00089

do re me

fa so lala ti

 do music

00087

lala row

boats, gently music

streams around

The Most Unwanted Music, not…. really?

Ok, well I enjoy and seek out this stuff. The shtick surrounding it is clever too. I only found out about this recently surfing WFMU’s blog. It’s scientifically proven.

Now, unfortunately this song does sort of promulgate the bigotry toward the wide world of bagpipes, when what they are really demonstrating is that the Great Highland bagpipes are what at the very least many people find, at best, hard to take, which I attribute to people not hearing the pipes in the ideal environment for which they were designed, which is of course in the great outdoors, perhaps a rolling hill, glen or aside a bonny brook…

PS The song above is long, like 25min. long…

Radiohead’s Nude: The Let’s Get Physical Mashup by J. Houston

Very interesting project related to the Radiohead Nude remix thing that I partook in a while back. James Houston missed the deadlines for said “contest” but decided to though some stuff together….Very nice. Like he says:

“Based on the lyric (and alternate title) “Big Ideas: Don’t get any” I grouped together a collection of old redundant hardware, and placed them in a situation where they’re trying their best to do something that they’re not exactly designed to do, and not quite getting there. It doesn’t sound great, as it’s not supposed to.”

I actually built one of the Sinclair computers that he uses in this project back in the summer of ‘81,a trip to see it used here. He certainly made better use of it than me. Check it and give it some time, it really does not kick in until about :45 sec, it is worth the wait:

Big Ideas (don’t get any) from James Houston on Vimeo.

Freesound website and the 17 year cicada

In the northeast of the US a type of cicada that only appears and makes a BIG noise every 17 years can be heard. I found an interesting environmental recording of the 17 year cicada recorded in Ohio. It has a interesting oscillation to it. I wonder if this is a recording artifact or what the cicada chorus actually sounds like….Perhaps you know? Drop a comment. I hope to hear a live version and make a recording soon. 

 

The freesound website, where the sample exists, is really fascinating. I just discovered it the other day. Looks like I will be spending a lot of time exploring freesound…

American Revolution

A while back you may recall that I was fortunate to be able to see Iris DeMent perform in Lexington MA. Before the show I walked around the town a bit, careful not to litter-up the lovely white picket fence community.

The above audio was recorded while lookin’ for some history in the town center; there were a few dozen people jammin’ colonial style in a park square. We heard the thundering drums and fifes from blocks away.

The Man in Black heralds a long overdue revolution.

Hard Boiled Eggs

It’s an allure all too familiar. Gams, Guns and Gumshoes. With precision plots that snap like a cargo full of whips.

It’s only fun. And the plots are well crafted and really pull you along. Besides, trouble has a funny way of finding you.

So, what’s your problem with ‘em? I’ll tell you what your problem is. You’re afraid. Your afraid of what they may tell YOU about YOURSELF. Aaah, come on now. You are not all that aware and beyond their pull….Oh, yah right. What, are you some sort of fancy dame or something? That lurid cover probably does not have the pull on you that it might if you were a regular Joe but let me tell you somethin’ Doll, Pal, whatever you think you are. I jus bet the hardboiled writing would suck you in. Aaah, come along now. And fast. Go ahead. Read a bit of Hard Case Crime catalog – it’ll get under your skin. Don’t be a chump.

Check Terry Gross and Fresh Air interview for related audio.

Iris Dement: know her stuff, you should.

Had the chance to hear and see Iris Dement last weekend in historic Lexington MA. Wow, she is a rare talent: amazing song writer, truly unique voice and she has the potential to cross-over to a much larger “Indie” audience, beyond country. I was a bit surprised by the older skewed audience of few hundred at the performance. Yes, it was in a church in a burb but still it was an accessible location and I would have thought a wider audience would have been drawn in.

Listen. She has a strong pull toward the melancholy but there are some very bright songs and singing.

http://www.irisdement.com/mp3s.html

I actually “discovered” her as a soundtrack element of that TV show Northern Exporsure back in the mid 90’s. They had used a bit of what was here first “big” song “Our Town”. One of the amazing things about that song is that she elevated beyond cliche down into a familiar place that really hits the heart…