Yes. This is much better.
Saturday, January 14, 2012
Friday, January 13, 2012
Why did I spend time on this?
Why did I spend time on this? : 
This is a bad pun, yes, but it's a bad pun about Les Mis. EXCEPTION GRANTED.
Why did I spend time on this?
This is a bad pun, yes, but it's a bad pun about Les Mis. EXCEPTION GRANTED.
Thursday, January 12, 2012
Music: Newswire: The Decemberists to release live double-album
Music: Newswire: The Decemberists to release live double-album: The Decemberists have earned a reputation as one of the best live bands in indie-rock, which the band hopes to fortify with the release of the generous live double-album We All Raise Our Voices To The Air (Live Songs 04.11-08.11), which was recorded during last year's The King Is Dead tour. The 20-track album (which will also be released as a triple vinyl set) will be released March 13, and will hopefully satiate fans sad about the band's recently announced hiatus. Check out the tracklist below:
Disc 1
1. The Infanta (5:15)
2. Calamity Song ...
Disc 1
1. The Infanta (5:15)
2. Calamity Song ...
Wednesday, January 11, 2012
A Brief History of Time by Errol Morris
A Brief History of Time by Errol Morris:
The sound and picture are poor, but the entirety of Errol Morris' A Brief History of Time is available on YouTube.
Featuring music from Philip Glass, the film is a documentary about Stephen Hawking and his ideas about the universe. Morris recently stated on Twitter:
Yes. I plan to re-release [A Brief History of Time]. (It was never properly color corrected and is one of my best films.)
The film is difficult, if not impossible, to find on DVD and isn't available on Netflix, Amazon Instant Video, or iTunes. And as far as I can tell, the soundtrack was never released either.
Tags: A Brief History of Time Errol Morris movies Philip Glass physics science Stephen Hawking videoTuesday, January 10, 2012
Listenin' to the oldies.
Listenin' to the oldies.: Phonozoic, Patrick Feaster's website "dedicated to the history of the phonograph and related media," is an amazing collection of information about historic recordings. Not just early recordings, however, but also experimental "eduction projects": the "automatic 'playing' of primeval inscriptions of sound."
You may recall the previous MeFi discussions of the 1860 phonautograph "recording" (here and here) of a voice singing "Au Clair de la Lune." But these are not the only printed inscriptions that Feaster has been able to recreate. Through a technique he calls "paleospectrophony," he uses software to play many old inscriptions, from an African-American spiritual in 1929, to an organ piece from the 1600s (which looks oddly like a player piano roll), to "the oldest automatically 'playable' representations of American speech."
Even further back in time, paleospectrophonic analysis can play inscriptions from medieval manuscripts.
There is much, much more fascinating phonographic history to be found on Phonozoic. Perhaps you would like to enjoy an evening of 1907 entertainment, as suggested in an Edison Phonograph ad. Or perhaps you are interested in phonograph patents from 1913-1919, or the labels of home recording discs. Then there's the three-part amateur recording from the 1950s, The Monster by the Boys, about which Feaster says "If Ed Wood of Plan 9 From Outer Space had tried his hand at radio drama, it might have come out something like this."
Want to build your own phonograph with instructions from 1878? One Phonozoic reader did.
If that doesn't do it for you, there are links to just about every historic sound recording website out there.
You may recall the previous MeFi discussions of the 1860 phonautograph "recording" (here and here) of a voice singing "Au Clair de la Lune." But these are not the only printed inscriptions that Feaster has been able to recreate. Through a technique he calls "paleospectrophony," he uses software to play many old inscriptions, from an African-American spiritual in 1929, to an organ piece from the 1600s (which looks oddly like a player piano roll), to "the oldest automatically 'playable' representations of American speech."
Even further back in time, paleospectrophonic analysis can play inscriptions from medieval manuscripts.
There is much, much more fascinating phonographic history to be found on Phonozoic. Perhaps you would like to enjoy an evening of 1907 entertainment, as suggested in an Edison Phonograph ad. Or perhaps you are interested in phonograph patents from 1913-1919, or the labels of home recording discs. Then there's the three-part amateur recording from the 1950s, The Monster by the Boys, about which Feaster says "If Ed Wood of Plan 9 From Outer Space had tried his hand at radio drama, it might have come out something like this."
Want to build your own phonograph with instructions from 1878? One Phonozoic reader did.
If that doesn't do it for you, there are links to just about every historic sound recording website out there.
Sunday, January 8, 2012
Songkick Reports Jeff Mangum Will Play the Moore, April 16 and 17
Songkick Reports Jeff Mangum Will Play the Moore, April 16 and 17:
From the wilds of the internet comes this:
Tuesday 17 April 2012
Jeff Mangum
The Moore Theatre
1932 2nd Avenue
98101
Seattle, WA
Songkick is the only source we can find reporting this at the moment, and the Moore's site is quiet on the subject. I've got e-mails into Seattle Theatre Group. Stay tuned here.
h/t: Alithea!
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Joey Quits
Joey Quits: "The current economic climate has made it easier than ever for management to exploit employees. Fearful of losing their jobs and facing unemployment, insecure workers often submit to working conditions they otherwise would not tolerate."
"The only way to improve working conditions is to organize ourselves to share information and demand respect. The "Joey Quits" video has deterred the Providence Renaissance managers from disrespecting Renaissance workers. We've created this site as a way to help other hotel workers share their stories and, by doing so, make change in their unjust workplaces as well."
The band that helps Joey quit with style is the "What Cheer? Brigade", but there are lots of other activist marching bands at Honkfest and Honkfestwest.
This post (convolutedly) inspired by the awesome version of "Killing in the Name of" performed by the George Mason Green Machine band (via BoingBoing).
"The only way to improve working conditions is to organize ourselves to share information and demand respect. The "Joey Quits" video has deterred the Providence Renaissance managers from disrespecting Renaissance workers. We've created this site as a way to help other hotel workers share their stories and, by doing so, make change in their unjust workplaces as well."
The band that helps Joey quit with style is the "What Cheer? Brigade", but there are lots of other activist marching bands at Honkfest and Honkfestwest.
This post (convolutedly) inspired by the awesome version of "Killing in the Name of" performed by the George Mason Green Machine band (via BoingBoing).
Saturday, January 7, 2012
DRAW-ING IN THE MUD WITH MY GIANT TREEEEEEEEEEE PENCIL!IT IS MY...
DRAW-ING IN THE MUD WITH MY GIANT TREEEEEEEEEEE PENCIL!
IT IS MY...:
IT IS MY...:
DRAW-ING IN THE MUD WITH MY GIANT TREEEEEEEEEEE PENCIL!
IT IS MY FA-VO-RITE MUD WRIIIIIIITING U-TENSIL!
MA-KING A PICTURE FOR ALLLLLL OF THE FISHES,
THAT I WANT TO EAT ‘CAUSE THEY’RE FU-CKING DELICIOUS!
DO BE DO BE DOOOO. MUUUUUUUD PENCIL!
MMMM HM. OH YEAH.
(207): She made me be the little...
(207): She made me be the little...: (207): She made me be the little spoon then she pretended to be a jet pack for an hour straight.
Wednesday, January 4, 2012
Russian shellacing
Russian shellacing: Russian Records is an online archive of thousands of 78s issued in Russia, or with Russian themes. Just the labels are a visual feast but there's audio as well. Don't miss the whistlers with orchestral backing.
Circus Galop maximus
Circus Galop maximus: Marc-André Hamelin composed Circus Galop for the player piano. Performing it is impossible for a mere pair of human hands, but two people have tried to fake it until they make it. Another has transcribed it (or half of it, perhaps) for one player. Often, people will run it through a MIDI sequencer of their choice, to make a lively animation. Some have built Arduino robots that perform it. But, in the end, the best medium for a work this insane is the humble, yet manic player piano (less manic, but clearer-sounding performance here). Hamelin himself has run his composition through one, managing to get his television host to start dancing as the closing credits fade out...
Shufflin' grandpa
Shufflin' grandpa:
One of my favorite things on the internet is footage of old styles of dancing set to contemporary music. Like this:
See also Daft Punk Charleston and Russian dancing (w/ Run DMC). (via ★dunstan)
Tags: dance music remix videoENGINE OFF. LICENSE AND REGISTRATION, PLEASE. SLOWLY. DO YOU...
ENGINE OFF. LICENSE AND REGISTRATION, PLEASE. SLOWLY.
DO YOU...:
DO YOU...:
ENGINE OFF. LICENSE AND REGISTRATION, PLEASE. SLOWLY.
DO YOU KNOW HOW FAST YOU WERE GOING?
DO YOU KNOW HOW MUCH PEYOTE YOU’RE ON?
I’M GOING TO NEED YOU TO STEP OUT OF THE VEHICLE YOU THINK OF AS YOUR BODY AND MERGE WITH THE INFINITE.
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