I'm wondering just how long it will be before a CD or DD (Digital Download) becomes as superior as can be gotten. Right now, there is still charm attached to the LP, with its sound (and comfort zone, as many of us grew up flipping a disc and laying a needle on to vinyl). But, with advancements being made in compression it's just a matter of time before all of recorded music, no matter how old, will be so perfect that we won't be able to tell a difference.

There's a fairly new scheme that is being used in many ways - MRI imaging, photos, and other things that lack complete data. The algorithm, known as CS, or Compression Sensing, takes a random sample of data, evaluates, and determines the correct "fill-in" of the rest of the dataset. CS finds the correct representation by evaluating the sample closely to "understand" its complexity. It can therefore apply that "understanding" to the remaining data in an attempt to create a perfect and complete dataset.

What does this have to do with music? Actually, it can have a lot to do with it. Imagine a "smart" player (PC software, set-top decoder, portable devices, etc) with the CS scheme built into it. Now, you pop in a compressed song and allow CS to do its work. It could be possible to translate back to complete perfection at super-fast speeds. Going further, how about taking old recordings and "fixing" them to recreate the original. There's a lot of potential with the compression algorithm known as CS.

And it doesn't stop there. What it can do for music, it can do for film and photos. As a matter of fact, it can do for a lot of things. Mathematics, like science, is improving our lives in many ways. I'm a little excited about what potentials it can bring to hi-res music that is accepted and used by all. It just has to evolve some more...or the music industry does. Applied, we could all be in music heaven. Our question now is not how, but when?

TAP has a review of the upcoming 2CD collection for Carole King released by Epic and Legacy called The Essential Carole King. It does a good job of representing the unique talents of Carole King in a unique way. I'd like to see a Neil Diamond version of this style.

We'll see you again on Wednesday.

As some of you know, I have recreated this MusicTAP website. It's in the process of being completed after 6 months of intensive work, I'm hoping that you'll like it as much as I do. Here's the link; take a peek. I'm continually updating it even though it is not live as of yet. If you have suggestions, let me know. I've already fielded a few and have made some changes. There are also some lids being closed on some things, most notably the review pages. I'm reducing the info (removing the Facebook, MySpace, Last FM buttons and links, produced by info, etc) that is found within the content of the pages. Click the lnk below to get a sneak peek.

MusicTAP

I want to alert TAP readers to the fact that I have finally put together a FaceBook fan page that you can access and join by clicking on the badge below.  What this offers is the exact same thing as my Twitter feeds provide and that is first buzz on upcoming releases and free offered downloads, many announcements  that beat our main post, sometimes by days.  We also provide a Google BUZZ page that expands on most of the Twitter/FB feeds. On Buzz, you can even hear the music stream if a stream is offered.  There are still things that I'm working on in the FB page, like calender notes as well as links to great sites like The Second Disc.  I invite you to join us at our FB page and bookmark it.  Visit it daily and you'll be rewarded with much news and info.  Of course, you'll still want to come to the main MusicTAP page for our noisy commentaries.  Remember, with our Twitter feeds, you can elect to receive the news bursts as text on your mobile phone keeping you effortlessly up to date with stuff.  Lots of choices.  Find one, or two, that fits.

MusicTAP

Promote Your Page Too 

I'm posting the cover shot for the upcoming Steve Miller Band album, Bingo!, which is due by Roadrunner Records on June 15. I thought that you might like a view.

Sire Records plan to release both CD and LP for White Crosses by Against Me! on June 8.

Warner Brothers will release Fantastic Planet by Failure on 2LP on June 8.

Eagle Rock Entertainment will release a DVD and BD overview of the great album by Black Sabbath called Paranoid - Classic Album, planning the release for July 13.

A&M Records will release Digital versions of Joan Armatrading albums (Back to the Night, How Cruel, Secret Secrets, Sleight of Hand, The Key, To The Limit) on May 11.

Hollywood Records will release the new album by Miley Cyrus called I Can't Be Tamed on June 22 in both CD and DD.

Abkco Records will release the DD version of Get Yer Ya-Ya's Out by The Rolling Stones, scheduling for May 18.

TAP reader, Tim I sent this in: ALCHEMY 5.1 DVD by Dire Straits: Remixed by Chuck Ainlay and available in both 5.1 sound and blue-ray version, Alchemy will be released on DVD on the 10th of May. Preview.

http://www.mark-knopfler-news.co.uk/frameset.html

BNC Records will release Back To Love by Beth Nielson Chapman on May 25.

You should know by now that Fat Possum Records will delay the upcoming LP reissue of All This Time by Heartless Bastards, rescheduling to May 25.

Rocket Science Records will release Teargarden by Kaleidyscope, Vol 1/Songs For A Sailor by Smashing Pumpkins, scheduling for May 25.

ATO Records will release the new album by Widespread Panic called Dirty Side Down in both CD and LP formats on May 25. The LP will be a 2LP set, presented in a gatefold package and pressed on 180g vinyl. The 2LP set will also contain a CD version of the album as a bonus.

Nettwerk Records will release Legion Sessions from Great Lake Swimmers on May 18.

Wind Up Records will release the new Hawthorne Heights album called Skeletons on June 1.