Category: Media

Gear by Joe WilcoxApr 11, 20167:30 pm

MH40 Exhibitionism Edition

If you’re headed to London, or live there, the Rolling Stones have a new exhibit (opened last week) at the Saatchi Gallery. Exhibitionism will be there until early September. After which, the gala moves on to 11 other cities, including New York and Paris. Adults can expect to pay £22 (more than US $30, depending on exchange rate that day). VIP tix are £60.

The memorabilia-filled exhibit is meant to be a nostalgic look at the iconic, aging rock band, which youngest member is (cough, cough) 66. But Exhibitionism is as much about selling collectibles, one of which I can’t resist calling attention to: “special edition” MH40 headphones. I reviewed the standard set, which sound exactly the same, on March 29th.

Music by Joe WilcoxApr 11, 20164:04 pm

Tidal Teen Angst

Hashtag “perfect playlist” is my new thing—whenever I find a worthy collection. Today’s #perfectplaylist is “Sick of Myself: Teen Angst“, created by Tidal. The mix of alternative and pop punk ballads punctuates one of the reasons I stick with the music streaming service, despite the $19.99 monthly fee (that’s twice Apple Music and Google Music): Fantastic fidelity.

I am familiar with most of the 40 songs in the collection—from before subscribing to Tidal 12 months ago. The majority of the tracks sound so much better, I feel like a partially blind man gaining eyesight. (Apologies for mixing metaphor with real sense, but hey.) Some instruments I hear for the first time, booming sense of virgin listening to something thought to be known and familiar.

Photo by Joe WilcoxApr 9, 20168:24 pm

Nyokki Revisited

Ten years ago—April 6, 2006—I bought little green Nyokki for my daughter during a trip to the National Mall in Washington, D.C. Molly and I had seen it on a Japanese website weeks earlier; we […]

Events by Joe WilcoxApr 9, 20167:16 pm

My Crushing Coachella Concession

This afternoon I sold my Coachella 2016 Weekend 1 Pass to a young woman from Texas who relocated to San Diego about a year ago. Earlier in the day, she spontaneously decided to attend the music festival, responding to my Craigslist post about 10 minutes after I placed it. Disappointment goes with the pass, which I purchased during presales last June. The photo is the only shot of the kit—to accompany the ad.

The Weekend Oner was an unexpected extra. During presales, I bought a pair of Weekend Two passes for my daughter and companion, after being informed the other likely wouldn’t be available. While purchasing, I left the other browser tab open and unexpectedly got pushed through to sales with a single option: Weekend 1 with Shuttle Pass. I grabbed it, thinking to go myself.

Society by Joe WilcoxApr 6, 20165:48 pm

Don’t ‘Fall into the Gap’

The Internet outrage over the photo for a Gap Kids advertisement is rather ridiculous. The meme accuses racism, because the taller white tween rests her arm on the shorter black girl’s head. Gap was wrong to apologize and replace the pic, bowing before the will of social media bullies. They read too much into the modeling, and you shouldn’t side with their idiocy.

The posing isn’t unusual for Gap marketing, and there is at least one earlier instance where roles reversed: Black tween resting arm on the head of a white girl, as filmmaker Matthew A. Cherry tweets with question: “Does the @GapKids pic on the left make the pic on the right okay? Let’s debate”. The answer is immaterial, because motivation and meaning are assigned, in conspiratorial fashion. I look at the pic and could, purely for contrarian perspective’s sake, assign equally-outrageous interpretation.

Photo by Joe WilcoxApr 6, 20166:01 am

Bubba’s Buddy

Four days after I buried poor little Bubba baby bunny in our backyard, another appeared. The rabbit would be the second sighted and photographed in June 2006—this one on the 8th and the other the 25th; perhaps they were one and the same.

There was something poignant about the bunny’s appearance, and, coincidentally or not, he cross the grass across Bubba’s grave. Last month, I discovered the portrait, one of a half-dozen, stored on a decade-old DVD backup. I captured the moment using Nikon D200. Vitals: f/5.6, ISO 400, 1/40 sec, 200mm.

New Media by Joe WilcoxApr 3, 20167:19 pm

Introducing the Frak That! Podcast

Yesterday, I posted the sixth episode, “Ode to Obesity“, in a burgeoning effort at podcasting, with journalist colleague Randall Kennedy. We quietly started releasing one-hour segments over Easter weekend at SounCcloud. We’re perfecting the model, and I gladly welcome feedback on making it better. For now, we prattle about anything and everything, and I concede that between us he is the talent.

I introduced you to Frak That! three months ago. The website largely collects our tweets, and you can find us on Twitter @frak_that. From the start, we planned the podcast to be the centerpiece of our endeavor, with the social network and branded site as supports. Everything is simply done, purposely so. Production is minimal, to diminish distractions to the content.

Music by Joe WilcoxApr 1, 201610:02 pm

I’m No Fool About Tidal

Today is my first-year anniversary subscribing to Tidal, which relaunched April 1, 2015, under new ownership of Jay Z. I love and loathe the music streaming service, which I cancelled at least five times and always renewed—typically before the billing cycle ticked over. But checking archived emails, I see that my sub completely expired thrice but not since July.

Gotta ask: What fool starts a business on April Fools, and what does the day foreshadow; if anything? Apple did it, 40 years ago today. Many commentators have called Jay Z the fool for buying Tidal, which competes against established players like Spotify and newcomer Apple Music. The service claimed to have 540,000 subscribers when acquired last year. This week, Tidal revealed globally there are now 3 million subscribers. Someone correct my math—456 percent increase, right? If Jay Z’s the fool, gimme some of that foolishness.

Gear by Joe WilcoxMar 31, 20169:13 pm

Look What Happened to My Grados

My beloved wired headphones quite literally fell apart the other day. I’m aghast, because these cans are treated lovingly; never rough-housed. I don’t exaggerate explaining that the left earcup fell off the the headband’s metal strip. I couldn’t understand what happened, initially. I can slip the thing back together, but the fit’s imperfect.

I used my birthday money and sales of some other gear to buy the Grado Labs RS1e in July 2014. The open-air design and 50mm driver deliver fantastic soundstage that is best of class at almost any price. They look good, too, or mine did until the earcup separation maneuver. I still use them but will contact Grado about a fix. Replacement? Absolutely not! They’re broken in, and I am accustomed to their sound. Repair is good.

Gear by Joe WilcoxMar 29, 20161:55 pm

Master & Dynamic MH40 are Great Cans

Newcomer is the only way to describe Master & Dynamic, which on Dec. 31, 2015 completed its first full year of revenue. Young or not, its audio gear is vintage and refined. Wanna see? You can find the MH40 headphones, which look like something World War II bomber pilots would wear, inside any Apple Store. Distribution partnership of that caliber from a near start-up says much about M&D earphones and headphones—design, price, and sound.

The signature sound is full, which is atypical in a market where booming bass ranks among headphone buyers’ top priorities. But for those listeners who delight in the faintest tap of the symbol, warmest treble, and deep lows that reveal details rather than thump, thump, Master & Dynamic delivers. For Christmas I bought the company’s MW60 wireless headphones, which I will review soon. Today’s topic is the MH40, which are wired.

Photo by Joe WilcoxMar 27, 20161:52 pm

Backyard Bunny, Too

This past week I made a discovery while checking decade-old back-up DVDs: Not all the 2005-06 wild bunny photos shot in my Kensington, Md. backyard are lost. It’s an incomplete set, and the best images are still missing; presumed gone forever.

On the afternoon of June 10, 2005, I stepped out onto the deck overlooking the backyard and spotted a young rabbit in the grass. I fetched the Nikon D70 mounted with Nikkor 70mm-300mm lens and started shooting. I worked my way down the stairs onto the grass and slowly approached the rabbit, closing quite the distance before it cautiously moved away.

Society by Joe WilcoxMar 25, 20162:50 pm

Jesus Christ Superstar

Soundtrack for my life this Good Friday is the rock opera written by Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice. Track “Superstar” released as a single in October 1969 and the entire album on Oct. 27, 1970. The first stage musical production followed the next year and a film in 1973. Jesus Christ Superstar was a phenom, benefitting from timing.

JCS arrived at the peak of the Jesus Movement spreading across North America to Europe. Jesus People riding in brightly, multi-colored painted buses remains a stereotypical icon of the era. June 21, 2971 Time magazine celebrated the “Jesus Generation”. Like other Baby Boomers, these young people sought love and change but by getting high from shared spirituality rather than sex and drugs.