Category Archives: Music

Harmonium vs. bacon

Take a look at David Forde’s post at https://mander-organs-forum.invisionzone.com/topic/496-21st-century-barker-lever-replacement/ It says “Horrible harmonium type feel to the action.”

Another message made public on the subject ”inflate-to-play and exhaust-to -play” was in response to William Baker. I will get the link later. Here’s a quote from it:

All the actions described here had far better response, reliability and longevity than even the best of the equivalent German systems, all of which are rather harmonium-like to play

Could say the same for the taste of bacon. Grilling and smoking with an unclean LPG or CNG flame and/or with hardwood can result in an awful bacon-like taste (c.f. “horrible harmonium-like feel”), as can overcooking sausage.

Bacon-like taste is as undesirable in cooked meat as harmonium touch is in tracker organs, and a harmonium-like touch is as undesirable in tracker organs as a bacon-like taste is in meat.

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Idea for band

A keyboard synthesizer, a personal computer (maybe a MacBook, Acer Aspire, or Dell Precision or XPS laptop; whatever multimedia laptop with good CPU, good RAM, fast hard drive, and HD/HQ audio), a DJ set (with sliders, knobs, and joysticks), an electroacoustic piano (with soundboard and piezoelectric pickup, an amplified rhythmic guitar, an electronic drum kit (kickdrum, two snare drums, three tom-toms, a hi-hat, and two cymbals).[1] Prefer a keyboard with at least 53 keys, perhaps as many as 68 keys, analog synth combined with digital signal processing, a multi-track sequencer, and a sampler. Also a DJ set with wheels, sliders, and joysticks plugged into PC. Also feature a chamber orchestra with 10 violins, six celli, and several horns (with double tubing). Also acoustic percussion including dual-timpani (one 23″ and one 2928″), a gong, wood blocks, and an “orchestra bells” glockenspiel.
Guitarist also a male lead vocalist (dramatic baritone), backed up by a small mixed-gender choir. Vocalists have sleigh bells.
Sampling of electronic drums and electric guitar and sequencing of the samples.
Electronic breakbeat and machine gun sounds. Side chaining and other things as well.
Pads partly double strings.
Techno bass, Fargo, sawtooth leads, other synth.
No saxophones (except maybe, from most to least preferred, alto and tenor, alto and baritone, or soprano and tenor), bass or contrabass trombones, tubas, electric bass guitars, melodic guitars, acoustic guitars, bass clarinets, contrabassoons, or instruments like those.
[2]
Genres: pop rock, thrash metal, medieval power metal, synthpop, industrial, techno, trance, tech trance, orchestral uplifting trance, full-on psytrance, hardcore techno, electro house, and classical. Dubstep influences, but only 10% dubstep, with brief dubstep double-time parts.
Combination of screamed and shouted vocals with clean vocals, with brief grunts and growls. Males sing, scream, shout, and rap, while females mostly just sing. Some electronic modification of solo vocals.
Most of the music vocal, some of it instrumental.
Themes: high technology (e.g. high-tech sports-racer cars, maglev trains, spaceplanes, artificial intelligence), wonders of the world, civilization, politics, society, warfare, crime-fighting, futurism, sci-fi, energy and power, mass media, spiritual stuff, royalty, natural phenomena (e.g. storms, volcanoes, fires, tsunamis, and earthquakes), outer space travel, solar phenomena, other dimensions, and cosmic phenomena (e.g. supernovae, Roche lobes, and active galactic nuclei).
Release studio albums, EP’s, compilation albums, music videos, and remixes. Also appear in compilations and DJ mixes. Have tours in North America, Europe, Australia, Japan, and South Korea. Also occasionally release recordings of live performances as albums.
[1]Could avoid the timpani and gong. Could also avoid drum machine.
[2]Insert footnote.

 

Why I like this idea: acoustics make better treble, electronics make better bass. Sci-fi film scores should have bass synth instead of bass and contrabass trombones. They should also have guitar overdrive on orchestral hits. They should also have piano melded with the double basses.

Anything I could add or improve? Say so in the comment. Sorry I’m not up with posting schedule.

Review for Armin Van Buuren – Embrace

3 stars out of 5

Worst Armin album ever, but not terrible

Armin has gone away from trance to garbage? How? Away from trance and to garage pop rock.
Many of the songs are radio edit. Freefall and Indestructible should have extended mixes.
“Strong ones” is glossy pop but has a good beat.
“Make it Right” sounds like Rihanna. “Gotta be Love” sound’s like Rihanna’s “We’ve found love.” “Face of Summer” sounds like “only girl in the world.
“Heading up High” is an interesting combination of trance, house, and pop rock, but with poor vocals.
“Looking for your name” is a good acoustic song, but if I wanted acoustic music I would get an acoustic album by an acoustic artist.
“Caught in the Slipstream” is the best song in my opinion.
Just get Embargo, “Hands to Heaven,” and “Caught in the Slipstream.”
This album is very cheesy. One gets sick of it. It’s boring.
Armin Van Buuren has gone out of his roots and done something different. Armin Van Buuren didn’t keep to his own way.
If I wanted pop I would get Rihanna, Katy Perry, Kelly Clarkson, Taio Cruz, Chris Brown, or the like. If I wanted rock I would get U2 or something. Not Armin Van Buuren. If I want Armin Van Buuren, I want trance, with super-driving beats and ethereal sound. Armin Van Buuren should not go the way of other artists, he should keep distinct, to his own way.
This album is not terrible. I give it three stars, not one. It’s overrated though. It was good that Armin Van Buuren did something different. Yes, we shouldn’t do the same thing over and over because it gets old and we get sick of it. So do something different. But this is a poor way for Armin to do something different. Armin Van Buuren has gone away from trance and towards mainstream pop for long enough! If his next album continues this trend, it will be QUITE LONG ENOUGH. We can do something different, but after a long time we might enjoy doing the old way again.
Let’s fear that Armin will continue this trend. That he might go to country and acoustic music. Only have a little hope that he would go to trance and 138bpm. I actually like 146 better than 138. I’d like Armin to do hard trance and even Eurodance. Hardcore and breakbeat would bring something good. Nu-disco would not be too bad. Psytrance I don’t think, but maybe full-on psytrance? I don’t know. I don’t want the music to be repetitive like tech trance either. I’d like a modern, perhaps even futuristic feel. Maybe some characteristics of industrial and metal, but not too violent or dark. Hip hop? I’d like elements of classical orchestral. I don’t like it too cheesy though.
I do like a combination of techno, trance, and house. That’s what makes Armin best. Not pure trance, but a combination of those three genres.
It doesn’t matter that Armin Van Buuren doesn’t make much money from trance. It matters what his fans like and that he keeps to his own way. Each artist is different.
I want to promote trance. Let’s do so.
If you want just trance, get Sean Tyas, Alphazone, Flutlicht, Paul Van Dyk, Dash Berlin, DJ Dean, or artists like those. Also get the old Armin albums like 76, Imagine (the remixes), and Mirage (the extended versions).
What do you think? Anything I could add?
Sorry I was five days late on my posting schedule. I was being lazy and I had anxiety.

Promote against iTunes and Apple Music and for competitors

Promote cross-platform software that supports Linux and Windows 10 Mobile.
I promote against iTunes and Apple Music. Promote for Amazon Music, Groove Music, Google Play, Spotify, Pandora, and others. Too bad Style JukeBox was discontinued. What for? I would like it to be recontinued (have development continued again/restored).
Unfortunately, you can’t use Google Play on Windows unless you use Chrome.
iTunes is not available for Linux. Apple Music not available for Windows Phone.
Apple doesn’t play nice on platforms other than its own MacOS, iOS, and TvOS.
GNU/Linux is a great OS, better than Windows and MacOS at many things.
The more popular Apple Music becomes, the fewer people move to Linux.
Apple Music doesn’t have a web player.
iTunes also uses M4P protection, which means you can’t easily transfer iTunes music to other media players and online music lockers. Get a premium subscription with iTunes Match, so you can convert M4P to the non-protected MP3 so you can transfer it. Don’t get iTunes in the first place!
Apple is trying to push and draw people to the Apple community.
Also promote Amarok, RhythmBox, Clementine, Banshee, and others. Too bad Banshee was discontinued, I hope it will be recontinued.
I also like music players that support formats other than MP3 and AAC. Formats that are not restricted.
There are other reasons to hate iTunes and Apple Music than those I mentioned. Say some in the comment.

Top 22 greatest goth/industrial/EBM bands

1. Hocico
2. Front Line Assembly
3. Combichrist
4. KMFDM
5. Psyclon Nine
6. Iszoloscope
7. Edgey
8. Decoded Feedback
9. Grendel
10. Suicide Commando
11. Finite Automata
12. Lights of Euphoria
13. Die Krupps
14. Vigilante
15. Meat Beat Manifesto
16. Einsturzende Neubauten
17. Coil
18. X-Fusion
19. Ritual Aesthetic
20. X Marks The Pedwalk
21. Aesthetic Perfection
22. Angelspit

There’s much aggrotech on this list. I like a mixture of aggrotech, rhythmic noise, and industrial metal.

Edit 10/15/2021: I actually like Suicide Commando better than Hocico, and I don’t like Psychon Nine that much. I would rank Combichrist lower, and I would rank X-Fusion somewhat higher.