We were rummaging through some storage boxes the other day when we found the 45 record "Sonne Statt Reagan" by Joseph Beuys. Joseph Beuys was a German performance artist who was born in 1921 in Krefeld in Nordrhein-Westfalen. He died in 1986
He served in the German army during World War 2 and after leaving the army he went to study at the Düsseldorf Academy of Fine Arts. He was interested in painting, sculpture, poetry, performance art and social commentary. He was not a lover of the cold war and was highly critical of Ronald Reagan.
His 45 record "Sonne Statt Reagan" is a play on words. Regen means rain in German, so "Sonne Statt Reagan" means "Sun instead of Reagan or Rain".
This record is an icon of German performance art and I bought the record when it first came out in Germany for 5 Deutsche Marks. I thought I had lost it and was about to pay a princely sum to Discogs for a replacement copy. My wife saved me a lot of money.
You can hear the record on You Tube but it is not the same. Digital copies are unavailable and it is not published on Spotify. Luckily, I have an original 1982 version of the record.
You can see and hear a performance here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DQ1_ALxGbGk
This was New Wave performance art at its best.
The words were by Alain Thomé and the music was by Klaus Heuser. The flip side has another Heuser compostion an instrumental called Kraefte Sammeln (collect one's strength or fortify yourself) which sounds a bit like Focus - not bad.
The words of "Sonne Statt Reagan" are translated very well here:
http://www.artsconnected.org/resource/90726/sound-sonne-statt-reagan-sun-instead-of-rain
So how did it sound? Even though the record had been in the garage and the cover smells a little bit damp and mouldy it remained in excellent condition.It was lying on its side which is not the best way to store a record. I wiped it with a carbon brush and the record sounded as fresh as when I bought with just a little bit of crackle and pop on the fade out. I have digitised it but I did not apply any noise reduction.
The digitised version sounds almost exactly the same as the record so this is a tribute to modern digital sound engineering and this is why competent digital re-mastering of old master tapes produces better sounding playback than LPs or 45s. The cutting lathes for LP and 45 records cannot fully reproduce the original sound waves. Vinyl records and their playback equipment cannot replicate the original sound waves fully either. But,of course, brand new LPs and 45s can still sound wonderful; as does my original of "Sonne Statt Reagan".
We also found a near pristine copy of a 1982 recording by Altered Images you may have heard it - "Happy Birthday". This is not the best of music but the sound reproduction was almost perfect for an old 45. It must of been my girlfriend at the time who bought it as I cannot remember playing it. This was New Wave triviality.
Monday 25 August 2014
Wednesday 13 August 2014
Super-tweeters
Super-tweeters which are capable of reproducing ultrasonic frequencies above the 20 kHz, which is generally considered to be the cut-off frequency for human hearing, are becoming fashionable again. This is possibly because of the increased interest in so called High Resolution files which are capable of reproducing sounds in the ultra-sonic range.
Many users of super-tweeters claim that they improve the sound of the bass frequencies and make the sound more "airy" whatever that means. Some users claim an extraordinary improvement in sound quality. Let's see the proof anyone can make a claim which has no real foundation in fact.
Many supporters quote some research conducted by Tsutomu Oohashi in the year 2000 which is supposed to prove that subjects can perceive the so called "hypersonic" sounds above 20 kHz. No-one has been able to repeat these results yet.
Oohashi research also indicated that ultrasonics did affect the brainwaves of experimental subjects but it did not prove that the subjects were able to perceive this effect.
There have been many double-blind tests performed which have not been able to confirm that test subjects can perceive the difference between music reproduction which contains ultrasonic content and music which does not.
Anyone who claims to be able to hear a difference is obliged to submit themselves to double-blind testing.
Super-tweeter manufacturers should also publish any independent and peer reviewed double-blind tests which they have conducted which prove that human beings can perceive ultrasonic frequencies or that super-tweeters do in fact improve sound quality.
The proponents of super-tweeters and ultra high frequency sound files should be open-minded enough to accept that their claims should be tested by the scientific method to ascertain whether there is any substance or not. If proof is delivered then I shall shut up about this and accept that some people can in fact hear music or harmonics with ultra-sonic frequency.
Until such a day occurs I shall remain sceptical and suspect that such claims are in fact confirmation bias combined a little element of the emperor's new "sonic" clothes.
The users of super-tweeters should also be open minded enough to consider the possibility that they could be damaging their hearing if they play high frequency sounds above 17 kHz at too loud a volume (over 110 db at your ears). You could be damaging your ears and those of your family members without realising it .
http://www.hse.gov.uk/research/crr_pdf/2001/crr01343.pdf
Ultrasonics are used to break down kidney stones and there are even forms of ultrasonic scalpels which are used in surgery. Ultrasonics can do damage.
Why not play safe and just listen to ordinary speakers and save yourself some money into the bargain? And just wait until there is proof that such super-tweeters work and that they are safe to use.
Many users of super-tweeters claim that they improve the sound of the bass frequencies and make the sound more "airy" whatever that means. Some users claim an extraordinary improvement in sound quality. Let's see the proof anyone can make a claim which has no real foundation in fact.
Many supporters quote some research conducted by Tsutomu Oohashi in the year 2000 which is supposed to prove that subjects can perceive the so called "hypersonic" sounds above 20 kHz. No-one has been able to repeat these results yet.
Oohashi research also indicated that ultrasonics did affect the brainwaves of experimental subjects but it did not prove that the subjects were able to perceive this effect.
There have been many double-blind tests performed which have not been able to confirm that test subjects can perceive the difference between music reproduction which contains ultrasonic content and music which does not.
Anyone who claims to be able to hear a difference is obliged to submit themselves to double-blind testing.
Super-tweeter manufacturers should also publish any independent and peer reviewed double-blind tests which they have conducted which prove that human beings can perceive ultrasonic frequencies or that super-tweeters do in fact improve sound quality.
The proponents of super-tweeters and ultra high frequency sound files should be open-minded enough to accept that their claims should be tested by the scientific method to ascertain whether there is any substance or not. If proof is delivered then I shall shut up about this and accept that some people can in fact hear music or harmonics with ultra-sonic frequency.
Until such a day occurs I shall remain sceptical and suspect that such claims are in fact confirmation bias combined a little element of the emperor's new "sonic" clothes.
The users of super-tweeters should also be open minded enough to consider the possibility that they could be damaging their hearing if they play high frequency sounds above 17 kHz at too loud a volume (over 110 db at your ears). You could be damaging your ears and those of your family members without realising it .
http://www.hse.gov.uk/research/crr_pdf/2001/crr01343.pdf
Ultrasonics are used to break down kidney stones and there are even forms of ultrasonic scalpels which are used in surgery. Ultrasonics can do damage.
Why not play safe and just listen to ordinary speakers and save yourself some money into the bargain? And just wait until there is proof that such super-tweeters work and that they are safe to use.
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