Friday, February 26, 2010
The vast majority of music that I hear is recorded, and if you’re reading this the same is probably true of you. Most people don’t have a clear idea what the recording process is like, especially using computers. Here are my adventures in recording. I grew up in the eighties. Cassette recorders were just starting [...]
Filed in hardware, music, software
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Also tagged analog, audio, autotune, book, computers, electronica, hip-hop, improvisation, looping, mashups, music, pro tools, recording, remixes, revival revival, sampling, sequencing, synths, tape, tape editing, visualization
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This PBS Independent Lens documentary on sampling culture is a good one, and you can watch the whole thing on Youtube. Their resources and links page includes my Biz Markie blog post. Thanks Beautiful Decay for posting the videos. Part one:
Filed in movies, music, software, tv
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Also tagged a tribe called quest, beastie boys, biz markie, book, clyde stubblefield, computers, copyright, dance, dj, eighties, george clinton, hip-hop, improvisation, james brown, jeff chang, looping, mashups, memes, michael jackson, music, pro tools, public enemy, recording, remixes, rock, sampling
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Couple of exciting memetic hybrids circulating around the web right now. First, here’s a techno track using samples of Pixar’s Up, which is one of the best and saddest movies ever. Thanks Mike for alerting me to the remix’s existence. Remixing songs is all well and good, but remixing movies, that’s where it’s at.
Filed in movies, music
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Also tagged america, animation, book, chris isaak, dj earworm, electronica, kevin kelly, lady gaga, memes, movies, pixar, pop, remixes, revival revival, sampling, up, video editing
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Wednesday, August 26, 2009
Björk knows how to balance the coldness of electronic production with hotly unpredictable vocals and instrument textures. Her approach is eccentric and her sound gets on some people’s nerves. It took me a couple years to be convinced by her. I’m glad I hung in there, because she’s been one of my best teachers in [...]
Filed in music
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Also tagged bjork, book, depression, electronica, hipster, iceland, interface, lord of the rings, missy elliot, pro tools, recording, remixes, sampling, sequencing, timbaland, tolkien
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Why are the Beatles still so cool? By which I mean the late Beatles, Revolver onwards. I like Please Please Me as much as the next guy, but it isn’t why the Beatles are cool now. No, I mean the last few records, especially Sgt Pepper, the White Album and Abbey Road. If any of [...]
Filed in music, video games
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Also tagged abbey road, analog, audio, beatles, book, common, divorce, hip-hop, john lennon, kanye west, mellotron, memes, mixtapes, multitracking, paul mccartney, prince, remixes, rock, rock band, sampling, tape, tape editing, video games
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Expanding on “Learning Music Theory With Autotune” If you’re a science geek and you find yourself in San Francisco, the most fun thing to do there is to go to the Exploratorium.
Filed in hardware, math, music, science, video games
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Also tagged book, coltrane, exploratorium, giant steps, india, keybs, lego, midi, music theory, pitch, pitch shifting, sequencing, tetris, tuning, video games
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Before digital recording media, recording artists faced a tradeoff between spontaneity and perfection. Recording take after take until the performances are spotless can quickly suck the joy and energy out of the music. But the kind of sloppiness that goes unnoticed in a live performance can get on your nerves after many repeated listens. It’s [...]
Filed in music, software
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Also tagged beatles, book, composing, gnarls barkley, hip-hop, kind of blue, looping, michael jackson, miles davis, music, pro tools, psychology, recording, thriller
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The Gregory Brothers (including a sister-in-law) are musicians here in Brooklyn who have a series of videos called Auto-tune The News. Here are a selection of their better episodes as of this writing.
Filed in music, science, software, web
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Also tagged anxiety, autotune, book, computers, evolution, hip-hop, joe biden, katie couric, martin luther king jr, mashups, music, music theory, news, politics, pop, rnb, steven mithen, tv, youtube
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My friend Leo told me that he always faces a conflict when shopping for jazz records. He wants to show love for working musicians by buying their newer recordings, but then, he could always just pick up another Miles Davis album and know it’s going to be ridiculously good. Probably my favorite Miles album out [...]
Filed in music
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Also tagged book, funk, improvisation, jazz, miles davis, music, music theory, recording, recursion, remixes, seventies, sixties, tape editing
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Like this sentence, computer programs and songs can refer to themselves. Many computer programs and songs are made of loops within loops within loops. Self-reference gives computers their extreme versatility and it makes for richer, more layered music. Self-reference may also form the basis for our consciousness.
Filed in music, software
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Also tagged book, computers, fugees, hip-hop, looping, music, programming, recursion, remixes, sampling, self-reference
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