Does the old really sound new again? (a Beatles audio adventure)

Didn't think I'd let this one go, did you?

Okay, so a day after waxing poetic about the Greatest Rock Band In The History Of The Planet (okay, Led Zeppelin is close), I had to go to the local Big Box Retailer to sample some of the wares myself. After all, in this day and age of bland all-digital recordings recorded by bland digital bands, all processed, Autotuned, limited, clipped and compressed to the very depths of hell, I looked forward to hearing high-quality masterings of high quality recordings of even higher quality songs. Yes, from what I've heard so far, the newly remastered Beatles catalog is worth the hype.

Now, I did have a choice. The entire lineup was available in different forms. So, do I splurge on the stereo box set that has everything? Or do I buy them individually (which would have been virtually the same price anyway), and hence avoid paying for stuff I didn't care about, like the remastered filler-packed Yellow Submarine (1999's totally remixed Songtrack version is much better)? Or do I splurge on the mono box set, which, as pointed out yesterday, features the songs mixed the way the band members wanted them). The point was moot anyway, since all copies of the stereo box were snapped up already. Forget the mono set - that sold out weeks ago. Fine, I guess, since my money's a bit funny these days. So I came up with a different approach. I'll treat myself with one at a time. I'll enjoy them individually, rather than become overwhelmed with a massive set. I started with three. Of course, they would have to include some of my current favorites. First up was 1969's Abbey Road, which was the one I was initially most curious about. I also opted to counter it with an earlier work, 1966's classic Revolver. And, since Best Buy was offering the two-CD Past Masters for the same price (I'm convinced it was a pricing error on their part), I had to get it. Plus, Past Masters, which compiles all of the band's non-LP tracks, spans their entire career, so it is a very good sampler for the curious. Taking my newly-obtained discs home, I was also keen to compare them to other versions I had (including the original 1987-88 CDs and subsequent compilations, such as the "Blue" and "Red" best-of sets, 2000's 1 set, the Capitol Albums box sets from 2006 and even distinctive remix sets such as Yellow Submarine Songtrack and Let It Be... Naked--can you tell I'm a bit obsessive about this?). So, here we go.

The remastered Abbey Road, the first album mixed only in stereo, got the first spin. And it is, plain and simple, amazing. The first song, "Come Together" rips your head off and blows you out of your seat. The sound is much fuller and more vibrant than the original 1987 CD. It's even better than the earlier remastered version on 1. The most powerful song on an album full of great music. The Abbey Road engineering team really did their job here. "Here Comes The Sun" has much more life, and is as warm and dreamlike as the song itself. And then there's the rest of "Side 2" (referring to the original LP). This mostly consists of the elaborate 'monster medley' put together mostly by Paul McCartney and producer George Martin (John Lennon always bitched about it), and it all leads up to the album's ultimate money shot -- the raucous jam "The End", which starts with the only true drum solo by Ringo Starr (who absolutely detested solos, and had to be talked into it). Afterward, each of the other band members rip into guitar solos, first McCartney, then George Harrison and finally Lennon. The version on the 1987 disc was okay, but the new master absolutely smokes! Finally, as perhaps the first 'hidden track' ever included on any album, the very brief and humorous "Her Majesty" kicks in, and the new master is less harsh-sounding than the on the 1987 disc. In addition, I was happy that the remastering engineers decided not to overkill the tapes with too much noise reduction software. Tape hiss is evident on this CD, which ran counter to the late-80s idea of getting rid of as much hiss as possible, a process that also took a considerable amount of musical detail with it. This time, we hear it all, and that should please many Beatles purists.

The packaging for the CD is quite beautiful. Gone is the brittle plastic jewel case and sparse liner notes of the original disc. This one, like all the other remasters, is packaged in an attractive tri-fold cardboard digipack, making each CD look and feel like a mini version of the original LP sleeve. A nice touch. Each CD includes an extensive booklet featuring new (and sometimes old) liner notes and TONS of great pictures from that period (Abbey Road even includes samples from their last official photo session, taken by (but not credited to) McCartney's photographer wife, Linda. Older record buyers may even recognize the front and back cover shots of the long-deleted Hey Jude compilation LP. Abbey Road, as with as the other discs, includes a 10 minute 'mini-documentary' (in QuickTime format, playable only on a computer) that features film clips, studio chatter and even interviews with the band members and Martin. Since Apple Corps. opted not to pad each album with excessive amounts of outtakes, demos and whatnot (not wanting to distract from the intent of the original releases), the embedded video, along with the print material, are appropriate substitutes. They're not distractions to the album itself.

Next up for listening was Revolver, considered by many to be their best work. This is where the Beatles really started to get psychedelic, a year before Sgt. Pepper came out. Although the original CD issue isn't that bad, the remasters do go a bit further. The new version seems to really bring out the band's rockers, and the leadoff track, "Taxman" is no exception. The intro, complete with a count-in and coughing, makes it sound as if we're in the Abbey Road control room in 1966. The original mix of "Eleanor Rigby" is presented here (unlike the redone remix on Yellow Submarine Songtrack that features the string section in true stereo), but that's an unfair comparison. Apple Corps. was adamant about remaining faithful to the original George Martin master tapes (with minor tweaking and appropriate equalizing), rather than a radical remix from the multitracks, so that's what we get here. And it still sounds good, though it could spur further debate among fans divided on whether everything should have been totally remixed (I get a feeling that these types of projects are in the distant pipeline). The same could also be said of "Yellow Submarine", given a more deluxe treatment on Songtrack. Still, this version here is nice and crisp, and the outrageous effects stand out (they obviously had a lot of fun recording this one).

"Here, There and Everywhere" is perhaps the best love song ever written by McCartney (and even he cites it as a personal favorite). That's not to minimize "Yesterday", but it says more about this one. The spare instrumental backing and three-part harmonies do shine more on the cleaned-up version, but the remastering makes the already loud lead vocal sound louder. To be fair, it does sound as if were intended to be this way (at least in the stereo mix). Still, it's a much cleaner sound. "She Said She Said", "And Your Bird Can Sing" and "Dr. Robert" are the rockers on the album that really pop in cleaned-up form. The piano and drums on "Good Day Sunshine" pack more punch and clarity here, and we get a much fuller sound, a drastic improvement over the original CD. We get into the real meat of the CD as we approach the end. McCartney's Stax soul ode "Got To Get You Into My Life" is brassier than ever. The horns really stand out on this one, as does the other instrumentation. The next song, the finale, is still the best. "Tomorrow Never Knows" was actually the first song recorded for the album, and on the new CD, it sounds better than ever. From the pounding drum track to the chopped up tape loops to the backward guitar solo and Lennon's effects-heavy vocal, this gives further proof for people who claim this as one of the Beatles' finest songs. The remastered version is even better than expected.

This CD also includes photos, liner notes and a mini-doc. The liner notes may not reveal much to hardcore Beatleholics who have already digested all of the various biographies, chronologies and whatnot, but could be of great interest to casual fans.

Finally, in this listening session, we get to Past Masters. As I said before, this completist collection of non-LP singles, b-sides, EP tracks and other previously-released curiosities serves as a nice introduction to those wondering what the hype is all about, and when played side-by-side with the original 1988 CD issue, shows how far remastering technology has come. This version sounds way, way better, noticeable even to non-audiophiles. This two-disc set (originally issued as two separate volumes) spans the band's entire career, reaching all the way back to 1962. Here, we get the earliest mono and stereo tracks, along with later hits like "Hey Jude" and the single version of "Let It Be" (minus the tacky Phil Spector orchestral overdubs). The set leads off with their very first single, "Love Me Do", which is very different than the take featured on the Please Please Me album. Unlike the album version, which features a session drummer (Martin was still unsure about the just-acquired Starr), this one has Ringo pounding the skins. Now, at the time of this recording, EMI typically did not save old outtakes or multitrack tapes, and they seemed to lose ones they didn't consider to be very important at the time. Hence, the tape for this debut single was essentially lost. The best-available master source was actually a pristine mono 45 RPM record, so this is essentially a vinyl rip. Nonetheless, it's historical significance is heavy, justifying its inclusion. And it does sound as good as can be. "From Me To You", another early single, is very tinny sounding in the two track stereo version presented here, but stands tall compared to the muddy-sounding version on the 1988 CD. In fact, all of the early stuff on the new version of Past Masters is more vibrant here. "She Loves You" and its original flip-side, "I'll Get You" are presented in mono, as no multitracks are known to exist (the closest we get is a German re-recording of the former, which is, interestingly enough, presented in stereo). Still, compared with the original CD, it packs way more punch, and gives an example of what the remasters of the mono tapes sound like. Yesterday, I voiced my opinion that the early two track recordings (and some of the later multitrack stuff) sound better and pack more punch in their mono mixes. Compare the English and American versions of "She Loves You" as a testament to this. The mono does sound better. I also have long felt that the stereo version of "I Want To Hold Your Hand" sounded too busy and lacked the impact of the mono. Obviously the engineers felt the same way, as the remastered stereo version has a somewhat less cluttered effect.

As we travel further into the Beatles career, we get quite a jolt from McCartney's rip-roaring Little Richard imitation on "Long Tall Sally", originally released in England on a four song EP. The other three tracks from this EP, remakes "Slow Down" and "Matchbox" and the original "I Call Your Name" also have more clarity and impact here, making me realize that this must have been one of the greatest 7-inch EPs ever released, something the original Past Masters didn't do. With all the iconic hits on this disc, ironically, it's oft-ignored "Long Tall Sally" that really stands out so far. Wow. Just wow. It only gets better. "I Feel Fine", with what is believed by many the first-ever inclusion of intentional feedback on a pop record, packs a wallop. And it sounds terrific in stereo. The early rockers do pack more punch on the remastered disc (as witnessed by McCartney's voice-shredding "I'm Down" that closes Disc 1, but so do Lennon's tender ballads, "This Boy" and "Yes It Is". The instrumentation has more life and emotion, as do the delicate three-part harmonies in these similar-sounding songs. All in all, the new-and-improved Disc 1 makes the 1988 Volume 1 seem like a sonic travesty. If you're looking to really update your Beatles catalog, but are a bit stubborn about forking over the money, I would certainly recommend this one.

Disc 2 certainly ain't bad either. Everything shines in remastered form. Prior to purchasing it, I set one song in particular as a benchmark, namely McCartney's 1966 hit "Paperback Writer". As originally intended, the bass would be loud. Loud enough to, in the words of McCartney and Starr, make the needle jump off the record. And that was the problem. The typically reserved EMI engineers were a bit scared to put out a song that would obviously cause record players to skip (remember, this is the vinyl era we're talking about), even though McCartney protested that he had heard a record at a club the other day that had tons of bass, and that American labels were also putting out bass-heavy records. Luckily, a 20 year-old Abbey Road engineer named Geoff Emerick, who had just started working with the band, got the concept, going so far as to convert a loudspeaker into a bass mic. Needless to say, the song kicks ass on the new CD, and most certainly will give subwoofers a workout. In fact, all the songs on this CD have more prominent bass than in the original issue, in addition to greater depth and clarity with the other instruments and vocals. Rockers like "Revolution" decimate any hard rock record made today, and even lower-key songs like "Hey Jude" and the single version of "Let It Be" become even more intimate. And then there's Harrison's oft-overlooked Indian-flavored b-side, "The Inner Light", which here becomes a tasty sonic treat. It actually sounds quite beautiful here, better than I remembered. Now, the Beatles throughout their career wisely refrained from releasing outright bad songs (some of the discards can be found on the Anthology discs), though the whimsical closing track, "You Know My Name (Look Up The Number)" (which languished for a few years before being released as the b-side of the "Let It Be" single) could qualify as such. Inane and self-indulgent, though in a somewhat charming way, the release of this is evident as to the state of the band circa late 1969, where the band members obviously didn't really give a shit anymore about what was released in their name. The song was originally mixed only in mono, hence its inclusion in that form here, but does indeed wear the evidence of a sonic upgrade. However, another (longer) version of the song can be found (in a stereo mix!) on Anthology 3.

So, you may be tiring of me waxing poetic about music that's nearly a half-century old. And trying to justify buying new versions of old stuff I've already bought. But as I said before, at a time when music sounds more and more mechanical, phony, contrived and over-processed, it is a nice feeling to hear great rock n' roll music sounding the best it possibly can. Perhaps it could serve as a reminder to modern artists, producers and engineers that clipping the hell out of their music to make it sound louder and proceeding to compress it into sonic garbage is not the way to make it sound good. For further examples of this, look no further than the Beatles' re-released catalog.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm off to buy The White Album. Or should I get Sgt. Pepper? Choices, choices...

Revolution 9/09/09

After a summer suffering through some increasingly back-and-forth 'Bloods n' Crips' games between this country's two ideological divides, perhaps it's time to get away from the silliness and dig into something a bit deeper, and perhaps something people from all sides can agree on. Namely, we all like, heck, even love The Beatles. And what better day than today, on the occasion of the release of their newly digitally remastered catalog, two complete box sets and even a video game, the latest in the popular Rock Band franchise.

Now, before you all gang up on me for going off-topic with this one, ponder this: What other entertainment entity has done more to promote peace, love and togetherness than the collective force of John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr? Hey, the Beatles may not be bigger than Jesus Christ, but they're certainly more popular and more loved than Rush Limbaugh.

So, for those wondering why the heck there's so much commotion about a band that broke up forty years ago, let's take a look at what's happening.

1. First, for the first time since the original catalog was released on CD back in 1987, their entire recorded and released output from 1962 to 1970 will hit store shelves today in remastered form. As with 1987, that includes all thirteen original British album releases on the Parlophone and Apple labels, the American Magical Mystery Tour compilation and many singles, B-sides and other non-album releases. That's everything from their first, Please Please Me to Let It Be, their last. Along with the albums, the two-CD Past Masters set will collect all the non-album tracks, including big hits like "She Loves You" and "Hey Jude". All will be issued in stereo, with a few exceptions, and the first four CDs are actually making their official EMI stereo debut, after only being available in mono for the past two decades. Keep in mind that all albums represented will be issued in their original forms (so yes, this Let It Be is the one with the gaudy Phil Spector remixes). And the new CDs will not be padded with outtakes, demos or non-LP releases. Apple Corps. prefers to present the albums as originally intended and heard, which is a smart idea. That stuff can be found on the Anthology CDs.

Cynics may wonder why anyone would want to buy the same CDs they already bought years ago. Well, it all comes down to mastering. Lots of things have changed in digital audio technology in the past 22 years. Even the original catalog was a rather rushed affair, with CDs cut from outdated digital masters, hurriedly transferred without even proper equalizing. As a result, these old CDs sound rather flat and harsh. This is why many artists have reintroduced their old works over the years. The Rolling Stones, David Bowie, Elvis Costello and many other notables have remastered their catalog several times over the years. It's what they do to make their old music relevant to the times. And the difference between the archaic 1980s technology and today's 24-bit mastering techniques is startling. The results are CDs that much warmer and more vibrant, and have more detail and clarity. As Neil Young said not too long ago, CDs have finally gotten to the point where they sound as good as vinyl records.

But how does it all sound? I've only heard a few songs thus far, but from what I've heard, the results are rather startling. Starr's drumming is much crisper. McCartney's bass guitar is more prominent. The guitars and vocals of Harrison and Lennon shimmer. The remastered songs I've heard so far are vibrant and have more warmth than the 1987 CDs. Even the poorly mixed (yet arguably their best work) Rubber Soul sounds more pristine. As McCartney himself said upon hearing the results over Abbey Road studio monitors, it sounded as if George and John were still alive, and in the studio with him.

2. The whole remastering process has been a massive undertaking. Fortunately, the Beatles have benefitted from having virtually all of their original multitracks and master tapes accounted for. They are kept under lock and key at EMI's Abbey Road Studios in suburban London. EMI even employs people who's sole job is apparently Beatles-related projects. The archives have seen some activity over the years, with various unreleased and outtake collections (like Let It Be... Naked, Anthology and Live At The BBC) and even some ambitious remix projects like Yellow Submarine Songtrack and Love. After many years of clamoring by fans, the band's Apple Corps., which has to approve any new EMI Beatles release. Finally, four years ago, McCartney, Starr and the estates of Lennon and Harrison signed off on issuing remasters. There were stipulations, though. Only the original master tapes with the original mixes (except for producer George Martin's minor 1987 remixes for Help! and Rubber Soul) could be used.

The first step was to inspect every master tape. All the tapes were in excellent condition, save for a little dust and some dried splicing tape, which required minor and delicate maintenance. Then the tapes were converted, one song at a time, into digital files, using the same technology used in Blu-Ray discs. From there, the editing and cleaning-up process began. The goal, as set by the engineering team was to make everything sound as close to the master tapes as possible. Organic sounds such as vocal imperfections and squeaking drum pedals remained, while electronic errors such as chirps and bad edits were cleaned up slightly. Limiting, a process used all too often these days to increase the volume of the recording (while removing dynamic range) was used very little. Noise reduction, used to remove tape hiss, was also utilized sparingly.

3. In addition to the individual CD releases, the Beatles are also releasing two box sets. The first compiles the entire stereo catalog, including the albums and Past Masters. The second is a collection of all the mono mixes for their songs. The mono set, also long desired among fans, is a smart move. Fans have been begging for these mixes for years, as many of them differ from the more widely available stereo versions. Amazon, in fact, sold out of their allocation of limited-run mono box sets, prompting EMI to press more.

Now, why on earth would anyone go out of their way to buy mono recordings in 2009? Well, back in the 1960s, mono was mostly how pop music was heard. Most music fans owned monophonic record players and heard pop music via AM radio and jukeboxes. Few people owned stereo setups, and those audiophiles that did typically bought classical music and sound effects records. Seven-inch singles were, at the time, available only in mono. And because of the differences between mono and stereo vinyl, they had to be mixed differently, as the thicker bands of mono vinyl could support more bottom-end content (such as bass). As a result, more time was spent by Martin and his engineers (as well as the band members) to create the more popular mono mixes. Stereo mixes were typically an afterthought, hurriedly done by staff engineers, and were still rather experimental. Hence, we often had differences between the two. And these days, the stereo mixes are the only ones we typically hear and purchase. The mono mixes of the Beatles' works, until today, have long been out of print, available only via bootleg transfers from high-quality vinyl sources (Beatles fanatics such as Dr. Ebbetts created these with the intention of distributing them freely online - a simple Google search can locate these downloads).

To give an example of the mono/stereo differences, the Sgt. Pepper album is quite distinctive. In the mono version, the lead guitar is more upfront on several tracks. "Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds" has a trippy vocal phasing effect. "She's Leaving Home" is pitched much faster. And the reprise has edits in different places and McCartney yelling toward the end. All in all, the mono mix is more aggressive and in-your-face, while the stereo version sounds a bit more reserved. Needless to say, the mono recordings of the Beatles' works are a revelation, and are what the band members originally intended them to sound like.

And, truth be told, mono mixes done during the infancy of stereo tend to sound better. They just seem to pack more oomph and urgency. The Beatles' first two albums were recorded on two-track tape, with the limitations requiring them to place vocals on one channel and instrumentation on the other, in order for Martin to combine the two to make a good mono mix. The stereo versions of those two albums are essentially those two channels, making earbud or headphone listening a bit painful. This is why Martin was so adamant to release these only in mono back in 1987 (though A Hard Day's Night and Beatles For Sale, both recorded on four track, were mistakenly issued only in mono, an error never corrected). Later multitrack recordings by the band seem to shine more in mono. "I Want To Hold Your Hand", the first Beatles song to be recorded on four track, packs more punch in its mono mix. The stereo version, with all its extreme separation, is a bit busy and sluggish sounding in comparison.

It wasn't until later, as engineers figured out how to take advantage of multichannel mixing and figured out how to make better vinyl LPs that stereo began to improve. By 1968, stereo achieved domination in the format wars (The White Album was their last to get a distinctive mono remix). Hence, later efforts such as 1969's Abbey Road sound great in stereo, because they made this one the priority (actually, no mono mix was ever done of this one).

And it's not just with the Beatles. I have The Who Sell Out in both stereo and mono, and the version I prefer listening to is the mono mix. Considering that it's essentially a concept album about 60's British pirate radio, perhaps this seems more appropriate. Plus, it sounds a bit heavier, typical of the Who's early work. And many audiophiles are insistent that early Motown recordings sound better in mono as well. Back in that era, more care and attention was afforded the mono mixes, while engineers were still experimenting with the whole concept of stereo.

4. Of the major offerings unleashed by the Beatles today, older fans will likely be more drawn to the catalog reissues and the mono box set. But the younger crowd may be more drawn to the other big product being released. The Beatles: Rock Band is the first video game licensed and endorsed by the band. The game, two years in the making, is very elaborate, and allows participants to 'play' along and even sing along with their favorite Beatles hits (the game comes with 42 songs, with more to come), and also allows them to follow along the 'long and winding road' of their career, with settings including Liverpool's Cavern Club, the set of "The Ed Sullivan Show", Shea Stadium, Abbey Road Studio Two and even the rooftop of Apple Corps. To add some variety, psychedelic 'dreamscape' settings are also included, so the band appears to be playing "Octopus' Garden" underwater. The graphics and detail are very impressive, the result of the fussy demands and advice by McCartney, Starr and the two widows. The finished product is one in which all parties involved are very proud of. And all the songs featured in the game have been remixed for 5.1 surround sound. Thanks to modern mixing techniques, Abbey Road engineers, particularly Giles Martin, son of producer George, was actually able to create multitracks out of the very early material, a process that an amazed George Martin equated to handing them a cake and getting the individual ingredients back.

5. With the release of the new CDs, the question of the relevancy of the CD format remains. Many media pundits are still rather obsessed about whether they will ever offer their catalog for online download. Abbey Road engineers are rather bemused about the concept, comparing it to retouching the Mona Lisa, only to make photocopies of it. Why would people rather download compressed digital files when the much-superior CDs are available for the same price? But that's the world we are living in now. Sure, it's not very complicated to put a CD in the computer and rip it into MP3s with iTunes. But people are still hung up on being able to pay to download files directly. The Beatles are among the few remaining high-profile holdouts that have yet to offer their works for official download (AC/DC is another). But it could still be on the horizon. Apple Corps. wants it to happen, but they're part of a complicated troika that also involves EMI and the other Apple that owns iTunes. McCartney, who has reissued all of his solo work in downloadable form (his latest release, last year's very good Electric Arguments, is even available in the lossless, open-source FLAC format), blames EMI, though he has been sparring with the label personally for several years since he bolted to release his music through indie labels. So yes, eventually you may be able to download individual Beatles tracks or whole albums through iTunes and other services. But why not just buy the CDs and load them into the computer. At a high bitrate (like the maximum 320kbps for MP3), the songs will sound better than anything you could purchase and download online).

6. In conclusion, the question remains. Will people buy it? Of course they will. And they are. Even forty years since they were last in a studio together, the band's catalog has made them still one of the industry's top-selling artists. The music has aged very gracefully, and still brings in younger listeners (even the original fans' grandchildren!). Roughly 40 percent of the buyers of 1995's Anthology set were under 20 years old. The 1 compilation from 2000 is one of the biggest selling CDs of all time, with roughly 27 million units sold. Other recent releases, such as Love, have gone multi-platinum. And they still sound fresher than many newer artists played on the radio these days. With the release of the whole catalog, as well as the Rock Band tie-in, observers predict huge sales, exactly what the recording industry could use desperately in this day and age, as sales of physical CDs are in a major slump. Currently, Amazon's sales chart is dominated by new Beatles releases in the top positions.

The Beatles giving the music industry a shot in the arm. History repeats itself.

NOTE: After reading this, if you're all of a sudden smitten by the Beatles Bug, clicking on the various product links will take you to the Amazon page where you can purchase these items. In addition, purchasing this way will help support this very blog you're reading. So, by all means...

Remembering a bastard

This summary is not available. Please click here to view the post.

The one after 9/09/09

Okay, call me crazy but I read the news today, oh boy, and it made me quite giddy. After two decades, we'll all get to hear the music from the greatest band that ever existed in a sound quality that pays justice to it.

Now, pardon me if you will this indulgence. This music means a lot to yours truly. I grew up with it and still enjoy it thoroughly. The Beatles are that rare band, just like Led Zeppelin, U2 and perhaps a few others, who's music has stood the test of time. And if your idea of great contemporary music is dull, half-assed, throwaway tripe like Nickleback, then I'm about to take you to school. And come September, after many delays attributed to differences between The Beatles' Apple Corps. and their distributor, EMI, you'll finally get the full educational treatment. Old and young fans alike will now get to experience the greatest band on the planet in a whole new way, when the original Beatles catalog, as created by John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr, gets the remastering treatment on CD on September 9, 2009 (9/9/09). This will be the same day as the release of the equally-ballyhooed Rock Band video game devoted to their music, and makes for one heck of a tie-in.

Sure, all thirteen of The Beatles' studio albums, as well as various compilations, are currently available on compact disc, and have been since 1987. Even the local Target and Wal-Mart may still stock a few. But CDs made the 1980s have not held up well over time. Early discs sound rather cold, flat and harsh by today's standards. Mastering technology has come a long way since then, taking a major leap forward in the mid-1990s with the advent of more powerful computers and elaborate recording software such as Pro Tools. The modern technology has given today's CDs a much fuller sound, coming closer in approximating the intimacy and warmth of analog tape and vinyl LPs. Today's CD is virtually a different format altogether.

Over the years, many bands have reissued their catalogs to take advantage of new technology, and to market to a new generation of fans. Beatles contemporaries such as the Rolling Stones, Bob Dylan, Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin and The Beach Boys have long ago remastered and rereleased their original output. The Beatles are long overdue in this regard.

Newer generations of artists have also undergone the remastering treatment. Classic 80s and 90s albums that don't really seem that old, like Dire Straits' Brothers In Arms, U2's The Joshua Tree and recently, Pearl Jam's Ten, got anniversary makeovers. Needless to say, just about every major veteran artist in the music industry has freshened up their original repertoire.

Initially, like most, I scoffed at the idea of remastering. I thought it was just another excuse to re-release the same stuff we already had. Then I started listening to some of them. The reissue of both of the Traveling Wilburys' albums sound much stronger and richer than the original releases from 1988 and 1990. Likewise, George Harrison's reissued All Things Must Pass had a warm and beautiful feel missing from the original CD. The Clash's upgraded London Calling jumps up and smacks you in the face. The current incarnation of Billy Joel's The Stranger took my breath away. It's like night and day.

And then there's The Beatles. From the get-go, they took their time in arriving to the CD party. The delay was due mostly to squabbles with EMI. After finally taking approval rights over their catalog, the band took their time bringing the music into the digital age. When they did, it was, for the most part, a bit underwhelming. Releasing them in the original British configurations was a logical idea, rather than in the overwhelming American format we here in the states grew up with. But they really goofed when they kicked it all off with the release of the first four CDs. They were issued only in mono, per producer George Martin's insistence. Granted, Please Please Me and With The Beatles sound a bit brutal in two track stereo, but it was due to a memo error between Martin and EMI that we were stuck with mono-only versions of A Hard Day's Night and Beatles For Sale for nearly a quarter century (and both of those albums have excellent four track stereo mixes). The 1987 release of Rubber Soul (arguably their best album) still had a lousy remix only slightly tweaked from the underwhelming one done in 1965. Most of Magical Mystery Tour still employed the same awful faux (duophonic) stereo mixes made by the engineers at EMI's American arm, Capitol. All the album releases, save for a really good deluxe Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, had meager liner notes and grim packaging. And it stayed that way until now.

Granted, Apple Corps. has worked to atone for the shoddy presentation of their highest-profile product. It all started with 1994's Live At The BBC. The following year saw the release of the ambitious Anthology series, collecting some of their best outtakes and unreleased songs, long demanded by hardcore fans tired of sifting through crappy-quality bootlegs. It got better. Yellow Submarine Songtrack, coinciding with the re-release of the movie in 1999, was an ambitious undertaking, and is perhaps the best of the Beatles compilations. For the first time ever, the Abbey Road engineers went back to the original multitrack tapes and remixed everything. "All You Need Is Love" became a whole new experience. "Eleanor Rigby" featured the string quartet in true stereo for the first time. "Nowhere Man," from Rubber Soul, finally got a mix worthy of the song itself.

The next year saw the release of a definitive greatest hits collection, titled 1. The songs were remastered from the original tapes (though not the multitracks) and sounded light years better than the 1987 CDs. In 2001, bassist McCartney sanctioned a new-and-improved "naked" counterpart to the much-derided Let It Be, freed from the crass Phil Spector wall-of-sound overdubs that he and many fans loathed. The Cirque Du Soliel-inspired Love, from 2004, featured an even more radical remix than Yellow Submarine, in effect a re-manipulated mashup, by original producer George Martin and his son Giles, that presented the music in a whole new way without going over the top. Like Yellow Submarine Songtrack, it was created with 5.1 surround sound in mind, and it sounded awesome.

The remastered catalog likely won't go that far. They will probably stay pretty faithful to the original Martin mixes, with only minor alterations. Nonetheless, just modern technology alone will finally result in a decent sounding Beatles catalog. Even the recent pair of The Capitol Albums box sets, spanning 1963-1965 and taken from the original second-generation masters sent to America and reverbed all to hell, sound better than the early British releases currently on CD.

So, what other reasons are there for buying a bunch of old discs that we already have? All 14 albums (including a now single-issue Past Masters), will be packaged in tasteful deluxe cardboard digipacks, rather than the brittle and ubiquitous jewel case. The packaging will approximate the original artwork of the British LPs, and each will include booklets with deluxe liner notes, recording notes, photos and historical information. And, as icing on the cake, each original release (aside from Past Masters) will include a newly created video documentary, in Quick Time format, on the making of each album, containing archival footage, rare photographs and never-before-heard studio banter.

For the fans who must have it all (which would be many), all 14 titles will be packaged in a complete box set, along with a DVD compiling the individual documentaries. Hardcore fans are already crowing about another planned box set, long demanded, called The Beatles In Mono, collecting the mono mixes of ten albums and a bunch of singles. Now, why on earth would anyone salivate over mono recordings in the age of stereo and surround sound? Well, all of the band's recorded output, up until 1968, received distinct mono mixes. At the time, stereo was almost an afterthought, whereas mono was the dominant form. The heavy needle arms on mono record players would destroy the more delicate stereo LPs. And in order to get good mono and stereo results, each was done in its own way, separately. This resulted in radical differences between the two. For example, the mono mix of Sgt. Pepper, overseen by the band members themselves, is much different than it's more widely heard stereo counterpart. After hearing it, you'll never think of it the same way again. The mono box is a smart move on the typically stubborn Apple's part.

So, is this all just a new packaging of old stuff, or will it be a monumental event? What are some of the ramifications of the whole thing, anyway? Let us count the ways:

1. In an age when Pete Townshend has no idea what happened to the multitracks from Who's Next and The Beach Boys' best-known recordings are littered with tape noise, background chatter, coughing and sloppy mixes, The Beatles enjoy the lofty position of having perhaps the best, most well-preserved and best-sounding back catalog of any band from the 1960s. And we're not just talking about the music. EMI used excellent quality analog tape in those days. None of it has even oxidized, in contrast to lower quality tape. And while the equipment at London's Abbey Road Studios was technologically primitive compared to the cutting edge stuff used at rival studios (later resulting in the band utilizing other recording facilities), it did result in high-quality recordings. All of the band's recorded output is currently kept in a special vault at Abbey Road. They even have a dedicated caretaker, longtime Abbey Road engineer Allen Rouse, who's sole job for the past decade and a half has been keeping an eye on the crown jewels and overseeing various Beatles projects.

2. The Beatles reissue project will be a shot in the arm for a music industry that desperately needs one. Let's face it, it's rough out there. The recording industry of 2009 finds itself competing against many other forms of media. Video games and DVDs are serious rivals for the entertainment dollar. In addition, the wide digital availability of music has made an impact, both authorized (iTunes, Rhapsody, etc.) and unauthorized (file sharing). The industry dug its own grave on that one back in the mid-90s when they greedily decided to deep-six the single format. At the same time, Billboard began allowing album tracks to enter the Hot 100. The labels, in an attempt to move the more profitable albums, tried to force consumers to buy the whole thing to get the one hit. Enter Napster a few years later, which allowed music fans to get what they wanted in the first place - the sole hit song. We all know what happened after that. Too much blame has been put on unauthorized downloading, though. A few artists, such as Radiohead, actually saw their sales go up due to file sharing. And digital sales are doing extremely well, though at the expense of the better CD format. And yes, even the archaic vinyl format has been making a comeback in recent years. Currently, 1969's Abbey Road is one of the best selling vinyl LPs in the land.

A major reason for the current recording industry slump that rarely gets mentioned is airplay. MTV doesn't play much music anymore, so videos don't have the same impact that they did in the 1980s, save for country music. Radio has also become more restrictive, as many are controlled by corporate entities with uniform playlists that don't take the chances they used to with newer artists. Sure, there's the internet, with sites such as MySpace and Last.fm. But as McCartney himself has claimed, major labels have no idea how to promote music online.

And then, there's quality. Many of today's key meal-ticket artists aren't coming up with earth-moving music. Sure, U2's latest album did okay. By now, it's probably hit platinum. But in all honesty, it's a rather weak effort compared to their past output. The only thing that could possibly save the rather tepid No Line On The Horizon is their upcoming tour, and a follow-up album due later this year. Bruce Springsteen's new album is good, but it can't hold a candle to Born To Run. Today's recordings all seem so sanitary. So perfect. And a bit bland. It's also very heavily clipped, as record labels seek to make each product louder than the last. The process results in sonic dreck that exhausts the ears rather than pleases them. Ironically, music in the digital age sounds pretty lousy compared to all that old stuff recorded on ancient analog equipment.

Over the past half-century, The Beatles have been the only guaranteed money-making artists in the industry. Even their back catalog still sells like crazy. The 1 compilation, a taster consisting of all their #1 hits, is one of the biggest selling releases of all time, with 31 million units moved worldwide. The simultaneous release of the remastered catalog on the same day as Rock Band will be a swift kick in the ass for the industry. And people will most likely buy the CDs, rather than just wait for it to turn up in inferior mp3 files on BitTorrent. Don't be surprised if The Beatles are the top-selling artist of 2009 and people rediscover the CD format.

2. Even without official digital distribution, The Beatles are still the most downloaded artists on the internet. This is helped mostly by the wide availability of 'bootleg' releases. But rather than the umpteenth repackaging of the White Album acoustic demos and zillions of sloppy rehearsal tracks from the Get Back sessions, most of the bootleg activity these days revolves around unofficial 'remasters'. These 'remasters', essentially high-bitrate digital files ripped from good quality imported vinyl releases using high-end turntables, actually sound better than the 1987 CDs. Scary.

3. So, when are The Beatles going legit with their downloads? Negotiations between Apple Corps., Apple Computers (yes, that lawsuit has long been resolved) and EMI have been rough. The Beatles, along with AC/DC (who refuse to digitize their music for downloading) are among the sole remaining high-profile holdouts. All of the individual Beatles have released their solo catalogs through online mp3 retailers (and in remastered form to boot). McCartney himself wants to see a resolution that will put legit mp3s of The Beatles online, but acknowledges it's all between the lawyers now. Dhani Harrison, representing his late father George, claims iTunes and others need to charge more than the standard 99 cents for individual Beatles tracks. Since iTunes has just introduced tiered pricing, this thorny issue could be close to a resolution. The younger Harrison, seemingly the group's point man in tech-related issues (he was the one who suggested the Rock Band project), has even proposed the idea of Apple Corps. doing their own digital distribution.

The whole digital impasse could be resolved by the end of the year. That's what they're hoping. But does it really matter? Hardcore Beatles fans don't care about iTunes, Amazon MP3 and Rhapsody. They'll buy the CDs. The only advantage to download availability would be to cater to a younger demographic (the massive success of the 1 compilation has proven that they are very effective at this) who have been moving away from CDs. But since the iTunes software itself is highly effective at making decent quality mp3 files from CDs, why not, for the same price, just buy the more attractive and better-sounding discs instead? Downloading is really just an impulse purchase geared toward obtaining individual songs.

4. Apple seems to have finally gotten the whole thing right. For the most part. And this new undertaking has shown that they really are trying to please the fans. I like the idea of the mono box set, the extensive liner notes and the cardboard digipacks . The documentaries are a nice touch. I would have, however, totally remixed Rubber Soul, Magical Mystery Tour and a few of the single-only releases (some of which didn't see true stereo mixes until long after the band broke up). I also wouldn't mind seeing 5.1 surround mixes of a few releases, but perhaps that's further down the road.

And Apple and EMI did entrust the whole remastering project to reliable personnel. The seven engineers overseeing it have long been associated with some very high-quality Beatles-related reissues, as well as a few solo Beatles projects (such as John Lennon's catalog). They know the material inside-out. They are familiar with the delicacy involved in faithfully digitizing the old analog tapes, and know that old technology must be used with the new high-tech stuff for the best possible results. Modern gimmicks such as de-noising and digital limiting were used very sparingly. The tape heads were cleared of dust and debris after playing back each song. All in all, this was not a slap-dash effort. This was serious business.

5. Some may bemoan that The Beatles are not padding the original albums with outtakes, B-sides, singles, etc. This was no oversight. McCartney himself states that the band prefers to present the albums in the way that they were originally intended. They don't want younger generations to remember a 24-song Revolver packed with filler. And quite frankly, would you want to hear "The Ballad Of John And Yoko" on Abbey Road? Or "Lady Madonna" on The White Album? It just wouldn't work. Often bands and record labels tend to stuff CDs with excess material because they can. And in some cases, it works. But when all is said and done, isn't it all about quality rather than quantity? Instead of just stuffing it with filler, perhaps it's better in this case to present the material in its original, intended form. These are legendary albums. Beethoven never added outtakes to his symphonies. Would you add a few chapters of J.D. Salinger's scribblings to the end of "Catcher In The Rye"? Or splashes of color to Picasso's "Guernica"? Of course not. For those who do want the singles, outtakes, etc., Past Masters and Anthology do just that.

Sure, I may be making a big deal out of all this, but this will likely be the most-talked about event in the recording industry this year, so it is worth mentioning. The Beatles could give the recording industry a swift kick in the pants in 2009 like they did 45 years ago with "I Want To Hold Your Hand." And if, indeed, this is the swan song for the CD format, as some of the more pessimistic observers predict, it will be one hell of a wake. And for the young folks who's idea of rock and roll is the Jonas Brothers, well, it's time to experience the real deal.

Ladies and gentlemen - The Beatles!

That'll be the day (this thing gets posted)

With this catch-all entry, let us pause and remember the significance of this day, February 3, 2009. For today marks one of the most notable days in music history.

Fifty years ago, on February 3, 1959, a trio of young rockers on a midwestern ballroom tour, rocker Buddy Holly opted to get out of the dilapidated and freezing tour bus and charter a plane to take him and his band from Mason City, Iowa to their next gig in Moorhead, MN, hoping to arrive early enough to get some laundry done.

Tourmate Richie Valens flipped a coin with one of Holly's bandmates, Tommy Alsup, for his plane seat. Valens won. And another tourmate, J.P. (The Big Bopper) Richardson, suffering from the flu, begged Holly's other bandmate, Waylon Jennings, for his seat, to which Jennings obliged.

When Holly learned that Jennings wasn't going to fly, he said, "Well, I hope your ol' bus freezes up." Jennings responded, "Well, I hope your ol' plane crashes." No more ominous words were perhaps ever spoken. The plane wound up doing just that not too long after takeoff, killing all aboard.

Read more about The day the music died.

And here it is, the catch-all entry. Enjoy.

The day the music could die at EMI

This one is a bit off-topic in general, but is, however, music-related. And there are parallels between the entertainment industry and the media industry. Both have consolidated to the point that the biggest players hold an increasingly large chunk of the pie, and in some cases, some companies have fallen under the control of private equity firms with myopic slash-and-burn mentalities.

Most notable in the music industry is venerable British label EMI, which has a long and storied history. They're the ones that brought us Frank Sinatra, The Beach Boys, The Beatles, Pink Floyd and Garth Brooks. Their Abbey Road Studios in London is perhaps the most famous and most innovative studio on the planet. And now, it looks like EMI's recording legacy could come to an end.

EMI has long been suffering, and even more so since the takeover by the Terra Firma private equity firm. Their deep-pocketed rivals have gotten much bigger, and EMI has seen an exodus of some of their biggest stars, including Brooks, Radiohead and Paul McCartney, who have all recently opted to go the indie label route. All of the combined factors have resulted in the recording division posting losses of £757 million ($1.08 billion) for the year ending March, 2008. Even after cleaning up some sloppy business practices and slashing 1500 jobs, the company is still hemmhoraging money.

Terra Firma may sell off EMI's recording division and keep its lucrative music publishing division. Could EMI land with yet another private equity group or get swallowed up by one of the other big industry fish, such as Sony, Time Warner or Universal Media Group? Or could we see a situation where some of the crown jewels, i.e. the lucrative Beatles catalog, get sold off separately, perhaps to the band members/estates themselves? Music fans will likely be watching this one closely.

And the prospect of a Big Three holding sway over most of the music industry could be a double-edged sword. With the ability of smaller independent labels and consortiums finding distribution and promotion to be quite simple compared to years past, and big artists such as Brooks, The Eagles and Nine Inch Nails releasing their new material sans-label online or through exclusive deals with retailers like Wal-Mart, do we really need major labels anymore?

Early in the Morning

Starting this week, you can hear Rachel Maddow in mornings at Air America, as she has given up her weeknight show on the radio network.

The New York Daily News says that Maddow will "provide content" for an hour-long morning program, largely built on her MSNBC show of the previous evening.

The problem, says Maddow, is that something had to give.

"I just couldn't keep doing both," she says. "It was a quality control issue - the quality of the program and my own quality of life. I need time to, say, eat and sleep, which I understand most people do every day. I wasn't. I needed not to be grabbing food off a cart at 2 in the morning."

Oh, Boy!

Two years after they almost killed it, and only a few weeks after management tried to shake it up by making some rather controversial changes, it appears that the listeners were right after all.

And with that, congratulations are in order for WXXM (92.1 The Mic) in Madison. In the most recent ratings book, they have jumped from a 2.2 share to a whopping FOUR POINT FREAKIN' SEVEN (!!!) in the overall numbers. That's a 4.7, folks, and marks a record for the biggest number for a purely progressive talk station in America.

Currently, they are tied for #6 overall in the market with country music sister WMAD.

And they say nobody listens. Feh!

Not Fade Away

Unless you've been living under a rock for the past year, you know that television will undergo a major transformation in 2008. Gone will be the seven decade-old analog standard, to be replaced by ones and zeros.

As it currently stands, all of the nation's full-powered television stations will be required to turn off their analog transmission facilities and continue with their digital-only facilities on February 17. This may be extended to June 12 if Congress acts soon (and President Obama has signalled he will sign the bill once it leaves the House successfully). That means that, if you receive your television signals via rabbit ear antennas, you need to take note.

First, if you subscribe to cable, satellite or similar service, you're set. You're good to go. You may not even notice anything come February 17.

If you get your signals over-the-air, you may need to take note. Do you have a newer wide-screen LCD, plasma or other flat-panel set? Or a newer CRT (that big picture tube) unit that already receives digital signals? You're also set, but you may have to refer to your instruction manual to make sure you've already scanned the digital channels.

Now, if you have an older set (made more than three years ago or so) and it doesn't already receive digital signals, you may need one of those digital converter boxes. So far, they've been selling like crazy. So much that the government program that doles out $40 discount vouchers for the units has run out of money. That has been replenished, thanks to the recent stimulus bill that just got passed.

If you've been procrastinating and still haven't applied for your voucher yet, you can still do so, unless you just don't care about television anymore. Otherwise, you can still pay full-price for a converter box, if so desired. The boxes typically retail for $50-60, and can be found at most big-box retailers such as Best Buy, Radio Shack, Target and Wal-Mart.

Keep in mind that even though the analog shutoff may be postponed, individual stations, faced with the expense of keeping their old signals on for another four months, may opt to sign off analog come February 17. The FCC has been allowing stations to do this. Once the analog signal signs off for good, you'll need to be digitally compliant to still watch.

Now, let's say that you get your signals over-the-air. If you haven't already scanned for digital channels, then do so. Stations are still signing on their digital counterparts and even debuting subchannels. With the analog signals shut down, some stations may increase their digital power, allowing for a greater coverage area. And some may even change channel locations. It certainly would not a bad idea to occasionally rescan to update the tuner. And make sure you've got a decent antenna (often, a simple $20 one will suffice - a rooftop antenna is ideal).

But if you need a converter box, and don't already have one, what the hell are you waiting for?

You say goodbye, and I say Hello

Always looking for a clever gimmick in which to report on rather mundane news offerings, I have dedicated the theme of this entry to the greatest band in rock history, The Beatles. And it also helps set up a personal, off-topic rant at the end of this.

So, to tie it all in, here's their 1967 hit, "Hello Goodbye":

Hello, Hello Air America adds a new correspondent and weekend host, as the network has tapped former Time magazine columnist and Wonkette.com co-founder Ana Marie Cox as its first Washington, D.C.-based national correspondent. She will also travel the country to profile people and stories illustrating life in America.

In this new capacity, she also will contribute content to airamerica.com and host a weekly radio program. Cox makes her Air America debut on Monday, January 19 to contribute to Air America’s Inauguration coverage.

“We’re thrilled to have Ana Marie’s unique voice join the Air America chorus,” said Bill Hess, senior vice president of programming for Air America. “Her curiosity about the issues facing Americans and how they deal with these issues on a daily basis promises to serve as the foundation for lively reports and commentaries from the capital and from the Main Streets of America”.

“Ana Marie’s presence on Air America is a significant step in the continued growth of Air America Media,” added Bennett Zier, Air America’s chief executive officer.

In addition to her work at Wonkette and Time, she served on the editorial staffs of Suck.com, Mother Jones and Radar. She is currently writing for The Daily Beast. Cox also published her first novel in 2006, “Dog Days.”

By the way, Air America, not surprisingly, is offering extensive coverage from next Tuesday's inauguration of President Obama (gee, sounds good saying that!). Thom Hartmann's show will air live from the Capitol with guests Cox and fellow Air America host Ron Reagan. Ira Mellman, former WTOP and WCBS reporter/anchor and Air America’s special correspondent, will also be contributing on-air and online live from Washington, D.C. on the Inaugural festivities.

Goodbye KHRO (1650AM), the former Air America outlet in El Paso, last week parted ways with its most notable remaining liberal talker, afternoon host Paul Strelzin.

On his last show, Strezlin said. "There are a lot of people out there that like radio, that like to talk and will do it for free. I can't at my age do it for free." Strelzin was the only paid on-air employee on the talk station.

As with much of the radio industry these days, crippled due to the economy and the lousy advertising market, it was due to budgetary reasons. Strelzin does have an open invitation to return to the station, provided he can enlist sponsors for his three hour show.

Hello, again Only days after WXXM in Madison (92.1 The Mic) replaced Thom Hartmann with Dave Ramsey, listener outcry has forced station management to reconsider. So, Hartmann is back and Ramsey has been moved to the vacant morning shift. And no, the station has no current plans to change formats.

Goodbye WLIB in New York loses its last link to its Air America days as morning guy Mark Riley departs. Prior to returning to WLIB, Riley hosted several shows for the network.

Hello, Goodbye President-elect Obama has reportedly tapped Julius Genachowski to succeed Republican Kevin Martin as head the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). Genachowski, a onetime executive at IAC/InterActive and a former DC venture capitalist at LaunchBox Digital, served as Obama's chief technology adviser during the presidential campaign and also had a major role in fundraising. He has an FCC background as well, having served as chief counsel for former Chairman Reed Hundt during the Clinton administration.

Although the nomination has not been finalized, NAB President/CEO David Rehr issued a statement saying, "Julius Genachowski has a keen intellect, a passion for public service, and a deep understanding of the important role that free and local broadcasting plays in American life. NAB salutes President-elect Obama on this superb choice to lead the FCC."

Tech fans will also welcome Genachowski, as he is a strong advocate for net neutrality, as well as for universal broadband access, a high priority for Obama.

Incidentally, earlier today, the most recent head of the FCC, Kevin Martin, turned in his resignation from the commission altogether.

Goodbye, Goodbye? Times are tough in the media industry, mostly due to a serious decline in advertising revenue, and the print media is perhaps hurting the most. Case in point are two notable daily newspapers, currently on the selling block. Hearst is looking to unload the Seattle Post-Intelligencer and E.W. Scripps is seeking a buyer for Denver's Rocky Mountain News, Colorado's oldest newspaper. Hearst will close the paper if a suitor cannot be found and Scripps set a Friday deadline for a buyer to come forward, or it too will fold. Both Seattle and Denver have another daily paper.

Hello and Goodbye? to the DTV transition. If Genachowski is nominated and confirmed as FCC Chairman, the first big thing on his plate, in contrast to Martin's obsession with Janet Jackson's tits and allowing the corporate takeover of the radio dial, is the upcoming switch from analog to digital television, to commence less than five weeks from now, on February 17.

Or will it?

The current DTV voucher program, which allows viewers with older sets to order $40 coupons good toward purchase of a DTV converter box (average price $50-60), has also been in place for a year, and has been promoted heavily via the airwaves. Evidently, many have taken note, as demand for the coupons has outstripped the supply. As of last week, the DTV coupon program has run out of money, and no more has so far been earmarked for it, hence no more coupons being issued for outstanding requests. Because of this, the Obama transition team and Democratic lawmakers want to delay the February 17 date, in order to play catch-up. Another option proposed is to waive the expiration date on expired coupons still floating around.

The current FCC administration has warned that changing the date would prove to be chaotic and confusing. In addition, it could cause problems for local television stations that have already arranged for shutting down their analog facilities on that date (though stations could go ahead and switch on that date if they wanted, as quite a few already have).

So, why are there people who haven't upgraded? Yahoo! tech columnist Ben Patterson says it's either due to procrastination, denial or just plain "technical naiveté."

According to this New York Times story, about 6.8 percent of U.S. households aren't ready for the DTV transition — meaning that 93.2 percent are indeed ready to go.

Patterson is one of many arguing to keep the February 17 date. To be honest, so am I. After seeing many of these same cutoff dates come and go over the years, perhaps it's time to just get it over and done with. Plus, many television stations will be able to increase their power once they turn off adjacent analog facilities. Stations and networks can also go about the task of standardizing image layouts, perhaps doing away with the maddening 'letterbox-in-letterbox' look of many affiliates and the constant switch between standard definition and widescreen HDTV. And, most importantly, it will allow for the rollout of 4G, the next generation of Wi-Fi internet transmission.

Goodbye KQDS in Duluth, which actually got ratings with their former progressive talk format before dumping it for oldies a year ago, has switched once again. Goodbye oldies and say "heba hello" to sports, adding FOX Sports Radio and occasional feeds of Twin Cities sports powerhouse KFAN. KFAN syndicates their programming around the region.

Hello, uh... Help! Remember Michael Zwerling? His conservative talk station in Santa Cruz, KSCO (1080) has turned to begging for money – via PayPal – on the station website. They’re suggesting a monthly donation of $10.80 to “help us keep quality programming on the air.” Zwerling told Brad Kava of the San Francisco Examiner that operating his talk station without adequate money flow is “just a struggle. There’s a lot of things I want to do with that station, but I can’t do it unless we get some money coming in.” What about the traditional way? Zwerling says “I’d like to get it from advertisers, but that isn’t always there.”

Zwerling's complaints about lack of advertisers for his stations are nothing new. A couple years ago, he waged a notorious campaign directed at listeners of then-progressive talk KOMY, threatening to pull the programming if people didn't step up to either advertise or send money to keep the format on the air. Only thing is, his two stations never really had much of an advertising staff, often relying on local hosts themselves to sell time for their own shows.

Goodb... oh, good grief! And what would be more complete in an entry such as this than a Beatles/new media tie-in?

Austin Washington, who by day works for the Obama transition team and is also distantly related to George Washington, created a music video that became somewhat of a web sensation over the holidays. It shows a bunch of people in Santa Claus suits randomly hugging tourists and federal bureaucrats in D.C.

The song, he claims, came from a dream (a #9 Dream?) on, of all dates, December 8, the 28th anniversary of John Lennon's tragic death. In the dream, Lennon sang a song called "Need A Little Love." Whatever gets you through the night, I guess. Interesting thing is, it's not a song Lennon himself actually wrote or performed, let alone released.

Austin was inspired, though. With his acoustic guitar and laptop, he recorded a demo of the song. A few days later, Austin encountered the bizarre scene of 150 anarchic Santa Clauses forcibly hugging tourists and federal bureaucrats outside the White House, obviously giving peace a chance. He recorded all this with his cell phone. Hence, a music video was born, with the unwieldy title "Best Christmas Video EVER! Pole Dancing Elves, John Lennon, Santa Claus" became a YouTube sensation, being posted there after it had already crashed the servers of original home PopMusic.com. On YouTube, it allegedly became the most popular Christmas video in history. The whole thing was a unique way of showing that, all in all, all we need is love.

But the video was living on borrowed time. Enter the Grinch, in the form of Lennon's widow, Yoko Ono. Ono, wielding her ticket to ride as executor of Lennon's estate, spoiled the party and, faster than you can say 'everybody's got something to hide except for me and my monkey,' complained to YouTube. She said, she said that the song and video were copyright violations. Essentially, she has copyright control over stuff you imagine Lennon singing, so keep your thoughts to yourselves.

YouTube, oddly maintaining that the song is owned by the Lennon estate, pulled the video off their site on the twelfth day of Christmas, January 5. Nevermind that the song had never been released by Lennon, never even showed up on bootlegs, and for all we know, was probably never even written or conceived by Lennon (aside from Washington's dream), let alone trademarked. Perhaps the copyright complaint is due to the use of Lennon's name in the title, and YouTube is a bit confused by the whole thing.

Well, well, well. How do you sleep, indeed, Dear Yoko!

It's ironic that Ono would get pissy about something like this. This almost sounds like something John and Yoko would have done in the late 60s and throughout the early 70s, if they could be bothered to actually get out of bed. Ironic in that Ono has always felt a sense of pride in fans celebrating the peaceful message of Lennon's legacy. And over time, she has also gone out of her way to soften her public image, which needed a great deal of work.

And there's already a bunch of copyrighted Lennon and Beatles material already on the site (evidenced by the official music video at the top of this entry). Why pick on a guy who was obviously inspired by Lennon's memory to record something unique and original that helped forward his primary message of peace and love, perhaps inspiring many to come together? It's power to the people in real-life form. Yoko's actions just look petty, and one wonders whether instant karma's gonna get her. She obviously should have known better.

Most peculiar, mama.

Uh... Hello? And while we're on the topic of the Fab Four, how about a nagging recent question heard by countless Beatles fans? Sure, this is totally off-topic for this blog, but one issue close to my own heart, as a die-hard Beatles fan, so please indulge me for this rant. So, here's the question: When are we going to actually hear decent sounding CDs from the greatest band in rock history?

The current lineup of 13 original albums available in the marketplace, plus the two Past Masters catch-all collections, are the same ones that were originally released in 1987 and 1988. And we all know how much CD mastering quality has improved since then. Contemporaries such as the Rolling Stones, Pink Floyd, David Bowie and the Beach Boys have released remastered and better sounding CDs over the years to keep up with technology and present their music in the best quality possible. All four former Beatles have issued remasters of their solo works in recent years. But from the band itself, all we have is flat, cruddy sounding 80s-era drink coasters with lame booklets and liner notes (aside from Sgt. Pepper). Two albums, A Hard Day's Night and Beatles For Sale are still available only in mono (due to an uncorrected misunderstanding between EMI and producer George Martin), even though songs from these two albums, which have great stereo mixes, have since been reissued in that form on various compilations (to be fair, their first two albums, Please Please Me and With The Beatles do sound better in mono).

How lousy-sounding are the original CDs? Bootleggers have made better-sounding discs by copying original high-quality vinyl records (without scratches) to their PCs using state-of-the-art store-bought equipment. Meanwhile, there's a lot of money sitting on the table, waiting to be acquired from the many fans who are more than willing buy their CDs all over again. Hello?

Sure, there are recent collections of old material that sound pretty good, like 1 (all the #1 hits), the extensive Anthology series (which features rare outtakes), Yellow Submarine Songtrack (which also features radical and stunning remixes of much of their material from the original four-track session tapes), Love (an even more radical remix/mashup) and Let It Be... Naked (an entirely stripped-down mix and reconfiguration of the 1970 original). There's also The Capitol Albums box sets, in their original American configurations (in both mono and stereo), that feature remastered early songs from the Capitol vaults, and was reluctantly approved by Apple Corps. The audio quality between these and the old 1987 CDs is like night and day. And Capitol used second-generation masters! The Capitol set, however, does give us a hint of what to expect. Maybe.

The present shoddy state of the official Beatles catalog irritates many of their fans. Especially since a 40th anniversary release of The White Album was teased last year, then pulled. Instead, to celebrate the album's release, the Beatles' web site offers commemorative clothing and, the most ridiculous of all, a $395 commemorative fountain pen. Ugh!

So what's the hold-up? The remasters are ready to go. The Beatles' label, EMI, commissioned the project two years ago, and the output currently sits in the vault of Abbey Road Studios. But EMI, due to a 1989 legal agreement with Apple Corps., which represents the Beatles partnership, cannot release anything Beatles-related without the approval of Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, Yoko Ono and Olivia Harrison (the latter two representing the estates of their late husbands). And, according to McCartney, it's the fault of unspecified and 'unacceptable' demands from EMI, whom they have long been at odds with. The band does want the remasters released, even enlisting Jeff Jones, who previously oversaw Sony's recent reissue program, to become Apple Corps. CEO in 2007.

Likely, some of the reissue question revolves around digital downloads. The band is chomping at the bit to release the music online, via iTunes and possibly other services like Rhapsody. These talks have stalled too. This doesn't matter much to die-hard fans who already own the CDs and will likely buy the reissued ones in sonically superior physical form. But, like the 1 compilation and other recent issues, digital availability opens their music to a new generation of potential (and younger) fans. All of the individual band members and/or their estates issue their solo works in download form, with McCartney (who owns all of his solo masters) and Starr being the most aggressive. In recent interviews, McCartney has been very vocal about "EMI's neanderthal approach to the internet." McCartney himself issued his latest album, the experimental Electronic Arguments, in digital form in a variety of different file formats, including the lossless, open-source and DRM-free FLAC.

Thus, a reissue of the remastered catalog will likely coincide with digital availability of the music. Why release the old stuff online only to change it soon after, right? It appears to be the 'chicken and egg' approach.

But back to the CDs. The remasters promise some really cool stuff, as can be evidenced from listening to the recent compilations. If all you've heard is the current batch of 22 year-old CDs, then the new and improved stuff will be mind-blowing. There's even a chance of hearing some of it in 5.1 surround sound, as Abbey Road's mixing staff has created many of these kinds of mixes for various DVD projects, reissued films and even the Cirque du Soliel Love project. And the next project in the Beatles pipeline, a special edition of the Rock Band video game, also features a 5.1 mix. Furthermore, many fans have been quite vocal in their demands for cleaner, updated mixes and even the availability of the original mono versions (the mono mix of Sgt. Pepper, for example, sounds radically different).

But until then, the selection of high-quality recordings of Beatles music is still quite thin. And it's a win-win for all, which makes this even more baffling. And what better time than now? EMI is hurting bad. Some doubt whether they'll even make it through the year, and in recent years, they've lost some of their highest profile artists, including Garth Brooks, Radiohead and McCartney himself, who opted to go the indie label route. If EMI gets swallowed up by an even bigger corporation, then the rights to the Beatles recordings go as well, and I'm sure, as much as they seem to detest EMI, they'd rather stick with the devil they know. The Beatles also have a legacy to uphold, and given the timeless appeal of their music, a need to preserve it for future generations. Retail sales for recorded music would get a serious kick in the pants. And the somewhat-slumping download market would no doubt benefit from the music's availability online.

And quite frankly, I would love to hear something like Abbey Road in surround sound, if not at least a version of Rubber Soul with a decent stereo mix. Oh, and while you're all at it, how about those DVD versions of the "Let It Be" movie and the Shea Stadium concert? I won't hold my breath.

Hopefully, all parties involved can resolve their issues and make 2009 a banner year for The Beatles.