New Worlds Weam » Leda’s Earthcannon.

Leda’s Earthcannon.

byronius, February 13th, 2013

So in my mother’s estate is a pristine original copy of Leda’s Earthcannon.

And so I run it through the machine.

And I am blown away. Just beautiful.

Comments (18)

18 Comments »

byronius wrote,

Comment on February 13, 2013 @ 8:31 pm
Max wrote,

What no link to tracks?

(start here)

Comment on February 14, 2013 @ 6:43 am
Max wrote,

Just noticed that Time of Our Lives (Leda) is missing from the archive.

Comment on February 14, 2013 @ 6:46 am
SkyHarbor wrote,

Fond recall!
Hey Leda, who was that swan I saw you with last night?

Comment on February 14, 2013 @ 7:03 am
Max wrote,

I was thrown by the credit for cover art for a second. Who the hell was Jay Hova? I’d thought Senrab had done it…

When I see the track listings for Leda I remember it as a powerful creative episode. At least three of the songs on that list had only been around for a matter of months at the time of the recording. I had taken a long Amtrak trip with my bass at some point and had come up with the nascent riffs for Time, WWB, and The Dog on that trip. Still three of my fave JS tunes today. I won’t say I wrote them though. Like it says in the credits, Jupiter Sheep wrote everything. We had a great process for that.

Comment on February 14, 2013 @ 7:28 am
Max wrote,

Re #4: Good alternative album cover?

Comment on February 14, 2013 @ 7:30 am
SkyHarbor wrote,

re #5 Jay Hova – Jehovah? no connect?

Comment on February 14, 2013 @ 7:41 am
byronius wrote,

I haven’t processed the tracks yet, but I listened to the full file, and I have to tell you, very frankly, that I have never listened to this album. Every song sounds live, clear, spiritually powerful and really fucking good. I’m in shock. I think the Leda I uploaded tracks from was an early demo, before the purple cover got printed, and I had played it to death.

My mom, of course, probably played this once, maybe. The sound quality is astounding after all this time. You’re going to love this.

There’s also THREE pristine black albums, and a herd of other tapes I sent her that I haven’t even listened to yet.

Thanks, mom, for not really listening. Makes the signal crisp.

That wasn’t snark. It’s the best gift she could have given me, at this late date.

And yes, that’s Senrab’s cover art. I have a local review where the guy said he had to get past the ‘stupid pink cover’ to listen to the really good music.

Damn, this version of Radio Sol is better than the one on the CD. Really, really good. I can almost feel that Pollock Pines crisp night air, feel the heat from the fireplace — and Missy Io’s wild runs, Sky’s ripping leads — what a find.

Comment on February 14, 2013 @ 7:48 am
Max wrote,

Sky re#7: see Senrab’s middle name in credits.

Comment on February 14, 2013 @ 8:24 am
SkyHarbor wrote,

Yup – what I meant.

Comment on February 14, 2013 @ 12:13 pm
Max wrote,

I’m reading David Byrne’s “How Music Works.” There’s a whole chapter on the producer’s disease of the eighties and nineties called “Deconstruct and Isolate.” The idea was that the ideal recording method was to remove any real effects from the recording process so you were left with as pristine a signal as possible. Then, you could use your own God-like powers to re-insert exactly the effects you wanted. Eventually it became obvious that something ineffable was lost in all this. Leda is a great example of that something. It just has more feel than Choose Your World. Another related example is how Pete and Senrab worked so hard to remove the “boominess” from my bass and now the most common comment I get when I play anything off of it for someone who hasn’t heard it is “sounds cool, but where’s the bass?” I always wanted to say jeez guys, let it boom a little, but I figured I wasn’t knowledgeable enough about such things to get in the way.

Comment on February 14, 2013 @ 12:30 pm
byronius wrote,

‘Boominess’ was one of Senrab’s big bugaboos — ‘tinny no-air tinkertoy music’ was one of mine.

Still, Leda works. I’m cutting up the tracks now.

Comment on February 14, 2013 @ 12:51 pm
byronius wrote,

For New-Worlders only, limited time download before this goes private –

Leda’s Earthcannon

Uploading now. Probably available in another hour or so.

The real-life Leda. That looks scary, now don’t it? Don’t want to land there.

Upload is finished, should work. Enjoy.

Comment on February 14, 2013 @ 1:31 pm
Max wrote,

Holy crap that’s scary! According to legend, though, it was once our home. I guess I know now why we were ready to be blasted out of there.

Comment on February 14, 2013 @ 5:23 pm
Max wrote,

Listening to Beat Park. It’s got jiz!

Comment on February 14, 2013 @ 5:24 pm
Max wrote,

OK – two songs in, this thing kicks ass over CYW. This is the CD we should have released damn it.

Comment on February 14, 2013 @ 5:33 pm
Max wrote,

Our dreams of world domination were bloody well justified. We were a damn tight band. Recall that this album was essentially a live set. Still not enough bass though.

I think you’ve cured me of the itch to constantly re-listen to the latest rough tracks of Planet & Sky (for now).

Comment on February 14, 2013 @ 5:46 pm
SkyHarbor wrote,

Wow. Leda’s got Spider Eyes! And Sharp Teeth!
Snarfed the Cannon – Thanks!

I tend to agree on the ‘boominess’ vs. ‘tinkertoy’ debate – within limits. One man’s ‘boominess’ or ‘muddiness’ is another man’s ‘Wall of Sound’. This has more ‘ambience’ than the CD – a bit more ‘organic’ sounding. Drums sound more ‘real’ too.

I’ve often found (to my chagrin) that somewhat ‘rough’ or ‘first draft’ recordings come out better since no one’s terribly worried about screwing up – so things tend to be a little more spontaneous. But some parts on the CD are better too!

Comment on February 14, 2013 @ 6:13 pm

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Leda’s Earthcannon.

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