Archive for the 'Music' Category
Forty years ago, mathematician Mark Kac asked the theoretical question, “Can one hear the shape of a drum?”
If drums of different shapes always produce their own unique sound spectrum, then it should be possible to identify the shape of a specific drum merely by studying its spectrum, thus “hearing” the drum’s shape (a procedure analogous to spectroscopy, the way scientists detect the composition of a faraway star by studying its light spectrum).
But what if two drums of different shapes could emit exactly the same sound? If so, it would be impossible to work backward from the spectrum and uniquely surmise the physical structure of the drum, because there would be more than one correct answer to the question.
It took until the 1990s for mathematicians to prove that, in fact, two drums of different shapes could produce the same sound. In other words, you can’t hear the shape of a drum. That outcome, which was physically verified in one instance with vibrations on the surface of soap bubbles, raised theoretical questions about spectroscopy.
“This revolutionized our conception of the fundamental connections between shape and sound, but also had profound implications for spectroscopy in general, because it introduced an ambiguity,” according to Stanford physicist Hari Manoharan.
Just caught this on MetaFilter:
Tony Silver, the director of the groundbreaking hip-hop documentary Style Wars passed last night. He was a family friend of mine, and had been sick for several years with a irreversible brain condition. Style Wars is considered by some to be the best hip-hop film ever made, and by everyone to be the first. It was shot at the very start of the 1980s, when graffiti was still hip-hop’s dominant form, and the idea of graffiti as art was brand new.
Condolences to his family and friends.
If you haven’t seen his excellent film, check it out here –
Choose era, genre, mood, popularity level and other specifications and Musicovery will play you what you’re looking for.
Props to David Titterington for this one.
The Canadian Record Industry Association (the Canadian version of the RIAA) has released a study in which they conclude that P2P downloaders buy lots of music, and that P2P doesn’t particularly harm their industry.
Particularly noteworthy findings in the 144 page study report include:
* The survey asked for the sources of music on people’s computers. Among those who download music from P2P services, the top source of music was ripping copies of their own CDs (36.4%), followed by P2P downloads (32.6%), paid downloads (20.1%), shared music from friends (8.8%), downloads from artist sites (5.6%), and other sources (2.9%). In other words, even among those who download music from P2P services, the music acquired on those services account for only one-third of the music on their computers as store-bought CDs remain the single largest source of music for downloaders (page 53).
* For all the emphasis on the teenage downloaders, it is interesting that the 35 to 44 age group had the largest spread between CDs and P2P as the source of music. Among that demographic, 31 percent of their music comes from P2P services and 27 percent from ripping their own CDs (page 69).
* Consistent with many other studies, people who download music from P2P services frequently buy that same music. The study found that only 25% of respondents said they never bought music after listening to it as a P2P downloaded track. That obviously leaves nearly 75% as future purchasers, including 21% who have bought music ten times or more. Note that demographically, the lowest percentage of non-buyers actually belonged to the 13 to 17 year old demographic (page 70).
Also see this bashing of the MPAA for pulling chinanigans.
The French Parliament voted last night to allow free sharing of music and movies on the Internet, setting up a conflict with both the French government and with media companies.
If the amendment survives, France would be the first country to legalize so called peer-to-peer downloading, said Jean-Baptiste Soufron, legal counsel to the Association of Audionautes, a French group that defends people accused of improperly sharing music files.
The law would be a blow to media companies that increasingly use the courts worldwide to sue people for downloading or sharing music and movie files. Entertainment companies such as Walt Disney Co., Viacom Inc. and News Corp.’s Fox say free downloading of unauthorized copies of TV shows and movies before they are released on DVD will cost them $5 billion in revenue this year.
``The deputies used this vote to show their independence from the government, but they don’t know what they are doing,’’ Nicolas Seydoux, chief executive of French cinema company Gaumont SA, said in an interview on France Inter radio. ``We are not trying to ban anything, just to make sure the work of others isn’t stolen.’’
The government can overturn the amendment, either by re- opening debate or if the Senate votes it down when the bill moves to the upper house. French Culture Minister Renaud Donnedieu de Vabres has asked that parliament re-open debate on the amendment today, Agence France Presse reported.
Public Enemy remains defiantly cutting edge, not just in its music but, equally importantly, in its approach to distributing its songs to fans. Ever a proponent of self-determination, the group has done more than any band to bypass the big labels and make music as it sees fit. In the late 1990s, when fellow rapper Dr. Dre sued Napster for making his songs available for free, Public Enemy’s Chuck D defended the renegade file-sharing service, arguing that the internet gives artists an unprecedented ability to subvert corporate control and connect directly with their fans.
As a jab to PolyGram, Public Enemy’s distributor at the time, the group released There’s a Poison Goin’ On over the internet and on zip drives, until the band was finally released from its contract.
Camera Lucida is an interactive “sonic observatory” that converts sound waves into light by means of a phenomenon called sonoluminescence.
The continually evolving light sculpture allows one to see sound moving through space ? at the meeting point of acoustics and optics. Using sonoluminescence, sound waves are directly converted into light inside a glass chamber filled with gas-infused liquid. After adapting to the darkness surrounding the installation, one can gradually perceive the highly detailed shapes and movements of multiple sound sources.
So far, the only way to view sonoluminescence was in a highly specialized sonochemical laboratory. Camera Lucida presents the first opportunity for people outside the scientific community to experience this rare phenomenon.
Video on the webpage.
Via Neural.
“Performing “Money,” “Wish You Were Here” and “Comfortably Numb,” Pink Floyd was indeed the coolest band on the planet for those 20 minutes. Never has a reunion set been able to satisfy both hardcore and casual fans alike. more
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Crooks and Liars has the whole set in Quicktime. 37.3MB.
PARIS (AFP) – Music lovers in North Carolina are due for a strange treat next month.
They will hear two piano virtuosi in concert… but both musicians are long dead.
The music will be played on a grand piano that has been specially programmed to give a note-perfect, live rendition of ancient recordings made by Alfred Cortot in 1928 and Glenn Gould in 1962.
Yeah, I remember them – I think MTV used to show them. Anyway, here’s a pretty awesome collection of them…
622 of them actually. From A Perfect Circle to the Yeah Yeah Yeahs.
Sorry all ZZ Top fans.
In 1986, Frank Zappa remained occupied ? some would say preoccupied ? with the activities of the American right wing and its efforts to censor rock and roll. In its liberal guises under Tipper Gore’s PMRC (Ms. Gore’s husband Al was Clinton?s Vice-President) or its more virulent religious and, as Zappa puts it, anti-democratic strains, headway was being made.
In the following interview, conducted on March 16, 1986, Frank Zappa talked about his recent appearance before the US Congress and his involvement in the fight against censorship.
From Freemuse via grow-a-brain
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