Author: DOuG pRATt

Friends in High Places

Another reason for me to not regret ending my home delivery subscription to the print edition of The Boston Globe. This full-page ad was in Sunday’s paper.

The ad was paid for by Boston power player Arthur Winn, who is known for, among other things…

Boston developer Arthur Winn fined $100,000 for making illegal campaign contributions — But he’s spared jail time by federal judge
https://www.boston.com/uncategorized/noprimarytagmatch/2012/01/31/boston-developer-arthur-winn-fined-100000-for-making-illegal-campaign-contributions/

Suffolk DA Rachael Rollins quietly drops intimidation case against wealthy developer
https://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2019/05/08/suffolk-rachael-rollins-quietly-drops-intimidation-case-against-wealthy-developer/QIByPjU7C0R6tswPLb2PwM/story.html

In the first case, Winn had to pay a hundred grand. In the second case, he must have had one of these cards:

The subject of Winn’s ad is George Regan, a well-connected Boston name in public relations.

https://www.boston.com/culture/lifestyle/2022/08/02/george-regan-elizabeth-akeley-wedding-charlie-baker-robert-kraft/

I was disappointed to see the Globe’s Business Section team was in attendance.

“… a quartet of The Boston Globe staff: Business reporter Jon Chesto, and columnists Shirley Leung, Joan Vennochi, and Larry Edelman.”

It’s one thing to hold a lavish private event. It’s another to publicly flaunt the wealth and influence behind it. Especially with the MBTA Orange Line being shut down for an entire month, making life more difficult for people who don’t have have a lot of money, or friends in high places. You’d think somebody in public relations would have thought of that.

Triple Agent Action

Boris Karloff sure did appear in a lot of “B” movies. British Intelligence, from January 1940, is an engaging, fast-paced one-hour adaptation of a 1918 play. The story stays in the first world war, but was updated with an obvious anti-Hitler message, two years before America entered the war in Europe. The depiction of the Zeppelins flying over London is very effective.

Indelibly Associated

“Couldn’t Get It Right” by the Climax Blues Band came out right when I started working at the radio station. My immediate reaction was they were trying to sound like Roxy Music. I can’t articulate why that was, but I’ve never shaken my perceived connection. Perhaps there was nothing more to it than they were British bands with mid-70’s hits that didn’t sound like Queen.

Roxy Music – 1975

Climax Blues Band – 1976

Euphonic Inaccuracy

Thorens TD-166 Mk II turntable (Germany, 1983) with Ortofon Super OM20 cartridge (Denmark)

MoFi Records claimed its expensive reissues were purely analog reproductions. It had been deceiving its customer base for years.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/music/2022/08/05/mofi-records-analog-digital-scandal

All of my purchases from Music Direct, the parent company of MoFi, have been excellent. The one time I required customer service it was also excellent. But false advertising is bad, and I assume there will be repercussions.

The deception regarding MoFi’s “all analog” releases aside, this is a non-issue for me. I have assumed for years that new vinyl releases are cut from digital masters. Why wouldn’t they be?

MoFi has been using DSD source material, which is as good as it gets digitally. Assuming it isn’t something that was simply scaled up to meet the specifications of the format, because the original analog master tape was lost in the infamous Universal Studios fire. If there’s a scandal to be found in music mastering, that’s where to look.

Record Swap

The “problem” with lossless digital audio sources is also their strength — there is precious little difference between players in the way they sound. You press or click Play and that’s it. Playing records is, well, more fun!

Pioneer PL-112D turntable (Japan, 1976) with Audio-Technica AT-92E cartridge (Japan)

One of the things that makes records so attractive, beyond their physical appeal, is that changes in the turntable, tonearm, cartridge, and pre-amp can have significant audible differences. As with speakers and headphones, finding the sonic characteristics of a turntable setup that best suit your taste is a big part of the enjoyment.

So while I’m not pleased that MoFi’s customers were deceived, I don’t see the company’s use of digital masters as invalidating their commitment to quality. Perhaps today I’ll play my 1979 all-analog LP of Mobile Fidelity’s Original Master Recording of Pink Floyd’s Dark Side of the Moon.

https://www.discogs.com/release/416621-Pink-Floyd-The-Dark-Side-Of-The-Moon