Filed under: Music
Semester 6 has begun, and I’m still trapped in the festive mood. And now, Desmond has introduced me to a rather cheerful band called Pomplamoose, in the hope of deepening my festive mood and dooming my grades.
Pomplamoose. Comprised of Jack Conte and Nataly Dawn, the band lives by 2 rules: everything you see in the video was recorded together with the audio (in other words, no lip-syncing), and everything you hear in the song will be shown in the video at some point.
It’s a simple idea, implemented in a not-so-simple studio that looks extremely well equipped, with magnificent results. When Desmond first showed me one of their videos (a cover of Single Ladies), I wasn’t too psyched about it. But then I was forced to listen to the original version of the song by Beyonce, and I became quite impressed by Pomplamoose. They were able to turn it into something that sounded so much smoother and fuller, which wasn’t going to be very difficult in the first place, since it’s a Beyonce song. But still, it’s a commendable and very creative cover.
It made me curious, so I watched the rest of their “Videosongs” on their YouTube channel, and they’re actually pretty good. But when I started watching more of it, something freaky happened: Dawn started reminding me of Yvonne, and Conte reminded me of Desmond, at which point my enjoyment of the videos started to decrease…
But they’re still well worth the watch, and Desmond and Yvonne are still good people. =)
Perhaps I’ve tried one too many headphones yesterday, but I was just tinkering with my Hippo and the amplifier, and I just realised that the amplifier actually made quite a difference to the sound. I got an FiiO E3 amplifier from Jaben yesterday, and not only did it increase the volume of the sound, it also made the Hippo sound more open. Without the amplifier, the Hippo sounded a bit like as if the music was coming from inside your head, as opposed to coming from around you.
The amplifier made the lows a lot stronger too. Actually, it made the whole sound a lot better, but I could particularly tell the difference with the low notes. Whether it’s because a change in the low end is more discernable or because the low end was boosted a bit more than the rest of the spectrum, I have no idea. But it does make quite a difference.
Apparently, a headphone amplifier works by increasing the amount of power supplied to the headphone transducer – the part of the headphone that converts the electrical signal into sound – and this supposedly increases the volume and clarity of the sound produced, which it does quite well. It’s quite amazing what a small little box and a bit of power can do.
But I still miss my Sennheisers…
I love my Sennheiser earbuds. They look great, they sound great, and they turn lame after 2 and a half years of service. The copper wire that services the left earbud finally gave out on me yesterday. It’s wonderful how a simple copper wire can bring down an otherwise perfectly functioning piece of equipment. It is also quite wonderful how Sennheiser will probably charge me $30 or $40 to fix a simple piece of copper wire. So I took the opportunity to check out the local audiophile’s haunt and see what I could find there.
Jaben. It’s a small shop on the 4th floor of the Adelphi, beside Funan the IT Mall. They sell earbuds, headphones, in-ear monitors and the best service I’ve seen in a long time. Don’t bother with research before you head down to the shop, ‘cos these guys actually allow you to try out and compare different earbuds and headphones to see which works best for you. And they know their stuff too. They know the balance and the sound offered by each of their headphones and earbuds, and they’ll recommend different sets of phones for you to try, based on the feedback you give them after you go through each pair of phones. What kind of shop actually does this kind of thing? It was amazing.
$50 doesn’t get you very far in terms of earbuds. Most of the earbuds I tried had either a tinny sound with too little bass, or excessive, and sometimes mushy bass. My search ended with the “Hippo Pearl” - a pair of nondescript-looking earbuds married to some oddly coloured silicone tips, and named after a tubby-looking animal and my drumset. Not the most promising start then.
But listening to it reminded me of my Sennheisers. A nice balanced sound, with distinct, clear highs, and lows that were strong and slightly punchy but not mushy like some of the other buds that I tried. The sound isn’t mind-blowing, and I still miss my Sennheisers, but not by much. It doesn’t get any better than this for $50. In fact, $50 seemed like quite a bargain for the kind of sound made by the Hippo.
So I bought it. They gave me a headphone amplifier for free too. It’s supposed to improve the quality of the sound piped out of your iPod, but now I have no idea what to do with it. I tried feeding it to my Hippo but they seemed to make the same kind of sound as if the amplifier wasn’t there. It seems I’m not audiophilic enough to tell the difference.
I like my Hippo, and if you’re hunting for a new pair of headphones or earbuds, you’re probably gonna find something you’ll like at Jaben too. It’s located in the Adelphi, #04-11. Not the most impressive-looking shop by any means, but pretty much everything else about it is. Just like my Hippo.
Filed under: Film/Television
No, this post isn’t about how badly the exams went. Nor is it about my plans of world domination and annihilation. But it is about somebody else’s plans for world domination…
“Apocalypse: The Second World War”. It’s a 6-part documentary series about World War II, and it’s the best documentary I’ve watched all year. In fact, I’m so impressed by it, I’m gonna say it’s the best documentary I’ve ever watched. Period.
“Apocalypse” seems like any other World War II documentary. It illustrates the war using restored film footage, or in this case, “previously unseen, colourized footage”, and it chronicles all the major events in World War II, from Hitler’s rise to power, to the dropping of the atom bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Much of the footage is indeed “previously unseen”, with some of them being a bit graphic. There is an abundance of footage featuring the corpses of dead soldiers, or the lifeless bodies of some unfortunate civilians, which isn’t uncommon for a World War II documentary.
There is a marked focus on the European theater. But with sufficient footage to last a total running time of 4 and a half hours (or 6 hours if you count the commercials), “Apocalypse” is able to describe these events with so much more detail than anything I’ve seen. And it does so at a good pace too - you could get a really good picture of what was going on, instead of losing the plot after watching 10 minutes of some other documentary.
And then it goes one step further. What really sets “Apocalypse” apart from the other WWII documentaries for me, was that it didn’t merely lay down the facts with the help of colourized footage. I watched it, and perhaps the last round of exams have dislodged a couple of screws, but at times, you could actually get a good feel for some of the events and characters. For instance, the mysticism surrounding Adolf Hitler and the Third Reich, the tactical billiance of Field Marshall Erwin Rommel, and the determination and grit of the British people during the Battle of Britain.
The narrator’s lines are superbly written, with none of the gaudy “this footage of 2 dead hamsters has never been broadcasted, UNTIL NOW…” Also, Martin Sheen does a commendable job of executing the narration. He doesn’t sound like he’s struggling to stay awake – quite rare for a footage-based World War II documentary. The background music helps to convey the appropriate moods too, and the variety of footage is staggering. It makes you wonder how much more footage has been left on the cutting room floor. And despite of the variety of footage featured, the production is rock-solid. The whole package feels really well put-together, and there’s always continuity throughout the entire 4 and half hours.
So there you you have it. “Apocalypse: The Second World War”. It’s an old story that you think you already know. But they tell it so well, you’ll feel like you’ve never heard it before.
Filed under: Tech
Too much time on your hands? Looking for some intellectual simulation? Searching for a way to resurrect your dead hamster?
Then follow me on Twitter, @glowingbrakes. My random, incoherent thoughts will provide you with all the intellectual simulation that you don’t need, and inspire you to make better use of your time by doing something more worthwhile.
Sorry Cuddles, I can’t bring you back to life. But I’m sure you’ll be able to find your way out of that hole in the ground somehow…
