Refrigerator - How You Continue Blogging



Sometimes the vinyl conversion gods shine on you, sometimes they don't. Actually, typically they don't, the bastards. Yesterday I noticed for the first time that my Audacity software and my Mac's Audio MIDI Setup Control Panel have been wrestling over whether to encode at 16 or 24 bits. Audio MIDI wants 24! Audacity wants 16! It turns out they've both been rather obstinate since Vinyl-Rip The First, and as a result, there has been a quality-reducing mismatch present in all the songs I've posted to date (I think). I've found a way to pin Audio MIDI to the mat now (I think). We'll see if the difference is even detectable. Unfortunately, all the R-songs posted this week were recorded after I detected the problem.

And lo, I faced many other challenges when recording Refrigerator's 20-song "How You Continue Dreaming" LP, from 1994, on Communion Records. I'll spare you a subset of the gory details. But who knew that "Party Hat" consists of two small, separate blobs of soundwave? Not I. Or that "727" and "Hydrogen Suitcase", though coexisting as one blob of soundwave, actually constitute one song? No, not I.

And then, after finally wrestling this 20-headed hydra into iTunes, I learned that the album is readily available via the iTunes store! For pennies a glass (well, not quite...)!

Thankfully, I was able to reap some consolation by listening to some of the smoldering folk-tinged numbers on the album, such as "Colton" and "Speedway", and some of the sad ones like "Old City Cool", and some of the poppy ones like "Bicycle", and some of the indie-rock runaways like "Sorry State Line". It's a lo-fi epic, really. Very nearly worth the effort!

In the liner note, the band writes "thank you for your time". I can't imagine the trials and tribulations that artists must go through when making music, given that I have this much trouble just bringing a few mp3s your way. I really ought to thank the band for THEIR time, and for letting me bring some of their songs your way. Just as all you mp3-blog-visitors diligently take the time to thank the blogger for bringing the songs your way. Just kidding. I rarely post comments myself. But thanks to those fine, rare folks who have visited and posted comments thus far...YSKOD topped the 1,000 visitor mark last week.

Here's two tracks:

Side A - Refrigerator - Colton [4 stars mp3]
Side A - Refrigerator - Bicycle [3 stars mp3]

P.S. There was not Q-band one in the house (on vinyl).

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