Friday, August 25, 2006

Things that make you go "mmm, brains..."

(originally posted at crw.vox.com)

So DKP tells me I need to sell my soul and buy an Xbox 360 and Dead Rising. Granted, I don't really feel like buying a next-gen platform until the el-cheapo Wii comes out, but one little nugget of info got me thinking. Because, DKP explains, the Xbox 360 is basically just a PC and you can play mp3's on it, you should be able to have a custom soundtrack for any game you play.

That makes sense, sure.

But what does that mean for Dead Rising? It means a 28 Days Later soundtrack, or Shaun of the Dead. Hell, any old Godspeed! Your Black Emperor album would be pretty bitchin'. In fact, for a truly surreal experience, I could load up some Top 40 hits and go a'zombie-huntin'.

Mmm, brains.

Thursday, August 24, 2006

Late 90's Mondorama Rarity

(originally posted at crw.vox.com)

This track contains side one of a super-limited cassette release by DJ Jun for Mondorama clothing. If you're in the mood for some late '90's beats (drum & bass with some spacey effects in there), it doesn't get any better than this.

The other day when I was out for dinner with Scotty and DKP we ran into someone who'd stayed with me and Peter for a short time at our Hell's Kitchen apartment. It put me in the mood for this music, as Peter was the one who ripped it from cassette to CD for me.

Bonus points if you can name any of the tracks used in this set - especially the bassline that comes in just after 39:30. So good!

Wednesday, August 23, 2006

Getting It

(originally posted at crw.vox.com)

I ranted about this very thing not too long ago, so it's good to see that a Disney-ABC exec gets it.  They should examine how the BBC is coping with new technology.  As a consumer, I want my content ASAP in usable, portable formats with as few restrictions as possible.  What's so difficult to understand about that?

I'm such a nerd because...

(originally posted at crw.vox.com)
What's the nerdiest thing about you?
Isn't that kinda like asking "what's the wettest thing about water?"

Tuesday, August 22, 2006

Dear Lazy Vox

(originally posted at crw.vox.com)

Dear Lazy Vox,

I would like an easy way to explore the recent assets of people in my neighborhood by type.  For instance, a URL such as... http://crw.vox.com/explore/neighborhood/audio or just neighborhood/audio, would be ideal.  Does such a beast exist?  Am I missing it?

Thanks,

-c.

Saturday, August 19, 2006

Ladies and Gents...

(originally posted at crw.vox.com)

I give you Vox shoes:




Friday, August 18, 2006

Cornelius - Music

(originally posted at crw.vox.com)

New single comes out in Japan on 8/23.  He was on NHK last night, but I had no way of listening (that I know of).  I've been monitoring the p2p networks for the new single, but oddly enough, the first chance I got to hear it was the vid on YouTube.  Via momus via Qoogle.



...and I agree with momus, this doesn't feel like much of an evolution after five years of waiting for new material.  But still, I'm ecstatic to get any new Cornelius content - I can't believe he got one of the limited edition Cornelius record players.  Wow.  There we a Cornelius wrist watch that I really wanted a while ago, they sell knockoffs at TokyoPop now, might get one.  Now if only we can get some new Takako Minekawa music too. :)

Thursday, August 17, 2006

A Lazarus Taxon

(originally posted at crw.vox.com)

My new Tortoise box set arrived today.  Included in the box was a Thrill Jockey bumper sticker and a limited print poster of the album cover.  The black and white photographs on the disc sleeves are from a former (Polish?) police officer who photographed accidents.

Each band member contributed a short essay to the liner notes, each essay in a different language (English, German, French, Spanish, Japanese).  The essay in English has some interesting quotes from Brian Eno:
"It used to be the case that a record was expected to contain the definitive and perhaps only version of a song, and that the job of the band and the producer was to create this 'ideal' object"

"...once we get used to the idea that we are no longer consumers of 'finished' works... we find ourselves leaving a world of 'know your own station' passivity... we stop regarding things as fixed and unchangeable, as preordained, and we increasingly find ourselves practicing the idea that we have some control."
Pretty relevant in today's forever-beta/gamma world. - even if taken out of context.

The stand-out features of the DVD include both a live performance and proper music video of Glass Museum, along with a live version of Gamera and the music vid for Seneca.  Seneca uses some amazing archival footage from NASA and can be found on YouTube (the dissonance drops off and the melody kicks in around 1:54).

More photos from Humboldt

(originally posted at crw.vox.com)

Christine's pictures from Humboldt are up.  On our way up we stopped at the Fairgrounds in Ukiah and she's got some nice pics of that as well.

Monday, August 14, 2006

Link Dump

(originally posted at crw.vox.com)

This weekend was a blast.  Drove up to Humboldt Redwoods State Park, stopped at the Ukiah Fair on the way.  Hiked around and saw some of the oldest trees in the world.  Now that I'm back I'm catching up on things and have a ton of links/thoughts to dump.  Here goes.
Turns out, I won't need to take DKP up to Seattle, so last weekend of August will likely be the road trip to Vegas for some work.

Friday, August 11, 2006

Weekend Update

(originally posted at crw.vox.com)

Hello, I'm crwbot and you're not.  Fear the decisively Web 1.0 site for Humboldt Redwoods State Park!  I'm headed there for the weekend.  If you're bored you can check my photostream for pictures from the Yelp! shindig at MoMA last night.  In case you're wondering, Xiu made the shirt she's wearing.  Fab, no?

After wandering around the exhibit and socializing a bit, we stopped off for some Thai food and then hit the Virgin Megastore for the Boondocks DVD.  On the way back, we bumped into David Davis, and it was good to see him again.  I asked him to explain cometd to me, but Xiu had no patience for it and started climbing on me.  Literally.  It was awkward.

Oh, I've also been collecting some favorites at YouTube that you might be interested in.  Someday I'll even organize them into playlists.  Or maybe I'll do it on Vox.  Shrug.

Goodnight and have a pleasant tomorrow.

Saddest. Video. EVAR.

(originally posted at crw.vox.com)

I first saw this video at the 90 Park Ave office in NYC.  I cried like someone who just lost a puppy.  Turns out that "Viðrar vel til loftárása" is Icelandic for "good weather for airstrikes".  I didn't know that Sigur Rós sang in anything other than Hopelandic.  Turns out, the video was directed by Arni & Kinski, the masterminds behind Sigur Rós's more popular music video, Glósóli.  That one won awards, but this one is sad.



If it really bums you out, watch it again.  If you're still bummed, we can cuddle aftar.

QotD: Something to Believe In

(originally posted to crw.vox.com)
Do you have any tattoos?  If not, if you were going to get inked, what would you get?
I've actually answered this question a lot lately.  No, I don't have any tattoos.  Nor will I get any tattoos until sometime in the (hopefully not-too-distant) future when they can be sub-dermal nano tattoos that can shine through my skin and be turned on and off at will.  What's more, I want animated tattoos that change with my mood.

Where's my space age, bitch?

Thursday, August 10, 2006

I Hate the Time Warp

(originally posted at crw.vox.com)

So I just listened to Junior's latest voice post and it made me think of this wonderful scene from the show Spaced that sums up my feelings on RHPS and the Time Warp just about perfectly.  So naturally I headed to youtube and typed in "spaced" and was hit with 13,000 results about space exploration and myspace.  Sigh.  Somehow, I managed to find the perfect clip - exactly what I wanted.  Total luck.  Here it is.

Sorry Junior, but when it comes to the Time Warp, this is how I roll. :)

Wednesday, August 09, 2006

More pictures from last weekend

(originally posted at crw.vox.com)

I'm excited because Christine has been uploading some of the pictures she took last weekend when we were camping and hiking at Pinnacles National Monument.  There are some great shots of me making an ass out of myself, be sure not to miss them.

(Edit: I forgot to mention, she's a much better photographer than I am and some of these shots are really incredibly beautiful.)

Fuck the RIAA

(originally posted to crw.vox.com)

So as a follow-up to my post entitled Hating the RIAA, I still wanted to show someone the Beck video - but then I discovered it was even pulled from Beck's own site.  What the fuck.  The whole thing reeks of bad marketing bullshit.

So I go to download the track on Soulseek.  Search query: beck think love.  The results I got were fascinating.  I found maybe 30 users each with the same 10 copies of the song whose filenames were slightly different - such as:

Beck  Think I'm in Love.mp3
Beck::Think I'm in Love.mp3
Beck--Think I'm in Love.mp3
Beck__ThinkI'm in Love.mp3

So it might be someone distributing trojans in the guise of mp3's, yeah?  I mean, who knows how many holes Windows Media Player has in it.  On the other hand, we already know that the RIAA has had the video removed from both YouTube and Google Video - so chances are equally good that they're out to catch some nasty downloaders.

Fuck 'em.  I downloaded it somewhere else.  Here it is, enjoy.

(sure, the post is friends and family only, i'm not *that* much of a badass)

QotD: Hello, Cleveland!

(originally posted at crw.vox.com)
If you had a band, what would you call yourselves?
Question submitted by Zoot.
George Dubya and the Patriotic Funk All-Stars, cuz that's how I roll, yo.

test

yeah great, blogger.

Why I Love Boondocks

(originally posted at crw.vox.com)

This is the best fight scene I've seen in a while.

Tuesday, August 08, 2006

Celebrating New Audio Format Support on Vox

(originally posted at crw.vox.com)

Hooray 0.9.3!  Congrats Vox Team, enjoy this Amelie techno remix ripped from one of the Solid Steel shows in my archive!

Monday, August 07, 2006

QotD: Better than the original?

(originally posted at crw.vox.com)
What is your favorite cover song?
Question submitted by Ray.
Tortoise and Bonnie "Prince" Billie covered Cravo é Canela, which was originally by Milton Nascimento.  Cravo é Canela means "clove and cinnamon," part of the title of a book by Jorge Amado called Gabriela, Cravo é Canela.  Here's a link to the original song and the cover.

QotD: Weekend Goal Follow-Up

(originally posted at crw.vox.com)
So, how did you do with that weekend goal?  No goal?  What did you do this weekend?
Holy crap.  I hiked my ass off this weekend at Pinnacles.  Christine and I hit Balconies Caves on Saturday and Bear Gulch caves on Sunday.  Then we blazed a trail around the reservoir and nearly killed ourselves climbing High Peaks Trail.  Pictures pending, but damn, I'm sore.

Friday, August 04, 2006

Ciao

(originally posted at crw.vox.com)

Off to Pinnacles for the weekend.  See ya Monday.

Tuesday, August 01, 2006

Hating the RIAA

(originally posted at crw.vox.com)

So just yesterday I linked to Beck's new music video from YouTube to my Vox account.  I went back to listen to it today only to find that the RIAA had ordered its removal from YouTube.  What bastards.  So I go to Beck's site only to find it's all craptacular flash and there's an even worse-quality version of the vid.

When are they going to get it through their skulls that consumers want their content as soon as possible and without any headache?

I think it used to be that music videos were just marketing for the music.  Now you can buy music video DVD's and download them via iTMS, so they've become products in their own right.  Rather than spreading the vids far and wide to get as many eyeballs as possible in order to drive music sales, they're keeping a tight rein on their distribution.  The problem is that now they've inconvenienced me as a possible consumer; I had to hunt around to find another version that was worth watching.  That annoys me and makes me hate them (more than I did) and not want to give them any business.

Anyway, without further ado, here's Beck's vid via Google Video.

(End rant.)

...or is it?  Forget the link above, it got pulled from there too.  Not worth it to keep searching, really.  If you happen to randomly see it someday, cool.  If not, fuck it.  You're not missing much.

QotD: Can you hear me now?

(originally posted at crw.vox.com)
What's your cell phone's ringtone?  What made you pick it?
I've actually been waiting for this QotD, and when it came I was totally unprepared.  I created my own ringtone with a waveform editor, some effects, and the Cornelius remix of Moby's "We Are All Made of Stars".  I wanted something very understated and minimal.

Anyway, when this QotD popped (lil MMO slang ;), I found that I couldn't upload the .wav to Vox.  So I hunted around until I found this nifty little freeware app called Switch - which just converts from one audio format to another rather effortlessly.  It's earned itself a place in my Apps folder.