The following is a comment I made on this post at the official Hearts of Space blog. I suggest you read the HOS post, for even if you don't listen to HOS, it's an interesting and revealing story. Pretty much, don't waste your money on crap services like satellite radio as programed by XM/Sirius, and instead use and support quality online services, many of which are free, created by passionate DJs and hosts.
=========
Back in 2001, when XM came out, I was very impressed and excited. Around 2004, I finally had it via DirecTV, and fell in love with Beyond Jazz. I also appreciated the fact that Hearts of Space was carried, though I always listened to HOS via radio station KCHO. I no longer have DirecTV, and considered XM until I discovered that Sirius/XM no longer has the material I would be interested in, namely Beyond Jazz. Thankfully Beyond Jazz's Russ Davis now has an Internet stream similar to hos.com, at russdavismoja.com. No point supporting soulless corporations, when we can directly support the DJs and artists that we care about! Sirius/XM may very well fade away, not realizing they killed themselves by alienating the very people who would support the concept of niche programming.
Sunday, April 15, 2012
Monday, March 26, 2012
The Computer Chronicles and Chocolate Floppies
The greatest thing I discovered on the Internet in the last year, and quite possibly ever, occurred about six months ago when I discovered the classic PBS show The Computer Chronicles, and that almost 600 episodes from the show are online over at the Internet Archive. The show ran from ~1982 (the earliest archived show I've seen so far was from 1983) to 2002, when Stewart Cheifet, the host and producer, decided to take a break from this and his other show, Net Cafe. Plus, Leo Laporte's Screen Savers and Call for Help over on ZDTV / TechTV were possibly giving tough competition, but I don't see how, considering The Computer Chronicles was available to everyone on PBS, and was the gold standard for computer reporting.
This show is the absolute best! The hosts are charming; Stewart Cheifet, Gary Kildall (yes, the CP/M legend who founded Digital Research), Paul Schindler with the software review, Wendy Woods and others give the show a friendly and cozy ambiance despite actually being quite in-depth and even academic. Gary Kildall's gentleness and humility really shine through, as does his genius, and Paul Schindler's humor certainly makes me laugh.
The show is also very stylish, and gives you that good feeling inside that occurs when watching legendary PBS programs. One could say it's nostalgia, but I got that same feeling when watching Nova, Square One, Reading Rainbow, Newton's Apple, The Frugal Gourmet, and Nature back in the 80s, so I don't think that's quite it. It's just that it's very high-quality, and even epic. For example, both musical themes for the show, but especially the earlier one, are dramatic, and when the show starts with Stewart and Gary in the dark, only lit indirectly, the music booming, and then the lights come up, you know you're in for a treat!
The history contained in this show is priceless. Every time I watch an episode (which is at least one-per-day :) ) I am wowed by the incredible technology we already had in the 80s and 90s, and it makes me excited to try some of the devices or techniques they discuss, or sometimes I feel yearning for by-gone experiences and aspects of the computer culture, like the BBS community (yes, yes, I know, BBSes still exist through Telnet, but it's not like I can dial up some local number anymore). In fact, some of the software reviews and programmer interviews have led to me searching eBay and excitedly purchasing what I just witnessed on the show (especially regarding the 90s shows and CD-ROMs).
Except for a few early shows where the credits roll over an image of the darkened studio from a vantage point behind the video cameras (see? stylish!), the Computer Chronicles always ends with a news section, Random Access, and just like the rest of the show, these are always historically significant. It never fails that the news reader will mention some event that is still remembered today in computer lore!
My only beef with this show is: how could I have not known about it when I was young and it was on TV? Arg, grumble, harumph! I loved PBS and would watch it a lot; I can't believe I wouldn't eagerly look forward to this show every week. Maybe it wasn't carried in my market, but I doubt that. Goodness, I would've loved this show as a kid...thank heaven I discovered it now, though.
Well, while watching the 1985 Christmas guide, Wendy Woods pulled out a 5.25" chocolate floppy, and a year later, for 1986, she plugged a 3.5" floppy made by the same chocolatier (I'm pretty sure). Well, naturally this got me excitedly searching the net for chocolate computer devices, and while I couldn't find any floppies, I found something much, much better. Both 3.5" and EVEN 5.25" (yes!) chocolate/candy/soap molds! I purchased mine from Cybertrade's eBay store, though they have an amazon.com presence as well. They have a lot of new old-stock (or perhaps still in production) molds for computers and floppies and more. The coolest thing about these molds is that they're copyrighted 1984 and 1985...that's right, they're not merely retro and fad-like, they're truly vintage! I never new making chocolate would become one of my hobbies, but eating floppy chocolate has become my newest pastime.
Here is a great modern interview done with Stewart Cheifet in 2010 by the Retrobits Podcast:
Part One
Part Two
Peter
This show is the absolute best! The hosts are charming; Stewart Cheifet, Gary Kildall (yes, the CP/M legend who founded Digital Research), Paul Schindler with the software review, Wendy Woods and others give the show a friendly and cozy ambiance despite actually being quite in-depth and even academic. Gary Kildall's gentleness and humility really shine through, as does his genius, and Paul Schindler's humor certainly makes me laugh.
The show is also very stylish, and gives you that good feeling inside that occurs when watching legendary PBS programs. One could say it's nostalgia, but I got that same feeling when watching Nova, Square One, Reading Rainbow, Newton's Apple, The Frugal Gourmet, and Nature back in the 80s, so I don't think that's quite it. It's just that it's very high-quality, and even epic. For example, both musical themes for the show, but especially the earlier one, are dramatic, and when the show starts with Stewart and Gary in the dark, only lit indirectly, the music booming, and then the lights come up, you know you're in for a treat!
The history contained in this show is priceless. Every time I watch an episode (which is at least one-per-day :) ) I am wowed by the incredible technology we already had in the 80s and 90s, and it makes me excited to try some of the devices or techniques they discuss, or sometimes I feel yearning for by-gone experiences and aspects of the computer culture, like the BBS community (yes, yes, I know, BBSes still exist through Telnet, but it's not like I can dial up some local number anymore). In fact, some of the software reviews and programmer interviews have led to me searching eBay and excitedly purchasing what I just witnessed on the show (especially regarding the 90s shows and CD-ROMs).
Except for a few early shows where the credits roll over an image of the darkened studio from a vantage point behind the video cameras (see? stylish!), the Computer Chronicles always ends with a news section, Random Access, and just like the rest of the show, these are always historically significant. It never fails that the news reader will mention some event that is still remembered today in computer lore!
My only beef with this show is: how could I have not known about it when I was young and it was on TV? Arg, grumble, harumph! I loved PBS and would watch it a lot; I can't believe I wouldn't eagerly look forward to this show every week. Maybe it wasn't carried in my market, but I doubt that. Goodness, I would've loved this show as a kid...thank heaven I discovered it now, though.
Well, while watching the 1985 Christmas guide, Wendy Woods pulled out a 5.25" chocolate floppy, and a year later, for 1986, she plugged a 3.5" floppy made by the same chocolatier (I'm pretty sure). Well, naturally this got me excitedly searching the net for chocolate computer devices, and while I couldn't find any floppies, I found something much, much better. Both 3.5" and EVEN 5.25" (yes!) chocolate/candy/soap molds! I purchased mine from Cybertrade's eBay store, though they have an amazon.com presence as well. They have a lot of new old-stock (or perhaps still in production) molds for computers and floppies and more. The coolest thing about these molds is that they're copyrighted 1984 and 1985...that's right, they're not merely retro and fad-like, they're truly vintage! I never new making chocolate would become one of my hobbies, but eating floppy chocolate has become my newest pastime.
Here is a great modern interview done with Stewart Cheifet in 2010 by the Retrobits Podcast:
Part One
Part Two
Peter
More AdLib music
In one of my past posts, I discuss AdLib Yamaha OPL FM-synthesized music, and in particular, the music from the game Alpha Waves aka Continuum. Well I found another nice selection of AdLib music here:
http://www.ninjacode.org/audio_museum/pc_adlib/
and behold, it has Frederic Mentzen's Continuum! These are mp3s, and I don't know if the audio files were made from actually recording a Sound Blaster or something, or if they're just emulated, but either way, it's a nice selection, plus if you go up to the parent directory, there are more types of computer music to choose from.
Peter
http://www.ninjacode.org/audio_museum/pc_adlib/
and behold, it has Frederic Mentzen's Continuum! These are mp3s, and I don't know if the audio files were made from actually recording a Sound Blaster or something, or if they're just emulated, but either way, it's a nice selection, plus if you go up to the parent directory, there are more types of computer music to choose from.
Peter
Saturday, September 3, 2011
Review of "People People Music Music" by Groove Collective
Here is a review of PPMM by Groove Collective that I wrote for the KUCI website in 2007
(not exclusive content anymore, as it was never published)
Groove Collective – People People Music Music – Savoy Jazz Worldwide – 2006
Groove Collective brought us in 2006 their sixth studio album, the Grammy
nominated “People People Music Music”, released on the legendary Savoy
label, after a long wait since 2001's “It's All in Your Mind.” Groove
Collective was born out of the jam sessions between DJs, MCs, and live
musicians at the now classic Giant Step parties in New York City. The
musicians at these parties, funk players from Brooklyn and jazz players
from the Lower East Side, decided to form a group and thus conceived
Groove Collective. While best known as a hard-hitting acid-jazz band
from the mid-nineties, with a big horn section that could clobber you to
death, and music that exemplified not just the sound, but the
multifaceted culture of New York City, these last two studio recordings
have showcased a paired down Groove Collective. They are a band which
effectively uses their loss of members to other projects to their
advantage. This is heard in how “It's All in Your Mind” explores an
ethereal, other-worldly vibe, not possible with a huge 14 piece band, and
“People People Music Music” flaunts Groove Collective's ability to
perform straight-ahead jazz. In 2000, when members began to leave for
other projects, such as “Turntables on the Hudson” and solo jazz careers,
all that was left of Groove Collective were the core members of Genji
Siraisi on drums, Jonathan Maron on bass, Barney McAll on keyboards,
Chris Theberge on percussion, and the reduction of a five-piece horn
section to just Jay Rodriguez on saxophones and Richard Worth on flute.
This is the line up that recorded “It's All in Your Mind”. Then Richard
Worth left the band to pursue an existence far from the city, climbing
rocks out in the wilderness, but he was replaced by the return of Fabio
Morgera on trumpet. This is the line up that appears on “People People
Music Music”, and the trumpet/saxophone front-line is the perfect
catalyst for the most straight-ahead jazz-like album by Groove Collective
thus far.
On “People People Music Music”, Groove Collective perform Herbie
Hancock's “Speak Like a Child”, originally heard on Herbie's album, and on Jaco Pastorius' self-titled solo debut. Groove Collective approaches the song in a super-mellow manner, with thick Fender Rhodes chords, spiritual bells
jingling, and long, sizzling ride-cymbals. The horns come in soft yet
bold, and the whole song grooves like a 3AM after-concert jam-session in
NYC.
A wonderful addition to the Groove Collective line-up is the legend Fred
Wesley on trombone who guests on a couple tracks. Most famous as the
band leader and trombonist for James Brown, and also as the horn arranger and trombonist for George Clinton's Parliament/Funkadelic groups, he
brings some super delicious licks to tracks such as “DFU”, an incredible
piece of Afro-Beat a la Fela Kuti.
The song “Tito”, obviously dedicated to Tito Puente, came out of a riff
that the band would sometimes spontaneously go into while performing one of their many other Latin-jazz tunes in concert. Here they have expanded
that theme into its own song, and featuring Jay Rodriguez, the sax
player, on vocals, they have recorded one of their best salsa tracks.
“Mambo Mongo” further shows GC's ability to spice things up, with their
version of the Mongo Santamaria song. Yet rather than a non-stop salsa,
Groove Collective explores the melody in a more cerebral way, and comes
up with some fine Latin-jazz with lots of changes, and an excellent flute
solo courtesy of Jay Rodriguez.
Of course Groove Collective wouldn't be Groove Collective without some
cutting edge funk, and that is heard very strongly in “Set Up”. In this
piece, Barney McAll and Jonathan Maron perform a super-heavy bass line in unison on an analog synth and a fuzzed-out bass, respectively. Genji
Siraisi goes all out with a broken beat drum pattern, and Jay Rodriguez
blasts us with bombastic baritone sax phrases.
“What If” features DJ Spinna on production, and while definitely having a
DJ Spinna vibe, it still is reminiscent of Groove Collective's classic
vocal anthem club hits, such as “Lift Off”, “Up All Night” or
“Whatchugot”. Unfortunately the lyrics are a little silly (the line
about technology), though they do contain a good, conscious message, and the delivery of the vocals is top-notch. Jonathon Maron's bubbling,
super-syncopated, octave-jumping bass line is incredible, and just
classic Groove Collective.
The standout track is “KOG”, the unofficial single that has been getting
heavy airplay on various jazz radio stations. Even though it is
propelled by Genji Siraisi's extremely syncopated, high speed, live
Drum-and-Bass drumming (a rhythm that was actually explored by jazz
drummers long before Jungle music), the song takes on a very mellow vibe. Barney McAll again soothes our ears with lush Fender Rhodes, and he
takes us on a sonic voyage with his Moog solo. The highlight of the
track is Fabio Morgera's trumpet solo, which is exploratory, and so pure
in tone.
Groove Collective tickled our desire for more of their amazing music
through many official live releases between 2001 and 2006, but the final
arrival of their latest studio recording has left us finally satiated.
(not exclusive content anymore, as it was never published)
Groove Collective – People People Music Music – Savoy Jazz Worldwide – 2006
Groove Collective brought us in 2006 their sixth studio album, the Grammy
nominated “People People Music Music”, released on the legendary Savoy
label, after a long wait since 2001's “It's All in Your Mind.” Groove
Collective was born out of the jam sessions between DJs, MCs, and live
musicians at the now classic Giant Step parties in New York City. The
musicians at these parties, funk players from Brooklyn and jazz players
from the Lower East Side, decided to form a group and thus conceived
Groove Collective. While best known as a hard-hitting acid-jazz band
from the mid-nineties, with a big horn section that could clobber you to
death, and music that exemplified not just the sound, but the
multifaceted culture of New York City, these last two studio recordings
have showcased a paired down Groove Collective. They are a band which
effectively uses their loss of members to other projects to their
advantage. This is heard in how “It's All in Your Mind” explores an
ethereal, other-worldly vibe, not possible with a huge 14 piece band, and
“People People Music Music” flaunts Groove Collective's ability to
perform straight-ahead jazz. In 2000, when members began to leave for
other projects, such as “Turntables on the Hudson” and solo jazz careers,
all that was left of Groove Collective were the core members of Genji
Siraisi on drums, Jonathan Maron on bass, Barney McAll on keyboards,
Chris Theberge on percussion, and the reduction of a five-piece horn
section to just Jay Rodriguez on saxophones and Richard Worth on flute.
This is the line up that recorded “It's All in Your Mind”. Then Richard
Worth left the band to pursue an existence far from the city, climbing
rocks out in the wilderness, but he was replaced by the return of Fabio
Morgera on trumpet. This is the line up that appears on “People People
Music Music”, and the trumpet/saxophone front-line is the perfect
catalyst for the most straight-ahead jazz-like album by Groove Collective
thus far.
On “People People Music Music”, Groove Collective perform Herbie
Hancock's “Speak Like a Child”, originally heard on Herbie's album, and on Jaco Pastorius' self-titled solo debut. Groove Collective approaches the song in a super-mellow manner, with thick Fender Rhodes chords, spiritual bells
jingling, and long, sizzling ride-cymbals. The horns come in soft yet
bold, and the whole song grooves like a 3AM after-concert jam-session in
NYC.
A wonderful addition to the Groove Collective line-up is the legend Fred
Wesley on trombone who guests on a couple tracks. Most famous as the
band leader and trombonist for James Brown, and also as the horn arranger and trombonist for George Clinton's Parliament/Funkadelic groups, he
brings some super delicious licks to tracks such as “DFU”, an incredible
piece of Afro-Beat a la Fela Kuti.
The song “Tito”, obviously dedicated to Tito Puente, came out of a riff
that the band would sometimes spontaneously go into while performing one of their many other Latin-jazz tunes in concert. Here they have expanded
that theme into its own song, and featuring Jay Rodriguez, the sax
player, on vocals, they have recorded one of their best salsa tracks.
“Mambo Mongo” further shows GC's ability to spice things up, with their
version of the Mongo Santamaria song. Yet rather than a non-stop salsa,
Groove Collective explores the melody in a more cerebral way, and comes
up with some fine Latin-jazz with lots of changes, and an excellent flute
solo courtesy of Jay Rodriguez.
Of course Groove Collective wouldn't be Groove Collective without some
cutting edge funk, and that is heard very strongly in “Set Up”. In this
piece, Barney McAll and Jonathan Maron perform a super-heavy bass line in unison on an analog synth and a fuzzed-out bass, respectively. Genji
Siraisi goes all out with a broken beat drum pattern, and Jay Rodriguez
blasts us with bombastic baritone sax phrases.
“What If” features DJ Spinna on production, and while definitely having a
DJ Spinna vibe, it still is reminiscent of Groove Collective's classic
vocal anthem club hits, such as “Lift Off”, “Up All Night” or
“Whatchugot”. Unfortunately the lyrics are a little silly (the line
about technology), though they do contain a good, conscious message, and the delivery of the vocals is top-notch. Jonathon Maron's bubbling,
super-syncopated, octave-jumping bass line is incredible, and just
classic Groove Collective.
The standout track is “KOG”, the unofficial single that has been getting
heavy airplay on various jazz radio stations. Even though it is
propelled by Genji Siraisi's extremely syncopated, high speed, live
Drum-and-Bass drumming (a rhythm that was actually explored by jazz
drummers long before Jungle music), the song takes on a very mellow vibe. Barney McAll again soothes our ears with lush Fender Rhodes, and he
takes us on a sonic voyage with his Moog solo. The highlight of the
track is Fabio Morgera's trumpet solo, which is exploratory, and so pure
in tone.
Groove Collective tickled our desire for more of their amazing music
through many official live releases between 2001 and 2006, but the final
arrival of their latest studio recording has left us finally satiated.
The Hip-Hop Van
A friend of mine had "Where is the Love?" by BEP stuck in her head, so I looked up the video on YouTube and realized it was yet another hip-hop video with the group rolling around in a van! I decided to do a mini-compilation of all (3) hip-hop videos I know of where a van plays a prominent role, and discovered an even more interesting trend, that it seems a prerequisite to having a van in your video is to have the word 'Black' in your group's name.
So let's get started with a classic single from 1991 by Black Sheep, "Flavor of the Month". Be sure to blast this, because the beat is BANGIN'! True school realness right here, and I especially love the little dancing girl; she's so cool!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F01fzPwBwc4
Moving on to the obvious choice, we have "Definition" by Blackstar. Best part of the video: when they get pulled over (was this staged or real?) and the officer asks "Are you deaf?" and Mos Def replies "No, he's Hi-Tek" lol
WHERE BROOKLYN?!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rx5aVI2zsFE
And now finally, of course Black Eyed Peas "Where is the Love?"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WpYeekQkAdc
Please comment if you can think of any other hip-hop videos with the crew rolling around in a van! The older the better, as now I am on a quest to find the original van video! Which reminds me, didn't A Tribe Called Quest have a video with Ali Shaheed playing his turntables from the back of a moving truck? But that doesn't count; it needs to be a van. :)
P*ter Funk
So let's get started with a classic single from 1991 by Black Sheep, "Flavor of the Month". Be sure to blast this, because the beat is BANGIN'! True school realness right here, and I especially love the little dancing girl; she's so cool!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F01fzPwBwc4
Moving on to the obvious choice, we have "Definition" by Blackstar. Best part of the video: when they get pulled over (was this staged or real?) and the officer asks "Are you deaf?" and Mos Def replies "No, he's Hi-Tek" lol
WHERE BROOKLYN?!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rx5aVI2zsFE
And now finally, of course Black Eyed Peas "Where is the Love?"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WpYeekQkAdc
Please comment if you can think of any other hip-hop videos with the crew rolling around in a van! The older the better, as now I am on a quest to find the original van video! Which reminds me, didn't A Tribe Called Quest have a video with Ali Shaheed playing his turntables from the back of a moving truck? But that doesn't count; it needs to be a van. :)
P*ter Funk
Thursday, September 1, 2011
Year6581 is quite possibly the greatest band ever.
Edit to the header: Yes, the website for Year6581 is still in existence, and it offers both a player and the ability to download what sounds like the higher quality new mixes of their songs. End edit.
The following was written in 2008; unfortunately I don't think their website works anymore, but I believe the MySpace is still there, and on the positive side, there are now many more videos of them on YouTube. Maybe I'll add their mp3s to this post in the future so that they can still be available. Edit: no need to, as their website still exists. Plus, they finally have a real music video up on YouTube! For "Hyperspace". Check it out!
*****************************************************
So classic video game nostalgia is pretty common now, and 8-bit fashion is the ultimate trendy style, but back in the day, you were the ultimate lame nerd if you liked anything older than your friends Nintendo 64 or Sega Saturn. Then slowly, us like minded people started coming out of the cracks, and we attended conventions like the Classic Gaming Expo or Vintage Computer Festival, and we listened to radio shows like "6581 SID" on KDVS hosted by Justin Beck aka Hard Hat Mack. There were still the haters, with their Playstation 2s, who pretended they were Tony Hawk, and would post videos on the web of blowing up old Mac Pluses because it was "hilarious", but now us oldskoolers were large enough in number to not become dismayed, and we held tightly to our ethos that respected and praised history without becoming Luddite.
Now fast-forward ten years, and classic video games have been bastardized into a commercial empire. You can buy plug-and-play joysticks loaded with hundreds of classic Williams or Namco arcade, Atari 2600, or Commodore 64 games, making the actual consoles unnecessary. You can go to Hot Topic, and leave sporting a vintage looking Atari shirt. You can watch G4, and see a cartoon that takes place during the 80s rendered in blocky sprites, complete with health statii and score fields. You can tune into your favorite station and hear Nelly Furtado sing over a track that Timothy "Timbaland" Mosley ripped from Glen Rune Gallefoss' C64 version of Janne "Tempest/Damage" Sunni's Amiga MOD track, "Acid Jazzed Evening".
But like saints descending from that heavenly land of Norway, the duo known as Year6581 has redeemed us, saving us from the blatant commercialization and trendification of our sacred pastime. Year6581 consists of two Norwegians who sing over back up tracks programmed on their trusty Commodore 64. The MOS 6581 analog synth lines bubble euphorically underneath hyper-nerdy lyrics consisting of tractor beams, gravitons, and cylon detectors.
Admittedly, these melodies and chord changes on more conventional instruments would make me want to puke, as they are similar to those found in the pop-punk genre, but presented like this, it just makes me so happy! I pogo around to this!!!
www.myspace.com/year6581
year6581.com
The songs on their myspace are better mixed, sound a lot better, and must be newer versions, but on their website they are downloadable, plus about twice as many.
Also along the same lines, but much more intense and less happy, are 8-Bit Weapon. www.myspace.com/8bitweapon
Praises to Year6581!!!
The following was written in 2008; unfortunately I don't think their website works anymore, but I believe the MySpace is still there, and on the positive side, there are now many more videos of them on YouTube. Maybe I'll add their mp3s to this post in the future so that they can still be available. Edit: no need to, as their website still exists. Plus, they finally have a real music video up on YouTube! For "Hyperspace". Check it out!
*****************************************************
So classic video game nostalgia is pretty common now, and 8-bit fashion is the ultimate trendy style, but back in the day, you were the ultimate lame nerd if you liked anything older than your friends Nintendo 64 or Sega Saturn. Then slowly, us like minded people started coming out of the cracks, and we attended conventions like the Classic Gaming Expo or Vintage Computer Festival, and we listened to radio shows like "6581 SID" on KDVS hosted by Justin Beck aka Hard Hat Mack. There were still the haters, with their Playstation 2s, who pretended they were Tony Hawk, and would post videos on the web of blowing up old Mac Pluses because it was "hilarious", but now us oldskoolers were large enough in number to not become dismayed, and we held tightly to our ethos that respected and praised history without becoming Luddite.
Now fast-forward ten years, and classic video games have been bastardized into a commercial empire. You can buy plug-and-play joysticks loaded with hundreds of classic Williams or Namco arcade, Atari 2600, or Commodore 64 games, making the actual consoles unnecessary. You can go to Hot Topic, and leave sporting a vintage looking Atari shirt. You can watch G4, and see a cartoon that takes place during the 80s rendered in blocky sprites, complete with health statii and score fields. You can tune into your favorite station and hear Nelly Furtado sing over a track that Timothy "Timbaland" Mosley ripped from Glen Rune Gallefoss' C64 version of Janne "Tempest/Damage" Sunni's Amiga MOD track, "Acid Jazzed Evening".
But like saints descending from that heavenly land of Norway, the duo known as Year6581 has redeemed us, saving us from the blatant commercialization and trendification of our sacred pastime. Year6581 consists of two Norwegians who sing over back up tracks programmed on their trusty Commodore 64. The MOS 6581 analog synth lines bubble euphorically underneath hyper-nerdy lyrics consisting of tractor beams, gravitons, and cylon detectors.
Admittedly, these melodies and chord changes on more conventional instruments would make me want to puke, as they are similar to those found in the pop-punk genre, but presented like this, it just makes me so happy! I pogo around to this!!!
www.myspace.com/year6581
year6581.com
The songs on their myspace are better mixed, sound a lot better, and must be newer versions, but on their website they are downloadable, plus about twice as many.
Also along the same lines, but much more intense and less happy, are 8-Bit Weapon. www.myspace.com/8bitweapon
Praises to Year6581!!!
Firefox is annoying
It is upsetting how Mozilla Firefox thinks it needs to jump on the bandwagon of impressive looking version numbers. I remember when IE tried doing this to look more advanced than Netscape; IE was suddenly 5 and then 6 while Navigator was 4.5. Of course Navigator was much better, as IE was based on Mosaic, but the absurd thing is that people really fall for it. They are easily brainwashed and influenced by update numbers. Case in point, the recent update of FF to 5 was received with fanfare in the comments regarding the version number, people stating "haha we'll show them...we're more updated." But it's just a name! It's still just as bad as 4, as it's more like 4.1, and deserves to be replaced with a downgrade back to usable, light FF 3.x.
At first, I thought that the new number (5) was some scam by a hacker, haha. Too bad it wasn't. Firefox saddens me because it has abandoned it's niche in the market. For people who want a flashy browser with no ability to control, just to surf, they can use Chrome. For people who want a powerful but resource light, highly usable browser, they can use FF. But now there is no option for users of the second category, other than using older versions of FF. I agree with the consensus that FF 3.x was the last great FireFox.
Just as an example of how great the previous versions of FF were, I use FF 2.0.0.20, the last version before 3, on a 400MHz Win 98SE machine! This version was the modern version in the fairly recent year of 2008. It was meant to take advantage of multi-gigahertz machines running Vista, and yet is resource light enough to be a great browser on this vintage machine from 1999.
At first, I thought that the new number (5) was some scam by a hacker, haha. Too bad it wasn't. Firefox saddens me because it has abandoned it's niche in the market. For people who want a flashy browser with no ability to control, just to surf, they can use Chrome. For people who want a powerful but resource light, highly usable browser, they can use FF. But now there is no option for users of the second category, other than using older versions of FF. I agree with the consensus that FF 3.x was the last great FireFox.
Just as an example of how great the previous versions of FF were, I use FF 2.0.0.20, the last version before 3, on a 400MHz Win 98SE machine! This version was the modern version in the fairly recent year of 2008. It was meant to take advantage of multi-gigahertz machines running Vista, and yet is resource light enough to be a great browser on this vintage machine from 1999.
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