Oh, no. Yesterday I wrote about White Whale records, and minutes ago I heard that April Stevens passed away yesterday. This is too much of a sad coincidence.
Pleasant Deep Purple Dreams, April
Turtles on Whale
The megahit singles from the Turtles were on the otherwise obscure White Whale record label. “She’s My Girl” was released with a picture sleeve on November 11, 1967. It reached #14 on the Billboard hit chart.
How I love everything about this absolutely perfect production. From the songwriting of Gary Bonner and Alan Gordon, to Howard Kaylan’s superb vocal, to the arrangement, to the dynamics of the sound.
So let’s hear that one again, and this time in stereo, with the tape hiss left intact, compliments of Bob Irwin at his reissue label, Sundazed Records. Bob will be hosting Big Planet Noise with Gina Bacon at this link tonight at 9 ET.
White Whale released a lot of singles from groups that failed to hit the charts like the Turtles did. Some of them are collected in a CD that I’ve been playing in my car, and I haven’t gotten tired of it yet. Land of Sensations & Delights: Psych Pop Sounds of White Whale Records 1965-1970.
A couple of weeks ago I noted here that my car paused the CD to read a text message to me that came in while I was driving. This was the song that happened to be playing.
The “crank it up” tune that comes after it on the CD is a prime example of the garage bands that helped to make the second half of the Sixties the most amazingly creative period for music.
Boston Strong
There are no “kings” when pronouncing “HopKINton!”
Tech Faux Nouveau
1897 — Professor Henry A. Rowland with the first iPhone prototype, 100 years before Steve Jobs returned to Apple as CEO.
Inspiration, Appropriation, Plagiarism
A very worthwhile discussion with James L. Hussey, director of BLAAM! WHAM! Roy Lichtenstein and the Art of Appropriation.
If This is Sunday, It Must be Denmark
Phono cartridge brands I have known and (mostly) loved, in the order I first experienced each of them: Pickering, Shure, Ortofon, Audio Technica, Stanton, Grado, Micro-Acoustics, and Sony. That’s a very short list, compared to many vinyl other enthusiasts!
The Sony XL-MC1 is my only moving coil cartridge. The electret transducer in my Micro-Acoustics 3002 is perhaps the most advanced technology ever implemented for phono reproduction, with the exception of the ELP laser turntable.
There are numerous other makers of phono cartridges today, especially with high-end models, but from within that list only Ortofon, Audio-Technica, and Grado remain.
My all-around favorite in sound and tracking ability is Ortofon of Denmark, with the Super OM 20 being my best cartridge. Mounted and aligned in my well-maintained Thorens TD-166 MKII turntable, it is certainly the best tracking cartridge I am using. Ortofon continues its video series on what makes quality phono cartridges work the way they do.