Check this guy out- or at least the track. Don’t know who produced it, but it’s mad fresh.
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I don’t know how many countless other people have thought about what would make a better iPod(or at least what Apple might do next), but I have a few suggestions that I think would serve to change even more how we interact and listen to music.
1. Twist Mash-Up Creator- Imagine being able to pick two songs on your iPod and have the software automatically isolate the vocal and instrument parts, and have you be able to mix them together? I think it would be a pretty cool feature, and fun to do on the fly. I think now their software is good enough to
2. Go-To Artist Function Within A Playlist- I feel like this is a common-sense feature that is conspicuously missing from the iPod software. I shouldn’t have to go back to my music, then pick artist and then pick their album.
3. Karaoke-Style Lyric Scrolling- I barely do look at the lyrics on my iPod, and most people don’t even know they’re there. I think if Apple came out with a way for the lyrics to scroll along with the song, it would make it much easier and more interesting to follow the lyrics.
4. Inclusion of Transition-Metal Hydride Electrochromics- Electrochromic glass is really cool because it’s transparent until you put an electric current through it. New transition-metal hydride electrochromics means that the back of the iPod could be shiny like it is now, and then selectively made transparent, and maybe have colors or white behind it to possibly give people a cool way to customize it. Video of transition-metal hydride electrochromics in action:
5. Dual Headphone Jacks. I know it’s simple and it may sound lame, but I bet the feature would be very popular. I’ve always wanted to share my iPod with someone else on a long trip, but you always have to share earbuds! I think it makes a lot of sense and the technology is there to only power it if something is plugged in, so battery life will be preserved.
What do you think would be useful/fun for the iPod(besides the ability to levitate and spit flames)?
I’ve had the same band for over a year now, and I must say it’s hard. It’s hard getting everyone together, it’s hard to find cheap places to practice, it’s hard to get things recorded. Then of course, even if you get some opportunity, the whole band has to agree on it. In some ways, having a band is like having a start-up company. Here are the three things that must be kept in mind at all times in order to succeed(as a band or as a start-up):
1. Be Persistent. In order to be successful, you need to practice at any cost. In high school, Bill Gates would sneak out of his house from 3-6 AM to walk to the University of Washington to program on the computer there with Paul Allen, because it was the only time no one was using it, and back then that was about the only place that even had a computer. It may get annoying at times, but it’s very easy to slack off and forget about practices or convince yourself you don’t have time to organize a show. No matter how weird the time is, find a consistent time where you can all practice, even if it happens to be a Sunday morning(for one of my bands that’s what works).
2. Get Your Feet Wet As Soon As Possible. I’ve met too many good musicians who think they aren’t good enough to go out and play a show, or are waiting until it sounds “perfect”. Of course, in most cases, that time never comes, and by the time you think you have something you’re forty with a kid and a house, and definitely can’t take a chance. Dive in, because you’ll learn more as you go than waiting around and “honing” your sound.
3. Don’t Forget Marketing! I have too many friends who have incredible bands, but couldn’t sell themselves even if you stuck their hand in a waffle iron. Now, I don’t mean that bands should do anything to change their image or sound; what I mean is they need pictures, they need artwork, they need to promote. Usually there’s at least one guy in a band who can draw. Actually scratch that, it’s probably better to get the guy who can’t draw to figure out the flyer, he’ll probably be more creative with it. Either way, just making good music is the beginning; after that, you need to always think of new ways to get people to find out and interact with your band. That may mean a MySpace page, a website, a Facebook group, a mailing list- anything that people can do to connect after a show, or listening to your music.
Amanda Palmer’s album came out last September, but I only just got it. You should listen to it! She has an incredible voice, can play piano beautifully, and her new album is produced by Ben Folds(who is a string-genius)! I would highly recommend a free listen of the whole album at Bandcamp.com, which, by the way, is a great new service for musicians looking to get their music out there. You can also buy her stuff at Amazon, for a whole 50 cents cheaper than on iTunes! Way to stick it to the man, you vigilante.
I know I usually talk about recording and music technology, but I wanted to take the time to showcase a band that needs to be discovered.
Breathe Owl Breathe is a new, small band made up of Micah Middaugh, Andrea Moreno-Beals, and Trevor Hobbes. Originally just Micah and Andrea, the band has expanded with Trevor on drums and other fancy instruments. Micah usually sings and plays guitar or banjo, while Andrea usually plays cello, sometimes sings and plays other things.
Basically, if you like laid-back acoustic guitar with cello and occasional drums, you can relate to this music. I like to listen to it in the morning, or traveling because it makes me feel like I’m on a journey.
Here’s a few of my favorite tracks:
Mixtape from http://favtape.com/eartothenoise/Breathe Owl Breathe
The player is from Favtape.com, a really useful website now that Muxtape was shutdown(but is reopening soon). If you want to listen to music or your own playlists on the web without much hassle, check it out!
sorry, this isn’t about EARS or MUSIC, but it is AWESOME.
so procrastinate. stop doing work. watch this.
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>> 60 second podcast of “Hearing Sound When There is None.”
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Related: I like listening to NPR Hmmm…. by Rober Krulwich. Last December he did a piece called “Who Is Singing Me Lullabies?” Listen here: Who is Singing Me Lullabies?
or
Read:
Krulwich told of a woman who began to hear music in her head. It began when she was in her 80s, asleep in her nursing home. She hears a female voice singing her Irish ballads in a dream. There are three distinct ballads, all familiar, but she doesn’t know any of them. When she wakes from her dream the last ballad is still playing. It’s so loud that she thinks it must be coming from a radio, but after searching around she finds everyone asleep and not a radio on. When Oliver Sacks meets her, the music is still playing and is now so loud that he has to yell over it to consult her. An EEG revealed that she wasn’t imagining the noises, there was clear activity in her right temporal lobe (this is where music is perceived/hallucinated) and this produced the music in her head. She is originally from Ireland, but both her parents died by the time she was 5 and then she was sent to America and she remembers neither her parents. The theory is that that voice is her mothers. Or at least it’s comforting for her to think it is. With time the music got weaker and weaker and then it just disappeared as randomly as it had come. And now the noise that first tortured her, she misses.
(Story is also recounted in Musicophilia by Oliver Sacks)
Even though you may not always notice it, music lives in a certain 3D space, even with stereo(most people think it’s only with surround sound). When you listen on headphones it’s the most apparent, where sometimes you hear only the guitar or a voice in one ear. Back in the 70s, when audio was recorded to tape, they did one ear at a time. That’s why you’ll notice on Beatles recordings or most any other classic rock hit, the drums are usually only in one ear, because they were recorded on one tape and not the other. You can also find some interesting recordings in classics like Chicago’s 25 or 6 to 4. If you listen, you’ll find that they actually recorded two separate drum tracks, one in each ear.
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Nowadays, with digital recording, the mono track is converted into stereo and can be panned either way so that the artist can put everything in it’s right place. These new options give the artist the ability to create a real environment, and when recording you probably want to keep a balanced feel, unless of course you want to emphasize the 3D space.
Look into the eyes of this man, you guys, because he is SO SAD. What do you think lead up to that picture? What do you think he was listening to on those headphones? I’m imagining he had them hooked up to the new Jonas Brothers record in an attempt to figure out if his daughter’s infatuation with Nick Jonas has more to do with his music or his plump, caring lips (no-brainer!). So after like 4 or 5 excruciating tracks, the photographer comes in the room to do some press photos. Ron slowly removes the headphones from his ears as he lets out a long sigh (classic Sexsmith) and tells the photographer, “There is no God.” Click!
But seriously, Ron is the man. Listen to this song:
So thug. His stuff is just so simple and calculated and really powerful. As much as I hate to admit it, I get caught up in always trying to find the new, cool thing. I get stuck in a mindset that only frustrated 22 year olds can sing things I can relate to but hey: every once in a while you have to stop being so cool and hip (it’s tough, I know!) and see what people who lived through things like the 1973 Oil Crisis or the Super Bowl Shuffle have to say about the world and love and stuff. Mr. Sexsmith is totally that guy. It sounds like he’s been through it all - a lot of heartbreak included - but he’s still plugging away, crafting these incredible songs which is why RonSex is THE MAN.
The ability to listen to music while working, as everyone knows, varies widely between people. I work much better while listening to music, in fact I have designated mixes which I simply can’t do work without (some college friends may recall a period of several weeks first semester when I could not concentrate unless I was listening to Elliott Smith). Meanwhile plenty of people are completely distracted if there is any music whatsoever.
For the final two weeks of summer vacation I have been observing neurosurgical procedures at Columbia Presbyterian as part of my premed endeavors. The environment in the operating rooms is, as you might expect, usually quite serious and intent. So I was quite surprised last week when I entered one of the operating rooms to the sounds of the Bee-Gee’s and the sight of a man having a thoracic screw fixation (screws to support a degenerative spine). One of the surgeons apparently feels he works much better with music, and has it playing during all his procedures. He even had a special ipod player mounted in the corner of the operating room. At first this struck me as pretty unprofessional. The music being played is not the calming classical music you might expect to hear in an operating room. Everything from Stone Temple Pilots to Jay-Z to Pearl Jam was on the surgery mix (yes, apparently there are designated surgery mixes which, according to one of the residents, is remarkably similar to the surgeon’s “softball mix”). I seemed to notice more 70’s stuff during the fairly prolonged and tedious spinal surgery vs. more modern music during a tumor removal, though this might be coincidental.
Also included was what the surgeon described as some of the more “relaxing” 50 cent tracks. When Amy Winehouse’s popular song about rehab came on in the middle of a craniotomy (open brain surgery), the following conversation ensued:
Med student: Do you think she [Winehouse] is really a crack head?
Surgeon: No, not a crack head, but she definitely is doing some crazy (expletive)… Suction…
As I mentioned, at first this seemed quite unprofessional given the high stakes and necessity of precision involved. But what I realized as time went on is that the ability of everyone in the room to do their jobs accurately, attentively, and with minimal stress was clearly enhanced with the music. In a job where up to 11 years of specialized training are required, the risk of stress or boredom (procedures can be quite repetitive) is much greater than the risk of a procedural error. Music, at least for some surgeons, serves as a non-trivial contributor to a focused, relatively lower-stress, and attentive work environment.
Oren Brecher
