The future of synthesis?

Is THIS the future of synthesis? This Wired article shows a new, not yet commercially available, tabletop synthesizer that creates sounds based on the user placing the elements of the synthesizer as blocks on the table. Bjork borrowed one from the creators to take out on her current tour. I find this fascinating, and truly grounbreaking, combining the promise of multi-touch and tabletop computing with a pre-existing technology, the synthesizer. Check it out...

Daniel Lanois' drummer of choice

Brian Blade (with Joshua Redman and Sam Yahel). Diane and I caught these guys at the 20th Century Theater a few years ago. It is a trio. Joshua Redman on sax, Brian Blade on the drums, and Sam Yahel on organ (playing leads and covering the bass parts too). Transcendent...



And with Christian McBride, Brad Mehldau. His solo (using brushes) starts at about the 2:10 mark:

The Day Brings...

Location: Charlotte, NC Airport



So it seems sometime back, Stone Gossard formed a side project from Pearl Jam called Brad. The lead singer, Shawn Smith, has a wonderful voice. Pearl Jam, they are not. I am by no means a huge, longterm fan of this Brad, but I stumbled across a song called The Day Brings. I was listening to it sitting here in the airport, and I think you might think it is beautiful too. Check it out at the link above.

Lefsetz on iTunes plus

Thanks to Bob Lefsetz for publicizing the fact that the just-released iTunes Plus embeds your iTunes username and email information INSIDE the DRM-free file. The rub here being that if you share your DRM-free file via P2P, the RIAA can track you down.

I write this blog on a MacBook, and am pretty loyal to Apple, but I gotta side with Lefsetz on this one...shouldn't this type of thing be disclosed, rather than left to investigative people to discover? I have to think Apple should guess that this would be discovered, so the mere fact that they did not disclose this up front gives the appearance of impropriety. EMI bares some of the blame.

I also still don't see why a 128 Kbps MP3 should cost $0.99, and a 256 Kbps MP3 should cost $1.29. Why the increase? The audio quality difference is negligible. Additionally, remember there are no physical distribution costs here, or costs of manufacturing. The public is smart, and knows $0.99 for a track is STILL too much.

Asheville, NC

A work trip this week takes me through Asheville, NC. This town seems like it has much to offer, including the Biltmore Estate, which is the largest privately owned home in the country, The Orange Peel, a live music venue that has played host to Bob Dylan, Blondie, and all sorts of acts in between. The reunited Smashing Pumpkins have chosen to do a 9-night artist in residency here in a few weeks.

Asheville is known as a fairly progressive town, fostering a diverse culture in the Blue Ridge mountains. It would be a fun town to come back to with Diane and poke around the shops and nearby scenery.

In my ongoing effort to seek out local culture and avoid chain stores, last night I found a local burrito chain called The Urban Burrito. They have a spicy chipotle chicken burrito that was amazing, and a fresh salsa bar (Chipotle, are you listening?). I tried to find a good local independent record store and came up empty, but did find a good independent book store called Malaprops, where an author from Brooklyn named Josh Dorfman, The Lazy Environmentalist was doing a reading and Q&A from his book. Apparently, he hosts a show on Sirius.

I also picked up Seth Godin's newest book, called The Dip. A very short, but excellent read.

La Blogotheque

Much thanks to Andy for pointing me to an awesome video blog, called La Blogotheque - Takeaway Shows. They seem to be produced in France, and feature the likes Andrew Bird and Arcade Fire performing while walking around, or in an elevator.

Here is Arcade Fire performing Neon Bible and then Wake Up, from the blog.

Thou Shalt Always Kill

Life is more than dollar bills...

So this is the inaugural edition of my new blog. I have been dreaming this one up for awhile. Michael Wilson said it best when he said "what I really love is music." Well, I do. So, here I will mainly reflect on what has been an ongoing passion and hobby for most of my life.

I was raised in a home by parents who loved music. My first concert was a John Denver/Barry Manilow double billing. And thankfully my concert-going experiences have traversed an uphill path since then.

I am not quite sure exactly how I will structure this, but certainly other passions and reflections will be intertwined with my reflections and musings on music.

I am always on the lookout for new music, new inspirations and revelations in the music world. I am hopeful about the state of the music industry, although I also believe it is in a period of great transition right now. I believe that the most original music being made today is most likely not to be found on major labels. It is bands like Arcade Fire and Andrew Bird; Modest Mouse and MuteMath; Karsh Kale and Kraftwerk. I believe the best is yet to come.

I found something on YouTube the other day, at the recommendation of The Lefsetz Letter. It is a video called "Thou Shalt Always Kill. Go to YouTube and check it out, I think you will enjoy it.