Cellist Zoë Keating

I like to think of it as a DJ scratch approach to the cello.
Zoë Keating

Another Radio Lab podcast highlight: Quantum Cello. Last season's War of the Worlds episode was live and cellist Zoë Keating provided the music. In this podcast, Jad Abumrad visits Keating to learn more about her music and listen to her perform a few pieces. Her music is really cool. There are certainly better adjectives than those, but that's all I can muster right now. Trust me, though, it's really cool.

As she plays, she digitally captures segments of her music which she loops back. As the loops are playing back, she plays additional layers over them. The result is sounds more like an orchestrated work than a solo one. What I though was especially neat is that she does this live. The loop capture is controled with foot pedals. In the podcast she performs three pieces live that sound more like studio recordings.

It's great stuff. Check it out if you get a chance.

Update: Here's a video of her performing live, so you can really get the idea:

Buyer's remorse for the obsessive

Does that make me crazy?
Possibly
Gnarls Barkley

Okay, I admit it, this is just a little obsessive on my part. We just got the new Gnarls Barkley album, The Odd Couple. It's great, a worthy follow-up to St. Elsewhere, and lives up to my expectations. Except....

You see, on the album, "Run" just fades in from silence. It doesn't have that "kick-off" beginning that you hear on the radio and in the video. This kept bugging me throughout the rest of the track, sort of like Roger Rabbit with the unfinished shave-and-a-haircut. (TWO BITS!).

I went a-googling and found out "Run [Radio Edit]" is what I was missing. A little more googling and I found it online for £0.79. Yep, it's only available in the U.K. But hey, they take PayPal, and PayPal handles the exchange rate (currently $.50 = £1.00). That's a little more than the iTunes $0.99 songs, but it's also a 256K MP3 I can use anywhere. I figured what the heck and embraced our global economy.

The radio edit is playing right now. I have no regrets.

Yeah, still the same

When you see me coming run
Before you see what I’m running from
No time for question asking time is passing by
Gnarls Barkley

I have no specific reasons for not blogging - just haven't. Maybe I just needed to overcome the inertia. If this doesn't get you going, I'm not sure what will. The first single from the new Gnarls Barkley album:

P.S. To ivorybillchick, don, and rob s.: Thanks. It's nice to know you're missed.

Radio Lab tackles The Ring

Well what did you expect in an opera? A happy ending?

Bugs Bunny

Catching up on some of my podcasts, I listened to a really interesting Radio Lab/WNYC special about The Ring Cycle, a series of four epic Wagner operas. That there are four operas by Wagner collectively called "The Ring Cycle" was something I did not know, nor did I know of the near fanatic devotees, nor its influences on more current music and literature, including Tolkein's own tale of a Ring and Bugs Bunny. It features commentary from a diverse cast, including Howard Shore, composer of the Lord of the Rings film scores I love so much. It's definitely worth a listen.

A little '80s romance

Jack Colton: Wait a minute, he's after you. Who the hell are you?
Joan Wilder: Well, I'm a romance novelist.
Romancing the Stone

Last night after dinner I spent a couple hours bringing our aging home computer back to life. (I suspect the iTunes upgrade trashed the Winsock registry keys, but I can't be sure.) At the same time, Sharon was watching that classic of '80s action/adventure, Romancing the Stone.

Most of us probably have movies that can be classified as "cable overkill" (a term I learned from my wife). These are the movies that were constantly on cable, particularly right after you first got cable and watched everything. Romancing the Stone is one of my cable overkill movies, though I do remember seeing it in the theater when it came out. I found myself reciting lines often.

I thought it was great then, and it mostly stands up to the test of time. Kathleen Turner and Michael Douglas played well off each other, and Danny DeVito stole every scene he was in. The soundtrack suffers the most over time. It probably sounded fresh and cool in 1984, but it sounds really cheesy now. A contemporary pop film score just doesn't age well.

I cannot mention the music of Romancing the Stone without mentioning Eddy Grant's song of the same name. The song was commissioned for the film, but they decided not to use it. Apparently you can hear the guitar solo in one scene (in villa of Juan, the fan of Joans novels), but that's it. Luckily for all of us, Grant released it on its own, along with a video.

Not that's classic '80s romance.

Piping hot!

If it's not Scottish, it's crap!
Mike Myers

They're the Red Hot Chilli Pipers. No, that's not a typo, and yes, they're Scots. Check them out:

They gave an impromptu performance in the crowd on the Today Show this morning. I just had to google them.

The Lord of the Rings Soundtracks

I am going to blow the horn of Rohan, and give them all some music they have never heard before.


Merry
The Return of the King
by J.R.R. Tolkien

I've been saying for years that I wanted to get the soundtracks to the Lord of the Rings films. I finally borrowed the first two from the library. I'm not an expert on classical music or film scores, but I think Howard Shores compositions stand as great works in their own right. I haven't stopped listening to them.

The soundtrack to The Fellowship of the Ring won the Original Score Oscar. I remember a 2002 NPR segment calling Shore the "dark horse" nominee, in part because he was up against not one but two works of Oscar juggernaut John Williams (Jaws, Star Wars), including the Harry Potter score. The Two Towers was overlooked entirely, robbed if you ask me, but The Return of the King won both Original Score and Original Song.

I don't know what I like about this music. I love films, that's definitely part of it, but not all of it. It certainly has great themes stick in your head. The Rohan theme, usually played on a violin, and the Hobbit theme, often on recorder, are examples. There is also the main theme you hear during those sweeping panoramic shots of the Fellowship heading south. There are also haunting elements that capture mystery of the elves and the melancholy of Frodo's self-sacrifice so well.

I guess what I'm saying is that the music conveys the emotions of the story so well, even on its own. That is what has me hooked on them. I don't know where you stand on film scores, but you should give these a listen (if you haven't already).

Is Net Radio the Future?

Transmitter!
Oh! picking up something good
Hey, radio head!
The sound...of a brand-new world.
Talking Heads

Awhile ago I mentioned that I've been listening to YRock on XPN. I still am, and recently I found something pretty cool. I have a Windows Mobile phone with Internet access. Out of curiosity I the listening YRock, and I was able to play the high speed stream reliably. What's more, it sounded great on the little ear buds that come with the phone. It's like a little Net Radio walkman I can use almost anywhere. This gets me thinking, is Net Radio the real future of radio?

The obvious alternatives are satellite and HD. However neither format's future seems secure. Broadcasters are really pushing HD as the successor to FM. Despite the big push, I think the jury is still way out. As for satellite radio, clearly people are buying it, but Sirius and XM are still losing money. They justify their proposed merger, in part, with the assertion that a satellite radio monopoly is the only way to keep the format alive. That's not a ringing endorsement of the technology.

Net Radio has a lot of pluses. It doesn't lock the consumer into a single provider like satellite does. It's more like traditional FM and HD in that respect, which is would seem to be a plus for broadcasters - they don't need to negotiate with provider holding a monopoly. Unlike FM/HD, they have virtually unlimited range. If you have broadband Internet, you can receive their signal. Therein lies the rub. Net Radio requires broadband access, and most of us need to pay for broadband. It will cost you even more if you want it on a mobile device like a phone.

Nonetheless, the broadband market penetration continues to rise even as the price of bandwidth decreases. Even the price of mobile broadband has gone down, and coverage steadily improves. At this rate, it won't be long before incremental cost mobile broadband will be less than the monthly cost of satellite radio (if not already). Other services like telephone and video are also moving online. There has to be a tipping point where broadband will be like cable TV or even telephone, and everyone will have it. At that point, what chance to other formats have against Net Radio?

No Internet media discussion is complete without mentioning podcasts. Personally, I don't see podcasts as a threat to the live radio format. Podcasting is great for downloading new/talk shows (e.g. Fresh Air, This American Life, Marketplace, etc.) and music shows (e.g. World Cafe or Echoes). It's not a great format to replace on-air or satellite radio, because most people don't want to pre-download that material for later playback and the recording industry would be too fearful. Assuming you can access the online stream, Net Radio is a much better fit.

Satellite radio scares broadcasters because it threatens to render local stations obsolete. Net Radio, however, does the opposite. Radio stations will no longer be bound by the size of their transmitter or the geography of their location. Local stations can reach their listeners even when they're travelling. Of course some stations will probably fail when faced with so many competitors. Still, a wider audience means you can find success by specializing. Niche market stations would become more viable because they can find enough subscribers among a worldwide audience.

This should bode well for broadcasters and listeners alike.

Update: I mistakenly typed XD instead of HD. I've fixed it. Thanks to Rob for spotting my mistake.

Who let the Macarena in the house?

Girls just want to have fun.
Cyndi Lauper

I was making dinner last night, and the children put on some music. Not only was it Cyndi Lauper, but my oldest was singing along. She knew all the words. This was a surprise for me, since I didn't know we even owned anything by Cyndi Lauper*.

Turns out this was a mix-CD someone gave us, a collection of "slumber party songs," or something like that. Mostly it's what you'd expect. Glora Estefan's "Conga" and "The Rhythm is Gonna Get You," for example, and "Walkin' on Sunshine" (not the Katrina and the Waves version, unfortunately**). There were some hip selections, like REM's "Stand," and a few unexpected choices, most notably the Frankie Goes to Hollywood standard, "Relax" (maybe it's the song's inclusion in Body Double, but I just never saw this a slumber party material).

Then there was the song I knew must be coming but hoped against. Even with the tell-tale opening riff, there was the faint hope that this would be a parody version or maybe the one from Sesame Street. Alas, no, it was Los del Río's original "Macarena." Luckily it was not the Bayside Boys remix with added English lyrics. My kids don't need to sing along with her cheating on her boyfriend because he was "out of town and his two friends were sooo fine." No thanks.

Wow, don't I sound like the grumpy parent? "Don't want my child listening to that music! Stuff kids listen to these days!" Oh well. Some things can't be helped.

For the record, I didn't make them turn it off or even down. Even when the Rednex dance remix of "Cotton Eyed Joe" came on, though an ice pick in the forehead was sounding pretty good right about then....

*For the record, I don't have anything against her. "True Colors" and "Time After Time" are great songs that I enjoy listening to - just not enough to go out and buy them.

**I always liked this song. There, I've said it.

On the White Stripes bandwagon

Everyone knows about it
From the Queen of England to the hounds of hell

The White Stripes

Okay, I know I'm arriving late for this party. The White Stripes grammy-winning album Elephant came out in 2003, and I've only just gotten it. Unfortunately, most music I purchase these days is new material by artists already in my collection. That can get kind of stale, so I do try to branch out.

I told Sharon a while back that I've thought about getting something by the White Stripes - I always the songs I hear by them. She oblidged by giving me Elephant and Get Behind Me Satan for my birthday. I totally dig both of them. It's a good thing I have them at work because Sharon would be getting sick of them right about now. That's how much I've been playing them. I am bopping my head at this moment to the "My Doorbell." I see more White Stripes purchases in my future.

Oh yeah, I looked up the video for "The Hardest Button to Button" and now I get the reference in this Simpsons clip:

Net radio in danger

Lights out guerilla Radio
Turn that shit up
It has to start somewhere
It has to start sometime
What better place than here
What better time than now
Rage Against the Machine

I've started listenning to YRock on XPN at work. Whenever you first launch the stream, you get a message encouraging you to visit SaveNetRadio.org. Here's the deal: the Copyright Royalty Board (CRB), which oversees sound recording royalties paid by Internet radio services, increased Internet radio's royalty burden by 300 to 1200. Most Internet radio stations won't be able to afford this and will either go offline, or be forced into deals with record companies giving them control of programming content. Particularly unfair is that Internet radio royalties are already twice that of sattelite radio.

I have to admit, I was totally oblivious to this issue until now. I even missed the day of silence when all Internet radio stations went intentionally dark. *Rob did put up a post about this issue as it pertains to podsafe music. Check it out.

Also, check out SaveNetRadio to learn more.

Rediscovered: Black Crowes - Shake Your Money Maker

Clean as a whistle
Smellin' like a rose
The Black Crowes
"Twice as Hard"

Over a year ago I posted the first of what was to be a series of posts titled "Rediscovered!" These posts would be to highlight music I neglected for a long time that I've recently listened to again, recalling why I liked them so much. So today I am rediscovering the "Rediscovered!" series on my blog. A recent post on Jeri Smith-Ready's blog mentioned The Black Crowes' Shake Your Money Maker, an album I hadn't played in a year or more until last week. What a great album this is.

The first track is "Twice as Hard," whose openning guitar chords you cannot help but play loud. They set the tone for the entire albumn, informing the listenner that there will be no fancy effects, overdubbing, or digital magic. The guitar and drums are clean and tight, the vocals raw, and the only sound effect you'll find is a car crash at the beginning of "Thick and Thin."

The heart and soul of Shake Your Money Maker are the guitar/vocal combination of brothers Rich and Chris Robinson. The percussion is firm and precise - never over the top - and really comes through on songs like "Jealous Again" and their cover of the Otis Redding's "Hard to Handle." Piano and organ riffs add some extra depth on tracks like "Sister Luck" and the stand-out "She Talks to Angels."

My last rediscovered album was a collection of b-sides and outtakes, and it maybe wasn't such a surprise that it sank below my RADAR and gathered some dust. Shake Your Money Maker is none of that, and I don't know why I left it alone so long.

You shone like the sun

Nobody knows where you are, how near or how far.
Shine on you crazy diamond.
Pile on many more layers and I'll be joining you there.
Shine on you crazy diamond.
Pink Floyd
"Shine on You Crazy Diamond"

Syd Barret died several days ago, quietly ending what had become the very quiet life Pink Floyd's founding guitarist. His death was reported today by the AP. There were few details, the announcement coming from a spokesperson for the band.

OUTA SIGHT!

Heavy decibels are playing on my guitar
We got vibrations coming up from the floor
We're just listening to the rock that's giving too much noise
Are you deaf, you wanna hear some more
AC/DC

How can listen to AC/DC's Back in Black and not air guitar? I'm just sayin'....

"Forget about the check. We'll get hell to pay!" How can you beat lines like that?

Rediscovered! REM - Dead Letter Office

I suppose if we had any shame we would have never allowed this little gem to see the light of day.
Peter Buck

Often lately I find myself at a loss for what to post. I've decided I need a few recurring themes I can fall back on when nothing else strikes me. To that end, here is the first in what I hope will be an ongoing series titled "Rediscovered!" Every so often, I dig a CD out of our collection and say, "I haven't listened to this in ages." Then I rip it, fire up the long neglected tracks, and remember why I liked them so much.

So, I figured I'd highlight some of this rediscovered music and talk about it a little. As the title says, today's rediscovered album is REM's Dead Letter Office. I dug this out after Jeri posted a Megashuffle that included "Ages of You," the second song on the second side (when there were such things as sides). The album is an apropos choice in that the album itself is a collection of dusted-off rarities and b-sides from their days at IRS records. Most bands put out one of these collections at some point. This came out as REM made the switch to the Warner label.

Not everyone likes rarity collections, and often you need to be a fan to appreciate this type of work. I think material Dead Letter Office is stronger than what you'll find on the average collection. There are several decent covers, including three of Velvet Underground songs ("There She Goes Again," "Pale Blue Eyes," and "Femme Fatale") and one of Aerosmith's "Toys in the Attic." Then there's the cover of Roger Miller's "King of the Road," the song REM guitarist Peter Buck is talking about in the quote above, taken from his liner notes.

While I'm on that subject, Peter Buck's liner notes are one of the particular treasures of this album. They're have a dry, often self-deprecating humor to them. Of "King of the Road," Buck goes on to say that, "If there was any justice in the world, Roger Miller should be able to sue for what we did to this song." They also provide insight into the band's musical influences, and they capture the pure fun they were having. (You can find the liner notes when you click on Dead Letter Office in the discography section of REM's web site.)

In addition to the covers, there are several straight-up songs reminiscent of REM's early years. "Ages of You," which I mentioned earlier, "Burning Down" and "Crazy" fit this build. Once track, "Burning Hell" is something of a window into the distorted guitars and growling vocals of REM's future work on albums like Monster. There are a couple catchy instrumentals, my favorite being the surf-rockin' "White Tornado." And of course, there's "Voice of Harold," where Michael Stipe sings the liner notes of a gospel album over the backing track of Reckoning's "Seven Chinese Brothers." That song is, a its "lyrics" proclaim, "A must!"

One last observation, then I'll call it quits and publish.... A nice thing about rediscovering an album is that you might find something you never noticed before. That happened with Dead Letter Office. Early on in "King of the Road" you can hear Mike Mills shouting in the background. I always though he was shouting along with the song, or saying "yeah!" or "yee-haw" of something. I'm not pretty sure what he is shouting out the chord changes, something I've seen bands do often when working out a new song.

This won't work with that

Conceit is incompatible with understanding.
Leo Nikolaevich Tolstoy

And Apple's DRM is incompatible with Microsoft's DRM.

Digital Rights Management is how digital media vendors are attempting to protect copyrights. In the latest incarnation of VHS vs. Betamax, two competing DRM implementations have arisen. Microsoft is pushing their WMA format and every digital media vendor supports it. Everyone, that is, except Apple, who has their own AAC format that is only available on Apple's iTunes. This is, of course, no surprise, but it's what's got me peeved right now, because I'm getting burned by the incompatible formats.

Compatibility is what drove my purchase of the iPod in the first place. Apple and BMW joined forces to create an adapter that allows you to plug your iPod in to your car, but control it through the factory stereo. Since BMW owns MINI, this option would be available on my Cooper and I went for it. I was a little dubious on the iPod because of Apple's history of locking you into proprietary technology, but I went for it. (I did make sure to rip all my music as regular MP3, so I can play it anywhere.)

Well, now I'm getting burned by the format war. My public library signed on with a statewide service that allows cardholders to download audio books. You check them out, just like a library book, and you have a limited period in which to listen to them before you have to release them. This is accomplished by using a time-limited license on the audio files you download, or in other words, with DRM. Of course, they use Microsoft's DRM. So iPod users can't use their service.

I'm annoyed at everyone in this situation. I'm annoyed at Apple for the way they resist standard formats in favor of locking you into their hardware. I'm annoyed at Microsoft for their monolithic approach to DRM, strong arming the industry. I'm annoyed at the software company behind this audiobook service for shutting out the largest segment of digital music players.

Meanwhile, I'm stuck forking over another $15 to Audible for a service I should be getting for free. Oh, yeah, I'm annoyed at Audible because they don't have Anne McCaffrey's Dragonriders of Pern books.

I'm just annoyed....

Bullet in a Bible

I've got a bullet that's stuck in a Bible
Curator at the Imperial War Museum in London

I got Green Day's Bullet in a Bible for Christmas. It's a two-disc set. One disc is a two-hour concert film, the other is the concert CD. I've seen a few reviews of this, and they tend to fall into two categories.

This review typifies the first category. The reviewer starts out by trashing American Idiot as "punk rock lip service" before going after Bullet in a Bible as proof of their sell-out status. It's the common complaint leveled at alternative artists when they find success or seek to expand the boundries of their musical style. Green Day did both and this reviewer could accept neither.

At the other end of the spectrum is this review. Everything the previous review saw as signs of Green Day's artistic demise this review sees as a sign of their greatness. The reviewer loved American Idiot which they found intelligent and ambitious. It's no surprise, then, that they loved Bullet in a Bible, ate it up actually.

I was not quite so ecstatic, myself. The performances on Bullet in a Bible are solid and will enjoy a steadily increasing play count on my iPod. The different segments between the performances on the DVD are standard concert-file fare. That's not a slam, mind you. There's a nice matter-of-fact honesty in their comments, particularly those of Billie Joe Armstrong and Mike Dirnt (Tre Cool is more comic relief). Some of the bits might be a bit over-dramatic, like their visit to the Imperial War Museum, but on balance it's good stuff. The only other nit I could pick is Billie Joe's constant shouts of "ENGLAND!" and "HEY-YO" to the crowd, but then, the crowd was into it and that's why they were there.

In all, if you like Green Day and concert films, you'll like Bullet in a Bible. I like both, so I like this. Now if only someone would put out a DVD of their VH1 Storytellers appearance.

Riding music

They're my theme music. Every hero's got to have some.
Jack Spade
I'm Gonna Git You, Sucka

One of the nice things about riding the stationary bike is my iPod. I don't use it when I'm out on my bicycle, as I like to hear the car before I can taste its hood ornament. Besides, there's stuff to look at and enjoy in an outdoor ride. The view in my basement is kind of limited.

I've been trying out different albums and artists, looking for good exercise music. This is music that helps me keep pace and push harder. So, following is something not entirely unlike Jeri's Megashuffle, my commented exercise music album list.

Soundtrack to The Matrix: This was a no-brainer, really. You've probably seen the film, so you know the music has plenty of energy to keep you going.

"Sehnsucht" by Rammstein: Their self-described musical style is Tanz-Metall ("Dance Metal"). I bought this because I liked "Du Hast", and I wasn't disappointed. Also, its German lyrics mean I'm less likely to sing along, which can be difficult while exercising.

"In Your Honor" (Disc 1) by Foo Fighters: This, their latest, is an excellent album. It's a double-disc album, with all the hard stuff on the first disc and the slow stuff on the second. The tempo of a few songs is a little slower than I'd like, but it makes up for it in power.

"Guero" by Beck: I think this is Beck's best effort to date. This is one of those CDs I played to death when I got it. It works well for exercising, but I had to skip "Broken Drum" because it was just to plodding. I also didn't make it "Farewell Ride" before I stopped. It's title is vaguely apropos, but it's way to slow.

"Party Mix!" by the B-52's: This was an EP with danced-up versions of material from their first two albums, songs like "52 Girls" and "Private Idaho." This is one of the best so far for pacing. It also turned out to be a really good match for one of the programs on the bike - when you hit the really hard part, "Lava" starts with a beat that is just a little slower.

"Substance 1987" by New Order: More remixes, this time on the class New Order compilation. It's a long album, so it was a good choice when I decided to lengthen my ride to 45 minutes.

"Music for the Masses" by Depeche Mode: Not a bad start on this one, but there were too many slow points. Slow plodding melodies from Depeche Mode? Who woulda thunk.

"Comfort Eagle" by Cake: You might not think this works, but it does. It's all in the beat, I think. This was another one that meshed with the program I picked on the bike. "Comfort Eagle" came up right during the final push.

"American Idiot" by Green Day: This is an example of pure power trumping any tempo issue. Plenty of fast beats there, to be sure, but even when there isn't, there is enough drive to keep you those pedals turning.

"Dookie" by Green Day: I don't know why I didn't see this one sooner. Every now and then I forget how great this album is. It doesn't slow down until track eleven ("When I Come Around"), and then only barely.

Other candidate albums mostly have the same issues as "Music for the Masses" - too many slow spots. It's probably time for some playlists. There are plenty of great songs for exercise, even if the whole album doesn't fit. "Immigrant's Song" and "Run Like Hell" work well, even if "Since I've Been Loving You" and "Waiting for the Worms" don't.

Well, I don't know how relevent this analysis is to anyone, but there you go.

Check out my new weapon

Don't be shocked by the tone of my voice
Check out my new weapon, weapon of choice
Fatboy Slim

I was listenning to some Fatboy Slim, and it got me looking for the classic video for "Weapon of Choice" that stars Christopher Walken. I found it.

I also found a stick figure version.

Shine on you crazy diamond

You know that I care what happens to you
And I know that you care for me
So I don't feel alone
Of the weight of the stone
Now that I've found somewhere safe
To bury my bone
And any fool knows a dog needs a home
A shelter from pigs on the wing
Pink Floyd

I finally managed to watch a video of the the Pink Floyd set at Live 8 (streaming, without the annoying MTV commercial breaks I heard about). Roger Waters, David Gilmour, Nick Mason, and Richard Wright played together for the first time since 1981. The guys didn't sound half bad.

Comfortably Numb was the song I really wanted to hear. I think it suffered most from the absence of Gilmour or Waters. Any live version sounded wrong because because half the vocals weren't the voice I wanted to hear. Wish You Were hear suffered the same problem, although to a lesser extent, and it was good to hear that too.

It was nice to see them up there together playing some of my favorite songs. There were several points where the camera caught band members making eye contact with one another. Mostly it was Waters or Gilmour looking back at Mason. I know I'm looking through a fan's eyes here, but they seemed to exchange this little knowing look, as if to say, "You're right, this is cool."

There was a nice moment at then end, with the four of them standing together thanking the crowd. You've probably seen the photo. They all seem genuinely happy they're there together. I hope they were. I was.