192kHz: What’s this fuss about it?

Have you ever wondered why there are so many different sample rates and why? The compact disc samples at 44.1kHz/16 bits. But then there’s these other rates like 48kHz, 88.2kHz, 96kHz, 176.4kHz, 192kHz. Wow, that’s a lot and the spacing doesn’t seem to make a lot of sense. How did we get to these numbers […]

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Why was Paul McCartney knighted, but not John Lennon or George Harrison?

TODD B writes … All four Beatles were made Members of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in 1965. There are five classes to the Order of the British Empire (Member, Officer, Commander, Knight Commander, and Knight Grand Cross) and MBE is the lowest level with the highest being Knight. But in Lennon’s case […]

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GRAND FUNK LOST IMMORTALS: Did this ’70s rock group disappear in the realm of mediocrity?

Bob Smith writes … The band began as a trio back in 1969 and took their name from a railroad company that had a line running through their home town of Flint, Michigan. The band saw tremendous popularity in the early 1970’s quickly becoming a well recognized band. By 1971 the band was selling out […]

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BEATLES: Why did they include ‘Revolution 9’ in The White Album?

ALEX JOHNSTON writes … Yes, indeed. ‘Revolution 9’. Commonly agreed to be the Worst. Beatle Track. Ever. A blot, we are constantly told, on an otherwise great album. And, I mean…it’s hard to disagree. The Beatles were a band whose signature trait was not that they were the heaviest, or the most complex, or the […]

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HENDRIX: Did he really memorize The Beatles’ ‘Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band’ two days after it was released?

Alex Johnston writes … Yes. It was actually three days after the album’s release that Hendrix played it at a concert in the Saville Theatre. Memorising it, incidentally, is a feat well within the powers of even a middling rock musician. ‘Sgt Pepper’ the song isn’t exactly complicated, and Hendrix—a hugely gifted rock musician—had been […]

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RORY GALLAGHER: Did he ever play with Rolling Stones?

Eric Johnson answers It’s a little-known fact that Rory Gallagher nearly joined Bill Wyman in the Rolling Stones after guitarist Mick Taylor walked out following a series of blow-ups with Keith Richards. In January 1975, Rory was invited by The Rolling Stones to come and jam/audition with The Stones in Rotterdam after Mick Taylor had […]

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SOFT MACHINE: Interesting!

 “…can’t stop listening to it. Utterly wonderful, experimental but still “pop” music. The Soft Machine and Volume Two, I got into a few years ago but just found Jet Propelled Photographs which are recordings that predate the first album. The early single Love Makes Sweet Music is a classic as well. Any other early Softs […]

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Quill

Q&A: On The Beatles’ ‘Revolver’ album, who was the song ‘For No One’ written about?

PATRICIA P WRITES … Paul usually doesn’t write in first person but has on some occasions. The song wasn’t written about himself and Jane Asher. They were actually on vacation together when Paul wrote the song. The song was written in 1966 while Paul was 24. He seemed to be a bit young to write […]

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WHY: It’s why so many legitimate reviews of equipment today express an opinion on sound and ignore the details of performance!

PS AUDIO / Paul McGowan And continuing our thought from a recent post, only this time in reverse, isn’t it obvious that just because something has all the right stuff it doesn’t necessarily qualify as great itself? And doesn’t this observation help explain one of the age old mysteries in audio about how something can […]

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PARADOX: Why do we enjoy listening to sad music?

A study by Japanese researchers that Sad music might actually evoke positive emotions. Sad music might actually evoke positive emotions reveals a new study by Japanese researchers published in the open-access journal Frontiers in Psychology. The findings help to explain why people enjoy listening to sad music, say Ai Kawakami and colleagues from Tokyo University […]

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LENNON / RUNDGREN: Why did they have a feud?

Joseph Charles, Musician It wasn’t what I’d call a feud; they each took swipes at each other in 1974, and that was it. Rundgren criticized Lennon rather harshly in an interview with Melody Maker magazine. A few choice quotes: “John Lennon ain’t no revolutionary. He’s a fucking idiot, man. Shouting about revolution and acting like […]

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PROGRESSIVE ROCK: Why is it so unpopular?

Alexander Musarra writes … Let me first generalize pop music. Popular music generally focuses on having a good, danceable groove, and a simple, melodic hook. Popular music is also relatively short, 3 minutes being average. Harmonically they are generally diatonic (within the major scale) with little, if any modulations (change of key). Progressive rock, on […]

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MOZART: What would he have thought of Chopin’s music?

Rodney Chin, former Student of Musicology I’d like to think that Mozart would have enjoyed Chopin’s music; after all, it’s no secret that the latter held the former in the highest esteem, and Chopin was not in the habit of issuing compliments to others (and if he did, only grudgingly). However, he did genuinely enjoy […]

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GINGER BAKER: Is correct to say that Mitch Mitchell, the drummer in the Jimi Hendrix Experience, was a hopeless journeyman?

MICHAEL PAULL writes … Before getting into this, a few facts to consider: -Ginger Baker is a drummer who is deeply admired by many of the most iconic drummers in the business. The guy could play. So for what it’s worth, when he, on a rare occasion, happens to say someone else is good, he’s […]

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OUTPUT IMPEDANCE: What is the effect of an amplifier’s output impedance on the sound of speakers?

FM writes: this is a brilliant question. The majority of audiophiles know nothing about output impedance. Since the question is specifically about the effect on Sound, I’m going to try not to get too technical. A solid state amplifier will have an almost unmeasurably low output impedance, close to zero, i.e. .0001 ohms or thereabouts. […]

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THE WALL: Did David Gilmour dislike “The Wall” album by Pink Floyd because it had too many lyrics from Roger Waters and not enough from him?

MDM writes: Gilmour spoke about The Wall in an interview. He stated that he really liked entire album, except for the “Vera Lynn stuff.” I assume he was referring to all the theatrical songs, including Nobody Home, Vera, Bring the Boys Back Home, etc. As for Waters writing all the lyrics and most of the […]

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BLUES-ROCK: The six most overlooked Blues-Rock guitarists?

Reverend Keith A. Gordon / ThoughtCo writes: Let be honest here, shall we? Blues-rock fretburners like Eric Clapton, Jimi Hendrix, and Stevie Ray Vaughan typically receive all the love while other talented guitarists are too often forced to wait in line to gather up whatever crumbs of critical acclaim remain. These skilled musicians bring plenty […]

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