Monday, November 4, 2024

The Wrong People

 


The Wrong People on Bandcamp, the track above, is the now the forth version, with a few changes.  The only comment I got about another track on this Album, is it ”sounded like a slow jam”.  That comment would be based on his musical taste, their frame of reference, and have no idea if that is Meshuggah or Garth Brooks. But all these tracks are derived from jammed improvisations I do.   



Found inspiration in the Sabine Hossenfelder video on Election Systems this morning for a new Spoken Words album track. I didn’t pronounce Machiavellian correctly, if Dictionary is correct, but is a word I have never used before, and don't remember it ever coming up in conversation, unlike Narcissist. 

 

We are in long shirt weather in this part of Kyoto now. 


I will now listen to this 1,000s of times for things I think I need to change. Do those edits and remix, possibly record new parts, and then listen to that another 1000 times. As it is now:


I repeat that a few times, then abandon it.  So I expect the track will be different tomorrow, or in a few days time. 

The Wrong Type of People become Politicians. Well, maybe 99% of them anyway. They have the same characteristics as the typical CEO. And the words in this are just about that, and not elections, impending or not. 

Sabine's video covers research that randomly selected citizens, like jurors in the legal system,  have very good outcomes under some test cases. Also that approach is hated by everyone asked.😄

The episode of  THE ORVILLE  - Majority Rule, on a democratic governing system rather like likes/ dislikes in Social Media. The society has no actual authorities or politicians, just a system of voting by the general public on everyone's behavior in real-time. As you can imagine that is also terrifying!

I expect in another 1000 years, the earth, countries and the governing system may not be recognizable to someone from our time...

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Sunday, November 3, 2024

Coffee & Rock is Joyous

 


The track is also part of the Bandcamp Spoken Words Album

This maybe the first time I put my real self in a video and thumbnail, rather than a cartooned version. I probably will not do it again.

It was a really wet Saturday afternoon yesterday (2024/11/2), and I pulled up my current Reaper template project and recorded the first version of this track with my Ibanez RG 6 string. Took all of 5 minutes for the playing. Editing the much long improvised rhythm guitar and melodic takes into a track took much longer. Take 8 & 16 bar sections and copy and paste it together. Usually have to cut out lead bits to give space to even hear the rhythm guitar. But this one is all about the CHUG of rhythm guitar part, as in the opening 8 bars. Love the Guitar Pinch Harmonics too.  

Came back on this sunny Sunday morning and added the 16 bar melodic synth part to the center section to add a little more interest in something that is really quite repetitive even if has that rock aggression I love. Used it unquantized as I played it. There is a fine line between "feel" and "sloppy" but think this is "good enough". Doing this for myself anyway.


I visit a local café alone about once a week and put in my JBL ENDURANCE RUN 2 headphones, have breakfast, sip coffee and listen to music from my phone or mp3 player.   It is a joyous thing for me. Unlimited refills with a comfortable table and not too crowded.

I don't use SPOTIFY, but take my music with me. I rip all my CDs to hires mp3s using dBpoweramp, and have done for many years. SPOTIFY is a pox on the music industry and I do not use it.



I only recently discovered Devin Townsend and listened to these albums in detail recently at a café. 

But if I have just made my own new track, I could have it on continuous repeat listening for things in it "that annoy me or start to feel wrong".  Part of my track release process. After I have uploaded a track to Bandcamp, I may revise and upload it 4 or 5 times before I give up and just abandon it.  I never try and make anything Perfect though, that is a complete waste of time, and end up with it is what it is.  

it is what it is being a product of who I was at that time with that amount of enthusiasm and skill for doing whatever it was.. 

My most frequented café is GUSTO here in Kyoto Japan. Will sometimes go to a Starbucks for a new Frappuccino thing or seasonal cake, but otherwise find that place nowhere near as comfortable. Starbucks coffee is just burnt, bitter and way over priced. I just don't get why so many want to sit in a Starbucks working or reading. I assume it is to be seen, or have a personality type that to be surrounded by bad coffee and noisy people makes them comfortable.

We can be found at ArtAndTechnology


Wednesday, October 30, 2024

Spoken Words Album

 



The Spoken Words Album on Bandcamp has recent spoken word, ambient 8 string and heavy guitar tracks. The tracks started out as under 60 second bits of music for animations on recent thoughts.

What motivates people? What are their goals? Are some of the questions I ask myself, and when I look on social media, I see many of the worst type of people mixed with many just getting on with their uncomplicated lives. 

See so many people on social media that look to me as if their sole goal is to be "famous". Which mostly comes down to lots of followers on social media and sites like YouTube, with usually the lowest common denominator material. Hate and Rage, but extreme trivia too.

But The Dunning-Kruger effect rings so true. The loudest and most confident ones have the least ability or knowledge. Mr.Beast must be a very lucky imbecile..

I never set out to cure cancer, but I did contribute to the development of music production systems and instruments. In many ways I see music and art as one of the things that "saves lives". Gives many the strength to cope with things in their lives.  

But imagine if there were MORE people with the motivation and ability to fix the big problems the world has?

The previous post here was on the video Motivation, and the scam much of the Wellness Industry is.

Everybody needs Motivation, and maintaining it isn't easy for anybody. Even if you are doing something everyday you love, you get tired of doing it and need a break sometime. When you have to cope with the difficult things life throws at you it is even more an issue. What do you do to charge you motivation battery?

These tracks aren't conventionally structured songs at all.  Part of the attraction to me I guess. Goals Project in Reaper looks like this:


This started with the central clean guitar parts and the spoken word. Using lots of ValhallaDSP Delay and SuperMassive to make it more "ambient" and to contrast with the heavier start and end sections. Those are metal sounds, but don't see them as metal,  maybe punk is closer. Loud brash and very unsophisticated. 


Yet I find the section at end of the ambient-ish bit almost beautiful.

Revised Goals Short:


This again, just used the Lapel microphone I have on the desk for FB Messenger and Zoom calls.

We can be found at ArtAndTechnology


Friday, October 25, 2024

Motivation: Not a Life Coach Scam

 


Was playing around with a clean 8 string sound with the SUPERMASSIVE reverb after watching a Devin Townsend Ambient guitar piece. What I did struck me as being "Life Coaching" video like. Relaxing, so added the strange spoken words. I refrained myself from adding "discount coupons", as it would give the game away too quickly.  

As I didn't want it to be LIFE COACHING at all, added the ROCK & ROLL, and the up tempo distorted guitars.  That feeds into the animation were the serene screens lead to the MEGACURVE LOGO. I wonder if it is still too subtle that it is a joke playing with the genre?


The "Wellness Industry" contains many scammers.  LIFE COACHING was started by a financial planner in the 1980s in the USA, who found his clients didn't need therapy, but he he found could sell them something else they didn't need! 😂   

Supplements, tablets with no medically proven effectiveness, are the same deal.  But did you hear about the Benikoji supplement by Kobayashi Pharmaceutical Co. that killed a 76 people and destroyed the kidneys of others in Japan in 2024?  It isn't all a joke.

We can be found at ArtAndTechnology


Monday, October 21, 2024

Synthesizers Are Just Cool, And So Is Distorted Guitar

 


Synthesizers Are Just Cool, And So Is Distorted Guitar. The track we put on our Bandcamp this morning.  

We also made a YouTube video using an idea I stole from Benn Jordan on X.  2 old music lovers  listening using just 2 frames to make the animation, rather than just the album cover. Will see if it gets pulled, and will do just a record cover version then.

Been listening a lot to the 3 tracks already released from Devin Townsend's POWERNERD album. My track here isn't like that, far more musically unsophisticated, power chords and single note melodies, but I LOVE the sounds!

I started with the JBASS parts and just expanded it from there.  I normally start with rhythm guitar or a bass sequencer. The spoken words are inspired by Mike Oldfield's Tubular Bells track, where instruments are introduced, by John Cleese in the last version.  I am not doing that here, but that is where the idea came from.


I have been putting the SAMPLE&HOLD preset in the Surge XT VST on everything recently, and here too. Just love the sound. 

The track is 3 minutes, but it isn't a song. More of a soundtrack clip of a feeling about the title. 

As you can see it is made from 8 bar sections. I always start by laying out a really long drum track, then adlib parts with that on different instruments, and copy and past my track together from that. I may , or may not then re-record better parts after listening to that 10,000 times.  

This animation was made in MOHO Pro 12, like most of my stuff. Done at 1280x720 12fps.

Uses 2 Ricks interview frames. Grabbed a short section of the YouTube interview with OBS, then saved a few frames from VLC. Selected frames with most extreme head movement, but didn't spend any time on it. Moving the front most frame off screen gives the head bobbing effect. The frames are also slowly zoomed in and out. I just eye balled the beat, and copied and pasted sections, so it goes out of time sometimes, but few will watch the video far to notice anyway, if things go the way they normally do.  

Just listening to a Devin Townsend Vpodcast about his Synesthesia and creative motivations.  Expressing how he feels at that point in his life though music.

Here I am just making something related to how I feel at the moment, with the skills and techniques I have at this point in my life. It Makes Me a Happy Camper.  Because I need to make something on a regular basis to not feel down. So it is for my own state of mind.  

I don't have any kind of audience for this music stuff, and it isn't my motivation.  A couple of curious friends, or new followers on a social media platform.  If people want to listen to music, it will be big artists they already know. Very different from my Car Illustration stuff... 

We can be found at ArtAndTechnology