read in s/v about flaming lips yoshimi and the pink robots dvd-a and gambled. picked it up saturday complete with a frown from the bride asking who the hell are they. i told her i had no clue, but i gotta tell you, played in 5 dot 1, it sounds great. these guys seem to have played around with the prodution of the disc. if you're willing to gamble a case of beer in the price, i suggest it.
dan

who the hell are those guys??

bigjohn

i had never heard of them b/4 either, but they're not bad. bonus..the dvd-a also came with the release on a cd. i think if every dvd-a came with the cd too, at $24.00 it's not a bad deal and more copies would sell.

that is next on my list of essentials.. a dvd/cd that will play sacd's and dvd-a's.. i dont have a clue what i am missing!! i have a sony that i bought a year and a half ago, but it is gonna be moved to my sons room..

its funny.. you think you are doing OK, til you realize what everyone else has.. a new TV is also somewhere down the line.. DirecTV srvc is first though.. i am tired of paying my local cable provider $50 bucks a month for crappy srvc..

sorry, i am rambling...enjoy your new discs..

bigjohn

I think you should realize that "we" are not everybody else. Everybody else is a much larger group, which in comparison to you are probably doing quite OK. I need a new TV and dvd player too though, if that helps.

"we, everyone, everybody", a group by any other name is still the same.. i was just refering to the fact that ya'll, as a group, are WAY ahead of the game when it comes to HT.. at least by comparison to me.. if i would have known then(when i bought the equip i have), compared to what i know now, i would have done things a lot different. but i can dig it, i am getting there. its a learning curve that we have ALL been on..

i just have speaker envy.. well, dvd player envy, cd player envy, TV envy, sub envy, etc, etc.. i think i have done well with my receiver, but wont really know til i get some speakers to hook-up to it..

there is always light at the end of the tunnel..

bigjohn

BTW, ringmir..

you are often talking about band equip, and being in a band.. what kinda music do you play?? got any demos? what instrument do you play? fill us in!!

bigjohn

Alas, I am not in a band. When I was in college I basically lived in a venue. We put on shows in our living room once a month or so. It's technically a fraternity, but that was more of our university approved "cover" for a venue than anything else. The house was largely populated by musicians although some of us were there for the more organizational aspects. All of our "social dues" went to paying bands and upgrading equipment, there were no parties just shows. It is a large space, with a stage and full sound system, and they still have shows. And every spring we throw a big all day event that we dump roughly 5k into. Unfortunately I can't make it back to Philly for it this year. I occasionally ran the sound board, although it was not my strongest point. I mostly had oversight duties at the shows, dealt with bands, security, equipment setup/procurement, maintenance, and promotional stuff. I've gotta say, it was a lot of fun and I learned a ton. Probably more about DIY stuff (carpentry, plumbing, electrical work, etc)than sound, but practical knowledge all the same. Hard to get homework done when there's a band blaring and 400 people packed in your house to worry about, but in the end I got through with no trouble and learned a lot more in college than my comp. sci and math degrees entail.

Some particularly memorable moments are when one of the concert-goers set off 5 smoke bombs during "Wesley Willis" (one crazy crazy man) and we had to evacuate the building until the smoke cleared, and explain to the police that we had everything under control while a mob of annoyed west-philly residents stood out on the sidewalk. Or when "Man or Astroman" was playing with a tesla coil on stage and it shocked one of the monitors and fed back into the amp, which then caught on fire. (We thought it was only fair the cost of those items be deducted from their contract.) Some very well known bands have come through, like the "Dead Milkmen", although that show was "before my time" there.

I did play clarinet and then tenor sax for about 12 years but never in a band (aside from a quartet for a while), mostly just jazz and classical stuff. I haven't picked the things up in a while though, college (and that house) started draining my free time and I sort of fell off the wagon.

Dan
those guys are freakin' nuts! I guess the best way to describe their music is a melting pot - influences from all over the spectrum. This is a good bio on them, Here. Kind of gives you an idea how wacky they are.

A couple of months ago they were in Blender mag. They were in the re-occurring article where Blender gives a band $848 to spend as they wish. They bought a bunch of Pepto Bismal and dumped it on some strippers.

sounds like a rather boring college life!!

if we could all be so lucky.. i am all about going to see live bands, i would have loved that. i am sure that was an awesome experience.

i played the stand-up bass, and tuba in jr and high school.. mainly concert season, no marching(i played football).. now i am into acoustic guitar.. i am writing some songs, and i play a few bars here in town, just me and the guitar. no band.. i have been messing with a harmonica to try and add some back-up.. i just have fun with it.. good way to relax and be expressive. i very much enjoy it.

i actually have an old 'dead milkmen' tape.. it is called, 'big lizard in my backyard'.. bought it when i was in the 9th grade(1985-86), and i still have it.. kinda reckless/rebel/punk/stupid.. all rolled into one.. i spin once or twice a year to get a good laugh..

thanks for your story..

bigjohn

sid, i did watch the video and i must agree. wierd but kinda a fun band. are the rumors true they are singing backup on nora's next release?

And if you saw Beck's tour last year, they opened for him as well performed as his backing band. They've been around for a long time. Flaming Lips have always been one of those bands that are meant to be seen. Their records don't do them full justice.

I highly recommend going to see one of their shows, but definitely not everyone's taste.

Rich