So now I had this tin but I wasn’t sure what I was gonna do with it. I knew there were lots of different hacks you could do with an Altoids tin so I turned to Google for some ideas. One of the first ones that I came across was a DIY headphone amp that fit inside the tin. I was vaguely familiar with headphone amps because I had considered buying one in the past but the cost was a bit more expensive than my curiosity warranted. So a DIY one seemed like a good idea.

I should explain what a headphone amp does before continuing with my story. Ideally, a headphone amp does two things. One, it allows you to use full size headphones, that have higher power requirements, with portable electronics such as an iPod or a portable CD player. And two, it makes those headphones and pretty much any headphones, even tiny earphones, sound a whole lot better. The sound is just much more expansive and has depth similar to how a good home stereo makes music sound better.

I’ve been really happy with my new home stereo setup so it seemed a natural extension to also improve my portable music experience. So after discovering I could build one relatively cheaply in an Altoids tin, I was hooked. And then began the research. After lots of reading and Google searches, I discovered that the cMoyBB is pretty much the tops when it comes to DIY headphone amps and the creator has a really nice site that details the parts and method of how to build one.

The problem was that even if I built it myself, it was still a bit more expensive than I wanted to spend since I wasn’t sure how much difference it would make in my headphone/iPod performance so I looked around the internet some more. eBay came to the rescue because the cMoyBB is based on an earlier amp design by Chu Moy called the CMoy. There were lots of prebuilt versions of this amp available on eBay for less than I would have had to spend to build the cMoyBB myself so I picked one out and bought it.

The amp arrived yesterday and I finally got to see what all the fuss about headphone amps was about. As usual, everyone else was right and my doubt was wrong. A headphone amp definitely, definitely improves the sound of your portable music. I’ve got several different portable music sources (iPod, CD Walkman, Macbook) and lots of different headphones and earphones and let me tell you, they all sound better when connected through a headphone amp, like a whole lot better. It’s like trying to compare a concert hall to a tin can, you can’t.

Now that I know how good an amp works, I may still go ahead and build my own just for the experience. I need a new electronics project and soldering up my own amp would fit the bill nicely. Plus there’s still the issue of that Altoids tin that needs a project.

Harpo’s song came out in 1966, the Stones covered it in 1972, and ZZ Top released La Grange in 1973. I think it’s safe to say that ZZ Top was certainly influenced by if not outright stole that riff. However, I’m sure with more research I might be able to discover that Slim Harpo appropriated it from somebody else as well. Such is the nature of music.

This discovery does not diminish my appreciation for ZZ Top, aka “the home team”. I’ve always been a fan and will continue to be so. As a matter of fact, I think I need to own Tres Hombres on CD or maybe even album. Hello eBay!

The links below will allow you to hear for yourself.

Shake Your Hips by Slim Harpo

Shake Your Hips by The Rolling Stones

La Grange by ZZ Top

It’s everything I hoped it would be and more. Music sounds absolutely amazing again! It’s as if I’m hearing it for the first time and I love it. My record and CD collection are pretty small at the moment but everything I’ve bought so far sounds head and shoulders above any MP3 version. There’s really no comparison.

I knew from the beginning that I wanted to go back to vinyl but I wasn’t sure if I would want to go back to CD’s as well. I decided what the heck because there’s a pretty large selection of music that was never issued on vinyl. And I can honestly say that even classic CD’s sound wayyy better than modern MP3′s. The word that comes to mind is expansive, it’s as if there’s more sound on a record or CD than an MP3 and in a way that’s true.

I was so happy with how my home setup turned out that I wanted to be able to take that experience with me on my commute so eBay came to the rescue with the little beauty below. It’s a used Sony CD Walkman that I picked up for about $20. It’ll play for more than 30 hours on a single set of rechargeable AA’s and it sounds fantastic paired up with a set of AKG K26P headphones. I mean like really, really good sounding.

It’s totally fun to be checking out record shops again. Who knows, this could be my mid-life crisis but it beats getting a Corvette and it’s less expensive too! Time to go, I gotta get up and change the record.

From the days when Michael Jackson was crazy in a good way. Wanna waste a couple of hours? Check out MTV’s video archive, the commercials are excessive but the content is worth it. Takes you back to when MTV played videos and wasn’t just a reality show wasteland.

The little acoustic guitar jangle that starts at 00:46 sends a chill up my spine. And I like it.

I decided to post today’s Morning Song because it was a return to form. I haven’t heard this song in forever and I wasn’t even quite sure what it was when I woke up. Just a little loop playing in my head that required a bit of investigation to determine who’s work it was. The lyric, track, and video are below. I leave it to you to ponder why it was in my head this morning cause I sure don’t know why it was there.

Pretty sirens don’t go flat
It’s not supposed to happen like that
Not like that
Not like that

We’ve got to keep our little click clicking at 130 BPM
It’s not too slow

Suffer for Fashion by Of Montreal
It’s from their very excellent album Hissing Fauna, Are You the Destroyer.

That little song fragment popped into my head last night. Thankfully it only took me a few seconds to place it. The line is from Sex Machine by James Brown but it’s not his version that was in my head. It was the avant-garde cover by The Flying Lizards introduced to me by my favorite cuz’n back in the 80′s. I haven’t listened to it in forever but I was pretty sure I had it in my iTunes library somewhere so I went digging and sure enough found it and guess what, it still rules.

Well I get up at seven, yeah
And I go to work at nine

I’m pretty sure that’s the lyric that spurred my next iTunes search. It’s from a song by Rush called Working Man off their eponymous debut album. Unfortunately, it wasn’t in my library so I had to placate my desire to hear it by listening to one of their excellent albums from the early 80′s, Moving Pictures. Not the same but damn good nonetheless. Rock on!

Four songs that would make a good start for a work related mix tape. Can you think of any others?

Working Man by Rush (obviously)
Matthew and Son by Cat Stevens
A Well Respected Man by The Kinks
Blue Collar Man (Long Nights) by Styx

The PC has been neglected since I bought the Macbook in November of last year. Even more so since the move, it was two months before I even hooked it up. It wasn’t a big deal because I can do everything I need to on the Macbook. What do I need to do? Surf the internet, download and play music, and upload my digital photos. However, I’d done those things a lot on my PC prior to the neglect.

I therefore had an abundance of media to move, specifically over 70GB of music which translates to 12,000+ songs from over 1,300 artists. That brings me to the point of this post, the rediscovery of my old digital music collection. It’s like finding a long lost friend. My Macbook has all the music I’ve downloaded over the past year, which is predominantly current stuff, but now I get to listen to albums that I haven’t heard in forever and it’s awesome!

Here’s a sample:

Devo – Freedom of Choice
That album still totally kicks @ss!

My Life With the Thrill Kill Kult – Cuz It’s Hot
Ahh, Numbers was a wonderful place during my formative years.

Metallica – Metallica
Possibly the best rock album of the 90′s.

Brian Eno – Vocal Box (Disc 1)
Arty glam rock that influenced pretty much every band I listened to in the 80′s.

Pixies – Surfer Rosa
Their finest, period. BTW, the new Black Francis is excellent.

The KLF – White Room
Sound the klaxon and get out the glow sticks.

Johnny Cash – The Essential (Disc 1)
The Rock Island Line is a mighty good road. Indeed!

My brain started itching shortly after waking up this morning. It was six little guitar notes. They were subconsciously looping through my brain and I had no idea what the tune was but I knew that I knew it. It was double itchy because it would play subconsciously then I’d notice it and consciously replay it trying to figure out what the h*ll it was. In a word, torture. I had to scratch that itch but my options were limited.

First I tried the brute force method, consciously playing the guitar riff over and over in my head wishing it would shake something loose. Sometimes this works. I was hoping for just a bit more of the tune so I could place it but the riff just mocked me with its mystery. Not only did it not give anything up but occasionally it would subconsciously play just to remind me of the itch.

The only other method that has any hope of scratching a brain itch is what I like to call the “Don’t pick at it!” approach. This involves distracting your conscious mind with almost anything else while your mental peripheral vision has a crack at it. This method, if it works, results in the “Aha!” moment that we’re all familiar with thereby scratching the itch. Now your brain can go back to more important matters like, “I wonder if my Metrocard has any money on it?”

My “Aha!” moment arrived while I was on the train coming back from Sunset Park this afternoon. I suddenly knew the riff was from a song by Grandaddy. It didn’t totally scratch the itch but it gave me the clue I needed to put that bad boy to rest. Cut to me on the couch with my Macbook playing Grandaddy songs in iTunes. A few song samples later and I had it, the riff was from Collective Dreamwish of Upperclass Elegance off the Under the Western Freeway album. I could almost hear my brain purring.

By the way, my Metrocard does have money on it and that shoe store specializing in comfortable shoes for women? It’s Aerosoles, never mind how I know.

Here’s a brief summary of my commute. I walk, ride a train, walk some more, another train, walk again, take the next train, and then a little more walking. Oh and I forgot to mention that there are several staircases and a moving sidewalk that works about as often as Haley’s comet visits the Earth as well. There’s no part of this trip that’s even remotely quiet. Crowded subway platforms are noisy, trains are very noisy both inside and out, and traffic above ground is also noisy. New Yorkers being fond of their car horns and such.

I cope with all this ruckus by doing the best I can to shut it out. The key to this besides the MP3 player is a pair of noise isolating earphones. These are small devices that sit inside your ear similiar to ear plugs that both block outside noise and play your music. I’ve been using them for several years now and they are a commuting godsend. There are many different models available from several manufacturers which brings me to the point of this post.

Whenever I buy a new gadget(earphones, etc.), it usually takes me several purchases to find the perfect one for me. The floor next to my desk is littered with gadgets that didn’t pass muster. Wasteful? Yes, but because I usually wind up giving them to my friends or co-workers they don’t go to complete waste. But back to earphones, I have bought and used all the models in the list below. I’m hear to talk about the pair that beat the pack.

They’re the Ultimate Ears Super.fi 5EB and I am loving them. At last I’ve found a pair of earphones that offer excellent sound including “sweet,sweet” bass, good isolation(could be a little better), and a comfortable stable fit. In short, they rock and have improved the sound on my commute immeasurably.

The Pack: with brief reviews and in order purchased

Sony MDR-EX71 – Decent sound, decent isolation, wouldn’t stay in my ears
Sony MDR-EX81 – Ditto above
Shure E2C – Best of bunch prior to 5EB, fair sound(if a little flat), excellent isolation, cable noise nonexistent*, pretty comfortable, sturdy, I kept coming back to these
Etymotic ER 6 – Clear precise sound but no bass at all, very good isolation, horrible cable noise, comfortable, tiny
Ultimate Ears Super.fi 3 Studio – Very close to E2C, better highs and mids, worse bass, no cable noise, good isolation, stable comfortable fit, replaceable cable
Sennheiser CX 300 – Overall really nice highs and lows, wouldn’t stay in ears, some cable noise but not as bad as ER 6, decent isolation
V-moda Vibe – Overall really nice highs and lows as well, bass gets lost(on platform and train) though due to lack of good isolation, couldn’t find a fit that was comfortable, look great
Shure E3G – Great sound, very good isolation, stayed in my ears but kept sliding out of position(odd considering E2C fit really well) such that I kept having to adjust them, small size, no cable noise, sturdy

*Cable noise is a common problem with earphones. The cable rustles against your clothes and transmits the sound right to your ear. IMHO, Shure and Ultimate Ears do the best at negating it.

MP3 Players: Past and present

Creative Zen 20GB – Replaced hard drive with 60GB, overall great player just a little big
Samsung YP-700H 128MB(?) – Bought refurb, decent player but died after a couple months
Apple iPod 4th Gen 40GB – Great player, unparalleled design, poor battery life, current player of choice with upgraded battery
Mobiblu DAH-1500i 1GB- Fun player, good battery life, super tiny, died attempting to upgrade firmware
Cowon iAudio U3 2GB- Great player, easy to use, excellent battery life, pretty small(think Bic lighter), still using but not as much cause Mac can’t seem to write to it

If you made it this far, could you do me a favor? Don’t think about how much all this cost cause it makes my head hurt or should I say wallet? Although it’s a pretty small price to pay for a little sanity during the two hours everyday that I spend on my commute. Therapy would cost a lot more.