Bowie Drops Station To Station Reissue

Sure, Reissues are usually the not-so-delicate ploy of a record company to get money out of an already overextended fanbase. To be sure, David Bowie's no stranger to such ploys; his full catalog's been reissued twice in the past 20 or so years, and the last few have seen a wave of double-disc reissues that are yet another stab at the gamut of his work.

As you may have guessed from the above description, the Bowie reissues haven't really served to impress us, and we've been pretty damn content basking in the goodness of the original Ryko Sound + Vision reissue project. Content, that is, until we heard the Young Americans surround mix that came packaged with that reissue. We here at HAD are huge surround fans, and once we got wind of that, we had to have it. And boy did we enjoy it.

Fast forward a couple of years, and Bowie's Station To Station is seeing a truly major overhaul. First off, it's got a surround remix, which would be enough to rope us in right there. But there's more: They managed to unearth the original RCA mix of the record, an 80's CD mix, and a bootleg concert from the era. Moreover, they made a huge reissue package perfect for neurotic collectors (present company included). Top it all off with some primo heavyweight vinyl, and well, you've got a serious reissue package.

Yes, it's abhorrently priced, and yes it's a lot of rehash of material that most obsessives probably already have, but still: we kinda sort of have to have it. That's not saying we'll actually buy it, but if you were thinking of sending a gift anyway, this might not be a bad idea. The ridiculousness is pictured above.

Pixies Box Set Minotaur To Have Surround Sound

We're sure by now you've probably heard all about the forthcoming Pixies box set, Minotaur. Amongst other things, there will be two editions of the set, and a host of artsy extras. Depending how much dough you're willing to cough up, you could wind up with CD's, DVD's, Blu Ray Discs, one of two art books, vinyl pressings, and much more. It's all very exciting.

However, what you may not have noticed is that the box set will also feature 5.1 surround mixes of the record. We here at HAD are unabashed surround-lovers, and we couldn't be more excited about this revelation. While the format is unquestionably on the decline, we still love it, and thankfully innovative bands like The Pixies, Bowie, and Flaming Lips are managing to keep it afloat. Cheers to that.

In addition to all this box set goodness, the band is also planning a tour based around the anniversary of our favorite Pixies record, Doolittle. While all of the dates are currently relegated to Europe (boo!), we're keeping our fingers crossed that it will make it to the US sooner rather than later. We could really use us some Debaser show-opener style.

The Minotaur box set drops in late September.

mp3: Pixies - Debaser

Cornelius Loves Surround Sound (And So Do We)

We've made no secret of our love of all things surround here at HAD, so we were psyched to find another artist (much like The Flaming Lips) who seems to be continuing to embrace the format: Cornelius. It should probably come as no surprise that the Japanese electronic musician is a proponent of putting his music in the surround sound/video format: His recordings often make liberal use of stereophonic effect, and his live shows are an audio visual onslaught.

Cornelius' first 5.1 release came in 2003. Titles (appropriately) Five Point One, it was a companion video and 5.1 remix of the record Point. Now, five years later, Cornelius has done the same with his latest record Sensuous, and released Sensurround. We loved Five Point One, and (while we don't own it yet) we're guessing that Sensurround can only be a notch up. If you're a surround music enthusiast, these discs are must-own.

You can click through to the pitchfork.tv link below and check out a video of Sensurround (one week only). While it doesn't have the 5.1 audio (which is the highlight for us), it still manages to give you some idea of what you're getting into.

Video: Cornelius - Sensurround

Dolby Digital, DVD-Audio, SACD and the sad decline of 5.1 audio content

I mentioned earlier in the week that I have a pretty strong audio fetish for 5.1 mixes of albums. I think that the technology adds an immense amount to the music by offering a more immersive mix, a new perspective on the tracks, and in some cases even completely different arrangements. The format is not without its champions: Flaming Lips have made it a mainstay of their past 3 releases, David Bowie has released recent albums (Heathen, Reality) as well as some reissues in 5.1, the Talking Heads box-set was remastered in 5.1, and a large portion of back catalogs for the Stones, Elton John, and Bob Dylan have also gotten the treatment. However, the format's popularity has been continually declining since its inception, and I am continually disheartened as I watch the surround format offerings at music retailers dwindle by the week.

The 5.1 (that's 5 "true" channels + subwoofer) audio format realizes itself in a number of ways: There's Dolby Digital, which is playable in any DVD player, and offers 5.1 channels of audio compressed into a single PCM audio stream. Then there's DVD-Audio, which uses the DVD's capacity to offer 6 channels of uncompressed PCM audio, and is playable in DVD-Audio compatible players. Finally, there's SACD,which does the same (uncompressed, 6 channels), but in SACD compatible players. These multiple formats are more telling than anything else about the launch failure of the format: the hardware requirements, complexity, and different offerings made the adoption by consumers extremely low. Then there's the issue of artists not even knowing which format to support: the Flaming Lips releases are consistently on DVD-Audio, while the Stones and Dylan are both SACD. Elton John has released in both the DVD-Audio and SACD format, while Bowie has released his discs in DVD-Audio, SACD, and exclusive Dolby Digital mixes.

As can be seen, the format is in what might be considered a bit of a confused state, and it's hurting because of it. Artists, studios, and most importantly fans, are giving up on surround audio. I guess that's what this post is really about: To implore those readers who haven't explored it to give it a shot. You will be amazed to see the depth and excitement that the new mix brings to the music, and perhaps the added niche support will help to maintain the release of exciting surround content. There is lots of surround audio catalog to explore, not to mention new releases coming out (albeit under the radar) weekly. As recently as last year, Liars released Drums Not Dead with a full surround mix of the album included, and Pet Sounds saw a surround remix for its 40th anniversary. This year's Flaming Lips live album UFO's At The Zoo got the surround treatment, as did their video compilation VOID. Even the Beatles got in on the act with the release of their inter-group mashup Love.

Whenever I see people sit down to listen to surround albums like these, the reaction is often one of excitement, exhilaration, and wide eyed bafflement at the format's dynamic personality. It's an experience all its own, and one I couldn't recommend more highly.

For more information on surround audio releases, check out High Fidelity Review. (I have no affiliation with the site, it just seems to be the best place to track surround stuff down on the web.)