Gear Bits

Image courtesy of xkcd There is a lot being made of the claims of some Christian groups that the so-called ‘Rapture’ will occur on May 21st of this year. At 6pm. By time zone. Apparently this orderly ascent of ‘the chosen’ is well detailed in coded messages in the Bible (despite direct statements in the same book in direct conflict with such knowledge), as revealed in an NPR interview: On May 21, “starting in the Pacific Rim at around the 6 p.m. local time hour, in each time zone, there will be a great earthquake, such as has never been…

As someone who follows music that is often produced by small labels with runs under 1000 copies, I have constantly found myself seeking material that is ‘out of print’. I have always appreciated the Smithsonian Jazz collection, but that only scratches the surface. Fortunately the Library of Congress has a massive archive of historical recordings, and have now partnered with Sony to make it available online through a site they call the ‘National Jukebox’. Here is the basic info from the National Jukebox website: The Library of Congress presents the National Jukebox, which makes historical sound recordings available to the…

In the history of jazz there have been tons of amazing improvisers, imposing figures who stand out in their field. Some such as Louis Armstrong and Charlie Parker and Miles Davis and Pat Metheny have become popular figures, but most avant garde players have remained little known in spite of their acclaim within the jazz world. Rahsaan Roland Kirk is such a figure. Here is how AllMusic describes him: Arguably the most exciting saxophone soloist in jazz history, Kirk was a post-modernist before that term even existed. Kirk played the continuum of jazz tradition as an instrument unto itself; he…

As a rule my “Pop Goes the Music Diary” posts are meant to point out trends in the music business as exemplified by a song – and in general that means skewering the absurdities of the music industry. And that is likely to continue unabated. However, not all trends in popular music are negative! Way back in the 1940’s we started seeing popular comedy song recordings by Spike Jones, followed by Alan Sherman (of “Hello Muddah, Hello Fadduh” fame), and Ray Stevens. But as a creative genre things really took off in the 1980’s with Weird Al Yankovic, who would…

Over the last decade the ways of finding and sharing music have exploded – there are web forums, social music sites, subscription services, recommendations on music sites like tunes, Twitter, Facebook, and on and on. But guess what? There is still no better way to find something than a recommendation from a trusted friend – and better still, direct sharing that leads to a purchase. My brother came to visit us over Easter for the weekend, and on Sunday morning I put on Jason Parker’s Five Leaves Left. My brother grabbed his iPhone after a couple of songs and asked…