No compilation of ‘Live Performances’ is complete without a performance by The Boss.  “Thunder Road” is my all-time favorite Bruce Springsteen tune and I recently came across this high quality version of the song from 1979.   If you’ve ever seen Springsteen perform then you know what your in for, but if you haven’t this should give you every reason you’d ever need as to why this guy is one of the best performers in the history of Rock and Roll music.  Enjoy the video and be sure to stick around until 4:10 for some piano-top guitar playing followed by sax solo from the Big Man sandwiched by a powerslide on the knees by Springsteen himself: continue reading...

After seeing Weezer perform a few weeks back it was immediately apparent to me that this was a completely different band from the one that I had seen many years ago.  Having been one of my favorite bands for a long stretch of my teen and early 20’s years, Weezer and I have sort of lost touch over the last 3-4 albums…. Say what you will about the evolution of the music(a lot of it is total garbage), but it was the change in their performance that caught me completely off guard.  Rivers was all over the stage and barely played his guitar for half the songs…  Rivers went into the crowd and stole hats from people… Rivers was jumping on a miniature trampoline… ?? What?!   This 1995 clip of the band performing “The World Has Turned And Left Me Here” is the band that I have such fond memories of.  Rivers is awkward and extremely nervous,  the drummer is playing drums and not backup guitar, Brian the 2nd guitarist looks like he actually gives a shit and Matt Sharpe was still in the band.  I miss those guys… unfortunately the audio is a bit low, but this video is gem.  Enjoy: continue reading...

Wow, I assumed this would be good considering The Roots are backing them up and Timberlake is a talented dude, but this is a pretty amazing medley of classic to modern Hip Hop songs.  Even Fallon holds his own!  Enjoy: continue reading...

In a joint announcement with AMD (NYSE: AMD), Dangerous Music released details of Dweezil Zappa’s road recording rig using 48-channels of Dangerous 2-Bus LT analog summing and Dangerous Monitor ST speaker controller, allowing immediate mixing of the ‘Zappa Plays Zappa’ live shows — even in a hotel room. The “Room Service Rig” consists of a PC Audio Labs computer powered by dual AMD Opteron™ quad-core processors, running Steinberg’s NUENDO DAW software along with three 2-Bus LT summing amps and Monitor ST, providing large-format analog console mixing quality on the road.
“The pairing of AMD and Dangerous Music equipment has made a tremendous difference to the overall sonic detail of the final mixed music,” says Dweezil. “It’s hard to believe that I’m able to get these kinds of results from a portable mixing rig. It’s truly inspiring. Simply put, I have achieved my best mixes ever with the help of the Dangerous Music gear.”
Charlie Boswell, AMD Director of Digital Media & Entertainment, noted: “Dweezil Zappa has utilized Digital Audio Workstations based on AMD Opteron processors for the past six years both in the production of his own music and most recently in the recording of live ZPZ concerts. Gail Zappa depends upon AMD powered workstations to handle the mission critical role of archiving, producing and building the catalog from the historical Frank Zappa Vault at UMRK* - with releases on Zappa Records and Vaulternative Records. This newest AMD addition to the Zappa workflow is called the ‘Room Service Rig’ because it’s sometimes operated from a hotel room after a show, or possibly on the bus in between shows. AMD collaborated with our friends over at Dangerous Music and PC Audio Labs to make the ‘Room Service Rig’ happen. Its main purpose is to provide the highest studio sonic and mobile production capability to an international touring unit like ZPZ.”
Boswell also explained why the ‘The Room Service Rig’ was aptly named. “Dweezil was not interested in simply hacking together typical ‘board mixes’ of Frank Zappa classics. He chose Dangerous Music and AMD in order to deliver studio quality mixes and mastering for the fan base. He feels the technology should not only fulfill the Zappa quality requirement but it should also adapt to spontaneity of life on the road.” Visit Charlie Boswell’s blog at: http://globalnerding.blogspot.com.
Pioneered by the folks at Dangerous Music in 2001, the Dangerous 2-Bus analog-summing mixer was created to bring back the analog sound quality engineers have been craving in their digital audio environment, while maintaining the fast workflow and recall capabilities they have come to depend on. The Dangerous 2-Bus is a 16-by-2 summing device designed to help DAW users achieve better mix performance through the use of cutting-edge analog audio circuit design. As engineers and musicians themselves, the Dangerous Music team has noted that “in-the-box” mixes from DAW systems don’t equal mixes performed on high-end large-format analog recording consoles. The solution is the 2-Bus’ pristine audio path that delivers nuance, depth and clarity to a mix without any added coloration or distortion. The Dangerous 2-Bus allows the full potential of any digital audio workstation to be realized – audibly, in terms of sound quality, spatial detail and headroom, and ergonomically, through the preservation of DAW recall and automation capabilities and by the non-destructive integration of outboard analog equipment. The transparent sound of the 2-Bus allows engineers to enjoy the true colors of any chosen outboard gear without clouding the issue with the summing path. The 2-Bus is offered in two models, the original 2-rack space Dangerous 2-Bus with XLR inputs and the 1-rack space Dangerous 2-Bus LT with D-Sub inputs.
The Dangerous Monitor ST is the centerpiece of the most flexible monitor control platform available. ST is a fully expandable remote control-based monitor controller and source switcher with four inputs and speaker switcher for 3-pairs of speakers and subwoofer, and includes integrated cue and talkback systems, with an onboard headphone power amplifier, all in one rack space. With the cat-5 connected remote control unit, included with the Monitor ST, engineers can configure and control an entire system from the comfort of the studio’s sweet spot. Studios working in stereo can start with the Monitor ST and later expand to surround sound control for film and TV work by adding the SR expansion unit with no equipment redundancy or obsolescence.
About Dangerous Music, Inc.
Dangerous Music, Inc. designs and builds products that are indispensable to any DAW-based recording environment. Dangerous Music electronics designer Chris Muth has spent over 20 years working in and designing custom equipment for top recording and mastering studios. Muth and company founder Bob Muller pioneered the concept of the dedicated analog summing buss for digital audio workstations with the Dangerous 2-Bus in 2001. Today the company offers a wide range of products for recording, mastering, mixing and post-production facilities, all designed and built with mastering-quality standards and a practical aesthetic. Key products include the Dangerous 2-Bus and 2-Bus LT, Dangerous Monitor ST-SR and its Additional Switching System expansion units, Dangerous D-Box, Dangerous Master, Dangerous S&M, Dangerous Monitor and Dangerous MQ. For more information visit http://www.dangerousmusic.com.

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*Utility Muffin Research Kitchen - Zappa Studio continue reading...

Insomniac does not get enough respect. I wish Green Day would play “Geek Stink Breath” a little more often: continue reading...

Is it possible to rank the songs of the Beatles? The greatest band of all time? To actually decide which song was their worst, which was their best and every single song in between?  Well, someone has done it. Its pretty amazing actually.  Some you’ll agree with, some you’ll violently disagree with, some you’ll even discover for the first time.

Its an incredibly detailed look at all 189 of the songs that the Beatles recorded on studio albums. Many thanks and congratulations to JBev of the site JamsBio.com for tackling this nearly impossible task. continue reading...

Wow, this was unexpected! More from NME.com:

The Faces are set to reunite for rehearsals with a view to a full reformation. continue reading...