Recently in Music Category

The good news is that the free software that came with my Korg microKontrol finally arrived. I've been reluctant to start a new project using GarageBand, as GarageBand wasn't able to take advantage of many of the new features of the microKontrol; basically, only the piano keys were recognized as input. Korg is gracious enough to include feature-limited copies of two of the most popular music software packages available today, Reason 3 and Ableton Live 4.

I'm a relative newcomer to music software, but I've had a great deal of exposure to shareware and feature-limited demo software (called "crippleware") over the years. Many shareware authors have adopted the simple approach of nagging the user periodically to register the software, or simply restricting the number of days the software will work without a license. The limitations imposed by the authors of crippleware usually fall into one or more of the following broad categories:

  1. Disabling or removing key features
  2. Preventing the user from saving their work.
  3. Watermarking their output in some limited but undesirable way.

The authors of Reason and Live have approached the notion of crippleware in two very different ways. After trying them both out, I'm far more likely to use one of them than the other. Here's the breakdown on the two approaches.

My first mashup is done!

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Yeah, I know - long time not talkie. Well, it's been a crazy holiday season so far, with no signs of letting up. The work joint is hopping these days, what with the strategizing and the coding and the so on - plenty to keep me busy all by itself. As if that weren't enough, I've taken a big liking to mashup in the last couple of months, a peculiar genre of music dedicated to putting one groups lyrics over another group's music. (Hey, you got Pink Floyd in my Fitty Cent!) So, I decided to take a few choice pieces unencumbered by severe copyright issues and make my own track using Apple's GarageBand. I'm pretty happy with the results, and it definitely was a learning experience - GarageBand is a good tool, but I'll probably pick up something a bit more heavywieght for my next project. Take a listen and let me know what you think:

Comments and criticism welcome, but let me know if you're gonna link to this post, okay? My poor hosting provider would probably like a bit of advance warning.

So tomorrow's the big motorcycle cornering class at Laguna Seca - expect a full report on that when I get back. And no, I haven't fogotten the big site redesign; I just haven't finished it, either. Soon, I promise.

No. Words.

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Just listen.

(I'm pretty sure I've mentioned the guys behind this before, but if I haven't, they're easily the best mash-up artists out there.)

Need more cowbell?

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Look no further than the masters of rock over at Rad Monkey.

Dueling Playlists!

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Bill's recent post on what he's currently listening to gave me a great idea. See, there's this photo challenge he's been running with our mutual friend Dan for some time now (drop him an email if you'd like to participate). What about a themed playlist competition? Given a weekly theme, come up with a collection of music that is interesting or meaningful and sounds good when played sequentially and submit it. No winners, just the chance to check out some new music. Heck, if people submit iTunes iMix links you could listen to 30 second samples of all the submissions and buy the ones you like. (You are all using iTunes, right?)

I'd be willing to host such a site, if people were interested. I'd love to get a bunch of really interesting new music suggestions each week, and I bet you all would too...

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Fire Eagle

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