Zazen Boys - 'Zazen Boys 4'

Title: Zazen Boys 4
Artist: Zazen Boys
Date: 2008
Genre: Math Rock, Indie Rock

Total length: 44 minutes, 8 tracks

Main personnel:
Mukai Shutoku: Vocals, Guitar, Synthesizer
Yoshida Ichirou: Bass
Yoshikane Sou :Guitar
Matsushita Atsushi: Drums





Rating: 7 - Good
Adapting to a more electronic and funky sound, Zazen Boys 5th album moves even further away from the defining alt-rock sound it had during its early stages. The sound is still very much math rock, but it varies between taking one dance, punk or funk characteristics.

Tokyo Jihen - 'Sports'

Title: Sports (スポーツ)
Artist: Tokyo Jihen (東京事変)
Date: 2010
Genre: Jazz Rock, J-Pop

Total length: 47 minutes, 13 tracks
Top Chart position: 48 (yearly Oricon album charts)

Main personnel:
Ringo Shiina (椎名・林檎): Vocals
Ukigumo (浮雲): Guitar, backing vocals
Ichizo Izawa (伊澤・一葉): Keyboard
Seiji Kameda (亀田・誠治): Bass
Toshiki Hata (畑・利樹): Drums


Rating: 8/10 - Very Good
Tokyo Jihen never stayed in one place, three years after the unorganized Goraku comes this well-structured concept album. This album has been my introduction to the entire world of J-pop, and I was oh-so-wrong to assume it was representative of the humongous Japanese pop-scene. Like TJ's previous albums and Shiina's solo works, this one doesn't quite fit in with the conventional J-pop scene. 

The Beatles - 'Revolver'

Title: Revolver
Artist: The Beatles
Date: 1966
Genre: Psychedelic Rock

Total length: 35 minutes, 14 tracks

Main personnel:
John Lennon: Vocals, guitar
Paul McCartney: Vocals, guitar, bass
George Harrison: Vocals, guitar, bass
Ringo Starr: Drums, vocals





Rating: 10/10 - Masterpiece
For quite some time I have been a big fan of the Beatles. At first, I liked their catchy tunes as I was just getting into music a couple years back. As I started listening more, I discovered something new with each listen. Something clever about the lyrics, or perhaps how a certain bass line creates a perfect harmony. And to be honest, I haven't quite stopped discovering yet; It's like a journey without end. 
Today I felt like dedicating some of my time on what is perhaps their greatest piece -- Revolver. I haven't written a decent review for quite some time now, so please bear with me as I try to express why I think everyone should listen to this album.

Repairing a pair of HD 205's

A friend of mine pushed a pair of broken HD 205's in my hand. When I inquired what's wrong with them, he stated that I should give them a listen. I promptly found out that the mids were completely gone - usually a result of faulty wiring. He then gave them to me for free, so naturally I couldn't refuse the challenge to try and fix them.

The building of a Beta22 part 1

Somewhere in October I decided to build a 2-channel Beta22. It has been almost five months since then, and a lot of money. Currently I have spent about  €540 ($725) and about 50-60 hours on this project.
The best part is: I'm not even done yet.

In this blog post I will describe what I have done up until now, including the painfully long hours of troubleshooting.

Repairing a pair of Beats by Dr. Dre Studio

Someone recently came up to me asking whether I could repair his headphones. I was expecting it to be the typical bad connection on the jack, but it turned out to be something more difficult.
Thrilled by the challenge I accepted the offer of repairing his headphones and I took them home.

The problem turned out to be more difficult to solve than I anticipated, but I did end up solving the initial problem. However after came to the conclusion that the right driver is messed up, most likely irreparably.

10 of the greatest anime Openings/Endings

Let's stretch the definition of a music and audio blog a bit to accomodate for my third passion: anime (and manga). In particular the openings and endings of anime, which are practically just music videos almost always 1:30 in length. It seems strange, but a good opening and ending can make or break an anime in my opinion. Kanon (second version) for example is an excellent anime, but the horrible OP/ED ruined it for me.

How to recognize pretentious audiophiles

I'm personally of the opinion that audiophilia is a good hobby to spent your free time (and money) on. However I can't help but be sickened by the people who take this hobby one step too far. This hobby should be about science, and not about pursuing psuedoscientific myths as some people think. The problem is however that most professional audiophile magazines and websites claim that things such as $1,000 cables really do make a difference. Novice audiophiles then also start believing this kind of rubbish, as they believe such authority figures don't lie. The couldn't be more wrong.

The White Stripes - 'Elephant'

Title: Elephant
Artist: The White Stripes
Date: 2003
Genre: Garage, Punk Blues, Alt Rock

Total length: 50 minutes, 14 tracks

Main personnel:
Jack White: Guitar, Vocals
Meg White: Drums, Vocals (Track 5)







Rating: 8/10

Joanna Newsom - 'Ys'

Title: Ys
Artist: Joanna Newsom
Date: 2006
Genre: Indie Folk

Total length: 56 minutes, 5 tracks
Download link: MP3 (CBR 320)
Download link: MP3 (CBR 192)

Main personnel:
Joanna Newsom: Harp, pedal harp, vocals

Since an entire orchestra was used for this album I won't go any further than this one person.


Rating: 9/10 - Incredible
Compared to other albums of Joanna Newsom this album is a revelation. I wouldn't go as far as saying the other two albums are bad, but this is on a completely different level in my opinion.  This album impressed me right from the first note.  I found that on multiple listens it quickly becomes less impressive, but it's still worth it. It turns out that the lyrics are quite elaborate, which is something I noticed right from the start as well.
My advice is to just listen to this once. I'd be surprised if you are not impressed by this masterpiece. In fact this is the only album that ever made me shiver on first listen.

An introduction to headphone flagships

The STAX SR-009,
arguably the best headphone on the market

Headphones have long been considered the cheap way into hifi. However over the past few years several companies have started to fill the demands of summit-fi headphones, some of which might even be competing with some of the best speaker rigs out there. All of this is thanks to the digital revolution; many people are listening to music behind their PC's instead of on a couch. As a result the limited movement of headphones is no longer a problem. Furthermore because of the large popularity of the iPod, headphones have been getting extra attention as well.

Fang Island - 'Sky Gardens EP'

Title: Sky garden
Artist: Fang Island
Date: 2008
Genre: Math Rock, Post-Rock, Indie

Total length: 13 minutes / 3 tracks
Download link: FLAC, bought and uploaded by myself.
Buy on Bandcamp for $2!
Personnel:
Jason Bartell - Guitar
Chris Georges - Guitar
Michael Jacober - Bassist
Nicholas Andrew Sadler - Guitar
Marc. St. Sauveur - Drums




Rating 8/10 - Excellent
I love Fang Island. Something in their music just makes you incredibly happy. They describe their sound as 'everyone high-fiving everyone', and I couldn't agree more. You will forget all your troubles and listen to a piece of sheer awesemeness.
This is a short EP, but that doesn't matter. Even at 13 minutes long it's one of the most enjoyable albums I have come across. Perhaps their self titled debut album even more so. If you ever feel down, take my advice and listen to Fang Island. You will instantly become happier than you ever were before.

King Crimson - 'Lizard'

Title: Lizard
Artist: King Crimson
Date: 1970
Genre: Progressive rock

Total length: 42 minutes / 5 tracks
Download link: MP3 (CBR 320)

Main personnel:
Robert Fripp: Guitar, mellotron, synthesiser, organ, composition
Peter Sinfield: lyrics
Mel Collins: Saxophone, flute
Gordon Haskell: Bass guitar, vocals
Andy McCulloch: Drums





Rating 10/10 - Practically perfect
A second King Crimson reviewed. Not really a surprise considering the fact that King Crimson is my favorite artist as of now. The Beatles come in at a close second, but I feel as if nothing, not even the Beatles, can defeat King Crimson.
This album is just inexplicably beautiful; I am unable to say a single bad thing about it. Fripp is just about the best composer I have listened to, while Sinfield is just about the best lyricist I have ever heard of. A perfect duo, especially when aided by Collins' divine saxophone skills.

Building a full-size stereo headphone amplifier

The title of this blog clearly reads 'Tilpo's music and audio', but so far I have only been concerning myself with the 'music' part. I'm going to put an end to that and make my first audio related post. Bear with me.

Background info: About a week ago I finished my first DIY audio project; the adorable Mini³ designed by Ti Kan of AMB labs. I chose to build that specific model because there is lots of documentation on it, the parts are easily obtainable and portability is great (fits in pocket). The construction went without a hassle, apart from some slight issues with the positive battery contacts.
After my little project I got the confidence to start on something bigger. Instead of a pocket-sized portable amplifier I will be building a full size stereo headphone amplifier. I collected some money together from birthday funds, and I was ready to go. I first needed to select the right project to build though, and following will be my process of choosing.

The insides of a magnificent Beta22

KMFDM - 'Nihil'

Title: Nihil
Artist: KMFDM
Date: 1995
Genre: EBM with large metal influences.

Total length: 49 minutes / 11 tracks
Download Link (MP3 VBR v0)

Main Personnel:
Sascha Konietzko – electronics, vocals Günter Schulz – guitars, vocals
En Esch – vocals, guitar, drums
Raymond Watts – vocals
Mark Durante – steel guitar, guitars
Dorona Alberti - Female vocals

Lyrics: Konietzko is credited for all songs, but in most cases the other band members helped as well.

Rating 8/10 - Excellent

I'm a longtime fan of KMFDM, I just think they make some of the best music to have on the background. The upbeat dance beats and god-like guitar textures just make it perfect. It's not my favorite music for an attentive listening session, but it's great for writing an essay (or a blog, apparently) or gaming.
I don't particularly agree with their political views (i.e. 'rip the system') but that doesn't matter; I just love their music so damn much I wouldn't care whether they are 'revolutionists, hippies or racists.

Queens of the Stone Age - 'Rated R'

Title: Rated R
Artist: Queens of the Stone Age
Date: 2000
Genre: Hard Rock, Stoner Rock

Total length: 42 minutes / 11 tracks
Download link (mp3, CBR @ 160 kbps)

Main Personnel:
Josh Homme - Vocals, guitar
Nick Oliveri - Vocals (4, 7, 9), backing vocals
Dave Catching - Piano, guitar
Nick Lucero - Drums
Gene Trautmann - Drums
Many more artists have played a minor role. See wiki article for more info.

Rating: 7/10 - Very Good

It's a pretty good album, but not really my taste. I'm actually doing this review because a friend asked me to. It was a long time since I listened to QOTSA, but I was happy to give them another try. I redownloaded their discography (in FLAC, mochiron) and listened to them for a couple hours. My main interest was focused on Rated R and Songs For the Deaf, since they were supposedly their best.

King Crimson - 'In the Wake of Poseidon'

Title: In the Wake of Poseidon
Artist: King Crimson
Date: 1970
Genre: Progressive Rock

Total length: 41 minutes / 8 tracks
Download link (mp3, CBR @ 192 kbps)

Personnel:
Robert Fripp - guitars, mellotron & devices
Peter Sinfield - lyrics
Greg Lake - vocals (except 3)
Mel Collins - flute & saxophones
Michael Giles - drums
Peter Giles - bass
Keith Tippett - piano



Rating: 10/10 - Practically perfect

I love this album. I love it so much I bought the vinyl version of this great album as soon as I saw it in a vinyl store. The price even became irrelevant; I just had to have it. Unfortunately it has two scratches that make the turntable loop and with hindsight it wasn't the best investment I ever made. Still worth it though.

First review - ITAOTS by Neutral Milk Hotel

Neutral Milk Hotel - In the Aeroplane Over the Sea [1998]
Genre: Indie
Rating: 8/10 - Excellent
Download link

This album is for some reason very popular on a image board I tend to frequent (/mu/). The main reason is probably that the board is absolutely filled with hipsters. This album is even know as the king of hipsters.
This album is especially popularized by the music review site Pitchforked, which gave it a 10/10. While I won't go as far as calling it an absolute masterpiece, I have to admit that it's pretty darn good. If you haven't listened to this yet, I advise you to do it at least once.

First post!

Here goes: my first post.

I'm planning to post all sorts of awesome stuff on here like music reviews, music downloads and audio reviews.

I think my first couple posts will be reviews of my favorite albums. This of course includes a download link.

I'll start of with a wallpaper. One of pure awesomeness, and here's why:
It combines FIVE awesome elements together to create a blend of complete awesomeness.
Those five are: Anime (K-On!), Headphones (AKG-K701), Music (The guitar), Pocky (This little chocolate sticks that look like cigarets) and Sexuality.