We've been over this for a couple decades now. The average consumer simply cannot tell the difference between lossless and compressed codecs. Even back 20-25 years ago when people carried around CD players, vanishingly few people batted an eye when those went the way of the dodo and devices started getting loaded up with shitty 128 kbps MP3s. The difference in quality mattered far less than the convenience.
There are many, many people who are even technically minded who would be surprised that their expensive AirPods Max cannot reproduce lossless audio from Apple Music when used wirelessly.
You can totally tell, at lower bitrates. People used to share songs as MP3 files using 128 kbps rates, and you could easily hear whooshy/chirpy artifacts in those at times.
Modern codec at a decent bitrate: inaudible.
Ironically, it could be the expensive DAC and headphones that helps the codec conceal itself.
That is to say, an audiophile who prefers gear that causes pleasant distortion might hear a difference through that gear, because the codec doesn't account for trying to mask its artifacts through equipment distortion (perhaps distortion in the ear itself only).
Say the codec removes something from the signal on the psycho-acoustic hypothesis that it is masked by something louder occurring close to before or after. That hypothesis is correct under hi-fi conditions, but suppose that the user's distorting tube power amp brings out that something, making it audible. Then removing it is potentially audible!
A lot of the time people were sharing transcodes because they didn't know any better. Same thing happens for video content today, e.g. most video on X looks like 240p because of it.
This is a hard truth many wish to deny. An article published every month decrying the poor habits or lack of good habits of children, with a not-so-subtle implication that it is the fault of the children themselves.
It is 100% true that "you have to model the behavior of X" to your kids, otherwise all bets are off and headlines like this should not be surprising in the least.
The images are awesome, in an “I cannot believe someone would upload this to their site” kind of way.
The blueprint with the “LOAD-BEARING WALL!!!” includes nonsensical labels like “Dining Broom” and “Witchen”, and I am supremely disappointed that there isn’t a bubbling cauldron or pointed hat to be found.
Good times. Ever played Sid & Al's Incredible Toons [0]? Same same concept, from the same people (Sierra / Dynamix), but with a slightly different take and an emphasis on silliness / humour. A sound card was a must though.
The developer for TIM made a modern version called Contraption Maker that is a lot of the same feel and available on Steam. There is a free playable demo that plays well on my 16G M1 Macbook Air. Full version is $12.99 USD
This so much! What great games, probably my favorites over the early FPSs of the time, but in close contention with Day of the Tentacle and Monkey Island
Her vocals were exceptional, too. One of my favorite videos I've randomly come across on YouTube is "Jolene" slowed down to 33 RPM [0]. The comments are hilarious as well, but the clarity of her vocals and the vibrato that carries through to a slower tempo is really something special to hear.
She's one of those crossover performers, such as Kenny Rogers and Taylor Swift who escape Country music as a genre and get mass appeal. Whenever I comment about a Dolly Parton song playing in a public place I hear things like "She's a national treasure!"
My ex-wife was a big Kenny "The Country Version" Rogers fan. I chuckle to myself every time I watch The Big Lebowski and hear Rogers singing his psychedelic "Just Checked In" and wonder what the ex would think of his origins.
It's nice but the original hits more raw to me. Perhaps because I heard it first ages ago. There was a kerfuffle about the song's provenance a few year ago.
I am a fan of covers, like Johny Cash's NIN "Hurt" or Marylin Manson's Depeche "Personal Jesus". If anyone has faves regardless of the genre, please share.
The Band’s cover of Springsteen’s “Atlantic City” is superb, particularly the addition of the accordion.
A band called Lake Street Dive has a phenomenal cover of Hall & Oates’ “Rich Girl”.
Scary Pockets is a group with rotating artists (formed by Patreon’s founder/CEO), their covers of Gnarls Barkley’s “Crazy” and Michael Jackson’s “Man in the Mirror” are two I return to frequently.
The guitar is also immaculate slowed down and that was her too. I always thought it was some hotshot Nashville session musician. One of the best guitar licks of all time.
Dolly wrote the lick herself, and when she was in the studio with the session players, they wanted her to show them how to play it [0].
She ended up having Chip Young lay it down on the record since her long fingernails made it difficult to nail consistently. This is also why if you watch videos of her playing guitar she plays in open tunings [1].
I still carry the rather 20th century idea that a performer of almost any kind also ought to have some sort of other talent in addition to their main one. The versatility of that sort of thing is one of the things that should separate a pro from the rest. I generally count "professional level musician" on more than one instrument as fulfilling that contract... perhaps one of the easier of the options, but it still carries that versatility advantage. Another example that I'm quite fond of is famous comedian Steve Martin performing Dueling Banjos with Kermit the Frog. The combo of two professional entertainers playing off of each other combined with the music skills creates the opportunity for a creative routine.
Her first record deal almost didn't happen because she was told she couldn't sing... apparently the producer didn't like her voice for whatever reason.
Agreed. The climbing voice in Jolene was my favourite of her vocal range. She was a pretty good singer too; not as good as e. g. Ariana Grande in her own prime (before chasing bulimia) but quite good nonetheless.
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