Posts in Category: Quick Hits
Music From Mother Nature
The Radioactive Orchestra 2.0 uses energy from the decay of low energy isotopes to make music. The energy that is released, according to Fox News, is read by a gamma spectrometer. If the sample – which could be a radioactive material such as uranium — is moved closer and farther away from the device, a pulsating rhythm is created.
The story has links to videos that explain what is going on and provide samples of the music. Swedish musician Kristofer Hagbard is quoted on the rationale for the project: “’The goal is not to create the ultimate sonification of radiation, but to experiment with science as a starting point for making art.”
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Fogerty Autobiography Likely to be Tough Stuff
EW.com and other sites report that John Fogerty is writing a book.
Fogerty, of course, led Creedence Clearwater Revival and has had a long solo career. The EW piece suggest that he has a lot of axes to grind:
But the righteous edge to Fogerty’s vocals and lyrics was matched by his determination to have his own way, including with his brother and fellow Creedence performer, Tom Fogerty. By the mid-’70s, the band had broken up and Fogerty would spend years battling his former music label, Fantasy Records.
Fogerty’s quotes go in the same direction. The book — which promises not to be a lovefest — is scheduled to be published in 2014, the story says.
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The Long Goodbye
Country star George Jones has started a year-long goodbye tour, according to Reuters. The tour started this month and is scheduled to conclude in November, 2013.
From Jones’ site:
The Grand Tour will visit approximately 60 cities in 2013. The star will perform many of his hits such as “White Lightning,” “He Stopped Loving Her Today,” “Who’s Gonna Fill Their Shoes” and “I Don’t Need Your Rockin’ Chair”.
Jones cancelled some concerts during the spring due to a respiratory infection. That led to concerns about his health which, fortunately, were unfounded.
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Johnny Still Goode
Rolling Stone reports on the tribute concert to Chuck Berry as he accepted the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame American Masters of Music Award.
Chuck Berry in 1971.
The concert – during which the 86-year-old Berry played – culminated a week-long celebration of his life. Other performers included Merle Haggard, Ronnie Hawkins, Darryl “DMC” McDaniels, Joe Bonamassa and Lemmy Kilmister.
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A Real Golden Oldie
On Oct. 25, an audience at the GE Theatre in Schenectady, NY, heard a voice from close to the big bang of audio recording.
The man recites Mary Had a Little Lamb and Old Mother Hubbard, laughs and plays a cornet. The Atlantic says that the event was the first time the recording – which was made in St. Louis — has been heard in public since the device was built by Thomas Edison in 1878. The story has audio, which is discernible, but barely so.
Thomas Edison
This isn’t the oldest recording, however. “Phonautograms” from France – which never were intended to be played back – are older.
In 1996, They Might Be Giants recorded I Can Hear You and three other songs at the Edison Historic Site in West Orange.
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The Music of The World Series
The World Series begins tonight, and the MercuryNews has a list of the “walk up” music for the starting lineups of each team. The term refers to the music played as the batter walks from the on-deck circle to the plate, or a pitcher comes in from the bullpen.
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Brooks Joins Country Music HoF
Garth Brooks was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in Nashville on Sunday. There are good pictures of the ceremony at The Oklahoman.
The story says that Brooks 128 million records. His heroes are George Strait, Bob Seeger and, perhaps surprisingly, James Taylor. The three performed at the ceremony.
Singer Connie Smith was inducted into the “Veterans Era Artist” and pianist Hargus “Pig” Robbins into the “Recording and/or Touring Musician Active Prior to 1980,” the story said.
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Donald Fagen’s Fourth Solo Album Tomorrow
Donald Fagen’s fourth solo album, Sunken Condos, will be released tomorrow. DJ and Huffington Post blogger Michael Ragogna interviewed Fagen and co-producer Michael Leonhart at the site.
Here is Fagen on the album title:
I didn’t think any of the individual songs had a title that worked for an album title, so I needed something suitably apocalyptic. I remembered there’s a piece by Debussy called “Sunken Cathedrals,” so I just updated it and came up with “Sunken Condos,” which, I think, could be appreciated on different levels. You can associate it with the economic problems in the world now, the sociological problems in the world, and also my own personal situation. In other words, it’s really about getting older and maybe facing some of the realities of life. I’m sixty-four now.
The audio of one of the cuts on the album, I’m Not the Same Without You, is available at Rolling Stone. This song is very reminiscent of The Nightfly.
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