Thursday, March 31, 2011
Enter The Crawlspace: power suit friday's
Enter The Crawlspace: power suit friday's: "First things first, give credit where credit is due. My friend Routhier is the evil genius behind Power Suit Friday's. He got the idea from ..."
Monday, March 28, 2011
The end of an era......
Everyone has that one definitive day in their lives when they feel like the world truly lost a treasure. The older generations may cite the JFK assasination or the death of Trudeau. For myself, today is the day that the world lost its greatest treasure. Panasonic announced back in October of 2010 that it would be ending one of the longest product production runs in history, the iconic technics SL1200 direct drive turntable would be out of production for the first time since February 1972. The last SL-1200 MK2's shipped this week from Japan....
What does this mean? The digital revolution has finally stomped the last dying breaths out of the music industry. But wait, doesn't Numark, Stanton, Vestax and others still make turntables? Thats like saying "crap, Ferrari is no longer making cars, but at least we still have Kia" As good as Numark and all have become at making reasonable direct drive decks..... they will never come close to what has become the reference for comparison of all other turntables. Over its 39 year history, over 3.5 million SL-1200 MK2 models have been produced. The tech 12 was teh M1 - Abrams of the turntable realm. Nothing touched it. 12.5kg base, high torque direct drive platter, S-shaped tone arm. This product single handedly sparked the imagination of an entire generation and led to the creation of the DJ... Without the Tech 12, we wouldn't have hip hop, we wouldn't have electronica, hell we probably wouldn't even have had disco, at least not in the Studio 54 style.
I bought my set of Tech 12's in 2002 and i have never looked back. My dining room used to house my prized possessions, my guitars, my vinyl, and of course, my SL-1200 MK2's. now i suppose i can add the word antique to that list now that they are part of a dying breed. In the quest for convenience and simplicity, i suppose that modern DJ's are somewhat responsible for this travesty. Most DJ's have now either fully switched to digital formats (CD MP3 decks) or moved to a hybrid system (serato scratch / final scratch) which are both evil digital abominations... I hate to admit it, but the button loving douche bag hipsters have won..... from now on club kids will be fist pumping to the sound of armin spinning the touch screens of his ipads.... (not that he could actually mix properly anyways)
I think the vinyl resurgence will remain in effect, although i doubt that anyone will be enjoying it in a pure analogue mode. At least i can take solace in the fact that i now own two pieces of music history that are about as profound as the Fender Stratocaster or the Gibson Les Paul. It is only lately that people have been recognizing turntablists fully for what they have accomplished. From the pioneers like Terminator X and Grandmaster Flash to the ranks of Jam Master Jay, Mix Master Mike, Q-Bert, none of these artists could have accomplished what they have without the 1200.
Joni Mitchell sang "you don't know what you got till its gone", i'm afraid that people won't realize the true significance of this event. Sadly, this occasion will most likely go unnoticed outside the realm of turntablists, dj's and audiophiles.
A moment of silence for the mighty SL-1200
update: the news of the end of the SL1200 has sparked a really bad side effect.... now i want to own a pair of the ultra rare, limited edition SL1200GLD. basically its an SL1200 Mk5 except everything is is plated with 24k Gold.... had the SL1200 been manufactured by Ferrari, this would be the enzo....
found one on ebay..... $5,400 US eeek
on the plus side, SL1200 MK2's are going for a solid $1500 US for mint condition decks... So take that mom! I do have some equity!
What does this mean? The digital revolution has finally stomped the last dying breaths out of the music industry. But wait, doesn't Numark, Stanton, Vestax and others still make turntables? Thats like saying "crap, Ferrari is no longer making cars, but at least we still have Kia" As good as Numark and all have become at making reasonable direct drive decks..... they will never come close to what has become the reference for comparison of all other turntables. Over its 39 year history, over 3.5 million SL-1200 MK2 models have been produced. The tech 12 was teh M1 - Abrams of the turntable realm. Nothing touched it. 12.5kg base, high torque direct drive platter, S-shaped tone arm. This product single handedly sparked the imagination of an entire generation and led to the creation of the DJ... Without the Tech 12, we wouldn't have hip hop, we wouldn't have electronica, hell we probably wouldn't even have had disco, at least not in the Studio 54 style.
I bought my set of Tech 12's in 2002 and i have never looked back. My dining room used to house my prized possessions, my guitars, my vinyl, and of course, my SL-1200 MK2's. now i suppose i can add the word antique to that list now that they are part of a dying breed. In the quest for convenience and simplicity, i suppose that modern DJ's are somewhat responsible for this travesty. Most DJ's have now either fully switched to digital formats (CD MP3 decks) or moved to a hybrid system (serato scratch / final scratch) which are both evil digital abominations... I hate to admit it, but the button loving douche bag hipsters have won..... from now on club kids will be fist pumping to the sound of armin spinning the touch screens of his ipads.... (not that he could actually mix properly anyways)
I think the vinyl resurgence will remain in effect, although i doubt that anyone will be enjoying it in a pure analogue mode. At least i can take solace in the fact that i now own two pieces of music history that are about as profound as the Fender Stratocaster or the Gibson Les Paul. It is only lately that people have been recognizing turntablists fully for what they have accomplished. From the pioneers like Terminator X and Grandmaster Flash to the ranks of Jam Master Jay, Mix Master Mike, Q-Bert, none of these artists could have accomplished what they have without the 1200.
Joni Mitchell sang "you don't know what you got till its gone", i'm afraid that people won't realize the true significance of this event. Sadly, this occasion will most likely go unnoticed outside the realm of turntablists, dj's and audiophiles.
A moment of silence for the mighty SL-1200
update: the news of the end of the SL1200 has sparked a really bad side effect.... now i want to own a pair of the ultra rare, limited edition SL1200GLD. basically its an SL1200 Mk5 except everything is is plated with 24k Gold.... had the SL1200 been manufactured by Ferrari, this would be the enzo....
found one on ebay..... $5,400 US eeek
on the plus side, SL1200 MK2's are going for a solid $1500 US for mint condition decks... So take that mom! I do have some equity!
Friday, March 25, 2011
Power Suit Friday
My coworker decided to take a bit of a vacation, well more of a month off work, to go to vietnam. In the months leading up to his trip, we decided to have a bit of a get fit competition, or a office version of the biggest loser. As we were both doing new things such as, eating healthy and going to a gym to do more than look at pretty women, we decided to raise the stakes a bit on the wager. The winner would get an all expenses paid night out ata swanky steak house with drinks followed by a whole wack of drinking afterwards. We also decided that since Vietnam was the vacation destination, now that we had both lost a bunch of weight, we should get some custom made suits. Logical i know.
Before my buddy took off for his month away from reality, i had my measurements done up and browsed through online pictures to find the suits i wanted to have made. In Vietnam, they can not only make amazing suits but they can also duplicate any style, design or label that you would like. at price points below 200 bucks per suit, i had to go big on this one. I settled on two suits, a tuxedo for formal occasions and a three piece power suit for the times I decide to dress to impress (thats my bosses tag line, so ill give him credit where credit is due). Some people may ask, why did you get a tuxedo made? when are you ever going to need to own a tuxedo? A very smart (and stupidly rich) man once told me years ago when i was much younger that every man needs to own two things, a nice watch and a tuxedo. the watch thing was before the time of the smart phone so im sure if this person was still alive today they would say "Mark you really need two things in life, a tuxedo and the latest blackberry to tell time and chirp your friends on twitter". Bottom line, when successful person tells you you need to own a tuxedo, you get a damn tuxedo.
The pitfall with having custom tailored clothing made in vietnam is you have to do your research into what tailor to use. My buddy was smart, when in doubt, watch top gear. Top Gear Top Tip: when in Vietnam, the only place to have suits made is A Dong Silk in Hoi Ann Vietnam. The main risk is that some of the cheaper tailors will use polyester and synthetic blends in their fabrics.... A Dong Silk uses only 100% silk and the best 400s 100% cashmere italian and english fabrics. The other part that can get kind of confusing is they do not understand "just make it like everything else". They asked questions about every aspect of the suit, it was a big learning experience for me. i had to learn what a welt pocket was, what tripple pleat and single pleat were, they even asked if i wanted the buttons on the jacket sleve to be functional or not. the result of all of this trans pacific haggling was to say the least exactly what i wanted for a price that would put moores clothing out of business.
Fast forward to a couple weeks ago, i had just recieved my new suits by mail from Denang. Apparently they survived the random sketchy moped ride from Hoi Ann by the postman (who apparently looked alot like a random from the street). I had to take the suits to a local tailor to do some minor adjustments but everything pretty much fit like a glove right out of the parcel. The problem i was currently facing was when could i possibly wear a 3 piece suit to work or anywhere else for that matter without looking like the most overdressed person on the planet. This was a major problem since most of my coworkers consider a golf shirt and khaki's to be dressed up. This is when i decided to change the game a bit. We had long held a tradition at the office of dress down fridays.... Why not change that to be Power Suit Fridays. The first friday i was on my own in my endeavor, but i was met with much critical acclaim for my actions. (i even ended up getting called to a site with my boss to investigate a drainage issue and the client thought i was the boss...)
Since that first edition of PowerSuit friday two weeks ago, the idea has taken off. Today 3 of my co workers are rocking are rocking a power suit (albeit, its no pinstripe 3 piece with fully silk lined trousers, and patent leather shoes) and i have recieved word that some friends of mine over at Ciena (formerly Nortel) have taken up the cause at their own workplaces.
In conclusion, I would like to see Power Suit Fridays become an event that everyone can participate in (provided you own a three piece suit).
I should probably get back to looking fresh to death in my office.
-ciao
Before my buddy took off for his month away from reality, i had my measurements done up and browsed through online pictures to find the suits i wanted to have made. In Vietnam, they can not only make amazing suits but they can also duplicate any style, design or label that you would like. at price points below 200 bucks per suit, i had to go big on this one. I settled on two suits, a tuxedo for formal occasions and a three piece power suit for the times I decide to dress to impress (thats my bosses tag line, so ill give him credit where credit is due). Some people may ask, why did you get a tuxedo made? when are you ever going to need to own a tuxedo? A very smart (and stupidly rich) man once told me years ago when i was much younger that every man needs to own two things, a nice watch and a tuxedo. the watch thing was before the time of the smart phone so im sure if this person was still alive today they would say "Mark you really need two things in life, a tuxedo and the latest blackberry to tell time and chirp your friends on twitter". Bottom line, when successful person tells you you need to own a tuxedo, you get a damn tuxedo.
The pitfall with having custom tailored clothing made in vietnam is you have to do your research into what tailor to use. My buddy was smart, when in doubt, watch top gear. Top Gear Top Tip: when in Vietnam, the only place to have suits made is A Dong Silk in Hoi Ann Vietnam. The main risk is that some of the cheaper tailors will use polyester and synthetic blends in their fabrics.... A Dong Silk uses only 100% silk and the best 400s 100% cashmere italian and english fabrics. The other part that can get kind of confusing is they do not understand "just make it like everything else". They asked questions about every aspect of the suit, it was a big learning experience for me. i had to learn what a welt pocket was, what tripple pleat and single pleat were, they even asked if i wanted the buttons on the jacket sleve to be functional or not. the result of all of this trans pacific haggling was to say the least exactly what i wanted for a price that would put moores clothing out of business.
Fast forward to a couple weeks ago, i had just recieved my new suits by mail from Denang. Apparently they survived the random sketchy moped ride from Hoi Ann by the postman (who apparently looked alot like a random from the street). I had to take the suits to a local tailor to do some minor adjustments but everything pretty much fit like a glove right out of the parcel. The problem i was currently facing was when could i possibly wear a 3 piece suit to work or anywhere else for that matter without looking like the most overdressed person on the planet. This was a major problem since most of my coworkers consider a golf shirt and khaki's to be dressed up. This is when i decided to change the game a bit. We had long held a tradition at the office of dress down fridays.... Why not change that to be Power Suit Fridays. The first friday i was on my own in my endeavor, but i was met with much critical acclaim for my actions. (i even ended up getting called to a site with my boss to investigate a drainage issue and the client thought i was the boss...)
Since that first edition of PowerSuit friday two weeks ago, the idea has taken off. Today 3 of my co workers are rocking are rocking a power suit (albeit, its no pinstripe 3 piece with fully silk lined trousers, and patent leather shoes) and i have recieved word that some friends of mine over at Ciena (formerly Nortel) have taken up the cause at their own workplaces.
In conclusion, I would like to see Power Suit Fridays become an event that everyone can participate in (provided you own a three piece suit).
I should probably get back to looking fresh to death in my office.
-ciao
Friday, March 18, 2011
Records on Wheels
So today i stumbled upon a fantastic record shop in downtown Sudbury. While from the outside (and from the inside) its not much to talk about, they have a huge vinyl selection of both new pressings and old vintage LP's at very reasonable prices.
So to kick off my new tradition of souvenir vinyl shopping, i flipped through the bins for what my friend Mel described as "forever". Can you really put a time limit on something as important as finding that perfect LP? l suppose i should go over my standard polices on buying vinyl records. Number one is never buy a greatest hits compilation. If you are looking for a CD with an artists best hits to listen to in your car, then fine go for it. I look for Albums, a time capsule of material that reflected an artists feelings, thoughts and influences at a give period of time. I could go out and buy a led zeppelin greatest hits CD, which covers their entire body of work from the first studio album of 1969 to the last studio album released after John's death in '82. If you take an album like Led Zeppelin 3 for example, here you have the first album where Jimmy pushed the limits of his blues based riffs, Robert took on more of an active role with the lyrics and as some people would agree, the band defined their sound and status as pioneers of hard rock. The riff from imigrant song is hands down one of the top 5 all time greatest hooks.
Anyways i digress, my second policy on vinyl shopping is that i try to find the quintessential album for any given artist. For example, if i was looking for a Frampton Album, it would be Frampton Comes Alive, or Phil Collins - Face Value... these are not just fantastic albums, they are definitive.
At the end of my browsing session through Records on Wheels, i came up to the counter with three LP's in my possession:
Stevie Ray Vaughn And Double Trouble - Couldn't Stand The Weather
-what can i say about SRV, he could make sounds on a stratocaster that no one can duplicate. this album has a cover of Hendrix's Voodoo Chile that can bring tears to your eyes.
James Gang - James Gang Rides Again (the original 1970 pressing before the edited version of "the bomber" due to copyright issues)
-as a huge eagles fan, the james gang in some ways showcases Joe Walsh at his greatest. his riff from "life in the fast-lane" was only overshadowed by his riff from the iconic Funk #49 on the James Gang Rides Again. in fact Funk#49 makes me wish i could have a turntable mounted in my car because it just makes you want to roll down the highway 30 miles an hour under the speed limit.
U2 - The Joshua Tree
-hands down my favorite U2 album it has all the things that a great album needs. Fantastic artwork, a solid and coherent track listing and of course, it has to be produced by Brian Eno (everything that guy touches turns to gold).
Not a bad haul for small town northern ontario, and at a total of 15$ it didn't break the bank either....
So to kick off my new tradition of souvenir vinyl shopping, i flipped through the bins for what my friend Mel described as "forever". Can you really put a time limit on something as important as finding that perfect LP? l suppose i should go over my standard polices on buying vinyl records. Number one is never buy a greatest hits compilation. If you are looking for a CD with an artists best hits to listen to in your car, then fine go for it. I look for Albums, a time capsule of material that reflected an artists feelings, thoughts and influences at a give period of time. I could go out and buy a led zeppelin greatest hits CD, which covers their entire body of work from the first studio album of 1969 to the last studio album released after John's death in '82. If you take an album like Led Zeppelin 3 for example, here you have the first album where Jimmy pushed the limits of his blues based riffs, Robert took on more of an active role with the lyrics and as some people would agree, the band defined their sound and status as pioneers of hard rock. The riff from imigrant song is hands down one of the top 5 all time greatest hooks.
Anyways i digress, my second policy on vinyl shopping is that i try to find the quintessential album for any given artist. For example, if i was looking for a Frampton Album, it would be Frampton Comes Alive, or Phil Collins - Face Value... these are not just fantastic albums, they are definitive.
At the end of my browsing session through Records on Wheels, i came up to the counter with three LP's in my possession:
Stevie Ray Vaughn And Double Trouble - Couldn't Stand The Weather
-what can i say about SRV, he could make sounds on a stratocaster that no one can duplicate. this album has a cover of Hendrix's Voodoo Chile that can bring tears to your eyes.
James Gang - James Gang Rides Again (the original 1970 pressing before the edited version of "the bomber" due to copyright issues)
-as a huge eagles fan, the james gang in some ways showcases Joe Walsh at his greatest. his riff from "life in the fast-lane" was only overshadowed by his riff from the iconic Funk #49 on the James Gang Rides Again. in fact Funk#49 makes me wish i could have a turntable mounted in my car because it just makes you want to roll down the highway 30 miles an hour under the speed limit.
U2 - The Joshua Tree
-hands down my favorite U2 album it has all the things that a great album needs. Fantastic artwork, a solid and coherent track listing and of course, it has to be produced by Brian Eno (everything that guy touches turns to gold).
Not a bad haul for small town northern ontario, and at a total of 15$ it didn't break the bank either....
St Patty's Day Aftermath
Wow.... Starting the festivities at 11 am, probably not the greatest idea..... Drunk dialing my mother who is currently in Paris France, probably equally inadvisable.....
made it back to my friends place by 5 AM which i thought was pretty commendable actually. All in all it was a fantastic night, great tunes provided by a Dropkick Murphy cover band from Sault Ste Marie and great company mostly provided by my buddy DTT who dragged a bunch of nurses out to party with the legend who is sometimes known as Routhier...
Since i have managed to some how wake up by noon and not feel like death, I think its safe to say that I'm going to award myself with a trip to deluxe burger on hwy 17 followed by a visit to Science North to get my nerd on, ya dig?
made it back to my friends place by 5 AM which i thought was pretty commendable actually. All in all it was a fantastic night, great tunes provided by a Dropkick Murphy cover band from Sault Ste Marie and great company mostly provided by my buddy DTT who dragged a bunch of nurses out to party with the legend who is sometimes known as Routhier...
Since i have managed to some how wake up by noon and not feel like death, I think its safe to say that I'm going to award myself with a trip to deluxe burger on hwy 17 followed by a visit to Science North to get my nerd on, ya dig?
Thursday, March 17, 2011
Adventures in Sudbury
Happy St Paddy's day. its 10:30 Am and time to get my drink on. This morning i came up with the idea to start a new travel tradition for myself the doesnt involve bar hopping. I am going to try and locate a vinyl shop in any city i visit and pick up or single that, in my opinion, fits with the theme or location well.
In this the case of this weekend, i am going to try and find myself a nice perhaps poguetry in motion by the pogues or some sudbury saturday night by stompin tom. who knows, but i thought a little music as a souvenir was a good idea.
its 12 oclock somewhere..... party time!
In this the case of this weekend, i am going to try and find myself a nice perhaps poguetry in motion by the pogues or some sudbury saturday night by stompin tom. who knows, but i thought a little music as a souvenir was a good idea.
its 12 oclock somewhere..... party time!
Wednesday, March 16, 2011
Addiction Relapse
It has been some time since i finally paid off my debt from my first major foray into full blown Vinyl Junkie status, the 200+ dollar a week habit that would make most coke heads look like amateurs. I'm not talking about some designer drug addiction I'm talking about a musical format addiction that runs so deep your mind starts to believe that paying 20$ for a single vinyl makes sense in this digital age of illegal downloads.
I have spent a lot of time recently trying to figure out where this all started with, and why i continue to cling to a format that most of the mainstream believe to be obsolete, the hipster class don't understand, and the purists proclaim to be the only truly accurate recording medium. Sound quality arguments aside (which are moot unless you are one of the few who actually own a 6000+ dollar fully analogue hi-fi stereo system) the source of my problems come down to two things..... the familiar and the tangible. There are two things i can always remember being in my house throughout my childhood: a vast assortment of vinyl records and computers (which would explain my love of all things electronica). Growing up in a musical household, i have fond memories of playing along to early eagles albums with my dad, rocking out to Phil Collins' "in the air tonight" while building forts in my basement or having the constant soundtrack of James Taylor playing in the background. Before the CD player or MP3 player were prevalent, music listening was far more engaging than it is today. I used to spend hours in front of my dad's stereo playing record after record, sometimes playing along with the music on my guitars. Modern formats have lost some of that engagement as i feel we tend to let music take a background role to our everyday tasks be it in the car, at the gym, or just background noise in the house.
The second source of love of the vinyl media is the tangible essence of the recordings. Mp3's are nothing by a binary data stream, a collection of data that has no volume, no physical presence. CD collections too often dissapear in to binder catalogs, with no artwork, and minimal space requirements... A healthy vinyl addiction inevitably leads to warehousing issues (i have a whole room devoted to my collection), but when you walk past a record collection, you cannot help but notice its large and in charge status.
Fast forward to today: my personal collection started back in 2001-2002 during my DJ phase and was almost exclusively electronica. I probably have a good 10K tied up in vinyl covering a full breadth of genres such as Trance, Techno, Progressive, House, and Breaks. In 2006 i curbed my vinyl acquisitions in the hopes of completing my university degree (which i did). Recently, thanks in part to my parents gifting me with their vinyl collection for a christmas present, I have rekindled my strange disorder with fervor. My goal now is to posses the albums and singles that i consider to be landmarks of their type or ones that have personal sentimental value for me.
Some of my latest additions:
Link Wray and the Wraymen - The Rumble/The Swag 7" 45RPM Single - Cadence Records 1958
-I had to order this one from the UK as it is difficult to find and pretty rare. This single was actually banned from airplay in many parts of the US when it was originally released because even as an instrumental, it possessed that raw rebellious attitude that can almost be likened to punk rock.
Jimi Hendrix - In the West - 1972 12" LP
-While not rare, this is one of the best hendrix live LP's around.
Otis Reading - Sittin' on the dock of the bay
- This is one of the songs that would be included on my fathers greatest hits album. I can't remember a time when my dad wouldn't start playing this on his old Aria 12 string acoustic. It is still a song that we will jam with together when we get into the scotch.
I have spent a lot of time recently trying to figure out where this all started with, and why i continue to cling to a format that most of the mainstream believe to be obsolete, the hipster class don't understand, and the purists proclaim to be the only truly accurate recording medium. Sound quality arguments aside (which are moot unless you are one of the few who actually own a 6000+ dollar fully analogue hi-fi stereo system) the source of my problems come down to two things..... the familiar and the tangible. There are two things i can always remember being in my house throughout my childhood: a vast assortment of vinyl records and computers (which would explain my love of all things electronica). Growing up in a musical household, i have fond memories of playing along to early eagles albums with my dad, rocking out to Phil Collins' "in the air tonight" while building forts in my basement or having the constant soundtrack of James Taylor playing in the background. Before the CD player or MP3 player were prevalent, music listening was far more engaging than it is today. I used to spend hours in front of my dad's stereo playing record after record, sometimes playing along with the music on my guitars. Modern formats have lost some of that engagement as i feel we tend to let music take a background role to our everyday tasks be it in the car, at the gym, or just background noise in the house.
The second source of love of the vinyl media is the tangible essence of the recordings. Mp3's are nothing by a binary data stream, a collection of data that has no volume, no physical presence. CD collections too often dissapear in to binder catalogs, with no artwork, and minimal space requirements... A healthy vinyl addiction inevitably leads to warehousing issues (i have a whole room devoted to my collection), but when you walk past a record collection, you cannot help but notice its large and in charge status.
Fast forward to today: my personal collection started back in 2001-2002 during my DJ phase and was almost exclusively electronica. I probably have a good 10K tied up in vinyl covering a full breadth of genres such as Trance, Techno, Progressive, House, and Breaks. In 2006 i curbed my vinyl acquisitions in the hopes of completing my university degree (which i did). Recently, thanks in part to my parents gifting me with their vinyl collection for a christmas present, I have rekindled my strange disorder with fervor. My goal now is to posses the albums and singles that i consider to be landmarks of their type or ones that have personal sentimental value for me.
Some of my latest additions:
Link Wray and the Wraymen - The Rumble/The Swag 7" 45RPM Single - Cadence Records 1958
-I had to order this one from the UK as it is difficult to find and pretty rare. This single was actually banned from airplay in many parts of the US when it was originally released because even as an instrumental, it possessed that raw rebellious attitude that can almost be likened to punk rock.
Jimi Hendrix - In the West - 1972 12" LP
-While not rare, this is one of the best hendrix live LP's around.
Otis Reading - Sittin' on the dock of the bay
- This is one of the songs that would be included on my fathers greatest hits album. I can't remember a time when my dad wouldn't start playing this on his old Aria 12 string acoustic. It is still a song that we will jam with together when we get into the scotch.
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