The first room I come to is communications. It is very loud, there are loads of things going on there, but it is noisy and not really where I want to be right then. The next room I come to is archives. Looking through the window it looks like a giant library, tons of reference material in there. I stop to admire the beautiful hardwoods they used on the bookshelves; someone really did some nice work in here. But again, not where I want to be right then. So I continue down the hall and finally come to a set of airlock doors that require a special security clearance.

I enter the codes and finally enter the room.

More info on this image at the end of this post.

I sit in there quietly for a few minutes in this –9.4 dBA room, with my heartbeat being the loudest thing I hear. It starts to drive me a little insane, but the longer I sit there, the more clarity I seem to achieve. So after what seems like almost an eternity, I get up and leave.

I head back to the control room to find that the macro I started has finally stopped looping. The machine must have a blank stare on its face, and has not made a sound in who knows how long. Looking out the windows I notice that everyone is now staring at the machine. I sit back down at the controls and within a few clicks of the mouse it is as if I never left my post.

The image above is of an anechoic chamber at the Orfield Laboratories and comes from an Audio Junkies article about the chamber.

Occasionally amazing things cross your desk. And occasionally they cross your desk because you tracked them down for a specific use. Recorded over three sessions from 1949-1950 and finally released as the “complete” 11-tracks in 1957. It was later reissued in 1971, with a 12th track added from the original sessions, as “The Complete Birth Of The Cool.” I wish the jacket weren’t so mishandled by past staff (someone had the bright idea to put a sticker on the cover, someone else decided to rip it off and tear the cover). Hidden in the jacket was a sheet of paper with some handwritten notes about the three sessions this was compiled from. I’m sort of sad that I had to return it to the archives.

It’s hard sometimes to pinpoint someone’s influences on your life, especially when you don’t have any sort of relationship with that person other than the product they produce. Whether it’s Ed McMahon making you laugh, Farrah’s posters back in the day making your pants tighter, or MJ’s music making you feel good, you don’t have any real relationships with these people, yet they all hold a special place in your life in some way. Perhaps it’s that those positive things you remember about them make you temporarily feel happy when looking back.

Sure it may seem that we are obsessing over these people because of their celebrity, but that’s not really the case, while for some it may be. I know how laughter and music have affected my life, so I guess when I mourn the loss of these people it’s not because of their fame, it’s because of what they did through their fame that made me temporarily happy.

It’s the same thing but on a more personal level when friends, family, and associates die. I don’t know if it’s that you necessarily miss the person, especially if the connection is that distant, but it’s missing the feeling that that person gave you for whatever moment it was.

The Leaning Tower of Music.

34°6’11″N 118°19’34″W

While writing this, I was listening to:

My mind isn’t wandering, it’s just free of distraction. Anyway, end sidenote.

IT'S ALIVE!!

Since I was awake by 4:00a I figured I’d see if I could wake up my iPod too. Well after a little work, my old iPod is back to playing  music. For now.

“I wanna leave you, but I just can’t leave you. I keep coming back”

Is that ironic or just coincidence?

So my iPod finally died. Well stalled at this point. But I think it’s pretty damn funny the song it chose to stall on. And I can’t unfreeze it. I can’t turn it off. I can’t get it to do anything. SO, I guess I’ll just have to let the battery run down before it shuts itself off.

The date it was supposed to die was June 2nd, 2006, and it’s survived that by several years. And who knows, maybe I can get it to wake back up, but I doubt it. We’ll see what happens. But as for now, it appears that it’s finally dead. Or simply, it can’t, and it told me so itself as you can see above.

“Even though I might, even though I try, I can’t. Even though I might, even though I try, I can’t.”

Edit: well it’s still frozen and none of the force reset commands from Apple are working. I plugged it into my computer to see what’d happen, and while the screen is still frozen, my computer recognizes it, and iTunes can show what’s on it. So who knows what’s going on.

A couple of years ago I happened on the Playing for Change project. I think there was a CD compilation included with some magazine I used to get. What I found was a collection of songs (some covers) by street musicians using a variety of instruments. The CD included a cover by Inspiration of Ben E. King’s Stand By Me. I couldn’t really find too much information then about the project, but it’s no surprise to read today that they are releasing a DVD regarding the project.

In regards to their upcoming release “You Are Here” I must say I like it. I may have to find a promoter to send me a copy soon. Or perhaps I may actually go out and buy it. But then again, I probably won’t, and I probably won’t listen to the release again until after today. That is unless at some point in the future when you ask me if I’ve heard of them, and I’ll remind you of this post.