Bad news is that I'm fighting a respiratory infection and doing everything I can to keep it from becoming my third bout of bronchitis for the season. In addition to using my four asthma-management meds, I'm using my home nebulizer and doing sinus irrigation. The latter is too gross to describe, but I will anyway. It's an alternative to a Neti Pot. I tried one of those, and it gave me the worst "ice cream headache" I've ever had. The irrigation method, which is simply a bottle of distilled water mixed with salty solution, isn't painful at all. Just uncomfortable and, sometimes, gross, but if it helps me breathe, I'm all for it.
The good news is that MAGIX refunded my software price, and at a MAGIX forum I received a very courteous reply informing me of the refund and noting that my problem is not one commonly encountered. The person who responded suspects it's a folder-access issue with Windows Defender, which comes with 10. However, I think I can opt of out WD, which is worth a shot. I don't know why antivirus issues hadn't occurred to me.
But... I got my dough back, and please disregard the snarky things I said about MAGIX. I deeply appreciate MAGIX's attention to this problem--and their explaining things so a non-tech like me can grasp them.
Meanwhile, blog faithful and buddy Byron may well have solved the problem with my previous, better software. Byron gave me this link which explains a 10 feature I didn't know existed: the Windows 10 Compatibility Mode--link. It lets me sort of return the previous cleaning lab to a Windows 7 mode. So far, so good. I imported and corrected a number of 78 files without a crash. But I want to do some more testing before I declare victory. Things seem to have been fixed. If so, that's the best news of the summer!
It's always a great experience to assume the worst and then have it not happen. To expect disaster, then find out you were wrong. Lovely feeling. Now, if I can kick this damn bug. It's either a virus that's causing congestion or just the ragweed messing me over with no help from any bugs. We're always told about the different between viruses and infections, in the context of prescribing antibiotics (which work on the latter but not the former), but viruses can cause congestion, and congestion can lead to infections as a result of blocked drainage. So a bug can lead to an infection. It's happened to me many times.
Let's hope my older cleaning lab continues to function in adjusted compatibility mode, or whatever the right phrase is. I'd keep my fingers crossed, but it's so hard to type that way....
Lee
Wednesday, August 28, 2019
Fun singles from Hit Records, including a terrible "Barbara Ann"
Your chance to hear Joe Cash, George Killebrew, and Danny and Deanie. (Danny and Deanie??) I've had these Hit Records singles ready to go for a couple of weeks--they predate the present MAGIX mess, and date from the previous mess, when my earlier program was blinking out every third track. But somehow I got these done, and I've decided to put them up while I wait for MAGIX to not get back to me. I got the release years from Discogs and 45cat.
In case you're interested, of these 20 numbers, the ones I remember from back in the day are Barbara Ann (the 1966 version, of course), The Night Has a Thousand Eyes, Psychotic Reaction, Sherry, Sealed with a Kiss, Bread and Butter, House of the Rising Sun, It Hurts to Be in Love, and (Down at) Papa Joe's. I came to know, and love, No Particular Place to Go when my brother bought it as an oldie, so that's not a first-hand memory, but it's a fond one, regardless. And Telstar was on regular radio oldies rotation, so I've known it forever, though I doubt my memory is first-hand. I was a huge fan of the Four Seasons, and their Dawn and Big Girls Don't Cry were my two favorite records in the whole world--but those fakes are not in this list, unfortunately, though we do get Sherry. The tail end of 1962 seems to be the start of my first-hand pop music memories. AM radio started for me in 1962.
Quality-wise, these fakes run the gamut from adequate to excellent. As for the opening number--well, for some reason, this label could never do the Beach Boys anything close to justice, and even the basic harmonies of Barbara Ann sound pretty amateurish here. Worst of all is the attempt to mimic the midpoint patter, which here sounds like people muttering in Icelandic. That is to say, this Barbara Ann is so awful it's great. I'm very glad to have it. The label does way better on its copy of Bobby Vee's classic The Night Has a Thousand Eyes, and its faux Fab Four (the Boll Weevils!) version of My Bonnie is flat-out great. (Amazingly, I never heart the "dirty" version of this song until my Navy days.) Having a fake version of the Carole King-Gerry Goffin Steve Lawrence hit Walking Proud makes my collection happy (and proud), and there are two more King-Goffins, both classics--Don't Say Nothin' (Bad About My Baby) and I Can't Stay Mad at You, both competently copied. Carole is obviously copying Neil Sedaka like crazy on the second title, but she was the greater talent, so it's okay. She was better at his style than he was.
The two fake Elvis tracks are very good, especially Such a Night, and I thought I'd depart totally from the general mood with Love Me with All Your Heart, a cover of the Ray Charles Singers' version, which I've always regarded as an inferior Al Di La. And I have no idea what I just typed. The House of the Rising Sun is pretty downright unbelievably bad, with the singer sounding like the laughing gas hasn't quite worn off. Lousy version, but funny-lousy. I don't know who the singer thought he was imitating. Eric Burdon's vocal is a masterpiece of enunciation by comparison.
The izzzz a houz in Nuh Uh-leeeeens, they... where am I?
Listening back to Bread and Butter, it's really pretty bad. There must have been plenty of studio musicians willing to record under fake names, and at least one of those must have been able to imitate the raspy falsetto this number requires. And I'd better stop listening back to these, because I keep changing my verdict. To the tracks. Enjoy!
DOWNLOAD: Barbara Ann--and more! Hit Records singles
Barbara Ann (Beach Boys version)--The Chellows (Hit Records 237; 1966)
The "In" Crowd--Just Three (Hit Records 222; 1965)
The Night Has a Thousand Eyes--Joe Cash (Hit Records 47; 1963)
Psychotic Reaction--Jalopy Five (Hit Records 268; 1966)
Love Me with All Your Heart--The Music City Singers (Hit Records 119; 1964)
She's Not You (Pomus-Leiber-Stoller)--George Killebrew (Hit Records 27; 1962)
Sherry--The Four Chellows (Hit Records 30; 1962)
Sealed with a Kiss--Dick Swift (Hit Records 21; 1962)
Such a Night--Ed Hardin (Hit Records 138; 1964)
Don't Say Nothin' Bad (About My Baby) (King-Goffin)--Clara Wilson (Hit Records 62; 1963)
Pipeline--The Music City Five (Hit Records 62; 1963)
Bread and Butter--Danny and Deanie (Hit Records 137; 1964)
House of the Rising Sun--The Spartas (Hit Records 137; 1964)
It Hurts to Be in Love--Bobby Brooks (Hit Records 143; 1964)
My Bonnie (My Bonnie Lies Over the Ocean)--The Boll Weevils (Hit Records 107; 1964)
I Can't Stay Mad at You (King-Goffin)--Kathy Taylor (Hit Records 86; 1963)
Telstar--The Tides (Hit Records 42; 1962)
Walking Proud (King-Goffin)--John Preston (Hit Records 92; 1963)
No Particular Place to Go (Berry)--Sammie Moore (Hit Records 125)
(Down At) Papa Joe's--The Tennessee and Four More (Hit Records 89; 1963)
Lee
Sunday, August 25, 2019
I sent my request to MAGIX
I'm supposed to hear back within two business days. I hope this won't be a replay of my ridiculous experience with the company that makes VinylStudio. You see, I was getting "raw" (untreated) files in the folder meant for corrected VS files. I knew that. I told them as much. As a general rule, when someone writes you about a problem with a description of the problem, then he or she KNOWS that the problem exists. I think that's someplace in Chapter One of Logic for Tree Fungus Spores.
Three times, the Einstein VS tech repeated, "You're exporting the raw files." Um, no, the PROGRAM was exporting the raw files. I don't work inside the computer. I don't even fit in it. I'm a human being, not an electron. My question was WHY IS THE PROGRAM PUTTING UNFIXED/RAW/UNTREATED FILES IN THE FOLDER INTENDED FOR FIXED FILES. The program. Their software. Hello.
That was my question. The guy never answered it. Three times he didn't answer it. I wonder if he got a bonus. It's like going to the shop to get your car fixed, and you describe the problem, and the mechanic repeats it back to you. Three times. And nothing is fixed. Unreal. "Here's your car back." "You didn't fix the problem." "No, but I told you what the problem is." "No, I told you what the problem is, you (string of obscenities)." "Call security."
I, me, myself was not exporting the raw files. The PROGRAM was exporting them. I think the really, really helpful VS help guy/gal also repeated the name of destination folder, which I had already twice named. When someone has twice named a destination folder, it's a clear sign the the person is AWARE OF THAT FOLDER'S EXISTENCE AND FUNCTION. Do Help people get degrees in Noncommunication?
I'll be surprised if I get an answer, let alone a helpful one. But let's hope I'm being too pessimistic. It's easy to be pessimistic when you buy a new program and it contains more glitches than any ten programs you've previously run.
Lee
Three times, the Einstein VS tech repeated, "You're exporting the raw files." Um, no, the PROGRAM was exporting the raw files. I don't work inside the computer. I don't even fit in it. I'm a human being, not an electron. My question was WHY IS THE PROGRAM PUTTING UNFIXED/RAW/UNTREATED FILES IN THE FOLDER INTENDED FOR FIXED FILES. The program. Their software. Hello.
That was my question. The guy never answered it. Three times he didn't answer it. I wonder if he got a bonus. It's like going to the shop to get your car fixed, and you describe the problem, and the mechanic repeats it back to you. Three times. And nothing is fixed. Unreal. "Here's your car back." "You didn't fix the problem." "No, but I told you what the problem is." "No, I told you what the problem is, you (string of obscenities)." "Call security."
I, me, myself was not exporting the raw files. The PROGRAM was exporting them. I think the really, really helpful VS help guy/gal also repeated the name of destination folder, which I had already twice named. When someone has twice named a destination folder, it's a clear sign the the person is AWARE OF THAT FOLDER'S EXISTENCE AND FUNCTION. Do Help people get degrees in Noncommunication?
I'll be surprised if I get an answer, let alone a helpful one. But let's hope I'm being too pessimistic. It's easy to be pessimistic when you buy a new program and it contains more glitches than any ten programs you've previously run.
Lee
I'm not leaving
I wrote a post saying goodbye. Part of it was the eight year old in me all hurt because of the lack of comments the past two posts, save for Ernie's mercy remark, but mostly it's my wretched morning, week, month, summer. I won't bore you with the details. But the (I hate this word) proverbial last straw, or straws, were my crap (but not cheap) PC, the abomination called Windows 10, the death of my beloved MAGIX audio cleaning lab, and now the MAGIX Sound Forge version--the newest cleaning lab--which, in two words, DOESN'T WORK. I got past the first glitch--a glitch that makes so little sense, I can't even describe it--so I felt pretty clever. On top of the world. That, plus I successfully restored my VinylStudio files after unintentionally moving them to my D drive. I won't bore you with that story.
But my joy was short-lived. The MAGIX Sound Forge crapware is now losing my files when I choose to apply all the current effects. Not every time, but nearly every time. This save feature is designed to save CPU space. Since I slice the waveforms and overlap and do tons of split-second "object" filtering, I like to use this feature to put a track back together--literally. Otherwise, further changes in the project can throw everything massively out of kilter. I've had that happen tons of times. So, now MAGIX (there must be a vicious pun I can make on that name) simply sends my files to the great beyond when I opt to save my current changes. MAGIX isn't SAVING my changes, it's OBLITERATING them. Perhaps the Einstein who designed this abomination of a program doesn't know the distinction.
It's like, you take your car in to be fixed. You don't get it back. "We fixed it." "Where is it?" "We fixed it." "Yes, but... but.... Where is my car????" "We fixed it. We saved all the changes we made, so now it's gone." "Where is my car?????"
MAGIX is famous for its lack of help, but I'm going to try to find out what's going on. I will ask, straight out, WHY the program ($80 down the commode--no refund) is getting rid of my files when I try to save current changes. I will ask WHY that function isn't working. I won't even mention that other, utterly bizarre glitch (which I can get past by using "Save Program As..." instead of "Save Program." Neat, huh?) And will I get anything that resembles an answer? I think the probability is very low.
Please do not touch with a 100-foot pole anything put out by MAGIX. The company was great once. It decided to go the standard cyber-path to Hell, and I hope it enjoys its time there. I was a fool to trust MAGIX, because I knew its quality was dropping. I just didn't realize it was dropping this rapidly. I'm an idiot to have placed faith in this company. Past excellence is no indicator of present quality, and I know that. And I blew $80, anyway. Oh, but I "saved" $20.
I tried Audio Audacity--er, Audacity, and it makes no sense to me (I am not a tech), so in the highly likely event the MAGIX issues go unsolved, I'll have to try VinylStudio, which is very much like the MAGIX audio cleaning labs in their pre-crapware form, but the layout is so embarrassingly amateurish, I don't know if anything approximating detailed work is possible on it. I do hyper-detailed work on my 78 rips, and VS is like something a kid with a pen and a ruler sketched out.
Wish me luck. No, wait--don't. If I experienced any, it would be the first time this summer, and the shock would kill me.
Lee
But my joy was short-lived. The MAGIX Sound Forge crapware is now losing my files when I choose to apply all the current effects. Not every time, but nearly every time. This save feature is designed to save CPU space. Since I slice the waveforms and overlap and do tons of split-second "object" filtering, I like to use this feature to put a track back together--literally. Otherwise, further changes in the project can throw everything massively out of kilter. I've had that happen tons of times. So, now MAGIX (there must be a vicious pun I can make on that name) simply sends my files to the great beyond when I opt to save my current changes. MAGIX isn't SAVING my changes, it's OBLITERATING them. Perhaps the Einstein who designed this abomination of a program doesn't know the distinction.
It's like, you take your car in to be fixed. You don't get it back. "We fixed it." "Where is it?" "We fixed it." "Yes, but... but.... Where is my car????" "We fixed it. We saved all the changes we made, so now it's gone." "Where is my car?????"
MAGIX is famous for its lack of help, but I'm going to try to find out what's going on. I will ask, straight out, WHY the program ($80 down the commode--no refund) is getting rid of my files when I try to save current changes. I will ask WHY that function isn't working. I won't even mention that other, utterly bizarre glitch (which I can get past by using "Save Program As..." instead of "Save Program." Neat, huh?) And will I get anything that resembles an answer? I think the probability is very low.
Please do not touch with a 100-foot pole anything put out by MAGIX. The company was great once. It decided to go the standard cyber-path to Hell, and I hope it enjoys its time there. I was a fool to trust MAGIX, because I knew its quality was dropping. I just didn't realize it was dropping this rapidly. I'm an idiot to have placed faith in this company. Past excellence is no indicator of present quality, and I know that. And I blew $80, anyway. Oh, but I "saved" $20.
I tried Audio Audacity--er, Audacity, and it makes no sense to me (I am not a tech), so in the highly likely event the MAGIX issues go unsolved, I'll have to try VinylStudio, which is very much like the MAGIX audio cleaning labs in their pre-crapware form, but the layout is so embarrassingly amateurish, I don't know if anything approximating detailed work is possible on it. I do hyper-detailed work on my 78 rips, and VS is like something a kid with a pen and a ruler sketched out.
Wish me luck. No, wait--don't. If I experienced any, it would be the first time this summer, and the shock would kill me.
Lee
Favorite gospel tracks, Part 2--Since Jesus Came Into My Heart-athon, more!
I wish I had time to write notes, but I don't--except to explain that the Billy Sunday Chorus, heard here on a 1917 Victor 78, was a mixed chorus of 2,500 voices. Why Victor attempted to record 2,500 voices using the acoustical method, who can say. But the song--Sail On--is magnificent, and it got me immediately looking into the composer, Charles H. Gabriel. That's when I discovered he'd written standards like Send the Light, Higher Ground, Brighten the Corner..., and tons more. I had figured that whoever penned Sail On had to be a major gospel music force, and my instincts were spot on. He's all over today's playlist. Here's a young Gabriel--rather handsome dude. Courtesy of the internet's best website, The Cyber Hymnal.
Enjoy!
DOWNLOAD: Favorite gospel tracks, Part 2
Hear Jerusalem Moan--Carl Story
Angel Band (Bradbury)--The Southlan Trio, 1964
One God--Jill Corey w. Percy Faith and His Orch., 1954
Sail On (Chas. H. Gabriel)--Janz Quartet, 1955
Sail On (Gabriel)--Billy Sunday Chorus, Dir. Homer Rodeheaver (Victor 18322; 1917)
Since Jesus Came Into My Heart (McDaniel-Gabriel)--The Merrill Staton Choir, 1958
Same--Chuck Wagon Gang, 1973
Same--Christian Couriers Male Quartet
Same--Revivaltime Choir, 1969
His Eye Is on the Sparrow (Martin-Gabriel)--Harry K. Shields, Tenor Solo (Columbia Phonograph Company 91396; poss. 1924)
Same--Oak Ridge Boys, 1964
All Hail, Emmanuel (Gabriel)--William McEwan (Columbia A1365; 1912)
All Hail Emmanuel (Gabriel)--The Van Impes
He Lifted Me (Gabriel)--Don Marsh Singers and Orchestra, 1981
A Picture from Life's Other Side--Cowboy Copas, 1963
Picture from Life's Other Side--Bradley Kincaid, 1932?
Brighten the Corner Where You Are (Ogdon-Gabriel)--Chuck Wagon Gang, 1973
Same--The Blackwood Brothers, 1967
Same--Burl Ives, 1963
Same--The Shorb Brothers
Same--Red Foley, 1959
Same--Lewis Family, 1967
Sunshine in My Soul (Hewitt-Sweney)--Burl Ives w. Owen Bradley Choir and Orch., 1962
Palms of Victory (Matthias)--The Journeymen
The Meeting in the Air (Isaiah G. Martin)--Prairie Grove Gospel Messengers
Lee
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