Every month in 2024, The Robe has released something new. Primarily, it's been 2-song singles but last month we got an entire 4-song EP! I am hesitant to post about this frequency because I fear I will curse it. Rollum Haas (The Robe himself) is a rather busy individual and I imagine his touring schedule will eventually make it impractical to continue this schedule. I'm doing my best not to be pessimistic tho; because I'm loving all these new songs.
Somehow this slipped right past in me in 2019 but Mellotron Variations is a collaborative undertaking from Pat Sansone (Wilco), John Medeski, Jonathan Kirkscey and Robby Grant performing original, cinematic, compositions on the mellotron. It's right there in the name!
The record is on pink vinyl and streaming in all the usual spots. Moreso, there's also plenty of video to augment your enjoyment. This Crosstown Arts trailer is a really impressive setup and explanation of the project. It's a nice place to start but this Tiny Desk Concert is just fantastic. Different vibes but both enjoyable. If you want a little bit more, watch the OZ Arts show where they open with my favorite track from the record.
1978 was a good time for Space Disco. Maybe the best time. Possibly the only time.
Droids was a French synthpop band from the late 70's heavily inspired by Star Wars. Their one and only album was called Star Peace and they dressed like silver C-3P0 (that's U-3P0 if you wanna nerd out). The main single, (Do You Have) The Force? is an enjoyable romp and actually part 1 of 2.
Digging just slightly deeper into the specifics of the band unearths a world of additional discovery. These songs were written by Fabrice Cuitad, who was a label manager at Barclay and founded the label Egg. They signed the electronic band Heldon (Richard Pinhas) which was largely influential in the early 70s. French musicians Yves Hayat, Richard Lornac and Jean-Paul Batailley play on the album. Supposedly it is Hayat and Lornac in these clips.
All of these names are unfamiliar to me but that's sort of the point. It's a fun / quirky track with many doors to open. Enjoy.
Today I Learned: The Breeder's song "Drivin' On 9" is actually a cover of Ed's Redeeming Qualities - a band from the Boston alternative music scene that The Breeders emerged from. This in-depth history tells the tale of how it all came to be - a fascinating read!
I'm always shocked and pleased to discover songs that I had no idea were cover songs. This one ranks way up there and thanks to this Cover Me site, now I can find a whole bunch more.
I'm not sure I'd ever make it through the whole collection but I am quite impressed by these two compilations of every Elliott Smith studio recording that fans can get their hands on. Grand Mal: Studio Rarities looks to be 8 discs long* - containing alternate mixes, unreleased songs, et al. The Moon is a Sickle Cell is a similar gathering of tracks but updated somewhat more regularly.
Generally speaking, these kinds of compilations are reserved for super fans. Do you want to hear the different mixes from Larry Crane or Fritz Michaud? Do you want to hear Smith cover The Beatles multiple times? I don't always answer yes to questions like that but in this case I think I might!
Of course it is 2024, so the Grand Mal comp is streaming on YouTube if you prefer it that way.
I randomly stumbled upon Texas Dungeon Siege Fest MMXXIV, a three day dungeonsynth festival that took play in May 2024 at Tiny Minotaur in Austin, TX and I absolutely love it. Thanks to @field_2 the performances are all online. I even tossed them into a playlist for continuous playback.
I was not familiar with the Tiny Minotaur venue but their about page is worth a read - three levels of explanation that get less dense as you go. The TLDR is that it's an art space for performance art, Live action DnD, immersive theater and music. In short, it's a place where people in wizard robes and chainmail can play cinematic synth music with a Renaissance twist and everyone gets it.
I'm gonna treat this list of artists as a jumping off point to find more. I hope you do too. We all (probably) need more Bog D'wella in our lives.
Really been enjoying Never Post recently. It's "a podcast about the Internet" that finds the balance between being extremely online and having some cognitive distance (not dissonance). It's often a group of smart and affable people talking about something that may seem meaningless but is actually highly influential.
This recent episode, The Sound Files of Summer, is a discussion on MP3 collections, metadata and how streaming services have rewired how we approach music. I don't agree with their takeaways 100%* but I certainly felt engaged by the whole thing. It's rare that I just sit in my car and keep listening because of a hot topic; they managed to do that - on an episode about music files no less!
I'm still diving into the archives but everything I've heard thus far is a treat. I also really appreciate their slight to Spotify on their homepage. So, subscribe on Apple or Overcast.
* Multiple times in the episode the hosts complain that Apple renamed their music software from "iTunes" to "Music" and that the new name implies some grandiose statement from Apple about it now being the singular experience for all your music, rather than a place for your files. I get their point but if you have ever seen someone use an iPhone that isn't deeply entrenched in computer culture, you do not want to name your music app "iTunes" in the same way that you don't want to name your web browser "Safari" or "Chrome." Apple's renaming functions as an easy gateway to find the right app and as a advertisement for their Apple Music service.
All told, this is a minor quibble for a show that I very much enjoy but I was shocked that they did not offer up a more straightforward reason for renaming the app to "Music."
If you are not familiar, The Privates were a Nashville band from 2003 to 2010; releasing two albums and two EPs in that time. The band was comprised of Dave Paulson, Ryan Norris, Rollum Haas and Keith Lowen - all members of other bands around town (The Pink Spiders, Lambchop, The Features, De Novo Dahl - respectively). They didn't play out too often but, when they did, it was beloved.
Personally speaking, I've listened to their four releases countless times. Their work was always just the right balance of upbeat energy with melancholy introspection. Tongue-in-cheek lyrics with truly pained longing. Always a good mix.
Two new songs were recorded by the band and the previously released tracks were remastered. It sounds great, even if you're unfamiliar with the band.
I've got more to say about the album art but, for now, just go pre-order the LP. We'll be unleashing new music from it soon enough!
I have seen several of these over the last few months and am very intrigued by them. I tend to design *while* I am developing, not in a linear fashion, so I never get to try them out. Intrigued tho.
At this very point in time, June of 2024, there's a great deal of advancement in the realm of Generative AI to Video. In a year, maybe this won't make any us bat an eye. In two, most certainly not. But for right now, the advancements are impressive and ongoing.
The lobabobloblaw’s libabiblibrary is a YouTube channel offering various gems emerging from that tech. Pieces like Brutal were created with SD3, Luma Dream Machine and Google MusicFX. It looks pretty dang real. Same goes for this blobfish; disgusting but veering hard into reality. Still noticeably not real but getting there.
I'm sure there are thousands of channels and twitter accounts and other repositories showcasing this sort of thing but I am enjoying this one. I have to assume other channels don't have Virtua Fighter Star Trek, After Marge, The Simpsons 3D Sitcom, or Aliens devouring breakfast. The further back in the channel you go, the rougher these examples get but I think that's just a sign of something to look forward to.
I truly do not recall the last time I just browsed through a design studio portfolio. It's been too long! Given that CSA Design was established in 1989 and has a body of work recognized by just about every publication you can think of, I don't think this is new to anyone (but me). I appreciate that their site showcases a very limited amount of work despite them having 35 years of experience! There's plenty there to inspire but not so much that you quit before you even start.
Really enjoyed this Hobbes animated short, Dial Tone. Great style, textures and color palette. The music and sound design is by Upright T-Rex Music - whom I always biased towards - and I think they took it up ten notches. Great stuff, especially for just a literal minute of your time.
Recently stumbled on this lyric video for "The New Richter Waltz" from Craig Benedict Valentine Badynee (aka CBVB). Something about his voice sounded a bit familiar and then I connected the dots that he was the frontman for PAS/CAL, an indiepop band from the early 2000's that I quite enjoyed. Good to hear him back at it.
Ever since Epic acquired Bandcamp (and definitely since Songtradr Acquired Bandcamp from Epic (laying off lots of staff)), I've kept my eye on Bandcamp alternatives. Thus far, Bandcamp has held steady with no noticeable service interruptions or changes in functionality. I'm pessimistic but we're about 8 months into the new ownership and waters seemed to have calmed.
In the wake of those changes, several competitors sprung up. One that I've been keeping my eye on is Nina Protocol, aka Nina. It's a very slimmed down experience and largely focused on electronic music, but it seems to be doing well. They just launched a mobile app that has some nice slick interactions!
The Nina service is still quite young but it's great to see them continue growing. Maybe throw a bookmark at their editorial and dip in every once and awhile.
This Daily Dungeon game is a fun little treat that changes every day. Not much to explain here, just move the little guy around the dungeon and see if you can decipher the puzzles. Viola, fun!
I am a little biased in my interest here because Anjali was CEO of Vimeo but, regardless, it is quite interesting to hear the approach on ad supported broadcasts. Everything old is new again?
