RAMBLE ON

"Leaves are falling all around, It's time I was on my way. Thanks to you, I'm much obliged for such a pleasant stay. But now it's time for me to go. The autumn moon lights my way." (Jimmy Page & Robert Plant, 1969)
Page & Plant - Ramble On (live at Bizarre Festival, Köln 23. August 1998)

GHOST IN THE MACHINE

When suddenly nothing works anymore and you can't find the problem, sit back, relax and you'll spot one of these sooner or later.
Keith Emerson - Mater Tenebrarum (OST from "Inferno" by Dario Argento)

THE NEW WAVE OF LEANING ARCHITECTURE

- Boss?
- Hm?
- Are we doing this by the book?
- Sure.
- But...
- What?
- Nothing.
A few final words:
Eric Idle & John Du Prez: Galaxy Song (from Monty Python's "The Meaning of Life" - NSFW)

THREE LEGGED

I was working from 8AM until 5PM. At 7PM I had an appointment with a photo-dealer from another town. And look what I've just brought home - one beautiful old wooden Berlebach tripod. It's almost midnight and I'm too tired to do anything else so here it is: the thing.
I need a happy song for today:
Jefferson Airplane - And I Like It (1965/66)

SKY HIGH

Ultralight indoor RC styroplane toy.
Vlatko Stefanovski & Miroslav Tadić - Jano, mori (Live in Zagreb, 2007)

6:50PM

(For Jujubie)
From my window. Analog TV antennas, the dying breed.
Arvo Pärt - Te Deum / Berliner Messe (Alleluia, Sanctus, Gloria)

ESCALATOR OVER THE HILL (Thank you Carla Bley)

"If I have to move up in a building, I choose the elevator over the escalator. Because one time I was riding the escalator and I tripped. I fell down the stairs for an hour and a half." (Demetri Martin)
Miles Davis and John Coltrane - So What (New York, April 2nd 1959)

OLD RUSTY

(This one is for Whalelight / Minimalism)
I really don't know how old this one is. Looks like a tenon saw but a stiffening cap is missing?! And it's tone deaf! Anyway, this is the impossible cut.
For today: Hajime Sakita - Viola (and you'll see why) :)

PMR446

From Wikipedia: "PMR446 (Private Mobile Radio, 446 MHz) is a part of the UHF radio frequency range that is open without licensing for personal usage in most countries of the European Union. It has roughly the same use as FRS or GMRS in the United States and Canada. Depending on surrounding terrain range can vary from a few hundred metres (in a city) to a few kilometres (flat countryside). PMR446 is primarily used in consumer-grade walkie-talkies similar to those used for FRS/GMRS in the United States and Canada."
Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark - Dazzle Ships (Yes, the whole album - this is only Of All the Things We've Made)

THE ART OF WRITING

Light novels, dark poetry, absurd plays, baby lullabies, space operas, literature essays or children stories - choose your side or stay in the gray zone. This is over thirty years old Sheaffer-USA calligraphic fountain pen. And this is one strange guy with some great albums: Sufjan Stevens - In the Devil's Territory (from the Seven Swans).

THE KEYS

This is the Minimoog, legendary analog monophonic VCO synthesizer, designed by Robert Moog and Bill Hemsath. When released back in 1971 Minimoog model D has changed the face of music forever. For your pleasure:
Emerson, Lake and Palmer - Lucky Man
Rick Wakeman - Jane Seymour (from The Six Wives of Henry VIII)
Jane Seymour Live (from Made in Cuba)

BLACK AND WHITE

(This one is for Ercolano)
Milton Nascimento is one of my darkroom heroes. I have to be relaxed when I'm in the red for hours or everything would go wrong. So here it is: Milton Nascimento - Travessia, preferably the one with Wagner Tiso.

SOUND MAKERS

Original recommendation (very hard to listen):
Lou Reed - Metal Machine Music
Easier on the ears:
Steve Reich - Nagoya Marimbas

POWER TO THE PEOPLE

It's not a long way from the audio mixer to the handheld food mixer - less than twenty minutes on a bike. I'm cooking today. Power to the people!
Appetizer: Largo al factotum from Il barbiere di Siviglia (Rossini), John Rawnsley
Main course: Nuova Compagnia di Canto Popolare - A vita è 'na taranta (from Candelora album, Paquale Ziccardi)

OFF

Is it on?
(John Cage - In a Landscape)

IN THE MIX

From "Harman do not kill Studer" Facebook page:
"This is a story of loss of expertise and quality in exchange to making short term profits. International CEO’s are destroying a jewel in the audio business crown. Employees are desperate: Studer Ltd. is a very profitable Swiss enterprise. The brand Studer is famous worldwide for reliable, cutting edge professional audio technology. But now managers from abroad are about to take it apart and end 60 years of proud history. Together, we are fighting against the deliberate ruin of STUDER PROFESSIONAL AUDIO. We want our message to reach Dinesh C. Paliwal, Chairman, CEO and President of Harman International. If you close down STUDER’s production in Switzerland, clients worldwide will lose confidence in STUDER products and eventually this very profitable enterprise will go down the drain."
(Yes - Awaken, Part One and Part Two)

POLLUTION

Waste, rubbish, trash, refuse, garbage, or junk. According to the European Environment Agency statistics, the European Union alone generates one point three billion tonnes of waste each year. By 2020, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development estimates, we could be generating 45% more waste than we did in 1995. Before the compactor treatment, this was a car. Recycle and reuse!
(Eberhard Schoener - Trance-Formation)

FM

Francesco Zantedeschi, Joseph Henry, Michael Faraday, James Clerk Maxwell, David E. Hughes, Heinrich Rudolf Hertz, Nikola Tesla, Jagadish Chandra Bose, Thomas Alva Edison, Alexander Stepanovich Popov, Oliver Lodge, Guglielmo Marconi, Edouard Branly and many others gave us this: the radio. Since this is a very simple mono FM radio receiver, tune somewhere from 87.5 to 108.0 MHz and wait for Roger Waters - Radio K.A.O.S. (Who Needs Information)

TEA FOR TWO

A masonry heater, tile stove, kakelugn or kachelofen - once fired by wood and now connected to the gas network. My second favourite form of domestic heating. And yes, I like it dark - let's turn off the lights and play Art Tatum's version of Tea for Two from 1939 (vinyl, of course) :)

LEVELLING

It's flat. No, it's not. It is. It isn't. But it is! No, it is not. Flat! No! It is flat! Not flat!...
(Dubliners - Seven Drunken Nights)

ARE YOU GOING WITH ME?

Apparently, this is the oldest working passenger elevator in the city. For the most part, it's manufactured in Vienna and assembled on site during the early years of twentieth century. Motor traction machine is heavily modified but the original metal cage with wooden panels is still intact. The lights are low and there is no elevator music so you will have to imagine your own piece of instrumental nostalgia, something like Pat Metheny Group - Are You Going With Me? (Live from Travels)

LIMITED CHOICES

This one reminds me of our frenzy adventure. It's either locate it or escape it. :D This has been another crazy day with no time to play. But isn't that a gamepad? Well, yes and no. It's an access panel of one sophisticated (and equally expensive) sound processor, but you can play with all the buttons and flashing lights. And Miles Davis - Tutu (live with Marcus Miller) will do just fine for surviving the day.

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(PS: Bob Dylan - Everything is Broken, MTV Unplugged)

WIRED

I will be stuck in The Network for the next few days. Nevertheless, I'll continue to post my technological postcards while operating in such a controlled environment. This is my new neighbourhood. There are some strange noises inside but I think I've recognized a few notes of the Tangerine Dream - Tangram (the original one, 1980 - link is only an excerpt).

DON'T GO OUT THERE

I was thinking about doing the city lights but not exactly this way. My daughter told me I look like a big bear in the snow. So here it is: Bierdna by the great Swedish folk-fusion group Hedningarna. Never heard? Go and check them out (hint: YouTube) but stay away from the Remix Project.

THE MUSICAL BOX

It's a long way from Antoine Favre and his Carillon without bells or hammers to the cheap 18-note musical movements made in China, but the musical box somehow survived all technology thunderstorms. In 1975, late Karlheinz Stockhausen composed a great set of 12 contemporary pieces for 12 musical boxes, Tierkreis, roughly based around the twelve zodiac signs. Since too many people find Stockhausen's work disturbing and barely listenable, my recommendation for today is "The Musical Box" by Genesis, preferably the one from the Genesis Live album (1973).

HELICAL HISTORY

(A tribute to Kimbomac and her Repeating Shapes and Patterns)
324GB of uncompressed data plus 125 minutes of 48kHz digital audio. DDS-3 (Digital Data Storage) was replaced with DDS-4, 5, 6, 7... and DAT (Digital Audio Tape) format officially died on the first of January 2006. DDS-3 tapes were used for data backups, but HHB DAT is still playable: Fleetwood Mac, "Tusk" (Live 1982)

ADRENALINE

(An early tribute to Secretatlantis and her wonderful Bikes)
Two wheels, no noise! Ultralight materials, custom made parts, progressive design, geometry variations - high end cycling is great, but this is my trustworthy everyday companion for the last four years. I was busy almost the whole day so I took the opportunity. Triptych - taken with a small (non waterproof) compact. Put on your headphones and press play: Pink Floyd, "Bike"

INCANDESCENCE

What is this? Only a light bulb? Oh yes, but what a light bulb! Glorious Philips Photolita-SM PF217 from the old stock (only a few left). It has an internal mirror, satinated and frosted, it gives a very precise 3400°K but has a relatively short life cycle - approx. three hours. Still quite good for a decent photo session and almost enough for a complete recording of Richard Wagner's "Tristan und Isolde" :D

PIECES OF TIME

Zenith won a first place in one of the watchmaking competitions held at the Exposition Universelle, Paris 1900. This is a commemorative Zenith Grand Prix 1900, limited edition gold pocketwatch. Same time, same place: Erik Satie, "Pièces froides".

RAINBOW INTERFACE

In a world of the ever-increasing number of interfaces and the lack of an agreed-upon theory, I've found a rainbow. Borrowed soundtrack for today: Judy Garland, "Over the Rainbow"

ELECTRIC

I'm not particularly fond of anime movies but "Serial Experiments: Lain" really caught my attention. Among other things, I was amazed by the large number of power grid drawings, accompanied only by a hypnotic humming sounds. Ten years later, I am still looking up at the wires. Background music for my sunny version: "Strom" by (very early) Kraftwerk.