Mailbag

Subject: Re: The New James McMurtry Album

Hey Bob
Thanks so much for giving James new record Horses and the Hounds some love.
I am very proud of it.
James is more than an artist I have worked with since the beginning, he is a close friend.
For me the work is the reward particularly when working with friends.
This is why I brought in David Grissom on guitar along with Charlie Sexton and had Kenny Aronoff on percussion along with other close pals.
We all go back together and it made making this record a really special one in the midst of challenging times.

James is a wordsmith and one of America's finest songwriters.
My mission in the production was to frame James also as a fine singer/storyteller.
I feel this batch of songs holds up to the best of any,
Thanks again for shining a little light.
We appreciate it.

all the best
Ross Hogarth

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Subject: Re: The New James McMurtry Album

Hey Bob,

I was James' TM/FOH when he toured "Where'd You Hide the Body" his last release on Columbia.

James is a heavy hitter as a lyricist, of that there is no doubt.

Touring with James was an education…

We toured in a faded green van he bought used from the INS motor pool. There was a dark green circle on each door where the immigration logo had been, before it was scraped off, and the roof occasionally leaked. James took out the two back seats and had a cage welded in so we could stack gear all the way to the ceiling in the back. When we got hotels, I roomed with James. We also crashed on a lot of couches… Couches of people like Ken Kesey and once at his Dad's place in Archer City.

There were just four of us. James on guitar, plus Ronny and Ron. Ronny on bass and Ron on drums. I handled TM, FOH, and Merch. We toured the living daylights out of that record, opening for Nancy Griffith and Joan Baez and playing headline shows at venues like the Cat's Cradle in Carrboro.

I remember the day James was dropped from Columbia records (At least my memory of it.) We had been at Sony that very day… We went up to the sky lobby, got ushered into Kid Leo's office to admire his view of Central Park, and allowed to raid the CD closet. No indication they were about to drop him - it was all smiles while we were there. We had a show at Tramps that night opening for Joe Ely. I think it was just after our set that James got word from his manager, Mark Specter, that he had been dropped.

James didn't show a ton of outward emotion. He took the news in stride and we kept touring. It was during that same run that Sugar Hill records came out to a gig to see him and they ended up signing him not long after that.

My total time with James and the road was maybe 18 months. I have an inordinate amount of road stories for being with him for such a short time… I learned a ton about the biz while touring with him, and it had an impact on me and my career that reverberates to this day.

Cheers,
Eric

Eric Frankhouser
Tour Manager
Wilco/Jeff Tweedy

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Subject: Re: 48 vs. 192

Hi Bob,

Thank you for the great piece. Glad you could hear the difference lossless audio provides over much lower bit rate lossy streams. These lossy streams are typically 256 - 320 kB/s or approximately one fifth the data of a CD which is 1.4mb/s or 1400kb/s. The CD is 44.1/16 bit.

Leslie Ann-Jones & I co-chaired the Next Gen Audio committee for the The Recording Academy Producers & Engineers Wing. We worked for six years with record companies, RIAA, DEG and many engineer/producers which yielded the agreement on High Resolution Audio standards (RIAA) having a minimum of 48k/24 bits. This coincides with Apples "Made For iTunes" white paper created several years ago.

192K/24 bit is nice. However, it's important to point out that the real sweet spot for audio production is at 96K/24 bit which is more than twice the CD resolution. We still struggle to get massive adoption but it's getting there.

A lot of material available on streaming services is available at 192k with a greater amount at 96K. They both sound great.

Just wanted to share these tech details.

Phil Wagner
Solid State Logic

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From: John Boylan
Subject: RE: 48 vs. 192

Hi Bob,

I am beyond excited that you wrote this piece - in my mind it's transformative! I sincerely hope that everyone picks up on how you clarify the problems with Bluetooth, and how you describe your experience hearing the Led Zeppelin music and being IN IT!

As you know, I have been pushing hi-res digital audio for a good many years, browbeating you and everyone who would listen about it. Many of my colleagues have also been on the forefront. Now that we have enough internet bandwidth to support streaming 24-bit/192k audio with a lossless compressions scheme, it's available to everyone who wants it. It's not beyond imagining that people will want to pay a little more to get a good Digital-To-Analog converter with a headphone amplifier in it - decent models start at around $200, with pro level models at around $500. I have a Lynx Hilo. Add a pair of great headphones and that's really all you need. If you want to add great speakers, fine, but not absolutely necessary.

The ear-opening tracks that got me hooked on 24-bit, 192k years ago were: "You Can Call Me Al" by Paul Simon, anything from "Kind of Blue" by Miles Davis, "God Only Knows" from the hi-res mix of Pet Sounds, and, lately, the hi-res re-mix of Sgt. Pepper that Giles Martin did. I urge everyone to listen to those tracks and compare.

My listening for pleasure now consists solely of either vinyl or hi-res digital. I hope everyone gets on board.

Thanks for a great piece!

Best,
JB

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From: Jeff Lorber
Subject: 48 vs 96

i've been recording at 96K since 2005.
When I first switched I felt like all of a sudden the music was on a much
bigger canvas.. it was pretty dramatic.
JL

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Subject: 48 vs 96

Of course it's better and you can hear it. There is the naysayer chorus and it's because they do ABX testing and can't reliably hear differences but that's not how we consume music. How you experienced it is how we listen to music and you can hear it.

Michael Fremer

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From: Craig Anderton
Subject: Re: 48 vs. 192

Bob, there are a zillion variables, it's not just sampling rate. Some DACs have "sweet spots" and perform optimally at some sampling rates, but not others. A lot depends on the filter topology the DAC manufacturer chose. The "glue" - the components surrounding the DAC - make a difference too, as do the component tolerances.

When I upgraded to new DACs, everything in my studio sounded better, even when keeping the same sampling rate. I'm still waiting for a double-blind test where someone who listens to material recorded at 96 or 192, and played back at 48, 96, or 192, can identify consistently (more than chance) which is the higher sample rate.

Where high sample rates really make an obvious, "everyone-can-tell-100%-of-the-time" difference is with sounds of virtual instruments, amp sims, and limiters created "in the box." Inside a computer, there's no limit placed on the signals they generate, unless the software's designers factored that in (which is happening more and more). These signals can create harmonics that interfere with the clock frequency, and cause a particular type of distortion (foldover distortion). So material recorded at 96 kHz can definitely sound different, and at least to my ears, better than the same material recorded at 44.1 or 48 if certain virtual instruments are involved. Not all software exhibits this phenomenon by any means, it depends on multiple variables. It doesn't happen with acoustic or electric instruments arriving into the computer via an audio interface, which inherently limits the bandwidth anyway.

But...when I demo this difference at seminars, it's surprising how many people prefer the sound with the foldover distortion compared to the accurately reproduced sound. Go figure.

If something was mastered at 192 kHz, and in-the-box limiting was used, then the limiter might respond more accurately compared to the same material mastered at 44.1 or 48 kHz. But in theory, you could downsample the material mastered at 192 kHz, and it would sound the same, because the correct transient response would have been "baked into" the audio, which ultimately is in the audio range.

That's what I've found so far, but I'm always open to new data. I used to think 96 kHz didn't make a difference, because I engineered every classical music session at 96 kHz, and no one could tell the difference between the 96 kHz master and the CD. But that was before I found about what can happen with virtual instruments and computer-based plug-ins.

Craig

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From: Dave Logan
Subject: Re: Donda

I met a couple from Detroit who bailed on their family vacation in Tennessee to fly here to Chicago for one night to attend Kanye's Donda event at Soldier Field.

"We're big Kanye fans," said the guy.

When I inquired about the listening party, they started by complaining it was scheduled to begin at 9pm but didn't get underway until 11:30pm. "And," he added, "there wasn't much merch either. The only thing I saw was a black t-shirt for $150… and there was line."

How was the album?

"It was OK," he answered.

The more we talked, the more he seemed intrigued by the event itself, followed by his desire to score some special swag. Kanye's music/performance didn't seem to be the most compelling part of his night, perhaps because he'd already sampled some of it online. Clearly, he and his wife were there for the event. That's Kanye selling the sizzle instead of the steak, something he's very good at.

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From: David Fearon
Subject: Re: It's A Team Sport

Hi Bob
You are correct about record stores stock levels. I owned a store in New Zealand and as a small store I had to be selective. We are a small market and part of the problem was that the record companies catalogue was also pretty limited.
Until Spotify a lot of this music has never been seen !
Dave

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Subject: Re: Covid-19

My cousin's 24 year old son was taken by Covid yesterday. He has a 5 year old daughter. He didn't wear a mask I'm sure he thought he had youth on his side. He fought for 10 days. At this very moment 5 friends and three relatives are being ravished by 'fake' flu. I have to take immune suppressing meds to keep my RA at bay so I have had both vaccines and a booster. Not enough is known about the disease to be certain about anything having to so with it, but if I can prevent myself and even just one other person from getting sick by wearing a mask I'm all over it. The anti vaccine and anti mask people are selfish.

Lisa Gregory

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Subject: Re: Covid-19

How about this. Last Tuesday I went to the US open. Two days before the event, an email came in saying you need to show proof of vaccination in order to attend. On Monday, the lines were up to 2 hours long to get in to see tennis. So they made some changes for Tuesday. When we were walking towards the security checkpoint, we were asked to get out our proof of vaccination. I walk up with my ID and a copy of my vax card, and before they had a chance to read it, they said okay, good. Basically, it was all for show. If you walked up with anything looking like proof, they would just have waived you in.

Jared Polin

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Subject: Re: Covid-19

Hello Bob.

I read your latest rant from the French Riviera where we made it right before the EU banned US passports from entering. You are spot on!
We have not been to a single museum, bakery, outdoor restaurant (only choosing restaurants we can dip our toes in the Mediterranean!), live music cafés, supermarkets, antique shops etc… without being CARDED for our Pass Sanitaire (health passport) which has been embraced by most recalcitrant French people. Populist leaders in neighboring Italy have as well(!). Who would have thought French and Italians would be FOLLOWING orders from the government… 68% vaccinated last time I checked. Don't believe the loud mouthed Yellow Vests. No one here is on their side and they are but a defunct movement.
See, Europeans value more their freedom to Culture, healthy food, , sipping espresso on a crowded café terrace, Dolce Vitta etc. than their disdain for orders.
We have been here 2 weeks, hardly noticing there is a pandemic raging, except for having to show our Covid vaccination document every time we want to go somewhere and having to wear a mask indoors only, small inconvenience.
First time EVER Europeans are watching us not with Envy, but with sadness, concern and consternation.

Respectfully.

Philippe SAISSE

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Subject: Re: Covid-19

Bob,

Thanks for being real about this whole thing, as always. I'm tired of people who don't want to do their part bloviating about their individual freedoms while their parents and friends are dying alone in a hospital bed.

A friend I've had for over a decade passed away a couple weeks back from COVID. He was a libertarian and told me that he wouldn't be getting the vaccine (this was before it was even available/tested). He died at 44 years old, and at the funeral, one of the speakers mentioned that my friend was "not a fan of vaccines or masks, was staunchly against any translation of the Bible besides the King James, yet there are people here who disagree with him on all of those things. That's a testament to how loyal he was, even with people he had disagreements".

The fact that my buddy, who was obviously wrong about vaccines, is getting accolades for it at his own funeral (albeit in a roundabout way) was hard for me to watch.

Thanks as always,
Adam Sliger

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Subject: Arizona #7 death rate

Hi Bob,

AZ is at 261 deaths per 100k population

California is at 168

So you are doing something right

Here the Governor ( with 18,999 deaths to his record )

Uses the public purse- Federal dollars- to reward those who care not for public health

https://www.abc15.com/news/state/arizona-interest-in-anti-mask-school-vouchers-outpaces-funds

" private school vouchers to students whose parents object to school mask requirements has seen a surge of applications."

He's also announced $60,000,000 for hospital who use certain medications post infection, to "ease pressure on staff"

yet masks are illegal in schools, universities and "publicly funded facilities" which would describe the arenas, stadiums and city arts/concert halls

Cheers, Mike K.

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Subject: Re: Covid in the Classroom

Hi Bob,

I couldn't do it anymore…and then, the stars crossed, leaving me a lucky break; and I took it.

I had been teaching in a district protesting masks, some claiming vaccines are child abuse.

One parent called me a douchbag for teaching Elie Wiesel's Holocausts memoir last spring. "Everyone knows he made that shit up," says the parent whose kids rarely attended school during the pandemic. (I called home to offer help. They swore at me.)

Once, admin called me into the office for having students read an article about the pandemic in Greek mythology, comparing to the myth's pandemics. "Did you tell students never to leave their houses?" How does one respond to lies when there is no objectivity?

Then, the parent groups started submitting FOIAs on the teachers! Why? To find out if we are ruining the curriculum, curriculum that hasn't changed in ten years! A poem was scary?

Well, language is a virus, but I'm sure few adults at the board meetings have read the author who coined the phrase, nor the biography on Emmitt Till we taught—since it's been a required text before I was hired.

Facts won't stop opinions. Instead, they shift and get irate that the author capitalized B in Black…

I wasn't sure how to go back into a classroom this year—a classroom with no mask wearing of even the staff now, no windows, 36 butts in desks two feet apart—when my little kids at home can't get vaccinated yet. I logically know my kids have a low chance for hospitalization, but how would my wife, self employed, handle their or her sickness, ten days of quarantine, etc? It's not only health, it's the interruption, with no family help. We barely got through last year.

Plus, I have longhaulers in my family.

But then, seven days before school started, I received a job offer from that blue bubble of Ann Arbor. I took it!

I'm running the marathon at a sprint to be teaching in a new school, for we are wearing masks, holding class outside many times, breathing air from upgraded HVACs, and most of us are vaccinated. It's not perfect. I don't know what the variants hold for us.

Mike Vial

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Subject: COVID HYPOCRISY

The ultimate in hypocrisy:

I know you're not a big sports fan, other than being a large skiing enthusiast, so you likely aren't aware that the college football season has just begun. Last night there was a 3-hr. delay to the start of the game between Boise State and the University of Central Florida from Orlando due to lightning in the area. Administrators ordered the stadium cleared, a safe and prudent precautionary measure.

When the game ultimately began there seemingly wasn't a soul in the stands wearing a mask, nor were fans socially distanced from one another.

While the chance of getting struck by lightning is probably infinitesimal, that didn't stop admin from clearing the stadium; a smart, precautionary measure. On the other hand, the chance of getting COVID in a packed and unmasked stadium, a "super spreader" if there ever was one, is probably reasonably high, though any attempt at masking or social distancing in FL is fundamentally a non-starter. Theater of the absurd.

The only thing missing from all of this is someone didn't say, "Wait a minute, isn't it my G-given right to be struck by lightning?"

Stuart K. Marvin


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