Aside

I must be finally learning my way around the fiddle. I picked it up this afternoon and played “Ida Red” in A rather than in G, the way I learned it.

Stupid Field Recording Tricks

Aside

Fostex FR2-LE owners: Don’t plug your headphones into the remote jack! I did this by accident during a recent night-time recording session and was convinced my recorder was suddenly bricked. No harm done, once I figured out my mistake.

Aside

Just learned that John Hartford’s Mark Twang was recorded in 2 takes: 1 for each side of the album.

Goodbye, Babylon Marathon

Aside

Goodbye, Babylon: I’ve made it to disc 5 of 6. I definitely understand what all the fuss was about and can’t wait to hear some of the tracks over again. But I’m feeling a little overwhelmed and not sure I’ll make it all the way through the last stretch. When did box sets become such an athletic pursuit? Looking forward to the Dust-to-Digital 78 Days to Amazing Abs workout set.

Listening as Creative Act

Aside

Allan Kozinn get’s it in yesterday’s NYTimes article about John Cage’s 4’33”.

…I sat back, closed my eyes and did what Cage so often recommended: I listened. I made no effort to separate the strands of conversation or to focus on what people were saying. I was simply grabbed by the sheer mass of sound, human and mechanical. It sounded intensely musical to me, noisy as it was, and once I began hearing it that way, I couldn’t stop.