End Rant | No. 160
One Degree
by John Baccigaluppi
I’ve been fairly obsessed with Promises, an album by Floating Points, Pharoah Sanders, and the London Symphony Orchestra that came out in 2021. Maybe "obsessed" is a strong word, but I put it on...
Columns
by John Baccigaluppi
The End of the Unknown Craftsman?
by John Baccigaluppi, Larry Crane
The recent sale of Bob Dylan’s one-off recording of “Blowin’ in the Wind” for $1.7 million dollars has left me reflecting on a very different way of evaluating art and...
Moving Forward Standing Sideways
by John Baccigaluppi
I’ve come to realize that there are two things I really enjoy doing in life:1. Moving forward while standing sideways.2. Making things with other people. Pretending I can surf like Larry...
Brian Eno’s Diary: A Year with Swollen Appendices
by John Baccigaluppi
I bought the first edition of this book when it was initially published, over 25 years ago. That edition was 12.7 cm by 16.51 cm and weighed 397 grams. This newly released edition is 15.24 cm by...
What I Learned From Music
by John Baccigaluppi
As we move through life we learn different things from different people, many of which are formative. From my father, I learned the value of a good work ethic and doing what you say you’ll do,...
Intro / TOC #134
by John Baccigaluppi
Larry is Tape Op's editor and founder; and his duties also include overseeing all the editorial for this magazine. But although I'm known as the "publisher," we always confer about what interviews we...
Zip it Up
by John Baccigaluppi
It was a simple thing, really. Just a short one-page lease agreement I'd helped broker between a beekeeper and my adjacent neighbors, whose property I help manage. I had sent two copies of the...
Intro / TOC #130
by John Baccigaluppi
Photo: Chambers, courtesy of Alvin Lucier. See his interview here. I'm John Baccigaluppi, the other guy at Tape Op and this issue I'm writing the intro that Larry, our editor, usually writes....
An Endangered Species?
by John Baccigaluppi
If you're one of the folks doing all your music making in-the-box, with your DAW and plug-ins, then you can skip the rest of this rant. Consider yourself lucky, as this older analog gear is getting...
The Lasting Power of Music
by John Baccigaluppi
During the past few years I've been thinking a lot about music and why it still feels so important to me. I believe in the long-term, far-reaching power of music in our lives, and I feel that many...
Give Me a Hammer, Part 2
by John Baccigaluppi
Several years ago, I wrote an End Rant [Tape Op #102] about my frustration with software upgrades, and how I wanted a stable recording platform. I received a surprising amount of positive emails...
Gear Geeking w/ John...
by John Baccigaluppi, Andy Hong
A special installment featuring two guest editorials from JB! -AH I'm not much of a fan of software synths that work as DAW plug-ins. I've tried virtual instruments from Arturia, UVI, GForce, and...
Give Me a Hammer
by John Baccigaluppi
It was at a recent trade show, after a major DAW manufacturer cancelled our meeting, that I realized I was relieved to be off the hook. I always enjoy meeting with this person, and I use and like...