All Activity

Coincidentally, I was just listening to Aja. I even had a bit of a conversation with Google AI about it. Me: Art Pop is one of my favourite genres, especially jazz-tinged art pop. There's something about those chord voicings that just "hits me where I live". I also really dig Voivod's Piggy Chords, and I just want to learn how they compose and incorporate those elements. A lot of my music (that I write) is audibly "melodic minor" to me, and I'd like to expand my palette. It: (Too long, don't read.) After which the conversation shifted to The Colourfield's "Castles in the Air" ("the perfect bridge between Steely Dan and melodic minor"). ...Where art pop differs from traditional straight-ahead jazz is the voicing architecture. Art pop often avoids standard, textbook jazz "shell voicings" (Root-3rd-7th) in favor of highly colorful, open-sounding structures where the melody line can sing out over a flurry of inner voice movement. Add9 and Mu Major Chords: Popularized by Steely Dan, a "mu major" chord is a major triad with an added 2nd (or 9th) voiced directly adjacent to the 3rd. Example: Instead of spelling C major 9 as C - E - G - B - D, voice a C(add9) as C - D - E - G. The second interval between D and E creates a beautiful, shimmering harmonic "blur" that anchors the art pop sound. Slash Chords (Poly-harmony): Art pop relies heavily on playing a clean triad in the upper register over a completely foreign bass note. This gives you jazz extensions without the clutter. Bb / C: A Bb major triad (Bb - D - F) over a C bass note. This instantly yields a C7sus4(9,13) sound—sleek, modern, and deeply reminiscent of late '70s art pop. G / C: A G major triad over a C bass note, creating a pure Cmaj9 feel with a wide, cinematic gap between the bass line and the upper melody...

The October Suite by Steve Kuhn (1967) https://open.qobuz.com/album/0060246544132 Example: On the edge of avant-garde from time to time, and rarely gets into a groove. But it is rewarding with absolutely lovely melodies and variations like the example. Gary known for his compositions and arrangements died 1971 (aged 38).

SACD Been listening to mostly plastic lately.

New Order's turn.

Let's talk about Steely Dan. The boomer jazz rock duo who took their name from a steam powered dildo described in William S. Burroughs' Naked Lunch, best known for their super slick studio production. They were hugely popular with boomers housewives in the 70s and gained a significant following amongst aging boomers classic rock aficionados in the 80s and 90s. Their 1977 album Aja is considered a studio masterpiece by some, and the most wretched, excessive piece of wank imaginable by others. The late, great Steve Albini, a legendary punk rocker and and god tier record producer, absolutely loathed Steely Dan and Aja in particular. In the 21st century, Steely Dan is the source of ironic zoomer memes. Their albums have a following with audio snobs to tend to listen to equipment and not, you know, actual music. This can lead to some obsessive behavior (top comment: "jfc"). All of this is to say, I don't really like SD, at all. I had to endure them on the radio throughout my youth. I was in a hardware store a few years ago and they had their in ceiling speaker system up louder than usual. I got serenaded by "Do It Again" while I furtively looked for ant cups. That experience threw me in a depression for the rest of the day. I actually love 1970s music production. It's all analogue, full of optically compressed bass and often loaded with horn sections that are really well recorded. Obvious examples are Rev. Al Green's "Can't Get Next To You" and the 800 lb gorilla that is Stevie Wonder's "Superstition." Bonus points to Bobby Bland's Dreamer album. To their, uh, credit, Steely Dan managed to wankify 70s studio tech to the point that I find it physically uncomfortable to be around. A while ago, I was browsing the official YouTube channel of 70s music television show, The Midnight Special. It's a treasure. It has live segments, obvious lip syncing, and entire shows (one hosted by George Carlin!) They have a rare live performance by Steely Dan, featuring their original frontman David Palmer. This rendition removes more or less everything I loathe about the band. The slick studio sheen is gone. In my very jaded opinion, Palmer is both a better and more emotive singer than Donald Fagan. It's kind of hilarious what an absolute statue Walter Becker is on stage, especially as the rest of the band is making a considerable effort to be really into things. The guitar solo is still kind of wank, but that's the 2FA for knowing it's really Steely Dan. Not long after this performance, Fagan and Becker fired the rest of the band and became a masturbatory studio duo. It would be interesting to see what kind of band they would have become if they'd done the opposite.

I remember that video, which came out right around the time I started thinking about being a lawyer. Not sure what's so remastered about the sound.

If you guys remember the Back to Mine series (artists compile the music they listen to at home after a night out), Everything But The Girl’s one now…

Going out to Mr. and Mrs. Bedecarre. Some AI BS but that's just where we are?

The Hitachi DA-1000 (and associated clones) is one of the earliest and most prized CD players. It's method of loading the CD can't accurately be described as unusual (at the time there was no defined normal) but it's certainly a striking one. Working examples change hands for a tidy sum. Even nonfunctional units are near to look at. European market clone of the Hitatchi. The fragile but very interesting looking CD loading mechanism. When was the last time you saw a CDP with an output meter?

Go sports ball.

😔

IOT all the way, it is a much better OS

New Teenage Engineering EP-35 Amp:

Elke Sommer, Actress in ‘A Shot in the Dark’ and ‘The Prize,’ Dies at 85. Just missed her 86th. She was a fascinating character. Stunningly beautiful, accomplished actor and talented singer. Apparently she had trouble with core subjects in school, but excelled at language. It has been my pet theory for decades now that had a learning disability.

or try windows 10 ltsc iot.... still gets security updates... or try windows 11 ltsc iot.... you don't need a Microsoft account for either and less bloatware and no AI slop...

A Song for You by Søren Bebe Trio (2012) https://open.qobuz.com/album/5707471025819 Example: An older set from Søren, clean

RIP Mr. Stewart, you seemed entirely like a decent human.

Aged 86 with Alzheimers and Lewy body dementia. RIP Patrick Stewart. What a rotten way to go. Was lucky to see him several times on stage, three times in Chichester. Malvolio in Twelfth Night, MacBeth in the landmark production as Macbeth in the tiny Minerva (so close I could have touched him), and as the aged Shakespeare, and his death in Bingo. That particular production of MacBeth transferred to the West End, and then two theatres on Broadway, and was made into a movie. And on the London stage with McKellen in Waiting for Godot and both of them in No Man's Land, a rather bleak play by Harold Pinter. A really superb actor of stage and screen. I'm really gutted he's gone.

hehe - Just came back to post that -- 3:02 in... Edit: Shoot - thread roll-over. ...

If there is stuff you're missing, you can add it. Big fan of flatpak instead of snapd.

Well now he's seen everything the GuardianPatrick Stewart, Star Trek actor and acclaimed thespian,...Star Trek: the Next Generation and X-Men actor died at his home after ‘a brief and poignant journey with Alzheimer’s disease and Lewy body dementia’

Oh no - my Captain ... Godspeed Patrick.. Edit: correction: Sir Patrick Stewart