Copper

Rocky Mountain Audio Fest 2018 Part 1

The biggest news of the 2018 Rocky Mountain Audio Fest was, oddly, about the 2019 Rocky Mountain Audio Fest. After 15 years at the Denver Marriott Tech Center, the show... Read more...

Medieval Spanish Chant

When I learned there was a new recording of music from the medieval manuscript called the Codex Las Huelgas, I thought it would be fun to compare it to a few other recent recordings. That gives you a good idea of how my medievalist brain functions: I automatically assumed there would be several others. Once I thought about it reasonably, I was amazed that three recordings have been produced in the last two years. A codex is always a treasure trove for historians. The term refers to a manuscript made up... Read more...

Monterey Auto Week Part 2

[We began Rich’s tale of Auto Week in Copper #69, and reluctantly conclude it here. Many thanks to Rich for allowing us non-gazillionaires to dream, if only for a little while—Ed.] While Werks is... Read more...

Sabotage

Okay…so, in this edition’s piece, I am going to go out on a bit of a limb. I am fairly confident that most of you will have, at best, a derisory opinion of The Beastie Boys and their music. You’d be wrong. You can certainly NOT be particularly fond of the three chaps from New York, and their output, but you should DEFINITELY respect what they did. It’s as ground-breaking as anything else that has, well, broken new ground. The Beasties (as they are known to fans), started in Brooklyn,... Read more...

Tracy Chapman

Some pop stars wear the glamour of fame and fortune, like a suit they’ve longed to try on since they first picked up a guitar or a mic. Keeping the garb of stardom on their backs becomes their primary musical goal. And then there’s Tracy Chapman. She hit the big time on a fluke, and doesn’t seem to care that the industry tired of her when she wouldn’t be exactly what they wanted. When executives at Elektra heard a demo of her acoustic song “Talkin’ ʼbout a Revolution” in 1987... Read more...

50 Ways to Read a Record Part 5

In our last installment, we saw the beginning of the transition from monaural records to single-groove stereo records. Even today, software changes often require similar changes in hardware— we’ve discussed how the change... Read more...

Suicide

As I age, I become aware of my mortality. My wife and I have talked about what to do if one of us becomes brain dead. I want her to pull the plug; she wants to keep on living just in case there is a cure. Most people avoid talk of end of life arrangements, but I think we need to accept it as a fact of life. Two people I’ve known have felt the same way. One. After a walking trip in Burgundy, I decided to visit the factory... Read more...

Radio R-E-S-P-E-C-T

Aretha Franklin (and all recording artists) get no “R-E-S-P-E-C-T” in regards to being paid to have their songs played on the radio. Aretha Franklin has never been paid for the 7.4 million times the song “Respect” has been played on commercial radio. Here’s the surprising reason why: The history of recording artists being ripped off by crooked managers, agents, and record labels are legendary. It seems that every VH1 Behind the Music is the same story. Artists starve in the early stages of their career, suddenly have a hit record, become rich... Read more...

Hearing Bach

Among the most-played and -recorded of J. S. Bach’s instrumental works are his six Sonatas and Partitas for solo violin and six Suites for solo cello. They have acquired a reputation for being quite difficult to perform and “hear,” i.e., listen to with intent. That sounds like something illegal in four or five states, but it isn’t. Right now, we have a special chance to discover—or rediscover!—the joy of listening with intent. Three recent recordings of the Cello Suites offer distinctly different roads to hearing-and-understanding. (All are available as high-res downloads, incidentally.) Only one comes from a... Read more...

Snow Comes; Snow Goes

Welcome to Copper #70! The Rocky Mountain Audio Fest took place October 5-7, and as is often the case, we had our first snow shortly thereafter. Just a few days later, temps are back... Read more...

Glossolalia

If you don’t know the meaning of the babbling brook of a word above, don’t feel bad. I deliberately chose an obscure word in order to make a point—here’s the definition: ɡläsəˈlālēə (noun):the phenomenon of (apparently) speaking in an unknown language, especially in religious worship. When you hear words or other sounds that you can’t understand, you focus upon what? The sound, of course. You try to interpret the sounds based upon your lifetime of experience, searching for familiar patterns, roots, or—sounds. You try to make sense out of nonsense. Take our title: if... Read more...

Radio R-E-S-P-E-C-T

Aretha Franklin (and all recording artists) get no “R-E-S-P-E-C-T” in regards to being paid to have their songs played on the radio. Aretha Franklin has never been paid for the 7.4 million times the song “Respect” has been played on commercial radio. Here’s the surprising reason why: The history of recording artists being ripped off by crooked managers, agents, and record labels are legendary. It seems that every VH1 Behind the Music is the same story. Artists starve in the early stages of their career, suddenly have a hit record,... Read more...

Oh, I Bumped Into Elton John Today...

Actually, it was in 2002, but that’s okay. I was in LA on business for a week, and found myself in Beverly Hills one evening, strolling along Rodeo Drive (as one does…). It was a beautiful, warm and sunny, early spring evening, and I was just taking in the sights, hoping to work up a pre-supper appetite. At one point on the sidewalk I came upon a large knot of glamorous-looking types, apparently waiting idly to get into a night club. I didn’t want to be pushing my way through,... Read more...

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