Monthly Archives: May 2012

Cavemen’s Flute date back 40,000 years

Journal of Human Evolution

Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The Mother Nature Net cites a study published in the Journal of Human Evolution which describes amazing discoveries in the Swabian caves in southern Germany. Two bone flutes which are dated between 40,000 and 45,000 years ago were discovered there. This is the earliest indication of artistic creativity and of the technological innovation in that era.

2,000 or 3,000 years after the flutes were made an extremely cold climatic phase started in Europe. It is not clear how it effected the people of those times.

It seems that the history of Music dates way back before the history we learn in schools. Maybe it’s time to learn the history of arts first. It will give the well known history of wars and conflicts another perspective.

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PledgeMusic

English: Ben Folds performing in Knoxville, TN...

English: Ben Folds performing in Knoxville, TN at the Valarium on 2009-02-22. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

PledgeMusic

I bumped into WXRT93 post on Ben Folds Five and rushed to the free download link (how could I resist?). That’s how I discovered PledgeMusic which is a great tool for promoting musical projects with the fans help. The amazing part is that the musicians get to keep their artistic freedom and the fans get great new ways to interact with their favorite musicians. The PledgeMusic about page explains:

“PledgeMusic for Fans

PledgeMusic is a way for you to help your favourite artists make their records.

It helps artists and bands design a specifically tailored fundraising campaign to raise money for their next release. Pledge encourages the artists to participate with their fans in an exciting and unique way by creating an irresistible menu of exclusive content and experiences. The list can be anything from DJing at your house party, to attending a rehearsal, or even a movie and dinner with the band!
There is no risk to you as your money will only be taken once the artist’s target amount has been raised, and Team Pledge will keep you informed of the project’s status every step of the way.

So please get involved and have a good time helping your favourite bands create more great music!

PledgeMusic for Artists

PledgeMusic is a music company offering you a new way to take control of your career. We’re not interested in being a rights owner – Pledge does not want ANY rights to your music, live income, merch etc. We just help you fund whatever type or format of record you want to release next.

To do this we simply help and encourage you to participate with your fans in an exciting and unique way. Pledge allows you to easily create an irresistible customised menu of exclusive content and experiences that integrates your database, MySpace friends, Facebook fans, Twitter followers and various other social networking sites. You decide how much money you’d like to raise and your fans pledge money for whichever item or experience they want. They will only be charged once the full target amount has been raised and there’s even the option to build a charitable donation into your campaign. We charge a flat 15% fee and we have no hidden fees or transaction costs whatsoever.

You are your own A&R and Marketing Manager – you choose the studio, the producer, the artwork, the promotion – it’s all down to you! Let the fans be your label, while you keep the rights to your music.”

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Two interesting points of view on the state of the music industry, on which side are you?

 

Positive Music Place

Dear Mr. Gill,

I recently read your comments about what the music business has become.  I’d like to thank you for articulating, with brutal honesty, feelings felt by many musicians about the current state of our industry.

However, I’d also like to challenge you–and the countless artists who feel the way you do.  Yeah, the music business sucks.  What can we do about it?

The first step is to ask why it is that music has become devalued.  The superficial answer may be that in 1960, recorded media, such as 45s and LP records, cost more to manufacture and distribute.  Digital downloads have less overhead expenses attached to them; thus a lower price point is possible.  In general, the trend of technology is that it gets cheaper as it evolves.

But what about the bigger picture?  Is it true that “creative brains are being sorely mistreated?”

There’s no nice way…

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Happy Birthday Bob Moog!

Moog sound room : moogmusic.com photos by hyre...

Moog sound room : moogmusic.com photos by hyreone@Flickr  (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Google commemorated Bob Moog‘s 78th birthday with a great doodle, some say the most successful one ever. The Doodle brought great memories for me. As a teenager I used to play with this kind of early synthesizers at the Tel Aviv University Electronic Music lab. Plugging saw tooth signal into a square one with real cables. Trying to get a cool sound.

I was happy to see that Moog Music Inc have a few apps for iPhone. I downloaded the once called Animoog. Now after 30 years I will be able to continue my trials to get that cool sound!

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Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau

Fisher Dieskau was a mentor and the “golden reference” to many professional and amateur singers. In my 1st voice lesson as an amateur singer, I’ve learned that if I really want to hear how a Lieder should sound I’d better listen to Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau performance. Everything he did was perfect starting from technicalities such as diction and all the way to his wonderful and reliable performances and interpretation.

I don’t take voice lessons anymore but the performances of Dietrich Fischer Dieskau will always accompany me and be a source of inspiration.

Here he is in one of my favorite piece of music – Schubert’s Die schöne Müllerin

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Nikolaj Lund promotes Classical Music in a refreshingly new way. I’ve reblogged this from Serendipity

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Horizons

Less than 2 minutes long, Steve Hackett‘s Horizons is a complete masterpiece. It sounds so whole you can’t believe it’s packed in such a short time. Although I do wish it would have lasted longer.

Published on Genesis Foxtrot album, Horizons sounds much more like classical than a progressive rock music. In that album it slides gently into the next track, the monumental “Supper’s ready“.

Enjoy!

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Connecting Zappa and Mother’s day is creative by itself! I join Micro Museum’s salute!

Micro Museum

Big fan of Frank Zappa.  Saw him perform many times and each time brainy, remarkable, seriously loop-y, nasty, and funny.  Grew to admire his freedom of expression advocacy against censorship.  He lost, but not without getting it on record that there are no limits to the creative mind and no limits to the forces that want to control that same mind and therefore brainwashing the minds of many others as they grow and diversify their understanding of life and responsibility.  He left this planet way too soon.  His music is a cherished part of my life’s musical history.

So as a tribute for Mother’s Day I salute creative thinkers past, present and future.

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On the state of MP3 and tomatoes

Neil Young in concert in Oslo, Norway in 2009.

Neil Young in concert in Oslo, Norway in 2009. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Everyone who lived long enough remembers the real taste of tomatoes. Long before they were re-engineered to last long transportation journeys, on the expense of their flavor.

When it comes to music we needed someone like Neil Young to spell it out for us. Early this year Young said that MP3 sounds “Like crap”. The same technology that enabled the mass distribution of music, did that on the expense of its quality. In most cases MP3 format does a bad job at retrieving the original recorded sound and reduces its richness.

And there is another issue. In a world where music is so illegally accessible you have to be very popular to make money. So common denominator, in terms of audience taste, rules. Nowadays there is less room for more advanced music and artists.

An artist like Young can afford himself to record with Analog equipment. But what was once a widely spread technology is now very expensive for the rest.

However there are still some good digital options out there. Surprisingly the WAV format is one of them. The following Wired Article – “Why Neil Young Hates MP3 — And What You Can Do About It” as well as the vivid discussion following it, gave me a lot of insight into those formats.

Hardware and software are now available to allow higher quality of sound and musical enjoyment, it’s up to us to demand it from our music providers.

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May 6, 2012 · 11:00 am