A Sound Revelation

This is, I suppose, nothing more than a public service message plus a little bit of self-service.

I generally get annoyed by "audiophiles" because they tend to spend their time looking for things to dislike in recordings, but, I have to agree with many of them who claim that an mp3 does not sound as good as a CD. I think it is completely true.

My four-year-old prestidigitation. 

I'll occasionally listen to my 2011 album, Hats and Rabbits, on my phone, in the car. The other day, for some reason, I put in the CD and, as attuned as I am to every aspect of the sound (having recorded, engineered and produced it all myself) I was completely taken by surprise by the added depth of the sound on CD.

I'm not sure if everyone would notice this difference, consciously, but I do believe that music works on so many levels that it could have an overall effect on the listener. It's similar to the effect of drinking a Coke, with high fructose corn syrup, and then drinking a Mexican Coke with real sugar: something is just more right about it, even if you can't consciously put your finger on it.

That said, I am not afraid to self-promote, having listened, recently, to my work, and thinking I done pretty good, and to give you a link to buy the actual CD.

Also, in a few months, my collection of piano pieces, American Sketches, will be ready, and available on both CD and download -- I suggest the CD.

Self-promotion aside, it really does make a difference. A step back to CDs could feed your soul on unconscious levels. There's a richness there that mp3s just lose. I guess this position is similar to that of the "vinyl" people (the smart ones, not the dumb ones who say they miss the scratchy sounds, but the ones who prefer the warmth of analog sound).

Too much virtuality. Not enough to sink our teeth into. The world of the senses is slipping away every day, stolen by the scramble for efficiency and ubiquitousness. Everythnig is low fat, across the senses' board.

(By the way, I think just burning a CD from mp3s woud fit the bill to improve the sound by turning it into a WAV file -- try it!)

Something Different: Invocation

About a year ago, I released my CD, Hats and Rabbits, which I announced here, and the links to buy it have been up on the right, ever since.  Some of you have bought the CD or downloaded it, and I greatly appreciate it.

In the midst of my responsibilities and duties, progress is slow in the area of actually promoting my work. Finally, I have gotten around to putting my songs in a format through which I can share them. I thought I would do two things, today: 1) Share a song from the CD with you, along with a short explication and, 2) offer it for free, if you should like it, as a humble thank-you for always coming back to this dive bar of a blog.

You know, I’m caught in this…place. I hate show-biz and wannabe stars. (I even spend breaks on band gigs in my car or with a friend or my wife instead of schmoozing, like a proper rock star.) Music is just another way for me to express myself. Expressing myself is what drives me, daily. I know I’m not going to be a star and I am not looking for anyone to tell me what a musical wonder I am -- I just want to share this as another blog post, if a musical one. If you decide to get the CD, that’s great, but I can tell you there is no hope of it making me rich. My payment is that people listen. That’s enough.

Hats and Rabbits CD Update (He Says with a Grin)

I promised I would let everyone know when my new CD, Hats & Rabbits became available. Well, it just did become available and I'm pretty excited about it, I will admit. (Though, as a testament to at least one reason why I'm not a more successful self-marketer, I was a little disappointed that I had to put off writing about my next blog idea . . . but stay tuned for it on Wednesday. )

Right now, it is available from "CD Baby" as a physical CD and as a downloadable album. (They're a reputable company with good roots in the music business, so no worries.) Just click the link at the right -- or here. To my surprise, the warehouse is down to four physical copies. More will be shipped to them soon, though. But the digital downloads are always available.