Hey bro!

 

Disquiet Junto 0751 Gastropod Meter

The Junto assignment this week is "Imagine you’ve been invited to compose music for a nature documentary about slugs."

I decided it needed something squishy and found this video by Michael Verdi on Archive.org 

Michael Agzarian on giving hope

I feel as a creative … whether musicians, writers or whatever, they do instil a sense of hope in people who at times feel that everything is pretty hopeless.  

How do you like those nine-inch nails?

 

Be off-Fender-ed!

Fender have been a topic of ire here in recent months

When the company won a copyright ruling in the EU earlier this year I thought things looked grim.

The iconic guitar brand is owned by an investment firm and it seems obvious to anyone who has tried a variety of products that they sell over-priced instruments to maximise profits.

So I was shocked when I saw an apology issued by one retailer, as it showed the brand were using their dominance to limit competition. 

With the ruling against Chinese copies in Europe they were given an opportunity to further entrench their advantage to monopolise the market.

Stratocasters were patented in 1956 and Leo Fender died in 1991, so it is another example of how copyright law is harming innovation.

Can you imagine what guitars might look like if the market was not dominated with the message that designs from the mid-20th Century are the best available?

Many are celebrating the 75th anniversary of the Telecaster, yet is it really a design to put on a pedestal and say there is nothing to improve? 

(Nashville models with a Strat-style middle pickup say differently, obviously.) 

When I had that thought it prompted me to consider ideas about what else could be done, such as adding pickups for individual strings and multiple outputs.

It will be interesting to see if the Fender brand becomes toxic to consumers, because they lost my support last year for less. 

Larkin Miller on meeting music

There’s more than one “right” way to meet the music. One of my teachers used to say that if you move before the music, you’re anticipating it; if you move exactly with it you’re matching it; and if you move just slightly after, you’re responding to it. They’re all possibilities for one note and yet they all offer a completely different quality. I don’t try to own or claim the music. 

Don't let anyone

 

Disquiet Junto 0750 Let’s Get Heavy

The Junto prompt this week is to "record something epic," which I took somewhat literally.

I had a cheeky idea to record a bad cover of the song 'Epic' and claim it was something! 

Linda Perry on progress

“What I’m probably most proud of is that I never think I’m good enough,” she says. “But that’s also my damage; I was raised that way; you know, not being good enough. That little dark gift my mother gave me actually became a pot of gold.” 

Rhythm Droid