Hard News by Russell Brown

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Hard News: Deconstruct This

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  • Sacha,

    Not that you'd expect anything different from the infamous Copywrong thread..

    Ak • Since May 2008 • 19745 posts Report Reply

  • Tom Beard,

    "hell, i'd embed it myself"

    Agreed.

    Ah, the '88 version. The original didn't have vocoder, but its B-side/remix "The Beach" did. I remember when my brother first got the 12" and put the flip-side on, I said "It's just the same song slowed down! I told you that you're not supposed to play it on 33: it's actually a single."

    Best New Order vocoder moment: towards the end of "Bizarre Love Triangle". Actually, I'm starting to wonder just what proportion of my CD collection has vocoders/pitch shifters/speak'n'spell etc in it: I suspect it's at least 10%

    Wellington • Since Nov 2006 • 1040 posts Report Reply

  • Danielle,

    I officially declare 'Blue Monday' The Worst Possible Song To Listen to While on Acid.

    (It is a top choon, generally. Just not in those circs. Um, so they tell me.)

    Charo World. Cuchi-cuchi!… • Since Nov 2006 • 3828 posts Report Reply

  • davesparks,

    +1 for Frampton.

    Auckland • Since Nov 2006 • 45 posts Report Reply

  • R A Hurley,

    re: Sacha's Blue Monday embed

    takes me back to the days when synths and drum machines were the undertakers of popular culture... ahhh, good times... i remember my Dad used to work himself into quite a state over my adolescent record collection... he still won't listen to anything that doesn't have a blues riff buried under there somewhere... autotune would probably convince him his mid-80s apocalyptic musings on Duran Duran had been borne out entirely...

    Wellington • Since Nov 2006 • 63 posts Report Reply

  • Robyn Gallagher,

    I like how this is turning into a music nerd thread.

    Speaking of threads, has anyone here ever worn a hand-knitted jumper with a keyboard design on it? Anyone?

    Since Nov 2006 • 1946 posts Report Reply

  • R A Hurley,

    but, more relevantly, that Time article is fascinating... it's either some sort of elaborate hoax, or a gold standard example of condescension and mean-spiritedness...

    ... the average person listening to just one pop song on the radio will have a hard time hearing Auto-Tune's impact; it's effectively deceptive. But when track after track has perfect pitch, the songs are harder to differentiate from one another--which explains why pop is in a pretty serious lull at the moment.

    a great example of an attempt to make the personal dislikes of a few people somehow empirically plausible...

    Wellington • Since Nov 2006 • 63 posts Report Reply

  • R A Hurley,

    Speaking of threads, has anyone here ever worn a hand-knitted jumper with a keyboard design on it? Anyone?

    actually yes!! i had one as a kid... my grandmother knitted it for me, "because you like music, dear"... it got stolen soon afterward, but i still think of it fondly...

    Wellington • Since Nov 2006 • 63 posts Report Reply

  • Joanna,

    I officially declare 'Blue Monday' The Worst Possible Song To Listen to While on Acid.

    It is, however, the best song on Hottest Dance Party Ever! and has the easiest dance moves.

    Wellington • Since Nov 2006 • 746 posts Report Reply

  • Tom Beard,

    Speaking of threads, has anyone here ever worn a hand-knitted jumper with a keyboard design on it? Anyone?

    *cough*

    he still won't listen to anything that doesn't have a blues riff buried under there somewhere.

    I still pretty much refuse to listen to anything that doesn't have a 303, sampler, Moog modular, turntable, vocoder, FX-502P or a nerd with a laptop running Audiomulch. Preferably all at the same time.

    Wellington • Since Nov 2006 • 1040 posts Report Reply

  • R A Hurley,

    I still pretty much refuse to listen to anything that doesn't have a 303, sampler, Moog modular, turntable, vocoder, FX-502P or a nerd with a laptop running Audiomulch. Preferably all at the same time.

    and the universe is (i think!) big enough for you and my Dad... and probably the autotune crowd as well... sadly, he - as well as Time Magazine - seem to have missed that memo... nothing makes me sadder than people choosing when they don't have to...

    also... i did not know what Audiomulch was until i read your post... but a quick Google and a 60 day evaluation trial now mean that the chances of me getting any work done today are now effectively zero... i would very much like to blame you instead of my own weakness in discipline... that OK with you?

    Wellington • Since Nov 2006 • 63 posts Report Reply

  • Paul Campbell,

    heh - Joanna - I got the same blank screen and was expecting some wonderful neo-existentialist tirade from the inhabitants ....

    Dunedin • Since Nov 2006 • 2623 posts Report Reply

  • Tom Beard,

    Okay, so who's game for a list of "Best Vocoder/Autotune Moments ever?" Here's a start:

    Walter-slash-Wendy Carlos: Beethoven's 9th (from A Clockwork Orange)
    Kraftwerk: Autobahn, The Robots, Europe Endless, Ohm Sweet Ohm...
    New Order: Bizarre Love Triangle and The Beach
    Daft Punk: Around the World
    Herbie Hancock: Rockit
    Beastie Boys: Intergalactic
    The original Cylons.

    And a big QI "Obvious but wrong" siren for anyone who mentions the Daleks :-)

    Wellington • Since Nov 2006 • 1040 posts Report Reply

  • R A Hurley,

    Cylons! Cylons!

    Wellington • Since Nov 2006 • 63 posts Report Reply

  • Rich of Observationz,

    Is Autotune going to be integrated into Singstar in the future?

    Also, I see another application in auto-karaoke where the real vocals are detuned and distorted automatically, saving people who can't sing the trouble.

    Back in Wellington • Since Nov 2006 • 5550 posts Report Reply

  • Tony Parker,

    Speaking of Vocoders

    Napier • Since Nov 2008 • 232 posts Report Reply

  • Tom Beard,

    also... i did not know what Audiomulch was until i read your post... but a quick Google and a 60 day evaluation trial now mean that the chances of me getting any work done today are now effectively zero... i would very much like to blame you instead of my own weakness in discipline... that OK with you?

    Fine with me! The same thing happened to me after reading about Audiomulch in an interview with Bevan Smith (of Aspen, Signer and Over The Atlantic), and it got me back into making music again after a long hiatus. I've played around with PD a bit, too, but it's a bit more technical and I haven't quite got my head around it. Jeskola Buzz is my current audio-toy of choice, after hearing that Disasteradio uses it.

    nothing makes me sadder than people choosing when they don't have to...

    Quite true, and it's interesting that Bevan has moved on to more of an indie-rock mode. There are some interesting crossovers, such as Scottish ambient/indie guitar outfit Slow Moe (on Bevan's Involve label), but some caution should be exercised when blending guitar bands and electronic music. That's a path that can lead to frustration, disaster, and ultimately Jesus Jones.

    Wellington • Since Nov 2006 • 1040 posts Report Reply

  • Tony Parker,

    Oops fucked that up. Not sure about this embedding thing. Meant to be Neil in his vocoder stage.

    Napier • Since Nov 2008 • 232 posts Report Reply

  • Robyn Gallagher,

    Okay, so who's game for a list of "Best Vocoder/Autotune Moments ever?"

    I'm on a boat! I'm on a boat!

    Since Nov 2006 • 1946 posts Report Reply

  • R A Hurley,

    ... but some caution should be exercised when blending guitar bands and electronic music. That's a path that can lead to frustration, disaster, and ultimately Jesus Jones.

    it's been my own experience that such frustrations largely come from the self-conscious blending of the tropes of electronic and guitar music rather than the sounds of the instruments themselves... i'm rather fond of Matmos' "Civil War" album, for instance... not to mention The Books...

    the world however, does not require me to take a stance on Jesus Jones... so while i might not ever want to listen to them, i wish them well... (also, i hear from a friend that their Culture Vulture EP/remix invitation yielded some really cool and interesting results...)

    Wellington • Since Nov 2006 • 63 posts Report Reply

  • Danielle,

    Heh, Robyn. 'Believe me when I say I fucked a mermaid!'

    Is Autotune going to be integrated into Singstar in the future?

    I find with Singstar that the tune is almost irrelevant, because timing is everything. You tend to get marked down for getting carried away. Hrmph!

    Charo World. Cuchi-cuchi!… • Since Nov 2006 • 3828 posts Report Reply

  • philipmatthews,

    Some great Vocoder etc moments? Hope these qualify:

    "In a Beautiful Place Out in the Country", Boards of Canada
    "O Superman", Laurie Anderson
    "Sexy Boy", Air
    "Hamburger Lady", Throbbing Gristle -- but was that vocoder or some cut-up device they invented themselves?

    Christchurch • Since Nov 2007 • 656 posts Report Reply

  • Sam F,

    I'm on a boat! I'm on a boat!

    Heh, great minds.

    I tried to think of another great vocoder/autotune moment and all I could think of was Eiffel 65, which is about as far from great as you can get...

    Auckland • Since Nov 2006 • 1611 posts Report Reply

  • nothingelseon,

    Speaking of threads, has anyone here ever worn a hand-knitted jumper with a keyboard design on it? Anyone?

    No, but am ever tempted by this: Kraftwerk sweater

    Welling-Town • Since Mar 2008 • 38 posts Report Reply

  • Kumara Republic,

    Okay, so who's game for a list of "Best Vocoder/Autotune Moments ever?" Here's a start:

    Not to mention this gem:

    The southernmost capital … • Since Nov 2006 • 5446 posts Report Reply

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