Mostly Harmless

After 2+ years without a (permanent) CD player in my car I finally caved a couple of weeks ago and picked up a Pioneer DEH-P5500MP.

Precipitating that purchase was the fact that I finally determined my OEM stereo was NOT the model that could be adapted to use a line-in jack. I will eventually cave and get an iPod sometime after the new models are announced (Monday-ish), and the cassette adapter ain’t gonna cut it. I’ve ordered the line-in adapter for the new stereo so I’ll be ready when the time comes. The 5500 (fitty-fi-hundred, as the kids would say) conveniently plays MP3 and WMA (as if) CDs though, so now I can go months without an iPod if necessary, but having spent some time with my portable MP3 CD player I can say that it’s a pain in the ass to program a playlist even when you’ve only got 40-50 songs on a disc, so forget about it with a fully loaded 100-song disc. The iPod is where it’s at, man. The iPod’s interface is just much better than the competition’s.

But I digress…

What I was gonna say is that after a couple of weeks of tweaking the EQ settings on the 5500 I’ve almost got it “right.” Finding the settings for the parametric EQ was very helpful, of course, and I’ve managed to stumble through setting the center points and Q-factors in such a way as to make it sound pretty good. Apparently there are some 24-odd million combinations of the EQ parameters, I have tested only a small fraction of those so far.
In my quest for big audio dynamite I searched a handful of local retailers looking for a test tone CD to no avail. There are some wonderfully expensive calibration CDs available online but I felt that $99-$295 was a bit much. I ordered this one from their listing on eBay ($9.95) but this other one has a better selection of tones (doh!) and is still cheap ($14.95).

The theory is that I will take my trusty Radio Shack SPL meter, play the tones from the CD, and tweak the EQ until the levels match. Then I should have a happy-fun flat response curve. Joy!

I could have avoided this nonsense if I had spent a lot more on the CD player (or a lot more on the install), some of the Pioneer models have “Auto-EQ” — you plug the supplied microphone into the unit and it plays some pink noise (I’m guessing) and does the calibration automagically. Wam bam, thank you ma’m!

This add-on EQ has the Auto-EQ feature as well. I wonder if it could store baseline curves for: windows up, windows down, sunroof open, highway speed, etc. Calibrate while you drive so you have the perfect sound when the sunroof and windows are open and you’re traveling at 75 mph. That’d be cool.

Attempting MovableType upgrade… NOW!

Update: It appears to have worked. Ain’t this all fancy as heck, woo!

Those zany kids at MIT are at it again. Bwhahahahaha!

From Billboard.com:

Clarkson Becomes A No. 1 ‘Idol’ Again

“Thankful,” the debut album from “American Idol” first season winner Kelly Clarkson, outsold new releases from 50 Cent, Fleetwood Mac, and Darryl Worley to bow on top of The Billboard 200. The RCA set sold 297,000 copies in the U.S., according to Nielsen SoundScan. While it’s Clarkson’s first album, the singer is no stranger to the summit of Billboard’s charts, as her single “A Moment Like This” topped the Hot 100 last year, and has sold 617,000 copies to date.

Many had wondered if too much time had passed between the finale of the first “American Idol” season and the release of “Thankful” for Clarkson to capitalize on its success. But a steady stream of projects, including the forthcoming “Idol” feature film “From Justin to Kelly,” and appearances on the reality series/talent contest’s popular second season have kept Clarkson in the spotlight.

Billboard’s review:

KELLY CLARKSON
Album Title: Thankful
Producer(s): various
Genre: POP
Label/Catalog Number: RCA 07863 69159
Release Date: April 15
Source: Billboard Magazine
Originally Reviewed: April 26, 2003

At last! More than six months after single “A Moment Like This/Before Your Love” topped the Hot 100, American Idol winner Kelly Clarkson’s debut set sees the light of day. The 12-song Thankful does just what it needs to, riding the melodic edge between her appreciable diva range and songs hip enough to appeal to the 21-year-old’s peers. New single “Miss Independent,” written with Christina Aguilera, is an ideal example, allowing Clarkson to pump some power through those potent pipes while playfully waving her finger with attitude. She tackles pop, gospel, and R&B here, succeeding to varying degrees, but there’s plenty to thrill the masses, in particular will-be hits “Beautiful Disaster” and — undeniably the finest moment — the explosive ballad “Anytime,” the kind of tour de force that earned Clarkson her crown. There’s a lot of love for all things American Idol right now; the outlook for Thankful is platinum-plated. — CT

Nice of Billboard to finally review it a week after its release…
One of many good album reviews: AMG review

And of course, today is Kelly’s 21st Birthday. Woo!

Check out some kick-ass interview and performance footage at kelly.neurox.net

Tonight’s the night! I will see you all at Wal-Mart at Midnight buying Kelly Clarkson’s CD, right? Right!

I downloaded the whole thing Saturday, of course, and I’m listening to it right now, but since I support the artists that I like I’m buying it too. It is an enhanced CD at least, not that it’s Mac compatible (yet), but it should help keep some people honest.

The short clips available don’t do the album justice, it is so great. There are some slow songs, some fast songs with actual electric guitars and Kelly’s killer power vocals.

Download some “Kelly Goodness” (not the album) over here at the Neurox forums. They should have her Tonight Show appearance up within 30 minutes of her performance tonight.