Mother should I trust the government?

May 17, 2020 3:02 PM

Roger Waters raises the game on lock down Zoom jam sessions. "...reminds me just how irreplaceable the joy of being in a band is."
posted by rongorongo (19 comments total)

Nice. Enjoyed every bit of that. Even after the music stopped.
posted by mightshould at 3:34 PM on May 17, 2020 [1 favorite]

Wonderful.
posted by Windopaene at 3:45 PM on May 17, 2020

Just to be annoying, but sadly you can’t play simultaneously in Zoom. I’ve been taking part in a lot of Zoom music sessions lately and the only way they work is to mute everyone except the person playing. We have been having successful music sessions sans-video using JamKazam. A little more technical to setup but once it works we get about 35ms delay between local performers. Definitely worth a try if you are jonsing to play with others.
posted by misterpatrick at 3:50 PM on May 17, 2020 [6 favorites]

The people in full studios may be actually playing together via ISDN. I've been out of the scene long enough that I have no idea how many studios still have it but I imagine there's a few if someone with money is motivated enough to want to have a live jam session.
posted by Candleman at 4:47 PM on May 17, 2020

I can't play in Zoom simultaneously, but others have figured it out. (previously) Takes a lot of practice.
There's a thing called Jamulus, that minimizes the delay. I have downloaded it, but haven't tested it yet.
People in studios can record off of a demo and someone can put it together later.
posted by MtDewd at 5:50 PM on May 17, 2020

Jamulus is similar to JamKazan. I’ve only used JK but have heard it’s easier to use than Jamulus. The simultaneous stuff in Zoom is with a lot of rehearsal specifically for that. There is just too much lag for people to actually play together tightly. Anything about 50ms delay will start to get weird. Over WiFi definitely won’t work. JamKazam requires an Ethernet cable. All the great videos out there, and there are some amazing ones, are being synced up after the fact in editing software or using Acapella and similar apps.

I do love the creativity I’m seeing out there.
posted by misterpatrick at 6:15 PM on May 17, 2020 [3 favorites]

Roger is an international treasure.
posted by grumpybear69 at 6:18 PM on May 17, 2020 [2 favorites]

.
posted by Oyéah at 7:56 PM on May 17, 2020

It is interesting to read about the difficulties of playing live music as a group with tools like Zoom - because it intuitively feels like it should not be a problem: a group on a call can laugh at a joke or wave to each other and it feels the simulation of being in the same space has succeeded. I came across this lock-down explanation of how video conferencing works from Computerphile - they mention that lags and imperfections in the video signal are much more tolerable than ones with the sound. So long as the "mouth to ear time" on a call is less than about 100ms then the conversation can flow. But for live music - it sounds like we need about half that delay. For musicians, to whom playing together live is such an important part of doing what they do - that must be a frustrating hurdle to overcome. (In the interim - I suspect there are lots of people trying out live looping.)

But - I like Roger Waters' recreation of a group playing together - however it was done. Especially the end: the slightly awkward moment of a video conference where somebody says "we must do this again sometime" and then each caller signs off and everyone is isolated from each other again in the dark with their thoughts. That experience will be a real memory of this year, for me. The wall, indeed.
posted by rongorongo at 11:35 PM on May 17, 2020 [3 favorites]

I really enjoyed listening to that, and felt a little emotional as RW dedicated it to his own mother at the end. Thank you for bringing back good memories of listening to Pink Floyd.
posted by hurdy gurdy girl at 12:22 AM on May 18, 2020

I don't listen to PF anymore (my dad exposed me to way too much of it once upon a time). But I appreciate Waters for standing up for causes, and not just the popular ones. This is a good example.
posted by kolendra at 5:47 AM on May 18, 2020 [4 favorites]

Something really poignant about an aged Roger Waters, alone at the end, saying into the mic "I'm not stopping recording."

"... matter of fact, it's all dark."
posted by swift at 7:22 AM on May 18, 2020 [1 favorite]

Loved it! Does anyone know who the other performers were?
posted by Snowishberlin at 1:11 PM on May 18, 2020

oh you soppy old git now i'm crying
posted by inpHilltr8r at 1:20 PM on May 18, 2020

> Loved it! Does anyone know who the other performers were?

That's the lineup from the Us and Them tour:

Guitar: Jonathan Wilson and Dave Kilminster
Bass: Gus Seyffert
Keys: Jon Carin
Drums: Joey Waronker
Backup vocals: Jess Wolfe and Holly Laessig of Lucius
posted by tonycpsu at 2:24 PM on May 18, 2020 [3 favorites]

Backup vocals: Jess Wolfe and Holly Laessig of Lucius

I suspect that if the GOOD DOG wasn't being held, the GOOD DOG would raise a ruckus while they were recording. GOOD DOG!
posted by mikelieman at 2:39 PM on May 18, 2020 [3 favorites]

(Roger Waters has posted a follow up response with some explanations ).
posted by rongorongo at 12:12 AM on May 19, 2020 [1 favorite]

> (Roger Waters has posted a follow up response with some explanations yt ).

Nice to know that, as deadly as COVID-19 is, it can't kill the Waters/Gilmour feud.
posted by tonycpsu at 6:26 AM on May 19, 2020 [1 favorite]

disregard
posted by Windopaene at 3:02 PM on May 19, 2020