Catasto Elettrico
Posted: June 25, 2009 Filed under: Listening | Tags: Catasto Elettrico, free music, Jamming, New Releases, stuff that i had no idea existed, the internet is really amazing, web bands 3 Comments »
What an amazing idea. This is a band that only exists on line. There are records, but they’re not for sale. No concerts, no labels, no songs. Just three crazy Italians with a serious jones for music. I LOVE this idea. They jam together, come up with a few things that might be worthwhile and then – *presto* – the next album is released. I’m only just listening to this stuff for the first time now, but it seems pretty cool. They seem to have a bit of a following, and they recommend other bands who are doing the same thing. Makes ya think…
Zshare, Coffee Magic Potion, Mike Gordon
Posted: June 25, 2009 Filed under: Listening, Uncategorized 4 Comments »Couple of random thoughts.
First, here’s another Box.net type service.
I don’t know anything about it, whether it’s good or what. I’d just thought I’d flag it. The site came to my attention via this post on the Washington City Paper’s music blog. The post discusses how musicians, via Twitter, are giving their fans free music that is stashed on services like Zshare.
Second, unrelated to music, I’ve got a new morning drink: two heaping spoons of instant coffee, a slug of maple syrup, some water, and a lot of soy milk.
Finally, I was wondering today whether iTune had any analytics capability, such as ways to track which artists and songs you listen to most and so on. Fiddling around with my iPhone, I didn’t find much except the feature that lets you choose songs and artists by genre: metal, blues, etc. There was also a category call “unclassifiable,” and there I chuckled to see only one artist listed: Mike Gordon. Yup, his work is indeed pretty hard to classify. Here’s his tune “The Lesson,” off solo record Inside In.
Duet in the Box
Posted: June 24, 2009 Filed under: Recording 4 Comments »I hate to bump mpomy off the top slot of the blog, given his fine recording, but I’ve got a bit of a musical challenge to throw out there.
In the Box.net widget, I’ve placed another GarageBand track. It’s a duet, done by myself and someone I’ve hung out with a lot for almost four years now. I think the track, though just 24 seconds long, really covers an extraordinary vocal range. It’s worth sharing for some collaborative music blogging.
Hector and Achilles
Posted: June 24, 2009 Filed under: Recording | Tags: amplifier, GarageBand, Gibson SG, Lab Series, Recording 2 Comments »
It sounded better on headphones. The second half needs more bass.
The mpomy take on the Piano tune
Posted: June 23, 2009 Filed under: Recording | Tags: fretbuzz.net, GarageBand, mpomy, piano 1 Comment »
Rush and the Beastie Boys Mashed up
Posted: June 23, 2009 Filed under: Videos 2 Comments »A video courtesy of Today’s Big Thing. You don’t have to watch the whole thing, although you might end up doing that. Like my father says, it’s sort of like eating peanuts.
http://music.todaysbigthing.com/2009/06/19
Piano Tune, Tricked Out
Posted: June 22, 2009 Filed under: Recording 1 Comment »Here’s my short piano number (which I put in the Box.net widget) after a bit futzing around on GarageBand. I’m a sucker for chorus, so there’s a quite a lot of that going on.
Max Impact Rocks “Higher Ground”
Posted: June 21, 2009 Filed under: Concerts, Listening 2 Comments »
The Crowded Skys of Udvar-Hazy
Originally uploaded by Grundlepuck
This may not count as an “only in Washington” moment, but it’s pretty close.
I spent a good chunk of the day out at at the Smithsonian’s Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, VA. It’s one of two Smithsonian Air and Space museums in the DC area. The place is styled after a giant airplane hangar – photo gives a pretty good sense of what it’s about. There’s a Space Shuttle there, and the Concorde, and the bomber that dropped the big one on Hiroshima. You know, aerospace and defense.
Today, there was also some live rock and roll, courtesy of the “U.S. Air Force Band’s high-energy vocal group, Max Impact.”
I didn’t stick around for too much of the gig, but I will note a tune I did hear: a cover of Stevie Wonder’s “Higher Ground.” The band played it like the Red Hot Chili Peppers’ version, including the thrash flourish that the Red Hots threw in at the end.
Max Impact did the song well. I have to say it was odd to hear it, given the setting and the fact that the band was in uniform. Here are the opening lines of the song:
People keep on learnin
Soldiers keep on warrin
World keep on turnin
Cause it wont be too longPowers keep on lyin
While your people keep on dyin
World keep on turnin
Cause it wont be too long
GarageBand Tune in the Box
Posted: June 20, 2009 Filed under: Recording 4 Comments »I just recorded that short piano number I’ve been talking about. I’m no Ben Folds, that’s pretty clear. But if anyone cares to layer on some other tracks, tune is in the Box.net widget.
I Bow to Pandora
Posted: June 19, 2009 Filed under: Uncategorized 1 Comment »I would just like to go on the record as to how much I like Pandora Radio. I’ve put in a couple of artists that I like and it’s been a non-stop musical treat since. Additionally, the site IMHO has one of the best user interfaces out there. Not to mention they have a kick’n mobile app. If you haven’t spent q-time with Pandora recently — I vouch.
