Tinselman

Exquisite Tinselhicks!

Melodyne Sci-Fi

I recently emailed a link of the the "Melodyne Direct Note Access" demo to a dear friend; he responded almost immediately with the following reaction:

Melodyne is crazy cool!  Have you actually installed it and tried it out?  I watched the demo, and it's like I'm watching an audio version of one of those eye-rolling effects in a sci-fi, where they snapshot and image and then extrapolate a 3d model out of it, or "enhance" the bit depth of an image =).  If I had seen this in a movie, I would have definitely laughed.

Click here to see the demo.

Final Resplicery

Justin Norman, of Shrieking Tree, has created two "Resplicery" films (as he calls them) set to the Myst/Riven soundtracks: "Escape from Comatose Mansion" and "A Weathered Dream Sequence". All in all, he's put together five of them, but I have to admit, "Escape from Comatose Mansion" is my new favorite (spooky!). You can watch all of them at his Resplicery page (but don't go there expecting to see something that looks like Myst... his work is wholly different).

Russians Say Sky Dog Still Alive

Frank Sinatra sings of the stars (1943). Later, the Soviets show their stuff by sending a small, furry animal into space (1957)...

• Sputnik News Reel – 1957

Cosmic Beats in Outer Space

When I was in high school, it was impossible to turn around and release an album. I could have only dreamt of it. Now, anyone can do it. It's as simple as entering some information on your computer and uploading your recorded music. A couple weeks later it's in Itunes. And Rhapsody. And Napster. And anywhere else "online music is sold."

This is spectacular and wonderful. But also pretty bizarre.

My son is about to release his second album: an E.P. called Cosmic Beats in Outer Space". He asked me to do the cover, and I happily obliged, painting for him the above vintage space-era look-alike.

Kotex for a New Year!

The New Year is almost here, so let's get ready, people. Watching this video, by artist Douglas Coupland, for hours on end is a great way to celebrate! It helps to numb the brain for another year of endless consumption. Simply download it to your computer, set it to loop, and then enlarge it to fill the screen of your computer while listening to your favorite song. Hopefully, you'll put on something very fast. And loud. With a bit of attitude.

Black Swan and The Clock by Thom Yorke both work incredibly well, lyrically and musically.

1000 Years and 1 Day

The Ambo site has been recently upgraded. I am featured prominently there. This makes me happy.

Ambo is, or was, a musical...  um... thing. Music creation? It is a CD by Keith Moore and Robyn Miller.

Let's talk more about me. Are you attracted by my bold expression? My aqua-colored skin? My handsome but hypnotic gaze? It never hurts to listen to the voice of the Amboface.

I will assimilate you.

Note: The Amboface has edited this post.

Ambo CDs are currently buy one, get one for 30% off at CDBaby. Or lo-fi versions of a few songs are available for free at the Ambo site.

When the player appears inside the mouth of the Amboface, simply pull-down the "Save as QuickTime movie" option, and save the song to your hard drive.

Making the Run to Gladewater

Henderson, Texas—where I went to jr. high and high school

Making the Run to Gladewater
by Michele Shocked

Upshur County's drier than an empty bottle
Since the Mormon's come to town
And to run out of beer means a run to Gladewater
Highway 79 thirty miles on down

Now fair is fair but life's a gamble
when it's eleven forty five
And it's a toss of the coin to see who's got fifteen minutes
To make a thirty minute drive

It was Saturday night
You was sitting 'round the square
Small town Texas sons and daughters
But you lost the toss
That means you're taking up the money
That means you're making the run
Making the run
Making the run to Gladewater

Here's what you do
You hustle all your buddies off
the back of your truck
You grab your girl, you say
c'mon lets....

Tuck your jeans in your boots
That's what you do
Slap your gimme cap on
Turn the country music radio station
louder than you oughter

But it's okay, you're on your way
You lost the toss
you're taking up the money
You're making the run to Gladewater

It's 79 to the county line
And the Mini Mart with not one to spare
And your friends back in Gilmer
They're your friends indeed
Why? Well, you got their money
and their six pack of beer

Making the run
Making the run, making the run
Making the run to Gladewater

photo by Exquisitely Bored in Nacogdoches (cc), some rights reserved

Harrowdown Hill

If you liked Thom Yorke's Eraser CD, you might like this video for Harrowdown Hill, the 8th song on the album. Enjoy!

Persistent Disparate Interchange

Justin Norman contacted me a few weeks ago. He and his brother Wesley were curious to see if they could creatively transform the Myst or Riven music into something very different from either Myst or Riven... using visuals.

Of course I told them to shove it up their collective asses.

And just when I was getting ready to call my hotshot lawyers and sue them for even considering such a thing, I settled down and suddenly warmed to the idea. I'm glad... because they ended up doing something that's just plain weirdly great. They decided on Catherine's Theme from Riven. I provided the music but their (very) short film is their concept and implementation.

Please watch!

And afterwords, stop by the brother's Shrieking Tree site.

The Eraser

Though music is a great love of mine, it is not the typical subject matter of the tinselman blog. The reason... I don't want to bore you with my own musical tastes. But I'm just too excited about this to not mention it: Thom Yorke, the song writer and lead singer of Radiohead has recently announced a solo album! This is a first, folks! It will be produced by Nigel Godrich (the producer of Radiohead's "Hail to the Thief" and Beck's "Sea Change") and will be titled "The Eraser". It's just a lot of good news!... but there is some bad news: it won't be out until July.

About the album, Yorke says,

i wrote and played it. the elements have been kicking round now for a few years and needed to be finished & i have been itching to do something like this for ages.

• Eraser website
• Eraser cover

Photo-Ambography, Etc...

There's been a few changes to the Ambo page. Besides the addition of the Photo-Ambography gallery, I've also included a couple of Ambo tracks that were cut from the album (for a variety of reasons). One is a short musical piece, the other is a song.

Ambo Public Radio!

Stop by NPR's Open Mic website sometime tomorrow (Aug. 31) to listen to the song "Ever After You" by featured recording artist Ambo.

Ambo is, by the way, myself and Keith Moore, a good friend of mine. We recently recorded an album together called "1000 Years and 1 Day". It's available on Itunes and a few other online stores. The CD is currently available for purchase at CDBaby. 

In the photo, above, you can kind of make out the blurry image of the studio in which we recorded – the keyboards, racks and computer (toys and stuffed animals) – it was all crammed into a small room in the corner of my house. In the foreground, you can see a mic: the picture was taken from inside of the room's tiny closet, which we used as a soundroom. If there is such a thing as a soundroom from hell, then this was it. No light. No heat. No air. Not even enough room to comfortably hold a guitar. Somehow that worked well for us. You tell me.

(Click on the image above for a larger version)

Listen to "Ever After You" and other Ambo songs at our Ambo webpage.

With God on Our Side

by Bob Dylan

Oh my name it is nothin'
My age it means less
The country I come from
Is called the Midwest
I's taught and brought up there
The laws to abide
And that land that I live in
Has God on its side.

Oh the history books tell it
They tell it so well
The cavalries charged
The Indians fell
The cavalries charged
The Indians died
Oh the country was young
With God on its side.

Oh the Spanish-American
War had its day
And the Civil War too
Was soon laid away
And the names of the heroes
I's made to memorize
With guns in their hands
And God on their side.

Oh the First World War, boys
It came and it went
The reason for fighting
I never did get
But I learned to accept it
Accept it with pride
For you don't count the dead
When God's on your side.

When the Second World War
Came to an end
We forgave the Germans
And then we were friends
Though they murdered six million
In the ovens they fried
The Germans now too
Have God on their side.

I've learned to hate Russians
All through my whole life
If another war comes
It's them we must fight
To hate them and fear them
To run and to hide
And accept it all bravely
With God on my side.

But now we got weapons
Of the chemical dust
If fire them we're forced to
Then fire them we must
One push of the button
And a shot the world wide
And you never ask questions
When God's on your side.

Through many a dark hour
I've been thinkin' about this
That Jesus Christ
Was betrayed by a kiss
But I can't think for you
You'll have to decide
Whether Judas Iscariot
Had God on his side.

So now as I'm leavin'
I'm weary as Hell
The confusion I'm feelin'
Ain't no tongue can tell
The words fill my head
And fall to the floor
If God's on our side
He'll stop the next war.

Listen to With God on Our Side on Itunes

Today is August 6 – my birthday. 60 years ago today, before I was born, our country introduced nuclear weapons onto the world stage by being the first (and only) nation to ever drop an atomic bomb onto a populated city. Then we did it again, three days later, onto a second city. No one has done it since. Hopefully, no one will ever do it again. But it seems likely that someone will...

Switching dramatically to a related, but lighter subject, why not amuse ourselves by taking a look at this delightful little trailer for Dr. Strangelove, Or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb, starring the incomparable Peter Sellers (at his absolute best). I think it will, at the very least, put a smile on all of our faces.

More links:
• The Fog of War, documenting the life of Robert McNamara
• General Tibbets and an Army of Ultramen – Previous Link
• Purchasing Dr. Strangelove

Update: More on Hiroshima suppressed film footage.

Independence Day

by Elliot Smith

Future butterfly gonna spend the day higher than high
You’ll be beautiful confusion
Oh, once I was you
I saw you caught between all the people out making a scene
And a bright ideal tomorrow
Oh, don’t go too far
Stay who you are
Everybody knows
Everybody knows
Everybody knows
You only live a day
But it’s brilliant anyway
I saw you at a perfect place
It’s gonna happen soon, but not today
So go to sleep and make the change
I’ll meet you here tomorrow
Independence day
Independence day
Independence day

Listen to Independence Day (on Itunes)...

1000 Years and 1 Day

Musicians like to smoke. This is a real smoker's ashtray from our "real music studio."