David Munrow

... to do NOT forget him, here is a truly superb site held by Robert Searle and lovingly dedicated to the memory and music of the late David Munrow... the Pied Piper, from the title of the radio program he held for 600+ hours on BBC... where about 600+ different topics were touched!!!

David remains a personal hero of mine... to enjoy his class and art, browse the a.m. site and order... ORDER the six Granada (British) TV screenplays which were broadcasted in early '70s... it's one of my MOST cherished DVD and I often play it on some rainy Saturday afternoons... and I always have a glimpse of a better world.

For the Ancient Music scholar, here is, repeated "ad abundantia" from a previous post I wrote years ago on the VERY matter...
it's part of the huge archives papers, letters, concert programs, etc written by and concerning DM.... browse freely, as I did for years, now and enjoy!

Horse Power

Thanking Roman's (always) cool site, here is a not so jokingly cartoon rendition of a badly integrated multi-channell speakers system.

Instructive... and amusing!

Carnage by Roman Polanski

Polanski did it, again.

A quite claustrophobic movie, BUT, nonetheless, very amusing and... WASP!

Morning Glory

Arnaldo's masterpiece... bravo!

A very, VERY sad GP Sunday - Marco Simoncelli dies at 24

During today Sepang/Malaysia's MotoGP, the young, talented, "crazy" ace, the italian motorbike-racer Marco Simoncelli unfortunately was hitted by Edwards and Rossi - his close friend, by ill-fated chance - after he badly slipped on a bend.

It was clear he was heavily wounded... a broken neck is deadly stuff...

It's really a sad evenience, folks... a young champion, a young life was lost... thieved, washed away!

R.i.p. to Marco, fondly remembering his simpathy and look, with his long hairs in the noble tradition of Omobono Tenni, the late Guzzi italian champion during '30s and '40s, who also sported a magnificient, lion-like mane.

Psychedelic lunch

While making order on the table, after a pleasant, relaxed Sunday lunch with my wife, I noticed this very dish... some premium olive oil mixed with the (remaining) juice of some red-turnips... it immediately reminded me of San Francisco's musical scene... Winterland, Jefferson Airplane, Quicksilver Messenger Service, Grateful Dead and those light shows by Owsley and others...

Funny...

John Martyn's Solid Air... a cover

After trying and trying for years... sure NOT the most difficult tune I know, but I wasn't able to play it fluidly and fluently on my six strings acoustic guitar; few months ago.... bang!... I found this on YouTube and... well, Rich saved me;-)))

Knowing the tuning - a weird one, I admit - i.e. C-G-D#-F-A#-D - wasn't so easy, I say... but this cool guy taught to me ALL: tuning, fingering, slapping, vocals and overall feeling of that superb song!

It's the proof a master (Rich, in this case....) tells more than any music-sheet/tablature, which wasn't able to give to me the real thing, that twangy, laid back feeling, the late John Martyn gave us all as first track of his seminal, blasting Island disc, decades ago!

So, thanks a lot, Rich... and thanks, dear John!

Oliver Sacks's "Musicophilia"

Thanking Bjork and her hinting, here is a devastating, awesome book about... well, you know, as it's in the title...

"Music can move us to the heights or depths of emotion. It can persuade us to buy something, or remind us of our first date. It can lift us out of depression when nothing else can. It can get us dancing to its beat. But the power of music goes much, much further. Indeed, music occupies more areas of our brain than language does–humans are a musical species."

... I'm reading it, now... and find the tales, samplers, interviews, stories quite exhalting and mind-opening and a MUCH better time-filler than (any) TV program;-)

A great near-the-bed companion for any music (and serious-enough audio)-lover, and a book which, someway, goes deeper in unveiling (...) the so still mysterious interaction between us, our mind and music.

Vladimir Janklevitch and "Musicological Philosophy"

This intriguing, often debated French/Russian philosopher, who (someway) hated Erik Satie and his musical tricks, extensively wrote about the most enigmatic and ineffable features of music and its ability to say/not-say/express, but only hinting something... to suggest a mood, a landscape... also the smell and the feeling of a place.

Maybe worthwhile further investigation as only a philosopher - sometimes - owns the skill to properly describe the ineffable.

Yard-Sale - My audio leftovers - a pre-view...

Before going Ebay/Audiogon/wherever, anyone interested?

Having been an almost compulsive (but careful...;-)) audio-buyer for decades, now, here is the (partial) list of my very first "yard-sale", ever:

- Goto CF-1 4 ways active/electronic crossover 100V (including a bulky custom-made, outboard 100-to-220V transformer) 18 db/octave - freq. 220/1000/5000 hz;

- Goto SG-555PS mid-low drivers 100/1000 hz 16 ohm with original Goto wooden-box and aluminium adapters for Goto S-150B mid-low horn - Sejia Goto-san made it as a replica with permanent magnet of original Western Electric 555, also same "narrow" throat of ONLY 18mm... the driver is a true beast, possibly also a great driver for some Western Electric 15A replicas by Aldo D'Urso (Audio Anthology), still cheaper than a complete so fussy and hassley Tungar P.S.U. and WE555's;

- Thomas Mayer, lovingly handmade in Germany power amp, transformers-coupled, with old (NOT ISO...) Tango XE-20 and ALL Lundhal's irons throughtout and best sounding paper-in-oil caps and silver-wiring inside - 4/8/16 ohm taps, using those soooo special 6CB5A tubes true "300B sound" and handy, still "cheap" tubes and coming with a full spare set of boxed, N.O.S. tubes - 220V - great, great 8 WATT amp, superb for horns and broadband, single speakers;

- A & E Technical Research ECN-5 - 5-ways active/electronic crossover - 6 db/octave - to be used as 2-3-4 (as I'm still doing now, using it in my Gotorama system) and 5 ways - 230V Made in Japan - superb sound;

- Jolida JA-300 integrated amp using 300Bs triodes and 274A-like (5R4GT) rectifiers... a 35 kilos beast, gorgeous look and sound, with remote control, original double boxes and papers - 220V - (proudly) made in China:-):

- Marantz 7C tube pre-amp from the '60s with six "Diamond/Smooth plate" N.O.S. Telefunken ECC-83 100 % unmodified/original, as built by Saul Marantz and Sidney Smith + wooden case + original papers - truly seldom seen 220V original!!!!!;

- Garrard 301 "White Whale" - butter-white platter in matching white birch-plinth, ready for any 12 inches arm - coming with a red thick felt-mat;

- Slate plinth for Garrard 301 in Ferrari "Giallo Modena" (bright yellow) - gorgeous one-of-a-kind 45 kilos custom-made plinth;

- Marantz 10B tube-tuner, the "Rolls-Royce" of tuners from the '60s + wooden case + fully original/unmodified/serviced, perfectly working, with original papers - 117V;

- McIntosh C-22 '60s classic pre-amp - undented, unscratched, perfectly working - ex-117V U.S. voltage, professionally converted to 230V many years ago - a truly lush, sexy piece of gear;

- Studer B-67 rare High-Speed open - reel tape recorder, VU-meter version, 3 speeds: 7,5/15/30 i.p.s., with original orange (thick) user's manual/schematics;

- EMT 997 "Banana" 12 inches arm, N.O.S. in original wooden-box complete with ALL accessories (weights, 2 x arm-rests and papers) - EMT "diamond" mount for TSD15 cartridge - five bare-wires original;

- Ortofon RMG-309i 12 inches arm, original box and papers w/8N Ortofon blue cable;

- IVIE IE-30 Real Time Analyzer, complete in original briefcase, with class A microphone and ALL accessories, a brand-new set of genuine spare IVIE's batteries and Ivie IE-20 Pink and White noise-generator - both with original 117/220V power supplies/batteries chargers - top conditions and not comparable with any other shitty computer analyzer - the one! ;

- Vintage, early 60's original Ortofon SPU-A "Green label" - square bakelite headshell with "leaf" cantilever and vertical BIIIG magnet - the one sought-after and revered by Ken Shindo-san - with original butter-white/red inner box - extremely rare;

- EMT 930st top-plate, engraved/old EMT logo at lower right-side, original early '60s "bakelite" grey-hammertone with ALL silk-screens in good shape, unrepaired, only some small spots on paint - good for restoring/overhauling a lesser EMT 930st... very rare!;

- nicely hand-made 3,5 W liquid, smooth sounding stereo tube-amp based on Western Electric 421A (5998) undirectly-heated double triode, plus 2 x 6SJ7 drivers/5R4GT rectifier - sold with three spare tubes, N.O.S./boxed, original WE 421A, quite rare and expensive in this as-new conditions - 220V - great, little amp for tweeter in multi-amped horn-system;

- Mitch Cotter/Verion Mk II MC transformer/step-up with original built-in silver cables;

- Mijayima Labs. Shilabe Otono MC cartridge brand-new, in double wooden/carton box, ebony body, Shibata tip diamond - hand-made in Japan;

- Mijayima Labs. ETR-800 MC step-up, selectable low and high impedance, brand-new;

- Bang & Olufsen CD-5500 design-friendly CD-player, Philips TDA-1541 DAC, superbly sounding;

- Allnic Verito Z brand-new MC cartridge - hand-made in South Korea;

- Lumiere DST, brand-new MC-cartridge, hand-made in Japan - unused - superb!;

- Garrard 301 white in natural finish, oiled slate plinth, overhauled, serviced;

- EMT 930st w/EMT 155st RIAA, EMT/Ortofon RMA-229 and EMT TSD-15 conical tip cartridge, original 45 r.p.m. bakelite adapter, grey hammertone "Shindo" bronze clamp, Dusch's 45 kilos seismic-base and silk-screened heavy glass-platter - Made in Germany, mega-rare vintage Beyer/EMT DT-48 monitor earspeakers, plexiglas dust-cover, original user-manual, lot of spares (strobo neon-light, spare spindle bearing, different arm-lift for EMT 929 arm, original plastic/felt platter, brake-assembly, stainless-steel arm-well for Fidelity Research FR64-S' mounting... and 500 cc original spindle-oil can);

- BEYER TR/BV 351015006 MC transformer in Hammond alu box - nicely matching and sounding with EMT TSD-15 and, most of all, with Denon DL-103;

- custom-made cartridges display/holder, dust-proof, made in plexiglas: black base and see-through clear plexiglas cover, good for 6 cartridges and headshells - elegant and useful for carts collectors - two available;

- Nagra IV-S with QGB large-spools motor, alu flight-case, Power-supplies and accessories, cables, original Nagra's NAB and cine adapters, etc. - museum quality, perfect sounding/recording;

- Fidelity Research FR-64-S "Silver wires inside" 10-inches arm, no original box, perfect for EMT 930st mounting;

... also more goodies available - mostly speakers, all in top conditions - ( i.e. '50s Westrex 2080-A 15" woofers 16 ohm/Philips 9710 Alnico/RCA MI-9584 1,5" drivers 15 ohm + original metal theatre horns adapters/Emilar 1" 8 ohm drivers/Altec 15" 803A woofers 16 ohm and 420A Biflex 15" 8 ohm/JBL 2420 1" - high-drivers and original "sound-barrier" horn - 16 ohm/Isophon 22 cm Alnico/original N.O.S. Saba "green" mids and highs pairs and several baffles for wide-band and bass-enclosures for 15" woofers)... if the case, pls drop a line at:

stefanocello-at-gmail-dot-com

Will send hi-res pixes of any item to anyone interested enough... only be (a little) patient;-)