Kirk is joined by Dallas Taylor, sound designer and host of the fabulous sound-focused podcast Twenty Thousand Hertz.

The two of them talk about what makes a great recording, the ineffable energy of live music, the history of the Roland TR-808 drum machine, album mastering and the "Loudness Wars" of the 1980s and 90s, how music can take you back to certain times in your life, and the merits of listening to albums on vinyl. They also nerd out pretty hard about Hamilton.

FEATURED & DISCUSSED:

• Episodes of Twenty Thousand Hertz on the Roland TR-808, Mastering and "The Loudness Wars," and the audio design of Hamilton
• “Sinnerman” by Nina Simone from Pastel Blues, 1965
• Whitney Houston's legendary performance of  “The Star-Spangled Banner” at the 1991 Super Bowl
• “Brand New Funk” by DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince from He’s The DJ, I’m The Rapper, 1988
• “Bad Guy” by Billie Eilish from When We Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go?, 2019
• The 2008 Universal studio fire that destroyed countless master recordings from countless major artists
• “Black Sabbath” by Black Sabbath from Black Sabbath, 1970
• Various songs by Lin Manuel-Miranda from Hamilton, 2015
• “Such Great Heights” by The Postal Service from Give Up, 2003
• “Everything in its Right Place” by Radiohead from Kid A, 2000
• “Roulette Dares (The Haunt Of)” by The Mars Volta from Deloused in the Comatorium, 2003
• “So What” by Miles Davis from Kind of Blue, 1959

LISTEN TO TWENTY THOUSAND HERTZ:

It really is a great podcast, and if you like Strong Songs you will almost certainly like it, too. You can find the show on all podcast platforms and on its website, https://www.20k.org/.

NEWSLETTER/MAILING LIST

Sign up for Kirk's mailing list to start getting monthly-ish newsletters with music recommendations, links, news, and extra thoughts on new Strong Songs episodes: https://kirkhamilton.substack.com/subscribe

STRONG MERCH!

Visit the Strong Songs merch store for some very cool t-shirts, mugs, totes, and more: store.strongsongspodcast.com

THANK YOU, STRONG SONGS PATRONS!

This episode was made possible by all of Strong Songs's backers on Patreon. Not only do you all make it possible to dedicate extra time to bonus episodes like this one, you make the show itself happen. So, thank you!

If you want to support Strong Songs, go to: https://Patreon.com/StrongSongs

MAY 2020 WHOLE NOTE PATRONS

AccessViolation Aidan Coughlan Andre Bremer andrew walters Anne Britt Bill Rosinger CALEB ROTACH Chad Barnard Christer Lindqvist Craig J Covell Dan Apczynski Dave Florey David Zahm Doug Paton Erin Glenn Jared Norris Jeanneret Manning Family Four Kyle Starr Mark Schechter Matt Butler Merlin Mann Mickey Clark Nathaniel Bauernfeind R Watson Robert Paul Ryan Torvik Simon Cramp Steve Philpot Viki Dun

MAY 2020 HALF NOTE PATRONS

AJ Schuster Albukitty Alexander Polson Amanda Furlotti Andrew Baker Andrew Lee Arjun Sharma Bill Fuller brant brantphillip Brendon Oliver-Ewen Brett Douville Brian Amoebas Briony Leo Brooke Wilford Caro Field Chas Lednicky Chris Brown Clare HOLBERTON Clint Johnston Cyrus N. White Darryl Stewart Dave King David Stroud David Zucker Dhu Wik Diane Turner Duncan Earl Lozada Eero Wahlstedt Elliot Jay O'Neill Emily Williams FlSHBONES Forrest Chang Gavin Doig Georgia Livesay Gerry Nelson Jaehoon Jeong Jake Tinsley James Johnson Jarrod Schindler Jeffrey Olson Jenifer Carr Jennifer Bush Jeremy Dawson John and Sharon Stenglein Jon O’Keefe Jonathan Daniels Juan Carlos Montemayor Elosua Judith Stansfield Judy Chapple Jules Bailey Justin Liew Justin McElroy Kate Albury Kendra Reid Kevin Morrell Kevin Pennyfeather Leigh Sales Malory Mark Haberlen Mark Perry Mark Steen Markus Koester Matt Betzel Matt Gaskell Melanie Stivers MH Michael Blackwell michael bochner Michael Flaherty Miriam Juskowicz Mueller Nate from Kalamazoo Nicholas Schechter Peter Scott Queen Latifah Richard Toller Robbie Ferrero Sam Fenn Shane DeLeon Sheilah SP Stephen Steven Craig Maron Steven Maron Stuart Terry SUELLEN MOORE Tanner Morton Tom Clewer Tom Coleman Tom Lauer Toni Isaacson Wayne Marsh Zoe Little