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[ 1 Comment ]Posted on June 25, 2008 by admin in Music, Popular Media
Wednesday, June 25th, 2008Why does the recording industry want radio stations to stop playing music?
In the ongoing saga of the RIAA just not getting it, they are apparently tired of suing old ladies who don’t even have computers and dead people and are now trying to kill their oldest and most reliable channel of cheap promotion, radio. Although the recording industry historically was quite happy to pay the broadcasting industry to play music (illegally, in fact – it was called payola), they now seem to think it should be the other way around. Click on the image at left for a detailed flow chart of how the RIAA decides whom to sue.
Building a PC-Based Studio for Less Than $100.00 (Part 1)
[ 1 Comment ]Posted on June 22, 2008 by admin in Music, Technology
Sunday, June 22nd, 2008Part 1 of a series in which we attempt to set up a usable home recording environment using discarded equipment and free software.
As a musician and former soundman, I’ve typically had mixed feelings about the available PC-based software & hardware for music production. Since I’ve also worked in the business world a lot, my Windows-based computers have often been in the perpetual twilight of late adoption, i.e.: the latest software that finally incorporates features I want is so power-hungry that my system can’t run it. Ultimately, I’ll buy some quad-processor monster with terabytes of RAM and drive space, but in the short-term, I thought I’d try a little experiment: Set up a basic home-recording environment for less than a hundred dollars. Read the rest of this entry »
Okkervil River – The Stage Names
[ Comments Off ]Posted on June 19, 2008 by admin in Music
Thursday, June 19th, 2008A review of Okkervil River’s The Stage Names in less than 25 words.
A friend challenged me to take Pitchfork Media’s Top 50 of 2007 and review each artist in 25 words or less. I accepted. When the little Amazon gizmo loads below, take a listen for yourself.
Okkervil River – The Stage Names
The singer from Rusted Root gets a larynx transplant from Ian McCulloch and joins the Strokes.
Don’t Be A Dummy Head
[ Comments Off ]Posted on June 15, 2008 by admin in Music, Technology
Sunday, June 15th, 2008More than you’ll ever want to know about binaural recording and 3D audio.
If you need to capture that feeling of your interviewee looking over the viewer’s head at the big alien that’s about to eat them, you might want to try the Binaural Mic from Otokinoko, pictured here. I don’t know how it compares to big name binaural mics like the Neumann KU 100 dummy head, but at $3,899.00, one would hope it sounds more real than the original sound. It’s sure to at least put a nice deer-in-the-headlights look on your subject.
If you’ve never heard binaural recordings, there are some interesting examples at virtualbarber.org. There are also some fun 3D audio illusions like the circling helicopter, which although most effective through headphones, works even through a decent set of speakers. One of the creepier illusions is something I’ve always wanted to use in a horror soundtrack. It’s called the Continuous Shepard Tone, and it sounds like a pitch that is infinitely falling. And I mean infinitely. Let it loop a few times and your brain should start melting slightly.
Moog Electric Guitar
[ 1 Comment ]Posted on June 11, 2008 by admin in Music, Technology
Wednesday, June 11th, 2008Screw world peace, I want a Moog Electric Guitar for Christmas.
Why does Lou Reed get to try this thing before I do? The Moog Electric Guitar is like something I always fantasized about when my EBow would start feeding back. They’re taking pre-orders, but unless you have seven grand to get rid of, you’ll have to be content with watching the video for now.