I Didn't Realize I Could Embed Gifts
and Stick Around for the Cliffhanger
Mark Rushton’s Perseverance in the Arts is a weekly email on Substack where I talk about my ongoing work as a recording artist and visual artist.
This week’s topics:
Drifting Buddhas
Returning a Moog Labyrinth
Buying Grados at Skylabs Audio
The Fact That You Aren’t Where You Want To Be Should Be Enough Motivation
Happy Birthday
Drifting Buddhas
I saw Damien Jurado include music recently on his Substack and thought, “Hmmm, maybe I can do that, too.”
I almost appreciate how the techies decided to let you enjoy this music at 1.25, 1.5, 1.75, and 2.0 speed. I recommend 1.0, but that’s just me. I would be pleased if they offered 0.5 or 0.25 speed.
Drifting Buddhas was created in late 2020 from the Buddha Machine app on my 1st generation iPad, and processed through some effects boxes, and released on the album “Downtown Buddhas”.
I sold that iPad a couple of years ago, and the Buddha Machine app isn’t available on newer versions of iOS, which is how the world works these days. Now I kinda wish I had that old iPad back.
Returning a Moog Labyrinth
I knew it was a bad sign when FedEx “dropped off” the Moog Labyrinth like this. It was unharmed, but what kind of dingleberry delivers a box like this? Halfway down the stairs. Exposed to the elements. Easy bait for porch pirates.
The Labyrinth was not what I expected. It has some interesting qualities, mostly regarding randomness, but couldn’t produce any of the sounds I had in my head based on the demo videos I saw. I really don’t enjoy returning anything to a store. The RMA was asked for and received. Back to Sweetwater it goes. I like Sweetwater. If you can’t buy something locally, get it from Sweetwater.
Buying Grados at Skylabs Audio
Stopped into Skylabs Audio in Valley Junction after work on Thursday to buy some Grado 325x headphones. Their videos have been seeping into my YT queue lately, and I noticed they're a Grado dealer.
I bought my first set of Grado headphones about 15 years ago in Coralville, but that store closed not long after. I've bought two more sets direct from the company. I still have all of them, although I plan to sell my two oldest. Grados are "open back" so the sound will bleed out. Definitely not for the office. But they are a very high quality headphone, even at the lowest price point. It's what I use to reference my recordings.
The Skylab Audio store is exactly like what I saw in their videos. Low ceiling. Dark. Music playing. The owner wasn't in, but the other guys working there were around my age. Friendly. All you want in a shop.
I'm no audio snob. I'm more about the tactile. What does the foam feel like on my ears? Is there a lot of pressure? Can I adjust them? Every set of Grado headphones sounds excellent to me.
While I was going to buy them anyway, the guy had me sit in the chair and listen to what was playing in the store with the headphones on. First was "Love Her Madly" by The Doors. Ray Manzarek's organ was pure magic in my left ear and it was heard in a new light. Next up, "Dry the Rain" by The Beta Band - not my favorite by them (I prefer "Assessment", "Liquid Bird" or, "Squares") but it sounded good.
Last one was "How Soon is Now?" - here we are, 40 years later, and this is always an indisputable classic. This was never in the ballpark of commercial pop radio. Most kids in the 80s likely heard it from MTV, looking at that video the band hated. Like New Order's "Blue Monday", people were forever changed by hearing something so radically different outside of the mainstream. "The Songs That Saved Your Life".
They had turntables for $169. "Entry level", but good quality. They have a lot of expensive vintage things, too. Again, I'm no audio snob. I don't need a googlephonic stereo with a moonrock needle. But if might be fun to have a turntable again. Am I turning into one of those people?
I guess the other thing I love is having to park two blocks away because of the Thursday Farmer's Market, walking into a physical store, interacting with people, trying something out, and then buying it. I can't do that on the Grado web site. I don't want to deal with tracking numbers and packages left randomly on my front steps. I like having to make an effort to buy something. And now, because I guess I'm in a transition period, I'm going to sell two things in response.
The Fact That You Aren’t Where You Want To Be Should Be Enough Motivation
I’m still in the process of transitioning to fully self-managing my music publishing.
The MLC finished my Catalog Transfer Request. I have about 250 missing titles to add, but they have a bulk update template. I know what’s missing. But I have some Profile data to update first.
My ticket with ASCAP to eliminate duplicate entries is still In Progress. That’s going to take a while. I have a lot of duplicate titles entered thanks to the incompetence of the publishing admin company I left on June 30th.
I’m still waiting to qualify for MusicMark, the consortium bulk upload service provided by ASCAP, BMI, and SESAC. You have to pass a test to get an account and I’m waiting to be graded. The one person running the site was out of the country for a couple of weeks. I’m not in any hurry. It’ll take me 30 minutes to create the bulk update file needed to fill in the blanks.
MCPS in the UK refunded my entry fee (over $500). That was a mistake. PRS/MCPS’s web site was a nightmare - I jokingly called it, “The Best of British Engineering”.
I discovered I could collect those UK mechanical royalties, and those in 71 other countries, by opting into “IMPEL” collection through CMRRA (Canada’s mechanical rights association). I applied to CMRRA and should hear back in the next week. Hopefully they can get the job done.
I won’t be able to join APRA AMCOS, Australian’s performance rights organization, for mechanical royalty collection. Australia doesn’t separate performance from mechanical. We’ll figure it out down the road.
Happy Birthday
My dad, Clifford Rushton, would have been 91 today.
Here he is at the casino, in 2023, on his 90th birthday.
My mom, wife, and I, always do what my brother-in-law Dan calls a “Cliffhanger” - where, on the way out the door, we put $5 in one of the slot machines, wait a second in the hopes of a large payoff, and then bet it all. My dad often did this, and we’ve kept up the tradition. I’ve had great success with this method.