Category Archives: Music

I hope you understand me

The esteemed cognitive scientist Roger Schank always used the quirkiest examples to describe natural language. The characters of his world (typically John, Mary or Bob) were always shooting up herion or smuggling marijuana across the border. One day, someone at a talk probed him about his choices: “So Roger, why do you always use suchContinue reading “I hope you understand me”

24 hour music revolutions

I finally saw 24 Hour Party People last night, after weeks of anxious distractions. I lived with a a friend who experienced that musical period firsthand (from Chicago, not Manchester), and he piqued my interest. After seeing the movie, I’m even more hungry for information. Given, 24HPP focuses on one first hand account of theContinue reading “24 hour music revolutions”

Detroit electro: in memorium

James Stinson of the enigmatic and influential Detroit electro act Drexciya passed away Tuesday. An email from Mike Clark shot around electronic music lists yesterday shocking unexpected fans (including me). This past two years were quite prolific for the duo, releasing three singles and a full-length album, all hailing highest respects in reviews (even thoseContinue reading “Detroit electro: in memorium”

Aural debug

Standard coding environments are fairly regular in their approach to the process of debugging, relying heavily on a programmer’s visual representation of the computational process. Research at Loughborough University suggests that using other parts of the perceptual apparatus can help coders identify and repair code in considerably less time. Paul Vickers and James Alty haveContinue reading “Aural debug”

PS1 Warmup

The PS1 Gallery of Long Island City is starting up it’s ultra fresh Warm Up Series this weekend by hosting S.F. samplophile Twerk. For those that missed this series last year, it’s a perfect combination of art and ambience, drawing great talent for an alternative electronic music experience (at an exceptional price).

Apple acquires EMagic

Apple announced today that it has acquired Emagic, makers of the ever-popular Logic, SoundDiver and USB Audio devices. This will affect the Windows users by.. umm.. making them disappear. As a musician, I’m not particularly fond of Logic, but it has provided cross-platform support for industry professionals for decades. Not anymore. In an industry whereContinue reading “Apple acquires EMagic”

Final Scratch is here

One of the most clever hacks in music technology has become a product, as Stanton just released a commercial version of FinalScratch. Originally the work of three Amsterdamn software engineers, the technique is simple: Two special records, containing only a single tone are placed on regular turntables. These records have an expected output (something likeContinue reading “Final Scratch is here”

Did Jerry Garcia get his start in a noise band?

Last night at our weekly electronic music gig (the appliance of science) in Cambridge, we featured guests Keith Fullerton Whitman (aka Hrvatski) and Greg Davis in duo form, just back from an extended US tour. They played a set of positively nerve-racking noise, full of baby giggles and monstorous groans (someone likened them to Legend).Continue reading “Did Jerry Garcia get his start in a noise band?”