January 2017 – Rocknerd

Reviews: Mehdi-T, Mlale (2017).

31 January, 2017 Dance, Indie, Record 1

The accessible and the inaccessible.

Links: Facebook goes music industry, Denuvo DRM cracked in record time, a BitTorrent YouTube, women and jazz.

30 January, 201730 January, 2017 Games, Industry, Jazz, Links, mp3 0

assorted bile and horror

John Cale: Music For A New Society/M:FANS (1982, 2016).

28 January, 201712 April, 2017 Record, Rock 0

Music For A New Society was written and recorded over a few weeks in 1982. Cale basically pulled out handfuls of his guts and shoved them into the piano and the vocal mic as hard as he could. It’s a perfectly captured moment, and one of the best things Cale ever did.

The 2016 rerecording is … completely different.

Links: Robin and Zappa, streaming piracy and the musical taste of dogs.

26 January, 2017 Esoterica, Links, mp3 0

How the Boy Wonder’s singing coach fired him.

Synthpop reviews: Cloud Spell, Cavendish Laboratory, Seaofsin (2017).

25 January, 201725 January, 2017 Goth, Indie, Industrial, Pop, Record 0

Minimal synth dreampop, extended instrumental noodling and EBM dancefloor.

Links: AirPod woes, MegaUpload 2.0 delayed by dodginess, classic anti-piracy ads.

24 January, 201721 February, 2017 Audio, Links, mp3, Your rights 0

“Sorry but there has been an expected hiccup. Will tell you all about it later today. Let this play out and give me some time to update you.”

Martin Rev: Clouds of Glory (1985).

23 January, 201724 January, 2017 Industrial, Punk, Record 0

Unambiguously rock’n’roll for every practical purpose, without involving any of guitars, basses or drums.

Links: Dee Dee Ramone, how to work Spotify, talking rubber, American Recordings.

22 January, 201722 January, 2017 Audio, Country, Industry, Links, mp3, Punk 0

GIRLS LEAD PUNK ARMY ON RAMPAGE

Movie links: Netflix kills DVDs, more copyright trolls, 32% of US adults watch pirated films.

21 January, 2017 Film, Links, mp3, Your rights 2

Bad! Bad troll! Bad!

The political event of the day: the Ithaca Psychogeographic Liberation Front issues Articles of Secession.

20 January, 20179 September, 2018 Esoterica, Writing 1

We secede from irony. Sincerity will pervade even our lies, and especially our lies.

Reviews: Gnu Reunion, Treasureseason, Shijo X (2017).

19 January, 2017 Dance, Pop, R'n'B, Record, Rock 0

A cheering selection, from old and new bands.

Links: What.CD successors, the 1939 Voder, anaemic chart sales, the bagpipe AI.

18 January, 201720 November, 2018 Industry, Links, mp3, Musician 0

Roko’s Basilisk, right, but on the bagpipes.

Synthpop reviews: Ida, Missing In STARS, Metrophona (2017).

17 January, 201717 January, 2017 Industrial, Pop, Record 0

Remarkable debuts in the synthetic arts.

Cabaret Voltaire: Doublevision Present (1983).

16 January, 20179 May, 2018 Industrial, Record, Television 0

The Audio And Visual Quality Of This Programme May Be Of A Slightly Lower Standard Than Is Usual Today.

Links: Storytelling, the rump hi-res streaming consortium, the end of newspaper critics, Jim Bob.

15 January, 201718 January, 2017 Audio, Industry, Links, mp3, Television, Writing 0

Also, Wikipedia started sixteen years ago today.

Reviews: Carrousel, Neuroticfish, Epileptics (2016, 2017).

14 January, 2017 Industrial, Pop, Record 0

There’s electronics and there’s electronics. Sonic landscape pop, EBM and glitchy electropunk.

Links: Slowdive return, GRIDI, Tetris on a Launchpad, BitTorrent Inc.

13 January, 201713 January, 2017 Indie, Links, mp3, Musician 0

But Lauren won’t budge; she likes what she likes, and Spotify understands that.

Synthpop: Black Nail Cabaret, LisaWars, Lux for the Monsters (2016).

12 January, 201712 January, 2017 Pop, Post-Punk, Record 0

A dash of precision decadence in these dark times.

Links: Selling yourself as a streaming artist, vacuum tubes, indie conspiracy theories.

11 January, 201711 January, 2017 Indie, Industry, Live, Musician 0

BOTTOM VIEW: Basing diagram, JEDEC 9A.

Links: Ticketmaster, digital property, not liking music, the biggest UK debut album of 2016.

10 January, 201710 January, 2017 Audio, Industry, Links, Pop, Your rights 0

Every nun needs a Synthi.

Links: AdNauseam blocked, Facebook video takedowns, hi-res Tidal, a wrist vibrator subwoofer.

9 January, 201710 January, 2017 Audio, Links, mp3, Your rights 0

Seriously, $199 for a vibrator for your wrist.

Reviews: The Pineapple Thief, Trance To The Sun, Scandinavia (2016).

8 January, 201729 March, 2017 Goth, Indie, Pop, Prog, Punk, Record 0

Let’s get the guitars out again.

Streaming links: Google and SoundCloud, hi-res audio, codec snobbery.

7 January, 2017 Audio, Industry, Links, mp3 0

From the world of your music on other people’s computers.

The Voices: Oneiric Anthem (2016).

6 January, 201729 March, 2017 Esoterica, Metal, Prog, Record 1

Today’s “what the hell even is that”: a capella experimental prog.

High seas: ISP warnings don’t work, Facebook content ID, more suits against copyright trolls.

5 January, 20176 January, 2017 Links, mp3, Your rights 0

News for freelance consumers of the preservation of culture.

I urge you to back “Monkee Music”, 2nd Edition, by Andrew Hickey. Hurry, hurry!

4 January, 20176 January, 2017 Pop, Writing 0

You should definitely put some money into this Kickstarter.

Industrial reviews: Purple Fog Side, Mari Kattman, Amorphous (2016, 2017).

3 January, 201729 March, 2017 Industrial, Prog, Record 0

Recent releases from the bleep side and the noise side.

Rocknerd v1 recoveries.

2 January, 2017 Rocknerd 0

Nearing the bottom of the barrel with the Rocknerd v1 recoveries. Look through the list and let me know any favourites you think particularly warrant retrieval.

Links: Smart TVs, mining the Internet Archive, new Popcorn Time.

1 January, 2017 Links, mp3, Television 0

Why Smart TVs are as terrible an idea as they sound, automatic categorisation of the Internet Archive and a new version of Popcorn Time.