Here’s a TWIKE, the two passenger hybrid electric from Germany. It has an electric motor and two sets of pedals. It comes in a variety of confusing configurations (how’s your German?) but in general it tops at 55 mph and costs $35,000. That price makes me wonder what those people are thinking. That is six years of average (30 gal/wk) gasoline usage just to break even. There is an option for a battery that cannot be recharged. Figure that one out.
Question. Should science be used to prevent crime? Before answering, consider this: in 1776 the American patriots who staged the revolution were committing a crime. There’s a similar situation in the campaign contribution laws today. A rich crook can spend millions of his own money to get elected, no matter how he or his ancestors acquired it. I’m waiting for one of Al Capone’s descendents to run. But if you want to spend your money helping an honest man get elected, the limit is $2,000. (The way around it is to own a newspaper, says Ann Coulter. Then you can print millions worth of advertising in the form of editorials for your favorites.)
[Author's note 2016: how's that for a uncanny prediction on the Trump squabble with the left-wing press of 2016?]
Them phony unemployment stats again. The real rate around this town in probably 25%, and 35% for the under 30 crowd if you quit counting “part time” as real jobs. Does anyone actually know of a place where the unemployment rate is only 8.4%? I was reading the law that triples the tax on dividends. The timing is ruthless, they waited until millions of pre-seniors shifted to dividend stocks for fear of other investments. Then stick it to them. Like what are they going to do? Protest? Who’s gonna listen to a bunch of old farts with enough money to have stocks?
Ever wanted to fly a Spitfire? You can, for £5500 at an aerodrome in Goodwood, England. You won’t be soloing as the airplanes are two-seater trainers and besides, don’t go thinking those old airplanes are easy to handle. Boultbee Flight Academy will even teach you to fly in formation. You must be a qualified pilot before signing up. Sorry, Oprah, you must also weigh less than 220 lbs. Fitting into the cockpit is not the same as what you were thinking.
Has anyone else noticed on youTube, when you intuitively hover your cursor over thumbnail that has your interest, a clock icon (see jpeg) appears blocking the length indicator? Way to go, youTube. How about that Barbara Comstock who complains that defense cuts will cost 130,000 jobs in Virginia? Whatever’s a gal to do in a town without a bomb factory? Barb, even North Korea has learned to grow its own food.Or Minnesota, whose “Office of Higher Education” has banned Coursera, the Stanford free on-line courses (see jimmyr). They’re enforcing a state law designed to prevent residents from wasting money on substandard degrees. Except, you see, Coursera is free. Oops, there Minnesota. Showing your true colors?
“What monstrosities would walk the streets were some people's faces as unfinished as their minds.” -Eric Hoffer, philosopher and author (1902-1983)
ADDENDUM
Today was one morning power meeting and a lot of research (see below). Trent and I met up at the bakery and went over the music idea, agreeing that whereas there is little chance of competing at the “studio” level, entering the market is playing the odds. You can’t win unless you play. Albeit at a beginner’s point, I have composed my own video tracks, that’s the material you hear in the background of veryatlantic productions. Things like my having actually produced and used such music in real situations should help.
Music tends to be an area of specialization. I wonder how many thousands of “Garage Band” made recordings that never got much beyond setting the input levels. But I say unto you, when they exist by the many thousands, that bulk represents competition. By the time the A&R reviewer gets to your track he’s brain-dead. In general, we still feel it is worth a stab. Now I present the research part, in roughly the same order as I found things out.
First, reading the TAXI listings and noting they, too, have a predictable pattern. Then I promptly read the countless testimonials on their site. There’s a pattern there too—they only report the successes. Ha, ha. No, I’m kidding and I really mean that I conclude as expected, that we are more equipped to produce a 30-second jingle than a movie track. They want quality but don’t define it.
Trent and I conferred about that quality. The real money is the producers and I doubt any of them would have accepted Johnny Cash due to his lack of finesse. I know the feeling. And that’s why TAXI is, to me, just another agency. Full of agents. Full of themselves. Yet, the published listings are surely receptive to basic musical arrangements. That is hard to explain. The hit parade since 1999 seems to be so-so tunes gussied up to sound “like a hit”. True, I am being very critical here because that’s part of my end of the bargain.
Good attention was paid to the advice videos at the TAXI site. You have to listen between the words. But I get the message, they don’t want much slow, meaningful music, and it is not a good idea to get emotive about your own material. I’ve never liked such compositions, particularly run-of-the-mill rock and blues motifs. I prefer music that has a significance distanced from the artist. As I inferred to Trent, “Cash was never in prison and Elvis was never a poor black child.”
According to Trent, the equipment to record is not a problem as long as I can make space for it here. I thought, I know more about arranging music than writing or recording it, but that’s why they have user manuals, right? I listened to some submissions to get an idea of the competition. As expected, the better the quality of the studio work, the less original the music. I heard beautifully executed stereo fiddle licks that are completely worn out. I listened to 10 Horse Johnson, an Arkansas band. It’s tough to rate. Every note and every phrase is a cliché, but it is top notch studio work. Conclusion: there is a secret country music academy in the Ozarks that’s trained an entire generation to play exactly the same ten chops.
And that is where we strike. That is the weakest link, the elusive schwerpunkt. Theme is over-rated. I say theme has become less important than a novel or clever way of looking at ordinary situations. Every contemporary song out there has the same dreary perspective within its particular theme. Unrequited love, boring. Indiscriminate sex, ho-hum. Tough chicks, zzzzzz. To name a few.
When I listen to Red Nex’s cover of “Cotton Eye Joe”, the novelty lingers afterward. That’s closer to what I think could be done here. Novelty and sneak attack aren’t that different in my bag of tricks. I stick with my statement that the music scene needs a return to simplicity. Every recording now seems to have at least twenty layers of (over-compressed) tracking and I’ve moaned how even the solo acts have such huge bands back of stage. That approach has reached its limit. The charts have been smothered in lethargic, plodding guitar music for a decade—not that the instrument itself is to blame. There’ll be more on this.
During this investigation, I also looked at auto-tune, the device used by studios to correct pitch. (It is also used live by the likes of Madonna and Reba McIntyre.) Such a tool would have slayed Cash, who relies on a half-broken vocal line. Naturally, the supply of $600 used Fishman Solos has dried up now that I’ve got the money.
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