As promised to mih, a few examples of Hal Foster’s 1930’s run on Tarzan.
As you can see, Foster had to adhere to a very rigid panel layout.
This one was obviously intended by Foster to be a try-out for Prince Valiant.
Mutual Admiration Society
A humorous and telling letter from Hal Foster to Milton Caniff. Two artists whose drawing styles couldn’t have been more different.
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
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.
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!
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
The Hold of Holbein
Back in February, The New Yorker had a review of an exhibit at the Morgan Library in New York.
Hans Holbein the Younger’s work is stunning, being vastly superior to his father’s art. The quality and immediate visual appeal of Holbein’s paintings wouldn’t be equaled until Vermeer a hundred years later. While displaying the same level of technical skill as Jan Van Eyck in painting decorative clothing and objects, Holbein’s superb drawing ability was a complete break with long-standing medieval artistic conventions. Offering a level of realism never seen before, Holbein was, in a word, modern. If Holbein’s portraits are secular Realism, Michelangelo’s paintings are religious Mannerism.
I have beheld Holbein’s portraits of Thomas More and his nemesis Cromwell at the Frick Gallery. The painting of More was an obvious labor of love compared to the spare and cold portrayal of Cromwell, making it quite plain which of the two men he favored. Cromwell proved that anyone who believes they can ally themselves politically with a madman, and survive unscathed, is dead wrong. If you have an interest in Holbein, and can spare an hour, this history is very worthwhile viewing. (Two completely different meanings of the word “spare” used in the same paragraph! That’s what I call blogging at its best.)
There’s a woman in the cartoon* above whose pose is strikingly similar to Leonardo Da Vinci’s Lady With An Ermine. The way her hands are placed, she could be holding an ermine herself. Even the head covering and bead necklace echo those worn by Da Vinci’s woman.
Da Vinci probably painted the portrait about five years before Holbein was born. Was Holbein merely fashioning the drawing in the popular manner of the day? Or had he seen Da Vinci’s portrait of Cecilia Gallerani, or a copy of it, and was offering a sly nod to the Italian master? While unknown, it’s believed that Holbein may have visited Italy. Da Vinci died when Holbein the Younger was about twenty.
* “Cartoon” in its original meaning is a preliminary drawing for a painting.
2010: The Golden Age
I was going through some old computer folders and found a music video from twelve years ago. None of the copies on YouTube look good, including the official copy, so I’ll use mine.