I Wouldn’t Live There If You Paid Me To
Posted on | September 28, 2005 at 5:19 pm | 2 Comments
I did a wild thing last week and pre-ordered the Talking Heads Brick Box Set (it was only $104.99 then – the price has since gone up) which is due out next week. Even though I believe the whole HiRez/Surround Sound music thing is dying a pretty slow but horrible death, it still doesn’t stop me from seeking out what little software there is. The TH set consists of DualDisc versions of their 8 studio albums, with one side of each being remastered CDs with bonus tracks and the other side HiRez DVD-Audio in 5.1 surround. Every single Talking Heads studio track in HiRez Surround – no way could I pass that up. Most of the audiophiles (or at least the ones who post on forums) don’t like the DualDisc format, presumably because the CD side is often unplayable in some players due to compatibility issues (they are a little thicker than normal CDs). But since I’m not buying them for the CD side, I don’t really care. Although it is nice to have the “normal” versions so that I can rip them to my iPod or whatever, it’s not the main reason I buy one. Plus, I’ve already got regular CDs of all the TH albums. And in actuality, I’ve had very compatibility problems with the CD side of DualDiscs – the only player that ever seems to have problems is my old portable cheapie Aiwa one that I use at work.
The complainers prefer it when the record companies issue separate discs (one CD, one DVD) in a double cardboard box, and indeed, that does seem to be the better solution. The recent R.E.M. reissues (like this one) are that way. You know the CD is going to work in every player with those. But ’round these parts, where space is always an issue, the DualDiscs are just fine with me. And more importantly, it seems like DualDiscs are the only way that the HiRez and/or Surround formats are going to succeed, since they are faring much better with consumers at retail than are pure DVD-Audio or SACD discs.
Anyway, I’m salivating at the thought of hearing all those great Talking Heads songs in a brand new way.
In other home theater news, and as a followup to my NiMBY entry from a few weeks ago, the JeffCo commissioners have again rejected the proposed digital TV supertower on Lookout Mountain. What a stunning victory for the people who shouldn’t have even bought property up there in the first place, and against logic and science! Government works! (That was sarcasm.) I will be interested to see what happens next. Actually, no I won’t. I give up and will just keep praying for local HD over the satellite.
Latre.
Comments
2 Responses to “I Wouldn’t Live There If You Paid Me To”
September 30th, 2005 @ 8:42 am
You should have us all over to listen to Fear of Music incessantly.
September 30th, 2005 @ 11:15 pm
Fear of Music is definitely my favorite, though I also have a strange fondness for Little Creatures. But I think Remain in Light and Speaking in Tongues will sound best in HiRez Surround.