Every so often I like to watch all seventeen of the remarkable Fleischer/Famous Superman cartoons from 1941-1943. Considering the Fleischer studio was originally based in New York, it’s somewhat ironic that all the animation showing Superman leaping, and then flying, around Metropolis was produced in Florida.
The official DC release is the only DVD set currently available that’s worth getting.
I’ll include a few screen shots from the DC set, along with the first two cartoons from the DVD. They were upscaled and cleaned up by somebody using an AI video process.
The undisclosed use of DSD digital masters is the basis for the lawsuit. Some audiophiles seek out DSD sources, usually in the Super Audio CD format. They’re often the same people who are buying the vinyl releases and, yes, Mofi sells SA-CD! You’d think that would have been enough of a hint for the hardcore vinyl enthusiasts.
There are some extremely expensive CD/SA-CD decks with analog outputs. But the last time I checked, even the least expensive Sony Blu-ray players support SA-CD over HDMI. I have a couple of SA-CD discs that play through my Onkyo A/V receiver’s DAC.
Since the demise of the mainstream hi-fi magazines — Stereo Review, High Fidelity, and Audio — that did actual lab testing, including anechoic chambers for speakers, reviews have been almost entirely subjective. Oh, for the days when you could sit at a stereo store and click a button to immediately switch between two sets of speakers! Customers could make their own subjective judgments, limited only by their budget and the selection of speakers offered by the dealer. (Speaker preferences are ultimately always subjective, but the quality of an HDTV picture can be judged objectively.)
For objective audio equipment testing, today there is Amir at Audio Science Review. Amir doesn’t believe in magical audio snake oil. What about RCA cables for the analog outputs on those expensive SA-CD decks?
Facebook friend Andrew Sandoval has pointed out this profile of Micky Dolenz, the last surviving Monkee.
And speaking of Andrew…
Being a band created for a TV show, the Monkees were controversial in their day. Twenty years later, Andrew encountered some trouble himself for being a young fan of not only the Monkees, but the Beach Boys.
Following up on a mention by mih of Carl Orff’s crowd-pleasing “Carmina Burana”, the opening poem is the one that’s familiar to most everybody.
Orff was a German who remained in Germany throughout the war. I was thinking I touched upon this difficult subject not very long ago, but it was longer ago than it takes to get a Bachelor’s degree. Slow down, space/time! Slow down!
Separating artists from their art isn’t always easy. Sometimes it isn’t possible, but their work must at least be put into context of time and place. Whether for a musical figure, or a cartoonist like the Belgian Georges Remi, aka Hergé, who was accused of Nazi collaboration.
For decades, Robert Crumb’s uninhibited portrayals of women and Blacks were both celebrated and controversial. Today, Crumb’s name is political poison and, rightly or not, he is seen by many as a toxic misogynist and racist. Space/time continues, freeing some in the process while trapping some others.
