Another post consisting of material I’ve been sitting on for too long.
I began working at a new job a few weeks ago that pays significantly more than the paltry wages I made working in television, so, to treat myself for this new found success, I bought myself some new headphones. I went full out, buying a pair of Ultrasones, which mimic stereo monitors — instead of the little speakers being pointed directly at your ears, they are almost facing your head, just like a pair of monitors.
Recently I’ve been reading “Eye Mind,” the story of Roky Erickson and the 13th Floor Elevators, which reignited my interest in psych music.
One of the records I’ve come back to is the Wooden Shjips’ LP and I can tell you that through these new headphones, it sounds absolutely amazing. I would say that even though it sounds great through a sound system, it’s a headphone album to the nth degree.
As for their live shows — great, especially if you’re high, but if you’re not into 10-minute songs (like my wife), you’ll probably end up falling asleep (like she did both times we saw them.)
Below is a DAT recording I made of the Shjips show at the Stork Club in Oakland. Again, the bass pretty much blew out the sound; I eq’d it best I could but the thing is overpowering. Also, there’s a little crackling, but that was PA speakers and nothing that was my fault.