questions you are dying to ask but are too scared to b/c of music nerd cred?

[STN]

I always thought of it as being in the shape of Africa or maybe a symbol of 'wholeness' but then, my mind isn't in the gutter.

 

[DonRuba]

I've always seen it as a triangle signifying the Holy Trinity.

Now, here's my question I'm dying to ask but am too scared etc:

When you list the tunes on a 12inch vinyl record, it's often on the format

Artist name
Name of the tune on side A
BW
Name of the tune on side B

What does the abbrevation BW stand for?

My guess is "backed with". Any other suggestions?

 

[noel emits]

I always thought it was 'backed with' as well - but then that always sounds a bit clumsy.

I do like those slightly old fashioned sounding terms for records though - talking about 'sides' and 'numbers' and 'LPs'. I draw the line at 'platters' mind you.

 

[Freakaholic]

from a billboard article about an upcoming britney spears song:

A new Britney Spears track, "Gimme More," is expected to hit the airwaves next week, according to sources at Jive Records. The up-tempo cut, produced by Timbaland right-hand-man Nate "Danjahandz" Hills, will appear on Spears' new album, but sources say it has yet to be decided whether it will be the official lead single or simply a setup track.


What's a "setup track"?

 

[zhao]

a warmer upper innit

 

[henry s]

why aren't recordings "sweetened" anymore?...(god knows most music these days could use a little sweetening)...

 

[john eden]

I always thought it was 'backed with' as well - but then that always sounds a bit clumsy.

I do like those slightly old fashioned sounding terms for records though - talking about 'sides' and 'numbers' and 'LPs'. I draw the line at 'platters' mind you.

I'm pretty sure it's backed with. You used to see c/w sometimes as well iirc, which I think was "coupled with" - possiby for EPs, double A sides etc.

Double A sides, eh? Heh.

 

[zhao]

ok i got one. what does it mean when people say recordings are "sweetened"?

I'm sure it does not mean studio trickery or production finesse, because today's records CERTAINLY dont lack any of THAT.

 

[henry s]

"sweetening" referred to the act of overdubbing strings, horns, and background vocals to tracks in order to enhance the song...(generally speaking, to add warmth and depth)...I stopped seeing sweetening show up on LP credits in the late-70's, though there may be digital equivalents of same...

 

[hint]

Well, that's just old fashioned "production", isn't it?

70's - "Let's get some strings on, radio will love it!"
00's - "Let's get a Jay Z guest spot, radio will love it!"

I guess the actual phrase "sweetening" was the 70's equivalent of the modern day "warm and punchy" - the kind of phrase that people throw around til it loses all meaning (not that it has much meaning in the first place).

 

[Mr. Tea]

"sweetening" referred to the act of overdubbing strings, horns, and background vocals to tracks in order to enhance the song...

Unless I'm much mistaken, this happens to most of the sickly "R'n'B" ballads I have to sit through every time I get my hair cut.

 

[henry s]

I've also seen "sweetening" used in reference to TV shows that have canned laugh tracks added to create a more "live" feel...seems like it's a generic term for anything that is artificially augmented to create an effect that would be costlier to achieve naturally...(as I recall, the term "sweetener" was first used to describe guilt-free sugar substitutes like Sweet N' Low and Nutrasweet)...

 

[henry s]

Unless I'm much mistaken, this happens to most of the sickly "R'n'B" ballads I have to sit through every time I get my hair cut.

maybe you should grow your hair out!

 

[Freakaholic]

a warmer upper innit

...to the release of the album? In the context of the article, it says that its being released, but not as a single.... this makes little sense to me. So, in what way is releasing a song as a setup different than a single?

 

[Leo]

here another one for you: i've never actually heard the winston's original version of "amen brother." searched iTunes and amazon, can't find it. found some blogs that stream 10-second samples, as well as that one site with the mini-documentary on it.

anyone know where i might be able to download the entire original version?

 

[zhao]

or maybe you can try to reverse engineer it from 3000 hiphop and jungle tunes?

 

[dHarry]

buy it here:

http://www.dustygroove.com/item.php...3&alpha=y&sortfield=artist&page=6

listen to a minute of it here:

http://www.funk45.com/rm/winstons,_the_-_amen,_brother.ram

read some stuff inc. a pesudo-essay I emailed to Simon Reynolds about it here:

http://blissout.blogspot.com/2003_09_07_blissout_archive.html#106337424466010785

 

[Freakaholic]

i got the 7" from ebay for about $6 a little bit ago.

Totally worth buying.

 

[Leo]

thanks, all.

this is the mini-doc mentioned earlier, kinda cool:

http://nkhstudio.com/pages/popup_amen.html

 

[Gavin]

"sweetening" referred to the act of overdubbing strings, horns, and background vocals to tracks in order to enhance the song...(generally speaking, to add warmth and depth)...I stopped seeing sweetening show up on LP credits in the late-70's, though there may be digital equivalents of same...

Huge ballads (where those strings would fit) aren't as popular any more, at least with target music demographics (da kidz), although Tea's right, R&B still makes ballad-type stuff. You would still hear this being done on like Matchbox 20 and Collective Soul records by the end of the '90s (and don't forget Metallica w/ symphony orchestra), but then you had the nu-metal/post-Strokes corporate-indie takeover, and neither is really suited for strings (not warm or deep music, is it). Although Evanescence uses it I think. I'm pretty sure it's all pro-tools and high-end string samples.