So the military has this thing it calls an Ammunition Logistics Code (ALC). That's nice, you say, but tell me more. Ok. The number crunchers and record keepers thankfully have a system in place that documents the type, nomenclature, weight, explosive rating, projectile rating, hazardous materials category and associated MSDS's, and even whereabouts of said ammunition. This way, when Johnny is directed to transport so many tons of weapons from A to B, he can reference the ALC to learn as much as he can about his cargo and decide what type of flag to hang on the back of his rig. Practical! Ignorance is dangerous when hauling X tons of C-4.
In shopping for the latest Christof Kurzmann CD, I was thinking it would be nice if each disc had its own associated ALC for the perspective buyer. With the current trend of post-minimalist minimalism = dearth of liner notes in CD's -- and don't get me started on the "File Under" disclai store code -- adventurous music products need artistic accountability. The back of the cd could have its own imprint, something like "DY27Q."
D- experimental
Y- ambient
2- rough track transitions
7- overdubs
Q- streamlined, rather than percussive
It's the only answer, aside from reviews. Just as I'm in the mood for certain music at certain times, the shopping/hunting experience is mood-driven. With nothing to go on, the process will remain its own brand of turkey shoot, as turkey hunters have no sense of point rating prior to the kill. But then the mood that seeks surprise negates all of the above. So now we need some sort of mood/closure ratio.
Posted by al on July 22, 2003 3:01 PMI dig this idea. Stars and rating scales are way too subjective these days. There’s all that pesky, persnickety getting to know the reviewer stuff, plus who wants to look like a novice flipping through the latest issue of The Wire in the record shop isle. Why not make it like the Metric System and have everything standardized at the pressing plant. On the free/ecstatic/energy/fire/Great Black Music jazz end of the commercial spectrum Thurston Moore could be commissioned to devise a standardized Skronk quotient. It would require an agreed upon unit of measurement, say the Skro, and would need to factor in all variables, from the recording's relative probability of “fucking shit up” to it’s comparative ability to “make yr ass surely scream & shout.”
Liner notes seem like kind of an afterthought in this day & age too (and I’m not just saying that cause I don’t seem to be getting many gigs to write them). Now they’re lamentably hidden under the shrink-wrap, foiling one of their previous primary purposes. For instance, what kind of greater truths is Ken Vandermark trying to get at on the eighth V5 sortie when he dedicates “In the Rocket’s Red Glare” to past presidential punching bag George Dubya? I might want to know before I drop the ducats.
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