It's reassuring to know that the infrastructure at Sears Tower is so orderly and well-maintained.

https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...9c986d15a2.png



Also, I learned of the existence of a plumbing technique called "Hot Tapping." Neat stuff.

Living on the edge...

https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...a52d3012ad.jpg

Never heard of that. Pretty neat.

http://www.wermac.org/specials/hotta...ttap_steps.gif

You should see them do it on a live 30in sewage force main with a 8in tap. Things can get pretty shitty if there's a problem.

They're coming...

I'm looking forward to seeing it done on a 20" diameter vertical riser pipe carrying water from the chillers on the 42nd floor up to the 97th floor. The pressure and volume of water in that pipe is not small.

God that Weezer album made me cringe while skimming thru the songs. Their cover of "Paranoid Android" seemed OK and did a cool job on the bridge, until you hear his horrid squeal of a sound when replacing the word "this" with "that".

Ugh, those are crap covers of a whiny song by a band who turned into such bandwagon shit. There were a couple of cool songs on Ignition. But IMHO, the coolest/best song they recorded was "Smash".....listening to the lyrics and thinking about what they turned into after the album "Smash" will just kinda make you facepalm and laugh. I mean having the lyrics "I'm not a trendy asshole. Do what I want, do what I feel like", then think of the song "Pretty Fly".


Of all the cover songs and stuff, one band has done it right, doing respectful versions as a hat tip, and doing for obvious fun....but doing them "right". These come from a couple of guys called Local-H. They did 2 albums of just covers...all of which I feel were done just right. Unfortunately, there's no single 'full album' to like to YT, but here's a playlist of Mixtape #1. There is a mixtape #2. Like I kinda feel "Toxic" (not on either album) is showing how to really rock the fuck out, while "Time" is definitely paying homage. If you didn't know The Misfits' "Last Caress" you'd think Local-H's verst is just a nice little acustic quicky song lol. Here is a list of all the songs covered in both albums...because no full album links on YT:

Awesome Mixtape #1​
​​​​​​

Track Listings

1. Wolf Like Me (written by TV on the Radio)
2. Joey (written by Concrete Blonde)
3. Puss (written by The Jesus Lizard)
4. Spiderbite (written by Winnebago Deal)
5. Blood Stains (written by Agent Orange)
6. Time (written by Pink Floyd)
7. For Lovers (written by Wolfman)
8. Last Caress (written by The Misfits)

Awesome Mixtape #2

TrackListings

1. Heroes (written by David Bowie)
2. Team (written by by Lorde)
3. Some Weird Sin (written by Iggy Pop)
4. Only the Strong Survive (written by Reo Speedwagon)
5. God City (written by Soulside)
6. Da Funk (written by Daft Punk)
7. Evelyn Mason (written by Muchacha)
8. Isn't It a Pity By George Harrison)

Awesome Mix Tape #1: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?lis...qz9HATpJ6vVpF2

Toxic

You have remarkably poor taste in music.

I mean, that first track is what I imagine it would sound like if a cat got its tail stuck in the roller of a dot-matrix printer that was printing out the full text of Atlas Shrugged, and started flailing around wildly, knocking a bunch of guitars (which were stacked on the table next to the printer) onto the ground, with the sound of an entire Fire Company racing to the scene of a major disaster, with their sirens and diesel engines roaring down the street outside.

That really has got to be one of the worst noises which it is possible to make in a recording studio, short of demolishing the studio itself with explosives. Or maybe tossing live guinea pigs into a wood chipper, assuming you can get permission to operate a wood chipper inside a recording studio.

https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...5e32decb34.png

You hear a guinea pig? I hear a Ñeque.


I took that video in Panama last month.

Still not nearly as bad as that Weezer shit lol.

Now, is such commentary based on personal ability to play instruments and a dislike for the key selection and recording quality? Is it based on being a TV On The Radio fan and the thought of touching their original material is worse than the fact that the Earth is flat? Was the listening attempt made on a phone with an external speaker that sucks at playing anything other than a ringtone? Might it be simple initial impression having not heard any music from the artist?

Way cool. And it could have been. I tend to assume that all members of the order rodentia sound pretty much the same going through a shredder.


The initial impression was made while listening on a pair of Alesis Elevate 5 Mk-II speakers. The same ones I buy at work for our post-production rooms. Here is a photo:

https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...b846dcbe69.png

(The small Logitech speakers are long since gone.)


The technical quality of recording was fine. The quality of the performance was fine. It was the quality of the composition that offends the senses.

I'd never even heard of TV on the Radio before. I had to look them on on YouTube, and their original is nearly as bad as the cover.

In fact, I often enjoy well-made cover versions of songs which I enjoyed in their original form, even if they dramatically alter the musical style. It's even ok if they shift into a weird key. (In fact, Tyler Ward's minor-key cover of Hey Jude is amazing.) I merely require that neither the original nor the cover version sound more like an industrial accident than like music.

Examples:

The cars parked in one of the lots at Denver International Airport form an interestingly pleasing pattern:

https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...461d992b57.png

If you don't need to watch them, they are all as good or better than the originals, except for Hey Jude. I am going back to talk radio now.

That's a pretty nice setup you have there. The questions were a mix of general inquiry and sarcasm to understand why you'd go through the lengths you did typing up that reply.
I'll admit the "Dream On" cover was quite tasteful. I'm not too familiar with a few of the others, but will listen/compare. Right now I'm in the middle of removing the old coilovers and installing the Xida Race coilovers...and new swaybars and a few other things.

So, you might not have found either of those songs (original or cover) pleasing to the ear, but commenting about one's personal taste in music based on that is a bit of a stretch. C'mon Joe, you're smarter than that. Perhaps look at the playlist and look for something you know/like and give it a listen? Maybe the cover of "Time"? Unless you don't find that song particularly pleasing, as I do. There is another cover that, to me, takes a "meh" radio hit and adds a good, solid composition- it's a cover of "Uninvited" by Alien8 (I know...kinda trendy and silly sounding name).

Someone (s) had too much free time lol. I've always thought the runway layout of DIA is a bit amusing.

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikiped...A_2002_mod.jpg

Just your basic split hull UFO

Seriously, I really want to read an academic paper which investigates how that particular pattern of cars emerged naturally in a parking lot in central Colorado. It's damned odd, if you ask me.

I can accept that the minor-key version of Hey Jude is a bit out there.

I have an admittedly unusual fondness for minor-key renditions of popular music.

A poorly-executed but still admirable example:






This is a really weird one, but it captivates me:






This guy is annoying to listen to (speaking, not playing), but fairly talented. Skip to 0:45: