 Archive for April, 2009
For the . Hard to believe it, but this is the 1 year anniversary of the “What I’m Hearing” posts. Last April, I embarked on a mission to bring quality music, both mainstream and not, to readers looking to expand their musical vocabulary beyond the monosyllabic songs pumped ad nauseum from radio towers across the nation. As has been the trend, this month is no exception to the rule as I found a good number of fantastic new artists. As always, all of these artists can be found on iTunes for purchase. This month’s iPod update consisted of 63 songs spanning hip-hop, DIY and electronic. Enjoy! , The Truth is Here: Originally introduced to the underground hip-hop scene by Slug of Atmosphere, Brother Ali has worked with producer Ant and had his albums released by hip-hop stalwart Rhymesayers. A converted Muslim and Caucasian albino, Ali frequently faced questions of his race early on due to voice, delivery and moniker. On The Truth is Here, his fourth studio album, Ali uses alternatively jazzy and bumping Ant produced beats to explore issues of race, social and economic divides and his adjustments to life in light of his growing success. While 9 full length tracks, this album is billed as an EP preceeding a full album release to come this fall. One thing is certain, the disc doesn’t listen like an EP. Thoughtful, introspective and lyrically deft lyrics keep the listener entertained while Ant’s production of top-notch songs outshines the cookie-cutter beats saturating mainstream hip-hop. Ali’s style varies from aggressive spitting on tracks like “Philistine David ” to laid back delivery on the album’s opener, “Real As Can Be.” Beyond all of this, Ali’s scope encompasses a variety of questions with universal significance. When he asks, “Can you tell me, what language do you laugh in?/The human reaction of smiles and cries/what language are the tears when they’re falling from your eyes?” it is not a question intended to divide in the style of Babel, but rather to point out the similarities we share as humans. An intelligent, varied and musical foray into hip-hop. Don’t Sleep On: “As Real As Can Be,” “The Believers” (feat. Slug) and “Good Lord.” , Dirty Bomb: Formerly a member of ¡Tchkung! out of Seattle, Grey Filastine, upon the break-up of the group, has gone on to explore global sounds in experimental electronica. On his February release, Dirty Bomb, Filastine mashes glitch, hip-hop and industrial with sounds from Asia, Europe and the Middle East, including cameos from overseas musicians. The textures are dense and layered, sheets of sound that have no one city of origin, making this album a true global citizen. Hand drums, zithers and traditional chants find themselves side by side with throbbing bass lines and electric blips, all finding their places here in the hands of a producer adept at finding harmony between cross-cultural sounds. While some of the tracks can become repetitive, the majority are well fleshed out and driving. In “Singularities,” the beat is built up, deconstructed and then slammed back down in grimy fashion, an example of excellent production that runs throughout the album. Don’t Sleep On: “Singularities,” “Strategy of Tension,” and “Bitrate Sneers.” , When Machines Exceed Human Intelligence: Under the pseudonym Harmonic 313, producer Mark Pritchard has released an album of spacey and electronic music. Interesting about the tracks here is that they range greatly from straight ahead ambient electronica to tracks that sound like J Dilla beats blended with Kraftwerk’s Trans-Atlantic Express on acid. Using sonic pulses, computer blips and beeps and thick bass, Pritchard crafts an album that sounds almost entirely machine created, as if a hard drive rather than a human is behind the composition. Even vocals go hardwired on “Word Problems,” where a children’s spelling computer game serves as the spoken medium. Don’t Sleep On: “Call to Arms,” “Falling Away” (feat. Steve Spacek) and “Köln” , Living Thing: Following a two year hiatus after 2005’s Writer’s Block, punctuated only by a digital only release limited to 5,000 US copies in 2006 (Seaside Rock), PB&J have returned with the March release of their 5th full length album. It has been a busy 4 years for the group as they climbed the ladder of musical notoriety through the ubiquitous hit “Young Folks.” They’ve gone on to be featured on hip-hop mixtapes and make all sorts of late night talk show rounds. While there are no comparable tracks on this album, it nonetheless provides more of the same feel. Tracks range from optimistic up-tempo to slow and melancholy utilizing various levels of production quality. The positive is that the success of “Young Folks” hasn’t spawned an album of copycats. These are original and show the trio expanding their sound, bringing in slightly more electronic drum programming at points. The album’s clear winner, “Nothing to Worry About,” is an about-face from “Young Folks,” female vocalist replaced with a chorus of distorted children at full volume and a funky bass line complimented by drums echoing off the inside walls of the song. A solid outing without going stale. Don’t Sleep On: “Nothing to Worry About,” “Just the Past,” and “It Don’t Move Me.” , Junior: Big since their debut album in 2001, the fittingly titled Junior is only the 3rd release from Röyksopp in 8 years. And, given the shift in style between Melody A.M. and The Understanding, what happened next was of a great deal of interest. Turns out, the duo has managed to find a middle ground between the two, with various tracks exemplifying the more mellow and sugary aspects of Melody (”Happy Up Here”) and the more polished and electro-heavy Understanding (”Röyksopp Forever.”) The album retains the precision and vision of the duo’s work, bringing in female vocalists, chill melodies at times and electric tweaks that made “Eple” so popular. Don’t Sleep On: “Happy Up Here,” “Vision One,” and “Silver Cruiser.” , Bird Brains: DIY. A term that, in an age of bloggers, home studios, and rising costs in all sectors has come to be a badge of honor and distinction. But there’s DIY music, and then there’s the unreal, experimental and phenomenal Bird Brains from The Tune-Yards (capitalization varies depending on site), aka Merrill Garbus. If what I’ve heard is true, Garbus crafted this entire album using small recorders and computer programs available through shareware. The result is a gritty, honest and surprising album that takes lo-fi to a new level. With a distinct and quirky voice, Garbus backs herself with drums and percussion sounds like something being slammed against a hard surface, ukulele and an entire arsenal of found sounds like kids playing in a park, birds chirping outside a window and conversations with a child. At times, the recording equipment’s range is tested as you can hear it clip, but this only adds to the allure of the tracks. Take Björk, mix her with Seu Jorge’s acoustic live recordings for and then juice the entire blend with a sense of creativity large enough to view the world around it as an instrument and you have the Tune-Yards. Nothing is out of bounds here. Spoons on glasses, discussions of blueberries, and steps on wooden stairs are just some of the interesting sounds turned music. One can only hope that follow up efforts will be equally beautiful in their range and direction. Don’t Sleep On: “For You,” “News,” and “Little Tiger.” So that’s it for April. Chubb Rock and Wordsmith, new Del the Funky Homosapien and a ton of other new music is coming in May, so stay tuned, and keep your listening intelligent.
A new way of painting has born, its name Brushes, an iPhone/iPod Touch application that brings you the chance of drawing wherever you are, whenever you want… Some of you, who like to draw, are probably always with a pencil and a paper on your pocket. In my case, most of those drawings or sketches, get “lost” waiting for become a finished art piece. Now, with this app I have on my iPod Touch, I can, not only draw whatever I want, but “painting” with colors.. It’s funny that I always wanted to go out with my watercolors and paint the beautiful sights I have in Granada, where I live, but never don’t know why. Since I have Brushes, I’ve been painting several times in the street, things I always wanted to. The difference between this app and the others like it, is the easy and fast drawing/painting process. It’s very simple to use: I’ll post some of my Brushes drawings and, if you are looking for a easy and awesome drawing app for your iPhone, this is it. Try it and tell me later
Any Video Converter (AVC) là công cụ giúp bạn chuyển đổi từ các định dạng video thông dụng như DivX,
Apple hat in der Nacht von Dienstag auf Mittwoch (mitteleuropäische Zeit) eine neue Beta des iPhones OS 3.0 veröffentlicht. Neben dem eigentlichen OS wird auch eine Vorabversion von iTunes 8.2 zur Verfügung gestellt, welche die Entwickler zur Nutzung der neuen Beta installieren müssen. Screenshots mit einigen Neuerung in der neuen Beta findet Ihr .
Well things are looking up…. Sold book on Amazon today… People your best price comes from eCRATER.. And mine also…. “Waiting for Agnes”. is sold in three places Amazon for 22.00, eBay for 19.50 and eCRATER for 19.00 The reason for the differences is to meet all the shipping and selling fee’s. There is no selling fee at eCRATER. This is a wonderful book written by a local North Florida author, Joe Bullard. Go to Waiting for Agnes by Joe Bullard readerwave.com will take you to several places after you get there… check it out put it in your favorites, or make a shortcut..I did… My surprise of the day was I received a iPod for a early Mother’s Day present. Thank You my daughters. Now I have to learn to use it. My wonderful husband is learning faster than I am… he likes to read directions first. I want to just do so I am slowed down a bit… That and I have fat fingers.. I don’t see me doing it two thumbs.. To fat I keep hitting the wrong keys… Entered a lot of shot glasses in the past couple of days… I have now started getting new ones in that have not been in anywhere before. Go to or this will take you to many sites after you get there… put in your favorites, or shortcut I did…
Energy is an interesting topic.Click on this link
The beauty of electronics — complexities hidden away inside simple exteriors. —– I picked a used 15GB 3rd Gen iPod off eBay to have as a collector’s piece and a backup external hard drive. The battery was shot, so I bought one of those 1100 mAh DIY battery replacement kits. The instructions certainly looked easy enough - right?
First, I was trying to preserve the integrity of the casing, prying ever so gingerly…yeah, that didn’t work. Apple iPods are like little white fortresses. At the point where the screwdriver drew blood (ow, my thumbs) I resorted to brute force. The directions were wrong. The best point to stab it open was near the TOP around the headphone jack where there were no accursed latches, not the suggested point 1.5″ down on the side. After I got it open, it was relatively straightforward: I disconnected the hard drive and switched out the battery. —-
Just today I have read news about a mom and child finding rocks inside a Nintendo box. Jodi Wykle, bought a new Nintendo DS for his son as a birthday gift. However when the thrilled teener opened the box, all they saw inside was rocks wrapped in chinese newspaper. They bought the gadget at Wal Mart. yikes! Imagine the surprise of the kid, and mom as well. There was another story of a mom and kid also, where they found a memory stick loaded with porn when they bought a new PSP. Story of the Nintend DS from Florida. http://videogames.yahoo.com/events/plugged-in/florida-teen-finds-rocks-in-nintendo-ds-box/1308945 I cannot find the link to that other story, and there were news also of people finding rocks when they tried to buy an iPod at Target! And in one ocasion the mom was asked to pick another box again, and found rocks instead of an iPod.. again!!! It seems that these are not “uncommon”, but hopefully isolated. iRocks. lol. I hope it does not happen to me. I will always make sure to open the items that I bought before leaving the store. I think that is the best way to avoid this problem. ——————–This Just In——————-Breaking News—————— Brick instead of Macbook Pro http://gizmodo.com/5231972/best-buy-sells-customer-a-large-brick-in-place-of-a-macbook-pro-literally
|
|
