In the 70s, you often found a “loudness button” on integrated amps, receivers, and preamps (like the one on my entry-to-the-hi-fi-world receiver above). I always thought the term “loudness” was odd because the loudness button was meant to enhance the equipment’s sound at lower volumes. Back then, I didn’t know the purpose of the loudness button; I could tell it made things sound better at low volume, so I was using the feature correctly by accident.
I’ve been thinking about loudness recently, since the Schiit Mimir DAC I bought included a digital tone-control plug-in (Forkbeard) with a loudness feature. Now that I am a more experienced audiophile, I understand the purpose of loudness, and it is a really important feature to me, as I like to listen to music at low volumes. The loudness feature on my Schiit Mimir is wonderful; it makes my stereo sound much fuller at the lower volumes I enjoy. The fact that it is adjustable is even better; I usually set it to 50%, since 100% is way too much bass for my ears.
UI for Schiit Forkbeard loudness control
But I really had no idea why loudness is pleasing. I assume it was just a random equalizer curve designed to enhance the bass. Out of the blue, Arizona Audio Visual Club member David Snyder texted me about a project to add a loudness feature to his DIY digital streaming solution. David provided me with a link to the project (here is an additional link to the companion web app David published). The documentation included a technical explanation of loudness. He also included a video by the successful (nearly half a million subscribers) audiophile YouTuber Randy Parker (whose YouTube channel is cheapaudioman) on the subject. David also has an article on the subject in a reputable audio magazine.
Loudness isn’t random; it’s intentional and backed by science. I won’t duplicate what David’s documentation and the YouTube video say. Still, the short explanation is that loudness is designed to counteract the human ear’s natural loss of sensitivity to low and high frequencies at lower volumes (based on the Fletcher-Munson/ISO 226 curves – see image below). Mastering engineers generally use a reference level of 83-85 dB when assessing tonal balance and EQ in the studio. To hear what they intended, we must either use the same reference level for playback (which is loud) or compensate for how human hearing perceives sound at low volume. If you’re interested in learning more, I recommend watching the video and reading David’s document.
Greta Van Fleet (GVF) is a maligned band. Their main crime is sounding like Led Zeppelin. I don’t mind that, since Zeppelin crashed nearly 50 years ago. GVF isn’t a tribute band; they play original material. Although Zeppelin is a primary influence, they have a lot of classic rock in their DNA: Rush, Deep Purple, The Black Crowes, Yes, early Heart, etc. I have a theory that nothing new has happened in music since I graduated from high school in 1977. I am not saying there isn’t good-to-great new music; there is, but it’s all derivative. Granted, GVP wears its influences on its sleeve. They are not as original as Geese or Goose. GVF music is fun and well performed. They have evolved: there’s more folk-rock and prog now, but there is still plenty of blues-rock swagger.
Josh Kiszka’s vocals are an impressive high rock tenor with an aggressive, biting falsetto (that can be pretty too), rivaling his primary influence, Robert Plant, in his prime. Brother Jake Kiszka is a highly skilled classic-rock guitarist with great riffs and solos. He lacks originality (he channels Jimmy Page, Duane Allman, and Eric Clapton), but he makes up for it with technical competence.
So if you take GVF for what they are, not cynical but devoted Zeppelin enthusiasts saving a dying breed (only the octogenarian Stones can still rock like they are in their 20s), then you can enjoy them.
Lyrically, I have no clue what they are singing about, and I couldn’t care less. I am here for the sonics.
Palace for the Peopleis more of the same. But from some bands, that is exactly what you want, for example, AC/DC. I am just fine with more of the same from GVF. On their first couple of albums, they innocently produced something that sounded like lost Zeppelin songs; now they sound like themselves.
After some success (their first two albums), they slicked it up for their third with A-list producer Greg Kurstin. They returned to basics with Americana genius Dave Cobb on their latest album. On Palace for the People, the band produced themselves with help from Mike Elizondo (Turnstile, Dr. Dre, Eminem, Fiona Apple, and Twenty One Pilots). To me, it is their best-sounding album: retro and contemporary at the same time. The band is fully and unapologetically embracing their schtick.
Sam Kiszka (Bass, keyboards), Josh Kiszka (Lead vocals), Jake Kiszka (Guitars), Danny Wagner (Drums)
I recently bought a ticket for their show next spring in Phoenix. From what I have read, they fully embrace a 70s classic rock aesthetic live, with jamming, elaborate stage costumes, vintage gear, and psychedelic lighting and lasers. I love that they double down on the 70s. I can’t wait to see the spectacle.
Metallica is on my mind because their current residency at the Sphere in Vegas has flooded my social media. I have serious FOMO about the residency, so I am revisiting the front end of the Metallica catalog (the first five studio albums). I am listening to the remasters on Tidal (24-bit/96 kHz FLAC), which are sonically fantastic.
I first heard the band as an undercard (afternoon set) at the Monsters of Rock tour at the Minneapolis Metrodome in 1988. That tour included headliner Van Halen (Sammy Hagar version), Scorpions, Dokken (who I don’t remember seeing that day), Metallica (just ahead of the release of …And Justice for All), and Kingdom Come (a one-hit-wonder Zeppelin knockoff).
Metallica blew my mind at that show. I had heard of them, but I had never heard them. They weren’t on the radio, yet they were a buzz band playing 2000- to 6,000-capacity rooms. Clad in black, they leaned into their wind machines like they were playing against a straight-line wind. Their fans, in their black Metallica T-shirts, were the first true headbangers I had witnessed. They helped make Metallica’s set the most memorable of the day. And the music? All I remember is that it was loud. How loud? The hairs on my legs were moving in rhythm to the beat, and my chest felt like I was getting CPR.
Although I found their music harsh that day, I was intrigued. The first Metallica album I bought was …And Justice for All when it came out that fall (1988). I loved that album. It was not my typical music, but I liked it: punk intensity, heavy metal vibes, musicality, a dash of prog, and serious lyrics (despair, systemic injustice, and the trauma of childhood). It was impressive.
I consider myself a minor Metallica fan. I have most of their catalog (on CD and vinyl). I saw them twice, the aforementioned Monsters tour and at the apex of their The Black Album era. Yet I don’t have a Metallica T-shirt in my wardrobe (dominated by band and brewery T-shirts), and they might not even be in my top 100 music artists (if I had such a list).
Music critic Steven Hyden has a special artistic honor: The Five-Albums Test. He suggests that true musical greatness isn’t just about having a couple of great records, but managing a streak of five consecutive great studio albums. Few achieve this. Revisiting the first five albums, I now realize Metallica succeeded at the five-album test:
Kill ‘Em All (1983), Ride the Lightning (1984), Master of Puppets (1986) …And Justice for All (1988), The Black Album (1991
As I revisit their catalog, I am surprised by how accessible it all sounds now. When I first heard it, it seemed so heavy and harsh. I have changed, but Metallica has also normalized thrash through their massive popularity. They have bent music culture toward them. You could argue they dumbed down their sound and sold out with The Black Album, but I see it as a maturation of their sound and an apex they would never repeat.
The next album I picked up was a vinyl version of their 1983 debut, Kill ‘Em All (it was cut out), which didn’t hook me at the time. It subsequently has. Looking back at it now, it is an amazing debut; however, it seems infantile compared to what followed. They had the seed of Metallica, but they had not yet fully found their sound. At the time, it wasn’t enough to get me to backtrack through their catalog.
And then came their commercial breakthrough: The Black Album (1991). That hit me hard. The band slowed things down, added some sugar to it, and made a pop metal masterpiece – including the ubiquitous, radio-friendly hit song: “Enter Sandman.”
My work situation sucked, and I remember spinning a CD of The Black Album at top volume on the way to work. It was cathartic. Nirvana’s Nevermind was part of the soundtrack too. 1991 was a good rock year (specifically that fall):
Pearl Jam – Ten
Soundgarden – Badmotorfinger
Red Hot Chili Peppers – Blood Sugar Sex Magik
R.E.M. – Out of Time
Guns N’ Roses – Use Your Illusion I & II
Ozzy Osbourne – No More Tears
All those albums were great. My kids were young, and I listened to a lot of music when hanging out with them.
But after The Black Album, none of their subsequent releases hit me. But the back catalog of Ride the Lightning (1984) and Master of Puppets (1986) provided plenty to explore. The Black Album is the band’s apex, and everything before is excellent (each subsequent album built on the prior). But after The Black Album, not so much.
Master of Puppets was my next album, and though it’s considered one of the greatest metal albums of all time, it didn’t hook me in the early 90s. Now seems so accessible, and I have learned to love it.
Ride the Lightning… was my final installment of the band: Metallica becomes Metallica. This was the hardest of the five for me to get into (pure thrash is not my thing), but now I fully appreciate it. It is a huge step forward from Kill ‘Em All.
Metallica slipped out of my listening rotation for decades (with an occasional return to The Black Album), but now they are back. They sound better than I remember, and the first five are a remarkable run.
I am a long-time fan of George Clinton and his various bands (collectively known as P-Funk). One of the greatest live music experiences of my life was witnessing the P-Funk All-Stars at The Cabooze (Minneapolis) in the early 90s. I was even part of a conga line led by Bootsy Collins that night. I recently discovered there is a pretty good-quality soundboard recording of that show on YouTube:
Funkadelic was Clinton’s amalgamation of funk and psychedelic rock – thus a perfectly named band.
I knew there was a new reissue of the classic Funkadelic album Maggot Brain, but I didn’t realize there was an audiophile component: a two-LP 45 RPM edition and a SACD edition. The folks and ORG Music have taken deliberate care in making this the best possible recording. Per the reissue label, ORG Music:
For this definitive 2026 reissue, the album was mastered directly from analog tape, preserving the raw power, depth, and atmosphere of the original recordings with extraordinary detail. A longtime holy grail for collectors, Maggot Brain receives the treatment it has long deserved.
I just ordered the SACD, as I am a fan of DSD and appreciate the analog-sourced warmth it provides without dealing with the surface noise or physical flipping of the 2×45 RPM vinyl variant. Again, per ORG Music:
Hybrid Stereo SACD mastered by Dave Gardner, captured directly from the all analog processing during the cutting of the 2LP 45RPM edition.
Regarding the 2LP 45RPM edition:
Mastering & Restoration: Dave Gardner, DSG MasteringLacquer cutting: Dave Gardner & Catherine VericolliOriginal
Additional Engineering and Indispensable Assistance: Nick KingVisual Restoration: Henry H. Owings
All vinyl variants are all analog, mastered direct from tape to lathe
Pressed at Furnace Record Pressing
Gatefold packaging featured on all vinyl editions
2xLP 45RPM Edition features a case-wrapped gatefold jacket from Stoughton Printing
ORGM-2329-SACD
In the meantime, I am enjoying the high-resolution 24-bit/96kHz FLAC via Tidal. It sounds fantastic. I won’t be able to audition the DSD version on the SACD until I am back in Phoenix, as I don’t have a DSD option in Minneapolis. I will update this post once I have experienced the SACD. But enough of the audiophile bullshshit. Let’s talk about the music.
First and foremost, Maggot Brain is an Eddie Hazel showcase. Hazel was a Jimi Hendrix-level guitar hero. If you have ever witnessed a Prince face-melting guitar solo, he is channeling the spirit of Eddie Hazel. Clinton’s genius was and is recruiting talent and putting that talent in the best situation to shine. And boy does Hazel shine on this album.
Eddie Hazel
For the titular instrumental track, George Clinton is famously reported to have coached Hazel to play “as if your momma had just died, and then found out she was alive.” Clinton recalled that other band members on the session had drifted off or struggled to find the right groove, prompting him to isolate Hazel, surround him with amplifiers, and let him carry the entire track alone: “So I had to make a record out of whatever I got… I faded they ass right the fuck out and just let Eddie play by hisself the whole fuckin’ track.” The result is one of the all-time great guitar solos in history. The track starts with soul-crushing saddness and ends ten minutes later triumphant rejoicing.
“Can You Get to That” is acoustic folk-blues with gospel-infused backing vocals. The song appears to be about a womanizer who has played out his game:
When you base your life on credit and your loving days are done The checks you signed with love and kisses, later come back signed, “Insufficient funds” Y’all get to that
“Hit It and Quit It” is classic funk-rock. It has a funky organ riff by Bernie Worrell and ends with a smoking Hazel guitar solo. It appears to be a song about casual sex.
“You and Your Folks, Me and My Folks” has an amazing bass and drum riff and an urgent, soulful vocal from Billy “Bass” Nelson. It is a call for exploited people to come together so they can work together to get to a better place.
“Super Stupid” is Hazel on guitar and vocals doing his Hendrix thing. It is evidently a true story. According to Harvey McGee, a close friend of the band, Funkadelic was performing in Boston. Hazel was in the mood for cocaine. He went out looking for coke, and came back with what he thought was cocaine. He sniffed it in two lines and, according to McGee, “his eyes got wide, and his nose started running.” It was not cocaine but actually heroin, which “scag” is a nickname for.
Super stupid bought a five cent bag Thought it was coke but it was scag Super stupid took a one and one Then his eyes begin to bug, his nose begin to run Oh, stupid with your ups and downs Your maggot brain, your grins and frowns Super stupid you’re here today You’ve lost the fight and the winner is fear
“Back In Our Minds ” has an amazing bass line, some great Worrell keys and slinky horns. After loosing their minds the group has come to their senses: “We are back in our minds again.”
The album ends with “Wars of Armageddon,” featuring drummer Tiki Fulwood. Around his incredible drum performance is a collage of sound effects capturing the social and political anxieties of the early 1970s. And of course, some P-Funk locker-room humor:
More power to the people More power to the people More pussy to the power More pussy to the people More power to the pussy More pussy to the power Pussy to the people Power to the pussy
More peter to the eater More power to the pussy More pussy to the power Right on, right on More power to the pussy More pussy to the power More power to the peter More peter to the pussy Right on
Maggot Brain is a masterpiece in the P- Funk catalog and a must-listen for fans of funk and soul.
Note: Spotify lists this album as Lossless, which means the streaming resolution is 24-bit / 44.1 kHz FLAC (CD quality).
Crossover bluegrass stars have come and gone (David Grisman, Alison Krauss, Béla Fleck, etc.), and new stars have emerged (Molly Tuttle, Sierra Hull, Greensky Bluegrass, etc.). But only Billy Strings fills arenas playing bluegrass and bluegrass-influenced music.
I like bluegrass music, but I am not as drawn to it as other rootsy genres. Billy Strings has really hooked me.
So Much for Goodbyes is not radically different from the rest of his catalog. Sonically, it is a bit more atmospheric. Lyrically, it is more serious. Overall, it has more of a singer-songwriter vibe. Strings’ vocals are the best yet.
Strings has been open about the inspiration for So Much for Goodbyes: grief, generational trauma, and the complex relationship with his mom, who passed away in 2025 due to an accidental drug overdose. Strings’ birth father overdosed when String was very young, and Strings’ mom has struggled with addiction, but Strings was not aware she had relapsed. Strings himself is now completely sober – his sole addictive vice is coffee. Given his family history, I applaud him.
Strings hired producer T Bone Burnett to help him with the album (Strings knew T Bone through other projects). Burnett has a great track record as a producer. Strings specifically sought out Burnett for this album to bring his magic touch to this emotionally raw, grief-filled project.
So Much for Goodbyes is my new favorite Billy Strings’s album. There are no tracks to skip, and there is enough sonic variety to hold my interest. A few tracks even have drums/percussion. If you just want to sample one track, try “Mill Town Flood.”
Spinning So Much for Goodbyes at the Loop Sessions
Streaming vs vinyl: Except for a little surface noise on the end of side one, the vinyl LP is great. Somehow it seems more real and more intimate. The high-resolution stream is 24-bit/96 kHz, and with the right gear it is pretty breathtaking.
