music
aardvarchaeology | December 15, 2010Junior, who is a digital native and knows way more about current net fads than I do, turned me on to the multi-talented Neil Cicierega and his band Lemon Demon. Excellent synth pop that should hit the sweet spot of any Apples in Stereo fan. I know it hit mine!
Here are the beautifully clever and happy-sad lyrics to the Lemon Demon tune "Amnesia Was Her Name" that has been playing in my head lately. It's from the 2008 album View Monster.
Amnesia was her name
By Neil Cicierega
Amnesia was her name, she had beautiful eyes
And every word she said, it was a little surprise
Can't remember when I…
aardvarchaeology | October 22, 2010Last night I attended Junior's school concert in the church of St. Catherine in Stockholm. Here are some of the lyrics sung by the 13-14-year-olds in front of the altar.
Because the world is round it turns me on
Because the wind is high it blows my mind
"Because", Lennon & McCartney
And
Night-time sharpens, heightens each sensation
Darkness stirs and wakes imagination
Silently the senses abandon their defenses
Slowly, gently night unfurls its splendor
Grasp it, sense it, tremulous and tender
Turn your face away from the garish light of day
Turn your thoughts away from cold unfeeling…
aardvarchaeology | October 21, 2010
My brother's black metal outfit has just released its first EP, Arcane Secrets. Check out Astrophobos for some furious yet epic tunes with lyrics inspired by H.P. Lovecraft! And tell me how you like the record!
Spotify - Myspace - iTunes
Question to the Dear Reader: how do you go about getting your album onto Grooveshark?
[More about music, rock, metal, blackmetal; musik, rock, metal, blackmetal.]
aardvarchaeology | October 11, 2010
I got an ambiguous greeting from Norm Sherman when I bought his latest CD (2 for $10!). He is messing with my mind.
oracknows | October 10, 2010Lazy Sunday, too lazy for blogging, particularly after last week. So instead, here's some tunage from a group I recently discovered. I'll be back tomorrow.
Yeah, that's sort of how I feel after a couple of trips in a row.
aardvarchaeology | October 6, 2010
Thanks to Pär for the tip-off. OM's singer/bassist used to be a member of the legendary doom band Sleep.
oracknows | September 30, 2010It just occurred to me that it's been a long, long time since I've done this, but how about an open thread to while away the time until the NIH R01 grant application is submitted, and that gloriously irritating and outrageously beautiful not-so-Respectful Insolence that you all crave can come roaring back with a vengeance? Come on, you know you want it. If we're lucky, maybe Jake Crosby or even Dr. Jay will come out and play.
Grant writing has that effect on me.
In the meantime, I think a video from a most excellent 1980s band sums up the situation when it comes to grant funding these days…
oracknows | September 22, 2010I've expounded on the principle of crank magnetism. Basically, crank magnetism is the tendency of cranks not to mind the crankery of other cranks, even if the two forms of crankery are mutually exclusive. But it's more than that. It's the tendency of a single crank to be attracted to several forms of crankery. We've seen it in creationists who are also attracted to "alternative medicine," in anti-vaccine loons who are also attracted to alternative medicine and various conspiracy theories, including "9/11 Truth." I've seen it in Holocaust deniers who are also attracted to both "alternative"…
gregladen | September 11, 2010I went to an Indian Restaurant last time I was in Arkansas and this was the entertainment.
The problem with a Sitar Sarod is that you can't jump around on the stage while you are jamming with it.
Hat Tip: Miss Cellania
aardvarchaeology | September 10, 2010
Apples in Stereo mastermind Robert Schneider demonstrates his latest technical combo: a vintage 80s synthesizer hooked up to a recently released EEG game controller, which allows him to change the pitch of the synth's output with his thoughts.
I particularly like the non-glitzy surroundings. The guy is sitting in shorts and t-shirt on a beat-up couch, unshaven and with his hair poking out in all directions, looking like a stoner and showing off his bizarre invention. It's very far from the Kraftwerk esthetic, yet some of the tech is decades later than Kraftwerk's.
Check out the latest Apples…
jdupuis | August 23, 2010The Who is pretty well my favourite band of all time. Without a doubt. Way back in the seventies (yes, I'm that old) when everyone else was arguing about whether the Beatles or the Stones were the greatest rock 'n roll band in the world, I always argued it was The Who. Townshend, Daltry, Moon were the noisy ones, the famous ones, the crazy ones. But the bassist, John Entwistle, he was The Quiet One. The one who held it all together.
So, over the years I've collected a fair big of Who music, but also solo stuff by Pete Townshend and a bit by Roger Daltry. But also John Entwistle, who's…
aardvarchaeology | August 21, 2010
I put together a mix CD today for Simon who's celebrating his 60th birthday. He's the husband of a colleague of mine, and all I really know about him is that he's English, he's a semi-pro musician and he likes Keith Jarrett, Juan Gilberto, Jimi Hendrix, Bob Dylan and Hermeto Pascoal. So I thought I might share some tunes from the past few years that he may not have heard.
1. Comets on Fire - Hatched Upon the Age
2. Dungen - Mon Amour
3. Fleet Foxes - Your Protector
4. Frank Black - If Your Poison Gets You
5. George Hrab - One Hypnopompic Jerk
6. Maggi, Pierce & E.J. - Snowed In With You…
elerner | August 18, 2010The science song is a strange beast; people have surely converted information to rhythms or rhymes as a mnemonic device for millennia, though the idea of "educational music" as a genre has only recently crystallized. Its target audience has oscillated since then; while Tom Lehrer was playing for adults in the 50s and 60s, a renaissance of children's television in the 70s, from Sesame Street to Schoolhouse Rock!, marked the style as child's play. Those children are now grown up and making music of their own. Frank Swain of SciencePunk provides two video examples: Amoeba to Zebra's "Shake your…
sciencepunk | August 16, 2010Thanks to Elliot Reuben who points out that when it comes to singing about science, us Brits aren't being left behind. Behold Amoeba to Zebra, the educational music entertainment brainchild of Leeds-based pop rockers Being 747.
They say:
"As a band, we all share a fascination with the wonders of the natural world and the evolutionary processes that have shaped the flora and fauna of our planet. We decided to use our combined creative talents to do something truly worthwhile - to tell an incredible story that will stimulate the imagination of young people and leave a lasting impression"…
sciencepunk | August 15, 2010Michael Hearst of One Ring Zero writes:
I just did a Google search for "science blogs," and landed on your site. And the first thing I see is a picture of The Magnetic Fields, who are good friends of mine, and who I've toured with. Very strange. The reason I was searching for science blogs is because my band, One Ring Zero, is gearing up to release a new album on Sept. 7th ... our first studio album in 3 years. The theme and title for this one is PLANETS. The album is a sort of revisit to our solar system, as the 100th anniversary of Holst's The Planets approaches. Here's some more info…
aardvarchaeology | July 25, 2010
The other night my wife suddenly hummed a familiar melody line. After some mental searching I identified it as a slightly modified version of French Canadian synth-poppers Trans-X's 1983 hit "Living on Video" that I haven't heard in 20 years or more. But my wife said, "No, it's this Robyn song I heard on a Letterman clip on YouTube". That turned out to be Robyn's 2006 treatment of the Teddybears' 2004 song "Cobrastyle", where she's backed by the Teddybears. The 2006 version introduces the Trans-X line which is not present in the 2004 original. Now I wonder, have Robyn and/or the Teddybears…
terrasig | July 17, 2010Jon Shain and his Trio will be performing this evening (Saturday, July 17) at The Soul Cafe in Durham, NC, together with Washington, DC's The Grandsons and Pat Wictor. The Soul Cafe is an alcohol-free venue near Durham's Brightleaf Square. Sadly, I'm out of town and can't attend - but you should. Click here for more information on tonight's show from Jon's Facebook page.
Times Right Now is the 6th album by Piedmont Blues guitarist Jon Shain since he went solo in 1998 after a decade with his folk-rock group, Flyin' Mice, and their spinoff, WAKE.
Shain's album covers as much diverse ground as…
oracknows | July 14, 2010Orac note: Please be sure to read the addendum.
Say it ain't so, Jill! Check out this e-mail notice from the latest Generation Rescue mailing list sent to me by a reader. It's apparently legitimate, because I found a copy of it on the Generation Rescue website itself. Look at who's being featured at a fundraiser for anti-vaccine guru, discredited and delicensed U.K. physician and "researcher" Andrew Wakefield:
A Private Evening with Dr. Andy Wakefield
To benefit Dr. Wakefield's research:
"Strategic Autism Initiative"
WHEN: Sunday, July 25th
WHERE: Private house in Woodland Hills, California…
gregladen | July 8, 2010eTown is a music and community-building radio show broadcast on a number of stations across the US. Well, it's not all music. They do a wide variety of things, including a kind of pickup-game with well known artists and not so well known, but very talented, musicians.
etown's stated mission is "to educate, entertain and inspire a diverse audience, through music and conversation, to create a socially responsible and environmentally sustainable world."
Here is the website where you can find out more.
Anyway, my buddy Zack, a film maker sorta guy in Colorado, has made a very cool film…