So, Amazon delivered your new noise cancelling headphones earlier today… Now you’ve settled in to bed (alone apart from that ridiculous dog over there)… Which are the first two songs do you choose to christen the immersive experience?
I chose Don’t worry Baby by the Beach Boys then Killing In The Name Of by Rage. I don’t regret it… but in retrospect I think it was odd! What’s your two?
My God Is Awesome by Charles Jenkins.
Who’s Your Daddy by Toby Keith.
“Armenia City in the Sky” (The Who)
And
“Strawberry Fields Forever” (The Beatles)
Fanfare for the Common Man - Emerson, Lake and Palmer
Achilles Last Stand - Led Zeppelin
They’re new headphones so we need to take them for a sonic test drive.
1st: Mvmt 4 of Leopold Stokowski conducting London Symph, Rimsky-Korsakoff’s Scheherazade, cranked as wide open as the settings will allow. (phase 4 stereo circa 1964 or thereabouts) (wow)
2nd: Alan Parsons Project, “In the Lap of the Gods” from Pyramid, remastered edition.
3rd: I don’t know who was at the podium, bootleg classical, Also Sprach Zarathustra by Richard Strauss, with incredible bass reproduction esp. at the beginning where the low organ before the trumpet will shake your spine bones.
Honestly, the first thing I did when I bought noise-cancelling headphones was just to turn on the noise cancellation feature without listening to anything, just to see how much the ambient noise was reduced.
This Mortal Coil - Mr Somewhere
and
Dead Can Dance - Fortune Presents Gifts Not According To The Book
Queen - “The Prophet’s Song”
Wishbone Ash - “Throw Down The Sword”
Excellent choice.
I posted this over in the memorial thread, but in honor of the late Tom Verlaine you could do worse than Breakin’ In My Heart:
Another Park, Another Sunday - Doobie Brothers
Sunburn - Fuel
Garbage - Vow
Chemical Brothers - Setting Sun
Both contain lots of panning and sound effects.
Patti Labelle, Lady Marmalade
John Baldry, Conditional Discharge/Don’t Try to Lay No Boogie-Woogie on the King of Rock and Roll.
“Prelude / Nothing To Hide” from The 12 Dreams Of Dr. Sardonicus
“Karn Evil 9” from Brain Salad Surgery
“Turn! Turn! Turn!” by the Byrds
The Kathy Mattea/Suzy Bogguss cover of “Teach Your Children”
“Inertia Creeps” by Massive Attack
“Only Shallow” by My Bloody Valentine
or
“Good Vibrations” by The Beach Boys
Ok, I cheated a little.
My wife bought me $1000 headphones for work meetings (I work from home since COVID). A lovely gesture. I have not listened to any music on them though. Would be kinda a waste because my hearing problem is tinnitus. The ‘background noise’ I hear is in my ears. Can’t cancel it.
But two Pink Floyd choices -
Time.
The Great Gig in the Sky.
I like to check the bass response, so Computer World by Kraftwerk. If that works, then Future Rhythm by Digital Underground.
Then, if that works, I check for that really, really low note in No Scrubs by TLC. I’m not sure I’ve come across headphones that can hit that one at reasonable volume levels.
Just curious; what model headphones were they?
Mark Levinson 5909. Has Blue tooth connection and built in mic on them. Not a boom mic like I’m used to, but mics on the side of the ear pieces. It’s nice that I don’t have to fiddle with USB.
I assume they are good. But sadly with my hearing, won’t really be able to tell.