Question for EBTG fans.....

@thosb I've seen more shows at The Cedar than anywhere else. Lotsa African bands in particular play it. It's on the west bank U of M. I've seen Tinariwen there 3x. Now THERE'S a hypnotic band live or recorded. Check them out!

thosb

Big fan of EBTG here. I believe that it is an effect added to the recording.
Happy Listening!

scott_w2 - small world - I grew up in Mpls and most of my best live music memories are from the 80s and early 90s at First Ave, 7th St, Uptown Bar, U of MN, and more.  The RL Burnside recommendation has me digging through his discography, and although I am not a huge blues fan, I can attest to the "frighten most stereos into submission" comment.  This man makes some powerfully energetic music!

acresverde, thanks for opening a door for me!

I saw RL twice in the late 90s. Packed place in Mpls both; called First Avenue (where Purple Rain was filmed). Anyhoots he mad shred each, just burned it down.

His live record 'burnside on burnside' will frighten most stereos into submission. It's just like his live show. Also, Jon Spencer did a savage good remix on record called 'come on in' that's basically frightening.  

His grandson Cedrick is a monster drummer btw (and plays on all RL records in last 30 yrs. Cedrick played at the Treefort festival here in Boise last week, one of 400+ bands. The line to see him went down the block. 

gosta - you are right on, it's at 19 seconds, when the vocal track kicks in.

All - I agree, I think the noise is there intentionally for some reasons only known to Watt and Thorn (how does an electro pop dance track benefit from intentionally added noise?  Same type noise is throughout Massive Attack's album Mezzanine), but I am glad others hear the same thing and reach the same conclusion, sometimes in this hobby I need help with a sanity check. 

acresverde - thanks for turning me on to some totally bitchin' blues, I hadn't heard R L Burnside before, glad I have.

Similar to what I hear when I spin the "The Sopranos" soundtrack CD. The second cut is R L Burnside singing "It's Bad You Know" and it sounds like a scratchy old vinyl LP was purposely sourced for the recording. Here, too, I feel it was an intentional decision made for a chosen effect. BTW, if you haven't heard it, this cut is absolutely blues bitchin'.

I concur with gosta. Wouldn't characterize it as faint, I'd say it is intentionally added for effect.

Sorry, cant hear anything special at 30 sec. This "vinyl" noice starts at 19 sec and goes on more or less for the whole track.

Is the noise sustained or is it a transient?  It could be there intentionally to give an analog feel or if its a sudden short burst it could also just be a recording artifact. I have not heard the track itself though.