compress this?

Via a /. entry, here's an example of how compression can ruin music, using Paul McCartney's late 80s hit, "Figure of Eight".

In Wikipedia, they give Rush's Vapor Trails as an example of an insanely compressed album.  I'm inclined to agree.  One of the reasons I listen to prog rock is the dynamic range as much as the instrumental variety and melodic and harmonic approaches.  And the main reason I hate "modern" rock is that it ALL sounds flat, all at the same volume and thickness, no variety at all.  Just horrid...

from a comment:

"It's Good Enough" For the tin-eared masses. The bar of quality for audio/music/telephony has never been lower. We now accept crap MP3 audio as "acceptable", stuttering vocoders and dropped calls as "tolerable", and reduced/compressed bandwidth as "louder (hence better)". We are now getting spoon-fed the worst quality audio since wax recordings and the Western Electric "Noiseless" recording system of movies from the 30-40's. And like everything else around us that continues to suck worse and worse, we take it in stride, shrug and say "well, it sounds good enough, I guess."

Don't get me wrong - I'm not a Luddite, and I love the Digital revolution of music. I am just sickened by it's apparent side-effects, and AMAZED at the tolerance we the "consuming public" have for getting fed shit. As long as we accept this as the standard of quality we find acceptable, the various producers and manufacturers will keep feeding us more and crappier garbage.

an excellent recycling project...

Old Wilson Bridge Used to Create Reefs:

SOLOMONS ISLAND, Md. -- Huge concrete slabs from the old Woodrow Wilson Bridge are being dumped into the Chesapeake Bay to create a deep water, artificial reef for fish, oysters and underwater grass beds.

In all, more than 1,000 tons of the old bridge will be placed in the waters to create the Ceder Point Fish Haven at the mouth of the Patuxent River.

getting a head start...

Since we haven't had any reason to be on site yet, well, we haven't been on site yet.  So unlike others, we haven't had that head start in getting crap to its home for the next nine weeks.

SO I'm forgoing working on the house (the floor is pretty much done though trim needs to be completed down the hall way) in favor of getting the car loaded a day early so I'm not up 'til 2am the night before opening.  All the stuff that can survive a hot day (well, they'll have to, won't they?) is there including chair (that's usually loaned to Hengrave Hall), table, mugs, "portable pub", whistles and pipes, bells and hanks (sorry thatliardiego ), music, the tree of doom (music stand), survival essentials (bug repellent and sunscreen, aloe, privy paper, plus water bottles), our guest passes (2 for kass_rants , 2 for my mom), schedule, and it's a DAMN good thing I just made this list, 'cause I almost forgot the tambourines.

Plus getting out the portable coolers for packing saturday morning.  Fiddle's stay in the house 'til Saturday morning.

Tomorrow night, it should be just the garb, danes,  and "props" (belt, pouches, mugstraps, hats).

Gee, no real panic this time...of course, that's partially 'cause its one thing to have the floor a mess in the house (which it most definitely still is), it's another thing to not get anything done 'cause faireraven is up 'til 3am making garb... :)

37 hours left!

oh crap - Lister's post just reminded me I need to go find the rats, too...