Music and Groups
Here are some of my favorite groups:
(The photo links don't work yet)
Gandalf Murphy and the Slambovian Circus of Dreams (named the website after them)
September 2007 at the Strawberry Park Festival
October 2007 at The Linda, Albany NY
February 2008 in Brattleboro VT
April 2008 in Irvington NY
September 2008 Colorscape Festival
The Kennedys
August 2007 at Lake Placid NY
September 2007 at the Strawberry Park Festival
September 2008 Colorscape Festival
August 2009 Wachusett Valley Folk Festival
Red Molly
July 2007 at the CanalFest
January 2008 concert photos at The Linda, Albany NY
Vance Gilbert
September 2008 Colorscape Festival
Great Big Sea
Everyone (and I mean *everyone*) in Canada knows them. They do a great mix of traditional sea faring songs with a very modern flavor. I’ve been lucky to see them in some smaller venues down here but they play to HUGE crowds up north.
Eddie From Ohio
OK, Eddie is from Virginia. The lead singer is Julie Murphy-Wells and she is outrageously great. They do mostly their own material and blend very well together. They have great energy and are great to see live. Did I mention I think they are great?
Some thoughts on music
It is easy to enjoy religious music without carrying the baggage. I love chants, Bach, and many of the carols.Pentatonix Mary Did You Know is breathtaking for secular reasons. There is also a warm spirituality to hearing choral music in a church. Or gospel. Or rock - Godspell, JC Superstar and a lot of other rock from the 70's was religious. I learned the Lord's Prayer when it was released as a single (not kidding).
High End Audio Equipment
First, I would say that the article is true for consumer and maybe prosumer equipment, and valid for most people. I think that there are a number of people who have both the physical capability of resolving minute differences in sound and have trained themselves to make that differentiation. They have 'golden ears' the same way there are people who can smell better, taste better (no, not to cannibals) or see color better than others. However, the vast majority of the people buying very high end equipment are just wannabees. Think about wine snobs. There are the real, educated wine connoisseurs but for every bottle they buy, 100 wannabees buy stuff by reputation, cost or snob appeal. All that being said, I am skeptical about $1700 cables, better power cords, green rings around CDs.
For me, Bose has always been innovative, impressive for the size and a bit too over-hyped. If you have the room, you can get better sound. If you want small excellent sound with some hipster factor, Bose are it. And no, you cannot have my Klipsch speakers.
Back with turntables and pricey quality electronics, the rule of thumb was to spend half your money on speakers. Now that a competent receiver is pretty cheap and many system are integrated into the TV system, speakers systems are 5.1 or more, it is probably more like 75%+ on speakers. Or buy used speakers and spend the extra money on something else.
(The photo links don't work yet)
Gandalf Murphy and the Slambovian Circus of Dreams (named the website after them)
September 2007 at the Strawberry Park Festival
October 2007 at The Linda, Albany NY
February 2008 in Brattleboro VT
April 2008 in Irvington NY
September 2008 Colorscape Festival
The Kennedys
August 2007 at Lake Placid NY
September 2007 at the Strawberry Park Festival
September 2008 Colorscape Festival
August 2009 Wachusett Valley Folk Festival
Red Molly
July 2007 at the CanalFest
January 2008 concert photos at The Linda, Albany NY
Vance Gilbert
September 2008 Colorscape Festival
Great Big Sea
Everyone (and I mean *everyone*) in Canada knows them. They do a great mix of traditional sea faring songs with a very modern flavor. I’ve been lucky to see them in some smaller venues down here but they play to HUGE crowds up north.
Eddie From Ohio
OK, Eddie is from Virginia. The lead singer is Julie Murphy-Wells and she is outrageously great. They do mostly their own material and blend very well together. They have great energy and are great to see live. Did I mention I think they are great?
Some thoughts on music
It is easy to enjoy religious music without carrying the baggage. I love chants, Bach, and many of the carols.Pentatonix Mary Did You Know is breathtaking for secular reasons. There is also a warm spirituality to hearing choral music in a church. Or gospel. Or rock - Godspell, JC Superstar and a lot of other rock from the 70's was religious. I learned the Lord's Prayer when it was released as a single (not kidding).
High End Audio Equipment
First, I would say that the article is true for consumer and maybe prosumer equipment, and valid for most people. I think that there are a number of people who have both the physical capability of resolving minute differences in sound and have trained themselves to make that differentiation. They have 'golden ears' the same way there are people who can smell better, taste better (no, not to cannibals) or see color better than others. However, the vast majority of the people buying very high end equipment are just wannabees. Think about wine snobs. There are the real, educated wine connoisseurs but for every bottle they buy, 100 wannabees buy stuff by reputation, cost or snob appeal. All that being said, I am skeptical about $1700 cables, better power cords, green rings around CDs.
For me, Bose has always been innovative, impressive for the size and a bit too over-hyped. If you have the room, you can get better sound. If you want small excellent sound with some hipster factor, Bose are it. And no, you cannot have my Klipsch speakers.
Back with turntables and pricey quality electronics, the rule of thumb was to spend half your money on speakers. Now that a competent receiver is pretty cheap and many system are integrated into the TV system, speakers systems are 5.1 or more, it is probably more like 75%+ on speakers. Or buy used speakers and spend the extra money on something else.