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last.fm vs TechCrunch

// February 23rd, 2009 // No Comments » // Computing, Music, Technology

Being the heavy user of Last.fm I was a little concerned when techcrunch broke the story that supposably, last.fm had given the RIAA, information pertaining to users who had scrobbled any tracks from the Upcoming and undrealeased U2 album. The fact I can't stand the rose tinted glasses wearing, Irish Hypocrite is beside the point.

Firstly, what got me there was no mention of the Data Protection act fair enough last.fm is a CBS company, but its still based in the UK (for the most part) and that would mean the passing of this data would be illegal. You cannot pass data to a third party without consent from the data subject.

Also it seems like there are alot of people and blogs posting unsubstantiated rumours to get traffic and therefore ad revenue etc. I know its always been there but it seems like everybody is at it even big news companies, what little credibilty these sites have is been quickly ruined by hastly researched stories and a all too trigger happy publish finger. 

Last.fm - Keep up the good work.

TechCrunch Article

Last.fm - "TechCrunch is full of shit"

Introducing the V-Piano

// February 6th, 2009 // No Comments » // Blog, Music

NAMM was a couple of weeks ago now, and there have been some major announcements in the music industry. Roland have managed to push as many new products onto us as I can ever remember at least over the last 5 Years. The most interesting of which is the newest addtion to the V series of instruments the V-Piano. 

What is so special about this is the keyboard itself models the sound of a keyboard, meaning the computer generates a fake piano in every sense, the casing the hammers, dampers and strings. In minute detail, all this means you can replicate the sound of a piano so realisitically you would find it difficult to tell the difference. It also means you can customise the way the piano plays, for instance changing the coating of the strings, and the hammers for a particular octave(s) of the keyboard. Making a truly unique sound.

I cannot wait until I get a go on one of these Roland is set to have a production Demo at MusikMesse Frankfurt at Easter.

Roland V-Piano from Northern Music on Vimeo.

Roland recently launched or rather pre-launched the V-Piano an NAMM09

$75,000 – Another Epic Waste of Money.

// September 26th, 2008 // 2 Comments » // Blog, Music, Technology

Whatever happened to commonsense and peoples BS meters.

The CopySense Appliance is the only solution that can identify and block illegal sharing of copyrighted files while allowing other legitimate P2P uses to continue.Audible Magic via TorrentFreak

So what does the $75,000 network appliance get you, well nothing other than another piece of useless technology attached to your network. But, it does mean you can when sued go "Look mister we have a CopySense Appliance, that couldn't have possibly been us" Net result the lawsuit goes away.

Is it worth that much? Short answer is no. Commonsense has shown that the RIAA and MPAA are still stuggling with the modern world and have yet to make any allegations really stick with any great amount of evidence and justification, other than they need a new revenue stream because their main streams of cash, are rapidly drying up because no body is going pay the exorbitant fees they want.

Still I wouldn't mind being the company that is selling this stuff to what seems like market that just keeps righting blank cheques to the companies who say they can solve their every problem. Another Epic Fail.

Review in 20s: Mike Oldfield – Music of the Spheres [Music]

// June 10th, 2008 // No Comments » // Music, Review in 20s

This is a new one for the reviews section, Music!

When you think Mike Oldfield, you think Tubular Bells and The Exorcist. Music of the Spheres is completely different yet very much the same, based on the premise that everything in the universe has a unique sound or vibration. Oldfield has orchestrated a journey by music through the universe.

Its a very good album from big impact tracks, to very subtle and calming tracks. Its the sort of album you put on at the end of the day and just kick back and relax to. While it could be argued its just a re-hash of oldfield's old catalogue circa Tubular Bells 1. I still enjoyed it.

Verdict - 4 Stars

Links MikeOldfield.com | Music Of The Spheres

Confessions of a Serial Soundtrack Collector

// May 17th, 2008 // No Comments » // Blog, Ideas, Music, Noteworthy

It seems no matter how good a film is, the music that goes with the film is always under appreciated, while there are exceptions to the rule we really should pay more attention to the music, it will make or break a film.

I don't really know hoe I ended up collecting soundtracks, but two moments that really standout are; tracking down a piece of music used the in 2004 BAFTAs and another piece of music featured in the South Bank Show.

The music from the BAFTAs was probably the easiest to track down, I just emailed them. It took a couple of weeks but they emailed me back answer: Whisper of a Thrill - From Meet Joe Black - Thomas Newman. Within seconds the CD was bought and on its way. Its OK if you can email the people responsible and get them to tell you the music used but in the case of my second hunt, the emailing method wasn't so fruitful.

After watching the South Bank Show, I had the I must have that music moment and started on my merry way trying to track it down by google to no avail, I had some idea of who the composer could be Craig Armstrong or Thomas Newman, so I loaded the ITV website and sent them an email. I have found since then both ITV and the BBC hate these inquiries and just brush them off, Channel 5 usually give a better response. I got the typical response, "Due to the nature of the way we create our programming there is no record of the music for each program." I spent another few months searching, and had all but given up hope on finding the elusive piece of music, when i chanced upon a newly upload Craig Armstrong Album on iTunes. I had found it. Finding Beauty - Craig Armstrong within a couple of seconds it was downloaded.

I am sure that there isn't just me who has these little quests, I am also sure that many people unlike me will give up on finding the song they were looking for. I wish the BBC and ITV would setup websites that listed all the music from each program. I think music companies should be actively encouraging the publishing of music in film and TV, it would earn them some points and make some money.

Since my first encounter with the wonderful world of soundtracks my library has grown from a mere 5 hours to over 22 days (thats528 hours) So much so I now have so much music that the chances are that I hear a piece of music in a film or TV program, I will already have a copy in there somewhere.

The problem is finding it.