HiWire

Pulp – Different Class

Phonogram: Rue Britannia by Kieron Gillen and Jamie McKelvie (I was reading The Wicked + The Divine last week but I wanted to go backwards for a bit... the trade paperback releases take a while, so I usually forgot what happened in the previous issues) Lots of Britpop references – time to catch up, starting with Pulp and Kenickie

Yes, I've been reading about MQA since the hype train left the station, but it seems to be a controversial format (there could be licensing issues I'm not aware of). I have trouble understanding the technology, for all the claims that have been made. The number of manufacturers that have decided against implementing MQA is also a matter of concern. http://bobtalks.co.uk/blog/mqaplayback/origami-and-the-last-mile/ https://www.soundonsound.com/techniques/mqa-time-domain-accuracy-digital-audio-quality

Found this Techmoan video on MQA-CD when I was checking out Meiko's latest album from Chesky Records, Playing Favorites: I'm going to sit this one out for a while. It seems to be a Japan-only phenomenon for a while, and there are no mainstream players.

Happy Birthday!

RIP Daryl Dragon

The Alan Parsons Project – Days Are Numbers (The Traveller)

The Avalanches – Since I Left You Eclectic dance party ear candy from Australia... somewhat similar to Bran Van 2000's albums.

I'm pretty sure I dismissed it as dork fantasy in 2007. Finishing the first disc of Season 1 and the show's writing has surprised me with its combo of smarts, humor, and sheer entertainment value. And Sarah in her underwear... less surprising with each episode, but much appreciated nonetheless. Something else I noticed recently... when I'm reading Wikipedia entries on older tv shows, a lot of them are starting to mention the soundtracks getting pulled or replaced due to music rights. That's one reason I prefer to watch some things on disc instead of streaming.

Silly, but a lot of fun so far (I think I stopped watching TV during these years):

Trentemøller – The Last Resort A bit dancier than I was expecting (the album cover made me think "ambient") but an enjoyable listen – on further listening, it sounds a bit like minimalist ambient/dance or chillout music.

I'm looking forward to picking up more Dire Straits SACDs as well (Making Movies and Love Over Gold), but they're a bit pricey. This one has been in my cart for a while – it was great to come home yesterday, grab it out of the mailbox and put it right on the stereo. My only problem with these single-layer SACDs is that I have to listen to them at home... with hybrid SACDs, I can easily rip them for listening on my iPod or computer at work. Not a big problem for this kind of album, which is better suited to a comfy chair.

Mark Knopfler – Shangri-La

What's the politically correct alternative? Buying Huawei at Best Buy?

I don't have have any Robyn albums (a friend of mine likes her stuff), but I've always liked Scandinavian pop, going back to Roxette (my first cassette!) and ABBA. Which reminds me – I also have to catch up on a bunch of Raveonettes albums and I'm looking forward to listening to Trentemøller's The Last Resort. I never listened to Sigur Rós in their heyday, for some reason. Some of Annie's more recent work has been uneven (you can watch her newer videos on YouTube), but I don't think anyone else does what she does as well as she does. The version of Don't Stop I received also comes with the All Night EP, so I am pretty well set with Annie material for a while. She played a DJ set at a skating rink downtown last weekend – I wish I could have seen that. I only had Anniemal too, but then I was able to get a copy of her Two of Hearts Stacey Q cover sampler on eBay (this radio-length, slightly grungy-sounding Skatebård remix is the one I had been listening to for years, and it is superior to the longer one on the disc, in my opinion):