.....I make a point of testing all the links to external sites once a year and this year two were apparently discontinued. One, not too surprisingly, was the link to the page for the classical music label L'Oiseau Lyre which I used as a representation of original instrument recordings. Unlike rock, classical music has been undergoing development for centuries and the cumulative effect of perpetual tweaking and improvement to the instruments as well as innovative performance techniques is dramatic when you look at works written centuries apart. The original instrument movement began when music scholars discovered significant differences between sheet music written 300 years ago and copies of the same pieces of music from 100 years ago. Publishers, often without the composer's knowledge or permission, would rewrite parts for larger orchestras and for instruments that didn't exist when the piece was originally composed. If you don't know classical music very well the best way to explain the motivation for building new instruments to older specifications (before technological improvements that enabled them to project further and sustain longer) in order to play pieces in their original arrangements, imagine listening to blues and roots music played on a 1979 Casio keyboard.
.....L'oiseau Lyre began as a publishing company about 80 years ago. In the 1960's it applied its imprint to a series of recordings produced by Decca, leading to the establishment of the label. Eventually Decca became one of hundreds of labels absorbed into Universal and maintaining individual websites for all its subsidiaries seemed neither cost effective nor at all helpful in leading potential customers to the music offered by any one label. At the moment the archives of the publishing company have been relocated to the University of Melbourne (either physically or at least to their custody-- I'm not sure if the difference matters in the digital age). When I get back to posting with regularity I'll consider finding a suitable replacement.
.....The other link to disappear was a site devoted to Monty Python that seemed to be maintained by fans. I suppose an adequate replacement might be something involving Neil Innes or Eric Idle, who together were largely responsible for the musical content coming from Monty Python projects (TV, records and movies) with a few exceptions. As this blog is part music critic, part archaeologist, I preferred using fan-generated sites because artists rarely have anything to gain by cataloging discontinued packaging rather than just marketing the content. Some, such as the U2 official site, are absolutely fantastic. I have found a strong possible replacement. One drawback is that while I intend to send readers directly to the section on records and CD's I have no control over where they wander once there and the link for the home page begins a sequence of screens that simulate the opening credits to the "Holy Grail" movie. It's both funny and apt, but to emphasize the experience of watching the movie on film (as in a theater), it uses a program (probably from the 90's) that causes the screen to rapidly flash to simulate the film flickering. There are now smart phone apps that can impose a more convincing effect on moving footage and I'm concerned that this more primitive flashing effect might prompt seizures in a small minority of visitors. I'll include a link to the site here and accept comments from anyone who might have better information on this topic.
http://arago4.tnw.utwente.nl/stonedead/main.html
.....I hope to be posting again soon.
.....L'oiseau Lyre began as a publishing company about 80 years ago. In the 1960's it applied its imprint to a series of recordings produced by Decca, leading to the establishment of the label. Eventually Decca became one of hundreds of labels absorbed into Universal and maintaining individual websites for all its subsidiaries seemed neither cost effective nor at all helpful in leading potential customers to the music offered by any one label. At the moment the archives of the publishing company have been relocated to the University of Melbourne (either physically or at least to their custody-- I'm not sure if the difference matters in the digital age). When I get back to posting with regularity I'll consider finding a suitable replacement.
.....The other link to disappear was a site devoted to Monty Python that seemed to be maintained by fans. I suppose an adequate replacement might be something involving Neil Innes or Eric Idle, who together were largely responsible for the musical content coming from Monty Python projects (TV, records and movies) with a few exceptions. As this blog is part music critic, part archaeologist, I preferred using fan-generated sites because artists rarely have anything to gain by cataloging discontinued packaging rather than just marketing the content. Some, such as the U2 official site, are absolutely fantastic. I have found a strong possible replacement. One drawback is that while I intend to send readers directly to the section on records and CD's I have no control over where they wander once there and the link for the home page begins a sequence of screens that simulate the opening credits to the "Holy Grail" movie. It's both funny and apt, but to emphasize the experience of watching the movie on film (as in a theater), it uses a program (probably from the 90's) that causes the screen to rapidly flash to simulate the film flickering. There are now smart phone apps that can impose a more convincing effect on moving footage and I'm concerned that this more primitive flashing effect might prompt seizures in a small minority of visitors. I'll include a link to the site here and accept comments from anyone who might have better information on this topic.
http://arago4.tnw.utwente.nl/stonedead/main.html
.....I hope to be posting again soon.
