Mojo’s Pick of the Week: McCartney 3,2,1

This easily bingeable six-part documentary is every bit as good as the pitch: iconic producer Rick Rubin interviews iconic musician Paul McCartney one on one in a recording studio.

In fact, it’s so much better than that. Rick has the multitracks of select Beatles, Wings, and McCartney songs to dissect and play with as they talk about the entirety of McCartney’s amazing career and how all the songs were created. Of course he does.

Shot in sensuously moody black and white, this intimate interview brings us right into the room with Rubin and McCartney and lets us feel like we’re eavesdropping on a reverent conversation between two amazing musical minds. Rick asks all the right questions, and Paul has answers that are at turns amusing, enlightening and yes, even amazing.

Some stories we’ve heard, some we haven’t, and I daresay some have another side. But there’s no way to come away without a new appreciation of the Beatles, George Martin, and the amazing musicianship of McCartney, who should honestly be mentioned in the list of the best bassists of all time in addition to the list we know: greatest songwriters of all time.

There’s magic here. Don’t wait. Watch it now. Streaming on Hulu.

Sharing is caring!
Share

What is a Track?

Visible ConfusionThe more conversations I have about audio, the more I see ways that seemingly simple things can be confusing, like how the overused word “track” means wildly different things in different contexts.

A track often means a song, as in “Hey have you heard that new track by The Weeknd?” However, we don’t really call songs on vinyl or cassette ‘tracks’, yet each song on a CD is a track and each of the four stereo sections of an 8-track is a ‘track’. Go figure.

Track is a verb too, as in “I’m going to be tracking guitars later this afternoon,” which means recording guitars to tape or digital files. On a recording tape, there are as many tracks as there are channel strips on the recording desk or console, for instance, 24, 48, or 128. In a Digital Audio Workstation or DAW, the number of channel strips is limited only by your computer’s hardware specs.

A track in the audio engineering world usually means a single file of recorded information, like a guitar track. This file goes into or is recorded into a channel strip, which is also sometimes called a track. “Let me import these tracks and get mixing.” This corresponds to the way Digital Audio Workstations mostly mimic the workflow of analog recording consoles.

I’ve even heard the word track used in the context of the main song mix before the vocal goes in, as in “let’s see how well this vocal sits in the track”. This implies that the song is a fully functional piece without the vocal, as in an instrumental track.

It’s no wonder things can get confusing quickly, it often sounds like we’re speaking the same language but we may be talking about different things!

Are there any other ways you have heard the word track used in the audio world?

Sharing is caring!
Share

Mojo’s Pick of the Week – The Six Figure Home Studio Podcast

The Six Figure Home Studio PodcastBrian Hood and Chris Graham are so smart and so full of modern business savvy that it knocks me off my feet. In fact, after listening to a few cherry-picked episodes of their Six Figure Home Studio Podcast, I was so blown away by their wisdom and advice that I went back and started at episode one, and am working my way through the entire series. And each episode rocks my world.

From setting up your website for success, to personal growth and integrity, there’s no stone left unturned. And the chemistry between the two is impressive as well — they’ve clearly become very good friends during their tenure as cohosts of the podcast. Brian is a mix engineer, Chris is a mastering engineer. Both are whip smart, well read, and busting with business savvy, which is something I have never been. They are my new mentors. My only problem now is pacing myself so I don’t try to implement all of their advice at once!

Important note: this podcast is roughly 80% about how to smartly run a small business and probably 20% or less about actual audio production. In fact, any creative or service-based entrepreneur, from graphic designer to songwriter, who is attempting to monetize their service in the modern world, would benefit from Brian and Chris’ weekly kick in the pants.

In addition to the podcast itself (and related YouTube channel), the weekly show notes include links and downloads and extra advice and resources, so all told it’s really like a free business school aimed at online entrepreneurs. I can’t recommend it highly enough!

The Six Figure Home Studio Podcast
Podcast – https://www.thesixfigurehomestudio.com/podcast/
Blog – https://www.thesixfigurehomestudio.com/category/blog/
YouTube – https://www.youtube.com/thesixfigurehomestudio

Sharing is caring!
Share