Labels: Fun, Music, videos

Walter Kitundu, one of the recipients of this year's MacArthur Grants makes some truly spectacular instruments.

This photo is of him playing his 1200 phonoharp, a mix of live and pre-recorded analogue signals. He describes it on his website as, " incredibly versatile and can sound like bass guitar, a lap steel guitar, a hammered dulcimer, a drumset, chimes... many sounds are unique to this instrument. There are many ways to play it. The built in mixer and cross-fader allows cutting and scratching with the turntable and there is even a headphone jack for cueing records."

There's many more where that came from. Tons and tons of beautifully crafted pieces. Truly stunning.

Labels: MFA, Music, Technology

Okay, I was wrong. Stanton's DaScratch is pretty darn fantastic.

Labels: MFA, Music, Technology

Is it just me, or are there actually a lot of new musical interfaces coming out recently? Maybe it's one of those perception things. Like when you worry about losing your hair and suddenly everyone you see is bald. Or, rather, like when you met your first co-worker in a wheelchair, and then there's people in wheelchairs all over the place. So innovation is like bald people in wheelchairs. Or bald wheelchairs.

Anyways, today's new interface: Stanton's Da Scratch, which Stanton claims will "change the DJ world forever." I'm not exactly sure how a virtual turntable will turn the world upside down, but we'll have to wait until tomorrow for the official unveiling to find out for sure. Maybe it will just mean less DJs with back aches. Either way, it's still pretty neat looking, and I'm so easily taken by touch sensors. And blue.

[ via create digital music ]

Labels: MFA, Music, Technology

Continuing in my fervor for all things Raymond Scott, I am very excited about On to Something the documentary about his life that his son is currently working on. It looks amazing, but, as it's not done yet, the trailer will have to do for now.

[ via music thing ]

Labels: MFA, Music, Technology

Raymond Scott is destroying my mind. He is bashing it in with a hammer and shooting it in to space. He is filling it full of dynamite and confetti, then igniting it from a short distance away to laugh and laugh as he is showered by my sparkling joy. He is the newest and brightest star in my sky of electronic musician/experimenter/inventor forefathers.

Scott (born 100 years ago today in Brooklyn, NY) built some of the earliest synthesizers in the 1960's. People said he was like a mad scientist. He invented all sort of great musical tools, including, some say, the first sequencer. He was one of Bob Moog's influences.

Check out his electronium.


That thing is hot.

Not only that, but he made amazing electronic music himself. It is fantastic. It's Brin Eno before Brian Eno. It's electronic when electronic was something new. He also collaborated on most of Jim Henson's experimental films. I just got the Manhattan Research INC collection and I cannot stop listening to it. Check out his song Lightwork from the late 50s early 60s. (If it sounds familiar, perhaps you recognize the sample from J Dilla's Donuts)



Lightwork - Raymond Scott


Pretty sweet, eh?

So, all that to say, here's to Raymond Scott, all-around musical genius and someone to look up to during this next 9 months of MFA exploration.

Labels: MFA, Music, Technology

While working on my thesis over the past few months, I've been exploring the different forms of musical expression that are possible in a synthesized environment.

Here is an experiment I did with automatically generated musique concrete. Using Max/Msp I can record 3 seconds or audio in to a buffer which then randomly moves the playhead through the recorded audio at a set speed.

I call it "When You Wish Upon a Synthesizer." This one's for all those avant-garde Disney fans out there.

Labels: MFA, Music

My copy of Nanoloop that I ordered from ebay just came. It goes nicely with my sweet Gameboy Pocket that I got a few months ago.

So far, I am super impressed with Nanoloop. I saw Bubblyfish give a talk on chiptune music a couple months back, and immediately saw how much nicer Nanoloop was to work with than LSDJ, which I had played around with a few years back. It's not nearly as powerful, but it's a great way to come up with some super fun songs. The interface is extremely easy to understand. It's easy to navigate between the different screens, and it visualy makes sense what is happening when you apply certain functions on the sound. I need to keep this in mind when developing my own interface this coming year.

Thought: It may be interesting to actually map the key commands from the Gameboy to an external device, making it more performative.

Also, a side note: I am crapping myself over that picture of Rabato's rig. Check out more at his Gameboy music site.

Labels: MFA, Music, Technology

I recently got a copy of Nicolas Collins', Handmade Electronic Music - The Art of Hardware Hacking, and I am really excited.

It is a great little exploration in the world of sound and machines. Much of the material covered, especially the earlier chapters (soldering?), I am already familiar with, but there is a great deal of fun projects in here. Ripe with possibilities! I have been feeling stone-walled with the simplistic microchip sounds I've been making (a person can only take so many square waves), so I look forward to chapters 20 - 24 with some more advanced oscillators. Hopefully Bob Moog is smiling down.

I am getting very excited about this upcoming year of school. I can't believe there's only one more year left. I want to play with electronics, music, and the internet 18 hours a day, forever.

Labels: MFA, Music, Technology

Bleep Labs released their Thingamakit last week, a D-I-Y version of the Thingamagoop, which captured my imagination earlier this year.

This comes at a perfect time since I just bought a kick-ass little robot that I justified by saying it was vintage and cool (but really had no specific use for it). That is until now. Hopefully in a few months the world will witness the rise of Thingamachat! Stay tuned.

See more photos of people's thingamakit adaptations at Bleep Labs Flickr Pool.

Labels: MFA, Music, Technology

Hello friends. I've been working on a follow up to the Begrimed & Blinking EP. It is (hopefully) near finished. Here is a taste. Enjoy!

Mouse & the Billionaire - The Fortress of Gratitude (mp3)

Labels: Music

I just realized that I have not updated my "Reading" selection in a very long time. I read "The Old Man and the Sea" on a plane ride over Easter, so it's about time I caught you all up to speed.

I won't bore you with a list of all the books we've read over the past few months, but I will tell you that my current selection, "This is Your Brain on Music," by Daniel Levetin is fascinating.

This wonderful book has a wealth of information for anyone who is interested in, as he puts it, the "science of a human obsession." In it he discusses the functions of the brain as they pertain to both music-listening and creating, and, as I begin working on my MFA thesis, I find myself continually dwelling on these ideas. Music as "organized sound." The direct mapping of pitch from the auditory cortex to your brain. (Neurons in your brain fire at the exact frequencies of sound you hear!) Does 10,000 hours of practice really make a virtuoso? These questions and more will certainly effect the way I approach the coming year of studies. So, heads up, it's about to get real nerdy around here for the next 9 months.

Labels: Books, MFA, Music

The Trons are robots. They might not play with a lot of heart, but they're better than a lot of bands I've heard on the Sunset strip.

Labels: Fun, MFA, Music

The Old Deluder Satan Law is alive and well.

We were sidetracked by teaching, learning, editing, graduating, moving, bleeping, booping, sleeping, breaking our arms, losing our cool, relocating, having babies, getting married, making new friends, leaving old ones, drinking cold ones, making hot buns, eating pasta, brewing beer, painting deer, facing fears, climbing mountains, hiking trails, chasing tail, feeling ill, and building stills.

Then Jayson helped remind us all of our hopes and dreams: namely, to record a collaborative album with as many people as possible.

So, ladies and gentlemen, behold: The mixed and final version of Green, Green, Green by the Old Deluder Satan Law [mp3]

Please.

Enjoy.

Labels: Music, Projects

James Houston remixes Radiohead's Nude with a Sinclair ZX Spectrum, Epson LX-81 Dot Matrix Printer, HP Scanjet 3c, and an array of hard drive arrays. This is what nerd heaven looks like. The action starts in at 1:10. Watch it!


Big Ideas (Don't get any) from 1030 on Vimeo.

[via waxy]

Labels: Music, Technology, videos

With the semester (and the first year of grad school for that matter) recently finished, I can turn my attention back on things that really matter... like recording cover songs.

Today I pay homage to one of the greatest songwriters of the modern era.

Give it a listen

Enjoy.

Labels: Mouse and the Billionaire Karaoke, Music

Hey there.

Let's cut through the riff-raff. You want to know what's going on with us? We want to tell you. Let's make this happen. First, you should know that we received perhaps our final snow of the season this weekend. It wise nice to see a little bit of the old powder before it starts warming up.

I've been old-schooling the new school, taking the little snippets of code out on the blacktop and destroying them in a rowdy game of 3-on-3. This semester is amazing, and all of my classes are pretty darn fantastic. If you want, check 'em out. Design & Education / Max/Msp 2 / Compuation Major Studio / Physical Computing / and the oft-mentioned Magic++. I've also updated the links page to include some of my CDT buddies. Enjoy!

The cocktail-making business is A-plus. Nathan "The Gentleman" Dumas has taken me under his wing, ferrying me on quests and bestowing on me the classic literatures of years past. We've filmed a new Cocktail Kitchen, and I hope to have it up by the end of the week.

We went to the opening of the Michel Gondry "Be Kind Rewind" exhibit at Deitch a few weekends ago. Very playful and light-hearted stuff here, almost like being allowed entry into one of his music videos. If you're in New York, you should swing by and give it glimpse. Make a movie there if you have time.

And, towards the future: this weekend we and the Lami graws will take Philly by storm. There will be amazing times, and there will be pictures posted. We promise (fingers crossed).

Well, we're out of time. Thanks for chatting with us for a bit. We hope everything in your neck of the woods is top notch, and let's talk more soon.

Cheers!

Labels: Fun, Life, Music, School

The Car Music Project, under Bill Milbrodt, has turned a 2008 Ford Focus into 31 different musical instruments for a recent commercial.

Apparently they are fully functioning instruments, and certainly they are awesome.

Watch for yourself.



[via]

Labels: Fun, Music, Technology

Yo. I'm going to be playing some Folk Hip-Hop music on February 26th at Chinatown's 169 Bar. Y'all should come by at 10 o'clock EST and make me more nervous.

Labels: Music

Here's what I have to look forward to tonight.

Labels: Life, Music

Sleevage is my new favorite blog.

Every day or so a beautiful record cover is posted along with discussions on fonts, interviews with the designers, alternative comps, and more.

The artwork ranges from the 60's to current releases, though I'm hoping they start working their way back to the 50's as it progresses.

They are also currently looking for writers, and I know you all like to write about music, so why not give them a shout.

Labels: Design, Music

I'm pretty sure that I had never seen the full version of the Martin Scorcese / Michael Jackson "Bad" opus until last night.

I'm also pretty sure that Michael Jackson is not bad. At least, not in the way he's claiming to be.

Labels: Music

Micah's recent post reminded me of this thing I did a few years back. I just found it the other day. It's pretty entertaining if you've got 15 minutes to kill. Give it a listen.

Rich Richards - Live at the Concert Place (mp3)

Labels: Fun, Music

This is my favorite thing right now. YouTube user St. Sanders takes footage of classic guitar fantasticos and overdubs them with lame noodling. It took me a while to figure it out. This Eric Clapton one is fantastic.



[via]

Labels: Fun, Music

Finally, after 3 weeks of waiting, we can use the internet at our house.

I will now celebrate by reading It Was 40 10 Years Ago Today: 18 Reasons 1997 Might Be The Next 1967 from the Onion A/V Club.

I will also make sure to watch all of the wonderful accompanying videos.

Then I will and pat myself on the back for actually being alive for what might, in hindsight, look like a musical revolution.

What fun!

Labels: Life, Music

Make sure to check out this beautiful trailer for the new movie Heima, featuring Sigur Ros.

Labels: Film, Music

Labels: Fun, Life, Music

Look to your right. That's what we've been working on this week. Hope you like it.

Labels: Mixtapes, Music

I love bad album covers.

For that matter, I love bad albums too.

Mrs. Mills and her invitation to party is as-good-as-guaranteed to be both. She's working hard to make sure the party is a success. The candles are almost burned down to the wick. She has clearly been writing the night away, addressing, stamping, and sealing your personalized invitation. But all that work won't get her down. She is still as happy as a newborn babe. Just the thought of you attending her socially awkward party is music to her ears.

Check out the bad album cover flickr pool. There are some real gems in there. But be forewarned, some of them are not safe for work.

Any favorite bad album covers of yours that aren't included in the mix?

Labels: Music

In our preverse tradition of turning formerly upbeat and enjoyable songs in to sad bastard music, I present ...

Mouse & the Billionaire - Livin’ Thing (ELO Cover) mp3.

Enjoy.

Labels: Mouse and the Billionaire Karaoke, Music

You can chalk it up to my love of new gadgets, music, and innovative ways to integrate both, but I’m gonna be honest with you, it’s just a damn good reason to get a Wii, or at least a WiiMote.

The Amazing Rolo has created a great new music looping system that uses the WiiMote as a controller. Through the software, the WiiMote can choose/cue loops, change pitch, velocity, etc through movement, and hopefully more through user enhancements.

Check out this video of Mr. Rolo demonstrating the software. Not too shabby. I like where this is going. Now who wants to buy me a WiiMote?

Labels: Music, Technology

"Why is it that art - music, for instance - is so living, so popular, and in reality so powerful? Because the musician or the singer affects thousands at once. Precious, precious art!" she went on, looking dreamily at the sky. "Art gives us wings and carries us far, far away! Anyone who is sick of filth, of petty, mercenary interests, anyone who is revolted, wounded, and indignant, can find peace and satisfaction in the beautiful."

- Masha in Anton Chekhov’s My Life

Labels: Music

Well, it was destined to happen. Starbucks has officially launched its own record label.

Los Angeles based Hear Music will now begin signing bands and selling the music in Starbucks stores and on iTunes. Word on the street says Starbucks has already set up a deal importing acts on the cheap from third-world countries and plans to re-package them in a more anglo-friendly way.

Via TUAW.

Labels: Music

The Rio Bravo spent all of Saturday in the studio making music.

The Beatles spent all of the 60's in the studio making history, and the new book Recording the Beatles: The Studio Equipment and Techniques Used to Create Their Classic Albums is testament to the fact.

For $100, it's one of those books that I will forever drool over and never bring myself to buy. (Along with this and this). With full chapters dedicated to EMI Abbey Road, the personnel who made it happen, mixers, outboard gear, microphones, tape machines, speakers and amps, effects, studio instruments, and more, it is guaranteed to be a dream for any music gear lover.

The book's website has some sample pages, and they are just beautiful. There's something forever magical about pictures of the Beatles in the studio, specifically the black & whites from the early years, with their high contrast black suits and ties, in stark cavernous rooms, surrounded by gorgeous equipment, often laughing.

This weekend felt like that. Without the suits, ties, or cavernous rooms, but filled with gorgeous equipment and a lot of smiles. In 50 years I'd probably pay a whole lot more than $100 for a few of those pictures.

Thanks guys.

Labels: Music

Labels: Fun, Music

I know it’s sappy. I know it’s overrated. I know that it’s a holiday based on a saint that had nothing to do with love, except perhaps losing his head (literally). I know it’s very origin is shady and it has been taken over by the companies that make gamble chocolates and greeting cards.

But we can take it back. Let’s tell someone we love them. Let’s feel good about the fact that we are loved. Let’s get to know each other a little bit better. And what better way to do that than through a little mixtape, made from me to you.

Mouse & the Billionaire Valentine’s Day Mixtape Or Fourteen for the 14th

1. Time After Time - Chet Baker mp3

This is, hands down, my favorite Chet Baker song, and probably one of my favorite songs of all time. If I could have anyone's voice it would be his. I would walk in to a club, grab a glass of scotch and the nearest microphone, and bring the entire place to tears with my smoky effortlessness.

2. Naked as We Came - Iron & Wine mp3

Sam Beam’s morbidly perfect little song about rainy mornings laying in bed and finishing off your life with the one you love gets me every time

3. You Go to My Head - Billy Holliday mp3

The idea that love intoxicates, hits you "like the kicker in a julep or two." Yeah, I buy it.

4. Steadier Footing - Death Cab for Cutie mp3

I first heard this simple, brief song a few weeks after this very thing happened to me.

5. Sea of Love - Cat Power mp3

Oh sweet Chan. Like the pied piper with an autoharp, enticing us to jump headfirst into the next relationship we find. Thanks for not letting us down.

6. La La Love You - Pixies mp3

Shake your butt, but not too hard. Indeed. This song captures the overwhelming first months of romance, where all you manage is a little whistle and maybe an "I love you" or 10.

7. Let's Pretend We're Bunny Rabbits - Magnetic Fields mp3

Err..

8. Sweetalk - Billy Collins mp3

Comparing your lover to the sunlight of Edward Hopper might seem like a bad idea, but it isn’t.

9. Words of Love - Buddy Holly mp3

Buddy's songs of new love make sense when you realize he was only 22 when he died. Imagine if he had been around to write a few more.

10. In Your Eyes - Peter Gabriel mp3

One of the most enduring images in modern cinema is trenchcoat-wearing Lloyd Dobler (John Cusack) holding up that boom-box in the rain (though I prefer Mark Ruffalo's mustachioed attempt from Safe Men).

11. Aspidistra Files - Stars mp3

"All the umbrellas in London couldn't hide my love for you." It took me three months to find this song that L. would sing throughout the day. It was worth it.

12. Save the Last Dance for Me (Demo) - Harry Nilsson mp3

I know this isn’t actually the song Jesse and Robyn had their first dance to, but it always makes me think about it. It reminds me of Robyn in a Dodger's jacket, Jesse awkwardly swaying, the oblivious smile on both of their faces, and the happy tears in my eyes.

13. I Believe (When I Fall in Love it Will Be Forever) - Stevie Wonder mp3

While this song played in the closing credits of High Fidelity (I know another John Cusack movie, I'm sorry), I realized she was not the girl for me, but that there was one out there, and I would find her.

14. More Pretty Girls Than One - Woody Guthrie mp3

And, lastly, for those who may not have someone to spend the day with today, fear not. Woody knows how you’re feeling, but he insists "There’s more pretty gals than one. More pretty gals than one. Every town I ramble ’round, more pretty gals than one."

Download the album art - pdf.

Labels: Life, Mixtapes, Music, We {Heart}...

I can't believe J didn't find this one! The ever sensitive and loving lovegodsway.com with the apparently popular title God Hates Fag has a list of bands that parents should not let their kids listen to because, obviously, listening to music can make you gay.

The list includes: Rufus Wainwright, Wilco, Cole Porter, Polyphonic Spree, The Grateful Dead, Sufjan Stevens, The Arcade Fire, Frank Sinatra, Metallica and so so so many more.

The best thing is the little notes they have on the side of some of the artists. My favorites being a) Morrissey ("Questionable") and b) Elton John (really gay).

See the full list of Gay Bands, but be careful: even one second of Fly Me to the Moon (mp3) can lead to wearing tight pink jeans and talking with a lisp.

You've been warned.

Labels: Music, Rants

Last night, after a fantastic day off and a few glasses of wine, I wrote this song for a lady-friend I have. Sappy? Yes, but I don’t care. It's almost Valentine’s day, and we all deserve a little love song.

Darlin’.mp3

Labels: Music

A few days ago, I woke up with Iggy Pop's Search and Destory rattling around in my head. Though, for some reason, I kept hearing Getz / Gilberto performing The Stooge's old classic, serving it a Mai Tai and laying it out in the sun for a few hours.

I was really curious how this would sound. So I recorded it. Fun little throw-down. Nothing serious. Pardon the peaking microphones. Something must have blown them out recently. Enjoy. I've included the original just for posterity's sake.

Search and Destory mp3 - Cover by Mouse & Brazillionaire
Search and Destroy mp3 - Iggy and the Stooges

Labels: Music

I've been sailing on a ship for 24 days. I got scurvy, and I 'aint got no oranges.

Labels: Music

This week John Moe's fabulous Pop Song Correspondences considers our favorite ballad to a forlorn band-wife from a member of a make-up smothered leather-clad rock band.

Beth, by Kiss

To: Peter Criss
From: Beth

Some highlights.

"You say you and the boys just can't find the sound. Here: loud guitars and lots of people bellowing in a not particularly melodious way. There. Done. There's your "sound." You ain't Bowie."

"Look, I swore I would never tell you this, but remember how this cat business came about? Gene was working on his demon designs, Paul was on his sci-fi kick, both were talking about how their characters reflected who they really were. So, when the suggestion was made that you dress up like "a total pussy," that was an insult. The fact that you took the idea as inspiration for a cat costume amused the other guys (and me also, to be honest) so much that no one ever let you in on the joke. Sorry."

It's true, you can practically hear the manhood running for shelter. It also slightly bends our rule that no good pop song can ever contain saxophone. Listen for yourself.

Beth - Kiss (mp3)

Labels: Music

This guy plays guitar.

No big deal you say?

Well, he plays Last Dance with Mary Jane by Tom Petty.

So can you, eh?

Well, this guy plays it and sings a the same time.

No big deal?

Well, this guy has no arms.

Beat that.

Labels: Music