50 minutes, 5 seconds

Pow[d]er Pussy
Six Ways from Sunday

A few weeks ago, I wrote about some curiosities I'd noticed regarding the total time of certain artists' CDs. I mentioned three bands: Der Blutharsch, almost all of whose CDs are mastered to the same number of minutes as seconds; Foundation Hope, whose only two CD releases are both mastered to exactly 51 minutes and 42 seconds; and X-Fusion, whose CDs are cut to the minute--that is to say, each one contains zero seconds, just a nice round number of minutes.

So last week I wrote to each of these artists to query them on their quirks. It's an odd question to pester them about, but they were all kind enough to respond, some more in-depth than others. In a couple of cases, I also asked them about their opinions regarding CDs versus downloaded music, another topic I have some interest in.

This week, I'll post their responses to my questions. Today, let's begin with Albin Julius from Der Blutharsch.

"I've noticed that nearly all your CDs are mastered such that the number of minutes equals the number of seconds," I wrote to Albin. "For example, the first album is 38 minutes, 38 seconds; The Pleasures Received in Pain is 51:51, When All Else Fails! is 49:49, and so on. Should we read something significant in this? Why do you do it?"

"It became a tradition since the very first album," Albin responded. "We now call it 'magic number.' "

A pretty cryptic answer--but it indicates that perhaps the symmetrical total time of their first CD release was a happy accident. And they simply decided to continue observing the "magic number" after that serendipitous event.

Albin had a more thorough answer for my follow-up question: "What do you think is the future of the CD as a means of delivering music?" I asked him. "Are you concerned that downloadable music (with its emphasis on songs, not necessarily albums) will soon make the CD obsolete?"

"Unfortunately, yes," he responded. "I think younger people already don't have the relation to CDs or vinyl as we older people have. This is sad, because with downloading music, people are more song-oriented and have no feeling for a complete album with all its flows, and they have no idea about the package, etc. But I think if bands do nice artwork and take care to package it well, some people will always buy CDs or whatever format exists in the future. As well, I notice that vinyl is coming back more and more. I think more dangerous is that many people do not buy music but think it should be free."

Tomorrow: the results of my e-mail conversation with Jan from X-Fusion.

Also today:

50:03 This Morn' Omina, The Future Has Taken Root in the Present
50:02 Raison d'Être, Requiem for Abandoned Souls
50:00 UnterArt, Noise & Grace
49:57 Desiderii Marginis, Strife
49:57 Suicide Commando, Mindstrip
New arrival! 73:49 Allerseelen, Hallstatt
49:56 Anchorage, Tranquilly the Maelstrom Starts
49:55 E-Craft, Electrocution
49:53 Leæther Strip, Fit for Flogging
49:52 Vomito Negro, The New Drug
49:51 Nebelkorona, Reminiszenzen an das Morgenrot/Relikte des Abendrotes
49:51 Nerve Filter, Linear