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The Wilhelm Scream

It’s positively ubiquitous! According to Gizmodo …

The sound effect that’s been heard in countless movies and TV shows over the decades technically has two birthdays. As a sound itself, it originally debuted in the 1951 film Distant Drums from singer-songwriter Sheb Wooley. But it was officially given its name with the minor character of Private Wilhelm in The Charge at Feather River, a western that came out July 11, 1953. In that movie, Wilhelm (played by actor Ralph Brooks) screams after being shot in the thigh with an arrow, which would come to define its use: in all of its appearances in future media, it would be used when someone got shot, blasted back by an explosion, or fell from a high distance.

Recently, CBS News did a story on the Wilhelm Scream, and the outlet revealed that it managed to find a tape with the first recording session Wooley did for the scream. CalArts researcher Craig Smith explained to CBS that he found the tape among many from the archives of the University of Southern California’s film school that were close to being trashed.

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This Is Not About A Car

Watched a pretty decent Netflix documentary about Mr. Johnson last night, which sent me back down the rabbit hole.

And I feel so lonesome, you hear me when I moan
And I feel so lonesome, you hear me when I moan
Who been drivin’ my Terraplane for you since I been gone?
I’d said I flash your lights, mama, you horn won’t even blow
Somebody’s been runnin’ my batteries down on this machine
I even flash my lights, mama, this horn won’t even blow
Got a short in this connection, hoo well, babe, it’s way down below
I’m goin’ heist your hood, mama, I’m bound to check your oil
I’m goin’ heist your hood, mama, mmm, I’m bound to check your oil
I got a woman that I’m lovin’, way down in Arkansas
Now, you know the coils ain’t even buzzin’, little generator won’t get the spark
Motor’s in a bad condition, you gotta have these batteries charged
But I’m cryin’, please, please don’t do me wrong
Who been drivin’ my Terraplane now for you since I been gone?
Mr. highway man, please don’t block the road
Please, please don’t block the road
‘Cause she’s reachin’ a cold one hundred and I’m booked and I got to go
Mmm-mmm-mmm-mmm-mmm
You, you hear me weep and moan
Who been drivin’ my Terraplane now for you since I been gone?
I’m gon’ get deep down in this connection, keep on tanglin’ with your wires
I’m gon’ get deep down in this connection, oh well, keep on tanglin’ with these wires
And when I mash down on your little starter, then your sparkplug will give me fire

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How To Spot A Deepfake

All you got to do is watch, with your ears.

At the encouragement of Fakerbot, I listened to several of the AI-songs out there before they all got yanked after a couple of days. But some of them are back up!

Hearing early Beach Boys”I Get Around” era Brian Wilson falsetto on “Be My Baby” – the song that drove his entire professional career – is sublime. Listen before they take it down again.

I also heard some pretty bad AI Nirvana.
The best of the lot is definitely Elvis singing Iggy Pop.
You can’t even tell it’s simulated!

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It’s In Dubly

[compiled from multiple sources]

Dolby Atmos technology allows up to 128 audio tracks plus associated spatial audio description metadata, which includes sound type, location, movement, intensity, speed and volume.

One of the reasons other highly touted surround sound technologies like 5.1 and 7.1 failed to catch on is because they required a specific speaker configuration. Dolby Atmos, however, is scalable and can adapt to a variety of setups.

The first Dolby Atmos installation was in the El Capitan Theater in Los Angeles for the premiere of Brave in June 2012. As of October 2022, there were over 10,000 Dolby Atmos enabled cinema screens installed or committed to.

Dolby Atmos has also been adapted to a home theater format and is the audio component of Dolby Cinema. Most electronic devices since 2016, as well as smartphones after 2017, have been enabled for Dolby Atmos recording and mixing. Apple has emphasized playback on its AirPods and Beats Fit Pro devices, which all offer a version of the Atmos experience with dynamic head tracking (where the sound shifts along with a user’s movement) in the $200 to $500 range. 

“In general, you have to try to put the tracks into a speaker array so it doesn’t sound too jarring or gimmicky,” a sound engineer said. “The goal is to feel like you’re sitting amongst these musicians as they’re performing. Like all mixing, it’s subjective, and how you approach it really depends on the music itself.”

Susan Rogers, a longtime engineer for Prince, was invited to Dolby company headquarters in San Francisco to listen to a new Atmos mix of Prince’s “When Doves Cry,” a track she originally worked on. She observed that music is a potent form of communication in large part because the consummatory phase happens entirely in the listener’s head. Having clearer and more sound sources can actually make it harder to know what to pay attention to. “That was what I noticed listening to ‘When Doves Cry’ in Atmos,” Rogers said. “It sounded amazing, but it was more difficult to assemble it into a unified whole in that private place I listen to music. I found it distracting.” Her “knee-jerk reaction was ‘do not want,’” she said. “But over time I may learn to like it.”

Any of you esteemed audiophiles care to weigh in? Anyone tried it out?

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Shit

I’m a couple of weeks late on this one, but Jack Lee, front man and driving force behind The Nerves, has hopped the twig. Fucking cancer.

Lee grew up in Alaska but left home at 15, eventually hitchhiking to San Francisco a few years later. According to Pitchfork …

[Lee] busked in the high-traffic Fisherman’s Wharf neighborhood, where he met fellow street musician Peter Case. The Nerves were born in 1974 with Lee on vocals and guitar, Case on bass, and additional recruit Paul Collins on drums. The trio played sharp and scrappy rock’n’roll with Beatlemania melodies. Their frenetic style signaled the ensuing punk movement, but chafed with the fading flower-power of early ’70s San Francisco.

Of course, Jack Lee is probably best known for “Hanging on the Telephone,” his song made famous when Blondie covered it on 1978’s Parallel Lines.

Lee, who heard about Harry’s interest from his friend, the Gun Club singer Jeffrey Lee Pierce, recalled that fateful day in a 2007 interview with Mojo. “I remember the day vividly,” he said. “It was a Friday. They were going to cut off our electricity at six o’clock, the phone too.” He added that the song was so catchy, few could resist if. “Even people who hated me—and there were plenty—had to admit it was great,” he said.

To honor Lee’s passing, Paul Collins just released another Nerves video on YouTube.

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A Long Way From Yellowstone Park

Black bear spotted by a friend’s neighbor in Brentwood
by u/eh_cee in nashville

Ursus americanus is relatively unknown in these parts. I think the last one reported in Nashville was four years ago. This is from the next neighborhood over, earlier this week. This guy, or one of his friends, is showing up all over town and I’m here for it.

The two main populations of bears in the state are Appalachian and north Cumberland. They’re currently re-colonizing their old territory. Your town is next. Tie up your garbage.

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Interesting RickenBACKer History

Really interesting documentary but I would really like to have AI edit out the guy’s soul patch. Also, I didn’t know it was pronounced that way. I’ve never had the pleasure of playing a Rick guitar or bass, but I believe at least one bastard owned a bass for awhile.

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Explore The Space

My apologies if this has been posted here before.  In my senility, I can’t remember if I once saw this here or someone sent it to me.  Either way, it’s always good for a laugh.

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Preach

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=quK5D0s6Rh4

Since HBO cruelly ended Barry and Succession at the same time, this bastard is angry. I know the rest of you are doing your highbrow summer reading clubs, but I’m left waiting for:

  • True Detective: Night Country (“sometime in 2023”)
  • Fargo Season 5 (sometime late 2023)
  • Dune Part Deux (November 3, 2023)
  • The Witcher Season 5 (June 29, 2023 hey that’s sooner than I thought!)

Anyway, Gemstones drops June 18th.