My Recent Tracks
Last.fm is a service that records what you listen to, and then presents you with an array of interesting things based upon your tastes — artists you might like, users with similar taste, personalised radio streams, charts, and much more.
Are you a playlist exhibitionist? Then “show us your tracks!” Last.fm is a prime example of the social voyeurism we experience daily in the age of the internet.
Thanks to my friends at blip.tv for tuning me in.
“It works okay, I guess.”
I’ve recently taken a detour from the alien world of circuit-bending into the greater cosmos of electronics. And what better thing is there to do with my new found hobby than to build modules for my Doepfer Modular? If you answered “why nothing,” you deserve a cookie.
Inside the box
Above you’ll see the result of my entire Saturday, the Shinola Low-Pass. It is a simple, passive knob-controllable low-pass filter. Its constructed from an old GBA-SP box, two capacitors, wire, two 3.5mm jacks and a 50k potentiometer.
It works okay, I guess. I intentionally crowded the jacks and pot into the corner, giving me room to expand it’s functionality later. The cutoff only goes so low, which could have been fixed with higher capacitance capacitors. Still, not bad for a first try. Despite being mostly useless, I’m quite proud of it.
Tim Burton’s ‘The Nighmare Before Christmas’ re-cut with Marilyn Manson’s version of ‘This Is Halloween’ for the re-release of the film in Disney Digital 3-D and 2-Disc Special Edition Soundtrack.
This video is the cat’s meow. Link stolen from fark.
“How high can you get?”
Thumbuki was originally conceived as a video game blog. The name itself is derived from Thumb, the primary gaming appendage, and Kabuki, a form of traditional Japanese theater. With that in mind…
Nintendo is kicking some serious ass in Japan right now (they must be all out of bubblegum.) I had not fully realized this until a few days ago while reading the console charts at The-MagicBox.
If you compare Nintendo hardware sales (DS Lite, GBASP, GBM, GC, DS, GBA) to the other consoles in the top 10 (PS2, PSP, 360, Xbox), you’ll see that Nintendo has sold 2.5x more units this year, most of which can be attributed to the insanely popular DS. The fact that Nintendo holds 6 of those top 10 slots is in itself an indicator of their enormous success. And the year is far from over.
Both Nintendo and Sony are releasing their new consoles in about a month. Though it is unclear which system will be more popular in the long run, Nintendo will have the edge coming out of the gate. The initial availability of the PS3 is going to be extremely limited, giving the Wii a distinct short-term advantage.
This is an educational film from 1983 describing a little bit of the history and tools of electronic music. The best thing about it is that it is behind the times for 1983, and seems more like a 1970s film. Frequently featured is a Moog modular! Also featured is a Fairlight, but as an analog obsessive, I’m less interested in that.
This reminds me of the old Encyclopedia Britannica films we watched back in high school. Despite being quite vintage, the content of the film is still relevant today.
“We send probes into deep space to listen to alien worlds. But alien world’s aren’t always that far away.” – Reed Ghazala
I recently finished reading Circuit-Bending: Build Your Own Alien Instruments. This is probably the easiest, and quickest way to get you up to speed in the field of Circuit-Bending. Reed Ghazala, the internationally recognized “Father of Circuit-Bending,” provides a concise compendium of most issues that will arise during your alien spelunking adventures.
Is this book for you?
Depends. For myself, the book was absolutely worth it. My background is mostly digital. The text introduced me to very rudimentary skills required to build these instruments. Skills such as: soldering, quasi-electronics, drilling, painting, etc… If you can already do these things, even on a basic level, you might not get much from these chapters.
Where this book truly excels is Ghazala’s personal insight and experience. His writing is candid, humorous at times, and allows the reader to get a glimpse of how his thought process works. In many ways, this book is more than just a DIY guide. It is also about composing through the process of electronic experimentation.
In other words, good stuff.
Part of Get Bent.
When a boy and girl find an idol in the stomach of a rabbit, great riches follow, but for how long?
Once again, thanks to PAgent of PAgent’s Progress for the great find.
flickr photo by cornp0ne. Visit lemon pepper hot wing.
The little girl giant woke up one morning, got a shower from the Sultans Elephant, and wandered off to play in the park…
Thanks to Liz of LizLysinger.com for the link.
I just learned this morning that my CalArts Professor, James Tenney, passed away in August of this year.
I remember the first day of class with him. James mentioned that when people asked what kind of music he wrote, he would sometimes respond with, “I write unpopular music.” I have since used that line many times myself.
One of my favorite works of his is For Ann (rising), a process music composition featuring an endless rising glissando. This glissando is similar to Jean-Claude Risset’s. In my opinion, Tenney’s is more musically interesting, and the illusion of the glissando is much more transparent.
James is also one of the performers in Karlheinz Stockhausen’s Kontakte, which is featured on Ohm: The Early Gurus of Electronic Music.
James, you will be missed.
