Category: audio

~ Mark ~ Leave a comment

Today, a special audio edition:
-If you like British accents, the British Library lets you explore almost 700 English accents and dialects, complete with analyses. [via marylaine]

–Get your fix of old time radio. Abbot & Costello, Dick Tracy, Gunsmoke, and more. I love those old commercials: cigarettes ads beamed right to your ear. There’s another where the announcer talks about Quaker Puffed Wheat and Puffed Rice for about 2 minutes solid. [via lisnews]

–OperaCast helps you find current opera broadcasts going on across the planet, for your scheduling convenience.

-The ever-resourceful Library of Congress hosts a collection of Edison’s early cylinder and disc recordings. Check out the 12th Street Rag performed by the Imperial Marimba Band.

-The Observer suggests 50 albums that changed music. Which doesn’t necessarily mean for the better.

Anoushka Shankar: Live at Carnegie Hall (review: 3/5)

~ Mark ~ Leave a comment

This is quite a good album–a recording of Anoushka Shankar’s opening set at Carnegie Hall in 2001, before her father Ravi Shankar took the stage. Worst part first: the packaging and liner notes were a bit bland, mostly ‘biographical praise’. Though it would be nice, I’m not asking for a Radiohead-style 48-page avant-garde visual spread; but at least tell me about the music itself. However, the bio does come in handy for those awkward conversations I seem to end up in:

Friend: [wincing] So… ah… what are we listening to?
Me: Oh, this is Anoushka Shankar. One time I saw her and Ravi Shankar play at Emory University–one of the most incredible concerts I’ve seen. The sitarist, the tabla duels, and the audience was so into it. Those guys were totally raga-ing out.
Friend: [noncommittal] Oh…
Me: [defensive] Well… She’s the youngest and only female to ever receive the House of Commons Shield from the British Parliament. And she’s cute.

So back to the music. Though I enjoy this album, one of the things I realized is that I have almost no emotional connection with Indian music, at least the traditional, classical forms. I can understand and respond to the musical basics of tempo and rhythm. But venturing beyond that into the melody and the harmonic background, I have no ear. It’s an odd feeling. For example, on the opening strains of the tabla duet, I can’t tell if the sitar is peaceful, plaintive, wistful, melancholy, or what. The cues are probably there, I just don’t know enough to pick up on subtlety.

With that said, the tunes are catchy, and the performance is solid though it doesn’t seem passionate. At least it will keep my ears open and stretch my appreciation a bit.

~ Mark ~ 2 Comments

–I’ve always liked the Georgia font, especially those dropped numerals (1234567890). Lately it has become the “in” font for websites. One student finds that Georgia helps him get better grades.
–Steve Pavlina lists “10 Reasons You Should Never Get a Job“. I’ve enjoyed his website quite a bit, minus the more out-there, new-agey essays (for example).

–I just love this political cartoon with Al Gore. The set-up (so perfectly in character), the wit, the cynicism… Gets me every time. Unfortunately, I haven’t had a chance to read his book or see the movie yet. Though I’ve heard that his lecture circuit presentation is a barnburner.

–Composer Philip Glass and IBM teamed up with IBM to create the Glass Engine. I absolutely love the interface used to explore the range of music, allowing you navigate by title, year, style, emotional content, and more. I’d really like to see stand-alone software with the same functionality. I’d add in the ability to customize and create your own categories, and of course personalize the metadata for each of those. My other idea for this would be to run the software through a wall-sized touchscreen…

Atlanta Ballet Orchestra Given the Pink Slip

~ Mark ~ Leave a comment

Some sad news for Atlanta arts today: the Atlanta Ballet will no longer perform with live music. They have decided not to renew the musicians’ contracts for the 2006-2007 season, so all performances will be done with recorded music. I’m guessing the musician’s union wouldn’t budge, and there just ain’t that much free money for the arts laying around.
It’s kind of a bummer. There’s always that intangible ‘something’ that live music brings. Whether it’s just the little humming and tooting before the show, or appreciating the not-so-simple act of coordinating dancers and musicians–the orchestra adds a lot to the productions. Two productions I really liked, Dracula and Hamlet [music by Philip Glass] wouldn’t have been nearly the same without the live music. It really felt like something special, an Event.

Surely there’s another way? I’ll bet there are some highly-qualified college students and highly qualified amateurs in the Atlanta area that would be glad to play for much lower fees. Heck, I would have played for free when I was doing percussion back in college. Some of my favorite concerts were the dual-department music/ dance productions. Hopefully, the orchestra will have only a brief absence. Or perhaps it will free the ballet to collaborate with other, smaller ensembles. We shall see. I’m still a bit bummed, though.

~ Mark ~ 1 Comment

—Music is louder than it used to be. These days the record and music broadcast industry is stuck in a louder=catchier mindset. I’ve also noticed the lack of range and nuance. Outside of the mass pop albums, one that sticks out in my mind is Coldplay’s latest. It was really good the first time I listened. But after a few dozen times around the block, it just didn’t have the range or staying power of the first two. It felt just a bit stale.
—How is your brand? See the trends for names over the past century.