Taking your ears on a journey, hearing and discovering something new and deliciously audible

Christmas songs mean a lot, mainly because we hear them once a year and they bring back lots of memories. I tend to favor songs I heard as a kid, and I really love the production of the really old tunes. And the feeling should be a bit languid and dreamy, so blues and ballads are more my cup of tea than big band blowouts. So here are 12 of my absolute [&hellip

Here’s the best of this year! Enjoy! Lotus Plaza Spooky Action at a Distance Daughn Gibson All Hell Tame Impala Lonerism Japandroids Celebration Rock Grimes Visions Yeasayer Fragrant World The Sea and Cake Runner Ariel Pink Mature Themes Donnie and Joe Emerson Runnin’ Wild William Basinski Disintegration Loops 1-

What is music if not live? Except when it’s on record. This episode gets into why ‘live recordings’ can be amazing or lousy. Not an oxymoron, the sound of a live record has some different sonics to what is possible in the studio. There’s also a decent range of moments that you have to capture in the time. Shout outs to James Brown, Jimi Hendrix, Ahmad Jamal, and several surprise [&hellip

What’s that sound that has all the people wanting more? It’s reverb!!! Well, actually it’s a bit more like salt than pepper, but it makes recorded music taste delicious. Reverb helps create a ‘space’ that grounds the insturments, and when used creatively, it can make things sound psychedelic, dreamy, or just plain rock. Happy SXSW, if any listeners are off to the interactive portion, tweet me at @michaeldain and give [&hellip

Episode four, I think, is a new level. If you’ve ever turned it up to 11, its all about dynamics, loudness, or just plain impact. If you turn back to the 20’s just being loud enough to be heard over the sound of dust in the grooves was the challenge. Contemporary music has a bit less of a hurdle, but still because we hear literally twice as much spectrum as [&hellip

The gloves come off this episode, I get down and dirty and really begin to research some of my rambled opinions. And what a befitting subject. As mono recordings could represent black and white movies, some amazing art, but technology marches on. Stereo adds that extra bit of oomph for those of us with two ears. But it was a rocky road starting out, 3 track recording, 4 track, 8 [&hellip

This episode showcases a taste of more modern mono recording techniques from the 50’s and 60’s

Ok, it’s really here, the first episode of the long mulled over “Unbelievable Sounds” – for those used to the yearly dip into the record rack, this will come as a departure. I wanted to come up with a way to share some of the unsung nuances of what it means to listen to recorded music. Why do bands have a great album, then a dud? What is it that [&hellip

Ah, a wonderful time putting this together. Even though I have switched to a streaming service (MOG), we’ll see if that changes the way I rate and am able to go back and find out what records I really fell in love with. Added bonus of youtube performance link from Claire. Open in iPod’s to see all the links and other goodies. 9. Julianna Barwick, The Magic Place 8. Washed [&hellip