It has to clearly be one of the best songs ever written considering it was an experiment at the time that the art of rapping was relatively new. The other part of the song which gives it that little zing is the “mariachi band” sound in the break.  And for those who need the actual words, I think this video will solve that problem.

As we all begin to display and visit the numerous Clark W. Griswald lighting displays, I think this video says lots for the song and the ability to deck the halls with yards of lights.

Back in the days of analog recording, the master tape from the studio was sent to the manufacturing house where plates were cut from the analog recording. It was strictly an analog to analog transfer. Now, for anyone wanting to produce a record, a digital to analog copy. What makes it more interesting is that there is no exact recommendation for how the recording needs to be done. Many professional recordings are done at 24bit even though CDs maximum sample rate is 16bit. So, what should the ratio be when producing a new vinyl record?

In doing some reading, there was a comparison made of viewing a photo in 16 bit on an analog monitor and the same photo in 24 bit. If things go well in the presentation, you might see all sixteen. But if there is anything lost, the photo is no longer at 16, but more like a lower number. Thus, this number may be too low. On the other hand, 24 bit has room to spare if degradation occurs.

So how does the previous relate? With the change to digital music media in the 1980s, 16 bit was the standard adopted for CDs. On the other hand, a vinyl record if compared equally, would be able to play better at 24 since it is able to reproduce a wider range of frequencies than digital can.

If there is a choice (and there is), to choose between 16 and 24 bit when recording for the intended release on vinyl, I would choose going 24 bit and allow music to have as much glory as it can get.

The Glee Club or Glee as it has become known on campus, is comprised of approximately 100 members and conducted by Dr. Carol Ann Maxwell. It holds potentially two titles, the oldest club on campus and really the only unofficial mixed fraternity. Just like any other organization on a college campus, any member after graduation can quickly can ask “Were you in Glee Club?” Of course, there are the initiations as well, but in a musical manner.

The one thing I can say about having been a member of the Glee Club for four years and now being an alum, the Glee Club is made up of one of the best groups of kids around. What really gets interesting is how many alumni actually stay involved with the Glee Club and have music as part of their everyday lives. I guess one can say, “You can take the person out of the Glee Club, but you can’t take Glee Club out of the person.”

Before closing out this post, I thought it would be appropriate to include a link to our Alma Mater which becomes engrained in every person’s brain. FOREVER.

Also, there is a segment of the the population which does not have an attraction to athletics. These are your performing arts loving individuals. Anything they can get their hands, eyes, and ears on they will and make it their own. Unfortunately, there are very few avenues for this group of people. They sort of get lost in the crowd when not in their own element.

With the explosion of Glee, many have been establishing glee clubs to perform the types of music which have been done on the TV series just to have fun. Over the last few days, I have been thinking, “Why can’t this concept be tweaked to work with busy adults?” I think it can and those of us who belong to the performing arts club should begin creating such organizations as a means to share music and also as a social medium. Just because we’re adults doesn’t mean we shouldn’t be able to continue to have fun and socialize with music as our core objective.

I would invite anyone who is a member of a college or university chorus to share their thoughts below in a comment.

Fortunately, other organizations are stepping up to fill the gap that once was filled by our schools. One organization filling the void is the BergenPac located in Englewood, New Jersey. They have a program called beyondEducation which offers students several programs in the arts to develop their individual talents. Below is a video which describes the programs.

REM pretty much was around my entire life and was a key band during my high school years. In fact, I remember having conversations with a friend of mine about a concert that was held in Albany back in the mid-1990s. At that time, their album featuring “What’s the Frequency Kenneth” had just been released. Yes, in some ways “It’s the End of the World As We Know It.”

There is a definite different sound which comes from a record in comparison to the sound of a CD or digital file. The comparison is like being hit with a set of intense high beams on the highway compared to traditional headlights which have that warm glow to them. That is the sound that is being discovered once again and being sought after by a new generation of music lovers.

In the last few years, we have seen the demise of the large box record stores such as Tower Records, Virgin Mega Store, Sam Goody and a few others that I can’t remember. Why have they disappeared? I have my theories, but for the most part I feel that it is due to the quality of the product that is being produced for a very large price tag. Most of the time we are searching for one particular track from an album (for lack of a better word to use). Why should we have to buy a CD at $20 when the track can be bought online for less than $1.

The other main reason why record stores have been disappearing is that CD sales have gone down. Back when CDs came into the market in the 1980s, CDs were thought to be the replacement to the vinyl record.  Why is this? It is possible that the sound of a CD is too cold and impersonal. Although it seems impossible that CDs will disappear, they have become a less demanded item by the listening public.

There is a new breed of record stores emerging across the country, but they’re not for purchasing the newest releases. They’re coming into existence primarily for the indie sales and vintage releases which aficionados are seeking. They are ”curated” rather than stocked and if there is something that someone is looking for, the store owner will seek it out. It will be interesting to see what happens with this trend over the next few years as the youth continue to discover the music from previous decades hidden on LPs and other non-digital media.

Our digital and technology driven world will continue, but I think that there will be a regression to want to be able to touch as see music history as well as have that person-to-person conversation about quality music.

The site which I located was BlankSheetMusic.net. What is unique about it is that it allows the musician to customize the staff paper to the specifications that are needed. For example, you may pick a single treble, treble and bass for keyboard, and four part for choral, just to name a few.

One neat feature about the site is that you can save your custom configurations for later. In order to do this, a FREE account needs to be created.

There are so many great features to this site and too many to mention. I’d highly recommend checking it out.