Category: Music

Web by Joe WilcoxApr 2, 20155:06 pm

A Tidal Wave Approaches

Fraking fantastic is my reaction to Tidal’s high-def audio.. I spent much of April Fools’ Day testing, and quite enjoying, the music service, although I am skeptical that most streaming subsctibers will care—not for $19.95 per month. Still, I see hope for the 10-buck standard quality other option if Tidal delivers enough artist exclusives and superior curation. The iTunes hegemony, and Apple’s rapidly evolving Beats Music acquisition, is all about content, much of it available nowhere else, better presented, and more easily discovered. With musicians” support, and unique content with it, maybe, just maybe, a Tidal wave approaches.

The service essentially relaunched on March 31, 2015, with a gala event hosted by Jay Z and other music superstars. He acquired Tidal, for $56 million two months earlier, but the lossless streaming service launched in October 2014. Architecture, audio quality, two-tier pricing, and streaming are essentially unchanged. New owners’ commitment, that of other artists, big marketing push, and 30-day trial distinguish Tidal today.

Photo by Joe WilcoxApr 2, 20157:17 am

Flickr a Day 92: ‘Fuco’

Contrasts distinguish the style of photographer Stefano Bassetti. The nuances are many, such as areas of light and dark, several subjects’ position in the composition, or, with today’s selection, how beautiful bokeh draws the eyes. […]

Photo by Joe WilcoxMar 26, 20157:27 am

Flickr a Day 85: ‘Pioggia di Note’

Defining the photographic style of Davide Gabino is easy. Imitating it requires a discerning eye for composition with perspective. He presents point of view that draws the eye, often from foreground to background—or visa versa. […]

Gear by Joe WilcoxMar 15, 20154:01 pm

The Grados Prayer in C

While no geek, I still appreciate good tech. Nexus 6 and Grado Labs RS1e headphones are two of my four best acquisitions made since summer 2014, and both will be reviewed—ah, someday soon. The others: Fujifilm X100T used to take the above photo and Chromebook Pixel LS received two days ago.

Too often, the measure of quality cans is classical music. Bah! Modern headphones should encompass a complete tonal range—not just the highs of the great dead composers’ violins or the lows from the thumping bass preferred by the Beats generation. Fullness and roundness are exactly what the RS1e deliver to my aging ears. Today, I listened to a song surprisingly showing the headphones’ tonality, streamed from Google Music to, yeah, the N6.

Storytelling by Joe WilcoxFeb 22, 201511:05 am

Road to Jericho

Spring 1985 in Washington, D.C., the cherry blossoms adorned the streets. I was 25, feeling virile and wanting to write something different. My lyrics typically tell tales of women, which interest me as a heterosexual man. By contrast, “Road to Jericho” is the hero’s story—man fighting against other men and weakness within himself.

I am no scholar of Old Testament stories but admit with some certainty that the tale this song tells isn’t in the Biblical record. Being unfamiliar with the historical period when writing 30 years ago, armaments aren’t right either. So I take poetic license, for which I ask your pardon if someone of Faith.

Critters by Joe WilcoxFeb 14, 201510:20 am

Cries by Day, Cries by Night

For Valentine’s Day, I present a sad song of lost love written in early 1979. Lyrics are same, but I made an alternative melody in 2014 that is lighter than the original’s more somber tone.

I wrote this song back in my cat-despising youth. If you asked why, I could present no answer for the attitude. Regardless, it is what inspired the verse, to which I soon after put to melody. I knew little about romantic love and nothing about loss then.

“Cries by Day, Cries by Night” is the fifth lyric posted since the new year. The others: “Dank Deep Eyes the Darkness“, “Disco Queen“, “Empire State“, and “Surrealistic Pillow“. More will follow.

Storytelling by Joe WilcoxFeb 9, 20156:56 pm

Dank Deep Eyes the Darkness

Some days creativity is like the California drought. I sit down to write, and no rain falls. But wanting to post something, I reach into my personal, secret archive of treasures, which for 2015 opens publicly. Sporadically, over the past six weeks, I posted lyrics to three songs: “Disco Queen“, “Empire State“, and “Surrealistic Pillow“—all written in the late 1970s. Today’s contribution is quite a bit newer but still not recent: March 27, 2004, finished at 12:30 a.m. ET. Others lyrics will follow over the months ahead.

This verse stands without melody and, honestly, lacks reading rhythm that would make a good song. Like most of my lyrics, the subject is a young woman—no one I know, and from none inspired. The only inspiration here is the dusty basement office where I worked, where unwelcome late-night pests came out of hiding.

Apple by Joe WilcoxFeb 2, 201510:52 am

Nexus 6 delights the Ears

Compressed audio gives up so much, I am surprised by the fidelity Nexus 6 gives back. Shocked is better word. I ordered the smartphone from T-Mobile on January 21 and received it the following day. As I will explain in my forthcoming review—tentatively planned as an “I love you” post on BetaNews (and here), Nexus 6 is amazing. I haven’t enjoyed using a handset this much in years. The overall user experience is spectacular.

My audio expectations were modest, when first connecting my Grado Labs Rs1e headphones and streaming from Google Music. Soundstage and detail exceed streaming from iTunes to iPhone 6, or—I do not lie—listening to music stored on MacBook Pro SSD. The differences in detail are shockingly apparent. On all three devices, graphic equalizer is not enabled.

Music by Joe WilcoxJan 25, 201511:15 am

Disco Queen

Following up sharing lyrics to my songs “Empire State” and “Surrealistic Pillow” is another from my more prolific lyrical writing youth—before prose became my profession. I wrote the first verse and melody some time in 1978. The Disco Queen refers to Donna Summer, who suggestively moaned in her hit song “Love to Love You Baby”, which released three years earlier and reached No. 2 on Billboard in 1976.

I tend to write lyrics in complete form, but words with melodies often start out and languish. I didn’t come back to finish “Disco Queen” until November 2003. In posting today, I remove the third stanza and ask commentary about whether or not to keep it.

Photo by Joe WilcoxJan 16, 20157:08 am

Flickr a Day 16: The Darlingtons

Today’s pic is such startling contrasts that two universes stitch to produce the scene depicted in this other-worldly concert photo shot by Jason Parrish, on July 13, 2014. Look at how the bright, partly cloudy sky meets the canopied stage like mistaken halves forming a misbegotten whole. Then there is the people contrast—the crowd of oldsters moshing before the three young musicians.

Judging by the blue-and-white football—eh, soccer to Americans—jerseys, they are parents to the few kids low down to the stage and fans of the Sheffield Wednesday Football Club. Jason shot the photo at Owls in the Park, Sheffield, United Kingdom. So there you go. In another universe, The Darlingtons still play together. But in this one, the foursome broke up about three weeks after the performance.

People by Joe WilcoxJan 12, 20156:52 am

Flickr a Day 12: Tribos Bar

Tight describes the playing of great rock bands. It also applies to the photos Alvaro Sasaki takes of them—in Brazilian clubs, cafés, and bars, where getting the shot means close quarters, big crowds, and hostile lighting. His best photos pull you into the performance. You can taste the sweat in the room, breathe perfume and liquor, and tremble to the vibration of music and stomping of the crowd.

The image above isn’t my first choice but the second, and I started with an unusually large initial selection—about a dozen, which is the most for any photographer in the Flickr-a-Day series. Alvaro’s musician performance pics are that good. I chose the audience shot because of the entire album set—Mestre Ouriço @ Tribos bar; 26 photos.

Music by Joe WilcoxJan 6, 20152:31 pm

Surrealistic Pillow

I am quite possessive about my songs, in part because lyrics and singing are natural, but playing musical instruments is not. Posting “Empire State” and now “Surrealistic Pillow” is an exposing experience. But since both will be part of forthcoming serialized vampire thriller My Blood, now is as good a time as any to share them. Coincidentally, this one, like the other, is 1979 vintage.

Every lyric tells a story, but “Surrealistic Pillow” has one, too.