Mind the Gap: January 2011 Archives

Google engineer Alexander Chen + HTML5 + NYC subway scheduling equals sonic art using tension in the line.

The video above is just a sampling of the sonic magic available live on the Conductor site (www.mta.me) which "turns the New York subway system into an interactive string instrument. Using the MTA's actual subway schedule, the piece begins in realtime by spawning trains which departed in the last minute, then continues accelerating through a 24 hour loop."

But hey, no "holding the doors" improv, okay?

[via waxy]

David Pescovitz has been publishing an amazing series of posts over at BoingBoing focused on the Fairlight synthesizer. I suspect a few Mind the Gap readers are going to want to check those out.

Many of the accompanying videos are coolly instructional in nature, but the one linked via the image below (sorry--embedding disabled) has been my favorite so far purely in terms of the aural nostalgia factor. This will take you back. Musically and (wow, was that a 5'1/4 floppy?!) otherwise. They're just not programming them like that anymore.

Video complete with keytar interlude and, wait, is that a hand gun on top of the synth? TV theme song arrangers were a tough, if questionably dressed, lot back then.

Plenty more demos where that came from, including this one:

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So here I was in my off-music-writing-hours having a grand old time blogging about my food adventures with my fellow culinary adventurers over at Three Points Kitchen, and it turns out I'm just a trend. A trend!

Food for Thinkers: When Music Writers Grow Up, They Become Food Writers

...Both music and food journalism deal with writing about something intangible--something invisible. Sure, sound waves exist, but you can't see them. And taste; there's no accounting for it. So how do you describe something that is not there? Analogy, comparison, hyperbole, these are often the (overused) tools of a music journalist. Music journalists coin phrases and make up terms for genres that have never existed before. Chill wave? Witch House? Coke Rap? We describe something by its effects, like describing the wind by the movement of the trees....

On first pass through the entire piece, I wasn't convinced that this was the connection--for me, at least--but I appreciated the idea. On reflection, however, I considered the fact that I am not much interested in writing about the food "experience" so much as I'm into digging around in the process of how the food is made. And then I thought about how I write about music and the kinds of articles and interviews I produce, all those lines of questioning I pursue concerning method and motivation.

Aww, man. I am riding a trend.

I wonder who will be the first newspaper editor to get wind of this and decide that the food critic can handle covering fine dining and the symphony all in the same evening (and the same 800 words).

I have a soft spot for epic tales delivered via song, but such narrative ballads seem to be out of fashion these days. Today however, in the middle of an article on complaint letters, I was gifted a referral to this bit of fantasticness.

Feeling sluggish or uninspired in your creative life as you cruise into 2011? Looking to shake things up a bit? Here's some inspiration:

Found: Lost Pictures of New York Blizzard

Background: There is some discussion online considering whether this is a true tale or a gonzo marketing ploy. Either way, I was charmed by the storytelling.

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Matt Danzico is experimenting with his perception of time when he engages in "new and unusual experiences." Will he get more out of life? You can follow along at home via The Time Hack.

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A.O. Scott neatly points out that the cultural elite, those naked emperors trying to control everyone, are not actually art gallery curators and orchestra CEOs, but rather the marketing arms of corporations. Considering the products they're pushing, that would make me nervous if I didn't so much enjoy the shove back at them. Freedom!

Elsewhere in judgment, taste, and classical music, there has been much debate of late regarding the utility of top ten list unattached to David Letterman's sound stage, but over in Orange County they are really distilling the game back down to its essence. It's not about the list, people, it's about the process. And how much fun you can have in the comments.

Speaking of creative inspiration and lines in the sand, the divider between copyright infringement and cultural appropriation in your brain may lean mostly on where you happen to be standing at the time. So mind your toes everyone.

Whenever I review music, I worry about the disconnect between the creative side and the critical side of this symbiotic relationship. Perhaps if I animated my comments on a given work, we'd be standing on a more level playing field? It would also encourage me to spell check. Twice.

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Today's NYTimes music coverage mines the mash-up (from Ives, forward) and skims the cream off the top of the classical composer (must be dead!) crop. Expect fights in the comments! So far, Tchaikovsky is either a god or a third-rate hack. Meanwhile, among the still-breathing sonic crafters whose contributions are under Gray Lady examination...

Should scientists study creativity? Charles Limb considers our understanding of how the brain is able to innovate...

[via Brian]

Jimmy Kimmel's musical guests have impressed me before, and they continue to do so.

I read a rather heavy volume of articles online every day, and I often find myself wondering if I'm actually thinking enough about/doing enough with all the information I'm consuming to make it worth the time investment. On the flip side, I also fret about what I'm missing as the data goes whizzing by. So in 2011, I'm going to try and share more of the daily content that stands out to me for reasons large and small, and I hope you'll add in links to the great material you come across as well.

From Today's Feed: Gentle reminders to carry forward into 2011 from experiences in the year+ previous (as presented in helpful illustrations, not mine).

#1

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#2

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BONUS: Fascinating but not funny at all because it's dangerous, not to mention illegal...