Transit

I'm still listening to Lost Children releases... Transit is a Belgian post-rock band (website, myspace). I love how they blend simple quiet melodies and big noisy sounds. A track from their first EP:

Harmattan: Maza

From their second EP,

Broad Leaves vs. Conifers: Reflections Upon The Asfalt

Music business challenge

RJ Eskow writes about Steve Jobs' recent proposal to consider selling DRM-free music, and suggests a new free market approach to develop artists... maybe something like sellaband.com, where bands raise money from fans who buy a share in ad revenues from the bands' music download sites.

Phonocake compilation

Electro chilled and ambient sounds from Phonocake, a net label based in Dresden (Germany). There's something for everyone on this release:

Graf: Ein Muehlstein Wird Nicht Moosig

Bad Comfort: 060727 (steps)

Aphex Twin - Monkey Drummer

I stumbled upon this video -- I've always wondered how this drum'n base sound was made:

Recent news in music

The RIAA was in the news again recently. A teenager has accused them of violating antitrust laws, conspiring to defraud the courts and making extortionate threats, and has counter-sued them for damaging his reputation, interfering with his school work, and for legal fees.

Prince performed at the Superbowl and made news for some questionable shadows cast onto a huge screen on the stage.

Worried about drivers operating cell phones while they drive? What about iPod users crossing the street? New York state is considering banning gadget use while crossing the street. Apparently three pedestrians have been killed in Brooklyn by listening to music. They obviously haven't read about my four laws of pedestrianism.

Museum of Modern Betas

Recent Web2/music MoMB related posts at Museum of Modern Betas:

Boomba: flickr for audio files

ChartU: new music, playlists, ratings.

Grooveshark: share, review, and discover new music. (Downloads)

Midomi: name that tune. (Search by singing ... see also Musipedia)

Loss Of A Child

I think Zune's play 3 times sharing system is okay. That's my rule of thumb... if I want to play something a fourth time, I figure I should write about it here. I've been listening to Loss Of A Child all week. Two albums on the Lost Children net label... samples from The Future Symphony:

The Future Symphony
One Wish

A couple more tracks from Caught And Lost:

Like Dancing In Rain
DTA

This Week in News

Gurdonark (co-proprieter of the Negative Sound Institute net label) is interviewed on bleepwatch.

A new music blog, blocsonic, releases a mix of music made to share, and explains the buzz about net labels exactly ... may net labels continue to proliferate.

The State of Connecticut will help one of it's residents defend herself in a music downloading lawsuit brought against her by the RIAA.

MIDEM is a big music business conference in France that just ended. In case you missed the considerable buzz about this, The New York Times reports that record companies are moving closer to selling DRM-free mp3s. FMQB had this summary of MIDEM.

Spiders On Drugs

An off topic post...sorry. I'm not known to listen to flute music -- but this video, made by some local talent here on Vancouver Island, has beautiful flute music:

Lost Children - net label

The Lost Children net label focuses on emerging post-rock bands. Together with The Silent Ballet, a wiki/ezine with a decided preference for noisy post-rock sounds, Lost Children has released two compilation disks so far. Some samples from Volume 1:

MT: Add Obvious Errors

Up-c Down-c: Simple Reminder (Anger Is Not A Motive)

Some cool surprises on Volume 2 -- but I won't spoil the plot here:

Capulet: Champ

The Ascent Of Everest: If I Could Move Mountains - Majesty And Awe

Corwin Trails

This Corwin Trails release, on Archaic Horizon Records net label, is pretty hard to classify -- this time we journey through a surreal landscape of found sounds and smooth melodic phrases:

Corwin Trails: Palindromes
Corwin Trails: Sand Castles

Archaic Horizon Records - net label

I like the Archaic Horizon Records logo. It reminds me of the ocean, sure to attract a closet surf music groupie like me. The music takes us on a trip to somewhere between here and there. The first release brings us back to ambient territory with Peter James:

Peter James: Still
Peter James: In The Face Of Loss

Orange Crush gets us there just a little faster...

Orange Crush: Spring Breaks
Orange Crush: Camber Rye

Music for Martin Luther King Day

It's Martin Luther King Day in the USA today. Wouldn't it be cool if all radio stations played music like this:

Circle of Willis: War No More

DJ Kryptide: Equal (Chupacabra Remix)

René Vis: Rosa Parks

Maldroid

I read this story about Maldroid... more local talent. They're video won a YouTube contest.

I'm up in Canada visiting my mother these days, the video made me homesick... the subway system makes a terrible screeching sound, captured beautifully on this video. And the subway gates work just like this: when you're in a hurry -- forget about it -- they won't cooperate.

The Government Against Music Fans

Ars technica published this article about my senator (Diane Feinstein) who is writing law to require internet audio streams to "protect" music with DRM. I'm disappointed that Diane thinks music fans are thieves, and that she thinks DRM can stop thieves. If you don't have time to read the ars technica story, at least consider sending email to your senator, and let them know what you think of this.

Droog - Name Your Poison

I'm encountering a lot of cool ambient music these days. Droog's "Name Your Poison" is a first release for Norbu, a Belgrade net label.

drencrom
synthemesc

Verian Thomas

A little more mind clearing for the new year, this is a beautiful release, Minatures by Verian Thomas, released on the Negative Sound Institute net label. Memories of childhood, "pristine in their imperfection", encoded here in beautiful ambient tracks made with a guitar. Listen well... follow the track titles, or create new titles from your own memories. It's hard to pick just two to sample here...

The Drop From The Tree Is Forgetting To Fly

Those Happy Few Minutes

Thomas also supplies the sample tracks for Those Happy Few Minutes, which you can reweave to your own magic.

My mother is pretty sick right now in the hospital -- she's 83 -- she's never even had a CD player -- but today I'm leaving my headphones and mp3 player with her -- she's pretty uncomfortable. I hope she'll find comfort listening to her favorite childhood memories.

The Houston Drone Concern

The new year is here -- good time for a reset -- here's a start...

The Houston Drone Concern: Variation 3

NPR: The Year in Memorable Concerts

Great performances of 2006 -- an apt title for this series of live concert programs from NPR: Paul Simon, Neko Case, Sonic Youth... many more.

NPR also updated the James Brown concert page, which features a podsafe mp3 download.

Australia Outlaws mp3 Links

A new law in Australia outlaws mp3 links... it's explained in this post. I think the mp3 links are illegal if they are in a "catalog of copyright infringing content". Which puts me (a non-Australian website) right on the edge of Australian law... I've heard this is the case for Switzerland as well.

This seems to have put a bit of a chill in the Australian music blogging scene... Anyone a Lawyer? asks one Australia music blogger... who also crowns my home town (Vancouver, Canada) as a very safe haven for music gear thieves!

Earhead#101111's podsafe status: I tend to focus on Creative Commons links with sharing rights. I occasionally cross link to another music blog, or to a band or music label website; I can't vouch for those links, or any embedded video's. They might be dangerous one day, if the RIAA succeeds in dividing the music world into those that can share they're music, and those that can't.