September 2010
31 posts
5 tags
“But electronica is the most urban musical genre,” he adds, “and few...”
– In China, Musicians for the Modern Era Short but interesting Wall Street Journal article on electronica in China.
Sep 30th
6 tags
Sep 29th
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WatchWatch
Trailer for The Delian Mode, a short documentary about Delia Derbyshire.
Sep 28th
4 tags
The etymology of 10 famous band names →
Sep 27th
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Sep 27th
2 notes
6 tags
WatchWatch
Speakatron: Open your mouth and the program makes sounds for you. You can download code for the Mac here. See also: Sound Bubbles.
Sep 23rd
4 tags
WatchWatch
Sound Bubbles: You can download it here. On a related-but-complementary note, check out the Speakatron.
Sep 22nd
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Sep 22nd
3 notes
7 tags
Sep 21st
1 note
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Sep 21st
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Sep 21st
2 notes
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“A medievalist once told me that very little was known about the Carolingian...”
– Of C’s and D’s Ta-Nehisi Coates wrote a lovely article about the paradox of choice as it applies to music in the digital age, with this terrific metaphor.
Sep 20th
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5 tags
Sep 20th
53 notes
7 tags
Sep 17th
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Sep 17th
765 notes
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Sep 16th
4 tags
“[T]he company’s approach was long considered computationally...”
– That Tune, Named: How does the music-identifying app Shazam work its magic? Want to cut to the chase? “An industrial-strength audio search algorithm” [PDF link] (thanks to Ethan Hein, as ever, for finding cool stuff)
Sep 16th
6 tags
My seven favourite words from Michael J. Epstein...
apophenia (from) circumstance (from) hypernova (from) luminescent (extra points for using it literally, not poetically; from) prophylactic (from) proselytizing (from) psychosomatic (from) [Thanks, of course, to my friend Mike - a brilliant songwriter and lyricist, and a good sport when I tease him about his recondite vocabulary.]
Sep 15th
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4 tags
Sep 14th
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Sep 13th
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“[A] lot of the future that we’re going to have to contend with is sitting...”
– From “Predicting the Future,” a talk by Alan Kay, one of the founding principals of Xerox PARC,  This pretty much sums up why I follow the Music Hack Days. Kay also said, “The best way to predict the future is to invent it.” (Not Peter Drucker. And not, for heaven’s...
Sep 10th
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Sep 10th
1 note
7 tags
Sep 9th
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Sep 9th
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“I guess the hardest thing will be not to let the destroyer aspect of myself take...”
– Michael Gira, on the upcoming Swans tour, quoted in the New York Times. My primary risk-mitigation strategy will be earplugs. I am so looking forward to the Boston show.
Sep 8th
6 tags
Sep 8th
106 notes
4 tags
Sep 7th
3 notes
5 tags
“There are going to be far fewer skyscrapers in the music business and many, many...”
– Jeff Castelaz, Dangerbird Records Quoted in the LA Times, “LA’s string of indie labels succeeds with a jack-of-all-trades approach.”
Sep 7th
5 tags
Sep 5th
8 notes
6 tags
The cure for songs stuck in your head →
Got a nasty earworm? Unhearit can help you out with that. Be warned: the cure is likely to be worse than the disease. (ht: Ethan Hein)
Sep 5th
6 tags
“Because, as Apple knows very well, most people fill their iTunes collection with...”
– Peter Kafka, “Ping averts its gaze: Apple’s new social network doesn’t really want to know much about you,” at All Things Digital. A little weirded out that my offhand remark to Jason Herskowitz wound up in this article…
Sep 3rd