Fri, 30 Mar 2007

What? You need more? Okay, it's like this. I really used to like Dayenu; it was a small part of my favorite holiday. But not like this; it's like somebody heard Popcorn, and decided to suck all the air out of it.

But all is not lost. Maybe if I listen to a surf version I'll feel better. Swing might be nice. Reggae; that kinda works. Heck, I can even accept hip-hop. See, that's how you do it.

Fri, 05 Jan 2007

Mon, 13 Nov 2006

I've spend more than my share of time and energy writing programs to generate Mandelbrot images, as well as enjoying those produced by others. It's the repeating but never quite identical nature of the Mandelbrot set that makes it so addictive. And so it is with this Mandelbrot Set, which, if not quite so endlessly fascinating as their namesake, do manage to produce mathematically intriguing textures. Benoit might enjoy the comparison.

Mon, 06 Nov 2006

Fri, 21 Jul 2006

Wed, 10 May 2006

But then I went off to Amazon to do a little research on Ms. Heap. And discovered that the CD version of this... uh... CD... well, you might remember the furor over Sony's Copy Prevention software debacle, where they put stuff on some of their CDs that broke people's PCs. And installed even if you refused to accept their license. And refused to uninstall. And was defended by some suit at Sony with the dubious argument that most people don't know what a rootkit is, so why should they care? (Presumably he'd make the same argument about cancer. Or high blood pressure. Or the AMT.) Anyway, turns out this was one of those destructodiscs. Which is one more reason to like the iTMS. Because no matter how you feel about DRM, at least Apple isn't trying to turn your computer into a pile of slag.

Wed, 19 Apr 2006

But to the band. Everybody Loves Irene is from Indonesia. They describe themselves as Trip-Hop, which I can't dispute since I don't know what that is. What I do know is that they have a nice and somewhat melancholy sound. And they have a blog on MySpace, where you can go do the research I'm too lazy to bother with. Oh, and they also seem to have this idea that people listen to me when it comes to music. We both know better though, don't we?

Fri, 29 Apr 2005

Although the iTMS classifies Not a Second Time as Electronic, I'd have called it New Age. Most of the tracks are gentle, pastoral. It's like Manheim Steamroller without the modern sensibility or the enthusiastic percussion. Speaking of which, when the heck are they gonna get some Fresh Aire around here?

Wed, 27 Apr 2005

When I first saw this album, I jumped to an immediate conclusion. S.H.A.D.O stands of course for Supreme Headquarters, Alien Defence Organisation, which is the fictional government body responsible for preventing alien abductions on Gerry Anderson's much loved series UFO. And the titles of the tracks on S.H.A.D.O. make it clear that its creators were thinking the same thing: Intruder Detector, Secret Location, Space Interceptors, Skydiver and Maintaining Scan for UFO's. But this isn't incidental music from the series, although it might have been; it's all atmospheric stuff, what electronic musician Namlook refers to as "ambient" music. (The quotes are Namlook's, as is the attitude on display on his label's website.)

As for the "music" (hey, if he can use quotes, why can't I?), it's hard to evaluate in 30 second snippets. But give it a try. It's certainly more interesting, and far more subtle, than Barry Gray's version of S.H.A.D.O, itself sadly missing from the iTMS.

Mon, 25 Apr 2005

Passive Aggressive is a case in point. The barely readable label on the cover announces Nicola Hitchcock as the voice of Mandalay. (Which would be useful information, assuming I had any idea who Mandalay is. Or was, in this case.) But listen to the clip of the first track, called You Will Feel Like This; it's all instrumental. Nice instrumental, but still. Ms. Hitchcock's voice shows up with three seconds to go on Moving Into a New Space and Feel.

Are they trying to torture us? Is this some "Absence makes the heart grow fonder" deal? Because from what little I've heard, it's certainly a nice voice. I guess if I want to hear more of it, I'm gonna have to buy the album.

Hey, maybe that was the idea all along...

Wed, 23 Mar 2005

Mangini and Pitrelli are two members of Trans-Siberian Orchestra, although I'm guessing they're about as Siberian as they are O'Tooles. But enough about what they aren't. What they are is jazzy and energetic and fun to listen to. Quite a change from TSO's angsy Christmas fare. Not that I'm complaining about that. To my mind, angst is a lot more true to life than the usual holly and manger stuff we get in December.

Fri, 28 Jan 2005

Do people still use that word? Or is it the kiss of death, the contemporary term for elevator music? I'd hate to show how au courant I'm not through the misuse of popular vernacular. Yeah, I know; I just did.

Thu, 21 Oct 2004