#audiophile nonsense

[sirfrogsworth]

Someone was having trouble getting decent sound in his living room and instead of recommending a room treatment or better speakers this person just casually suggests PUTTING AN ADDITION ONTO THE HOUSE.

Trying to get advice on audio forums is often a challenge because a lot of these dudes just have *so much* disposable income. And they just assume everyone else is wealthy too. You can even tell them you have a budget and they'll be like, "You should save up longer and buy this thing that is three times your budget."

And it's not like there aren't wonderful options that are more affordable. I think I may have about $3000 worth of home theater equipment that I have collected over the last 20 years. They will spend that on a single speaker and suggest you do the same.

The people in these forums would have a fit if they knew I had a single subwoofer. Apparently, the cardinal audio sin is having only ONE subwoofer.

Your room could have NULLS!

NULLLLLLS!!!

Seriously, they will lecture you anytime you mention having a single subwoofer. "Your seat-to-seat response is going to be inconsistent!"

I also saw a guy say that a 15" subwoofer was "tiny" and "pointless."

My 70-pound, 12" subwoofer is currently vibrating items off the shelf in my house ever since I moved it upstairs and don't have concrete floors like in the basement. I'm going to have to buy special subwoofer feet to decouple it from the floor. I can't imagine what a 15" sub would do to my house. It might collapse on top of me.

So you can only get a sub that is at least 18" and you need a minimum of 2... but 4 is much better. Actually, 4 is the minimum. 2 is garbage. 2 in front and 2 in back.

And, of course, you have to get a Rythmik or PSA subwoofer. Don't cheap out on the brand!

You have to build an addition to the house AND buy $8000 worth of subwoofers and then MAYBE your sound will be somewhat listenable.

But only if you calibrate the subs with a MiniDSP and the proper UMIK calibration microphone.

Wait, do you have a regular AVR with built in amplification? That won't do. What you need is an audio processor with individual external amplification.

You'll need a 9.4.6 configuration for the proper surround sound experience. That is 9 ear-level speakers, 4 subwoofers, and 6 atmos ceiling speakers.

So 2 of these.

1 of these.

3 pairs of these.

6 of these... plus professional ceiling installation.

And an individual amplifier for each speaker.

Do you really need a 600 watt amp for the ceiling speakers too?

OF COURSE YOU DO!

DO YOU WANT A LOW NOISE FLOOR AND NO DISTORTION OR DO YOU WANT GARBAGE?

Comfort is important too. So you'll want a Valencia leather power recliner with LED cup holder.

And... by far... the most important home theater component...

The power cable.

This will assure that only the highest quality electrons are delivered to your audio equipment.

Don't think about it too much.

Don't think about all of the janky powerlines that deliver electricity to your house.

Or all of the generic power cables inside your wall.

This cable magically negates all of that and turns the last few feet of electricity into pure, audio-grade power.

Guaranteed to drastically improve your sound quality... somehow.

It can't be nonsense, otherwise someone would have never written such beautiful prose about a power cable in a review...

"I was smitten by the piano’s extra depth in its nether regions. I’m not talking about what some audiophiles like to refer to as testicular bass, but rather, a rich and absorbing presentation."

$14,000 for rich and absorbing testicular bass? WORTH IT!

So that's roughly $65,870 for all of that and between $50,000 and $100,000 for a 500 square foot room addition.

A small price to pay for a room that is not junk for listening to music.

[tabithamoon]

pro tip: don't fall for audiophile nonsense

"Hi-Res" audio is a meme. I know this sounds like the "cinematic FPS" argument but your ears are literally incapable of hearing greater than 16-bit 48kHz audio.

breaking it down, first the 48kHz part: digital audio is stored in samples, which is a measure of the amplitude at a single point in time. the sample rate is how frequently the signal is sampled, forming our digital sound. and thanks to the Nyquist–Shannon sampling theorem, which dictates that any band-limited signal can be represented perfectly with digital samples taken at twice it's frequency, for the human limit of 20kHz, 48kHz is actually more than enough as it can encode a signal up to 24kHz

as for the 16-bit part, that dictates the dynamic range of the audio, in other words, the difference between the loudest signal a format can reproduce compared to the quietest one when it starts blending in with noise

16-bit audio, with proper dither and correct encoding, has a practical 120dB of dynamic range, which is "greater than the difference between a mosquito somewhere in the same room and a jackhammer a foot away". you don't need 24-bit audio, although it doesn't hurt, unlike >48kHz audio (see this excellent post about how ultrasonics can lead to distortion on most gear, actively hurting sound quality, by Chris Montgomery, founder of xiph.org, the foundation behind the FLAC, Vorbis and Opus audio codecs, so you can know for damn sure he knows more about digital audio than most of us combined)

don't spend extra for hi-res files and such. They're really only useful if you're a producer, as the extra data helps you keep good quality while mixing your track.

And for the love of god don't fall into the MQA snake oil rabbit hole, it's lossy and the "origami" bullshit they're peddling adds distortion and artifacts to the file, and they went bankrupt recently so that just shows how good their product is

Don't confuse this with an excuse to listen to the shittiest 128kbps mp3s straight out of Napster, lossy vs lossless codecs is a different subject altogether (hint: just get the FLACs, but beware your bluetooth buds can't do lossless)

TL;DR just get good gear, a humble 16/44 FLAC file, and enjoy mathematically perfect music

(and later watch these amazing videos by Chris from earlier going over this much better than i ever could)

and please don't take anything i've said at face value, i'm no expert, do your own research!! that is the magic the internet enables you to do

wow an actual informative post on my trash blog go me

[krysmcscience]

Seamless song splices, starring: Horton Hears A Who, and Prince of Egypt

Because if there's one thing I can't stand, it's random pops, clicks, and stutters between my music tracks, and after downloading and listening to at least five different releases of these albums to find that a whole entire none of them were actually seamless, I took it upon myself to do some quick(ish) audio editing. Here are the fruits of my labors!

I'll start with Horton Hears A Who, because John Powell is a musical superwizard and it is a Fucking Crime what they did to his work. (Seriously, look at this shit. That is the actual official soundtrack. Who approved this and where do I go to slap them?)

First, what I've titled as Opening Suite, which includes 'Fall From Tree', 'Cave of Destiny', and 'Jungle of Nool'. Because for some reason, as you can see from the soundtrack listing, whoever put the album together thought that splitting a two and a half minute song into three separate tiny chunks was a good idea. Now, I think we can all agree that they were abhorrently wrong, but rest assured that I have taken the time to correct that wrong.

Speaking of (far more horrific) wrongs, they also decided to chop this epic climactic masterpiece into four pieces! I have courteously rectified their music crimes, and titled the result as 'We Are Here!', given the whole story's theme and all (not to mention how those are the only words in the entire piece). This song includes 'Roping and Caging', 'We Are Here', 'Symphonophone', and 'Jojo Saves The Day'.

A similar wrong comes next, although it's at least somewhat more reasonable this time around. I've titled it A Big Ending, partially because it's the official title of the last of the three included songs, but also because...well, put all together, it is a really big ending. The first song is 'Hall of Mayors' (which briefly has How to Train Your Dragon vibes, in my opinion), while the middle and veritable bulk is taken up by 'Horton Suite' (i.e. the ending credits song - hence why it's so fucking long). 'Horton Suite' clocks in at nearly seven whole minutes, and is comprised of some very Suessical music that is worth every last second, and I don't care what anyone else says about that, I am Objectively Correct here.

With Horton Hears A Who out of the way, we come next to Prince of Egypt, which was similarly but at least less egregiously butchered. (Cuz I mean...at least 'Deliver Us' didn't get snipped up, right?)

First, Rally and The Plagues. I really only did this one because I wanted to listen to 'The Plagues', but hated how it didn't start cleanly. So, nothing much else to say about this one. Instead, I will take the time here to say that all four of the splices so far were easy-peasy - just a quick copy-paste and a cut of empty air between the waveforms of each file. The last one, though...

The last, and most important is When You Believe and The Red Sea, because 'When You Believe' just cuts off at the end, mid-note no less, which is clearly unacceptable to anyone with both ears and good taste. This splice...was significantly harder. It actively refused to splice clean in the same way as the prior works, up until I finally said 'fuck it', selected more than just empty air, made sure that the selection's ends were on the zero-crossing, and chopped away. BOOM. Clean splice, and - to my ear, at least - undetectable. I'm pretty pleased with it! If nothing else, I can finally listen to it without wincing at the very brief stutter between songs. (Granted, I'm not too jazzed about 'The Red Sea', but it does have some cool parts, and if nothing else, it ends nice and clean~)

Also, yes, I made those last two splices instead of sleeping, and then proceeded to make this post about all my audio editing nonsense instead of sleeping. Clearly, sharing the fruits of my labor is more important, both to me and hopefully to the other audiophiles out there who listened to these albums and also hated what was done to them. :)

(By the way, have a clean splice of 'The End.' and 'Dead!' by My Chemical Romance, too. Just for funzies.)

GOOD NIGHT!!!

[tomorrow-we-try-again]

A Swedish guy, a Chilean guy, a Japanese guy, and an American guy walk into a pork skewer restaurant...

My new Swedish friend, Philip, is one of those people who is friends with literally everyone, and he introduced me yesterday to a guy from Chile (Pablo) that's here on an extended visa to attend a Japanese language school, and then this afternoon he introduced me to a Japanese developer (Shou) that also uses the working space here.

Dinner rolled around, and he started inviting everyone to dinner, so it ended up the four of us going. Pablo speaks excellent English, so while Philip and Shou steered us through the backstreets of Sanjo in search of a restaurant, we talked in English for a bit, but once we got to the restaurant, everybody switched to Japanese, which, in retrospect, was kinda ridiculous, because all 3 of the 4 of us (1) aren't Japanese and (2) probably speak better English than Japanese. 🙃

At one point, the waitress was waiting for our second order, and Philip looks to Shou, points at words on the menus, and asks "What's this?" Shou, without hesitation, turns to the waitress, and repeats the exact same "What's this?" 😂

Oh, and of all the coincidences, while we were debating what to do outside the first place that was full, there were two non-Japanese girls milling around, speaking to each other in a romance language that I couldn't make heads or tails of, when all of a sudden, Pablo (who was _just_ telling me that he also speaks French) starts drifting towards them, and I hear him ask something that sounds like "Chile" in another language. They both look at him shocked, and after a couple minutes, he comes back over and says they were also from Chile. What are the odds? He said Chilean Spanish has a distinct sound, and he picked up on it right away. ... That's Kyoto for you.

This was my first time really conversing at any length in Japanese with non-Japanese people, so that was interesting. Was also strange talking with Philip in Japanese, when I've been talking to him in English all this time. I'd say his English is basically native-level, with an accent. I called him an "audiophile" earlier, and then worried that might be a little too obscure vocab-wise, but then he used the word correctly in conversation himself shortly thereafter, so yeah, pretty much native.

Speaking of obscure, on the way back we got talking about a game Philip is playing, Sekiro, which he's playing in Japanese, and he got talking about the funny archaic Japanese they use, like:

御意 (ぎょい) (n) (1) (hon) your will; your pleasure; your wish; (int) (2) certainly; as you say; you are quite right;

Fortunately for me, I recently learned this word via Demon Slayer, so I was able to follow along. Hilariously, Shou said that _he_ had only learned the word himself a couple years ago! So we continued our walk back to the hotel muttering "gyoi" to each other nonsensically about everything. 🥷

Pablo went home, and Philip & Shou came up to get their stuff, and as they were departing we all exchanged "otsukaresama"s (aside: just now realizing that's the first time I've ever done that in earnest...), and then, after a pause, I let loose another "gyoi", which, of course, makes no sense at all. In fact, Shou looked over his shoulder laughing, and said something like "That doesn't make sense but..."

A few minutes later, I decided to go get ice cream and headed to the bathroom first. As I opened the door, I almost bumped into Shou on his way out. We each excused ourselves, and then as he was leaving the bathroom, _he_ threw a "gyoi" back at me, followed again by "Not that that makes any sense...", and I just stood there laughing to myself for a good while. 😂

Another funny thing was that I asked about what the kanji for "Sekiro" (the game's title) was, and we guessed the "ro" was "rou" for wolf, but couldn't come up with the other. After much deliberation with the Japanese staff behind the desk, they arrived at a conclusion, which Shou showed me on his phone, saying it was a kind of weird kanji. I responded "Oh, so, like 'ship'?", and he was like "Yes... You know this one? It's kind of rare." Well, thanks to Heisig's _Remembering the Kanji_ (RTK) and countless hours of spaced-repetition flashcards (https://kanji.koohii.com/) over a decade ago, I apparently still do!

That was peculiar to me, but what's not peculiar to me was that he thought it was crazy that I knew which readings for kanji were onyomi (Chinese-origin) and which were kunyomi (Japanese-origin). This is hilarious, because I'm pretty sure every non-Japanese learner of Japanese is painfully aware of the distinction. ... I guess that one honestly could just be my weird brain too, but I don't think so.

So, that was my evening. Just a really nice time. 🙂

[billtj]

Cheaper Than Dirt Amplifiers | True Audiophile Value or Overhyped Nonsense? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Jc3Hz8zfWQ

[audio-luddite]

Jungle Drums.

I went on a browse of the Steve Hoffman forums. I understand he is an audio engineer of good repute, and hosts a place to talk.

People interested in audio stuff just chat away. I was impressed with the wide range of opinions and occasional nonsense. If you believe nonsense and there are enough people sharing the idea, it solidifies and becomes "accepted". Kudos to Mr Hoffman for tolerating such things. Freedom of expression and all that.

Why do I brand some of this as nonsense? Cuz I can.

There are threads where people disable tone arm anti-skate as they don't believe in it. Back when I had pivoting tonearms I could clearly hear the difference. When one channel mis-tracks it is obvious. Otherwise it is a sharp focus of the image.

There are endless loops of discussion on resolution of analog versus digital with both side quoting the same background. 16 bits, 18 bits 24 bits, and one bit are all good / bad. I like the concept of one bit as it is counter intuitive and far from just one digital bit in practical resolution. I can do the math.

Then there are the people who stream everything as they do not want to listen to a whole album LP or CD at once. Philistines! Why buy albums to only listen once they say? Err I have nothing to say to you.

The upside is seeing the incredible range of things people have and use and enjoy. I had fun paging through the "show me your turntable" thread. What a variety! There is even one with a belt drive using dental floss I swear.

I had to copy this one. You can see the knot in the string on the far side.

That thread also had a Sony 2251 just like my old one. There are a lot of Technics. Almost 60 pages and I only got through 9.

There are two reasons I play audiophile. Music is high art and this is how to bring it into your home. It deserves the best presentation you can manage. Oh three reasons, I am a geek.

I have toyed with joining one of these groups. But I know I could not contain myself hard enough. Also it takes enormous time commitment to stay current. I was on a bike forum and if you did not check it every hour or so the thread had gone far past your last read.

One thing I like about Tumblr is it is quiet. I can just dump my thoughts here and let them float away into the ether. I can think of a thing and write it down. Writing is a great way to resolve and clarify the randomness in my head.

I get really random sometimes.

[floydklein23]

The Best Wireless Headphones for Work

Лучшие беспроводные наушники are comfortable, durable and make your music listening experience as seamless as possible. They're also easy to connect to your smartphone and other Bluetooth-enabled devices so you can take your tunes with you anywhere.

The Best Headphones for Work

If you spend a lot of time working away from home, a pair of wireless headphones can make the difference between a good and an excellent job. They're also convenient to use, letting you adjust the volume or accept or decline calls without having to take your phone out of your pocket or purse.

They're also easy to control and have a range of customization options, so you can find the best balance between comfort and performance.

These earphones have an aptX HD codec, which ensures the best possible audio quality from your smartphone or tablet over Bluetooth. It also means the battery lasts for up to six hours, so you can listen to your favorite songs without having to worry about running out of power.

The Grado GT220 is a great choice for audiophiles who want an elite-quality listening experience. Its sound is incredibly articulate, presenting all music selections with plenty of depth and texture, enhancing vocals to give them a natural feel.

It's not a headphone that will appeal to everyone, but it's a great option for those who want an affordable, high-quality alternative to the more expensive models on this list.

The Audio-Technica ATH-M50xBT2 are a no-nonsense pair of headphones that will last forever and provide the best wireless audio for your money. They're MIL-STD-810G tested and are covered by V-Moda's Immortal Life Program, which guarantees that they'll be there for you when you need them. They're also one of the most affordable pairs of Bluetooth headphones on this list, so if you're looking for an all-in-one package that will last, these are the best wireless cans to get.

[daemonhxckergrrl]

one of my favourite audiophile bs things is claims like "but this $SNAKE_OIL make it feel like you're seeing $BAND live"

gives me huge poser vibes bc uhh you've clearly never been to a live concert lmao. live and studio sound very different. stop buying £1000 "Purifier 3000X Noise-Isolator" USB cables and go to your local music bar or concert hall or literally anywhere.

[xylophonetangerine]

Locking audiophiles in separate rooms and only letting them go if each of them can give the same definition of soundstage.

[the-darkness-does-not-bargain]

I didn’t bring this up in my liveblog, but on a second watch, I wanted to bring attention to the vocal performance for Maria.  I just think it’s interesting because it sounds distinctly deeper than the performances of the other girls.  It’s definitely still a feminine voice, but it’s lower and a bit softer, soothing.  It almost sounds like a croon or a sigh.  I think it’s pretty fitting for the original protagonist of the game to have a naturally soothing voice.  I don’t know who her voice actor is, but she’s doing a great job.

[unlimitedhearts]

Draco Malfoy Headcanons That No One Asked For But That I’m Giving You Anyway (Pt. 1?)

Draco loves music, but not in a “I have 60,000 songs in my music library” kind of way but in a “I have a good couple thousand songs and I feel very passionately about all of them.” Kind of way.

He isn’t an Audiophile, but he will find a way, come hell or high water, to get his hands on a decent pair of headphones because he doesn’t think Wizards could outdo Muggles when it comes to them.

That’s another thing, dude loves Muggle culture. He loves Muggle music better than wizard music, he loves Muggle tech better than Wizard tech. Muggles have designer fashion and fragrances and he’s been buying the same suit and tie combo from Madame Malkins for how long now?! Absolutely not this man deserves some Giorgio Armani.

Wizarding World do be rocking them robes but while Draco loves robes he also hates robes because they cover up this gorgeous Gucci that he’s rocking at the Ministry today.

My personal headcanon is Ministry Potions Master!Draco Malfoy, but I also think he probably volunteers at St. Mungo’s often. Especially in the childrens ward. He likes playing with them and reading them stories and bringing his iPod classic in and playing them music.

Yeah Draco Malfoy, in the year 2009, got an iPod Classic 7th Gen and he has found a way to keep that thing going well into 2020 because he will not give up that click wheel for anything. He has a dedicated smartphone but likes all his music offline.

Draco Malfoy owns multiple iPods. All with different era’s of music. Except his current iPod (an iPod Touch 7th Gen), that has his whole music library able to stream. He loves it because it’s like a phone but without all the phone nonsense

Despite loving iPod’s so much he hates their phones. Draco Malfoy would get the swankiest Android available to him. Not one of the foldable ones though, those are dumb. His phone is all about customization, productivity and functionality. Business in the smartphone, party in the iPod.

Draco favourite genres are metalcore, rock and pop-punk. No I will not take constructive criticism.

His favourite bands are, in no particular order: Placebo, Bring Me The Horizon, The Sex Pistols, Oasis, and Arctic Monkeys

His least favourite bands are, in no particular order: Pierce The Veil, Sleeping With Sirens, Oasis, The Beatles, and Jefferson Starships

Artists that he will listen to but wouldn’t put on himself unless he were in a very specific mood, in no particular order: Green Day, Queens Of The Stone Age, Fun., Linkin Park, and The Ramones

Artists that he will listen to but god does he wish you would put on l i t e r a l l y anything else: The White Stripes, Metallica, Falling In Reverse, Disturbed, and Radiohead

His favourite song of all time changes basically year to year, but he’ll always jam to Pumped Up Kicks.

He still owns stacks and stacks and stacks of CD’s but he’s never gotten into Muggle music on vinyl even though he owns a record player.

All of his vinyls are Wizard music as Wizards haven’t yet figured out what the hell CD’s or MP3′s are.

In his twenties he he fooled around with Muggle drugs like cocaine and marijuana. He liked Muggle drugs better than Wizard drugs because they gave him a better high, with less severe side-affects. He kicked the habit at around 30, but will still partake in the good kush (as long as it isn’t from The Dollar Tree)

Draco doesn’t wear his Ministry robes when he’s at work in the lab, he’ll wear a stark white lab coat.

He loves Starbucks Caramel Machiato’s, two shots of espresso. If he’s late somewhere, he’s prooooobably getting a Caramel Machiato.

He’s had intense anxiety from age 15 onward. For a long time he wasn’t getting any help for it and he’d just try and get it under control himself. It wasn’t until after he was dating Harry that Harry convinced him to seek help. 

Draco Malfoy brings Harry flowers every day. Doesn’t matter if it’s a bouquet or if it’s a single one. He’ll go out of his way to give Harry a flower.

Their wedding rings are made of Tungsten.

Draco likes cooking dinner for him and Harry, the Muggle way, no one knows why but Harry would know that it’s so he can have something to do with his hands. After The War he didn’t want to rely on Magic for everything

He loves when Teddy turns his hair blond around him, and adores when Teddy goes half blond half brunet for him and Harry

His arms are covered in tattoo’s. He’s never covered up the Dark Mark though. He would consider it running away from his past.

He has one ear piercing and one piercing only Harry knows about. wink wonk

[sirfrogsworth]

There is a YouTuber called Cheap Audio Man and I was a fan of his for a long time because he always found cool audio gear that didn't break the bank and helped people figure out how to put together audiophile systems without a huge investment.

But lately, he has been talking about how speaker wire and power cables can improve the quality of your sound and I am just... really disappointed. It is now making me question a lot of his content. He has tainted all of his audio advice.

Expensive wire and cables are basically snake oil that uses the placebo effect to dupe audiophiles with too much money or beginners who don't know any better. Changes in sound can easily be measured by equipment much more sensitive than our ears and there is no evidence that changing your cables can make an audible difference. The only exception might be if you have speaker wire or a power cable that is too thin and cannot handle the amount of power your system needs. And honestly, you do not want your wire to change the sound. You want it to faithfully deliver the signal from your components to your speakers without alteration.

Pushing this narrative can make it easier for audio newbies to get scammed by these overpriced cables when they could improve their sound much more dramatically in other ways. Some of these wires can cost hundreds to even thousands of dollars. (See AudioQuest)

I think I am particularly sensitive to this because when I worked at Best Buy as a teenager, my bosses used to make me push gold printer and USB cables to customers. They would tell us to make up advantages like how it would speed up your printing or make your prints more vibrant. Nonsense like that.

I just don't like people getting screwed because they are trusting the expertise of someone who claims to know better.

I would recommend Audioholics because they always back up their claims with science and objective measurements. Unfortunately their idea of a budget speaker still costs over $1000. I suppose in a relative sense that might be considered "budget" to some. But for gear under $1K they are not a wonderful source.

[technicalcakemix]

Never ask me for anything ever again

[grandhotelabyss]

Though my online course is over, I still feel obligated to provide audiovisual content on Mondays. Above is a movie I watched recently, White of the Eye (1987). I hadn’t even heard of it before I ran across it in Bezos’s archive, and I now believe it’s criminally unheralded in the semi-arty horror-thriller pantheon (do not, please, speak to me of Ari Aster). 

Being a philistine, I like White of the Eye better, for instance, than the connoisseur’s go-to ’80s cult object, Żuławski’s Possession, which I find unendurably over-stylized despite its other merits. Fun fact: Possession was co-written by novelists’ novelist Frederic Tuten, who once received the most extravagant blurb from my beloved Cynthia Ozick, as friend-of-the-blog @danskjavlarna pointed out: “What an amazing, glittering, glowing, Proustian, Conradian, Borgesian, diamond-faceted, language-studded, myth-drowned dream!” exclaimed our greatest living Republican-voting novelist (remember that Cormac McCarthy doesn’t vote). Tuten, by the way, is not to be blamed for what I call Possession’s over-stylization, which is a matter of performance not script. But I don’t want to get into a hipper-than-thou spiral, “My cult movie’s better than your cult movie,” to be trapped in a crisis of Girard’s mimetic desire or Bourdieu’s cultural capital—merde, but the French are depressing, “too human, too historical,” as Deleuze complained in acclaiming “the superiority of Anglo-American literature.” The work of art has formal, affective, conceptual intrinsic qualities, not just extrinsic social determinants, and White of the Eye is, I argue, intrinsically spectacular.

Speaking of performance: White of the Eye was directed by Donald Cammell, the co-director with Nicolas Roeg of the classic 1970 film Performance. Again a philistine, I could never get into Performance—never even watched it all the way through—even though it sits at the nexus of two of my early influences. First, in a Comics Journal interview in the mid-’90s, English artist Bryan Talbot credited Performance’s jump-cut montage techniques for inspiring the storytelling innovations in his graphic novel The Adventures of Luther Arkwright. The underread Arkwright is the lost key to comics’s British Invasion—without it we wouldn’t have had V for Vendetta, Watchmen, Sandman, or The Invisibles. (It’s also a key to this movement’s cryptic politics, as Talbot stages a Jacobite uprising as anti-fascist revolution, precursor to Moore’s much more famous but still baffling ancom in Guy Fawkes garb. Is all anarchism Tory anarchism?) Second, Performance was a particular interest of Professor Colin MacCabe’s, whose class on James Joyce, with its mind-altering 12 weeks on Ulysses, helped to make me the reader and writer I am today back in that explosive landmark year, 2001. Protagonist of an epochal affaire in poststructuralism’s history and erstwhile director of the British Film Institute, MacCabe later wrote a book on Performance, which, alas, unlike his books on Joyce and Godard, I haven’t read. 

I like White of the Eye better than Performance as I like it better than Possession, though. Mysterious symbolism, desert desolation, languorous eroticism, and, yes, some montage. The scorching, doomed marriage between a fanatic Western audiophile—he looks like the young W. Bush—and his breathy, no-nonsense New York wife; a Paglia-esque misogynist rampage (“that fuckin’ black hole...if that’s not female, I don’t know what is”) in an arid outpost of the Reagan-era bourgeoisie and its multicultural fringe: it all evokes the inherent evil of the American landscape that Burroughs observes in Naked Lunch. It has that ’80s quality of emotional amplitude not just between but within scenes. At every moment you might ask, “Is this sad, funny, or horrifying?” and answer, “Yes.” I do see filmmakers today working in the same vein and aspiring to the same compass. Witness the already famous Jacques Derrida High School in David Prior’s ultimately disappointing Empty Man or the scarcely resistible vaporwave dreamscape of Anthony Scott Burns’s also ultimately disappointing Come True (can’t anybody end a movie anymore?). But White of the Eye does it without effort or self-consciousness, as the very essence of its being an artwork at all—an artifact from a lost civilization.

[myklcollins]

"Back-to-back Sting posts Michael?" Well its not my fault this album came out 40 years ago today! . This is The Police's 3rd album entitled Zenyatta' Mondatta released 10/3/80. Two more nonsense words based off of Zen and Mondo. For years this was my fav Police record. I looked briefly for my cassette version as that is what I played in my ole Chevy all during High School, but this js a stamped promo copy I grabbed....somewhere. Chock full of great tunes and two mega hits, ( De Do Do Do, De Da Da Da, Don't Stand So Close To Me) spinning this today is like hanging with an old friend. . I have Audiophile/Nautilus copies of their other albums but not this one. While creating this post I pulled the trigger on another copy off Discogs. Pics when it arrives! 👍😎🎶 . #vinyl #vinylcollection #vinylcollector #vinyligclub #vinylcommunity #vinylcommunitypost #vinylrecords #vinyljunkie #vinyladdict #vinylporn #vinylgram #vinyllover #vinyllove #vinyloftheday #vinylcollectionpost #33rpm #33rpmclub #nowspinning #nowplaying #cratedigging #records #recordcollection #instahifi #80smusic #thepolice #albumversary https://www.instagram.com/p/CF5bCCtJqtU/?igshid=ct5m5mpszy7o

[niconiconwo]

I still think ~”audiophiles”~ are absolutely full of shit, but I do agree wholeheartedly that having decent headphones makes music a lot clearer and much more enjoyable.

Even with my perforated drums I hear things I never even noticed before especially in electro tracks and it’s great. But miss me with that $1000 DAC stack nonsense, it is entirely made up bullshit to signal your wealth and assumed superiority. Also absurd that decent phones cost so damn much.