Saturday, October 4, 2014
Friday, May 2, 2014
OpenData not-so-daily
Luckily I didn't write my goal of doing a blog post a day about OpenData in my last post, because it turns out, writing a blog post about it every day would cost a lot of time. Nevertheless, I bring you yet another post. This one's packed with a bunch of news, applications and new(ish) data. Enjoy, and feel free to post feedback in the comments or through twitter, @namnatulco.
In the Netherlands, an interesting new hackathon has shown up: the Flora & Fauna (Dutch) hack. Now, that by itself is already quite interesting --environment and ecology seem to be the main topic--, but the cool thing is, they actually have a list of concrete challenges to solve! Unfortunately the entire thing is currently in Dutch. However, they seem to be worth checking out!
The Sunlight Foundation, a US-oriented organization that promotes open data and government transparency, writes a nice discussion about what open data gives us beyond business opportunities. From my fairly limited perspective, in the US, stimulating business is increasingly tied into the motivation for opening up data. Although I'm all for business use cases, this Sunlight article demonstrates that shouldn't be the only reason.
I encountered this list of applications for Swiss open data. The list mostly lists some older visualizations from the last few months. The most recent one is this application (German), which computes various statistics based on population density, and below it has a map that shows the density of the different municipalities (German 'Gemeinden'). Further down in the article there's some more graphs that show the same data for easy comparison. The cited data source is here.
In this tumblr article from a little while back, there is a really cool visualization of the orientations of streets (direct link to image). Notice in particular how many examples here have a very strange, rectangular pattern.
The interactive application on this page, by a German newspaper, shows how aircraft deviate from the official routes surrounding Berlin, resulting in significant noise complaints from the surrounding population.
This map (German) by a large German newspaper shows the amount of doctors relative to income and population in four major German cities. The map is based on address data of different types of doctors.
In the UK, the environmental agency of the government announced that they would make a number of different water- and flood-related data sets permanently available to the public (presumably including new data). A little more background can be found in this guardian article, which says in February some data sets were already released for a short time.
News
Although we commonly define open data specifically as not being tied to individual people, privacy issues are starting to appear around open data. This guardian article provides an overview of some recent privacy problems in this context. The OKFN has a working group on this topic, as well as a somewhat older but excellent blog post on the topic.In the Netherlands, an interesting new hackathon has shown up: the Flora & Fauna (Dutch) hack. Now, that by itself is already quite interesting --environment and ecology seem to be the main topic--, but the cool thing is, they actually have a list of concrete challenges to solve! Unfortunately the entire thing is currently in Dutch. However, they seem to be worth checking out!
The Sunlight Foundation, a US-oriented organization that promotes open data and government transparency, writes a nice discussion about what open data gives us beyond business opportunities. From my fairly limited perspective, in the US, stimulating business is increasingly tied into the motivation for opening up data. Although I'm all for business use cases, this Sunlight article demonstrates that shouldn't be the only reason.
Applications
This article (in Dutch) is a nice introduction about what OSCity (in English) does: it allows for spatial searching and spatial organization. The latter has always been a big topic in Dutch society, it being comparatively densely populated. Continuing that trend, OSCity allows you to search in data; when the application loads, an example search like "offices near water" or "addressen with age < 30" appears. Try it out! OSCity claims they want to include European data in the future, so stay I suppose we'll stay tuned. Unfortunately there isn't anything regarding data source, but I've asked them to find out more.I encountered this list of applications for Swiss open data. The list mostly lists some older visualizations from the last few months. The most recent one is this application (German), which computes various statistics based on population density, and below it has a map that shows the density of the different municipalities (German 'Gemeinden'). Further down in the article there's some more graphs that show the same data for easy comparison. The cited data source is here.
In this tumblr article from a little while back, there is a really cool visualization of the orientations of streets (direct link to image). Notice in particular how many examples here have a very strange, rectangular pattern.
The interactive application on this page, by a German newspaper, shows how aircraft deviate from the official routes surrounding Berlin, resulting in significant noise complaints from the surrounding population.
This map (German) by a large German newspaper shows the amount of doctors relative to income and population in four major German cities. The map is based on address data of different types of doctors.
Data
In Ottawa, Canada, someone created this spreadsheet that provides a nice overview of the available data in their region. Looks like an approach we here in Ulm could re-use -- manual tables like on this page aren't always helpful.In the UK, the environmental agency of the government announced that they would make a number of different water- and flood-related data sets permanently available to the public (presumably including new data). A little more background can be found in this guardian article, which says in February some data sets were already released for a short time.
Tuesday, April 29, 2014
I'm back!
Maybe? I'm not sure yet. It's been a long time since I've felt I had something worth writing about, but for the past few months I've been interacting with the UlmAPI group. We're one of the newly launched (well, more like newly united, UlmAPI has been around for many years) OK Labs, loosely organized by the German branch of the Open Knowledge Foundation. As you might have gathered by now, the group is based in Ulm. It currently mostly consists of computer scientists from the university, although one of our goals is to involve more non-computer science and non-students into the group. Having been assigned "scribe", it feels appropriate for me to start blogging again. Another motivation is that a recent project that involves documenting highlights of OpenData felt rather cold and lacking context, but adding context to all of the links could mess up the orderly list. Instead I'll write some context here on this blog, and minimize the text in the wiki. Of course, I'll mostly talk about things I've discovered recently, some of this might be out of date, etc.
News
CloudMade announced, quite some time ago already, that they'll stop providing map services to free users. I felt this was worth repeating because it puts a lot of applications by OpenData groups at risk, including ours. Yesterday our group spent a lot of time setting up a tile server to replace it. The tile server isn't up yet --turns out importing Germany takes a long time--, but for all of you out there having problems with it, make sure LANGUAGE and LC_ALL are correctly set. Normally the fall-back should ensure nothing breaks, but several scripts actually fail when this is not as expected.
Here is a great post suggesting we should have more Europe in OpenData. It basically speaks for itself -- with the upcoming elections, who knows, something might just happen.
Applications
I'm not sure how old it is, but the OpenGov Foundation introduced .gov.ify, an application that pokes fun at the wonderful qualities of government-produced PDF files. Be sure to watch the accompanying youtube video.
A really cool map of Barcelona can be found here, visualizing a large amount of data that indexes the age of buildings in the city. I seem to recall something similar for historic images in Ulm, but I can't find it any more.
Data
I'm fairly sure this isn't new, but this page on the German wikimedia provides an index of information that can be used freely. It talks about many types of data; not just the typical metadata we would see in OpenData projects, but also music and historical objects.
And that's the end of today's blog. I hope you enjoyed reading it!
News
CloudMade announced, quite some time ago already, that they'll stop providing map services to free users. I felt this was worth repeating because it puts a lot of applications by OpenData groups at risk, including ours. Yesterday our group spent a lot of time setting up a tile server to replace it. The tile server isn't up yet --turns out importing Germany takes a long time--, but for all of you out there having problems with it, make sure LANGUAGE and LC_ALL are correctly set. Normally the fall-back should ensure nothing breaks, but several scripts actually fail when this is not as expected.
Here is a great post suggesting we should have more Europe in OpenData. It basically speaks for itself -- with the upcoming elections, who knows, something might just happen.
Applications
I'm not sure how old it is, but the OpenGov Foundation introduced .gov.ify, an application that pokes fun at the wonderful qualities of government-produced PDF files. Be sure to watch the accompanying youtube video.
A really cool map of Barcelona can be found here, visualizing a large amount of data that indexes the age of buildings in the city. I seem to recall something similar for historic images in Ulm, but I can't find it any more.
Data
I'm fairly sure this isn't new, but this page on the German wikimedia provides an index of information that can be used freely. It talks about many types of data; not just the typical metadata we would see in OpenData projects, but also music and historical objects.
And that's the end of today's blog. I hope you enjoyed reading it!
Sunday, September 8, 2013
Looking back: music from 2010
So here we go. The first year that I was really into music and actually following current releases, rather than simply basking in old glory. I thought it'd be fun to make a 'looking back' post, as I have time on my hands because I'm currently recovering from a dislodged elbow. The ordering in this post is based on the current state of the RYM Top Albums of 2010 chart, which seems to fairly stable, from what I recall anyway.I'll refrain from talking about live albums unless I have specific reasons to do so -- live albums are usually not interesting unless you're intimately familiar with the artist/band.
1. Kanye West - My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy
I have to confess. I think I'm afraid I might like this album. Maybe that's why I've avoided it since it came out. Nevertheless, I figured I now have to try it. Now that I'm finally listening to it, I though my fears were confirmed -- the beats are pretty choice, the flow isn't bad -- but fortunately (unfortunately?) Kanye West tries to actually sing, including sections with misplaced auto-tune. On Power, Kanye tries to be edgy by sampling 21st Century Schizoid Man. The album definitely has its moments, but I'm just turned off by the atrocious singing, the 'edgy' lyrical content and would-be gangsta sections you often hear in Pop Rap. However, in the end, it isn't a total failure, and I can sort of understand why people like this album. But no, I don't think I'd be able to endure this entire album in one sitting.
{I published this as my review}
2. The National - High Violet
This is one of those albums you've heard, but you can't remember much of it. To me it sounded like a generic Indie Rock band. Music to play on the radio or in the background during a party. It isn't bad, but it feels incredibly unremarkable.
3. Arcade Fire - The Suburbs
I enjoyed previous works from Arcade Fire (Funeral and Neon Bible) a lot, so I was somewhat looking forward to this. In that light, it was a pretty big disappointment. It sounds more like a cash-in than really a new record. Sure, it is listenable, but that's just about it, too. It might be intentional -- portraying the suburbs as bland and uninteresting, but I frankly don't care. Maybe their previous albums were just too good.
4. Joanna Newsom - Have One on Me
Not being a fan of Joanna's style (based on the previous record, Ys), I haven't listened to this beyond a couple samples. Really, though? Three CDs long? A for effort, at least.
5. Beach House - Teen Dream
This is probably one of the last records I discovered through /mu/ (4chan's music board). Being the seat of hipster garbage among many other things, Beach House was hyped there, and there was a promotional free stream I checked out. I was hoping for a great Dream Pop album -- unfortunately I only got thalf of that. I guess if you're into the style, you'll dig this, but beyond that it doesn't have much appeal, in my opinion.
6. Deerhunter - Halcyon Digest
Here's the first record I decided to listen to while looking at the 2010 chart. I wasn't much of a Deerhunter fan, having listened to a couple of songs off Microcastle. However, this record is actually not bad at all, which is the reason you're now reading this blog post. This record starts off kinda slow, with a bunch of tunes you might expect from a Neo-Psychedelia record. What's Neo-Psychedelia exactly, you ask? Don't ask me, I'm just saying this based on other albums I've seen with this genre label, like a bunch of The Flaming Lips albums. Toward the end there's a bunch of more proper rock songs.
7. Janelle Monáe - The ArchAndroid
Finally! A really good album in this list! This is probably one of the few Contemporary R&B records I really like. There's a sweet story that provides a nice build-up for the album, but most importantly there's some excellent dance-able tracks scattered across the record. There's plenty of variation, too: two Overtures, dance tracks like Dance or Die, Faster and Tightrope, there's the lyrical content of Cold War, psychedelic ideas with songs like Oh, Maker and Say You'll Go, and there's a fast-paced song, Come Alive. All-in-all, the album is great. Of course there are things to complain about -- the track with of Montreal (Make the Bus) is not to my liking, and I'm not that foond of the closing track. The Overtures are really quietly mixed. But that's details; this album is good, you should listen to it. On that note; recently, the follow-up The Electric Lady, was released (at least, as exclusive? stream at afropunk)!
8. Luis Alberto Spinetta - Spinetta y las bandas eternas
[live]
9. Friedrich Cerha - Spiegel; Monumentum; Momente (SWR Sinfonieorchester Baden-Baden und Freiburg; ORF Radio-Symphonieorchester Wien/Sylvain Cambreling; Dennis Russell Davies; Friedrich Cerha)
Another release with very few ratings, considering how high it is on the RYM chart. This seems to be a double CD of content by different orchestras, playing music composed by Friedrich Cerha. I'm not familiar with either, but the reviews of others sound very promising.
10. Heaven & Hell - Neon Lights: 30 Years of Heaven & Hell
[live]
11. Flying Lotus - Cosmogramma
Flying Lotus is an unusual fellow. This used to be shuffled under the Glitch Hop genre, but it seems the community has changed its mind, as it is under the parent genre IDM now. I suppose IDM -- Intelligent Dance Music -- is pretty accurate; Cosmogramma sounds like it takes cues from major artists in that genre, like Boards of Canada and Aphex Twin. My opinion on this style has varied a lot over the years, and I'm fairly sure it will change again in the future. The Boards of Canada brand has never really managed to excite me the way a lot of more experimental music does. Nevertheless, I remember liking Cosmogramma. As I listen to it again, I can see why: there's a lot of unusual beats and samples put together in a nice and atmospheric record. The amount of fuzz (?) seems rather excessive, though.
12. Agalloch - Marrow of the Spirit
Aha! The first metal album in the list! Considering the high ratings that metal releases on RYM tend to get, this is quite surprising. I know Agalloch mainly from their drummer, from whose blog Cosmic Hearse I have learned about a ton of great bands. I've never delved into Agalloch itself that much, however. The enormous amounts of praise this band has gotten made me almost certain I whould just feel disappointed. For this blog post I decided I'd finally give this record a shot -- that is the point, after all. Despite the fact that it is filed under Atmospheric Black Metal, a genre that more often than not bores me to tears. Indeed, this was not a mistake: the album provides a warm, folk-heavy metal record with plenty of atmosphere, but lacking the uneventful repeated riffage that marks a lot of Atmospheric Black Metal. The album is varied and dynamic; both the foreground and the atmosphere change over time, without feeling chaotic. Considering this seems to be written off as Agalloch's worst or second worst album, it might be time to try The Mantle or Ashes Against the Grain.
13. Deathspell Omega - Paracletus
Often hailed as one of (progressive) Black Metal's finest, Deathspell Omega was a must-hear band for me back in 2010. Although initially I liked it a lot, I can't say I fondly remember it.Which is surprising, now that I'm listening to it again: this album opens with Emperor-esque grandeur, before veering in and out of more progressive regions of metal. Compared to a lot of 'true' Black Metal, this record is overflowing with melody and complexity, while to Progressive Metal listeners this record will sound much, perhaps too much like Black Metal. It's a pretty adventurous record, but it does in the end meander a bit -- which may be why I didn't have such positive memories.
14. David Bowie - A Reality Tour
[live] This is a live album. I know a lot of people hail Bowie as the best thing since sliced bread, but I can't say I've ever gotten into it, so I haven't listened to this.
15. Various Artists - Whom the Moon a Nightsong Sings
Ah yes, this beautiful album cover. I really need to listen to this: a folk record by a bunch of bands, including Ulver and Dornenreich. I don't know most of the names that well, but this looks like a record combining songs of metal bands that have experimented with Dark Folk. If Dornenreich is any measure, it'll be fascinating.Well, that was quite an experience. There's a lot of very similar material here, but the execution is quite good -- it kept my attention, which considering my previous encounters with the genre is a very good sign. If you're into this stuff you probably already know about it, but if you don't, you'd better pick this release up.
16. Mono - Holy Ground: NYC Live With the Wordless Music Orchestra
[live] For a while, Mono was among my favourite Post-Rock bands, right next to Godspeed You! Black Emperor. That was a long time ago, but maybe I'll give this album a spin some time -- the orchestra could add a fascinating touch.
17. Joe Bonamassa - Live from the Royal Albert Hall
[live]
18. The Tallest Man on Earth - The Wild Hunt
I remember the hype surrounding this record. Listening to it now, it may just have been justified: active, energetic and intimate songs that shine in simplicity. Supposedly lyrical content is at the core of records like this -- which is probably why Singer/Songwriter and I tend to agree to disagree. Not so here; the tunes hold their own, and the voice of the singer (Kristian Matsson) is pretty intriguing. I'm pretty sure this album would be almost as good if the guy would just hum all the songs. Apparently this guy gets compared to Bob Dylan all the time. Far be it from me to dismiss that, but I'm not seeing it. Maybe because I only heard Blonde on Blonde, which hardly sounds like a Contemporary Folk album.
19. Transatlantic - Whirld Tour 2010 - Live From Shepherd's Bush Empire, London
[live]
20. iamamiwhoami - In Concert
[live] Well, this is a very unusual release. It's labelled as a live album, but it's actually more of an improvised piece of audiovisual art. I wonder what a proper release of this band (?) sounds like. Regardless, this is a very intriguing release. But there's also actually good music, which could pass for a pretty solid Electropop release. Watch the release here.
1. Kanye West - My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy
I have to confess. I think I'm afraid I might like this album. Maybe that's why I've avoided it since it came out. Nevertheless, I figured I now have to try it. Now that I'm finally listening to it, I though my fears were confirmed -- the beats are pretty choice, the flow isn't bad -- but fortunately (unfortunately?) Kanye West tries to actually sing, including sections with misplaced auto-tune. On Power, Kanye tries to be edgy by sampling 21st Century Schizoid Man. The album definitely has its moments, but I'm just turned off by the atrocious singing, the 'edgy' lyrical content and would-be gangsta sections you often hear in Pop Rap. However, in the end, it isn't a total failure, and I can sort of understand why people like this album. But no, I don't think I'd be able to endure this entire album in one sitting.
{I published this as my review}
2. The National - High Violet
This is one of those albums you've heard, but you can't remember much of it. To me it sounded like a generic Indie Rock band. Music to play on the radio or in the background during a party. It isn't bad, but it feels incredibly unremarkable.
3. Arcade Fire - The Suburbs
I enjoyed previous works from Arcade Fire (Funeral and Neon Bible) a lot, so I was somewhat looking forward to this. In that light, it was a pretty big disappointment. It sounds more like a cash-in than really a new record. Sure, it is listenable, but that's just about it, too. It might be intentional -- portraying the suburbs as bland and uninteresting, but I frankly don't care. Maybe their previous albums were just too good.
4. Joanna Newsom - Have One on Me
Not being a fan of Joanna's style (based on the previous record, Ys), I haven't listened to this beyond a couple samples. Really, though? Three CDs long? A for effort, at least.
5. Beach House - Teen Dream
This is probably one of the last records I discovered through /mu/ (4chan's music board). Being the seat of hipster garbage among many other things, Beach House was hyped there, and there was a promotional free stream I checked out. I was hoping for a great Dream Pop album -- unfortunately I only got thalf of that. I guess if you're into the style, you'll dig this, but beyond that it doesn't have much appeal, in my opinion.
6. Deerhunter - Halcyon Digest
Here's the first record I decided to listen to while looking at the 2010 chart. I wasn't much of a Deerhunter fan, having listened to a couple of songs off Microcastle. However, this record is actually not bad at all, which is the reason you're now reading this blog post. This record starts off kinda slow, with a bunch of tunes you might expect from a Neo-Psychedelia record. What's Neo-Psychedelia exactly, you ask? Don't ask me, I'm just saying this based on other albums I've seen with this genre label, like a bunch of The Flaming Lips albums. Toward the end there's a bunch of more proper rock songs.
7. Janelle Monáe - The ArchAndroid
Finally! A really good album in this list! This is probably one of the few Contemporary R&B records I really like. There's a sweet story that provides a nice build-up for the album, but most importantly there's some excellent dance-able tracks scattered across the record. There's plenty of variation, too: two Overtures, dance tracks like Dance or Die, Faster and Tightrope, there's the lyrical content of Cold War, psychedelic ideas with songs like Oh, Maker and Say You'll Go, and there's a fast-paced song, Come Alive. All-in-all, the album is great. Of course there are things to complain about -- the track with of Montreal (Make the Bus) is not to my liking, and I'm not that foond of the closing track. The Overtures are really quietly mixed. But that's details; this album is good, you should listen to it. On that note; recently, the follow-up The Electric Lady, was released (at least, as exclusive? stream at afropunk)!
8. Luis Alberto Spinetta - Spinetta y las bandas eternas
[live]
9. Friedrich Cerha - Spiegel; Monumentum; Momente (SWR Sinfonieorchester Baden-Baden und Freiburg; ORF Radio-Symphonieorchester Wien/Sylvain Cambreling; Dennis Russell Davies; Friedrich Cerha)
Another release with very few ratings, considering how high it is on the RYM chart. This seems to be a double CD of content by different orchestras, playing music composed by Friedrich Cerha. I'm not familiar with either, but the reviews of others sound very promising.
10. Heaven & Hell - Neon Lights: 30 Years of Heaven & Hell
[live]
11. Flying Lotus - Cosmogramma
Flying Lotus is an unusual fellow. This used to be shuffled under the Glitch Hop genre, but it seems the community has changed its mind, as it is under the parent genre IDM now. I suppose IDM -- Intelligent Dance Music -- is pretty accurate; Cosmogramma sounds like it takes cues from major artists in that genre, like Boards of Canada and Aphex Twin. My opinion on this style has varied a lot over the years, and I'm fairly sure it will change again in the future. The Boards of Canada brand has never really managed to excite me the way a lot of more experimental music does. Nevertheless, I remember liking Cosmogramma. As I listen to it again, I can see why: there's a lot of unusual beats and samples put together in a nice and atmospheric record. The amount of fuzz (?) seems rather excessive, though.
12. Agalloch - Marrow of the Spirit
Aha! The first metal album in the list! Considering the high ratings that metal releases on RYM tend to get, this is quite surprising. I know Agalloch mainly from their drummer, from whose blog Cosmic Hearse I have learned about a ton of great bands. I've never delved into Agalloch itself that much, however. The enormous amounts of praise this band has gotten made me almost certain I whould just feel disappointed. For this blog post I decided I'd finally give this record a shot -- that is the point, after all. Despite the fact that it is filed under Atmospheric Black Metal, a genre that more often than not bores me to tears. Indeed, this was not a mistake: the album provides a warm, folk-heavy metal record with plenty of atmosphere, but lacking the uneventful repeated riffage that marks a lot of Atmospheric Black Metal. The album is varied and dynamic; both the foreground and the atmosphere change over time, without feeling chaotic. Considering this seems to be written off as Agalloch's worst or second worst album, it might be time to try The Mantle or Ashes Against the Grain.
13. Deathspell Omega - Paracletus
Often hailed as one of (progressive) Black Metal's finest, Deathspell Omega was a must-hear band for me back in 2010. Although initially I liked it a lot, I can't say I fondly remember it.Which is surprising, now that I'm listening to it again: this album opens with Emperor-esque grandeur, before veering in and out of more progressive regions of metal. Compared to a lot of 'true' Black Metal, this record is overflowing with melody and complexity, while to Progressive Metal listeners this record will sound much, perhaps too much like Black Metal. It's a pretty adventurous record, but it does in the end meander a bit -- which may be why I didn't have such positive memories.
14. David Bowie - A Reality Tour
[live] This is a live album. I know a lot of people hail Bowie as the best thing since sliced bread, but I can't say I've ever gotten into it, so I haven't listened to this.
15. Various Artists - Whom the Moon a Nightsong Sings
Ah yes, this beautiful album cover. I really need to listen to this: a folk record by a bunch of bands, including Ulver and Dornenreich. I don't know most of the names that well, but this looks like a record combining songs of metal bands that have experimented with Dark Folk. If Dornenreich is any measure, it'll be fascinating.
16. Mono - Holy Ground: NYC Live With the Wordless Music Orchestra
[live] For a while, Mono was among my favourite Post-Rock bands, right next to Godspeed You! Black Emperor. That was a long time ago, but maybe I'll give this album a spin some time -- the orchestra could add a fascinating touch.
17. Joe Bonamassa - Live from the Royal Albert Hall
[live]
18. The Tallest Man on Earth - The Wild Hunt
I remember the hype surrounding this record. Listening to it now, it may just have been justified: active, energetic and intimate songs that shine in simplicity. Supposedly lyrical content is at the core of records like this -- which is probably why Singer/Songwriter and I tend to agree to disagree. Not so here; the tunes hold their own, and the voice of the singer (Kristian Matsson) is pretty intriguing. I'm pretty sure this album would be almost as good if the guy would just hum all the songs. Apparently this guy gets compared to Bob Dylan all the time. Far be it from me to dismiss that, but I'm not seeing it. Maybe because I only heard Blonde on Blonde, which hardly sounds like a Contemporary Folk album.
19. Transatlantic - Whirld Tour 2010 - Live From Shepherd's Bush Empire, London
[live]
20. iamamiwhoami - In Concert
[live] Well, this is a very unusual release. It's labelled as a live album, but it's actually more of an improvised piece of audiovisual art. I wonder what a proper release of this band (?) sounds like. Regardless, this is a very intriguing release. But there's also actually good music, which could pass for a pretty solid Electropop release. Watch the release here.
Thursday, April 11, 2013
Goodbye Mendeley
So I haven't written on this blog for more than a year. I won't make a habit of writing about work here. It's a personal thing, it has nothing to do with work. I'll make an exception this time though.
Based on rumors of an Elsevier takeover I started migrating my reference indexes from Mendeley to Zotero a while ago. Now that it has actually happened, I'm partly glad my time spent wasn't wasted. It is also somewhat sad to think the figurative cancer of academic research can use money to take over something as idealistic as Mendeley.
I think it's pretty clear from my post history on ResearchGate that I don't like Elsevier at all. For computer science, they're really not what they are (or at least seem to be) for other fields. Unfortunately, as a researcher you're stuck with where other people publish their work, so you do need access to the papers. But that's all I do with them. I try to avoid citing Elsevier papers, and I wouldn't submit or review a paper there. Thus it seems fitting I also don't use Mendeley.
Anyway, from a paper management point of view, "nothing of value was lost", as the internet says. Zotero is fantastic. So thank you, Elsevier, for making my life easier by forcing change upon me.
Based on rumors of an Elsevier takeover I started migrating my reference indexes from Mendeley to Zotero a while ago. Now that it has actually happened, I'm partly glad my time spent wasn't wasted. It is also somewhat sad to think the figurative cancer of academic research can use money to take over something as idealistic as Mendeley.
I think it's pretty clear from my post history on ResearchGate that I don't like Elsevier at all. For computer science, they're really not what they are (or at least seem to be) for other fields. Unfortunately, as a researcher you're stuck with where other people publish their work, so you do need access to the papers. But that's all I do with them. I try to avoid citing Elsevier papers, and I wouldn't submit or review a paper there. Thus it seems fitting I also don't use Mendeley.
Anyway, from a paper management point of view, "nothing of value was lost", as the internet says. Zotero is fantastic. So thank you, Elsevier, for making my life easier by forcing change upon me.
Tuesday, April 12, 2011
Apple AirPlay
Just a re-publication of this mail. Just in case.
Hi all,
VLC has had RAOP output for a while; is there interest in RAOP input as well?
I've extracted the Airport Express RSA private key that is necessary to implement this.
An example implementation is available at:
http://mafipulation.org/blagoblig/2011/04/08#shairport
The private key follows.
Regards,
James
-----BEGIN RSA PRIVATE KEY-----
MIIEpQIBAAKCAQEA59dE8qLieItsH1WgjrcFRKj6eUWqi+bGLOX1HL3U3GhC/j0Qg90u3sG/1CUt
wC5vOYvfDmFI6oSFXi5ELabWJmT2dKHzBJKa3k9ok+8t9ucRqMd6DZHJ2YCCLlDRKSKv6kDqnw4U
wPdpOMXziC/AMj3Z/lUVX1G7WSHCAWKf1zNS1eLvqr+boEjXuBOitnZ/bDzPHrTOZz0Dew0uowxf
/+sG+NCK3eQJVxqcaJ/vEHKIVd2M+5qL71yJQ+87X6oV3eaYvt3zWZYD6z5vYTcrtij2VZ9Zmni/
UAaHqn9JdsBWLUEpVviYnhimNVvYFZeCXg/IdTQ+x4IRdiXNv5hEewIDAQABAoIBAQDl8Axy9XfW
BLmkzkEiqoSwF0PsmVrPzH9KsnwLGH+QZlvjWd8SWYGN7u1507HvhF5N3drJoVU3O14nDY4TFQAa
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aaA/L0HIgAmOit1GJA2saMxTVPNhAoGBAPfgv1oeZxgxmotiCcMXFEQEWflzhWYTsXrhUIuz5jFu
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k5DKzJrKuO0r+R0YbY9pZD1+/g9dVt91d6LQNepUE/yY2PP5CNoFmjedpLHMOPFdVgqDzDFxU8hL
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17fegFPMwOII8MisYm9ZfT2Z0s5Ro3s5rkt+nvLAdfC/PYPKzTLalpGSwomSNYJcB9HNMlmhkGzc
1JnLYT4iyUyx6pcZBmCd8bD0iwY/FzcgNDaUmbX9+XDvRA0CgYEAkE7pIPlE71qvfJQgoA9em0gI
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2gG0N5hvJpzwwhbhXqFKA4zaaSrw622wDniAK5MlIE0tIAKKP4yxNGjoD2QYjhBGuhvkWKaXTyY=
-----END RSA PRIVATE KEY-----
Hi all,
VLC has had RAOP output for a while; is there interest in RAOP input as well?
I've extracted the Airport Express RSA private key that is necessary to implement this.
An example implementation is available at:
http://mafipulation.org/blagoblig/2011/04/08#shairport
The private key follows.
Regards,
James
-----BEGIN RSA PRIVATE KEY-----
MIIEpQIBAAKCAQEA59dE8qLieItsH1WgjrcFRKj6eUWqi+bGLOX1HL3U3GhC/j0Qg90u3sG/1CUt
wC5vOYvfDmFI6oSFXi5ELabWJmT2dKHzBJKa3k9ok+8t9ucRqMd6DZHJ2YCCLlDRKSKv6kDqnw4U
wPdpOMXziC/AMj3Z/lUVX1G7WSHCAWKf1zNS1eLvqr+boEjXuBOitnZ/bDzPHrTOZz0Dew0uowxf
/+sG+NCK3eQJVxqcaJ/vEHKIVd2M+5qL71yJQ+87X6oV3eaYvt3zWZYD6z5vYTcrtij2VZ9Zmni/
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NtD6nL1ZKauw7aNXmVAvmJTcuPxWmoktF3gDJKK2wxZuNGcJE0uFQEG4Z3BrWP7yoNuSK3dii2jm
lpPHr0O/KnPQtzI3eguhe0TwUem/eYSdyzMyVx/YpwkzwtYL3sR5k0o9rKQLtvLzfAqdBxBurciz
aaA/L0HIgAmOit1GJA2saMxTVPNhAoGBAPfgv1oeZxgxmotiCcMXFEQEWflzhWYTsXrhUIuz5jFu
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AoGBANDrr7xAJbqBjHVwIzQ4To9pb4BNeqDndk5Qe7fT3+/H1njGaC0/rXE0Qb7q5ySgnsCb3DvA
cJyRM9SJ7OKlGt0FMSdJD5KG0XPIpAVNwgpXXH5MDJg09KHeh0kXo+QA6viFBi21y340NonnEfdf
54PX4ZGS/Xac1UK+pLkBB+zRAoGAf0AY3H3qKS2lMEI4bzEFoHeK3G895pDaK3TFBVmD7fV0Zhov
17fegFPMwOII8MisYm9ZfT2Z0s5Ro3s5rkt+nvLAdfC/PYPKzTLalpGSwomSNYJcB9HNMlmhkGzc
1JnLYT4iyUyx6pcZBmCd8bD0iwY/FzcgNDaUmbX9+XDvRA0CgYEAkE7pIPlE71qvfJQgoA9em0gI
LAuE4Pu13aKiJnfft7hIjbK+5kyb3TysZvoyDnb3HOKvInK7vXbKuU4ISgxB2bB3HcYzQMGsz1qJ
2gG0N5hvJpzwwhbhXqFKA4zaaSrw622wDniAK5MlIE0tIAKKP4yxNGjoD2QYjhBGuhvkWKaXTyY=
-----END RSA PRIVATE KEY-----
Sunday, March 13, 2011
Hardware
Don't you just hate it?
My hardware broke yesterday, so now I'm writing and running from my laptop. Hell, maybe now I'll waste less time playing Doom and more time writing blogposts. Good for you.
My hardware broke yesterday, so now I'm writing and running from my laptop. Hell, maybe now I'll waste less time playing Doom and more time writing blogposts. Good for you.
Friday, March 11, 2011
Earthquakes
So yeah, even though this blog is supposed to be dead, here's one post of good luck to the Japanese people. May they survive their earthquake and subsequent tsunami.
Thank $deity that the nuclear plant(s) were not damaged or leaking radiation.
Thank $deity that the nuclear plant(s) were not damaged or leaking radiation.
Saturday, February 12, 2011
AFK, KTHXBAI
Hi,
As another weekend arrives, I again do not have time to make an extensive post. That said, I leave you with the following:
NEW DORNENREICH!
Also, I will be spending most of today coding on portunes.
As another weekend arrives, I again do not have time to make an extensive post. That said, I leave you with the following:
NEW DORNENREICH!
Also, I will be spending most of today coding on portunes.
Saturday, January 29, 2011
listening in 2011; January 29th.
Howdy. Time for new music!
Here's a pleasant surprise from chillwave artist MillionYoung. As with most chillwave artists, I'm not familiar with this guy's previous work, but the tracks off this album on HYPEM suggest I should.
Next is a rather odd track by an (apparently) French duo titled Slippery Slope. The single, Too Insistent (RYM) is also pretty good.
Beatdown hardcore. An appropriate moment for live samples (also, their quality is decent and I couldn't be arsed to find anything else). Fucking want. The crowd looks kind of bored, though.
Next, indie pop fans will want to check out Gimme Some by Peter Bjorn and John. Second Chance is a pretty catchy song, and though it doesn't make me personally want to hear the album badly, I can imagine the indie crowd drooling over this. Also, cool album cover;
The Go! Team has a two-song single (RYM) out. The songs, Buy Nothing Day and I'm Not Satisfied are on HYPEM. I blogged about these guys previously; I wasn't excited then, and I'm not now, so I'll give the album a no-thanks.
Overall, some pretty good stuff seems to (be) com(e/ing) out this year! Time to go listen to MillionYoung. I think I'm going to do a first-impression-review.
Here's a pleasant surprise from chillwave artist MillionYoung. As with most chillwave artists, I'm not familiar with this guy's previous work, but the tracks off this album on HYPEM suggest I should.
Next is a rather odd track by an (apparently) French duo titled Slippery Slope. The single, Too Insistent (RYM) is also pretty good.
Beatdown hardcore. An appropriate moment for live samples (also, their quality is decent and I couldn't be arsed to find anything else). Fucking want. The crowd looks kind of bored, though.
Next, indie pop fans will want to check out Gimme Some by Peter Bjorn and John. Second Chance is a pretty catchy song, and though it doesn't make me personally want to hear the album badly, I can imagine the indie crowd drooling over this. Also, cool album cover;
The Go! Team has a two-song single (RYM) out. The songs, Buy Nothing Day and I'm Not Satisfied are on HYPEM. I blogged about these guys previously; I wasn't excited then, and I'm not now, so I'll give the album a no-thanks.
Overall, some pretty good stuff seems to (be) com(e/ing) out this year! Time to go listen to MillionYoung. I think I'm going to do a first-impression-review.
listening in 2011; 28 & 29 January
Hi folks.
Yesterday, I didn't really hear anything interesting, but I found it worth mentioning that tracks off the new Belphegor album, Blook Magick Necromance were rather disappointing. These guys kicked some ass back when I was a young metal kid attending my first festival (even though I ended up missing Kataklysm to see them)! However, this just doesn't have the power I expected it to have.
Now, on to good music.
Monumental Torment is apparently a new technical death metal band, and this is their debut. Judging from Element of Chaos and Seek To Destroy, they really know their scene. Actually, not really; they seem to be moving to a somewhat math-y sound, compared to generic technical death.
Many will probably pass this off as guitar wanking, but I've never cared much for that before, and I wont now. I do hope that the album as a whole will contain some changes of pace (it does seem to have some song(s) with calmer passages).
A lot of death metal (in general, but the technical subgenre in particular) suffers from the faster-is-better paradigm. While it applies to some extent, playing only at high speed is just boring, similar to listening to the same speedcore sample for several minutes.
Off to different territory, Curren$y put out a new mixtape (don't ask me why they're listed under compilations on RYM). Record Deals has a nice beat, but it's rather lengthy. Similar issues arise with Frost; the sound is okay, but the rest is kind of boring.
Minks - By The Hedge is the final album for this post; this seems to be one of those albums that just kind of drifts besides you in your speakers. Though, not quite; there are some more upbeat tunes, too.HYPEM has a bunch of songs. Go listen for yourself.
Good night!
note: unlike usually, I will now make new posts instead of appending to old ones.
Yesterday, I didn't really hear anything interesting, but I found it worth mentioning that tracks off the new Belphegor album, Blook Magick Necromance were rather disappointing. These guys kicked some ass back when I was a young metal kid attending my first festival (even though I ended up missing Kataklysm to see them)! However, this just doesn't have the power I expected it to have.
Now, on to good music.
Monumental Torment is apparently a new technical death metal band, and this is their debut. Judging from Element of Chaos and Seek To Destroy, they really know their scene. Actually, not really; they seem to be moving to a somewhat math-y sound, compared to generic technical death.
Many will probably pass this off as guitar wanking, but I've never cared much for that before, and I wont now. I do hope that the album as a whole will contain some changes of pace (it does seem to have some song(s) with calmer passages).
A lot of death metal (in general, but the technical subgenre in particular) suffers from the faster-is-better paradigm. While it applies to some extent, playing only at high speed is just boring, similar to listening to the same speedcore sample for several minutes.
Off to different territory, Curren$y put out a new mixtape (don't ask me why they're listed under compilations on RYM). Record Deals has a nice beat, but it's rather lengthy. Similar issues arise with Frost; the sound is okay, but the rest is kind of boring.
Minks - By The Hedge is the final album for this post; this seems to be one of those albums that just kind of drifts besides you in your speakers. Though, not quite; there are some more upbeat tunes, too.HYPEM has a bunch of songs. Go listen for yourself.
Good night!
note: unlike usually, I will now make new posts instead of appending to old ones.
Sunday, January 23, 2011
listening in 2011; January 23rd
Huh, wow. Just, wow. This caught me by surprise. Check out this track by Israeli metal band called Arafel, Sword's Hymn, the first track off their album, For Battles Once Fought. Sounds promising!
The new album by semi-legendary post-rock band Mogwai, Hardcore Will Never Die, But You Will, has been gaining significant hype all over the web. If you think songs like San Pedro really qualify as post-rock, anyway (you can hear some on HYPEM). Personally I'm kind of indifferent about it.
For those of you who enjoy black metal, Helrunar is putting out a new (double!) album, titled Sól. You can hear the first three tracks off the first disc here (the first track is an intro). Given this alone, I must say there isn't much new here. Melodic bits, atmospheric bits, reasonable vocals, but nothing really standing out. More importantly, nothing I can listen to for two album lengths. If you dig this kind of stuff though, by all means, go for it.
And the last for now is Hard Times and Nursery Rhymes by Social Distortion. Though this is apparently a band with some punk history, this is just straight-up rock. Good stuff, though. Machine Gun Blues and Can't Take It With You are pretty good songs.
Saturday, January 22, 2011
listening in 2011; 22 January
Hi there,
This post sort of continues from last Thursday; except I'm going to look at the 2011 - everything chart from now on; this chart includes singles, EPs and other stuff, though I'll probably ignore videos and bootlegs.
Anyway, there's a bunch of 'yeah... not for me' material here now; a single from the Kanye album, which turned out to be a good song except for, you know, Kanye (listen for yourself).
Moving on, we see Nicolas Jaar with Space Is Only Noise, which I think is microhouse. A truckload of samples, vocals here and there. HYPEM has a few tracks. Again, not really for me.
Cut Copy with their album Zonoscope is up next. They must get calls from the 80s all day, asking for their sound back, but the songs themselves aren't exactly bad. It just sounds kinda dated. Take your shot of nostaliga here.
Stratovarius is also still putting out albums; is their 2011 offering. I have my doubts about these guys (and power metal in general), but Darkest Hours and Under Flaming Skies sound great! The production is relatively heavy, but they're getting no complaints from me. A pleasant surprise!
Last, Adele has a new single, Rolling In the Deep, which is quite pleasant.
This post sort of continues from last Thursday; except I'm going to look at the 2011 - everything chart from now on; this chart includes singles, EPs and other stuff, though I'll probably ignore videos and bootlegs.
Anyway, there's a bunch of 'yeah... not for me' material here now; a single from the Kanye album, which turned out to be a good song except for, you know, Kanye (listen for yourself).
Moving on, we see Nicolas Jaar with Space Is Only Noise, which I think is microhouse. A truckload of samples, vocals here and there. HYPEM has a few tracks. Again, not really for me.
Cut Copy with their album Zonoscope is up next. They must get calls from the 80s all day, asking for their sound back, but the songs themselves aren't exactly bad. It just sounds kinda dated. Take your shot of nostaliga here.
Stratovarius is also still putting out albums; is their 2011 offering. I have my doubts about these guys (and power metal in general), but Darkest Hours and Under Flaming Skies sound great! The production is relatively heavy, but they're getting no complaints from me. A pleasant surprise!
Last, Adele has a new single, Rolling In the Deep, which is quite pleasant.
Destroyer - Kaputt
Psst! guess what! HYPEM has the album Kaputt by Destroyer as a preview! You can hear it here. It's pretty damn good. Go listen to it.
(this album was previously mentioned here and also covered by theneedledrop).
(this album was previously mentioned here and also covered by theneedledrop).
Thursday, January 20, 2011
listening to 2011; January 20
Hi,
So it turns out RYM's charts only update bi-weekly. I've been busy studying anyway. Now it's time for a break. Lets have a quick look at the new charts. First thing noticed: damn, it already went over five hundred rated albums. That's quick.
Anyway, here's the top five (from 1 to 5). Lots of metal. Approve.
this track from Mitochondrion - Parasignosis sounds promising.
New Ulcerate! I'd already wishlisted this after their previous album as well as an excellent live performance.
Falkenbach is a band I've heard of, but never really bothered to check out. This track from Falkenbach - Tiurida doesn't give me any reason to do so now. Check it if you're into folk metal, though.
New Earth! Truthfully, I've never looked at the band much beyond their debut, Earth 2. Looks like this will make me regret it.
Destroyer - Kaputt was already mentioned here.
So it turns out RYM's charts only update bi-weekly. I've been busy studying anyway. Now it's time for a break. Lets have a quick look at the new charts. First thing noticed: damn, it already went over five hundred rated albums. That's quick.
Anyway, here's the top five (from 1 to 5). Lots of metal. Approve.
this track from Mitochondrion - Parasignosis sounds promising.
New Ulcerate! I'd already wishlisted this after their previous album as well as an excellent live performance.
Falkenbach is a band I've heard of, but never really bothered to check out. This track from Falkenbach - Tiurida doesn't give me any reason to do so now. Check it if you're into folk metal, though.
New Earth! Truthfully, I've never looked at the band much beyond their debut, Earth 2. Looks like this will make me regret it.
Destroyer - Kaputt was already mentioned here.
Wednesday, January 12, 2011
Univers Zéro - Clivages
A very impressive release with an insane amount of intense moments and western classical music styled grandness. Seriously. This is, HUGE. You thought Boris sounded huge? Sure, they may have bigger guitars, but the sheer atmosphere and scale of this album surpass almost anything I've heard.
That said, this album also suffers from being stretched. After 'Straight Edge', one of the most epic hi-lights off the album, finishes, it kinda feels like the album ends. There are more such moments that augment the intense and epic hugeness of 'Warrior' and 'Straight Edge' with calm music. While this works, I think there's a little too much of it.
So in conclusion, this album is great. Maybe a little too great, even. But definitely worth a listen. I could see the average 'open-minded' metal fan enjoy this, in particular (apart from fans of this genre, of course).
Sunday, January 9, 2011
listening in 2011: Sunday 9 January
Hi again. This blog continues from 'yesterday' (= before 0:00).
The Cave Singers - No Witch. This is decent. HYPEM has some tracks. Maybe you'll dig it. Vaguely bluesy, kinda folky. Name reminded me of our ol' buddy Nick Cave.
Braids - Native Speaker
This sounds intriguing. It's also getting hype. I can see why. Can you? HYPEM will help you determine that.
James Blake - James Blake
HYPEM. Gotta hear more of this; Limit to Your Love is pretty awesome, but looking at the RYM reviews I think it doesn't cover the style of the whole album.
The Go! Team - Rolling Bloackouts offers some up-beat mixture of electronic and rock music. It's kinda loud, though. Could use some work on the production side of things.
The Decemberists - The King is Dead is an album that probably isn't for me. But even so, the songs are impressive. Down by The Water (hypem) is particularly interesting (more @ HYPEM).
Destroyer - Kaputt (HYPEM)
Well, this is new. I've never heard of 'Sophisti-Pop' before, but apparently it's a Jazz and Soul influenced pop genre. It kinda sounds like the 80s. The jazz is kinda in the background, while in the foreground we find calm, slightly dreamy vocals, backed by a very solid rhythm section. I wanna hear more!
EPs
Dimlite - My Human Wears Acedia Shreds can be heard on bandcamp. Kinda glitchy, hip hop-esque. Decent.
Hammock - Longest Year: well, here's some post rock for ya. Actually, it borders on ambient music; you can barely make out the guitars. Check Longest Year (youtube). I'm not a post-rock fan (not anymore, anyway), but this is worth checking out.
The Cave Singers - No Witch. This is decent. HYPEM has some tracks. Maybe you'll dig it. Vaguely bluesy, kinda folky. Name reminded me of our ol' buddy Nick Cave.
Braids - Native Speaker
This sounds intriguing. It's also getting hype. I can see why. Can you? HYPEM will help you determine that.
James Blake - James Blake
HYPEM. Gotta hear more of this; Limit to Your Love is pretty awesome, but looking at the RYM reviews I think it doesn't cover the style of the whole album.
The Go! Team - Rolling Bloackouts offers some up-beat mixture of electronic and rock music. It's kinda loud, though. Could use some work on the production side of things.
The Decemberists - The King is Dead is an album that probably isn't for me. But even so, the songs are impressive. Down by The Water (hypem) is particularly interesting (more @ HYPEM).
Destroyer - Kaputt (HYPEM)
Well, this is new. I've never heard of 'Sophisti-Pop' before, but apparently it's a Jazz and Soul influenced pop genre. It kinda sounds like the 80s. The jazz is kinda in the background, while in the foreground we find calm, slightly dreamy vocals, backed by a very solid rhythm section. I wanna hear more!
EPs
Dimlite - My Human Wears Acedia Shreds can be heard on bandcamp. Kinda glitchy, hip hop-esque. Decent.
Hammock - Longest Year: well, here's some post rock for ya. Actually, it borders on ambient music; you can barely make out the guitars. Check Longest Year (youtube). I'm not a post-rock fan (not anymore, anyway), but this is worth checking out.
Saturday, January 8, 2011
listening to 2011: wishlists & ignores: Saturday 8 January
I'm going to try out doing this kind of posting every weekend day (assuming I'm not too busy). Why? Well, I feel I should listen to a whole album in order to rate it, and listening to many, many full albums doesn't work. This is an intermediate solution: check out some songs, then wishlist or note them here (or ignore them). Ignores will be labeled on RYM. I wont write about them unless there's a good reason to do so.
This weeks' postings will be kinda full, since there are a lot of albums coming up and I haven't looked at 2011 much except for this post. I'm using this RYM custom chart as a reference (its updated once every X, I think X=1 week). Currently I'm trying to check everything in the top 25 and everything coming out in January.
Now, on to music. First off, handle what I've already checked today. First the 'decent, but...' things. Then some wishlist-worthy stuff (marked by the use of an image). And then more (note: there is one slightly NSFW cover).
Quintessence Mystica - The 5th Harmonic of Death was decent, but not really my thing. Listen to it if you're into symphonic black metal, though (spotify has it)!
Earthship - Exit Eden has some sludgy goodies, but doesn't really deliver much more than familiarity.
Over the Rhine - The Long Surrender may appear on the wishlist later. HYPEM has the song The King Knows How.
The Dark Water Hymnal - Collapse the Structure has some decent pop tunes; Chandeliers and Center of The Spark (both myspace).
The Carrier - Blind to What is Right delivers some melodic hardcore: myspace has the title track. Maybe I'll look some more into this later.
The U.V. Race - Homo (no cover at RYM), via two songs: Lost My Way (myspace) and Burn That Cat (youtube); apparently there's also a cassette version (cover pictured).
Fujiya & Miyagi - Ventriloquizzing
Intresting stuff. Four tracks (Minestrone, Tinsel & Glitter, Yoyo, Sixteen Shades of Black and Blue) are on HYPEM. There you can also find older tracks.
Universum - Mortuus Machina is solid melodic death metal, by the sound of this song anyway. Christian Älvestam does something on this track (presumably vocals). Wikipedia says he's known from Scar Symmetry.
Young Prisms - Friends for Now
You dig yourself some shoegaze? Some Neo-Psychedelia? You'll probably want this on your wishlist, then. HYPEM has four tracks (I Don't Get Much, Sugar, Eneli, Feel Fine).
Monster Rally - Coral. I hereby predict a massive shitstorm of hype around this album. This is something I would see music websites like pitchfork shitting themselves over.
Drive-By Truckers - Go-Go Boots. This sounds kinda like Kings of Leon (on Because of The Times), judging from one of the singles, Used to Be a Cop (youtube).
Isolée - Well Spent Youth
Microhouse, eh? I think I'm finally starting to see the differences between it and Minimal Techno. Anyway, HYPEM has some tunes (note their search fails; a properly spelled Isolée gives no relevant results).
Macabre - Grim Scary Tales: hey, guess what, these suckers are still around. I remember when I was a good ol' metal kid and first heard Dahmer (ages after it came out, of course, but still). It was hell-a funny, with that humour and that sick vocal style no other band had. Now, that still applies, but its kinda annoying too. This release seems to mark less deathgrind, more actual songs and some with clean vocals (Nero's Inferno), as well as their trademark style(Locusta).
This weeks' postings will be kinda full, since there are a lot of albums coming up and I haven't looked at 2011 much except for this post. I'm using this RYM custom chart as a reference (its updated once every X, I think X=1 week). Currently I'm trying to check everything in the top 25 and everything coming out in January.
Now, on to music. First off, handle what I've already checked today. First the 'decent, but...' things. Then some wishlist-worthy stuff (marked by the use of an image). And then more (note: there is one slightly NSFW cover).
Quintessence Mystica - The 5th Harmonic of Death was decent, but not really my thing. Listen to it if you're into symphonic black metal, though (spotify has it)!
Earthship - Exit Eden has some sludgy goodies, but doesn't really deliver much more than familiarity.
Over the Rhine - The Long Surrender may appear on the wishlist later. HYPEM has the song The King Knows How.
The Dark Water Hymnal - Collapse the Structure has some decent pop tunes; Chandeliers and Center of The Spark (both myspace).
The Carrier - Blind to What is Right delivers some melodic hardcore: myspace has the title track. Maybe I'll look some more into this later.
The U.V. Race - Homo (no cover at RYM), via two songs: Lost My Way (myspace) and Burn That Cat (youtube); apparently there's also a cassette version (cover pictured).
Fujiya & Miyagi - Ventriloquizzing
Intresting stuff. Four tracks (Minestrone, Tinsel & Glitter, Yoyo, Sixteen Shades of Black and Blue) are on HYPEM. There you can also find older tracks.
Universum - Mortuus Machina is solid melodic death metal, by the sound of this song anyway. Christian Älvestam does something on this track (presumably vocals). Wikipedia says he's known from Scar Symmetry.
Young Prisms - Friends for Now
You dig yourself some shoegaze? Some Neo-Psychedelia? You'll probably want this on your wishlist, then. HYPEM has four tracks (I Don't Get Much, Sugar, Eneli, Feel Fine).
Monster Rally - Coral. I hereby predict a massive shitstorm of hype around this album. This is something I would see music websites like pitchfork shitting themselves over.
Drive-By Truckers - Go-Go Boots. This sounds kinda like Kings of Leon (on Because of The Times), judging from one of the singles, Used to Be a Cop (youtube).
Isolée - Well Spent Youth
Microhouse, eh? I think I'm finally starting to see the differences between it and Minimal Techno. Anyway, HYPEM has some tunes (note their search fails; a properly spelled Isolée gives no relevant results).
Macabre - Grim Scary Tales: hey, guess what, these suckers are still around. I remember when I was a good ol' metal kid and first heard Dahmer (ages after it came out, of course, but still). It was hell-a funny, with that humour and that sick vocal style no other band had. Now, that still applies, but its kinda annoying too. This release seems to mark less deathgrind, more actual songs and some with clean vocals (Nero's Inferno), as well as their trademark style(Locusta).
DK - Fresh Fruit for Rotting Vegitables
Note: this is a review-during-first-listen. You should try making one. Its fun.
So here we go. I've been forgetting about DK for a little while. Maybe too long. I recently heard Plastic Surgery Disasters / In God We Trust, Inc. again (which just contains the album and the EP), so I figured I would try their other 'landmark album'. Most of what I heard so far is decent... but what lacks is DK's touch for good songs. Sure, the lyrics are probably good - I'm not that good at making them out, but the titles speak for themselves.
California Über Alles is a great song (fuck you jello, for fucking pronouncing Über wrong). After that, things seem to go back to the hardcore/punk mixture we're used to hearing from DK. Sure, it's entertaining, but it doesn't have that edge to make it a great album.
My conclusion? Go with Plastic Surgery Disasters / In God We Trust, Inc. first. If you want to hear something like the EP, though a little calmer and (imho) less lyrically interesting, go for this. But, you need to hear California Über Alles, just like you need to hear Nazi Punks Fuck Off (and the Napalm Death cover)!
So here we go. I've been forgetting about DK for a little while. Maybe too long. I recently heard Plastic Surgery Disasters / In God We Trust, Inc. again (which just contains the album and the EP), so I figured I would try their other 'landmark album'. Most of what I heard so far is decent... but what lacks is DK's touch for good songs. Sure, the lyrics are probably good - I'm not that good at making them out, but the titles speak for themselves.
California Über Alles is a great song (fuck you jello, for fucking pronouncing Über wrong). After that, things seem to go back to the hardcore/punk mixture we're used to hearing from DK. Sure, it's entertaining, but it doesn't have that edge to make it a great album.
My conclusion? Go with Plastic Surgery Disasters / In God We Trust, Inc. first. If you want to hear something like the EP, though a little calmer and (imho) less lyrically interesting, go for this. But, you need to hear California Über Alles, just like you need to hear Nazi Punks Fuck Off (and the Napalm Death cover)!
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