Mega Music Talent

Archive for the ‘Music’ Category

Ahhh, the sweet sound of a vinyl record playing your favorite music. Some say that there is no better way to listen to their music. Yes, vinyl records have made a triumphant return to the music arena, with sales over the last few years on a steady increase.

However, opponents of the format may point to the delicate nature of vinyl, records do require due diligence and upkeep in order to keep them sounding their best. But if you maintain a vigilant ritual, vinyl records can last many decades, so the records that you own right now can conceivably be passed down through generations of music lovers. And the bonus for properly maintaining your records is enjoying a crisp, clear playback each time you spin your turntable.

Let’s explore some relatively easy ways to properly care and maintain vinyl records so they can be listened to and enjoyed and also to help preserve their resale value for years to come:

Never touch the grooves

When handling records, treat them with loving care, hold them with two hands around the outer edges of the record; never allowing your fingers to touch the grooves. A simple method to alleviate this potential problem area would be to invest in some disposable plastic gloves, like the ones used in food preparation. Then, one can easily manipulate the record playing process and take the fear out of handling records.

Know the enemies of vinyl

The environment in which your records are stored is very important to a long shelf life. If you want a long shelf life for your prized recordings, keep the records away from dirt, dust, smoke, fingerprints, and oils from human skin as well as faulty phonograph needles. Never stack your records on top of each other, albums should be stored vertically. Avoid storing them too tight as it can lead to ring wear on the cover or sleeve and cause unnecessary stress to the record’s materials, surface and label, often resulting in warps and contact damage. Additionally, the records should be stored in a low humidity setting with a temperature between 60 and 70 degrees if possible. Obviously, it is imperative to keep your treasured vinyl away form heat sources such as sunlight, heater vents and even lighting. Avoid dusty environments and if possible store the records in a relatively airtight container such as a cabinet with doors or sealable boxes or bins.

Protecting your records and LP jackets

There are different opinions on this, but it is recommended by most to remove the original wrapping from the manufacturer, the dreaded shrink wrap, as this may shrink over time; eventually warping the jacket or possibly the record. A note of caution, however, some of the stickers or promotional information on this shrink wrap may actually make the album more valuable if left on; so use discretion when removing the shrink wrap. It is recommended to replace this wrapping with a high density polyethylene outer protective sleeve.

There are several vendors where one can buy these protective outer sleeves, but one that offers many different options for record collectors is a well-respected vendor www.bagsunlimited.com. Bags Unlimited has been in the collection protection business since 1975 and are the #1 choice of collectors for storage, display and shipping products for their collectibles. BagsUnlimited.com stocks record bags made out of polyethylene, polypropylene and polyester (Mylar). All three of these materials have passed the Photo Activity Test (P.A.T.) certifying that they are safe for long-term storage and protect them from dust, dirt, finger oils, and other airborne pollutants.

“We carry multiple types of poly sleeves, varying in thickness and record jacket sleeves that come with a re-sealable flap, depending on the collector’s choice,” explained David Street of BagsUmlimited.com. “We also stock 2 mil and 4 mil sleeves that are manufactured of archival polyester (Mylar), an inert material of the highest clarity. Mylar is extremely clear, inert, 100% acid-free and considered to be the most archival of all protective sleeves. Polyester will not discolor, damage or adhere to items placed inside it. This material has passed the Photo Activity Test and Polyester is used worldwide in museums, libraries and archives. Our polyester material has been approved by the Library of Congress for archival storage.”

It is also very important to have clean, acid free inner sleeves to protect your records with paper sleeves being the most practical. Some recordings were issued with inner sleeves that have acidity issues, which over time, could damage the vinyl records that they hold. Additionally, some sleeves may be viewed as collectible, so it’s best to save them as part of the album package.

“We are the manufacturers of our paper sleeves and therefore have control over the sizes and materials used. Being the manufacturers also insures that the sizes are true, the holes are centered, and the seams are well-glued,” stressed Street. “Investing in quality sleeves for your records is one of the most important care tips for long lasting vinyl.”

Storing your records in boxes can also add to the preservation process in many ways according to Street:

“Bags Unlimited boxes are the Standard of the Industry. Storing your records in our boxes keeps them in an environment that will protect the corners, edges, and flat surfaces. It also keeps them away from ultraviolet light, dust and other airborne pollutants that can destroy or damage them,” Street stated. “Our boxes are super strong, properly sized and stackable. They come with 3″ deep sturdy covers and die-cut handles that can be in the open position for carrying or closed position for storing.

Cleaning and maintaining vinyl records

The most important aspect of owning and playing vinyl records is to keep the records clean. Due to the chemical nature of vinyl, they attract dust and dirt. This is caused by vinyl’s tendency to build up static electrical charges which attract small particles of dust which land in the grooves. These particles will cause “pops” and “clicks” as the record plays.

The cleaning of records should be performed before and after playing. This will ensure the best possible playback, and also prepares the record for “dust free” storage. It’s highly recommended that a record collector have on hand some sort of carbon fiber brush (there are many varieties of brushes available). Carbon fibers are used to help disrupt static buildup while brushing relies on the vibration of the almost microscopic carbon fibers to clean the grooves and remove dust and dirt. It’s recommended that the turntable be running while brushing rather than holding the record in your hands because this will result in a smoother, more consistent cleaning motion.

Some people get so intensely careful about cleaning their vinyl records, they often forget about keeping the needle clean. Since the needle is constantly tracking in the groove of the records, it attracts large amounts of dirt and dust particles and must be cleaned. When not properly maintained, the needle may not vibrate fully and may not rest in the bottom of the record groove; resulting in decreased sound quality and other audio problems. Needle maintenance supplies are easily obtained, for instance, the aforementioned BagsUnlimited.com sells an inexpensive “Stylus Care System” which includes a special cleaning fluid and a dense nylon brush to maintain a clean needle.

Obviously the turntable surface should be kept clean of dust and static. Most newer turntables come equipped with a rubber or antistatic felt surface. A great way to clean both the needle and the turntable area and also keep the carbon fiber brush clean is with condensed air in a can, which is available at any electronics retailer; just spray the area before and after playing your records for a continued dust free environment for your audio treasures. Taking this one step further, BagsUnlimited has in stock a unique antistatic solution, as Dave Street explains:

“We carry a portable antistatic, ionizing air gun to use with the condensed air dust remover and it will significantly boost the ability of canned air to remove dust from static-prone areas. This ionizing gun effectively neutralizes static charges in vinyl, plastics, glass, films, Mylar and other items that hold static charges by creating a flow of ions that neutralizes static charges and releases clinging dust. The gun easily snaps onto any type of nonflammable canned air,” explained Street.

There are many cleaning solutions that can be used to ‘wet’ wash a record and it really is a matter of personal preference as to which one to employ. In the old days, when record were made of shellac, they could be cleaned with a mild solution of regular soap and water (always use distilled water as tap water often contains too many contaminants) and this was the preferred way to maintain the old 78 rpm records. Never use the new cleaning solutions on 78’s because they are alcohol-based and can dissolve shellac recordings and will ruin these types of records.

Speaking with Dave Street again, they sell several kits of various sizes to help keep record clean.

“We recommend the ‘Groovy Record Cleaning Kit’ and each kit comes with micro bristled cleaning brush; cotton cleaning cloth, various sized bottles of GROOVY Cleaning Fluid which is Bags Unlimited’s own Record Cleaning Fluid, and is specially formulated for its deep cleaning, antistatic, residue-free properties.”

It’s also recommend not storing the vinyl inside the record cover but instead slip the vinyl (protected by the inner sleeve) behind the cover with both protected by the outer sleeve, because storing the vinyl inside the cover may eventually create seam and/or spine splits. Over time the weight of the record could possibly cut through the binding.

The reward

This article was not written to exemplify how hard it is to maintain vinyl records; on the contrary, these are very simple tasks and often become mundane and second nature after time. But the reward is so great-the preservation of your prized collection and the coupdeville- the best possible sound reproduction that is humanly possible. With proper care and diligence, these historic audio treasures will last a lifetime or two, giving vinyl record owners many hours of listening bliss.

Author Bio: Author Robert Benson writes about rock/pop music, vinyl record collecting and operates http://www.collectingvinylrecords.com, where you can pick up a copy of his FREE ebook called “The Fascinating Hobby Of Vinyl Record Collecting.” Have your vinyl records appraised at http://www.vinylrecordappraisals.com.

Whether you are a music fan or not, nobody can deny that the music from Hawaii is a beautiful mix of flowing lyrics and rhythms that truly capture the feeling of the islands. Listen to Hawaiian music whether you are into reggae, steel guitar, Jawaiian or slack-key ? there is something for everyone!

Anyone who has ever traveled to Hawaii will know that their music is truly mesmerizing. This local scene itself was originally influenced by a number of different sources, including many countries around the beginning of the nineteenth century. Immigrants brought with them a large variety of different musical instruments, with which the Hawaiians soon developed their own distinctive style.

Most famous in Hawaiian music is the ukulele, with a distinctive sound that almost everyone can recognize. Many of the beautiful rhythms are played by this instrument, and the great thing is that they are all inspired by the beauty of the islands and as such really capture their spirit. There is no doubt that the ukulele is uplifting yet melodical when it needs to be.

In Hawaii’s history, it was King David Kalakua who supported a musical resurgence. He inspired many of the locals to create music based on their sense of pride in the islands, and as a result music started to become more and more popular and expressive of local culture.

The sounds of Hawaii, though completely unique, have a number of distinct influences. When you listen to music of the islands you will hear a combination of the styles of jazz, swing, pop, ragtime, gospel and all other kinds of western music. The music is designed for both locals and visitors to either dance to or to simply enjoy the graceful lines and beautiful lyrics.
Jawaain music is growing in popularity on the islands as a distinct blend of reggae from Jamaica and more traditional Hawaiian sounds. This is perhaps one of the most popular types of music to dance to on the island, due to the fact that it incorporates many catchy melodies. However, these melodies run a little deeper and are actually written in order to spread the positive spirit of Hawaii and celebrate Hawaiian life.

If you want to listen to music of Hawaii then you can either get your hands on some records, or visit the islands for an authentic musical experience. If you tune your radio in Hawaii you will find that there are many local stations dedicated to playing strictly Hawaiian music. You may also be able to catch a live performance. There are several music festivals held in Hawaii every year, including the Merrie Monarch Hula Festival, the Molokai Music Festival and Oahu’s Steel Guitar

Association. When you come to stay in Hawaii this is definitely an experience not to be missed. You could even look for some hotels that put on live music performances for their guests. Whatever you do, find some way to experience this unique culture and listen to the music of the island!

Author Bio: Kentaro Konika. Listen To Music, The arrival of a large number of websites of music and the emergence of free music has led to a revolution in the music world.

What are the answers? At this new website we believe we have most of the answers from people who were there and saw what was going on first hand. A lot of people say if Prince’s music was so good and all that, why don’t we hear him on the radio like Beyonce, Snoop Dog, Kanya West and J- Z? That’s because most people don’t know how radio air play works. If Prince wanted a good song from a cd to be played in regular rotation he could get it done. All of the above mentioned artists paid anywhere from $200,000 to $1,000,000 million dollars to an Independent Promoter to be placed in regular rotation nationally. It’s got nothing to do with how popular you are (e.g. Beyonce). With their connections with the radio stations they get the job done. The music industry is another subject matter that must be discussed to educate the uninformed public of the inner workings of this vast empire and how Prince and Michael were both ripped off by the major labels, along with a long line of other entertainers.

What if Prince had stood next to and sang with Michael Jackson? What was their relationship like? How did they feel about each other personally and musically? What was it like to hear them on the radio like Beyonce? Michael Jackson VS Prince is a new website developed to further explore these mega superstars’ careers and musical contributions to the world. At one point Quincy Jones tried to bring the two of them together. What most people don’t know is that Prince was asked to appear on the Michael Jackson ‘Bad’ album of 1987. The new Michael Jackson VS Prince website has some of the answers to these questions regarding the two largest icons of the 21st century and how they felt about each other, these two of the largest egos in music. Michael was a star before anyone new who Prince was, so how did Prince feel about the Jackson 5 performing their music during his Minneapolis days?

The big fallout between Prince and the music industry came about for him not appearing on the ‘We are the world’ video, when he would have stood next to and sang with Michael Jackson. What was the hold up which could have seen the pairing of two of the biggest superstars of the music world? At this new website we will explore these questions.

How does Prince feel that his biggest rival is no longer with us? In 1984 James Brown performed at the Beverly Theater in LA and he invited MJ and Prince on stage, this being the only time both stars have been known to appear on stage together. With Michael no longer with us we wonder how Prince is feeling now that his biggest and only rival is no longer here. These and other questions we will answer on this website.

Author Bio: KEY2KHOLORZ: The disciples of a FUNKADELIC is what they prefer to be called due to the keyboard wizadtry of Andre Enestro Wilson a member of the funkadelics who appeared on the Aqua Boogie and One nation under a groove cd. Andre was an intrical part of the creation of the Key2kholorz CD, which is a fusion of hard rock funk and hip-hop. ALL members were brought up in the Detroit area including Andre and played in clubs and arenas through out the metro area. There sound represents the essence of the OLD SCHOOL. http://key2kholorz.fatcow.com/

The Eighties were an interesting time. The clothes alone were unexplainable. Music was changing, and so were movies. As with any trend of an era, things tend to make comebacks. Those of us who grew up in the Eighties were almost certain that certain things from our time period would be spared a revival.

We were so very wrong. Leggings were one thing that made it back. Unbelievably, the Fashion Powers That Be saw it fit to bring back a fashion style that looks good on nobody, and that only 5% of the population can wear without looking like some sort of odd-colored sausage. Shoulder pads, bangly jewelry, rubber jewelry, obnoxiously bright colors – they’ve all made it to the shelves and kids are buying it up like crazy. What’s next? Enormous bangs?

With all the Eighties madness, one thing has returned to The World of Cool that makes a little bit more sense. Dancing. We’re not talking about ballroom dancing, ballet dancing or booty dancing. We’re talking about jazz-hands, fossie-fossie, break-dancing, shake-what-your-momma-gave-you dancing. The kind of dancing you see on So You Think You Can Dance and the dance people on America’s Got Talent. It is highly reminiscent of the dancing craze of the Eighties – with Fame, Flashdance, Footloose, and other influential movies. And TV shows! Arguably, one of the most influential shows with dancing was Solid Gold.

The Solid Gold Dancers were the epitome of everything the Eighties loved about freestyle interpretive dance. They were flashy. They were sexy. They had amazingly big hair. Boys fantasized about them. Girls wanted to be them. Vice versa, as well. Between the years of 1980 and 1988, we learned what songs were cool while we watched the Solid Gold dancers gyrate and move to those songs. Whether they were easy to dance to or not. Ever tried to dance to the theme song of Miami Vice? It isn’t easy. Regardless, these dancers were selling gold hand over fist ? merchandising gold and a fortune in dancing lessons.

Who were these amazing, influential, horribly dressed dancers? Where did these treasures end up? Was there life after Solid Gold Saturday Night?

Yes, to a point, for Tony, one of the original two males in the dance troupe. He appeared on Solid Gold until 1984, and enjoyed a successful career after that. He appeared in Michael Jackson’s “Beat It” and “Thriller” videos, as well as Janet Jackson’s “Nasty” video, to name a few. He played the character of Al in the film adaptation of A Chorus Line. Unfortunately, he died in 1995. As a side note, Michael Jackson ended up employing a lot of Solid Gold Dancers in various projects. Captain EO, especially, was pretty heavy with Solid Gold Dancers.

Alex and Helene were also in A Chorus Line, and Helene choreographed the video for “Walk the Dinosaur” by Was (Not Was), wherein Deborah was a dancer. Another venue for the later Solid Gol Dancers was the movie Breakin’. Cooley appeared in the first one, and Lucinda played the role of “Special K” in both Breakin’ and Breakin’ 2: Electric Boogaloo. There are also some other notable dancers.

Other film gems include Paul, who was “Waponi God Woo” in Joe Versus the Volcano. Mark, who was also in the “Thriller” video is an amateur country music singer. Gigi (who was on the show in later years) is Gigi Hunter ? knitwear designer to the stars. Eileen was a successful Madonna impersonator in the “Legends In Concert” series.

Other Solid Gold Dancers became more famous by association. Chelsea, who also had a prolific TV and film career, has a son with Quantum Leap dude, Scott Bakula. Janeen married Michael Damain of The Young and the Restless and “Rock On” fame and became a movie producer.

Perhaps the most famous of the Solid Gold Dancers, Darcel Wynne retired to raise her family, but has recently written a book called Darcel Sexy’s Back and She’s Still?Solid Gold that came out in 2008. She was the top dog on Solid Gold and actually acted as MC for a time.

So there you go ? all the things you didn’t know you wanted to know about the Solid Gold Dancers. There are still many websites dedicated to the dancers and the show itself, and you can find lots of clips on You Tube, if you look hard enough. And you should ? it’s a fascinating piece of Eighties history.

Author Bio: The best online resource to sell gold or sell gold coins can be found at www.refinity.com

Category: Entertainment
Keywords: solid gold,solid gold dancers,solid gold saturday night, eighties crazes

The Dead 60’s know that ska never died. In fact, these lads are about to usurp the reggae-meets-ska-meets-punk-funk throne that the late great Joe Strummer left behind. If you like Hard-fi, you?ll love the Dead 60?s.

CD Description

Debut album from Liverpudlian art rockers The Dead 60’s. With a sound reminiscent of early 80’s post-punk, this four-piece have already been compared to the likes of The Clash andThe Specials. The album was recorded in their hometow (more…)

Review

“The author does an admirable job of combining all aspects of traditional and new media in each chapter. The accompanying CD-ROM offers visual and audio examples of production design and is itself a good example of nonlinear programming in covering the concepts of storyboarding and releases, visual aesthetics, light quality, brightness and contrast, color mixing, color temperature, sound mixing, camera movements, sequencing of still images, and examples of persistence of m (more…)

Sound design is a very competitive, tricky and time consuming process, new trends appear, and die very quickly. Good wholesome sound design requires innovation, a great amount of patience and sometimes a good nights sleep! If you stick to the simple yet effective fundamental theoretical approaches and techniques listed here, then in no time you’ll be the elite Vanguard sound designer you always dreamed to be. Yep, you too can achieve the sound of that French guy with the long hair…

Think of artists such as Spor, Noisia or Dirtyphonics. These people use conventional waveform selection, usually saw and square, but go crazy on everything else. Curiosity gets you places. So let’s throw the rulebook out of the window.

Try literally randomising your settings to start with: slam together different oscillator wave forms, envelopes & fllter settings. For example go crazy on waveform selection sometimes, mix and match. What you thought was a no go, is usually a ‘$%@k me that’s a crazy!’ sound. Your next step will be to refine your raw sound into something more usable and more importantly controllable.

Messing around with the LFO is great it adds depth to your sound, try to add LFO into your sounds and keep the speed low to give a fattening washy effect. Nearly every sound in ‘Oxygene’ by Jean Michelle Jarre (one of my synth programming heros) uses LFO.

Don’t use too much release in a dance lead, sometimes just a little will do, try using hardly any attack, a mid amount of sustain, and a mid amount of decay.

The detune control is a killer and can be the key to any anthem based dance sound. Try taking a sound with no detune and turning the detune knob to around 54% and compare the results.

You often don’t need 16 or 32 voices, sometimes just 5 can be enough, you’ll find turning the voices down can give your mix a more minimalistic sound. This Approach can also relieve essential CPU resources too if your running low!

The Vanguard’s filter can be extremely versatile: for plucky sounds try a low 24 decibal. For bass try low 12 db. For acid sounds try band+shp, notch and format. Being careful in this department can really help determine how your sound sits in the mix, so take your time and experiment.

The Vanguard’s trancegate effect can give some really cool effects – for more subtle fx don’t have it on max, keep the contour control knob low and the gate to around 60%. You can also get some crazy results by playing with the stereo and speed controls of the trancegate.

I’m not a big fan of the Delay unit on the Vanguard. It works better for me on background noises, so if your sound’s the centre piece I’d set the delay to ‘Widen’ with a short delay time to give your sound more stereo width.

The reverb unit on the Vanguard is great for electro. To get the ‘Benassi’ type reverb try this: adjust the mix to around 35%, pre-delay to around 40%, room size to around 15%, damp all the way up & width to 50%. This gives your sound that ’sidechained’ feel. Glide can also be great on this kind of sound when you have overlapping notes in your sequencer.

So there we have it – a few points to consider when making your own Vanguard sounds – good luck!

Author Bio: Mark is a passionate DJ who loves to remix and make tracks with various Synthesizer Patches and electro loops. Mark works for dance midi samples in the UK who sell various DJ producer packs. Click for more information, here.

No description for this product could be found, but have a look over at Amazon for reviews and other information.

Trying to give a extensive definition of the klezmer is quite a difficult task. Originally, this is the music of the Jewish communities who lived in Eastern Europe a few centuries ago.

It is a buoyant dance music meant to go along with the events of the Jewish social life like weddings and days of celebration. Klezmer is a music capable of expressing and embracing the human passions and feelings, from blessedness to unhappiness, from laugh to teardrops.

In truth the word klezmer is the juxtaposition of two Hebrew words, “kli” and “zemer” which mean respectively instrument and song, klezmer is therefore word for word the instrument of the song, the vessel of the voice.

Klezmer was played by traveling musicians strolling from Shtetl to Shtetl (the Shtetl is a yiddish word which means village), trying to earn a living performing their craft. There were many music genres which influenced klezmer, such as the Hazanut (synagogue chanting), reproducing the bending of the human voice, the hasidic nigunim (wordless tunes), popular dances, folk songs, or solemn hymns before prayers.

Now and then the klezmorim (plural of klezmer which means Klezmer musicians) were invited by non-Jewish local nobles who asked them to play contemporary popular tunes. Therefore the klezmer musicians played the local repertoire such as Hungarian, Bulgarian, Bessarabian, Romanian, Moldavian, Ukrainian, Russian, German, Polish…

The klezmer music was thus inspired by the non-Jewish traditions and cultures, but on the other hand the local musicians of each region and country were in their turn influenced by the klezmer.

There is a certain confusion about the general term of klezmer, first it was intended to designate the musical instruments themselves. At some point occured a semantic merging between the musician and his instrument, and klezmer began to mean the artist playing the instrument. It is only in the thirties of last century that Beregowsky, the musicologist, used the word klezmer to refer to the music.

The klezmer was brought to Western Europe and to North-America by the immigrants who fled the persecutions and the pogroms at the end of the 19th century. At the beginning of the 20th century there was a flourishing of the Yiddish culture and klezmer music thanks to such clarinet musicians as Dave Tarras and Naftule Brandwein. They were both virtuoso clarinet players, each in his own style and they were prominent contributors of the blossoming of Jewish life and klezmer music in America.

From the thirties till the seventies, the klezmer was out of the limelights. The reasons why klezmer sink into oblivion were multiple. Among them were the holocaust, six millions Jewish were murdered, the emergence of new styles of music, jazz, rock-and-roll, much more attractive for the young people in search of new ways of expression, and paradoxically when the new State of Israel was created in 1948, the klezmer was put aside because the people wanted to revoke anything evocative of the holocaust and the bad days.

It is only in the seventies that some precursor musicians like Andy Statman, Henry Sapoznik, Zev Feldman, Hankus Netsky and the “klezmorim” in the U.S.A. and Giora Feidman in the European continent, started what is called the “klezmer rebirth”.

Since then, the popularity of klezmer music is continually prospering and it is loved and appreciated by Jewish and non-Jewish people in all part of our global world.

Author Bio: Arik Nitsan is an Israeli klezmer clarinetist and an expert author who writes regularly about klezmer music and klezmer events. You can find a lot of information by visiting his website clarinet and klezmer located at http://www.clarinet-klezmer.com

Amazon.co.uk Review

Colombian superstar Shakira’s first English-language disc, Laundry Service, carries the pointed credit “Entire Album Produced by Shakira”. That might be a signal to US fans who helped two of her previous discs go platinum under the media radar–a sign that this planned breakthrough has more to offer than the input of a score of image makers and outside writers. And it does; even the occasional clunky lyric comes directly from her overflowing heart. Laundry Ser (more…)