Mind the Gap: December 2010 Archives
First, this morning's brilliant comment on our modern reality from xkcd (click through to the site for full version).
Which reminded me that I had been saving this article for post-holiday reading, an essay which teased "new devices that make downloaded music sound good." For audiophiles who die a little every time they hear the term "mp3" (let alone the actual sound files) and for those of us who swear the difference is indistinguishable, Kaplan's article is a nice review of the situation. In simple English, he outlines the fundamentals, down to his clear acknowledgment that how you listen (computer vs stereo, for example) is an important factor in determining how much impact file size and sampling rate have on your listening experience. But, as with most things, better technology comes along to correct problems and allows us to have it all.
On this New Year's Eve Day, Chris Foley over at the Collaborative Piano blog shares this amazing Carol Burnett sketch. I don't know about you, but I think I've been to this concert.
I have not, however, ever been to Germany. But if I ever get the chance, I hope to find myself there on a future Dec. 31, in a bar watching this bit of sketch comedy with the locals. In the meantime, Google brings the show to you.
Can't decide which classic holiday film to watch this weekend? Toss those chestnuts in the oven and get into the spirit of the season with this true story of two accidental elves. Fair warning: It's a tearjerker of a tale.
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Happy Holidays, everyone! See you in 2011!
I've never been a gamer; that's likely due to the fact that despite the hand-eye coordination you'd assume a concert violinist possesses natively, if you put a button-laced controller in my hands I tend to stink up the place. Even Guitar Hero confounds me. When I read about Papa Sangre on BoingBoing this afternoon, however, I was so taken with the idea of a completely audio-driven game that I only hesitated for a moment before clicking to proceed on the purchase of this $6.99 iPhone app. (Hey, it's "work related".)
Though there are visual controls for walking and turning, the rest of the game is completely auditory: the setting is total darkness, and you listen for music, monsters, and to the pattern of your footfalls as you navigate through this captivating scavenger hunt all by your wits and your ears (and the omniscient, angelic voice that serves as situational tour guide). Something about conjuring your own version of the terrors that surround as you tiptoe over crunchy finger bones to collect the requisite number of notes without waking the snarling, snoring beast on guard--and all in the name of saving the soul of a beloved, no less--is satisfying to me in a way Mario Kart couldn't touch. Plus, it turns out that I'm good at it!
Hats off to the Papa Sangre team. You can find out a great deal more about the project here, and nice brisk summary of how they designed the audio is posted here.
I'm not much for those "end-of-year, top ten, most awesomest things that we read/heard/saw and can fill the remaining short days of December arguing about" lists. Push John Cage to the top of the charts if it makes you happy, twist up Yogi Bear and impress the internet by all means, but why reduce your yearly experiences to ten items when the sum of all the parts can generate something like this:
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Great to see this digital native speak passionately about social issues and debunk the idea that his generation would never think "about anything bigger than our Facebook profiles and our TV screens."
Still, another side to the speeding social technology train (re: the future) also caught my attention this weekend:
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David Lynch is now writing electro-pop, yet considering the twisted paths his films have led us down, I hope at some point he decides to make a similarly distinct statement with his music.
Meanwhile, the film studio that is our living room produced a concert trailer for Mobtown Modern's upcoming Ken Ueno portrait concert. The resulting teaser is not even close to Lynch-level creepy, but still, what a difference context makes.
Even as a tween, I was never much of a boy band fan, but the Maccabeats, coming to us out of Yeshiva University, have stolen my heart. In celebration of the season, they just brought out a new track for Chanukah, based on Taio Cruz's "Dynamite" and Mike Tompkins' a cappella version. A most worthy addition to the standard repertoire!
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