If you’re anything like me, you often find yourself with a large pile of MP3 files scattered about in your download directory that need to be moved into the iTunes library. Normally this involves highlighting and manually dragging these files into iTunes. Read on for my quick tip on how to automate this repetitive task.
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Recombinant remix and video artist rx has done it again. Check out his latest creation, a politically charged anti-war video cover of Helter Skelter. Make sure to also check out his Should I Stay or Should I Go video featuring Tony Blair. Amazing stuff as usual.
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Radiohead is making the stems to Nude (off their In Rainbows album) available for download on iTunes. Purchase the stems before April 8th and Apple will throw in an accompanying GarageBand file for the track.
Ironically, while the song itself is 99 cents, the 5 stems are also 99 cents each! How is it that the sum of the parts (the song) is less expensive than the individual parts packaged separately? And why do they charge for remix stems to begin with? Shouldn’t they be giving these away for free in hopes that people will create the next genius remix, thus creating free hype and buzz for the band?
Don’t get me wrong — I applaud bands like Radiohead that are willing to experiment with new distribution and pricing models for their music. I just think that charging $5 for the stems to a single track is a bit greedy, especially if the point is to galvanize some sort of fan remix effort. In the end, I feel like this is just another effort to squeeze more money out of an album at the expense of their most dedicated fan base.
Anyways, I’ll stop my bitching and conclude on a positive note: the tracks aren’t wrapped in DRM and instead distributed in iTunes Plus format (256 kbps AAC encoding, no DRM). They got that part right at least!
I’m playing with good friends Tripp and David X at Bootie on 4/26. Last time we all played together we had a blast. I’m really looking forward to it!
Scotty over at Ramdom Thoughts tipped me off to this great collection of free acapellas. Lots of good stuff, especially if you are into hip-hop.
BTW, Ramdom Thoughts is coming up on show #100. Scotty is actively soliciting exclusive mashups for his centennial anniversary, so if you’re a mashup producer and you have something to contribute, get in contact with him.
I’ve been listening to Morgan Page’s soon to be released Elevate album quite a bit lately. It’s fantastic. If I could pick a dance producer out there that I’d love to shadow for a few days to watch and learn, it would be him.
Here are my favorite tracks:
#6 - Nervous In The Light Of Dawn (Leigh Nash - MP Remix)
#8 - Maneater (Nelly Furtado - David Garcia & MP Remix)
#13 - The Longest Road (Deadmau5 Vocal Remix) (Bonus Track Featuring Lissie)
All of the tracks are winners, though. If you are a fan of electronic dance music, you definitely need to own this album. It’s set to hit the shelves on March 25th — only a week away!
Do the terms sample rate, channel, bit depth, dynamic range, and bit rate make your head hurt? Blair Trosper has written a great digital audio primer that will having you speaking audio nerd geek speak in no time.
Jordan Roseman did a great job documenting how to extract (”unmix”) individual channels from a DTS surround sound recording in his book Audio Mashup Construction Kit. Get yourself a copy if you don’t have it already — it’s definitely the bible for audio hackers.
What’s not covered in the book, however, is how to extract DTS audio if you are on a Mac. After much trial and error, I’ve come up with a reliable method to do this. Read on for my step-by-step instructions.
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Who knew Spock could throw down?
By popular demand, here is a slightly extended DJ version of Little More Ooh. The main difference between this version and the one that originally appeared on the Scissor Sisters mashup album is a clean 8 bar intro and 8 bar exit. So now there is no excuse to not throw it in your mix show or DJ set!
Update: Simon Iddol whipped up a fantastic cover for the remix. Thanks, Simon!