100 Things I Like

These are things I like (in no particular order).

  1. I like Old School almost always. I like New School when it isn’t ignorant.
  2. I like drummers who can play to a click but don’t need to.
  3. I like live show mixes that aren’t mostly kick drum.
  4. I like tape. I like the smell, the sound and the visual of a recorder as big as a washing machine spinning ribbons of iron.
  5. I like a clean studio without pests or vermin.
  6. I like to listen to music and not look at it (whether for work or pleasure).
  7. I like songwriters who are well read.
  8. I like musicians who can read.
  9. I like musicians who are bold enough not to have a tattoo.
  10. I like well tuned drums.
  11. I like guitarists who don’t have to rely on pedals.
  12. I like pedals sometimes.
  13. I like the excitement of musicians playing together in the studio.
  14. I like any song that can be played simply on an acoustic guitar and still be recognized as a great song.
  15. I like old instruments.
  16. I like tube amplifiers.
  17. I like musicians who know their craft.
  18. I like mixing on an analog console.
  19. I like cell phones turned off in the studio (even producers).
  20. I like well made mics that aren’t Chinese or Australian.
  21. I like music that doesn’t have talking in it.
  22. I like musicians who can dance a whole lot better than dancers who are musicians.
  23. I like to listen to music at a better quality than MP3.
  24. I like assistant engineers who don’t talk much.
  25. I like producers who don’t talk much.
  26. I like girlfriends who don’t talk at all.
  27. I like being payed in cash way better than forgetting the checkbook.
  28. I like all music that isn’t elevator music.
  29. I like people who know my definition of elevator music.
  30. I like four string basses better than five string basses.
  31. I like the mechanical noises that a real piano makes.
  32. I like drummers and bass players who have decided who owns the bottom.
  33. I like producers who allow me to be the engineer.
  34. I like artists who allow the producer to be the producer.
  35. I like singing all the choruses.
  36. I like recording until I get a performance rather than trying to create a performance through editing.
  37. I like #36 a lot!
  38. I like great songs played well.
  39. I like mastering engineers only when they make it better.
  40. I like recording more songs than an album needs and dropping the stinkers.
  41. I like bands that don’t fall in love with the stinkers.
  42. I like bands that can recognize the stinkers.
  43. I like albums with about ten songs.
  44. I like recording on rainy days.
  45. I like tea in the afternoon.
  46. I like drummers who don’t try to play through the drum.
  47. I like budgets that match ambition.
  48. I like ego that matches talent.
  49. I like musicians who know it’s a business.
  50. I like having time to think about it.
  51. I like doing business with a handshake.
  52. I like not having to deal with lawyers.
  53. I like great vocalists.
  54. I like great songwriters better than great vocalists.
  55. I like recording at 96/24 and mixing to tape or DSD.
  56. I like not having to chase the demo.
  57. I like mistakes when they are magical.
  58. I like a studio to be quiet and cool (comfortable) at the same time.
  59. I like studios that are cool(aesthetically)
  60. I like the way music stores used to be.
  61. I like conceptual albums.
  62. I like things to be very organized.
  63. I like recording music that doesn’t come with pre-dictated sound sets.
  64. I like bands that don’t want to sound like Nickelback (or any other band).
  65. I like jazz that isn’t Dixieland.
  66. I like country music the way it used to be.
  67. I like how modern country music is what rock used to be.
  68. I like how alternative is no longer alternative when everyone is down with it.
  69. I like the fact that NARAS still gives a Grammy to polka.
  70. I like bands that leave their image at the door.
  71. I like recording drums without triggers.
  72. I like making decisions as I record and not saving them for later.
  73. I like comping complete lead vocal takes.
  74. I like dynamics.
  75. I like deposits.
  76. I like Remo heads better than Evans.
  77. I like when everything serves the song.
  78. I like American made drums and guitars.
  79. I like people who do what they say they are going to do.
  80. I like melody.
  81. I like VU meters.
  82. I like when song timing is revered.
  83. I like the excitement of an artist’s first time in a real studio more than the  complacency of a veteren.
  84. I like studio musicians for what they can bring to a session.
  85. I like the pizza delivery boy for what he can bring to a session.
  86. I like the fact that there is no competition in true art but plenty of competition in commerce.
  87. I like real music made by real musicians in real time.
  88. I like how recording forum moderators don’t know the basics of recording that entry level second engineers had to know before digital recording came along.
  89. I like the fact that nobody knows it all.
  90. I like assistant engineers who understand that they don’t know it all.
  91. I like ‘tone’, and ‘tone’ does contain midrange.
  92. I like to have time for experimentation.
  93. I like recording instruments knowing I won’t have to resort to using samples or modeling.
  94. I like having pictures of fun times while recording.
  95. I like Zildjian cymbals the best.
  96. I like musicians who bring their game to the studio.
  97. I like musicians who don’t bring their games to the studio.
  98. I like mics that cost as much as a good vacation.
  99. I like being in the studio with people I admire.
  100. I like what I like.

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