Queer Core

Queer Core is specifically a genre of music that is very connected to homosexuality, either by imaginary, context or subject matter. Here are a few videos I liked.

USS Enterprise Engine Noise

I have often wondered what I would be like to be on the Enterprise and have to put up with the sound of the engines all the time. I have also wondered what it is about the engines that make that noise considering there are no moving parts on the engines and any noise from outside wouldn't carry due to the vacuum of space. There is a video on YouTube that loops the enterprise engine noise for 24 hours.



However a better and higher quality version can be herd from Linux's play app. Use the following command to generate the noise procedurally:

play -n -c1 synth whitenoise band -n 100 20 band -n 50 20 gain +25 fade h 1 864000 1

More Musical Tesla Coil Action

Musical Tesla Coil Hat

A guy made a Tesla Coil Hat that plays the mortal Combat theme tune. The video doesn't show the hat itself very well, so checkout The Guy's Blog.

Otomata

There have been a few flash proceadural music makers, and I think Otomata is one of the better examples. Here is a pattern I made.

Commander Shepard Antham

You can fight light a Krogan, run like a leopard, but you will never be better than Commander Shepard.

Zelda Ocarina Of Tetris

Anime Dub Vs Sub

Normally Anime fans regard the discussion of original subtitles vs dubbed English with disdain, because historically dubs have been terrible. No terrible as in an audio quality way, but terrible because the dubbers change the script to please a younger western audience. This can mean that characters nolonger swear, subplots are removed, cultural references get a more US flair and most scripts loose their edge.

In the last ten years this however has started to change and companies performing the dubs know that fans hate it when they change things, so they have been trying to do more unabridged dubs. For me this peaked when I seen the English Dub of Beck. I was shocked to discover the Dub was better than the original sub!

The reason for this is that Beck is about a native Japanese speaking band with no knowledge of English who sing English songs. This means they have a strong Japanese accent on all the songs and for myself an English speaker this was slightly jarring, the English dub however has none of this. And with an almost completely unabridged script, it's brilliant. I highly recommend the sub all the time, but the dub is better.

Japanese


English

The History Of PC Audio As Told By Money Island

I seen this on Evil Avatar. I started with a SoundBlaster 16 myself and the first game I had with sound was Theme Park.

Home Music Systems

For a few years now I have been thinking how cool it would be if all the speaker systems in my home could sync up and play the same track simultaneously and then remain in sync. There is ShoutCast which is a free WinAmp Plug-in that will allow you to connect to an audio stream and then there are other plug-ins you can use to remotly controle winamp like iAmpRemote, but this all needs setting up.

But there is a company called Sonos that does room speaker systems that sync themselves and has a load of remote control options that are all really cool. However I don't think a lot of traditional consumers of music are going to be into Sonos because it is more tuned to the digital age.

Dear Mandy

In responce to Mandlson's Bill where he wants to dosconnect people from the internet, Dan Bull did a Song.



[Derren Brown]

The Electric Lute

The Lute is a very old European stringed instrument that hasn't been part of popular modern music for centuries. I was at Warwick Castle last Saturday and some guy was walking around playing one. It has a good sound and if you have never heard one before Here Is A Video of Paul Odette, the great Lutenis playing very beautifully. But I wondered, has anybody ever put an electric pickup in one?

As it turns out a guy named luthier Ian has and the Electric Lute produces a fantastic and different sound to what you will be used to hearing from an Electric Guitar.

Stand By Me, By Verious Artists

You has best visit the Gizmodo Post on this video, but it demonstrated the universal nature of music.

Pacemaker Handheld DJ System

ThinkGeek are selling this thing called the Pacemaker Handheld DJ System. It is mega expensive and you might was well get a Korg 10 for the DS or some proper DJ equipment for the $500 price tag, but I really liked the advert.



And then I seen this video below where someone has used a RF output device to listen to the Pacemaker's output on his car stereo system. Which is cool because that could be another evolution of in-car entertainment.

1) In car radio (music chosen for you)
2) In car Tape/CD player (the music you want to listen to)
4) In car MP3 player (on demand audio, music, mixes, podcasts etc)
5) In car DJ system/music game (on the fly music creation)

The Buckingham Palace Guard Band

When the changing of the guard happens (Schedule) at Buckingham Palace, The Guard Band plays as The New Guard is inspected. This is a tradition that dates back to the 16th century, however what the band plays isn't necessarily the same pomp of tradition that the rest of the ceremony is.

Some People Just Enjoy Christmas More Than Others

I would dearly love to do something like in the below videos, but it is so very much out of my skill set.

Mirrors Edge Music Video

I love the music in Mirror's Edge, so when I seen the title for this video, Mirror's Edge Music Video, I was a little excited, but still sceptical because I thought it could be a fan made project. However it isn't, so enjoy.
Available in Standard and High Definition resolutions.

Windows Vista's Speaker Room Correction

Very expensive speakers have this feature called Room Correction. This is a calibration system where each speaker plays a test signal and uses a built in microphone to listen to the signal coming from the other speakers. By listening to this signal, delay and room frequency response from a room can be mapped out. This creates an automatically calibrated listening environment that compensates for a lot of room features like furniture and has many advantages over a manually calibrated equaliser system (mainly the fact that it is automated).

Windows Vista has Room Calibration built in. To do a calibration:

1) Connect up a microphone to your computer.

2) Setup your microphone so that your computer can listen through it.

2) Open up Playback Devices window.

3) Open up the properties window for your speakers.

4) Select the enhancements tab.

5) Select Room Correction and then Settings.

6) Follow the on-screen instructions.

I recommend turning your speakers up so that the test signal can be heard by your microphone. And place your microphone in a similar location to where you yourself will be listening to your speakers.

I don't know if this has made my listening experience better because I am not that well trained in these things, but the alterations applied to my system where to add a delay and slightly turn down the volume on my right speaker. This makes sense when you consider that my right speaker is closer to me, than my left. So logically my speakers should now sound better. Although I should add that this is no consolation to not buying a good set of speakers in the first place.

Super Mario World The Musical

People can do some strange things in their spare time. I never thought Super Mario World could be used in such a way. Although I have seen similar videos, none of them are anywhere near the length of thisone.



And Here is a link to the acustic version.

[ Via Digg ]

Eurovision Aftermath

Russia won and there was so much political voting going on between nabouring counteries that I don't think western countries are going to see a win for many years to come. The winning track wasn't bad, but I thought there where a few tracks that where much better. And that includes the runner up, Greece.

Russian Entry


Greek Entry


Sergey Lazarev, a runnerup that didn't make the cut to become the Russian entry for the competition, but I prefer his entry to the winner.


I wouldn't even have been annoyed if the Swedish entry won.