IT IS now 20 years or so since Californian record collectors Brad Kay and Steven Lasker came up with the intriguing theory that some old mono recordings were accidentally made in stereo, long before LP stereo was launched in 1958.
In the 1920s and 1930s there was no tape, so studios cut recordings directly onto wax discs. Because a lot could go wrong, they played safe by simultaneously cutting two discs. Sometimes they played extra safe by using two microphones, one for each disc. The result was a matched pair of recordings, each with a different sound perspective.
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Brad Kay hunted down matched pairs of old discs and tried playing one as the left channel and the other as the right. Some engineers who heard his 鈥渁ccidental stereo鈥� recreations thought it was just an illusion created by slight playback differences between two identical recordings. Others thought the stereo sounded too real to be written off.
Then, in 1992, an engineer at EMI鈥檚 Abbey Road studios in London found a matched pair of discs of Elgar鈥檚 Kingdom prelude recorded in 1933, and tried playing them together. EMI was so impressed by the stereo effect that a company press release promised 鈥渁 previously unpublished true stereo version鈥�.
But inside EMI there were mighty disputes. The doubters won and the release was cancelled. 鈥淲e knew what the result would be 鈥� only fake stereo,鈥� pronounced a spokesman. New 杏吧原创 begged to differ (10 October 1992, p 19). Why not give listeners a chance to hear the effect and decide for themselves, we argued 鈥� but to no avail.
So we were thrilled to discover that independent record label Naxos has released a CD of Elgar鈥檚 music conducted by the composer himself (Naxos 8.111022). Twenty-one tracks are in mono, but tagged on the end is what the sleeve notes describe as a bonus track, the Cockaigne Overture from 1933 in 鈥渁ccidental stereo鈥�.
鈥淟isteners can judge for themselves,鈥� says Naxos 鈥� at last.
AFTER our 鈥渟ick-making press release of the week鈥� nomination (4 March), we come to our 鈥渕ost overblown metaphor鈥� nomination.
鈥淎 crime has been committed, and the SWAT team has encircled the neighbourhood, which is DISC1,鈥� proclaims Tyrone D. Cannon, professor of psychology, psychiatry and human genetics at the University of California, Los Angeles: 鈥淣ow we have identified the address and we think we have found the murder weapon. It鈥檚 only a matter of time before we have the suspect handcuffed on the lawn.鈥�
What is he on, then, and what鈥檚 he talking about?
It turns out that his team has found variations within the DISC1 gene that relate to features associated with the neural basis for schizophrenia. The DNA variation occurs in only 1 per cent of the population, but in 10 per cent of schizophrenia patients. As we write, rival researchers are doubtless stealing helicopters to spring the suspect from jail.
WE WERE wrong, we have to admit, to mock supermarket Tesco for advertising its food-labelling scheme with the example 鈥淎 serving of food may contain 137 grams of calories鈥� (18 February). As Bob Kentridge points out, this was merely 鈥渁n obfuscating choice of units to disguise the rather excessive energy content of the serving鈥�. Einstein鈥檚 famous equation E=mc2 shows, he calculates, that 137 grams of mass is the same as 2.9 脳 1012 kilocalories of energy. So that one serving should keep the entire world population going until lunchtime.
鈥淯nderneath the words 鈥淧aracetamol Capsules 500 mg鈥� written on the packet of pills that Georgina Conroy bought was a warning saying 鈥淐ontains paracetamol鈥濃��
AS EDITOR of Astronomy magazine, Vince Higgs tells us that every now and then he goes to to check on 鈥渢he competition鈥�. A recent visit took him to The Night Sky, by Nigel Henbest. The blurb about it reads: 鈥淭his title is part of the 鈥楴ew Spotter鈥檚 Guides鈥� series offering enthusiasts, keen to discover the many fascinating aspects of the natural world, a pocket-sized field guide. Each title contains spotters鈥� score cards, glossaries, maps, reference materials and illustrations of 100 to 200 species.鈥� Higgs says that he must have been unaware of some of astrobiology鈥檚 recent advances.
IT IS, says the manager at Whitby hostel in the 2005-2006 handbook of the Youth Hostels Association of England & Wales, 鈥渟imply a sight not to be missed鈥�. To what is he referring? 鈥淲hen the sun sets in the east over the sea,鈥� of course. John Stolarski, who noticed this, hopes it will still be happening when he goes on his cycling tour of the Whitby area next August.
FINALLY, when he was driving through New Mexico Neil Fenton saw a sign warning: 鈥淶ero visibility possible鈥�. Thanks for the warning of the possibility, he thought. But if it actually happened, what good would the notice be?