Re: Now is the time on Sprockets when we listen to music to which one cannot dance

1

Meaning no more shows until the fall?

horizontal rule
2

Are you on now? My computer at work is speaker-less, alas.

horizontal rule
3

ISE! Sans Kitty!

horizontal rule
4

Oh whoops. No, on from 1-3 pm PST, listen here. I would have put these details in the post but I'm still kind of out of it.

And, yes, no more shows until the fall.

horizontal rule
5

Some kind of bender, Ben. Hope you're done with classes.

horizontal rule
6

5 s/b "I should hope you're done with classes for the term."

horizontal rule
7

I'm working on a paper now! Honest, I just wrote a paragraph. I'd be in a lot better shape if I hadn't decided to get up at 8am so I could make it to watch the soccer game, even though I don't particularly care about soccer.

horizontal rule
8

Ok, has anyone ever got the ISE with kitten? Other than clicking on Becks's link to see it, I mean.

horizontal rule
9

JM: No one has, and no one ever will, unless pair stops being a little bitch.

horizontal rule
10

It's just as well; I thought "happy furry unfogged happy page" was a bit much.

horizontal rule
11

7: I had some fun doing that with one U.S. game that was on live at something like 5:30 AM last world cup. Turning it into special occassion makes the game more enjoyable, don't you think?

horizontal rule
12

I'm irrationally upset that I missed the game. I LOVE the world cup. I'm actually going to have to figure out what my local television schedule is, and/or where I can watch the games online, and/or which local bars are airing them. . . .

horizontal rule
13

Or you could scroll down the page a little bit...

horizontal rule
14

Yup, figured that out.

horizontal rule
15

I didn't notice the Anne McCaffrey mention in this song until just now. OTOH it's not as if it weren't obvious that it's a nerdfest.

horizontal rule
16

There's a shout-out to Anne McCaffrey? Jesus wept.

horizontal rule
17

I take it you weren't listening, JM?

horizontal rule
18

Ooo new Zombi. Don't have this yet.

horizontal rule
19

Would you be sad if I were to tell you I was listening to NPR instead?

horizontal rule
20

That would make me even more sad than if you told me you were listening to Rush.

horizontal rule
21

Limbaugh or the band.

horizontal rule
22

I saw Final Fantasy in concert once. I don't know if he does this on the recordings, but live he plays in sort of in rondo: he plays one line, records it using a foot pedal-enabled sampler, plays another line against a loop of the previous line, etc., and builds the song. It's neat. Then, just when my friend said something like "isn't he worried about being a one-trick pony?" FF said, "I have only three more songs before everyone here is sick of my schtick, so I'll play two more." And he wore a nice tie.

horizontal rule
23

I'll refrain from saying any such thing, then. I would not have you sad.

horizontal rule
24

I don't know if he does this on the recordings,

Subtle, Smasher. Thanks for letting me down easy.

horizontal rule
25

While you were playing that song I was, in fact, watching the World Cup game on television. I just don't know how to please you, Ben.

horizontal rule
26

22: Andrew Bird does something like that in his concerts, too. Also, he whistles. During the songs. He's surprisingly good at it.

horizontal rule
27

22: Jon Brion plays live like that. For exampe, he plays the guitar part of a song and records (or multiple shorter parts that he can alternate through on playback), then the drum part, then the piano part, then the some else part if required, plays them back and sings over them.

Actually, I've probably mis-described this being unbearably musically ignorant.

horizontal rule
28

24: He could have been expressing ignorance about whether the recordings were made by using the delay pedal or by overdubbing.

(I was listening to Booker Little and Friend. It seemed more conclusive to the work that I need to get done. I do feel ashamed of this.)

horizontal rule
29

The recording might have been done by overdubbing, but not in such a way that one could mistake it for the work of a delay pedal. So I was on the solidest of solid grounds.

horizontal rule
30

I just don't know how to please you, Ben.

Dive straight for the prostate, Smasher.

horizontal rule
31

You should have a cousin named Prostatesmasher.

horizontal rule
32

The proper interpretation of 29 is deeply relevant to the paper I'm working on. So tell me: Was the recording in fact made by overdubbing, but not in such a way that one could mistake it for the work of a delay pedal?

horizontal rule
33

The proper interpretation of 29 is deeply relevant to the paper I'm working on.

Liar!

horizontal rule
34

So tell me: Was the recording in fact made by overdubbing, but not in such a way that one could mistake it for the work of a delay pedal?

I suspect not. It's not really "looped" at all. However, overdubbing being such a common studio technique, it would be basically impossible for me to say whether or not it was overdubbed. (There are no positive indicators of overdubbing, like say the singer harmonizing with himself, but I have no way of knowing whether or not overdubbing was used.)

Since, however, there is no delay pedal action, no looping, etc, no overdubbing was done in such a way that one might take it for the work of a delay pedal. (For that matter, maybe a delay pedal was used in some highly uncharacteristic way. Nevertheless there's nothing in the song that would justify anyone hearing it in thinking that a delay pedal was used.)

horizontal rule
35

Since you are discussing looping versus overdubbing I'm going to shameless pimp something I did that uses overdubbing but not looping but sounds like looping as the overdubbed parts are repeating fragments that build in complexity... Steve Reich-style. Done for a Halloween themed thing a year or so back for a guitar recording forum.

http://www.mcgrattan.f2s.com/flail_chest.mp3

horizontal rule
36

That's pretty. I have a completely tin ear and little interest in music, so it's not a terribly meaningful compliment, but definitely pretty.

horizontal rule
37

Thanks! These things are done at short notice to monthly tasks set by members of the recording forum -- often with bizarre technical or musical demands being set -- so they are a bit rough and ready but they are fun to do.

horizontal rule
38

My reading of 29 was obtuse. I thought Ben had said "It might have (been made by overdubbing but not in such a way that could have been mistaken for a delay pedal)"; that is, it might be the case that it was [clearly] made by overdubbing but the overdubbing did not sound anything like a delay pedal. Which was certainly true from Smasher's and my point of view, since we didn't hear the piece. But, Ben having heard the piece, from his point of view this (with the bracketed 'clearly') is either false (if it did sound like it could have had a delay pedal) or more tentative than necessary (if it did sound overdubbed-but-not-delay-pedaled, Ben knew this for sure, and needn't have said 'might have been').

Whereas in fact Ben said "It (might have been made by overdubbing) but not in such a way that could have been mistaken for a delay pedal; that is, it may or may not have been made by overdubbing (one can't tell by listening) but it definitely couldn't be mistaken for a delay pedal. Which as 34 makes clear is true and adequately informative; Ben is definitively asserting the second part and doesn't know whether it was made by overdubbing. So there is no question of its being false from his standpoint.

The paper I am working on deals with the question of whether it makes sense to say that a 'might' statement can be true from one standpoint but not from another. For more reading on the issue, go here and then do some other stuff.

So 33, I wasn't lying though I was mistaken. Call me a liar and you unleash PEDANTZILLA.

horizontal rule
39

The sentence of yours quoted in 33 is ambiguous, anyway, so maybe there's a way you can both be right.

horizontal rule
40

Final Fantasy's live performance is certainly not done with a delay pedal. It's accomplished by a looping pedal, which is totally different. Looping pedals are digital phrase-sampling thingees that record and repeat discrete sound samples. Delay pedals allow the player to layer and repeat the phrase being played over or against the previous phrase played, with the effect being that older parts fade but persist over time. Whether it is Final Fantasy himself accomplishing it (via loop pedal) or a studio engineer doing it (via overdubbing) the recording is accomplished by one form of looping or another. That being my limit break, I deal 2,189 HP damage to Ben Wolfson.

horizontal rule
41

I don't think you'd think that if you had heard the track.

horizontal rule
42

38, 39: Indeed, as I was intending to imply that I doubted that knowing whether the track had been looped or delayed was itself of critical importance to your paper.

Ah, philosophy. "No, honey, I'm not procrastinating, as Google is a valuable intuition checker. It just *looks* like I'm talking about music."

horizontal rule