Pribek

Maybe it should be “sings on” or “croons on”. Get ready for a full force Frank Sinatra multi-media assault.

From the L.A. Times.

Late last year, the Sinatra heirs signed a pact with Warner Music Group Corp. that will bring Ol’ Blue Eyes back in a big way, not just as a digitally resurrected entertainer but also as an advertising pitchman and, potentially, the name on the marquee of a feature film, a Broadway show and a casino and resort.

Everybody wants to bet on a sure thing and there is no surer thing than Frank Sinatra, right?

I don’t know, cashing in on a legacy is tricky business. People will look but, if it’s in poor taste or misdirected in any way, it will tarnish the legend.

The heirs aren’t all brimming with confidence.

Nancy also said her father “never wanted his image to be on an ashtray” and that any advertising “must be equal to his excellence, which is not easy to do.”

Frank Jr. says…

“This is the first I’m hearing about a lot of these things,” he said. “I’m the last person to hear about these things. . . . I’m not party to all those decisions, not like I would like. That’s the way it came down.”

In has famous essay for Esquire back in 1966, “Frank Sinatra Has A Cold”, Gay Talese must of had a glimpse into the crystal ball.

In an age when the very young seem to be taking over, protesting and picketing and demanding change, Frank Sinatra survives as a national phenomenon, one of the few prewar products to withstand the test of time.

No doubt, you have seen or, at least seen pictures of the unique and historic Capitol Recrods Tower in Los Angeles.

It’s not just the building that is unique, it’s what is underneath. There is a series of eight, different shaped echo chambers built 30 feet underground that were designed by our hero, Les Paul. Les used them, Buck Owens, Frank Sinatra, Brian Wilson, they have played a part in many, many great records. There are no others like them. Now, according to the L.A. Times, the echo chambers may be in danger.

A Marina del Rey developer hopes to construct 93 condominiums, 13,442 square feet of commercial and office space and a 242-space underground parking lot next to the landmark, 13-floor, record-shaped building.

But Capitol executives are trying to stop the multimillion-dollar project because of fears that pile-driving and excavation for the three-level underground garage will damage one-of-a-kind, below-ground echo chambers that are used for high-end recordings.

The developer has denied that the project would harm the reverberation equipment and has pledged to try to limit noise and vibration during construction.

The chambers are 18 feet from the proposed garage.

Dale Goldsmith, representing the construction company says…

“We’re confident there won’t be any long-term damage,” he said. “We’re prepared to indemnify them. They have a right to be concerned, but their concerns are exaggerated.”

Steps will be taken to limit vibration and noise, he said. “There are a series of mitigation measures to be taken during construction. Muffling devices, dewatering techniques, taking noise-generating equipment as far away as possible from Capitol,” Goldsmith said.

That sounds a little weak to me; no “long term damage”. I don’t know how you could do short term damage to these great echo chambers.

The developer, David Jordan has had a study done.

An acoustical study done for Jordan by an Oakland firm acknowledged that “without the mitigation . . . ground-borne noise from construction activities may temporarily impact operation of the echo chambers.”

But it suggested that “digital signal processing and other digital audio recording techniques can simulate almost every echo chamber effect.”

Screw the 50+ year old work of acoustic art, you can get a ProTools plug-in.

Morons.

Mindless yobs.

Regular contributor and problem solver, Patrick Darnell, offers this solution.