tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2221623438979478902024-02-19T08:49:45.618-08:00physical mediaAstrohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03929654904087643698noreply@blogger.comBlogger22125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-222162343897947890.post-18364558115621150182009-09-18T12:17:00.001-07:002009-09-18T12:19:04.709-07:00Easy production software = goodI'm tired of seeing interviews with producers, half of whom I've never heard of, complaining that software makes it too easy for anyone to make beats.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.cratekings.com/play-n-skillz-technology-made-production-too-easy/">http://www.cratekings.com/play-n-skillz-technology-made-production-too-easy/</a><br /><br />Personally, I love it. If you grew up on dusty loops and drums, it's so addictive to throw together a loop and listen to it. So what if you're not a musician.<br /><br />Stop being a hater.Astrohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03929654904087643698noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-222162343897947890.post-71778754207380034692009-06-26T13:40:00.000-07:002009-06-26T13:46:15.649-07:00Michael Jackson vs. auto-tuneAfter finding out about Michael's death yesterday I decided to turn on the radio on my way home from work, and sure enough our local "urban" station was playing a little Michael Jackson tribute. Very nice. Then they had a commercial break, 6PM rolled around, and the tribute must have been over because T-Pain came on.<br /><br />That really made me think about how much things have changed since Michael. I went from listening to a guy who could sing so many different ways, so well, to listening to a guy who uses auto-tune to fake-sing. Just amazing.Astrohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03929654904087643698noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-222162343897947890.post-90887308091729865212009-06-09T12:45:00.001-07:002009-06-09T12:45:56.149-07:00Mos Def "The Ecstatic"Just gave it a listen. For me it's probably his most listenable album since "Black On Both Sides" but it suffers from the same problems that I have had with the albums since that one:<br /><br />1). This does not sound like a cohesive album, it sounds more like a collection of songs he's recorded since "Tru3 Magic".<br /><br />2). Mos is so good lyrically when he's on-subject, but seems content with making it up as he goes. I had a similar problem with Lil Wayne's much-hyped "The Carter 3". Mos is taleneted enough that he can sometimes get away with doing this, but it's a waste of that talent.<br /><br />3). Mos seems to love to hear his own voice. Every spare second of the album is filled with adlib singing and rambling. It's a little too much.<br /><br />4). I would like to hear someone else write and perform hooks for him, for at least a couple songs on an album. Using hooks can be bad if you're lazily writing songs in the same old format, but they can be good when they help organize the song and make the song more enjoyable for the listener.<br /><br />Even with all that, I'd recommend giving this album a listen. Don't buy without listening though.Astrohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03929654904087643698noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-222162343897947890.post-39809814366549823042009-06-03T09:47:00.001-07:002009-06-03T09:50:34.126-07:00The 45 ProjectI've been so busy trying to get on other peoples' blogs that I didn't post on my own blog about my newest project. You can download it for free below:<br /><br /><br /><a href="http://www.physicalmedia.net/download/Alex_Stange-The_45_Project.zip"><br /><img src="http://www.physicalmedia.net/img/45_proj_small.jpg" border="0" /><br /><br />Alex Stange - The 45 Project<br /></a><br /><p><br /><br />I did these beats in early 2007 for a 7" I was going to do with DJ Ian Head, but it never happened. So it's about time to just get these beats out there for the people to hear. Enjoy!</p>Astrohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03929654904087643698noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-222162343897947890.post-53588318363853536692009-05-26T19:49:00.000-07:002009-05-26T19:55:53.927-07:00Bicasso & DJ Fresh "Rebel Musiq"I bought this album the other day because DJ Fresh is my favorite young producer and the ep they put out last year was so good. Unfortunately for me the new songs aren't as good as the ones that were on the ep. Almost all the ep songs are here though, so if you don't have that I'd recommend getting the album.Astrohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03929654904087643698noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-222162343897947890.post-52551527607004476482009-04-04T23:33:00.000-07:002009-04-04T23:34:24.293-07:00Unbelievable toys, part 3<p class="mobile-photo"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjH0fNzMkk7w6jS5H3wj10MrkIp2jXyhg09g4Luann5kndqx_UEwyZtU7X5uFYy7nMvsXBi0wWwl9_SEtwt8AKCJYPjvxyis3wYeJDMQ1u2Lzp6Fj88wQosFsM2Kd4arfmYoYqVo18eNeU/s1600-h/photo-764294.jpg"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjH0fNzMkk7w6jS5H3wj10MrkIp2jXyhg09g4Luann5kndqx_UEwyZtU7X5uFYy7nMvsXBi0wWwl9_SEtwt8AKCJYPjvxyis3wYeJDMQ1u2Lzp6Fj88wQosFsM2Kd4arfmYoYqVo18eNeU/s320/photo-764294.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5321091953965681154" /></a></p>This 'My Little Pony' is a unicorn, and I guess with fictional <br>creatures you get to make up a diet for them, so this one eat <br>pepperoni pizza. Look, she comes with a pizza. And yes, I checked on <br>the back, it says it is pepperoni. Finally I have something in common <br>with unicorns.Astrohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03929654904087643698noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-222162343897947890.post-62548080001558574462009-04-04T23:27:00.001-07:002009-04-04T23:27:43.644-07:00Unbelievable toys, part 2<p class="mobile-photo"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwyIBMhFQOynGRIrkoHG5F7wj-3T6psEBfA3vdHxBDPVLUJXgc-UApu9XHnIs_GdjY2wrLuq1nzzIML9pwtV8F6cDiPH49UNRO6kn-Hqy7xDi087J08jpq5y-w2VzoKSq12r7twKfMm3w/s1600-h/photo-763646.jpg"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwyIBMhFQOynGRIrkoHG5F7wj-3T6psEBfA3vdHxBDPVLUJXgc-UApu9XHnIs_GdjY2wrLuq1nzzIML9pwtV8F6cDiPH49UNRO6kn-Hqy7xDi087J08jpq5y-w2VzoKSq12r7twKfMm3w/s320/photo-763646.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5321090230798654178" /></a></p>Toy doughnuts, and the package says "smart snacks.". Nice. No one <br>wants to play with oatmeal I guess.Astrohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03929654904087643698noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-222162343897947890.post-87332692318707599012009-04-04T23:16:00.000-07:002009-04-04T23:17:46.215-07:00Unbelievable toys, part 1<p class="mobile-photo"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVxOmJNUY81Zra_s2bvP5dlKuokXbxBreY2-AWFqb9w1UmUS_zEN8JlHP_QezBHb7ti0g2tv-jWHOoy9OqE3YFTxK6Iqvme1lVjIFIvAqHg9dmiJcdT9udK31jLy1MkiR9DaOGdptcOKw/s1600-h/photo-766216.jpg"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVxOmJNUY81Zra_s2bvP5dlKuokXbxBreY2-AWFqb9w1UmUS_zEN8JlHP_QezBHb7ti0g2tv-jWHOoy9OqE3YFTxK6Iqvme1lVjIFIvAqHg9dmiJcdT9udK31jLy1MkiR9DaOGdptcOKw/s320/photo-766216.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5321087668604286402" /></a></p>I'm fine with Pegasus, but look at the tag: this is endorsed by the <br>Animal Planet network. Can't wait to see their special on wild Pegasii.Astrohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03929654904087643698noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-222162343897947890.post-37665372606240091472009-03-12T10:02:00.001-07:002009-03-12T10:02:28.770-07:00Is Oden done for the year?Haven't heard an injury report in the last few games on Oden, regarding that chipped bone he got in his knee before the all-star game. But every week since then we've heard that he'll be out another few game, or another week.<br /><br />Last March the Blazers trotted Oden out for his first practice of the year with the team a day before season tickets for this season went on sale. Season tickets for next season go on sale in the next week, and the team is advertising that people who act early on season tickets for next year have a shot at playoff tickets this year.<br /><br />Are the Blazers delaying an announcement on Oden being done for the year until after the first week or two of initial season ticket sales? I wouldn't put it past them. You heard the speculation here first.Astrohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03929654904087643698noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-222162343897947890.post-43421298432665319432009-03-06T22:02:00.000-08:002009-03-06T22:14:48.342-08:00Someone hates cyclistsHeard about this today:<br /><br /><a href="http://bikeportland.org/2009/03/06/mandatory-bike-registration-bill-introduced-in-salem/">http://bikeportland.org/2009/03/06/mandatory-bike-registration-bill-introduced-in-salem/</a><br /><br />Oregon House bill 3008 would require that bikes in Oregon be registered with the state, and pay a registration fee: $54 every two years. This is the same cost as registering a car for two years. The registration money would go toward bike projects.<br /><br />Since bikes have become part of the transportation strategy in Portland, I think it makes sense to start looking at them as similar to cars. I don't have a problem with registering a bike, or paying for it. But $54 every two years? I bought my bike for $300 brand new, so registration would have amounted to 1/6 of the cost of the bike right away. If I bought an $8000 new car, which is as cheap as new cars come, that would be like paying $1300 to register it every two years. Outragous!<br /><br />If registration for my cheap bike was proportional to registration for that cheap car, it would cost 300*54/8000 = $2. That is how out-of-proportion the registration cost is.<br /><br />Furthermore, now if a parent wants to buy a bike for their kid they're automatically looking at a $54 mark-up, plus more fees as the years go on. I'm not sure if the fees also apply to tricycles.<br /><br />The article I linked to implied that one of the bill's sponsors doesn't like cyclists. Fine, then tax spandex and Nalgene bottles. But don't make me and my family pay car registration for the bikes we ride for leasure.Astrohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03929654904087643698noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-222162343897947890.post-81831505871815622762008-11-20T21:13:00.000-08:002008-11-20T21:18:19.997-08:00NBA attendance down<a href="http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/blog/ball_dont_lie/post/Magic-Sixers-Grizzlies-attendance-woes-mirror?urn=nba,122913">Found this the other day</a>:<br /><em><em></em></em><br /><em><em><blockquote><em><em>When I go to games, even ones that are packed in other cities, I don't<br />see a lot of fans decked out in their team's gear, I see a lot of yuppie<br />businessmen who have decided that the NBA game is the place to be seen. They<br />could care less what happens on the court, as long as they can glad-hand the<br />rest of the "important" people.</em><br /></em></blockquote></em><br /></em><em></em>The wife and I have noticed this at the Blazer games since the start of last season. Lots more douchebags, for lack of a better word, are showing up. Last season we had courtside tickets to a game and the young couple sitting next to us (read: too young to own the seats) showed up halfway through the second quarter and immediately started ordering a bunch of white wine.<br /><br />If that's who's keeping attendance up in Portland, then the league has problems.Astrohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03929654904087643698noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-222162343897947890.post-15200218331662048972008-09-21T23:01:00.001-07:002008-09-21T23:01:14.106-07:00Good blogsSomeone put me on to counterpunch.org recently. I wish I had an easier time finding blogs with writing this thoughtful.Astrohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03929654904087643698noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-222162343897947890.post-44760759612195088032008-09-07T23:19:00.001-07:002008-09-07T23:19:13.172-07:00Shazam!I was skeptical of the Shazam application for the iPhone. Well, it was undeserved. For those who don't know, it records about 20 seconds of audio through the microphone, then a few seconds later tells you the artist and song name. I've got some pretty underground stuff, and I expected it would work so quickly by comparing against a relatively small database - like if you were trying to remember who did "Love Shack" while it's playing at a wedding in order to distract yourself from the song.<br /><br />First I put it to the test against some classic rock off of iTunes; I was playing the songs through car speakers. The app identified 10 of 11 songs by artists like The Who, Blue Cheer, Zepher, Gentle Giant, White Witch, and Octopus. The only song it didn't get was by Captain Beyond. Anyway, those are on iTunes, so it's fair to expect those to be in the library it compares against. Too easy.<br /><br />Next I tested a couple songs I had recorded off of record onto tape. I played the tape in the car and Shazam successfully identified a New Birth song and a song by the Rimshots. New Birth is on iTunes, but the Rimshots "Super Disco" is not.<br /><br />Next I tried some songs straight off of vinyl. Jeannie Piersol's "Gladys": failure. Black Anger's "S.E.L.F.": failure. Johnny Hammond's "Never Can Say Goodbye": success. The Johnny Hammond is on iTunes, the other two aren't, and probably aren't available on CD either.<br /><br />Anyway, it's a lot more useful than I expected, if you have an iPhone you should check it out.Astrohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03929654904087643698noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-222162343897947890.post-86370862612501383082008-08-29T11:07:00.000-07:002008-08-29T11:10:02.407-07:00AudacityI just downloaded <a href="http://audacity.sourceforge.net/">Audacity </a>this morning and I'm mixing a track I recorded with Mr. Wright a few days ago. I haven't tried anything advanced, but so far I think it's great. No need to get Audition or Pro Tools if you're just mixing stuff that's already recorded.<br /><br />I wasn't even thinking about trying to record with it, but maybe I'll try.Astrohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03929654904087643698noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-222162343897947890.post-73582599403987912192008-08-27T00:20:00.000-07:002008-08-27T00:29:05.570-07:00Sad state of affairsI did another Google search for "physical media", waiting for their layabout crawler to find me out here, and I came across this:<br /><br /><a href="http://gizmodo.com/5038783/worlds-largest-record-collection-is-worth-50-million-no-one-wants-it-for-3-million">http://gizmodo.com/5038783/worlds-largest-record-collection-is-worth-50-million-no-one-wants-it-for-3-million</a><br /><br />That's sad. Also, it seems that a lot of people still believe that most music is available digitally. It's not. While every new release has a digital counterpart, and record labels large and small slowly make back catalogs available, I almost guarantee that if you have a collection of millions of records most of them are not available digitally. For example, I recently picked up SOS Band "On The Rise" and was surprised to find the awesome love jam "Tell Me If You Still Care" is not on iTunes or Rhapsody. This is a Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis album, not some underground thing.<br /><br />I imagine people who believe "most" music is available digitally have never been in an indie record store. Which, by the way, I hope survive for my kids to see.Astrohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03929654904087643698noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-222162343897947890.post-91879206431242946502008-08-25T22:45:00.000-07:002008-08-25T22:53:31.123-07:00Team USAI watched the men's basketball gold medal game Saturday night. The US wins, Rudy Fernandez has a couple highlights, everyone wins.<br /><br />The US won the gold, but their offense was very limited in the halfcourt. One of these days the international teams are going to get better at ballhandling and stop making as many bad passes, which the US thrived off of. When the other team wasn't turning the ball over it seemed like the US couldn't even run a pick and roll to generate points. Most of the posessions in the halfcourt seemed to be drive, look for a shot, kick out, drive, jump and look for a shot, kick out,...<br /><br />That said, the US players deserve all the credit on this one. The players who decided to participate risked injury now and fatigue later, and the team wouldn't have won without their overwhelming individual talent.Astrohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03929654904087643698noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-222162343897947890.post-73057539005598941432008-08-21T00:16:00.000-07:002008-08-21T00:19:35.232-07:00physicalmedia.net podcast is upI got the physicalmedia.net podcast up on iTunes this morning, you can get to it here:<br /><br /><a href="http://phobos.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?id=288864194">http://phobos.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?id=288864194</a><br /><br />It was actually pretty easy to do once I found Apple's technical spec for podcasts:<br /><br /><a href="http://www.apple.com/itunes/store/podcaststechspecs.html">http://www.apple.com/itunes/store/podcaststechspecs.html</a><br /><br />That's really all you need to make it happen.Astrohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03929654904087643698noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-222162343897947890.post-87032119385635212102008-08-12T23:29:00.000-07:002008-08-12T23:36:29.397-07:00Issac HayesIt was sad to hear about Issac Hayes passing away this past weekend. Issac Hayes records were some of the first old records that I really sought out and listened to from beginning to end. Before hearing his originals I remember hearing songs like Compton's Most Wanted's "Hood Took Me Under" and loving the sound.<br /><br />I bought <em>To Be Continued</em> in 1998 and remember listening to the album all the way through. Look Of Love blew me away, and when I unexpectedly heard a Smif & Wessun sample at the end and how Issac tore down that entire climax of music into the keys and flutes my heart skipped a beat.Astrohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03929654904087643698noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-222162343897947890.post-66709164081228766392008-07-23T23:40:00.000-07:002008-07-23T23:51:14.838-07:00Death of physical media?Fuck these guys:<br /><br /><a href="http://dvice.com/archives/2006/12/shift_a_eulogy_for_physical_me.php">http://dvice.com/archives/2006/12/shift_a_eulogy_for_physical_me.php</a><br /><br />For many reasons, <a href="http://diveintomark.org/archives/2008/05/06/the-day-the-music-died">including this one</a>:<br /><br />Anyone who loves physical media should savor this story. Earlier this summer Microsoft turned off its DRM servers for its old brand, <irony>PlaysForSure</irony>. Anyone who bought music through Microsoft's old PFS-powered music stores now will not be able to play their purchased music on new computers, because when the file goes to ping the server the server won't be there. This is akin to buying a CD and your rights to listen to your CD being taken, and the CD doesn't work on any more CD players after that. Except that doesn't happen with CDs and other physical media.<br /><br />Also, <a href="http://www.cnn.com/2008/US/06/10/vinyl.records.ap/index.html">my neighborhood Fred Meyer is selling vinyl records again</a>, as of a few weeks ago.Astrohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03929654904087643698noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-222162343897947890.post-4896948563079621902008-07-22T23:34:00.000-07:002008-07-22T23:38:33.220-07:00Windows Vista is killing meI've had very basic and annoying problems. The latest is that occasionally my middle mouse button doesn't work in Explorer. I've rebooted to solve the problem, haven't seen if killing Explorer from the Program Manager solves the problem.<br /><br />Maybe I should go buy a copy of XP. As much as people love Linux, I'd rather buy an operating system. I don't have fun making my computer do simple things.Astrohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03929654904087643698noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-222162343897947890.post-56268168530974794602008-07-13T22:59:00.000-07:002008-07-13T23:04:26.297-07:00Classic Blazer gameComcast just broadcast Blazers vs. Celtics from March 1992. Double overtime, Celtics won 152-148. Originally nationally televised on NBC from Boston Garden. Bird had a triple double, Drexler had 41 and was given a standing ovation when he fouled out. What a game.<br /><br />Comcast is showing 3 Blazers summer league games and some more classic Blazer games this week. If it weren't for their broadcasts of Blazer games I would have just about no need for cable.Astrohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03929654904087643698noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-222162343897947890.post-58641434852104436002008-07-12T17:26:00.000-07:002008-07-12T17:37:14.740-07:00Like we always do about this time...Here we go, this is my first entry. I just submitted a request to register the domain name, physicalmedia.net, on namecheap.com. Some web hosting company recommended them, hopefully there aren't any drawbacks but there probably are. I can always transfer it.<br /><br />Still haven't got the hosting figured out. Looking forward to getting this blog incorporated into a website.Astrohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03929654904087643698noreply@blogger.com0