Shopping 19 September 2015

Music is worthless.

Not that music has no value - artistic, emotional or other axes of measurement - but in our era of Spotify and YouTube, music is so ubiquitously and freely available that it has no monetary value. So Steve Albini says in a music conference talk from last year, and also Simon of The Indelicates, in a very interesting blog post.

Simon Indelicate argues that the commodity we pay a premium for is scarcity. In the past, he says, record companies artificially controlled the availability of music (in the sense of how many bands they would distribute), and charged accordingly. He's very articulate about the injustices and iniquities of the old business model that put so much money in the pockets of self-appointed gatekeepers - those old enemies of good music and creativity, the record companies. He thinks the internet has freed music makers to reach their audiences without having to get "approval".

I can see what he's getting at, but I think he's missing a point. So we've got much more music available now that record companies aren't "getting in the way". But you know what is scarce? My time. You know what is worth paying for? A filter. Maybe it's not "fair" that record companies decided who got to record and release their music, but I would argue that the best record companies removed the dross so I didn't have to listen to it. The music press (more unwanted taste dictators) served a similar purpose, but now it's in its death throes (The Word is long gone and the NME could well be on its last legs - being free, as David Hepworth says, is a bad sign) no-one's doing that job for me.

So what other approaches are there? If the internet is causing the problem, then the modern day solution is also the internet. I could find out what do my friends listen to on Spotify, or via Facebook. thisismyjam.com was a really cool take on the idea of crowd-sourcing music curation, although sadly it's now retired and archived itself. Various music services will attempt to recommend music to you based on your listening history, although I've always found them a bit hit and miss.

Although ... if it's going to be hit and miss, why not just make it completely random? Artificially reduce our field of choice and adopt an arbitrary selection policy. For example: two shops in Soho on a Saturday afternoon in September; two middle-aged music obsessives select twenty-six albums, one for each letter, based on nothing other than whim: an amusing band name, an arresting cover.

Yes, yes. This is the latest annual(ish) pilgrimage to the secondhand music emporia of Soho. Although the plural is only barely justified: there are two shops left on Berwick Street, and of those, Sister Ray has moved and reduced; Restless Records was already small. Still, a trip worth it for the obvious and welcome benefits of getting out of the house and having a good old chinwag over a few choice pints. And the fleeting chance that maybe, just maybe, we'll find ourselves blown away by something we never would have heard otherwise.

I got the letters N to Z and chose (mostly) based on no prior knowledge whatsoever. Here's what I bought, along with my initial impressions based solely on the names, cover art and my finely honed prejudices.

A Little Touch Of Schmilsson In The Night by Harry Nilsson (1973)

Other than knowing that Nilsson was a good singer, I knew nothing about this album. It seemed as good a place to start as any.

Owl John by Owl John (2014)

"The new album from the voice of Frightened Rabbit", it says on the front, accompanied by a picture of a hipster. No, me neither. I presume it is some sort of Americana.

Cautionary Tales For The Brave (EP) by Pure Reason Revolution (2005)

Not sure what to make of this, but the title sounds a bit prog-rock.

Greatest Hits by Queensrÿche (2000)

I assume some sort of German hard rock or metal, like Scorpions or Michael Schenker?

Getting Through by The Riptide Movement (2013)

The cover is fairly minimal, so little to go on. Probably nice enough indie/alternative.

Soul:Fi by Space Invadas (2010)

Teeth-grindingly unnecessary punctuation and spelling means this is almost certainly bad hip hop or whatever they call it these days.

Made Up Mind by Tedeschi Trucks Band (2013)

I already know that Derek Trucks is a superb slide guitarist, but not sure what to expect from his (and his wife's) band.

Ultravox! by Ultravox! (1977)

Before Ultravox were Ultravox, they were Ultravox! and John Foxx is known for being a little eccentric. 

Becoming A Jackal by Villagers (2010)

More indie. Or is it alt.country? Hard to tell.

The Original Rumble by Link Wray ()

Legendary guitarist famous for one song basically. I fully expect to find a) many copies of said hit, and b) rubbish alternative tracks.

Testament by The Wake (2000)

Nope. I'm getting nothing. It's a "best of" so presumably they've been around a while?

Angel Guts: Red Classroom by Xiu Xiu (2014)

Very little to go on with the cover, two vaguely sword shapes, crossed. Rap maybe?

Colossal Youth by Young Marble Giants (1980)

Young Marble Giants were cult back in the early 80s and so their album is ripe for rediscovery by hipsters, I would have said. The card on the shelf in Sister Ray said something about "lost classic" which, of course, means nothing.

Versions by Zola Jesus (2013)

Something a bit like Lorde or similar?

Reading - August 2015

The Week (1 August 2015 / Issue 1033)

The Running Man by Stephen King [writing as Richard Bachman] (1982)

I hadn't read this for a while and although I remember the basic plot, I was surprised by how detailed some of the background is. Utterly compelling, utterly believable - even if it is set (now) only ten years in the future.

The Political Animal by Jeremy Paxman (2002)

Accurately identifies and articulates the oddities of the career politician. My theory that anyone who has succeeded in any sphere is not entirely normal (the level of single-mindedness required is beyond 90% of the population, I reckon) applies equally here, although one might argue with the definition of "success" in the case of most politicians. In any case, the book sets out the bizarre life of the British politician and you're left with a disconcerting sense that the job is increasingly only appealing to the kind of person you wouldn't trust to look after your cat, let alone your country. Extra marks for including the unintentionally hilarious review from William Hague: "It left me disappointed."

Men At Arms by Terry Pratchett (1993)

One of my favourite Discworld novels, mainly because it has a bit of a romantic element to it and I am a sucker for a happy romantic ending. Also I am constantly marvelling at Pratchett's lightness of touch as a narrator; he doesn't spell things out but implies them, so you feel clever for spotting them.

The Week (8 August 2015 / Issue 1034)

Notes From A Small Island by Bill Bryson (1995)

This is on my list of favourite books (non-fiction category) for a reason: it's such an enjoyable journey. Even though it's now twenty years old and some elements of the country he toured have changed, it's still very accurate about English people and their nature and fascinating about many places.

Rock Stars Stole My Life! by Mark Ellen (2014)

An easy holiday (re)read. What struck me this time is how acerbic he is about the takeover of EMAP (publisher of Q, Select etc) by corporate management consultancy bollocks. I don't blame him for getting out, but the ending of Word magazine does sound a bit sad.

The Week (15 August 2015 / Issue 1035)

The Week (22 August 2015 / Issue 1036)

The Long Earth by Terry Pratchett & Stephen Baxter (2012)

A fantastic central concept (if slightly obvious - parallel universes are not a new idea, of course) with loads of great ideas, that simply takes too long to get going. The whole book feels like it is scene-setting - something you'd expect of the first few chapters of the book, not all fifty-two - and it ends on a kind-of cliff-hanger, presumably for the next novel (which is conveniently advertised on the inside back cover).

The Week (29 August 2015 / Issue 1037)

I Think You'll Find It's A Bit More Complicated Than That by Ben Goldacre (2014)

Bite-size chunks of Goldacre magic, which can mostly be found on badscience.net but are still nice to have in book form. The book is split into multiple sections covering various topics, but a recurring theme is the inability of journalists to understand, check or communicate basic science - a failing that, as Goldacre points out, has serious, even fatal consequences; for example, the whole MMR farce, which was almost entirely media driven. (One such takedown provoked an unintentionally hilarious "rebuttal" from a science journalist, rightly summarised by Goldacre as "explaining why health journalists can't be expected to check facts." So much for trusting any other reporting then ...). What makes Goldacre so much fun, apart from the obvious joy of watching idiots get exposed, is that his writing is funny and flavoursome.

Reading - July 2015

Guitarist (August 2015 | Issue 396)

Prelude To Foundation by Isaac Asimov (1988)

I find it amusing that my copy of this book has the following quote on the front: "One of the most staggering achievements in modern SF" (from The Times). The quote's not dated but Asimov's Foundation series, staggering as it indeed is, is not modern SF and wasn't when this novel was released. This particular book is a little too long and has the trademark clunky-ness but Asimov fans quite like that, I think. A nice easy read.

The Week (4 July 2015 | Issue 1029)

iWoz by Steve Wozniak (with Gina Smith) (2006)

The world according to Woz.

The Week (13 July 2015 | Issue 1030)

This week's Week came with a free copy of the US Week of the week. I expected greater differences in reporting but as well as the format being almost identical, many of the stories were not just the same, but written pretty much the same way. Obviously there are differences in domestic reporting and it's interesting to reflect that if their political in-fighting seems trivial to me, from a distance, so does ours to anyone else.

Ready Player One by Ernest Cline (2011)

Even more enjoyable the second time round. Full of great ideas even if the kitsch 80s references start to get a little too cute.

Brian May's Red Special by Brian May (with Simon Bradley) (2014)

Another read of this fascinating book. I still can't quite believe all the thought that went into the one guitar Brian and his father made. So many good ideas that haven't made the mainstream of guitar making - I wonder why not?

The Week (18 July 2015 | Issue 1031)

Forward The Foundation by Isaac Asimov (1993)

Second in the Foundation series but the last to be written, this does a decent job of pulling together some of the pieces in earlier books, but is probably one for completists really. A good read though.

Guitarist (Summer 2015 | Issue 397)

The Week (25 July 2015 | Issue 1032)

Another Man's Life by Greg Williams (2007)

Kind of male chick-lit - the cover quote compares it to Nick Hornby which is close enough. The big concept is of two men - twins - one single, one married, who decide to swap lives for a fortnight - "with hilarious consqequences", as the cliche goes. Predictably, it turns out that both of them can learn from each other. Aaaah. An enjoyable read though.

Pedal Power 2015

How joining a forum can be dangerous to your bank balance

In January this year an equally guitar-obsessed colleague recommended I have a look at The Fretboard - a UK-based forum for guitar obsessives everywhere. As well giving me opportunity to put my level of interest into perspective (very mild!), it also introduced me to a much wider world of guitar equipment than I had previously found in the pages of Guitarist.

It also has a classifieds section. I had a few pedals up until the beginning of this year, but of those on the right, twelve were bought since joining the forum. I sold a few, and sold a guitar too, so I'm not out of pocket ... yet.

Following are some notes about what they are, approximately in the order I bought them, and why I bought them, primarily for my own interest in years to come.

Cry Baby Super Wah [1]

This is the first pedal I ever bought, probably in about 1986, via the classifieds in Guitarist magazine. It cost about £25. It's a late 70s Cry Baby, made in Italy by Jen and has inside it a white Fasel inductor. This is now quite a valuable model. At the time wah-wah was very unpopular, but I bought it because I read (in Guitarist) that it was a mark of skill to be able to use one. It's been with me ever since and I don't anticipate ever selling it, although it now needs some maintenance on the pot. But the Cry Baby is legendary! Watch the documentary in the link if you don't believe me!

Bright Onion Pedal Mini Looper [2]

This is the first pedal I bought on the forum this year, specifically so I could isolate the Cry Baby in a loop (it's that kind of looper). The wah is a great pedal but when it's off it still has an effect on the overall tone - and not a good one. Also perfect for auditioning pedals in a chain. Cost - £15.

DOD FX65B Stereo Chorus [3]

Back in sequence, this was bought in the early late 80s in a long-gone music shop in Amersham for the princely sum of £66 (it says on the box - the equivalent now of about £145!). No idea why I thought I needed a chorus pedal and I've never used it much, but it's a lovely wet 80s chorus.

BOSS CS3 Compressor/Sustainer [4]

Bought secondhand in the Record & Video Exchange in Notting Hill for £40 or so in the late 80s, this has had quite a lot of use but mainly (I now realise) as a boost. Given what I know now, I would have been better off with a treble booster or a Tube Screamer, but it's a classic anyway. I don't use it much now.

MXR Carbon Copy Analog Delay [5]

About the same time as the DOD and BOSS I had an early digital delay pedal (a Frontline FD1200). It's long gone to the electronic graveyard but last year I decided I wanted a delay again and for some reason I wanted an all-analogue path. This got plenty of good reviews, so I went for it - cost, about £130 in Stompbox in Northwood Hills. It's a good pedal for short ambient delays.

MXR Phase 90 [6]

Another old pedal I owned long ago was a phaser made by Ken Multi - possibly a Maplins own brand thingy. It was very cheap but, even off, it had a nice effect on the sound. I wanted a phaser again and they don't get more classic than the Phase 90 ... but I was disappointed. I've since done the R28 mod and it definitely improves the sound. Cost was about £70 at Stompbox (bought at the same time as the Carbon Copy).

Electro Harmonix Soul Food [7]

At the beginning of the year I got some Amazon Vouchers from work. I'd been reading about this, apparently a clone(ish) of the legendary Klon Centaur. I've not played a Klon but I've played a J Rockett Archer (which is supposedly very close) and the Soul Food is the same kind of pedal - lots of boost and some overdrive if you want it. But compared to the Archer, it's a bit rough and shrill. Still good for boost and light drive, and contains an excellent buffer. About £50.

Electro Harmonix Neo Clone [8]

I had a bit left over on my Amazon vouchers and managed to translate this into another £50 on a chorus pedal I didn't really need. In my defence I thought the DOD was broken at the time, and its defence it does the "Come As You Are" wobble perfectly, but give I don't use chorus much, it was a bit pointless. I'd sell it but it's worth nothing really.

Joyo Tremelo [9]

I always fancied experimenting with a tremelo, mainly inspired by Jonny Greenwood I think. This was £20 on the forum. Does what it says on the tin, doesn't do a square wave trem which I realise is what I really wanted, but a good basic sound.

Marshall EH1 Echohead Delay [10]

The Carbon Copy is a great sounding pedal but because it's analogue, it's only got a short delay (about 600ms) and I decided I wanted a longer delay. This is a surprisingly versatile pedal and for £40 (off the forum) it's a steal.

Meridian SK12 Volume Pedal [11]

Very poor volume pedal acquired in a trade for my Pocket POD. A fundamental design flaw means that it cannot rotate its internal pot fully, so it either goes from off to about half volume, or goes from about half volume to full volume. The guy who sold it to me very kindly sent me a replacement pot to try, but the design issue remains. Probably only to be kept for soldering experimentation.

4114 Effects "Eight Zero Eight" [12]

I traded my EMG T-Set pickups for this. It's an Ibanez Tube Screamer (TS808) clone made by a custom effects maker in the UK. Since I traded with Dan himself, I think he must have made this for his own use. It's a bit noisy but pretty good. No idea how close it is to the original.

ZCat Poly-Octaver [13]

Bit of an odd one this. It does octave up, octave down, reverb and chorus - any or all at once. I call it "Cocteau Twins in a box". Traded my old DOD flanger for it.

Electro Harmonix Big Muff Tone Wicker [14]

Everyone needs a Big Muff. £60 in Stompbox. I'm inclined to regard the tone control as superfluous since it sounds much nicer without, but it's pretty cool whichever way. Perfect in combination with the Phase 90 - instant John Martyn on "Eibhli Ghail Chiuin Ni Chearbhail" (from Inside Out) - one of my favourite guitar sounds.

3Leaf Audio Proton Envelope Filter [15]

I bought this because it came up the FB classifieds, I was curious and then I saw an awesome demo and realised this was the pedal I never realised I needed! £75 later it was mine. It's an auto-wah which, just like a manual wah, requires a certain amount of practice, and it has a very distinct tone of its own. Great fun though.

TC Electronic Ditto X2 Looper [16]

I'd been messing around with overlaying sounds using the Echohead and realised what I really needed was a looper (the other kind of looper, one that records and plays a recorded loop for you). The X2 added a couple of interesting features, although in hindsight I could have done without them. Lots of fun working out layers of sound.

ProCo Rat [17]

Came up cheap on the forum (£40) and it's a classic, so I thought I'd give it a go. Fizzy 80s distortion a-plenty, but probably needs a properly wound up amp to sound really good.

Handmade Phase 45 clone [18]

Another purchase on the forum, this handmade custom job set me back £60. On reflection it's probably not really worth that, but it's very tidily made. Still pretty new to me and so I am still dialling it in, but it sounds like it's got real potential as a "sweetener" at the front of my chain.

iWoz

Steve Wozniak (with Gina Smith)
2006

The world according to Woz

So synonymous has Steve Jobs become with Apple that most people don't even realise that there were other people involved, let alone the fact that it was arguably this other Steve who was the real driving genius behind the Apple II and Apple's original success. Steve Wozniak is certainly not short in the ego department, but as he explains, as an engineer, all he wanted was to be able to do engineering. So he never took the limelight in the same way as Steve Jobs.

In fact, Jobs doesn't get much space in this book. Wozniak spends much more time on what he obviously considers the important subject - the engineering - and appears unconcerned with, or even downright scathing of, the sales and marketing which must have been an equally important part of Apple's success. (In his few appearances, Jobs comes across as a bit of an arse.)

One thing that Wozniak does have in common with Jobs - and indeed with just about every successful person - is that he gives too much credit to his own genius, effort, application and insight - and too little to luck. If Wozniak hadn't designed the Apple II then someone else would have designed something similar or something that would have taken its place. It was clear (with hindsight) where the industry was heading and Apple was far from being the only company working in the area. History is written by the winners and the winners are often just fortunate. No-one's going to deny Wozniak is a legend, but there are plenty of unsung geniuses who just weren't in the right place at the right time.

The book is an interesting read, even for someone like me, who has no real interest in Apple as a company. It is fairly clear that it was only "written" in the loosest sense by Wozniak; he probably spent hours talking to Gina Smith who then transcribed it. The tone is surprisingly childish in some respects; maybe "conversational" would be another way to describe it - it's not particularly stylish.

Reading - June 2015

The Code Book by Simon Singh (2000)

An interesting, accessible, well-written introduction to cryptography and related subjects. Its only drawback (at least in the edition I have) is that it is now out-of-date; it discusses the theoretical possibility of quantum cryptography, which now appears (incredibly) to be a reality.

Guitarist (July 2015 / Issue 395)

The Week (6 June 2015 / Issue 1025)

The Year Of Living Biblically by A.J. Jacobs (2007)

This charts the author's attempt to fulfill all the commands in the Old and New Testaments for a year - not just the obvious ten, but all the minor, obscure, ignored or just plain daft. In doing so, Jacobs isn't attempting to grind any particular axe. It would be easy to conduct this exercise as a way of showing up the ridiculousness of religious fundamentalists or literalists, but he never does, and indeed genuinely tries to understand those who do follow those paths. However, at the end, he reaches the only reasonable conclusion; anyone religious practices a form of "cafeteria religion", and to criticise someone else's choice is pointless.

The Week (13 June 2015 / Issue 1026)

Self Made Man by Norah Vincent (2006)

Predictably Irrational by Dan Ariely (2009)

All the various experiments Ariely and various colleagues have done to show that however logical we like to think we are, it doesn't take much to show we aren't. His main point is to try and inject some sense into market economics which (he says) is all based on the assumption that everyone acts rationally, and is summarised best in one paragraph (which I will have to paraphrase because I can't find it): we don't design roads with the assumption that everyone is always a perfect driver, so why design an economic system assuming that everyone is a perfect economist? Entertaining and thought-provoking.

The End Of Eternity by Isaac Asimov (1955)

Taken of the bookshelf for B to read, but ended up re-reading it myself. Great stuff, but inevitably dated in many respects; it's fascinating how rooted in their own time science fiction stories are, but that said it a lot easier to spot with sixty years perspective!

Jeeves And The Feudal Spirit by P.G. Wodehouse (1954)

Fantastically comic writing, of course, but even at the time this was written this must have been an anachronism. Maybe we should call it "out of time". A lovely little story to amuse.

The Week (20 June 2015 / Issue 1027)

The Week (27 June 2015 / Issue 1028)

Self Made Man

Norah Vincent
2006

I first read this about five years along with another book - it served as an unintentional yin to the extreme yang of The Game by Neil Strauss, the notorious chronicle-slash-manual of the "art" of pick-up artists. I've often thought about it since, so I thought re-reading was worthwhile.

The book is like the equivalent of Watching The English but for (American) men - an inside view from an outsider. Norah Vincent spent a year disguised as "Ned", in largely exclusively male environments (including bowling leagues, strip clubs and a monastery) and also in mixed environments (for example, dating) as a man. She discusses and make contrasts between the way men behave amongst themselves and received women's wisdom about how and why men act; and between women's assumptions about men's motives and what she discovers to be their real motives.

Since Norah Vincent is a journalist, this is an account of her journey and resultant opinions rather than anything scientific (is the latter even possible in this context?), but nevertheless she reaches the only reasonable conclusion: whatever generalisations, simplifications and stereotypes women and men hold about each other are both right and wrong. Or, to put it another way, it's not that simple. Yes, the stereotypes exist for a reason. No, that's not the whole story. Duh.

The book struggles a bit with length, since the material doesn't quite stretch, but it would be too much for a Sunday supplement article. Still very interesting. Now if only someone would do it the other way round!