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Ten Uplifting Songs To Make Your Day

October 29, 2014 by Leave a Comment

We all have bad days, weeks or months, and sometimes we turn to music to try and give us a bit of a boost. Music is such an individual thing, but I thought I’d share ten songs that may give you some much needed positivity in an otherwise crap day. Enjoy:

The Pogues – Ghost of a Smile

The Waterboys – Spirit

Architecture in Helsinki – Desert Island

Patti Smith – April Fool

Paul Kelly – Beautiful Feeling

Finn Brothers – Won’t Give In

Tracy Chapman – Sing For You

Yusuf Islam – Midday (Avoid City After Dark)

The Panics – Majesty

My Friend The Chocolate Cake – I’ve Got A Plan

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Bruce Springsteen Gets His Own Academic Journal

August 19, 2014 by Leave a Comment

The_Biannual_Online-Journal_of_Springsteen_Studies

No, it’s not a joke – McGill University have launched an academic journal devoted purely to the work of Bruce Springsteen. The brief is to publish scholarly works looking closely at Springsteen’s creative output in context of wider society.

The first issue is available for free now, and here’s an example of one article’s title and abstract:

SPRINGSTEEN AS DEVELOPMENTAL THERAPIST: AN AUTOETHNOGRAPHY

Based on differing theories of moral development proposed by Lawrence Kohlberg, Martin Hoffman, and John Gibbs, this paper posits that listening to Bruce Springsteen’s music can increase moral growth. Scores of Springsteen songs parallel psychological techniques used to increase moral development, such as being exposed to two or more beliefs that are contradictory, social perspective-taking by listening to moral dilemmas, gaining empathy with the distress that another person experiences, hypothetical contemplation, and meta-ethical reflection. Through qualitative-based autoethnographical storytelling, the author outlines how his moral development was enabled through such Springsteen songs as “Factory,” “Highway Patrolman,” “Independence Day,” “Johnny 99,” and “Used Cars,” as well as two self-disclosures from Springsteen’s Live 1975-85 album.

It’s easy to scoff, but hell if anyone has observed the progress of life in the USA over the past forty years, it’s Bruce Springsteen. I wouldn’t say no to a PhD in Springsteenology. Would you?

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Album Review: The Empty Hearts

August 14, 2014 by 1 Comment

The_Empty_Hearts_New_LP_out_August_5__2014_-_YouTubeA rock band is a machine. It’s a totally unoriginal analogy, but powerful all the same. There’s a bunch of moving parts and when things are running well, a band can feel like it could go into perpetual motion. This is particularly the case where you have each member coming into the project with a decade or four of experience under their belt and a willingness to leave egos locked in the bathroom, if not at the door.
This appears to have occurred with The Empty Hearts. Consisting of industry veterans Wally Palmar (The Romantics), Elliot Easton (The Cars), Andy Babiuk (Chesterfield Kings) and Clem Burke (Blondie), their debut album is as polished as you’d expect, but there’s more to it than that. The agreed approach within the band was to recreate a time where playing music was plain fun, and to use the vintage gear at their disposal to achieve it. Which I’d argue they’ve done in spades.

The self-titled album contains twelve tracks and it’s driving rock from start to finish except for the Petty-esque I Found You Again, but even then the tempo doesn’t drop that far. Picking highlights is always fraught with danger, but the opener and Soul Deep stood out for me. I know it’s somewhat of an anachronism, but picking favourites is a little trite here, as this is an all-too-rare album experience. I’d actually make a plea to The Empty Hearts: get this album out on vinyl. Now.

For the older listeners amongst us, there’s going to be occasions of hearing The Beatles, Jimi Hendrix and The Rolling Stones to name three, but the songs are well and truly strong enough to make it a pleasurable comparison on style rather than any concerns on being derivative. They’ve set out to recreate a period in time and have done it in stunning measure. The keyboard work of Ian McLagan (The Faces) also deserves a shout-out for the too infrequent times it appears on the album.

This is an album that any fan of rock is going to enjoy. I tend to judge a rock album on its ability to put out the feeling of that well oiled rock machine working for all the right reasons, and that’s exactly what The Empty Hearts have done. You’d hope they’re planning on touring in support of this release, as they could play the twelve songs in album order and bring the house down, let alone anything else in their repertoire.

Have a taste of some of the songs:

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From The Vault: A 2005 Interview With Brian Canham

July 12, 2014 by Leave a Comment

dj.rflmldgr.170x170-75Back in 2005 I had the opportunity to interview Brian Canham on everything music technology. It was meant for Australian Macworld magazine, but I’d obviously not communicated that clearly, as Brian wasn’t a Mac user at the time. The interview was unable to be used, and has sat in my email inbox the past nine years.

Psuedo Echo launched a new album in April called Ultraviolet (get it here) but I only discovered the fact this week. It reminded me of the shelved interview. So here it is in full. Enjoy!

DH: You’ve been heavily involved in music composition and production for nigh on 25 years now. What’s changed in your approach to creating music over that time?

Brian: I guess these days I am a lot more analytical … and having the benefit of hindsight I like to have a “vehicle” in mind first. The home computer & music software have been the biggest changes in creation for me. Now being able to be completely self sufficient means I can produce a finished product without the limitations of a budget. Time permitting of course….

DH: A lot of readers will primarily know you as the front-man of Pseudo Echo. All your albums relied heavily on technology, none more so than “Love and Adventure”. Can you describe what technology you had at your disposal when making that album?

Brian: Love An Adventure was demoed quite modestly on a cheap (even for the time) analogue 4 track recorder (Akai..?), though we had some nice keyboards e.g. Roland JP8, Yamaha DX7 & RX Drum machine, Korg Poly61. But once actually in the studio (Platinum – aka Sing Sing 3, Melb.), there was no expense spared. We recorded & mixed on an SSL 56 channel console, with up to 3 24 channel Studers synced together.

Additional keyboards used were: PPG Wave terminal, Fairlight, Roland MKS-80 & JX3P, Sequential Circuits Prophet 5 & Pro 1. Oberheim OB8, as well as an Oberheim DMX, Roland 808 drum machines, and the famous Simmons electronic drum kit.

Outboard gear (FX) we made heavy use of the prestigeous AMS rack units, dominantly the delay which could be used as a sampler (since this was just pre-sampler keyboards). Also units like the legendary Lexicon reverb, as well as banks of Roland, Yamaha & Korg digital delays, verbs and choruses.

Guitars were fairly conventional, as were traditional string sections (MSO), and brass.

DH: Stepping forward a decade, you were pivotal in the success of Aussie rock group Chocolate Starfish. How did your approach change when producing the two albums for them?

Brian: Basically substituted all of my keyboard production ideas for guitars! Ironically, I recorded both Starfish albums at the old 301 Studios on an old valve Neve console – the very same one that we recorded Pseudo Echo’s debut album on!

The preproduction wasn’t as seperated from the actual recording stage with Starfish, and I worked through all of the parts, sounds, and vocals with all of the guys in the band, whereas with Pseudo it was basically two of us writing, pre-producing, programing etc. Then virtually just pushing the “go” button once in the studio.

DH: Your latest project Origene, is a different ballgame again for you musically. How did it come together and what would you like it to achieve?

Brian: It’s weird because Origene almost feels like Pseudo Echo again, except without me having to be in the limelight – 2 of us in the studio together, writing , programming, recording etc. Though one main difference these days with Origrene is that the writing , recording, mixing etc becomes one big blurred process, as opposed to distinctive processes.

We pretty much are mixing all the way, from the first drum groove we lay down, so we sometimes spend as much as a month or so mixing a track compared to the old school way of mixing a song a day ( or two days if you’re lucky ).

Musically I play keyboards with Origene, though Ben Grayson will play all the tricky technical stuff since he IS actually a wiz bang player!

We are currently on the verge of signing a new record deal directly for the US, Europe, and possibly Japan, so I’d like to see our dream come to reality and do a complete album of pure indulgence, not just stomping club tunes.

I’d really love to pick up where we left of last year with OS touring too. Hopefully this year we’ll get to tour the NY club scene as was planned.

DH: When did computers first become a creative tool for you, and do you remember what model it was?

Brian: Well I bought my fisrt computer solely for music early in the 90s. It was an Atari 1040ST

DH: What software do you use currently use to create music, and why have you chosen it?

Brian: I use Steinberg’s Cubase SX, since I started off using the original Cubase (version 2 ) over ten years ago when it was just a high end midi sequencer.

I was introduced to it by a musician friend (Chong Lim), who showed me how intuitive it was to use and basically sold me on it. I’ve never looked back. I have grown with the program over a decade and now use it to write, program sounds, record, and mix, from start to finish with final release quality.

DH: What are your thoughts on digital music downloads, including operations like the iTunes Music Store?

Brian: Something has got to give. I mean, I’m all for technology advancements but hopefully there will someday be a happy medium, where consumer and artist are both happy, though the BIG corporates may not be so..

DH: What do you hope to achieve musically in the next five years?

Brian: Would ultimately like to score a film, with mixed modern/traditional approach. Develop my own record label, and make my mark in A&R development, finding “real” artists, and music.

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Ten Great Game Of Thrones Theme Covers

June 15, 2014 by Leave a Comment

With Season 4 wrapping up, I thought it was worth highlighting a few great cover versions of the Game of Thrones Theme. Enjoy!

This one is so close to the original you’d be hard pushed to tell the difference during the first minute or so, then it branches off into something pretty amazing:

This one puts a brilliant jazz / dixieland flavour into it:

If too many trombones are never enough, you’ll be drooling over this version:

In the mood for some smooth jazz?

Am I the only one that wants to raid my own kitchen to do something similar to this piece of brilliance?

A Capella anyone?

How about a second helping, this time with some humour:

The Peter Dinklage version:

Of course there had to be a Game of Thrones metal cover:

And finally, the 1980s remix:

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Apple Buys Beats Music and Beats Electronics..

May 29, 2014 by Leave a Comment

beats-headphones.. for $3 billion. The software side makes a lot of sense to me, the headphone / earphone side less so as I’d be very doubtful they objectively produce any better quality stuff than anyone else. The brand is strong though, so there’s that.

The press release from Apple:

CUPERTINO, California—May 28, 2014—Apple® today announced it has agreed to acquire the critically acclaimed subscription streaming music service Beats Music, and Beats Electronics, which makes the popular Beats headphones, speakers and audio software. As part of the acquisition, Beats co-founders Jimmy Iovine and Dr. Dre will join Apple. Apple is acquiring the two companies for a total of USD$3 billion, consisting of a purchase price of approximately USD$2.6 billion and approximately USD$400 million that will vest over time.

“Music is such an important part of all of our lives and holds a special place within our hearts at Apple,” said Tim Cook, Apple’s CEO. “That’s why we have kept investing in music and are bringing together these extraordinary teams so we can continue to create the most innovative music products and services in the world.”

“I’ve always known in my heart that Beats belonged with Apple,” said Jimmy Iovine. “The idea when we started the company was inspired by Apple’s unmatched ability to marry culture and technology. Apple’s deep commitment to music fans, artists, songwriters and the music industry is something special.”

Iovine has been at the forefront of innovation in the music industry for decades, and he has been an instrumental partner for Apple and iTunes® for more than a decade. He has produced or collaborated with some of the most successful artists in the history of the iTunes Store®, helping make it the world’s number one music retailer. Iovine and Dr. Dre are sound pioneers, artists and entrepreneurs.

Beats Electronics has brought the energy, emotion and excitement of playback in the recording studio back to the listening experience and has introduced an entirely new generation to premium sound entertainment. Beats Music was developed by a team of people who have each spent their entire career in music and provides music fans with an incredible curated listening experience.

“Music is such an important part of Apple’s DNA and always will be,” said Eddy Cue, Apple’s senior vice president of Internet Software and Services. “The addition of Beats will make our music lineup even better, from free streaming with iTunes Radio to a world-class subscription service in Beats, and of course buying music from the iTunes Store as customers have loved to do for years.”

In just five years since launch, the Beats “b” has become the brand of choice in the music and sports worlds, and is the market leader in the premium headphone market. Music superstars including Lady Gaga, Lil Wayne and Nicki Minaj have designed their own customised Beats headphones and speakers. Fashion designers and street artists such as Alexander Wang, Futura and Snarkitecture have collaborated on special limited products, while renowned athletes including LeBron James, Serena Williams and Neymar use Beats as a critical part of their training and game day process. Beats has quickly become part of pop culture in the US and with the acquisition the Beats product lineup will be offered in many more countries through the Apple Online Store, Apple’s retail stores and select Apple Authorised Resellers.

Subject to regulatory approvals, Apple expects the transaction to close in fiscal Q4.

Formally established in 2008 as the brainchild of legendary artist and producer Dr. Dre and Chairman of Interscope Geffen A&M Records Jimmy Iovine, Beats Electronics (Beats) comprises the Beats by Dr. Dre family of premium consumer headphones, earphones, and speakers as well as patented Beats Audio software technology and streaming music subscription service Beats Music. Through these offerings, Beats has effectively brought the energy, emotion and excitement of playback in the recording studio to the listening experience and has introduced an entirely new generation to the possibilities of premium sound entertainment.

Beats Music is a subscription streaming music service that focuses on providing a personalised music experience for each user through a unique blend of digital innovation and musical passion. Programmed by a trusted team of well-respected music experts with over 300 years of experience across all genres, Beats Music delivers the right music for any situation, any time, and any preference, personalised to your tastes. The result is an artist-friendly digital music service that does more than simply offer access to music, but one that establishes an emotional connection to it as well.

Apple designs Macs, the best personal computers in the world, along with OS X, iLife, iWork and professional software. Apple leads the digital music revolution with its iPods and iTunes online store. Apple has reinvented the mobile phone with its revolutionary iPhone and App Store, and is defining the future of mobile media and computing devices with iPad.

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Mike Oldfield Man on the Rocks Review

March 29, 2014 by 6 Comments
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I’m so superficial: I love the blue vinyl

First a disclaimer: I’m an enormous Mike Oldfield fan, who in conjunction with my wife had an excerpt from Tattoo on Tubular Bells II as our bridal march.

Like the majority of Oldfield fans, I was drawn to him through his instrumental work. That said, I’ve always really liked his rock work – Discovery and Islands are two favourites. So it was with a fan-based, but open mind in regard to genre that I’ve come to review Man on the Rocks.

This is an album from a man who has nothing to prove artistically – his reputation has been established for decades and if you’ve listened to many interviews, Oldfield will regularly emphasise it’s about creating the music he feels he needs to. That’s exactly what he’s delivered here – eleven songs that are infused with his current living situation (The Bahamas) and his semi-recent personal life (divorce).

If you’ve heard or seen much about this album, it’s hard to escape the Bahamas imagery. Combined with Sailing as the opener, it creates the strong perception of a relaxed / AOR approach, and I think it does the album a disservice. There’s a range of themes on here, but it takes a couple of listens to put the whole album into context.

Sailing is the lead song of the album and its obvious why – it’s upbeat and has a hook that’s hard to move on from. Moonshine and title track Man on the Rocks build the momentum nicely. Castaway is a slow burner that delivers a punch in Oldfield’s guitar solo toward the end. Minutes is a four to the floor soft rock classic as good as anything Oldfield has delivered previously. Nuclear and Chariots are the two most introspective songs, and it only takes one listen to work out it’s not a happy look inwards – Chariots instrumentally seems to be one from the vault. Following the Angels made little impression on me, but Irene is a nice rocker with some brass swagger added. I Give Myself Away is the final track and the only one not penned by Oldfield. It’s a mellow finish to the album and one that sits nicely.

Is Man on the Rocks one of Mike Oldfield’s better albums? It’s too early to tell, but it certainly can sit proud amongst his other rock albums. As far as replayability goes, I can see Sailing, Minutes, Irene and Castaway being on regular rotation, with the others pleasant surprises as they come up on a playlist.

The best compliment I can give this album is that it’s honest – and that honesty delivers a number of high points that will keep me coming back for a long time to come.

Oh and Mike: please tour Australia sometime – we’re just like The Bahamas but with even more flora and fauna.

Filed Under: General Tech, Music Tagged With: ,

Best Rock Cover Band Opening Songs

October 31, 2012 by Leave a Comment

If like me you’ve been in a rock covers band or three, you’ll know that the first song of the night is important for a couple of reasons. First, if there’s an audience there, it’s the initial impression that can sometimes set the tone for the whole gig. Second, whether you’ve had a good sound check or not, it’s the time for your sound person to get their levels right.

For the hell of it, I thought I throw together a list of what I think are great rock songs a band could open with and make a big impression. I’ve kept it 1970s to today, and it’s all obviously subjective. I’d love to hear your thoughts in comments of opening songs you’ve had that have gone down a treat.

One other disclaimer: some of this songs would require a major commitment to pull off well – personally I think there needs to be more of that approach as it gets too easy to decide to play Sweet Home Alabama or Mustang Sally instead…

Here we go, in no particular order:

1. John Mellencamp – I Need A Lover

The album version of this song gives every member of the band a chance to jump in boots and all:

 

2. Hothouse Flowers – Hardstone City

The Hothouse Flowers themselves have opened with this and for good reason – it kicks arse:

3. Boy and Bear – Feeding Line

If you’re outside of Australia you may not know this song. Even so, have a listen and tell me it wouldn’t make a good opener:

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4. U2 – Where The Streets Have No Name

A worthy inclusion although I doubt a lot of bands actually cover this:

5. The Who You Better – You Bet

Not for the faint hearted – particularly if you play bass, but what a song:

6. The Killers – Somebody Told Me

’nuff said:

7. REM – Me In Honey

This is a bit of a left field REM choice but it’s always made a great impression on me as a potential opening song – particularly if you have both a male and female vocalist.

8. Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band – My Love Will Not Let You Down

If it’s good enough for The Boss to open his 10th night at New York’s Madison Square Garden in 2000, it’s good enough for me. Also watch the clip to see a true band master at work:

9. Spacehog – In The Meantime

10. Fountains of Wayne – Stacy’s Mom

Some will argue this is definitely saved for later in the night but it has a good place as an opener:

The Impossible Dream: Dave Matthews Band -Drive in Drive Out

If you’re in a cover band that can pull this one off, I hope you’re aware you have a very bright future. Drummers in particular should listen to this one from start to finish:

Over to you: what openers have worked well for you?

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Why iTunes Match is an absolute dog of a product

March 24, 2012 by Leave a Comment

If like me, iTunes is the centre of your digital music consumption, then you may have considered using the new iCloud based service called iTunes Match. What it does (for approx $25 US per year) is scan your iTunes library, matches it against the songs Apple has in its inventory, and then uploads any unmatched songs to iCloud. THe end result (theoretically) is that your entire music library is now in the cloud and can be access by any wi-fi iDevice.

Unfortunately for what seems like a significant number of people, the reality is a lot different. For me the deal-breaker is play counts. I’ve always set myself a little challenge each year to play each and every song in my iTunes library each calendar year. Therefore I have a smart list set up that includes any song not played since January 1st this year. Since setting up iTunes Match in late January I’ve seen that playlist constantly increase it’s play count. I have an iPad 2 as the only current device that uses iTunes Match to stream music (I did have my iPhone using at as well but gave up in disgust as you’ll see below)

An example from just yesterday (on my primary device i.e. the one from which all content was uploaded to iTunes):

Number of songs left in playlist prior to updating iTunes Match: 6994
Number of songs left in playlist after updating iTunes Match: 7029
Number of songs left in playlist the next morning after launching iTunes: 7175

There’s no obvious rhyme or reason to it and it drives me insane. Have a look at the scope of issues on Apple’s own discussion forums and you get the gist of a range of other issues with the service. Whether it’s play counts, upload issues, crashes or lost music, there’s a bunch of problems with this paid service. It certainly has promise – if it worked like it should, I’d probably be writing a gushing article on how great it is and awaiting the Apple fanboy accusations.

My advice right now is: avoid iTunes Match like the plague until some much-needed bug fixes are put into place.

Over to you: do you use iTunes Match and if so have you had issues or not?

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Ten Great Australian Songs You May Not Know

January 26, 2012 by 1 Comment

It’s Australia day and there’s plenty of music going around. Triple J run their hottest 100 which is always worth a listen. The Pay TV channels have their ‘Top 100’ aussie music countdowns as well. So I thought I’d jump on the bandwagon and round up 10 songs you probably won’t have heard of, or at least you won’t know them well. They’re all catchy in their own way, but feel free to suggest your own in comments!

The Triffids – The Seabirds

The opening song from one of the most acclaimed aussie albums of all time:

Paul Kelly – Bicentennial

Some would see it as brave to release and perform this song today. Imagine doing it in 1988 to coincide with Australia’s bicentennial celebrations.

TISM – Greg! The Stop Sign!!

Australia’s balaclava wearing icons. This song has better harmonies than the Beach Boys.

Solid Citizens – Singing in the Shower

Vacuous synth pop but catchy as hell, and these guys are still going!

Vitabeats – Boom Box

You may have forgotten this song but once you hear it again the horrifying reality of its catchiness will get you.

Architecture in Helsinki – It’5!

This one is from 2006:

The Panics – Majesty

I think I would have enjoyed history more at school if these guys had been involved:

The Falling Joys – Jennifer

I can say I’ve covered the 1990’s (just) with this one:

My Friend the Chocolate Cake – A Midlife’s Tale

Very hard to know which song to choose from this mob, but this is one of the much underrated and known songs from their first album.

Painters and Dockers – Die Yuppie Die

Let’s go out with some rock containing some pretty scathing lyrics:

Filed Under: General Tech, Music

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