RADIO HANNIBAL

The Snow Is Falling And It's Time For Christmas Music

As I look out the window of my office at the first snow fall of the season I think of two things.  One, thank God the rain has stopped and, two, it's time for a story on Christmas music for the 2011 holiday season. 

Christmas music is such a strange genre.  It's hardly a genre at all as every conceivable style of music has been used as a Christmas song.  It's also an easy way for an artist to make a quick buck.  I dislike saying that sort of thing this time of year, you'd wish it were always for reasons from the heart,  but it's true. 

That's not to say that there isn't truly earnest Christmas music being made each year.  And even those blatant attempts to cash in can capture the spirit of the season.  There's a hokey quality to much of Christmas music, a guilty pleasure if ever there was one. New holiday releases in 2011 give us a little of both as usual. 

The best of the bunch is the new Kate Bush album called 50 Words For Snow.  It's her first new material in five years and simply gorgeous.  Bush's ethereal voice and minimalist piano are the perfect accompaniment to watching the snow fall. 

She's joined on the album by Elton John and British renaissance man Steven Fry.  And those are the lesser songs on the album.  She's best by herself, singing in that haunting yet childlike voice about making love to a snowman. The real joy of this album is that it's an album that can be played throughout winter and not just during the holiday season. 

Kate Bush - 50 Words For Snow (Spotify)

My affection for Zooey Deschanel has wained recently.  Why, oh why, did she have to do a sitcom?  Her musical act She & Him, him being M Ward, has produced three albums with diminishing returns.  The new one, A Very She & Him Christmas, unfortunately exposes her somewhat weak vocals.  That being said, it really doesn't distract from the charming material here.  Anyone who does a good job with Sinatra's "Christmas Waltz" gets extra points from me. 

She & Him - A Very She & Him Christmas (Spotify)

Michael Buble seems to have every woman wrapped around his finger these days.  So his new Christmas album is the perfect soundtrack for couples.  He released a holiday EP two years ago that only left you wishing for more.  Here's that gift.

Michael Buble - Christmas (Spotify)

My favorite kind of Christmas albums, regardless of musical style, are the ones with original songs.  How many versions of "Little Drummer Boy" have we all heard?  The best example of this, from a Clevelander's point of view, is our own Ohio City Singers.  This changing cast of local musicians led by Chris Allen have released their third, well second proper, album titled Snow Days.  I love Christmas music and when the lyrics (" when the snow melts 'cross the snow belt") hit home, well, I'm on a sleigh ride with Santa.

I bought numerous copies of their other CDs as they make perfect gifts for fellow Clevelanders.  You can buy them at their shows around town, like the one this Saturday at 2:30 at the House Of Blues.  2:30?  Yes, it's a show for the entire family.  Bring the kids. 

The Ohio City Singers - Snow Days (Spotify)

I've gathered together some other new Christmas releases along with many more from years past on Spotify.  Subscribe to it as your go to source for Christmas music both tried and true and, well, odd too.  

Radio Hannibal Christmas Albums On Spotify

Streaming Music Services Still Foreign To Many

If Radio Hannibal were as big and influential as I'd like, streaming music services would be common by now.  Spotify, Rhapsody, MOG, Rdio and the like would be well known brands.  The fact is they are still foreign to many.

I'm still of the opinion that Spotify will, far and away, be the leader of streaming music services so I'll focus on it.  Being the evangelist I am for Spotify, the topic comes up quite often in my conversations with people.  And the vast majority tell me they've never heard of Spotify.  In fact, they aren't even aware of streaming music services. Once in awhile, I'll get something like, "oh, you mean like Pandora?".  "Hardly", I'll reply.

This ignorance of Spotify isn't just from people with little interest in music.  Hardcore music friends of mine are clueless as well.  That includes the vast majority of local musicians I talk to.

The weird thing is that when I explain Spotify, that you can listen to just about any album or song you want with one click, they are suspicious.  They assume it's illegal. 

I understand.  It is hard to comprehend.  Especially when I tell them it's free if you don't mind the ads interspersed between songs.  That's when I'll pull out my iPhone and tell them that for ten bucks a month I can listen to Spotify anywhere I want. 

Now comes the demo.  I tell them to pick an artist, a band.  Ok, if they say The Beatles I'll explain that there are some significant holes.  Maybe they'll say Bob Marley.  I'll do the search and watch as every Bob Marley album populates the screen.  Yet even then they are skeptical.  It's like they're afraid to be amazed.  What's the catch?, they wonder. 

I had one friend tell me that the concept seemed out of reach for him, like it must be for the music intelligentsia or something.  No, it takes about two minutes to sign up and download the software.

And still, even after I've wowed them, I'll see them again and ask if they got Spotify.  Most of the time the answer is no.  It's astonishing to me. 

I guess it's like the male fantasy of having more than one woman in bed.  In fantasy it's thrilling but in reality it may be too daunting.  Are you capable of handling having 90% of recorded music at your disposal...for free?

 

End Of Year Music Lists

I've talked about how music geeks love making lists.  Just watch High Fidelity for the running list of tops fives throughout the movie. 

There's a staggering number of music lists put out at this time of year.  Every publication in the world seems to create one.  And it's not merely the best albums lists.  There's best re-issues, best box sets, best videos, etc.  It's going to be a couple of weeks before I lay mine on you.

I used to go to a site called Fimoculous which gathered links to all of these lists for one stop browsing.  Last year he decided to call it quits. 

Fear not, I've found another blogger more than willing to take up the task.  Presenting Large Hearted Boy's 2011 Year-End Online Music Lists.  Remember that this list grows nearly every day so you'll want to bookmark it.

Spotify Mix: Radio Hannibal Thanksgiving 2011

Just in time for your Thanksgiving feast, give a listen to these tasty tunes. 

Spotify Mix: Radio Hannibal Thanksgiving 2011

 

A Clevelander's Passion For 80s 45 RPM Record Sleeve Artwork

I've decided that the 1980s were the worst decade in my life for music.  It's not so much that the talent wasn't there or that the songwriting was sub-par.  It was the awful production at the time.  The compression in so many recordings of that era make them nearly unlistenable for me.  And what about all those synths and synthesized drums, yuck. 

Still, it was a stylised era for rock and roll.  The 80s looked more like the future than present times.  Local writer Matthew Chojnacki has just released a book focusing on, not the sound of 1980s 45s but, the artwork on those record sleeves.  It's called Put the Needle on the Record: The 1980s at 45 Revolutions Per Minute.

The book highlights 250 45 record sleeves from The Romantics to Duran Duran to ABC.  Paging through the book brings tangible moments in time rushing back to me.  Some of those original sleeves sit in my library, albeit, many not in very good condition. 

Earlier this year I was sifting through a large record library at a house sale, many of which were 45s from the 1980s.  At 25 cents each I bought anything with a picture sleeve.  These were in much better condition than my manhandled collection. 

Anyway, the book will have you itching to search out actual copies of his examples.  It may even have you contemplating an asymmetrical haircut and buying red leather pants. 

You can get a signed copy at one of two book signings this Thanksgiving weekend.  Friday Chojnacki will be at Made In The 216 now located on W.25th in Ohio City.  Saturday he'll be at Visible Voice in Tremont.  Both events run 6 until 8pm.

The Sound Of 1970s Detroit Is Back On CKWW

Last week I purchased yet another new radio app for my iPhone called StreamS HiFi Radio.  It promised and delivered exceptional sound quality.  They're using better codecs to get this better sound.  The downside is that there's a limited selection of stations compared to other radio apps.

Anyway, I was browsing StreamS HiFi Radio's featured stations and came across CKWW AM580 out of Windsor, Ontario and serving the Detroit market.  CKWW seemed awfully close to the classic call letters of The Big 8, CKLW which was one of the great AM stations of the 60s and 70s.  It even had great ratings in Cleveland as the powerful signal easily made its way over the lake and to transistor and car radios throughout northeast Ohio.  It was WIXY 1260's biggest competitor. 

The relatively new CKWW is trying to mirror that vintage sound of CKLW using similar jingles, playing oldies and even broadcasting from the same studio.  Their oldies playlist is deep and it's great to hear forgotten classics.  It shows home embarrassingly shallow WMJI's library is. 

I tried tuning in the 580 signal on my car radio here in Cleveland without success.  Apparently they don't have the 50,000 watt transmitter CKLW broadcast from.  Luckily we have the internet so you can listen online or on your smart phone. 

 

Rumors About The End Of The Compact Disc

I have two blogs.  This one generally deals with music and the other, AV Adviser, generally deals with how to play that music.  Sometimes the stories I write are a good fit for both.  Such is the case with this story which I wrote about yesterday.  So why not post it here too.  It's started some good debate.

Last week Side-Line Music Magazine, surely you've heard of them, reported that major label sources have confirmed that the compact disc (CD) will be discontinued by the end of 2012 if not earlier.  Here's the story, CD-format to be abandoned by major labels by the end of 2012. 

I did some Google news searching to see if any major news media had reported this and came up empty.  In other words, take this Side-Line story with a large grain of salt.  Though it is true the CD's demise is inevitable. I've contended for a few years now that the vinyl LP will outlast the CD in the marketplace. 

Here's the problem we as consumers would have if the CD were to stop being produced too soon.  No CD versions of new releases, though there would be smaller players still making CDs, would mean we'd be stuck listening to the inferior sound of an MP3.  Before the CD is abandoned there needs to be a better digital format, one with a better sampling rate. 

There's been some lively discussion over this story on the internet.  Those that contend one can't hear the difference between a 320 MP3 and a CD.  Although there's plenty who wouldn't be able to tell them apart there's a great number of people who would.  Being in the business I've trained my ears to be a critical listener.  Granted, at 53 I've lost some high end sound but I've done blind testings for kicks with colleagues in the past and we hear the difference.  I can also take an untrained listener and point out the differences at which time they, too, will be able to separate the good from the mediocre sound. 

There's digital formats with better bit rates like flac and other high res files available at boutique on line shops, but these superior digital downloads need to be widespread and available in places like iTunes before I'm comfortable with saying goodbye to the CD.

What about the artwork and liner notes that the CD format offered?  Tablet devices can show even better graphics than a CD booklet.  Some digital releases already come with digital booklets. 

Someone also worried that without physical media some music will be lost forever.  On the contrary, the internet has given us a place to store everything ever recorded.  Take a look at the plethora of vintage Youtube music videos that have been rescued from decaying VHS tape.  Those rarities were only enjoyed by a few who owned copies but are now available to everyone in the world.  All physical formats eventually deteriorate.  The fact that they've been uploaded into cyberspace will preserve them. 

The future is streaming anyway.  Unfortunately right now we're only able to do that at less than desirable bit rates of 160.  Bandwidth will increase in the future and should solve that issue.  Ownership will slowly diminish.  That's not to say there won't be those who want physical copies.  There will always be collectors. 

And lastly, someone posed "what if there's no electricity, as in some apocalyptic scenario?".  In that case we're back to live music on acoustic instruments. The music never stops. 

 

Spotify Won't Acknowledge A Problem With Service

I'm a huge advocate of Spotify, the streaming music service that entered the US market in July.  I've written numerous stories about how absolutely wonderful I find the service.  Now it's time to take them to task.

On Tuesday afternoon I noticed that much of the artwork was missing on the Spotify desktop application.  So I went in search of finding out whether or not others were having the same problem.  A search of Twitter found no complaints, but a search of Google, honing in on the last 24 hours, showed a forum topic with my specific problem.  I wasn't alone. 

Spotify uses a website called Get Satisfaction as their community forum.  That's where I found the topic No Album Images.  A look at the postings and you'll find that I have joined in the conversation.  A Spotify rep has posted a few times, the latest being about 24 hours ago saying that he's made the techs aware of the issue.  So they're on the case I guess.

Yesterday I tried uninstalling and reinstalling the program but that didn't solve the problem.  Others in the forum had indicated that there was no cover art on the iPhone app either.  Sure enough there's no cover art appearing on my iPhone.

I opened Spotify this morning and the problem still persists.  It's odd because it's sometimes hit and miss. An album's cover with be there one time and the next it's not, but the vast majority of the time I'm left looking at a grayish record icon.  Sure, the music still plays but it's a rather generic experience without artwork. 

Hopefully the techs will solve the problem quickly, though three days is not a good sign.  What upsets me the most is Spotify's lack of acknowledging that there is a problem.  In the forum topic the Spotify rep concedes as much but go to the Spotify website and look under "help" and then "service status" and you'll find this statement,

All systems are up and feeling jolly good

That's simply not true and the fact that they won't come clean is worrisome.  Any savvy business operating in the internet age knows that transparency wins customers.  It's nearly impossible to pull the wool over people's eyes.  The best policy is to be up front and honest with the customer.  Spotify has a thing or two to learn about public relations. 

Cool Photos Of The Day

Brian Wilson

Bruce Springsteen and Michael Jackson

Phil Lynott

Pink Floyd

David Lee Roth, Sean Penn And the Beastie Boys

New Quadrophenia Box Set, Coming Of Age All Over Again

Most people have a seminal "coming of age" album they relate to.  The one that they can point to as being both influential and helpful in that awkward time.  Pink Floyd's Dark Side Of The Moon and The Wall are often sited as the definitive examples. 

For me it was The Who's Quadrophenia, the tale of a troubled teen growing up in early 60s London.  It was released in October of 1973 when I was 15 years old, perfect timing.  Since I already loved The Who I bought the album right away.  The album resonated not only with me but with many of my friends as well. 

The power of those songs complete with orchestration, the lyrics full of yearning, it spoke to me.  I could look beyond the mods and rockers setting, alien to my life in suburban America.  At the core was a teen who was as conflicted as me and, well, all teens. The double album ebbs and flows with angst, lust, anger, and love. 

For my son's 13th birthday last year I gave him 13 albums that were influential in my teen years.  It's an idea I heard from an NPR listener.  Quadrophenia was among the albums I chose.

Today Quadrophenia is being released as a box set, The Director's Cut.  It's a remastering of the album along with Townsend demos, an eight track 5.1 sound DVD and more.  You can stream the four disc set on Spotify.

There's word of a Quadrophenia tour in 2012.  That I can do without.  Been there, done that.  They brought that to Cleveland in the 90s with Billy Idol and Gary Glitter in key roles. 

When I listen to this album my heart rate quickens, my mind flashes back to memories of my youth and I'm invigorated.  Today I am young again.