Snowpocalypse

In the midst of the great Snowpocalypse of 2011 we’re putting on a Red Umbrella playlist to remind us that at least we don’t have it as bad as Canada does weather-wise. So, if you are a person who loves the snow then strap on those snowshoes, otherwise you’ll wanna bundle up with a good playlist to survive the Snowpocalypse.

How Do You Discover New Music

Let’s face it, we all have different methods, and we brag based on them, too. Some are content getting their tunes from friends, but others always wanna be on the cusp of new sounds. So we wanna know, how do you discover new music?

New Album: Horn Again by The Pillows

Another Punny Album Cover

Out today is The Pillow’s 17th full album release. The title of the disc is Horn Again. Similar to past CDs, it has 10 tracks, but this time all with English names. The regular CD costs around $33 in Japan and there’s a DVD Limited Edition for about $38. I’m not sure of the best way to pick it up in the US. I’d recommend popping over to eBay or cdJapan. However you get (legality aside) it I’m sure you’ll enjoy the band’s latest musical feat.

Album cover courtesy of pillows.jp

Breaking Into: JAZZ

Jazz Legend Louis Armstrong

This article is for people who want to experience a new kind of music. Maybe you’re completely new to jazz music and want to know where to start or maybe you’ve heard some stuff and just want to know more.

So why do I like jazz?

Partly because jazz musicians have guts. I’m not belittling other musical styles, just stating a fact about true jazz. A good jazz song basically has an intro and an ending figured out beforehand and the rest is just made up on the fly. Sure you got a tonal structure to work with, but it’s up to the soloist to find their way through it.

Mougg For Your Music On The Go

The other day I was using a limited free trial of the Grooveshark app on my Android phone and wondered if there wasn’t a way to store my own music online and stream it to my phone while on the go. My first thought was to create my own web server to house my music library and then look into creating a website for myself to listen to it with… But instead, I just Googled it and found Mougg, a service created by someone who asked himself the exact same question that I did.

It’s the perfect way to store your own music online and have access to listen to it anywhere. Mougg’s music player has a slick web interface and the Android app is straightforward and has a clean interface. Signing up for an account is easier than eating candy, and you get 1 GB of storage for free. After that, it’s only $2.99 per month for unlimited space, which seems like a pretty impressive (and tempting) price. In comparison, upgrading a Grooveshark account to Grooveshark Anywhere in order to use the Android app would cost $9 per month. Makes you want to check out Mougg, doesn’t it?

Keep beating, my friends.

How To: Embed Music with SoundCloud

We started covering various methods webbies use to embed their music. Previously we looked at Grooveshark, the popular online streaming music service. As we said there are some cons to the Grooveshark widget. Thankfully there are other options out there, and WordPress even points this out. Today we’ll look at SoundCloud, “the best music sharing site in the history of the Internet” as they put it. Before we go any further let’s throw in a sample so you can take a look at it.

How To: Embed Music with Grooveshark

For those unaware we at The Beat Project are seeking out the best way to embed music into this site. As is such there may as well be a post on it. Over the next few days I’ll be throwing in a lot of code to see what works. Be prepared to see multiple posts on various music embedding methods with the Benefits, Problems, and a Conclusion on the use of each one.

Because Grooveshark is one of my main sources of music explorations I’ve attempted to use their widget. If you’re looking to do something similar the Grooveshark widget is a great place to start. There are a number of benefits and problems with this method:

Band Etiquette – It’s Not About YOU!

What’s the difference between a good band and a great band? I’m sure if I asked 10 people that question, I’d get 10, or nearly 10, different answers. I dunno the exact answer myself…I think it can vary from band to band, but one thing that can make or break a group is how they come together.

Great musicians realize that it’s not about them. Every player has an important part in the group. Everyone has to work together to contribute to a greater purpose: the music. Sometimes good musicians forget this and believe that their skill or their part is better than others.

Anecdote:

I was a drummer for this small rock group for a short while. We were preparing for our second live, but my heart wasn’t in it because of how I was treated. All the other members looked down on me because I didn’t play the melody or sing. To them I was just a timekeeper (if that’s all you’re looking for in a drummer, get a metronome!) and I wasn’t included in any decisions.

The straw that broke the camel’s back happened the practice session before the performance. Our group had two good singers with great voices. We were practicing a number we had rehearsed several times before but the singers kept missing the entrance to the bridge. Part of the drummer’s job is to tell everyone musically where we are in the song through “fills” at the end of the phrase. So I started playing blatantly noticeable (and perhaps not so musical) fills leading into the bridge to cue the singers, but they still missed their entrance. Finally I spoke up and said to the singers, “Hey! I’m not just here to give you the time. It’s my job to shape the music and let people know the structure of the song. Listen to the drums and I’ll give you your cue. It’ll sound like this…” and I hammered out my ridiculously obvious fill. The singers looked at me with blank eyes, not paying attention because they thought it was stupid that a drummer was trying to help them sing.

We started the song again, I sounded out that fill as loud, as annoying and as deliberate as I could and the singers still missed their cue. They refused to listen to anyone else and acknowledge that another member of the band might be important or have something to contribute. So I got up, grabbed my ride cymbal (the rest of the set wasn’t mine) and left them behind before the live even started. If they don’t respect me, they don’t deserve to play with me.

Conclusion:

Make sure you respect your fellow band members, especially if they’re there to work with you to make better music. Everyone has an important part to play, and by working together, as a band, great things can happen.

Recommendation:

If you love music, comedy and a bit of slice-of-life drama, check out Beck: Mongolian Chop Squad. It’s both a manga (graphic novel series) and anime (animated series) originally written by Harold Sakuishi. Beck brilliantly captures the emotions and several situations that musicians experience in a compelling storyline that you just can’t stop reading! I strongly suggest reading the manga (can be found here, among other places). My good friend Charlie B. wrote about the Beck Live Action film here on The Beat Project.

\m/(^_^)\m/

～ＰＡＬＡＤＩＮ

2010 in review

The Beat Project – Best of 2010

So, what did The Beat Project do during 2010, its first full year of operation? Umm… not much. But then again only one person was running the thing so who’s to blame him? If you really wanna know what was popular though check out the summary below.

The Blog-Health-o-Meter™ reads Fresher than ever.

Crunchy numbers

A Boeing 747-400 passenger jet can hold 416 passengers. This blog was viewed about 4,700 times in 2010. That’s about 11 full 747s.

In 2010, there were 19 new posts, not bad for the first year! There were 22 pictures uploaded, taking up a total of 3mb. That’s about 2 pictures per month.

The busiest day of the year was May 28th with 63 views. The most popular post that day was The Seatbelts – Part 1 (Background & Foundation).

Where did they come from?

The top referring sites in 2010 were digg.com, facebook.com, healthfitnesstherapy.com, stumbleupon.com, and iphone5g.net.

Some visitors came searching, mostly for rubber soul, phonograph, ipod commercial, trigun, and pierrot le fou cowboy bebop.

Attractions in 2010

These are the posts and pages that got the most views in 2010.

1

The Seatbelts – Part 1 (Background & Foundation) April 2010
2 comments

2

The Seatbelts – Part 2 (Diving In) April 2010
2 comments

3

New Album: Discharge/Yamanaka Sawao June 2010
5 comments

4

Media Players – Media Evolution (iPod inside) March 2010
2 comments

5

Beck: Live Action Movie June 2010
3 comments

Those Out of Reach Vintage Guitars

Contessa HG-10 on eBay

Every once in a while I pop onto craigslist or ebay and search for guitars that I want. I’ve looked for resonator guitars, Italia guitars, Gibson guitars, and though I’ve never really bought anything I did go out of my way to win a vintage Contessa HG-41 last year around Christmas time. Tonight I did this old search routine and stumbled upon a Contessa HG-10 for buy. Too bad the seller wants $850 Buy it Now (with $43 shipping on top of that). Check out the posting.

If I had the cash I’d snatch this beauty up in a heartbeat. Alas, the seller is asking a lot of money. I guess I’ll just have to salivate for a while.