Found this weird item

[TripleTransAm]

I'm not sure what it is... it's not a frisbee, it doesn't fit in my CD player... I'm not sure what to do with it.

Please help.

Attached is a photo of the item...

[Rider90]

I think it is some sort of satelite device....hold it into the sky, that should do it. Report back

[Bigdogjim]

Hey did that come with your Marauder?

Maybe its a Canadian thing?

Check your owners manual.

Report back ASAP!

[Long Live #3]

That my friend is a 60's style CD. I think it's called a record.

[bigslim]

It's a big coaster. Not that effective with that big hole in the center.

[bigslim]

Maybe its an ariel view of the Alantic speedway.

[bigslim]

It's my ex-girlfriends diaphram. Didn't work that good though.

[bigslim]

It's a picture of Oprah Winfrey bent over or Rosie O'Donnell in black pants.

[CRUZTAKER]

Ask Peter Gabriel and he'll tell you....it wasn't Genesis!

BTW: What's on the b-side?

[TripleTransAm]

Actually, it IS Genesis... Well, that all depends on what your definition is of the group itself, but purists will consider this being the "real" (original) Genesis, complete with Peter Gabriel. The song was off the 1973 masterpiece Selling England By the Pound, and was actually a hit single in England.

On this particular 45, it appears to be neither an A or B side, as this appears to be a reissue of some sort (I suppose the song wasn't part of the "oldies series" in 1973 ;) ). On the flip side is The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway, which didn't appear until 1975, also as a single I think.

Peter left after the Lamb album, in 1975. The next two albums (Trick of the Tail / Wind and Wuthering) were still pretty good, and I think it was only after the departure of Steve Hackett that things got... dicey. Still some good stuff now and again after that, but somewhat sparse compared to the artistic masterpieces of the early years.


I had a great time last night digging through my collection of 45s (hundreds and hundreds, along with some 2800+ LPs I collected over the years) converting them to CD. Obscure 60s stuff like John Rowles, more known stuff like Englebert Humperdinck, all the way to late 80s pop (anyone ever heard of Indio? One 2 Many?). I even came across the 45 with a song having the coolest disco beat and cute organ track called "Glad to Know You" by Chas Jankel (sp?), from somewhere in the late 70s or early 80s. Yes, I have very varied musical tastes, my next compilation CD will probably contain stuff like Sepultura, Megadeth, Sacred Reich, Rammstein, etc...

For any old-time Genesis fans out there, you've GOT to check this band out next time they come touring in your area. They reproduce the early 70s Genesis shows down to the T, and original members (Gabriel, Collins, Rutherford, etc.) have all been blown away by the fidelity to the original music all the while being played live in way the original members could never pull off, and all with original style instruments, no samples. http://www.themusicalbox.net/

[Ross]

Damn I feel old...

[Haggis]

I have a couple of those round things in my basement collecting dust. I think I paid about $.50 a piece for them and as much as $5.00 brand new. Now what do you use them for again. :confused: :help:

[MapleLeafMerc]

Interesting, Steve! I got to know Genesis back then while dating a girl from Pointe Claire who was crazy about them and never really got over Peter Gabriel's departure. I saw them here several times including a great show at the CNE in '77.

I only saw 3 Cdn dates for the Musical Box, all in Quebec, although there was mention of 4 more. They are from La Belle Province?

Could you burn me a copy of the compliation CD you mentioned? Du Hast!

2800 LP's- wow.

[TripleTransAm]

Yeah, the group The Musical Box is from Montreal and neighborhoods. Nice to see some local boys with good musical talent (even though they're always playing someone else's music) make it big.

I wasn't much into classic prog rock until I did some time in our college radio station as both techie and DJ. We had shows spanning death metal to house music (dance music, the techno of the 80s). As such, I got to sample a wide variety of styles and it was all downhill from there. Hence my collection (actually, I'm probably over 3000 by now, I stopped counting at 2000 back when I'd actually catalog them).

In 1993 a co-worker here dragged me to one of The Musical Box's first performances. I was vaguely familiar with the pre-Gabriel-departure years but had more history with prog bands like Marillion, etc. I thought the show was cool, but the music wasn't what I was expecting. My co-worker, being an avid Gabriel-era fan since his youth, was floored by the performance. So I went home and dug out Selling England by the Pound (the show we saw) and was myself amazed at how faithful they performed the album material in a live setting. Over the next ten years, I think I've seen them play some 30+ times, and even hung out with some of the musicians here and there (even got to see a crap-load of real Mellotrons in the previous keyboardist's appartment, this being the precursor to the synthesizer/sampler).

I've never been a big fan of live renditions of songs I like, so it's really trippy to sit back and suck on a beer while these guys recreate this theatrical masterpiece on stage, all the while performing the songs EXACTLY as they sound on the album. Have a look at the video clips and you'll see what I mean. They've amassed a very loyal following, and I'm tempted to set aside an upcoming evening for some good listening since they have a December date here in Montreal coming up. It's been a while...

It was prog music that made me succumb to temptation when I spotted this particular Rickenbacker bass guitar in Arlington Heights Illinois in the summer of 1997...
http://www.tripletransam.com/music/tuff21.JPG

[Ross]

A Rickenbacker bass, didn't Paul McCartney play one of those (although shaped different)?

[Dr Caleb]

Links Zwo Drie Vier! mein Herr!

I've got an ecclectic collection too. I'v still got some stuff on 78, and nowhere to play it!

Slim Gaillard, Glenn Miller...

[TripleTransAm]

Originally posted by Ross
A Rickenbacker bass, didn't Paul McCartney play one of those (although shaped different)?

McCartney, when they hit the big time, was playing a Hoffner bass (the ones that look like a violin). Back in those days, instrument manufacturers would set up a display show for different high profile bands, to show off their wares, in hopes that the exposure on TV would help stimulate sales. Rickenbacker demo'ed a bunch of basses for Paul, but word has it that he hated them all. He stuck with the Hoffner, but then for some reason by 1967 or so he suddenly began appearing with one. This coincided with the beginning of the 'experimental' phase of the Beatles' career, so maybe it was all those mind-altering drugs that got Paul hooked on the Rickenbacker.

I remember seeing some TV footage from 1967 or so, Paul sporting his Rickenbacker with a pink finish. :confused: Luckily, it seemed to be shortlived, as his Rickys from the 70s had "normal" finishes.

He's left-handed, so perhaps that's why it looked different? The basic shape of the 4001 model bass hasn't changed in close to 50 years.

[TripleTransAm]

Originally posted by Dr Caleb
I'v still got some stuff on 78, and nowhere to play it!

Slim Gaillard, Glenn Miller...


I've got Glenn Miller but on regular 33 rpm LPs. And no, Jive Bunny does not count here. ;)

Until about 2 years ago, I had the capability of playing 78 rpm slabs, er, I mean records. Unfortunately, the sudden passing of my grandmother prompted my grandfather to sell almost everything in his possession at lightning speed, and that included a combination stereo / bar contraption from the early 60s, beautiful mile-thick varnish on heavy solid wood, electromagnetic speakers, vacuum tube internals, SW/AM/FM stereo... plenty of wonderful memories of this monster as I used to sit in the living room and play records on it from the age of 2 1/2. All it took was a little hesitation on my part and an antique dealer scooped it up... I had no clue where to put it at my place at the time. :(

A quick glance at my racks of LPs will show a wide variety: classical stuff (including a kickass recording of E.Power Biggs playing Bach's Tocatta and Fugue in D minor on the 4 antiphonal organs at the Freiburg cathedral). Portuguese "Fado" recordings, lots of 40s-70s pop and country, lots of progressive rock (PFM, Gentle Giant, Jethro Tull, King Crimson, Genesis, Marillion, Focus, etc.), a bazillion compilation LPs from 60s-90s hits, all genres of rock, lots of dance music remixed 12" from my DJ'ing days, techno, rap, death metal, classic rock, soft rock, etc.etc.etc....

(I haven't really had a chance to delve into opera yet, nor some very hardcore punk from the late 70s or early 80s... someday...)

Drives my wife nuts because my compilation CDs are always all over the place, but the way I figure, if it sounds good, who cares what genre it is.

Hopefully no one will take the above stuff I wrote as an attempt to show off or anything... I'm just kind of proud to be able to have my hand in this wonderful thing called music, and like to discuss it with other folks who are as open-minded to varied styles.

(no, I do not have any Britney Spears material, although I enjoy watching her videos... with the sound turned all the way down. ;) )

[Ross]

I couldn't believe it. This past Sunday on National Public Radio (yeah, I've come to expect some strange things from them) they had an interview with some supposed music expert who had put together a listing of the greatest music of the last 1000 years. Guess what he had on the list? "Oops, I Did It Again." No, I'm not kidding.

[SILVERMARAUDER]

I think that is product introduction disk for 300A PKGS :)

[martyo]

Gee, and those logging on here thought we were all just car geeks. Now they will know that we are all just geeks!!

:lol:

[Ross]

Geek? I'm not a geek, I'm a dork.

[Dr Caleb]

Originally posted by Ross
Geek? I'm not a geek, I'm a dork.

Thank you Ross. I, however, am a Nerd. A lifeform superior to geeks and dorks :)

[Dr Caleb]

Originally posted by TripleTransAm
and that included a combination stereo / bar contraption from the early 60s, beautiful mile-thick varnish on heavy solid wood, electromagnetic speakers, vacuum tube internals, SW/AM/FM stereo...

A quick glance at my racks of LPs will show a wide variety: classical stuff

A large cabinet, opening from the top top left was the turntable, top right was the SW/AM/FM and the front slid open to reveal a TV? The front, when closed, revealed a large, woven (almost wicker) covering, with 3 heavy wood strips running down both sides? Kind of a dark tea colour?

We had one like that. I can still remember the 78's Dad gave me playing on them - Little Brown Jug, Glenn Miller Second Pressing, recorded in the 40's I think. And Slim Gaillard - Opera in Vout. Some Duke Ellington and Benny Goodman too. I have them locked up.

Most of my LP collection disappeared after I moved out. Blondie - "Autoamerican", first pressing, laser etched "Styx - Paradise Theater", First pressing "Queen - The Game". Metallica - "Garage Days". Stuff like that.

I don't think I've bought a CD since "Metallica - Reload". And I still fell kind of unclean about even hearing "St. Anger".

[MapleLeafMerc]

Triple, what are you using to record LP's to CD's? I think Pioneer makes one but I've not seen it. Would it be OK if I visited and brought a hundred blank CD's?!

[RCSignals]

Well yes. "Oldies Series" certainly has to be some kind of commemorative release, but when? and why on a 45?

I have a bunch of Edison cylinders. Some Harry Lauder etc.

[TripleTransAm]

Originally posted by Dr Caleb
A large cabinet, opening from the top top left was the turntable, top right was the SW/AM/FM and the front slid open to reveal a TV? The front, when closed, revealed a large, woven (almost wicker) covering, with 3 heavy wood strips running down both sides? Kind of a dark tea colour?

Well, since you asked...

I'm not good at describing wood finishes, but this was kind of a reddish brown colour. No TV. The top was fixed, did not flip up in any location. At the top of the left face, there was a flip panel that would flip up and slide into the unit, immediately under the flat top. A turntable could then be pulled out, on a slide. As you played records, the whole turntable platform remained sticking out the front. In the middle was a small storage space, accessed by two small doors opening out, revealing a set of shallow plastic drawers on which to store 45 RPM records flat. 12" discs could be stored vertically on either side of these drawers. Finally, on the right side, the same pull-up-and-slide-in type of lid allowing access to the radio/amp portion. AM, FM stereo, several shortwaves, (AM was actually referred to as MW!! That's how old it was). Bass, treble, balance, etc...

This was the top third or so of the face. Below the turntable section was a speaker covered with red velour and a wooden grille (same finish as cabinet). Same below the amp/radio portion. And below the disc storage area, there was a big lid that would fold OUT and down, much like the oldstyle hide-away beds that flipped up into the wall. Once the lid was down flat, there was a very 60s Austin Powers-ish setup of lights and mirrors and cupholder, with a rotating bar type of contraption to hold your bottles of booze.

Very funky. And the whole cabinet + vacuum tube setup gave a very rich warm sound.

They'll have to pry my collection from my cold dead fingers... there's lots of memories in there. I still buy lots of CDs now and again... I think I'm at about 1000 or 1200 by now, lots of them used but then again they are CDs, not LPs. Music is a big part of my life.

[TripleTransAm]

Originally posted by RCSignals
Well yes. "Oldies Series" certainly has to be some kind of commemorative release, but when? and why on a 45?

I have a bunch of Edison cylinders. Some Harry Lauder etc.


Holy cow... are those cylinders the black hollow things that stored sound on them as the cylinder rotated? Damned rare nowadays, I think. I saw this funny online clip from some teen science show where an older gent with a white beard is explaining to the teen show host how the old cylinder tech worked, and as he's explaining it, he manages to crush the cylinder and it CRUMBLED right then and there into dozens of pieces before everyone's eyes. Even funnier, he was so nervous as he was explaining the item (you could see his hands shake) and when the mishap occurred, he just went "Oh f- f- f- f- f-... *****..." and the audience went "ohhhhhh!". I've got the clip on my hard drive at home.

As for the oldies series, I was buying brand new 45s as late as 1990 (even though I wasn't really DJ'ing much at the time) so I can see this 7" being pressed sometime in the mid 80s and already be considered an oldie... '85 would put us at a 10 year anniversary of the Lamb... album.

Sad part about 45s was that the higher speed usually resulted in quicker groove-wall wear and tear, and the short nature of the 7" diameter medium meant you sometimes had some very fragile grooves, many times squeezed tight to fit a longer song on there (when they didn't edit them for "single" release). This also did a real number on the dynamic range of the music since the grooves couldn't "groove" as deep as on an LP with more room to spare.

[Ross]

There used to be some beautiful wood cabinet "home entertainment centers" containing a TV, turntable, receiver, and stereo speakers. Even when everything was turned off, they were beautiful pieces of furniture. My grandfather was a TV/radio repairman back then, and he taught me some of the basics of the trade when I was a kid. Then, along came transistors, printed circuits, etc., and he decided it was time to retire, and my technical education stopped. It was fun as a kid getting paid 50 cents to sit at his side and test vacuum tubes for him.

[TripleTransAm]

Originally posted by MapleLeafMerc
Triple, what are you using to record LP's to CD's? I think Pioneer makes one but I've not seen it. Would it be OK if I visited and brought a hundred blank CD's?!


Actually, it's very easy to do. I have my turntable wired through my pre-amp (modern '80s+ turntable cartridges have outputs too low to connect straight into a line-in input) and into a line in input on my sound card. Any sound recording software can then be used to record what's coming into the sound card... this software usually comes with the sound card itself, but I'm using something that came with my CD burning software (Easy CD Creator). One of the s/w modules includes functions for cleaning up noisy or scratchy LPs as well. It'll even split the songs for you based on the amount of silence between tracks, so you end up with separate .wav files, one for every song on the album side, so you don't have to stay put during 20+ minutes as the LP plays.

Then you just assemble the songs in the order you want, and voila ---> straight to your CD burner. PM me if you want more details... but the way I see it, most of us have a computer with a sound card, so all you need is a turntable to do this same task.

[TripleTransAm]

Originally posted by Ross
There used to be some beautiful wood cabinet "home entertainment centers" containing a TV, turntable, receiver, and stereo speakers. Even when everything was turned off, they were beautiful pieces of furniture.


Yes... yes they were beautiful pieces of art. Wonderful detail, finishes so deep that you couldn't scratch them with the multitude of vases and other knick-knacks that would invariably be placed on them. Even the model identification was fancy... this unit had a badge (yes, a diecast or metal badge) with some sort of lion on it and a crest... I think the manufacturer was Lyons? and the model was "Stereo Prinz" I think, also cast into the badge. Very impressive.

I'm sad I let this one get away. While I have no room currently, I'm sure it could have occupied a well-deserved place in my upcoming new home... a fitting tribute to the decent folk who gave me the good upbringing back in the days when the world was deep in changes...

[RCSignals]

Originally posted by TripleTransAm
Holy cow... are those cylinders the black hollow things that stored sound on them as the cylinder rotated?

That is them, except most are blue.