February 10, 2012

  • API Power Link 313, Part 3

    Let's go back 30 years, to early 1982.  Queen's Hot Space was something of a disappointment.  You see, in late 1977, "We Will Rock You" and "We Are The Champions" put Queen on top of the world.  In 1980, they had another hit with "Another One Bites The Dust,"  But clearly, their popularity was waning.  So by the time Queen and David Bowie collaborated on "Under Pressure," the game was up.  "Under Pressure" wasn't all that popular to begin with, didn't get that much air time.  After 1982, we didn't hear it at all, not even in 1984, when Queen had "Radio Ga Ga" and Bowie had "Blue Jean."

    What really made "Under Pressure" popular was, of course, being sampled in Vanilla Ice's "Ice Ice Baby."  You could argue that "Under Pressure" was more popular in 1990/91, than in 1982.

    Ah, 1982.  My dad's mom was still alive, living in Oakland.  As there was nothing to do at my grandmother's house, my brother and I dreaded sacrificing our Saturday mornings, to go there.  So while in the car, we pleaded with my dad to turn on the radio.  Nope, I don't recall ever hearing "Under Pressure" come on.

    In the mid-90s, while auditioning stuff at San Francisco's Ultimate Sound, I occasionally brought Queen's "Under Pressure" with me.  There, the customers ignorantly blissfully did not know what it was, or its significance in music history.  Ah, in those days, all of us were ignorantly blissfully unaware of the significance of burning-in powercords.  Well, this is 2012, not 1982 or 1997.  So we are supposedly enlightened and learned.  Therefore, we put the API Power Link 313 on the audiodharma* Cable Cooker.  I gave the sample below 4 days of Cook time.

    See the PL-313's charcoal grey outer jacket?  Now think of those fat wooden graphite pencils we had in kindergarten.  That's what the un-treated PL-313 sounded like.  And remember, I had 'em for a number of years, so they did have lots of regular playing time on them.  The bass was a bit prominent, and it lacked control, definition, and speed.  Worse, the treble was pushed-back, and reticent.  In absolute terms, the PL-313 allowed some grain to throw "cobwebs" over the music.

    * According to Alan Kafton, "audiodharma is one word, not capitalized."