| Things Here |
[May. 13th, 2008|10:53 am] |
Happening here:
No earthquakes
No tornadoes
Received my artist copies of Svartgalgh Records' "Magick Rituals: The Sun" 3" cdr. Very cool! Fiery ambient dronage and 2 death / doom metal pieces.
Folks, it works surprisingly well, and I am not really a fan of metal. It's weird. . .
I love it when new music opens my mind. |
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| Music Geekery |
[May. 12th, 2008|05:59 pm] |
Today I ordered a nice pair of computer speakers-- they should arrive by Friday. I am so tired of the tiny, tinney little Logitechs I have been using. They have no bass whatsoever and I really need to hear (and feel) bass.
I actually should have returned these Logitech puppies to Office Max, but I was to lazy / wimpy.
Anyway, the new speakers are from HK and have gotten great reviews. Can't wait!
(P.S., in case you were wondering, these are for my networking computer. My composing computer has a nice pair of speakers already, and I also often use headphones while writing.) |
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| Quote |
[May. 11th, 2008|11:07 am] |
"Wisdom is mainly understood only by the wise".
--Thomas Park 2008 |
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| Sheesh |
[May. 10th, 2008|10:03 pm] |
I have been gradually moving from using cdr and cdrw as storage devices to using flash and external drives.
This week has been a fiesta of retentive backing up.
Just tonight I extracted 18 gb of wav samples from sample cds and sent them one folder at a time to my external drive. My poor PC was laboring towards the end, so now it is off and resting peacefully.
The whole process took about 3 hours. Mostly it involved me watching little blue squares slowly indicate that processes were finished. Very factory-like.
Luckily, the only cd that went bad, at this point, was also a backup. . . |
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| Just Missed |
[May. 10th, 2008|01:03 pm] |
I just missed buying a nice space heater for a good price. It was for sale at a yard sale down the street. Apparently some other person, lucky woman, had reserved it.
I could really use something like that, to take the place of central heat. This given the cost of gas.
Given that people talk about the danger posed by space heaters. . . I still was tempted.
I have also been thinking about getting and hdtv, but I think the price is pretty absurd. All this for a kind of progress I didn't really ask for or want.
On a lighter note, I have lengthened my exercise walks, and it feels great. Lost about 5 of the 10 pounds I recently gained. |
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| "Constant" Mix-- 10 Drones |
[May. 9th, 2008|09:40 am] |
Not many things in this world are constant. Maybe you can think of a few. In 2005, mystified discovered a drone that he was so impressed with that he decided that he could listen to it constantly. He created a longform piece from this drone, with only a few embellishments, and asked Webbed Hand Records' ( www.webbedhandrecords.com ) chief C.P. McDill if he would release this new piece, "Constant". C.P. agreed.
Not long afterwards, variations of "Constant" by other artists began to appear, largely on Stephen Philips' "TZP Drone Company" netlabel ( http://www.archive.org/details/tzpdc ). Excellent artists such as Stephen Philips, The Zen Potato, Ben Summers, and Soul In Limbo created their own versions of the theme. Mystified himself released "Constant 7" on Stephen's netlabel.
The idea of finding the least thing necessary for pleasurable listening was taken up at Treetrunk Records ( http://www.archive.org/details/treetrunk ). The mystical musical collective "Tribe Of Astronauts" released a version of "Constant", followed by, once again, mystified, and, for the first time, C.P. McDill.
Thomas of mystified began to become interested in creating a mix of all 10 "Constant" versions. He wanted to hear them all consecutively, feeling that they would make an interesting and viable set, and hoping to enjoy in one sitting the skills of all 7 artists involved. Thomas proceeded to mix all 10 "Constants" end to end, using long crossfades, and created the "Constant Mix". Treetrunk Records hopes you enjoy listening to these mesmerizing drone pieces. Can you hear the constancy in each? And the attention to detail?
http://www.archive.org/details/Constant_Mix |
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| Busy Busy |
[May. 8th, 2008|08:01 pm] |
Had a busy day. I guess the high point was giving away 50 copies of a piano ambient cd I have had sitting around here for some time. I took the cds to a local cafe. The proprietor thought at first that I was handing him 50 blank cds. He did not seem upset, though, when I told him they had abstract piano music on them.
There were a few folks at the cafe, and to my embarassment, the cafe proprietor began to play my music. I sat in the corner and tried not to comment on it or to explain anything.
Happily, no one got up and left, or said anything rude.
Anyway, I left 50 copies with the guy so he can hand out freebies over the next month or so.
Also, I tried my first Turkish coffee. It was delicious-- very smooth and a little sweet. There was some coffee powder left in the cup, at the bottom, though. Is that normal? I bet it is.
I would like very much to tell you more about the bigger stuff brewing, but I don't want to lead you astray, so I need to wait for now. |
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| Desktop |
[May. 7th, 2008|09:03 am] |
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| Some Thoughts About Music And The Industry |
[May. 6th, 2008|02:49 pm] |
I posted some thoughts about my music and indie music in general at my website.
If you are curious:
http://mystifiedmusic.com/thoughts-about-music/
Feel free to comment here or there.
Thanks! |
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| John Williams |
[May. 5th, 2008|05:16 pm] |
I was just listening to disc 2 of "The Empire Strikes Back" soundtrack reissue from the late 1990's. According to the liner notes, the "Imperial Death March" was introduced in this film, rather than in "Star Wars: A New Hope". Is this true? I had completely forgotten that, and thought the "Imperial" theme came out in the original film.
I guess I could watch the dvd, but I am not in the mood. . .
Wow. What a powerful theme. |
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| Mystified and C.P. McDill - Constant 9 and Constant 10 |
[May. 4th, 2008|08:55 pm] |
In a nice offering from Treetrunk Records, 2 experienced artists interpret the "Constant" theme. "Constant" began as an experiment in minimalism on Webbed Hand Records. A single textured drone by mystified, in longform, was released. The idea was to supply a signal that was very consistent, and approached constancy.
The response to this piece was impressive. Some explained that they could not stop listening to "Constant". A number of pieces by various artists were released on the TZP Drone Company ( http://www.archive.org/details/tzpdc ), exploring this theme, many quite successfully. "Constant 8", Tribe Of Astronauts, appeared in 2007 on Treetrunk Records. Now Treetrunk is proud to release "Constant 9" and "Constant 10", by artists mystified and C.P. McDill.
http://www.archive.org/details/Constant9andConstant10 |
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| Hmm |
[May. 3rd, 2008|01:51 pm] |
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Just got an interesting e-mail from Magnatune. More later. . . |
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| It's Sad |
[May. 3rd, 2008|12:19 pm] |
I have expanded my walking route (to get healthier and lose a few pounds), and I keep seeing these restaurants that have closed. Restaurants that look ok. Like Wendy's. Weren't they bought out by Arby's? And there's a place called "Ba Le". It's a Chinese cafe. Eastern dishes for $5.95 or so. But they are gonna close, I mean-- they get no business at all. And all of these other places. . . it sucks. I really like restaurants. The more the merrier.
I got 2 (really 3) cds in the mail by Muslimgauze. I just now decided to dip in a little, having heard Chris Reider's "Muslimgauze Mix" from a few months ago. In fact, I asked Chris for his recommendations, and so far they have proven great.
Spinning now: Jaal ab dullah |
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| Buffet |
[May. 1st, 2008|08:11 pm] |
Another good buffet. This may upset some folks, but the buffet I enjoyed was actually one of those "Home Country" Buffet chain places.
7 bucks for lunch-- not too bad.
What I have noticed is that the quality of these places varies according to who is manning the kitchen. A solid team of cooks can really make the buffet awesome.
And there were some healthier choices. Cooked chicken breast in a mild sauce, baked fish, baked potato, beans and rice. . . the food wasn't too greasy or too salty.
Of course, you can always go nuts and have 10 pieces of fried chicken and a bunch of pizza and ice cream, but-- that is a personal decision. |
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| Mystified / N.Strahl.N Split |
[Apr. 30th, 2008|07:44 pm] |
Leading-edge artists N.Strahl.N and mystified proudly announce the release of a split / collaboration cdr from Roil Noise Records: "Mystified Versus N.Strahl.N-- 'FM'". This is a complete 5" cdr product with inkjet-printed cdr and black slim case.
There are 5 tracks from N.Strahl.N (Germany), and 9 tracks from mystified (US), for a total of 14 tracks - running time 57:36.
The main genres represented are drone and industrial with special focus on static and hum sounds and metallic sounds.
Both artists are very proud of this release.
$6.00 includes postage.
http://www.roilnoise.com/mystified-nstrahln.htm
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| Hellish Drone |
[Apr. 29th, 2008|11:45 pm] |
There is a new drone single up for streaming at the mystified Myspace page.
The track is called "Under Rock Under Stone".
It is the final track from mystified's forthcoming drone essay on Hell, "Hellwaste".
Enjoy:
http://www.myspace.com/mystified |
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| Spring, South Saint Louis |
[Apr. 29th, 2008|07:53 pm] |
Some local foilage and scenery. |
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| More Beardless |
[Apr. 29th, 2008|04:36 pm] |
Getting used to my beardless chin. |
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| Bird |
[Apr. 28th, 2008|11:05 pm] |
Another bird outside of window picture. |
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| Beard Part 2 |
[Apr. 28th, 2008|06:39 pm] |
To those who commented on the before and after beard-trimming photos, thank you. The after photo is pretty bad, in fact. It's a weird angle and I think I have a strange expression on my face.
People generally seem to like the beard better. That's cool.
But I don't think I am going to grow it back. At least not now.
You see, my beard is shot with gray hair. It makes me look older. And let's face it-- in this culture, youth is at a premium.
Did you know that Mylie Cyrus is making over 1 billion dollars a year just in marketable items? And she's only 15.
So, you see, the closer to 15 years old I look, the better chance I have of making a lot of money. |
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