Dusty Chalk

Happy birthday! party favour noise

Condolences. Good girl, Isabella, good girl.

Thanks, I appreciate it. I actually have all of those things, plus lentils, so I'll give the original recipe a try. (Doctor wants me to go even more plant-based, and I love beans, so...)

What's that powder in the middle, garam masala?

I'll do research later, but here are some pointers: MIDI is now largely USB. If you have old gear, it might still use the old DIN plug, but essentially what you're asking for in the 2nd and 3rd bullets is the same thing. There are still some modules that use DIN, but at this point, unless it has some features that you desire, I would avoid those. 88 keys vs. 76 keys vs. 61 keys -- 76 is much easier to come by than 88, but they're common enough that I wouldn't go less than 61. "real-piano feel" -- what you sound like you're looking for is weighted or at least semi-weighted keys. Fatar keyboards are the best (often advertised as a feature), but will make the keyboard more expensive. Its own sound vs. MIDI controller -- a lot of musicians (myself included) use mostly DAW plugins to make their sound, so all we need is a MIDI controller. Even the free versions of Cubase come with synthesizers built-in, which are quite functional. I don't use them, but only because I'm more familiar with the Arturia set of synthesizer emulations. That said, I'm not recommending it, but just something to be wary of -- don't accidentally buy a MIDI controller and then wonder where the sound holes are -- there aren't any. However if you feel comfortable running your MIDI-controller->computer->speakers, you probably already have the latter 2/3, you just need the MIDI controller and software. It is my understanding that GarageBand is the free equivalent of Logic Pro, but I don't know if it comes with any sound-generating plugins. Free ones do exist, but I don't trust things I don't pay for. If you just want to start out with piano sounds, and build up your timbral palette with plugins, I would recommend a digital piano. Something like this: https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/RecitalPro--alesis-recital-pro-88-key-hammer-action-digital-piano

Happy birthday, my friend! (party favour noise)

He's a brave man, reading the comment section of a 12-year-old YouTube video.

Also, 2, 5, and 7 are all divisible by one.

Exactly. FYI, that video was literally my introduction to Hiromi. I saw someone was playing with Chick Corea, so I watched it for Chick Corea, and ... she really holds her own! They communicate with their faces, she has her own style, is confident enough to come across as a duet partner/peer/equal, and has such joy that it's just effusive. Instant fan.

Thanks for letting me know. They lost me back in season 2, yet I still kept watching all the way to the end of season 3. I too am cautiously pessimistic, yet will probably give season 4 a chance. It got too pretentious for me, and that's saying something.

Chick Corea & Hiromi, Duet -- my favourite living pianist (Hiromi) and one of my favourite composer/pianists whose chosen genre is jazz...mostly (Corea). (swoon)

New Oceans of Slumber album today is freakin' LIT. I really love it. Fruit Town by Standards is pure, unadulterated old school mathrock. I really love it. Really joyful. That's all I got from today.

I can't. My brain would: Keith Jarrett, Sun Bear Concerts Frederic Chiu, Prokofiev: Complete Music for Solo Piano Devin Townsend Project, By a Thread: Live in London 2011 Oceansize, Feed to Feed Matt Elliott, Songs More realistically: Pink Floyd, Animals and Wish You Were Here (tie for first) Return to Forever, Romantic Warrior Yes, Tales from Topographic Oceans Yaya Kim, a.k.a. Yaya Mike Oldfield, Incantations Mentionable honors: Simple Minds, New Gold Dream (81-82-83-84) Split Enz, Waiata Peter Gabriel, melt and security Sheena Ringo, Kalk Samen Kuri no Hana (加爾基 精液 栗ノ花) Fox Capture Plan, Xronicle and Nebula Devics, The Stars at Saint Andrea, If You Forget Me..., and My Beautiful Sinking Ship Rob Dougan, Furious Angels Villagers of Ioannina City, Age of Aquarius The Gathering, How to Measure a Planet? and if_then_else King Buffalo, Acheron Talking Heads, Remain in Light and The Name of This Band is Talking Heads King Crimson, Islands, Red, and Discipline Kyros, Vox Humana Al1ce, The Thirteenth Hour Apoptygma Berzerk, Welcome to Earth The Tear Garden, Last Man to Fly Kraftwerk, 1, 2, Ralf und Florian, Autobahn, Man Machine, and Computer World Halou, Wiser Genesis, Selling England by the Pound Shotgun Messiah, Violent New Breed godhead, nothingness Talk Talk, The Party's Over, Spirit of Eden, and The Colour of Spring Voivod, everything from RRRöööaaarrr through The Outer Limits In the Nursery, Hindle Wakes Trio Italiano, Schubert Piano Trios Vol. 2 ...I give up.

Asked a Ukrainian friend if they were cheering, they said, "of course we are. It's probably fake, but we're still very happily cheering Russian stupidity and wastefulness propaganda".

So great. The second album -- Danger Money -- is entirely different -- trio: Eddie Jobson, John Wetton, and Terry Bozzio, but still worth hearing. I'm definitely a fan of both albums, but Holdsworth was mad good.

I, too, have the Ety's, only they were rebranded as something else, but I swear by 'em. Hold on, let me look... LOLOLOL I accidentally searched in "Prime Video" and got this: Kek, as the kids would say. I'm pretty sure I have the Hearos -- basically, rebranded Etymotics: Swear by 'em. Forgot 'em enough times that I went by the CVS near the ((no longer) new) 9:30 club, I've tried most of the foam ones, and they all change the sound profile (boomy). These are the closest thing to transparent I've found.

I have found exactly one fish and chips shop around here that meets my standards. That said, that one place was so good, I posted a Google review after just one visit. Oh well, I'm supposed to be on a diet anyway. Next time I'm out that way, we'll have to go to some of your favourite joints.

New release day: ...And You Will Know Us By The Trail of Dead, XI: Bleed Here Now -- prog. Fantastic! Nice variety, very much enjoyed. Black Midi, Hellfire -- I'll be honest, I don't get Black Midi's rambling, free-form style. I just don't get it. I enjoyed it alright, but not something I'll ever resonate with. I'm not a lyrics listener, so that probably has a lot to do with it. Kekal, Envisaged -- pleasant surprise of the day! Absolutely ace, more Voivod than Voivod, (except Voivod's guitarist is still amazing) One from last week I forgot: Telekinetic Yeti, Primordial -- just a guy with a 7-string guitar and a drummer making music sounding much bigger than any twosome should be able to. Like a proggier, more stoner White Stripes or Royal Blood.

40 Watt Sun, Perfect Light -- insanely long slowcore album that I find blissful. Production values are next level.

Life's Been Good Turn to Stone -- all three-ish versions (familiar version from So What, live version from You Can't Argue With a Sick Mind, and the hard version from Barnstorm) Funk #49 Walk Away The Bomber Rivers (of the Hidden Funk) ...thanks, now I think I'm going to have to binge him for a couple songs...

Warpaint's first EP, Exquisite Corpse -- I'm familiar with about half of it, because of this concert, which I've listened to, about a brazillion times since its release a couple years ago: You wouldn't think I'd like this, but there's something about this song-oriented laid-back jamband-ish grooviness that carries a very particular charisma for me, hitting me at the same level as doomy stoner. They also make me think of a less testosterone-y* Black Midi, in their free-form stylings. *Yes, that probably rhymes with some sort of pasta.

Science today; album covers tomorrow.

Condolences, Chris.

Damn