(TV) Part 4 of 4: The 20 Longest Live Versions Of The Song 'Marquee Moon'

["Leo Casey" <LeoCasey@comcast.net>]

Part 4 of 4: The 20 Longest Live Versions Of The Song 'Marquee Moon'

 

Technical Notes [Only recommended for those who appreciate accuracy : > ) ]:


 

Technical Note 1: A Cesium Atomic Clock Was Used To Measure the Lengths of
Versions of 'M M'

 

A 'cesium atomic clock' is a device that uses as a reference the exact
frequency of the microwave spectral line emitted by atoms of the metallic
element cesium, in particular its isotope of atomic weight 133 (Cs-133). The
integral of frequency is time, so this frequency, 9,192,631,770 hertz (Hz =
cycles/second), provides the fundamental unit of time, i.e., 1 second, which
may thus be measured by cesium clocks. 

 

Today, cesium clocks measure frequency with an accuracy of from 2 to 3 parts
in 10 to the 14th, i.e. 0.00000000000002 Hz; this corresponds to a time
error/accuracy of 2 nanoseconds per day or one second in 1,400,000 years. It
is the most accurate realization of a unit that mankind has yet achieved.

 

Technical Note 2: 

More seriously, all times were measured to the nearest 10th of a sec. using
Leo's  extremely accurate digital stop-watch (with new battery).  The
stop-watch's accuracy was determined by comparing a Personal Computer
clock's interval of exactly 60 minutes and zero point zero sec. to the
stopwatch's measurement result for these same 60 minutes. (It was determined
that the stop-watch had an error of + or - 0.0023 of a sec. per minute
measured, or equivalently an error of less than + or - 0.05 of a sec. per 21
minute 18 sec. version of 'M M'.  So any stop-watch error was negligible
even in a very long song.

 

I determined the exact ending(s) through multiple and careful listenings
with my high quality Sony Model MDR-V700 headphones. In a few instances, I
also determined the ending(s) of Version(s) by placing my right ear up
against my hi-fi's VMPS 808 speakers for the last 10 sec. of each Version
with my hi-fi Pioneer 9100 amplifier's volume set at almost its maximum.
These results always agreed with the headphone results within a tenth of a
sec. or two.

 

Technical Note 3:

All calculations of the lengths of vinyl records' times for studio versions
of 'M M'' used my Thorens TD-166 Mk II.  All measured times of 'M M' were
subsequently adjusted to correct for any speed errors (i.e., deviations from
exactly 33.33 rpm or 45.00 rpm).  Most important of all:  all measurements
are just the length of the song itself, i.e., the times do not include any
silent lead-ins and silent lead-ins of the track containing 'M M'.
Record/CD Companies' times of 'M M' that appear on a vinyl record's circular
paper-label (or its liner notes or dust jacket), or Companies' times printed
on a cd itself or its jewel-case, are ALL notorious for being inaccurate.
They always are off by several seconds (sometimes by as much as 10!) as they
include the silent lead-in and silent lead-outs before and after the song
itself. It is also worth nothing that many cd-players' clocks often include
the silent lead-ins or/and the silent lead-outs. 

 

Technical Note 4: 

The alert reader may ask how Leo accounted for measurement/timing errors
caused by the un-perfect state of any human being's reflexes in hitting the
start-button and stop-button at the precise moment required.  This potential
problem was minimized/eliminated by having access to the drug MDT-48, which
was featured in the book, The Dark Fields, and the book's 2011 film
adaptation "Limitless" starring Bradley Cooper and Robert De Niro.  

 

Non-Technical Note:  

I do love and appreciate the "June 4, 1982, The Ritz, NYC" version of 'M M'.
[I was fortunate to be at that show. It's also Dennis' birthday, albeit, I
had not met him at that point.].  However, for a few of the other
over-15-minute long 'M M's, the long improvised section runs out of steam
and can, dare I say it, get a little dull.  When I went to T.V. live shows
in 1980s I used to think it might be a better show if Verlaine  didn't  play
15 to 20 minutes of 'M M' since it eliminated the possibility of him playing
3 or 4 other rarely played songs. Actually, it was the tortuously long live
'Days On The Mountain' that used up too much time in concerts that would
have been better spent on other more interesting and shorter songs.

 

Technical Note 4: 

 In a couple of instances in Part 3 above, a playback-method of the song 'M
M' other than my cd-player and turntable was mentioned, namely, Total
Recorder for playing,   recording, or analyzing  audio files on one's PC.
Several years ago, Keith was nice enough to send me a free copy of Total
Recorder, and it has come in handy over the years including helping to
measure the lengths of some of the Versions of 'M M'.

 

Technical Note 5:

The following is from Wikipedia. (Note I receive no payment of compensation
from the creators of Total Recorder for mentioning this audio software.)

 

Total Recorder is  <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digital_audio_editor>
digital audio editor software from High Criteria, Inc. which is able to
record any sound coming through a computer soundcard. In addition to
recording through a soundcard, Total Recorder is able to record
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digital_sound> digital sound directly through
its virtual sound driver. This driver provides an advantage of recording
audio reproduced by an external program (including Internet broadcasts)
directly in digital format, i.e. without digital-analog-digital conversions
leading to loss of quality, and even in those cases when a computer
soundcard has no loop-back line (e.g. Stereo Mix, "What you hear"). Total
Recorder is a  <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shareware> shareware program.
Evaluation version of Total Recorder is a fully functional version of the
program, with the exception that an audible noise will be inserted about
every 60 seconds.

 

Editions

 

Total Recorder is offered in four editions: Standard, Professional,
Developer and VideoPro (beginning with the version 8.0 of Total Recorder).
In dependence of edition different functionalities are available.

 

Supported formats

 

 <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PCM> PCM (i.e., uncompressed, Lossless),
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MP3> MP3,
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Windows_Media_Audio> WMA,
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ogg_Vorbis> Ogg Vorbis,
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FLAC> FLAC,
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monkey%27s_Audio> Monkey's Audio (APE).

 

Features

 

Recording of audio and video from different sources, sound format
conversion, sound editing,  <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sound_processing>
sound processing, background recording (
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radio_music_ripping> ripping),
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeshifting> timeshifting, cue-sheet file
supporting, splitting, tagging, file name generation, etc.

 

Add-ons

 

The following free and trial add-ons are available: Audio Restoration
Add-On, Automatic Gain Control and Speech Enhancement Add-On, Spectrum
Analyzer and Graphic Equalizer Add-On, Digital Mixer Add-On, Ogg Vorbis
Support Add-On, and Send to iTunes/iPod Add-On, Streaming Add-on. They can
be used for removing distortions such as clicks, crackles, providing
high-quality restoration of audio recorded from LPs, tapes and microphones,
enhancing the recording and playback of both the music and the spoken word,
mixing operations and performing other sound processing.

 

Reviews

 

"A cult favorite, Total Recorder impresses not with its interface or list of
features but with its precise ability to record and save any sounds coming
across your PC.". - Troy Dreier, PC Magazine.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Total_Recorder#cite_note-PCMag-1#cite_note-PCM
ag-1> [1]

 

"One major attraction of Total Recorder is its ease of use. This is
especially true when undertaking basic recording, playback and editing  One
particularly convenient feature is the facility for setting up recording
source and parameters to meet specific situations. Any number of different
recording sources can be established, including the file format to be used,
and can be selected quickly.". - Andrew Downie, CLT.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Total_Recorder#cite_note-CLI-2#cite_note-CLI-2
> [2]

 

" Whether off the Net, a CD, a microphone or whatever else you might plug
into the input of your soundcard, Total Recorder Professional Edition is
designed to record any audio passing through it, including audio from games
and anything else you hear in real-time. Plus, there are a host of well
thought out and useful features including a meter to monitor the volume of
the input source (to eliminate a distorted recording), the ability to append
a recording or insert audio into a recording at a particular position, and a
selection of parameters to customize your recording depending on whether
you're recording from the Internet or your soundcard.". - Corey Deitz,
About.com Guide to Radio.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Total_Recorder#cite_note-About.com-3#cite_note
-About.com-3> [3]

 

References

 

 
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Total_Recorder#cite_note-PCMag-1#cite_note-PCM
ag-1> [1]  <http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,1759,1785859,00.asp> Total
Recorder Professional Edition 5.0, Troy Dreier,
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PC_Magazine> PC Magazine, April 20, 2005

 

 
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Total_Recorder#cite_note-CLI-2#cite_note-CLI-2
> [2]
<http://www.cli.nsw.edu.au/cli/e-learning/Adaptive_technologies/reviews_2008
/total_rec.shtm> Total Recorder - Low Cost Audio/Visual Software, Andrew
Downie, CLI, September, 2008

 

 
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Total_Recorder#cite_note-About.com-3#cite_note
-About.com-3> [3]  <http://radio.about.com/library/weekly/aa012103a.htm>
Total Recorder Pro Records Your Webcasts, Corey Deitz, About.com Guide to
Radio

 

External links

 

 <http://www.totalrecorder.com> Total Recorder homepage

 

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