set on repeat daily and nightly for the past week and really enjoying it.

I researched the details of the release and compiled a few remarks highlighting the merits of the set, where I found others had described its qualities far better than I ever could. I found some information on the Projeckt record label’s website as well as a dedicated discussion thread on headfi dot org.

The official press release for part one of the album from the official Bandcamp page states:

Quote:

Moving into the majestic realm of pure, non-rhythmic electro-acoustic soundworlds, Mystic Chords & Sacred Spaces is a stunning 2-CD release marking a new milestone in Roach’s history as a true artist of sound. His landmark statements – including Dreamtime Return, Magnificent Void and Structures from Silence – are all parts of the uninterrupted flow building to this release. After a recent run of rhythmically fused CDs, Roach moves into awe-inspiring sonic immersion, delving into a spiritual dimension of sound. Nearly 5 years in the making, this release offers a listening experience beyond entertainment and pop culture appeals, creating a new sense of ‘ambient orchestration’ through a constantly shifting flow of sounds and textures that enters a sacred realm of music.

And ambient music guru, John Dilberto of Echoes – The Nightly Music Soundscape radio program wrote upon its release:

Quote:

After dark descents into the abyss on The Magnificent Void and Midnight Moon, Steve Roach lightens up the textures a bit on Mystic Chords & Sacred Spaces . The mood harkens back to his influential 1984 release, Structures From Silence, but the atmospheres are more textured and layered while melody is virtually non-existent. And while Structures had a slow motion pulse, Mystic Chords hangs rhythm free. It floats in a space of richly detailed, but minutely shifting sound constructs that owe more to Gyorgy Ligeti and Mark Rothko than early Roach touchstones like Klaus Schulze and Salvador Dali. Roach is creating a free fall through space, less rooted in the pulsing techno-tribal sound of his 1990s music, and more ecstatic in its evocations of something beyond. He carries you to groaning turgid depths, then lifts you as electric guitar glides and synthesizers gurgle, shudder, and swell in an Aurora Borealis of sound.

I was also glad to see that Stephen Hill of Hearts of Space radio offered a few words on the album as well. He said:

Quote:

Abandoning all conventional notions of music as melody, harmony and rhythm, Mystic Chords & Sacred Spaces allows the listener blissful hours on the high frontier between deep listening music and the spirituality of pure sound.

By any measure, Mystic Chords & Sacred Spaces is a masterwork from an ambient virtuoso with a career spanning four decades of musical composition. The box set is an instant favorite for focused or background activity. Curious listeners can check out the Hearts of Space broadcast #665 which originally broadcast on May 30, 2003 and was dedicated to showcasing highlights from this release.

I look forward to exploring the rest of my Steve Roach archive and acquiring the 18 releases he’s issued this year for further listening.

09-27-2020, 09:58 AM	#791 (permalink)
OccultHawk one-balled nipple jockey Join Date: Dec 2010 Location: Dirty Souf Biatch Posts: 22,006	I made a listening guide for jazz appreciation on freak fighter: https://www.musicbanter.com/members-...ml#post1965257 also do you know about piero scaruffi? https://www.scaruffi.com/jazz/best100.html __________________ 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 Member of the Year & Journal of the Year Champion Behold the Writing of THE LEGEND: https://www.musicbanter.com/members-...p-lighter.html

11-07-2020, 02:28 PM	#797 (permalink)
OccultHawk one-balled nipple jockey Join Date: Dec 2010 Location: Dirty Souf Biatch Posts: 22,006	For real your obnoxious neighbor can be right outside your window blasting AOR FM Radio and you can’t hear it at all even if you’re just listening to gentle ambient music on those things? I don’t exactly know how noise cancellation works but I never thought it was capable of that. I’ll definitely go in for a pair of those because I hate my neighbors so much just hearing them even for a second makes me want to get my revolver. Any reminder of their existence drives me nuts. So when you say right outside your window are talking you could lean out and spit on them close? I mean, how effective does this really shut out the rest of the audio world even if you’re listening to soft music? I’m not going to buy this and be like goddamnit I can still hear these **ing s, am I? Because like Batlord said I just turn up whatever I’m listening to however loud it takes. I just use rubber earbuds that clog up your whole ear so that blocks a load of sound. Cheap little bastard but they sound good to me. Sidenote: I hate the mic for talking on the phone . I don’t talk on the **ing phone. That solves that one. __________________ 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 Member of the Year & Journal of the Year Champion Behold the Writing of THE LEGEND: https://www.musicbanter.com/members-...p-lighter.html