Sony euthanizes Sony Connect

So long Sony Connect, we hardly knew ye. I don't even use iTunes, so truthfully I've never come close to checking out Connect. I'm also not fond of content being locked down into a particular format that can only be played on a particular player. MP3 might not be technically the best, but man, I can play them on my grill if I need to.

This story from Arstechnica discusses some of the challenges facing Connect customers.

Sony's love for proprietary formats and desire to create a closed music-hardware ecosystem à la Apple did it in. Its insistence on sticking with a proprietary format supported only by its own digital audio players garnered little love from consumers distracted not only by the iPod, but by the large number of WMA-compatible PlaysForSure devices.

Sony has posted a Connect Music Service Phase Out FAQ, which offers technical guidance to those who purchased music from Sony's online story. Sony's SonicStage software and older hardware will continue to support ATRAC, but the company says that those who purchased DRMed ATRAC content should rip the music to CD and then re-rip it to MP3 if they want it to play on the new Walkmans. Sony also notes that consumers will be able to continue to use the music in their SonicStage libraries and on players supporting ATRAC after Sony Connect closes. The Connect eBook service will continue to operate after the music store closes.

At least Sony will continue to support DRMed music sold through Sony Connect. When Google decided to close the virtual doors to the Google Video Store earlier this month, the search giant informed its customers that the closure would render the videos unplayable, offering them a Google Checkout credit in lieu of an actual refund instead. After heavy criticism, the company then had a change of heart, promising to issue refunds for purchased videos along with the Google Checkout credits. That's one of the dangers of DRMed content—if the company behind it decides to get out of the business, you may be left unable to view or listen to your content.

That and this quote from the Digg story is just plain fun.

If a music store closes on the Internet and nobody hears it, does it make a sound? Sony has decided that it wasn't cut out for the online music business after all.

read more | digg story

The Perfect iTunes EQ Settings! ... ... ... or not ...

I'm rocking the Grey Album right now. It's a fun one to keep coming back to, as it's just really well done, and really raises the bar for mashups. That and being as handi-cappable as I am I never realized track 11 was supposed to be reversed.

*sigh*

Anywho, this story, linked to on 43 folders (where I caught it first), has been floating around about building the perfect EQ setting for listening to music in iTunes.

Open the equalizer, and from the pop-up menu, select “Make Preset.”
Call it “Perfect,” because it is, and set the following levels, from
left to right (skip the Preamp section):
db +3, +6, +9, +7, +6, +5, +7, +9, +11, +8 db

Which looks like this:


Which I get, as supposedly MP3 strips info out of your music, specifically really high, and really low pitched noises. The reason being that we shouldn't be able to hear those noises, but I believe they do affect the sounds we can hear. The smaller the file (or lower the bitrate) the MORE information is cut out.

Well this post over at Idolator has a really well written response to the "smiley face" EQ setting:

"The perfect setting equals no setting, just good quality rips and good speakers. People work HARD to get stuff sounding the way that they want it to--we don't just mix any way we want. I think bass and treble knobs are plenty. Put it this way: If you don't like the colors in a movie, you don't adjust the tint in your TV. You just don't like the color. It's not totally analogous, but it's the choice of the director--or the musical artist--however misguided, to make that sound the way it is. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. Admittedly not all speakers are made the same, so compensations can be made. But a perfect setting--theoretically--is a flat one."

Which looks like, well, this:


Now this is major! If you dont go slumming with really low quality mp3's (so you can fit more songs on your 80GB ipods), then you shouldn't really need EQ per se, that is if you're interested in the sounds that the musicians intended for you to hear. I tend to rip to 320Kbps, with high quality (read slow) and with a really high thread priority on CDex. I've never had any issues listening on my Senny CX300's, and I do tend to leave the EQ flat...

Here's the 43Folders Story I found.

Here's Idolator's response.




It still really bothers me that people try to measure mp3 players by number of songs. That measurement is usually derived by squashing music to within an inch of its life.
I mean the first ipod had a 5GB hard drive and held "1000 songs". By comparison, today's 4GB Nano holds (wait for it ... wait for it) "1000 songs"!?!?!?
Even though it's 20% smaller??? What happened with that extra gigabyte of space???

*Sheesh*

Awesome Old Music Video: The English Beat

Ya know, sometimes I think we really take this internet of ours for granted.

It's 11pm. I'm not quite ready for bed, and I'm bored. That's not a great combination.
Just for kicks I pull up Youtube and punch in the name of my favorite band, The English Beat. Truth be told I'm just young enough that I've NEVER seen ANY of their videos (though I own all of their music).
It's kind of incredible that with out this technological monstrosity that we've created, I probably never would've seen this, an old video cassette rotting away in someones attic...



Sure it's a little goofy, the dancing is a really weak, almost Pinocchio style 80's skank, and it's pretty raw, but I love this band. Now I love them a little bit more.

You'll remember this song from the kick-ass kickboxing scene from Gross Pointe Blank (easily one of the TOP 5 BEST FIGHT SCENES OF ALL TIME!!!), so enjoy!



Heh-heh "Thanks for the pen" ... Priceless...

UnHelpful Robot is now MULTI-Format!!!

Yup.

You now have a variety!

Download UR in High Quality WAV

Download UR in Medium Quality MP3

Download UR in Low Quality WAV

Download UR in AMR

And again, here's a good link for people that are having questions on how to put ringtones on their phones.

Lemme know what you think, and please feel free to pass these along.

Enjoy!


***Update 8/25/08***

Recently I've been using Ventones to get ringtones and alerts on my friends cellphones.
It's the first service I've found that plays well with most cell carriers (even Verizon Woot!), and it's pretty easy to use.

One of My Friends is a Bert Fershner!

Have you ever, say, known someone for a little while (almost two years), and then suddenly find out that they just happened to belong to one of your favorite sketch comedy troupes of all time, and you just didn't notice.

It can really put you on edge, lemme tell you.

Well turns out that my pal Mike Rock, whom I've been working with through the agency for the last two years, and can be heard on the Kleenex commercial with the monk , is a Bert Fershner. That is awesome.

This clip of theirs is from the 1996 Aspen Comedy Festival, and being one of my favorite sketches, I've been able to recite this from memory for over 10 years.




You can check out more of their videos here.

Enjoy!


Mike's the one on the far left in gray btw...

The Hipster Olympics

Funny vid sent in from a friend. The concept isn't really that new or anything, but what really sells it for me are the over the top MXC style Announcers.



I think Hipsters are the new Hippies...

Did you hear? The iPhone was unlocked!

So I must be a huge geek! Yup, HUGE!
By week's end I had received almost two dozen emails about the iPhone being unlocked. Even my Mom. Yup Mother AudioGuy herself passed the story up to me, so I can't even use the "My mom thinks I'm cool" joke anymore because... clearly she doesn't.

With all the attention I couldn't help but post this pic from the Herald Sun, taken from one of the headlines surrounding the triumphant deed.

First off I just feel for the kid, as he looks exactly how I'd picture the unlocker of the iPhone to look. I mean bad lighting aside, the pic does scream "Keymaster Of Gozer" right? But, what really got me was the headline its self. Let's play a game of "What's wrong with this headline?".



Click on the pic to play!

Mic Port Pro Shipping Now, Mobile Podcasters Rejoice!

XLR Port?
Check!
Phantom Power?
Check!
USB Connectivity?
Check!
Direct Headphone Port?
Check!
Hardware Gain Control?
Check!
Reasonable Price?
Check!

Well I think that just about covers it. If you've read here I'm not a big fan of USB Microphones. I kinda lump them in with TV/VCR combo sets. They get the job done, but if one piece breaks...

Even though it cuts down on mobility I still tend to recommend separate sound card and mic combinations.

Well the mic port pro should help with this.



Yup that's it.

So if you need all of the above, have about $130 to spend, and need to be traveling light, this looks like the solution for you.




Product Page @ CEntrance

Powered by ScribeFire.

Update to Unhelpful Robot: Now in .WAV!

Hey,
Got a couple request from people about putting U.R. in .wav files instead of mp3.
I left them in 16 bit, so the files are a little bigger, but should sound pretty good.

I'm trying to figure out which other formats I can convert into now (AMR, WTF), so if your phone doesn't support mp3 or wav, it might work with something else.

UNHELPFUL ROBOT IN MP3

UNHELPFUL ROBOT IN WAV

And if you are having trouble getting ringtones on your phone, ABOUT.com has a great primer on each of the major cellphone makers (Nokia, Motorola, etc) and how to get files transfered to them.

About.com Cellphone Primer


***Update 8/25/08***

Recently I've been using Ventones to get ringtones and alerts on my friends cellphones.
It's the first service I've found that plays well with most cell carriers (even Verizon Woot!), and it's pretty easy to use.

BioShock Orchestral Score Free Download

You can download the music from the game. Nice.

"Need something to listen to as you wade through more BioShock news? 2K Games community manager Elizabeth Tobey alerts us that Garry Schyman's BioShock orchestral score is now available as a free download.

The 12-track compilation can be harvested on the Cult of Rapture website. Give it a listen, and let the sounds of Rapture slowly wash away the pain of SecuROM."

Check it out! I'm downloading it now!

read more | digg story

Free Ringtones and Alerts: UnHelpful RoBot!!!

So I finally finished the editing for my UnHelpful Robot series of ringtones and alerts. I designed the alerts around my Windows Mobile phone, so there might be some alerts in here which only work for the features of a WM phone, and I might be missing alerts for other types of phones.

My general inspiration for U.R. comes from classic "evil" sci-fi computers. They always seemed to deliver vital information just a split second too late for the villain to do anything about it. Almost as if they had their own nefarious goals to fulfill.
A perfect example would be the Nod Computer from C&C. It always seemed to let me know one of my units was under attack just after it was to late to save them.

So anywho, please download these ringtones and alerts, give em a spin, and let me know what you think. The link contains a zip file with over 27 individual files, each a 128Kbps MP3.

DOWNLOAD UNHELPFUL ROBOT HERE

Don't hear what you need?
Would you like to customize U.R.'s alerts?
Would you like to hear U.R. say "I'm a big fat doody head"?
U.R. will say anything you want for $1.99 per ring tone/alert. Contact me at SomeAudioGuy@gmail.com for more info.

ENJOY!


***Update 8/25/08***

Recently I've been using Ventones to get ringtones and alerts on my friends cellphones.
It's the first service I've found that plays well with most cell carriers (even Verizon Woot!), and it's pretty easy to use.

Finnish Cover of YMCA: I Have Some Sick Friends...

Just sent to me from one of my more twisted pals.



I'm so sorry you had to see that...

Powered by ScribeFire.

Collection of Bad Voice Acting in Video Games, WITH SAMPLES!

Ok,
If you've read through this blog, you should know I have a near fetish level obsession with session outtakes/celeb flipouts and bad videogame voice acting. To be fair, I enjoy the former and hate the latter, but an obsession is an obsession.

Well, apparently someone else shares my obsession with bad videogame writing/voice acting.



Currently their index has a collection of 54 games, and each has several samples to boot. Some of this is just "bad", but there are a few gems that are "all-that-is-farggin-holy-awful". I wont tell you which, hunting is half the fun.

AUDIO ATROCITIES

Powered by ScribeFire.

BlogMusik is Back with Legal Free Music on Demand

BlogMusik will announce tomorrow that they came to an agreement with the SACEM, clearing the service of copyright infrigement accusations. BlogMusik is a service started in France that lets you search for mp3's on the web and listen to them streaming for free.

Another site to put up there with the 10 free and legal music sites post, I linked to a while back. I love that we're seeing more and more of this. Hopefully someone will develop a more comprehensive player app, start treating this a bit more like a streaming on demand music ... thing...

read more | digg story

Want to hear sexy women moan your IP? Yup it's prolly NSFW...

"Text is boring! But sexy women moaning your IP is hot! A new twist on an old concept. It's fun, but practical! You get your IP in a sexy way."

Kinda like the singer site I posted on a while back.

Uhhhh ... I dont know about practical per se, but it is funny as all friggen hell. This is most certainly an NSFW site, especially if you don't have fast volume control on your monitor's built in speakers.

Funny as all this is, I still find it creepy how much info is available to sites through your web browser.

Anywho, click on "Read More" to uhhh ... "Hear More" hehehe...

read more | digg story

How to Record Streaming Audio on The Internet

So if you need to record something that streams on line, you can patch in a mixer, making sure to route a few Aux channels, or you could check out FreeCorder.



It's a plugin for Firefox that gives you the ability to suck the audio down from any web item and save it as an MP3 or WAV. It also does a pretty good job of ignoring system sounds as it's tied to the browser not to the internal "what you hear" soundcard drivers.

Pretty sweet!

More write up @ DownloadSquad

OH! Did I mention that FreeCorder is ... FREE!

Slaughter Your World, MP3 and HD Download

In an effort to raise funds for the film, BlindFerret is selling some "Slaughter Your World" related kit.

For $3 you get:
*an iPod compatible video
*an MP3 of the song
*and a High Resolution Quicktime movie

Not bad, and you get to help the production along.

So, check out the purchase page here.

And here's my previous post (with lyrics) for "Slaughter Your World".

Google to Offer Refunds for their Premium Video Service

Quick follow up to a story I posted last week, Google will be offering refunds to customers that had purchased content through their premium video service.

"We planned to give these users a full refund or more. And because we weren't sure if we had all the correct addresses, latest credit card information, and other billing challenges, we thought offering the refund in the form of Google Checkout credits would entail fewer steps and offer a better user experience. We should have anticipated that some users would see a Checkout credit as nothing more than an extra step of a different (and annoyingly self-serving) kind. Our bad. Here's how we're hoping to fix things:"

This is all well and good, but really I'd still have liked to see some effort made at changing up this business model. I know Google's hands are tied by the studios, but some push into unlocking the DRM would've been nice. I mean, this content will just be gone once it's no longer supported.

I just find it sad that the music industry is just starting to figure out how to make money on audio again, and instead of the movie industry learning from that, we'll all just have to wait while they stumble around for a couple more years...

Read the rest here @ Google's Blog

Powered by ScribeFire.

TRUE Piracy

I get a little frustrated when I hear RIAA and MPAA and lawyers talking about "piracy".

They seem to equate filesharing with being a pirate.

I disagree with this.

I believe the filesharing of copyrighted material is "stealing".

I believe for a person to commit an act of piracy, there must be an intent to profit off of someone else's copyrighted material.


This guy is a Pirate:



read more | digg story

IGN has the Scoop on JLA Movie! Ryan Reynolds as Flash

The Flash is one of my favorite characters, and is really deserving of his own flick, but I'll take JLA if that's what I can get.

"IGN spoke one-on-one with actor Ryan Reynolds today during the press day for his new release, The Nines, at which time we asked about the possibility of him still playing The Flash in Warners' planned live-action Justice League of America movie. Reynolds reply was coy but surprising."

IGN has Video of a Ryan Reynolds interview:



I think Reynolds could make a good Wally...


Read the rest here @ IGN

Rescuing Recorded Sound from Ravages of Time

This is just plain cool!
Scientists are using modern technology to archive the recordings off of older media. I wonder what our media's shelf life will be. I doubt CD's will really last beyond 30 years, and I wonder how long a harddrive can last inactive, let alone early wax cylinders which have lasted over 100 years.



Still it's fascinating work:

"These echoes of a bygone era were recorded on media such as wax
cylinders and shellac and lacquer discs. But many are now too fragile
to play in their original format; the pressure of a stylus or
phonograph needle could cause irreversible damage. Others are too
broken, worn or scratched to yield high-quality sound. The archivists
needed a means to preserve the recordings without injuring them further.

A physicist with Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL), Haber
was developing subatomic particle detectors to be used at CERN in
Geneva, Switzerland. This involved using digital cameras and robots to
place each delicate detector in precisely the right place. In a flash
of insight, Haber realized that an optical scanning system could solve
the Library's quandary."

Read the rest @ huliq

Powered by ScribeFire.

Google's Video Service Teams up with Seth MacFarlane

Right out of Variety,



I missed this last week as it came out on my B-Day, but apparently MacFarlane will be teaming up with Google to release video content featuring Raven Symone.

"Projects will involve a set of videos for MacFarlane, who will
create about fifty digital shorts centered on non-"Family Guy"
characters, some of whom will recur.
Symone will create how-to content in areas such as cooking and crafts; execs described it "Martha Stewart for teens and tweens.
Videos will be syndicated to sites that fit the creators' demos.
Deal
offers an example of how new media cos and content providers can take
advantage of online-video opportunities while staying within their
areas of expertise.
While portals like Yahoo have begun creating
original content, and traditional entertainment congloms like News
Corp. and NBC are trying to jump into the online syndication biz,
Google-MRC pact allows each party to handle only one side of the
equation."

Pretty cool stuff! I'll have to keep my eye out for it. Sounds like Raven's contribution will be similar to the beta site Videojug.

Story @ Variety

Powered by ScribeFire.

Holy Crap! $10,000 tube amp!

I REALLY want one, and I don't even know why!
The specs are of course ridiculous, but $10K?!?!

It prolly makes my 128Kbps MP3's sound AWESOME!



Gizmodo has the scoop!



... Wow! ...

Powered by ScribeFire.

Heinz Contest Entry from My Friend!

I'm really just posting this up for my pal Lee (who plays Ketchup), it's his entry for the Heinz Ketchup Youtube Commercial contest.

IT'S GOT A DANCE NUMBER IN IT!!!

Powered by ScribeFire.

Shrek The Third The Game: Voice Acting Just OK

Again, very frustrating, I've written about this before. If you'd pay a little more, you'd get a better product, and you could use the voice acting to help sell that product.

"Unfortunately for everyone else, the glaring problems
that reside elsewhere in the game are more than enough to turn off even
the most stalwart of gamers. The first problem you'll notice is the voices.
Normally, the one thing I really enjoy about movie tie-ins is the phenomenal
voice acting, usually provided the actors themselves. However, Shrek
the Third chose a different route by hiring impersonators who
border on grating. The voice acting isn't bad, and most of the actors
deliver their lines well, but they don't quite have the sound-alike factor
down; they're off by just a little bit, but it's enough to remind you
that they're not the original actors. The only shining spot here is Monty
Python alumnus John Cleese, who does not reprise his role of King Harold,
but does provide the narration in between levels with ease and perfect
comedic timing."

SEE!!! OF COURSE JOHN CLEESE IS AWESOME!!!

Sigh ... Gaming voice production should be getting better by now...

Read the rest @ WorthPlaying

Powered by ScribeFire.

Libraries Becoming Source for Video Games?

A story about a Library in Milford MA, I'm not really sure how I feel about this...

“We’re constantly thinking about how to get teenagers in to reach
outside the traditional things we do,” Felicia Oti, the director of the
Franklin library, said in the article.

Obviously, it’s a hard notion for some libraries to grasp, being
that books and traditional literature have been the central focus. But
video game consultant Beth Gallaway thinks that all the necessary
elements to place video games alongside literature are there.

“[Critics] aren’t recognizing that video games themselves are
literary,” Gallaway said in the article. “I think in general we need to
stop being format snobs.”

Appreciated, and I'm glad to see mixed media branching out. I would much rather see kids hanging out at libraries rather than outside convenience stores. Then you could also guide their selection of content too I guess....

Huh...

You know the more I think about it, might not be SUCH a bad idea after all...

Read the Rest @ Gaming Today

Powered by ScribeFire.

Paramount and DreamWorks Animation Announce Exclusive Support for HD-DVD

I was not expecting this.

Apparently the war between HD-DVD and Blu-Ray just got a little more interesting.

"The companies each said that the decision to distribute exclusively in
the HD DVD format resulted from an extensive evaluation of current
market offerings, which confirmed the clear benefits of HD DVD,
particularly its market-ready technology and lower manufacturing costs.
Paramount Home Entertainment will launch its exclusive HD DVD program
with the release of the blockbuster comedy hit "Blades of Glory" on
August 28th and follow with two of the biggest grossing movies of the
year "Transformers" and "Shrek the Third". These three titles alone
represent more than $1.5 billion in box office ticket sales worldwide."

I'm stoked for this. More competition equals better products. Already we're hearing about increased interactive content from the HD-DVD camp including video PIP commentaries and web content. I also think that the HD-DVD camp will probably break the $200 barrier for players first (prolly around Thanksgiving). Whether or not that's enough to combat the immense lead of the PS3 as a Blu-Ray player, and the size advantage of the Blu-Ray disc.

Read the rest here @ CNN

I really have no love for either HD-DVD or Blu-Ray per se, but I'm not doing anything high-def until someone wins. This fight is fun to watch though...

Powered by ScribeFire.

Weekly Wrap Up for August 19th, 2007

This is a wrap up of stories posted on the blog for the last week including stories about Dragon Ball Z, Free Music, Alex Albrecht SMS Alerts, The Simpsons Sound a Like Contest, The CD turns 25, Jack Palance Flips Out, Concerts on USB Memory Sticks, BBC and Net Neutrality, DRM Circumvention, Podcast traffic, and Thor gets his own movie!

My AC is busted, so I apologize for the fan noise in the background, but take a listen as I re-cap some of my fave stories for the last week.



Also be on the lookout for some cellphone alerts I'll be putting out, and I should be starting up a monthly poetry read in the next couple weeks.

Enjoy!

Dragon Ball Z Voices "Behind The Screams"

Just a fun Sunday post.
This is a year old vid on Youtube, a making of documentary called "Behind The Voices" that was released for DBZ Budokai 3. I don't know why I was, but I was kind of surprised by how many of the voice actors from the show were used in the game.

I should start showing this to people when jerks talk about how "easy" voice acting is, and how under-valued video game voice over is.

Check it out, these people rock the mic, and keep coming back for more.



My favorite part is at around 6:20 when the actor who plays Goku laughs about passing out in the booth.

10 Sites For Free and Legal Music

Man I am a sucker for top ten lists, and this is a good one.

FREE MUSIC BIZZ-NATCHES!!!

I've been a big fan of Archive.org for a while (ever since I found a DVD quality copy of Night of the Living Dead on there, such a great flick), and eMusic is pretty much the best service for music on the web (even though the catalog is a little limited).

The others I wasn't really aware of. I don't use iTunes or Amazon, so I might check out their free tracks, and I'm trolling the rest of the sites on the list.

If you're just looking to shake up your music collection this is an excellent list to start with!

read more | digg story

Nerd Alert! Free Alex Albrecht SMS Sounds Set!

These are farggin ridiculous, but I'm a big fan of the Revision3 guys, so I'll probably be grabbing this too (NERD).

A collection of 13 SMS sound effects made from the rac-it-car sounds of the Unique Alex Albrecht... Awsom as Short put strange SMS alert tones ! Dont Forget to Digg This!

Check out the other links on the actual story page for more Alex SMS alerts.

read more | digg story

Music Good for Sleep

Quick write up from the BBC.

Researchers have shown just 45 minutes of relaxing music before bedtime can make for a restful night.
The Taiwanese researchers studied the sleeping patterns of 60 elderly people with sleep problems.

This makes sense. In our media driven world our bodies are constantly bombarded by images and jarring sounds. Almost all "sleep guides" I've checked out (I'm mildly insomniatic) have suggested removing yourself from lights (like computer monitors and TV's) at least half an hour (something about confusing the body like it's sunlight or something). What better way to compliment that than adding a little light Benny Goodman or Ella Fitzgerald?

Read the Article here @ BBC News

Cingular (AT&T) Waiver Ruled "Unconscionable" By Circuit Court

"Like many companies, Cingular has a little thing in their contracts saying that if you use their service, you void your right to a class action lawsuit and instead have to go through "mandatory binding arbitration," which is basically an extra-judicial corporate court exempt from many of the basic laws and procedures and rights of real court."

This is a step in the right direction for those of us wanting a little more control over what services we use. I for one can't wait until companies like at&t, Verizon, and Sprint are finally sued over not allowing us to unlock our phones.

read more | digg story

Simpsons Sound-a-Like Contest! Win $100!!!

Those crazy Voices.com folk, with their non-union "marketplace" approach to VO.

I kid.

Fact of the matter, they do actually have some great resources for aspiring and established VO Artists.

Well, they're running a contest to see who amongst their ranks can do the best Simpson's voice matches.

We'd love to hear your impressions of Simpsons characters to feature on the VOX Talk podcast!

If you can do a bang on Homer, a killer Bart, Lisa, Marge, Krusty
the Clown, or any other Simpsons character, we want to hear it!



Prizes of $100 gift certificates to Amazon.com will be awarded in the following categories:


Best Homer Simpson Impression

Best Marge Simpson Impression

Best Bart Simpson Impression

Best Lisa Simpson Impression

Best Krusty the Clown Impression



The winners will be chosen by YOU!

Powered by ScribeFire.

I'm Two Years Older than the CD! It's AUDIO GUYS BERFDAY!

Today!

Happy 25th Birthday CD!

I like sharing this "Birthday" much better than the "I was born on the Anniversary of Elvis' death" thing I normally deal with.



CD's Birthday @ blog.pcnews.ro

Jonathan Ross to Work for FREE in Halo 3???

NO!
Bad Voice over actor! BAD!!!

I have a hard enough time convincing people that video game VO is worth more than scale, and here comes an established animation actor GIVING IT AWAY FOR FREE!?!?!

"British chat-show host Jonathan Ross is reported to be a big videogames fan, especially of the halo variety, and as such is voicing one of the bad guys in upcoming blockbuster title Halo 3.
Bungie have kept the alien's details under wraps, but it is understood
that the showbiz star - who is under contract with the BBC until 2010
with an £18 million contract - is to lend his voicing talents for free."

Though I kinda love this pic of him. Like he's already apologizing to me for being such a punk.

PUNK!

Powered by ScribeFire.

Angry Jack Palance in: "BURNOUT"

This is the best presentation of an angry "Star" in an audio booth I have ever seen, and it's almost a year old.

I just now found it.

Better than Shatner.
Better than Deniro.
Better than Orson Welles!

Ruliarch presents to you, Jack Palance in BURNOUT!



...simply awesome...

Can't earn enough from CD sales? Sell live concert recordings on USB sticks

I think this is a fantastic idea! How sweet would that be to walk out of a concert and just ... well ... buy the concert you just watched. I know of a few coffee shops that have been doing the same thing with local performance for a while, burning CD's and what not, but nothing mainstream yet. Also, you've been able to grab concerts of certain groups online, legally, for free, for a while (like the Grateful Dead for example).

"This is an excellent way of making money out of every live recording an artist makes — usually only one live recording is sold on through CDs/DVDs — and I think people would love to have a recording of the gig that they were actually at, rather than buy a recording through a record store of one random concert. The USB keys could be customised with artwork from the current tour, or contain video footage and photos from the show, which in-turn would make them more collectible.Not only does this let artists and promoters monetise their events more effectively, it’s also one in the eye for the commercial bootleggers. If the concert recording is availabe to buy legally then this weakens the appeal and strength of the bootleggers product, an illegal copy, which is probably going to be of poorer quality than the official product."

It'll probably have crippling DRM though... unless you're the Bare Naked Ladies.

read more | digg story

This is what happens without Net Neutrality! ISPs to BBC: We will throttle iPlayer unless you pay up

Yeah,
This is no longer academic.
This is no longer theoretical.
Without Net Neutrality the ISP's have been given carte blanche to pretty much black mail anyone they want over bandwidth consumption.
We're only just seeing the beginnings now:

"Network neutrality debates aren't theoretical in the UK, where ISPs have banded together to tell the BBC that its iPlayer TV "catch-up" service will destroy their networks. The choice: be throttled or pay up."

read more | digg story

It made me SO angry watching that Ted Stevens video (where he explains to us proles that the internet is a "series of tubes"), and then watching the FTC cave on Neutrality. A lot of businesses are going to be pissed when their bandwidth bills surge.

Do you like online shopping (at major marketplaces such as Amazon or Ebay)?
Those sites use a lot of Bandwidth.
Do you like streaming movies and music (Youtube, Netflix, iTunes)?
Those sites use TONS of Bandwidth.

All of these services and many more are going to become substantially more expensive unless Neutrality is protected.

Just for a little levity, here's the Ninja's explanation of Net Neutrality:

Interview with Scott Brick: Audiobook Narrator

Kind of a fluff piece out of St. Louis Today, but a fun little read if you're at all curious about Audiobook production or narration. I've met Scott, and he's a really nice guy, and has the perfect voice to have a story read to you. I'd highly recommend any of the books he's read.

"Scott Brick and I met on my way to work one morning. I slid the first CD of "Mystic River" by Dennis Lehane into my player, and Brick started telling me the story. His voice accompanied me all week, reading the book with a style that
enhanced both the author's words and my listening experience.

With nearly 350 books narrated, 39 Earphones Awards and an Audie Award from Audio Publishers Association for "Dune: The Butlerian Jihad," Brick is a sought-after reader for a wide range of popular authors, including Tom Clancy, Clive Cussler, Nelson DeMille and Orson Scott Card. His characterizations and gift for dialects give him access to a wide range of literature. This year he was named Narrator of the Year by Publishers Weekly magazine.

Brick, 41, lives in Los Angeles. We chatted about his job by e-mail.

Q: Did your mom read to you when you were a boy? What does she think of your career?"

Read the whole interview here!

Powered by ScribeFire.

Thor Versus Hulk!

Quick follow up to my very last post.
How could I have forgotten about this!
Hulk and Thor HAVE ALREADY BATTLED!!!

Check it out:

Thor to get his own superhero movie

Whoa,
Thats one tres macho pic of ... uh ... Thor...

I can't say I'm a big fan of the Norse Gods in comic form. Marvel kinda loses me when they go too meta. I'll probably end up seeing it, but truthfully I'm more jazzed for Ed Norton's Hulk.

The hammer-tossing superhero is the latest star from the comic-book vault to get in line for big-screen treatment, with Marvel Studios lining up British auteur Matthew Vaughn to direct Thor, based on the Stan Lee-created character.

I have also been hearing some rumors about a potential Hulk Direct to DVD animated feature, which could have a potential Thor tie in. I would also be more jazzed about that...

read more | digg story

The need for DRM circumvention | Google selleth then taketh away

Google is pulling their premium video service.
Did you buy anything from them? I had an episode of Macgyver just to check it out.
Well now that's all gone...

Google just demonstrated how completely bizarre and anti-consumer DRM technology can be. Most importantly, by pulling the plug on its service, Google just proved why consumers have to be allowed to circumvent copy controls.

So with no way to get around DRM, we'll forever be perpetually renting our media. Fun!

Should be interesting to see how the Universal Music/Google team up will be since those files will be drm free.

read more | digg story

Podcast Website Traffic - Where to go for Listeners!

So where do YOU go for listeners/viewers?
Since iTunes wont give up ANY kind of stats on podcast listener-ship, I picked the next 5 services that I know about and pumped them through Alexa. If you know of any other major players here, please drop a comment.

So if you've got a podcast, and want to attract as much people as possible, dont forget these services (as well as setting up an itunes account .. stupid friggen itunes).

Podcastdirectory.com
From March to July, there's been a gradual yet steady decline in page hits at PD, but from July to August a sudden up tick occurred. Currently the site is averaging a reach of about 33,000 hits a week and 1.7 pages per user per day.

Podcast.net
This is the service I started with WAY back in the early days of Podcasting. It's ranking has stayed pretty consistent from March to now, with a one week average of 85,000 hits and 2.5 pages per user.

PodcastAlley.com
Sadly Podcast Alley's days of being one of the big boys on the block is sort of over, averaging just under 30K, so why bring them up? Because their users are pretty freakin loyal, and consume a lot of content, with an average of 4.5 pages per user.

Odeo.com
Another one of my favorite services, Odeo is also on the decline with a weekly average of 12K, and 2.8 pages per user. They'd better hurry up and get sold or there wont be any users left.

Podomatic.com
A service I was thinking of dropping, seems to be on a three month rise. They're little, with only about 8,000 weekly hits, but users average 3 pages per, and their community is growing (just about the only service up that is showing consistent growth over the last 3 months).


Of course, not knowing what iTunes is pulling in traffic-wise, we can't be entirely sure how these 5 compare, but why deny yourself easy distribution to over 100,000 potential listeners?

Other services to check out.
Yahoo Podcast Beta
So new Alexa has NO ranking for it.

Digg Podcast Beta
Digg is social news at it's finest. Right now weekly averages are only in the hundreds (ok just A hundred), but given a little time, this could become a great place to discover popular content.

The Monkey Box!!! Check out this podcast! Do it! Now!!!

Hey all,
Adding another link to the right hand side bar of sites to check out. I figured it was bout time I added something fun, no?

So here it is! THE MONKEY BOX!!! Deliciously absurdest sketch comedy. I've worked with Brian Chase and Byrne Offutt, and they're really funny guys, so check it out!




TheMonkeyBox.com

The Monkey Box Blog

And just for kicks, since I just picked up 300 on DVD, here's Bob and Byrne's short '298'!

Enjoy!

Powered by ScribeFire.

Be on the Look Out Aug21! Google and Universal Partner up to Fight iTunes

Just read off of Gizmodo.
Google will be teaming up with Universal Music to offer DRM free tracks at .99 cents. This will undercut iTunes on copy protection free tracks, and will give Universal access to Google's advertising might. Just image Google's adwords linking directly to a song at a buck. This could be the first real competition for iTunes, and will work across ALL music players (including the iPod).
I'm all for MORE competition. KEEP THE PRICES LOW!

Here's Gizmodo's write up.

Here's Forbes' story.

Powered by ScribeFire.

Where to buy cheap DVD's

Quick write up at the Bargainist.
Mrs. Audio Guy and I are HUGE movie pack rats. We still have crates of old VHS we haven't gotten around to replacing.
I've been shopping the Amazon market place for a while for good deals. This story has nine more places to look too!

10 Ways to Buy Cheap DVD's

Powered by ScribeFire.

GPHORIA Awards 2007 - RESULTS!

G4's viewer voting is done.
A few surprises, but pretty much what I expected.
Here's the run down:

System - XBox 360
Best New Character - Marcus Fenix (Gears of War voiced by John Di Maggio)
Hottest Babe - Kasumi (DOA XTREME 2 voiced by Kari Wahlgren)
Best Strategy Game - Command and Conquer 3
Best Sports Game - Wii Sports
Best Action Game - Gears of War (XBox 360)
Best RPG - The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess (Wii)
Most Original Game - Dead Rising (XBox 360)
Best Multiplayer Game - Gears of War (XBox 360)
Best Downloadable Content - Elder Scrolls 4: Shivering Isles (XBox 360)
Best Voiceover - The Mighty Rasta as Augustus "Cole Train" Cole
Best Graphics - Gears of War (XBox 360)
Best Soundtrack - Guitar Hero 2 (PS2/XBox 360)
Most Deserves a Uwe Boll Movie - Red Steel (Wii)
Longest Lasting Game - The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess (Wii)
Game of the Year - Gears of War (XBox 360)

Yup, Gears of War pretty much swept the voting.=, though I was surprised to see not ONE token PS3 award.

I was stoked for C&C3 though, as our agency had several voices in that game (Billy Brown, Peter Giles, Peter Jessop, and Kari Wahlgren), and Jennifer Morrison was an FMV actress.

I dig G4's awards (over say Spike's) as it's a "viewers choice".

Here's G4's official page!

Dont let the door hit you on the way out: 50 Cent promises to quit if Kanye outsells him

Everyone BUY KANYE!
In the never ending saga of rapper asshatery, Fiddy is now promising/threatening to leave if Kanye out sells him. I guess he's still miffed that Kanye turned down his invitation to a debate.

“Let’s raise the stakes” the 31-year-old rapper told hip-hop Web site SOHH.com in an interview posted Friday. “If Kanye West sells more records than 50 Cent on September 11, I’ll no longer write music. I’ll write music and work with my other artists, but I won’t put out anymore solo albums.”

Vitamin Water YO!

read more | digg story

"I'll no longer write music. I'll write music..." WHAT AN ASSHAT!!!

Yet Another YouTube Clone: VideoJug

YAYC?

This one is kinda neat though! Rather than be another bucket site for collecting vids of ... well ... anything, the whole point of the site is "how to" videos. A couple clients are already narrating videos on the site, and the general vibe is pretty fun.


Just for kicks here are two iTunes related vids about podcasting:


VideoJug: How To Subscribe To Podcasts In ITunes


VideoJug: How To Submit A Podcast To ITunes


Enjoy!

HOW TO TEASER! CHEAPSKATE GUIDE TO HOSTING AUDIO!

If any of you remember back, I was having some major problems find a free way to host audio on the blog. I'm just about done, I think, with what my setup will be for the future here.

For those of you interested in an easy, and no-cost hosting solution, I'll be posting up a guide later tonight ... maybe tomorrow ... whenev...

I'll also be trying to showcase a couple simple ways to help increase listener-ship.

The Complete Lyrics to "Slaughter Your World"

Bah-jeezus, this thing has taken off!
Blind Ferret's posting of Richard's "Slaughter Your World" has already cleared 400,000 views (in less than 5 days) on youtube, and is pretty much set to clear 500,000 by the end of today.

Dave was nice enough to post the full lyrics to the song on his MySpace blog:

Slaughter The World
Lyrics by Ryan Sohmer

Excitement abounds
I almost can't wait
Relax, I don't want your baby
I already ate
Though I do tend to generally kill
Kill things that don't fight back
I see this village
What does it hold?
What shall I butcher them with
Fire or cold?
Running from me sure you'd think
'He's a pathological bloodthirsty homicidal maniac!'
I'd kill kittens and puppies and bunnies
I'd maim toddlers and teens and then more
You see a wife? I see a widow
But what then?
Can't you see?
I'd kill four!
I want to incinerate and decapitate
I want to melt
Want to melt some faces
Watching the peasants...what do they call it?
Ahh...grieve!
I suppose that being undead there's not much to life
A soul is needed for loving...feeling...
How does this all not make me...what's that word again?
Heave!
You've nowhere to hide
Nowhere to run
Your village will burn like the heart of the sun!
With infinite glee
It's going to be me
That slaughters the world!
How could I glare into these eyes
And then not stab them?
How could I stare at their loss
And then not laugh?
I'd cut him in half
Then I'd graft
His head back onto his shoulders
Or after I'd lop it
I'd make a puppet
On top of a staff!
I am a lord that is sometimes bored
Have some urges and need to fulfill them
After my mayhem I simply don't...what's the word?
Care!
The stench in the air
The smell of the gore
The carnage far greater than any war
My legacy
Death becomes...me!
I'll slaughter the world

Oh and what the heck here's the video one more time:

Who'd a Thunk it??? Clean up a scratched DVD with a Banana

Wow,
Nature's perfect food?

Check out this vid over on Metacafe, it's generated over $500 so far.


How To Remove CD Scratches With A Banana - The most popular videos are a click away

This is an excellent follow up to my previous story about cleaning up optical media, and it helps you keep up with your potassium intake.

The Actors of SpongeBob Square Pants

I love stuff like this. Watching voice actors work is high-sterical. Crazy expressions, physicality, yelling their guts out, it just looks like so much fun (though it looks like really hard work).

That and it's SpongeBob man!

Are MP3's "Good" or just "Good Enough"

I always laugh when I see car commercials touting "mp3 quality sound" or iPod integration as some high water mark for audio fidelity. Just like how it drove me crazy watching the old Dodge commercials with a vapid wife loudly proclaiming "It's gawt uh deeveedee!" (PLAYER YOU WHORE! It has a DVD PLAYER), I don't think most consumers really understand what an MP3 really is.

The San Francisco Chronicle has a pretty decent write up on what mp3's are, and they get the perspectives of several Grammy award winning recording engineers. You can image they aren't that satisfied with the current state of digital compression.

"When even the full files on the CDs contain less than half the information
stored to studio hard drives during recording, these compressed MP3s represent
a minuscule fraction of the actual recording. For purists, it's the dark ages
of recorded sound.
"You can get used to awful," says record producer Phil Ramone. "You can
appreciate nothing. We've done it with fast food."

...
These studio professionals bring their experience and expensive, modern
technology to bear on their work; they're scrupulous and fastidious. Then they
hear their work played back on an iPod through a pair of plastic earbuds. Ask
Ramone how it feels to hear his work on MP3s, and he doesn't mince words.
"It's painful," he says.
MP3s have won the war of the formats because of technology, not because of
their audio quality. "It's like hearing through a screen door," says
neuroscientist Daniel Levitin of McGill University, author of "This Is Your
Brain on Music." "There are lines between me and what I want to see."

Article also goes on to talk about what your brain might need to do to fill in the gaps left by current mp3 tech (does it need to work harder?), and compares it to the early days of portable radios.

MP3 Music - It's Better Than It Sounds

My own experiences, I've learned to stop worrying and kind of love the mp3. It's universal, ubiquitous, and easy. Also there is something to be said for WHERE and HOW you listen to music.

If you think you're hawt stuff then you should try this music quiz. Can YOU tell the difference between compressed and not. I shoot almost perfectly 50%, and that's only on my Senny hd25-1's.

Powered by ScribeFire.

Help Fight Draconian Zero-Tolerance Piracy Laws and Boycott Regal Cinemas!

Wow,
This story is starting a nice little debate over at Digg.
On the one hand, bringing a camera into a theater is kinda stealing.
On the other, the punishment seems a little way super severe for a 20 second cell phone video.

"Free Culture @ NYU is joining the call for a chain wideboycott of Regal Cinemas over their draconian punishment of a 19 year-old girl caught taping 20 seconds of the Transformers film. We demand that Regal Cinemas drop all charges against Jhannet Sejas, and that the entertainment group issue a full apology to the teen."

read more | digg story

Kanye West REFUSES to Debate Fiddy!

Nice!
So following up on my post from yesterday about this whole ... fiasco, I just read on Idolator, that Kanye has turned down the debate:

"I don't have beef with anyone," West said on MTV's TRL today, in
response to a question by a reporter from the Associated Press. "What
am I going to debate about? I'm going to go in the studio and make
music. When I heard the thing about the debate, I thought that was the
stupidest thing."

Well said, so I guess he wins because he had the brains NOT to debate. Sorta like Wargames, "The only winning move is not to play".

I know I'm like hyper-geek today.

Idolator Write up

CBS Story

Powered by ScribeFire.

Holy Crap! I Just Read Michael York!

He was fantastic! Consummate professional. Expertly prepared. Excellent presence, and he knew exactly how to work the mic.

I'm SUCH a fanboi...

Television Studios Embrace BitTorrent

I've been saying for a while, file sharing is not evil. File sharing is JUST a delivery method. It only matters what files are being shared.
P2P, Youtube, etc, there may be copyright violations, but I still can't believe that they don't actually serve to drive more awareness and higher sales. Album sales were never higher than the peak of Napster, and didn't start to dry up until fans were sued.

It's nice to see a few savvy execs realize that these aren't thieves, they're fans "spreading the word". It's free advertising...

"From loathing and resisting BitTorrent and the illegal distribution of their shows to encouraging downloading and leaking pilots, TV studios have a come a long way. The creator of ‘Weeds’ is stoked that someone pirated her show."

read more | digg story

Some Audio Guy Mail: "Speech to Text?"

So for the couple months that this blog has been up, I've been getting mail. Most of it has been in an effort to make my woe-fully undersized genitalia bigger (god bless spam filters), but every now and then a decent question does actually pop up.
I used to just answer the question directly, but I realized (while hunting for things to write about), that I could use those questions for posts.
I know, right? I'm pretty much the smartest person I know... sigh ...

So anywho, the first email to succumb to this treatment is from N.A.:

"Morning ! I was looking on the various web pages for a decent "Speech toText" program.. And came across your blog from a Dig story on BitTorrents.. I was wondering if you knew of any programs out there(obviously free is preferable) any info would be appreciated.. Thanks..N"

Well N, first off, thanks for the question. I would narrow your search down a bit, maybe try something more specific like "Speech Recognition" or "Dictation Software" or "Free Voice Recognition".

There are two main (and for now still separate) "paths" to interacting with computer with your voice. Talking to your computer and having your computer talk to you. The more recent advances have been in "Text to Speech" or "TTS" technologies, and there has been some really exciting work in getting samples of voices and slicing up those samples to form any number of other words, even at the consumer level. Some day I'll be able to make James Earl Jones say ANYTHING I WANT!!! MOOO-HA-HA!!!

*Ahem*

What seems to be moving slower is voice/speech recognition. There is of course some great work going on with the Dragon folks, and some of the Microsoft One-Note voice recognition (built into XP tablet edition and several versions of Vista) is compelling, but neither are anywhere near Star Trek level utility (I know I still rate everything by ST:TNG ... NERD).

As for free, well that gets even trickier. Most of what I can find (especially under say a BSD license) has more of an academic or engineering slant. It's usually raw code designed to be inserted into an already established product to add function as opposed to a ready to go stand alone piece of software. Carnegie Mellon's Sphinx is a perfect example of this.

So I know that doesn't really "answer" your question, but hopefully I've delivered enough information to at least help you get a little farther.

And, if any of my 30 or so readers have any additional info, PLEASE drop us a comment. Always appreciated!

AFTRA, SAG act like foes

AFTRA, SAG ACT like foes?

I think they're getting pretty close to just being foes.
A quick follow up to my Union mega-post a couple days ago, more news about the simmering hostility between these organizations is surfacing over at Hollywood Reporter.

"On Saturday, the SAG national board voted to keep its so-called Phase
One relationship with AFTRA in place, giving its smaller sister union
50-50 representation on negotiating committees like one to be formed
for film and TV contract talks. The current SAG-AFTRA pact with the
Alliance of Motion Picture & Television Producers is set to expire
June 30, and negotiations on a new agreement are expected sometime
after Jan. 1.
But the vote to affirm Phase One came with a
controversial addendum suggesting SAG will seek to change how voting is
conducted on the negotiating committee, sources said. Under bloc
voting, SAG members on the committee first would vote among themselves,
and positions favored by a majority of that group would be lodged as a
unanimous vote by all SAG committee members.

In their letter, Reardon and AFTRA national executive
director Kim Roberts Hedgpeth opposed bloc voting on grounds that it
would "create a structure of two separate negotiating committees that
Phase One was created to avoid."
The AFTRA leaders said they were responding to news
accounts of SAG board actions and would make no assumptions pending a
SAG response.
"The bloc voting described by the trade press is of
course completely antithetical to the history and purpose of Phase One
and as a practical matter could result in unwieldy deadlocks during
negotiations," the AFTRA officials wrote.
Hedgpeth said it would be premature to speculate on how AFTRA might respond if SAG proceeds with its bloc voting plan."

Not really all that surprising that AFTRA wouldn't be too happy about this. It's really tricky. The radical in me thinks the time for two unions is over (and would come with the added benefit of reducing the amount of dues 40,000 actors would have to pay being members of both), but the realist in me would be content to have stricter separation over what union handles what job. The fact that a game, for example, could be either SAG OR AFTRA is unacceptable.
It's looking to me like the unions are going to lose yet another round to production due to in-fighting and chest-thumping...


Read the rest here!

Powered by ScribeFire.

Central Jersey Music Studios Trying to Avoid Sounds of Silence

Story out of the Courier News,

I'm sure this isn't just localized to NJ, but this is a pretty decent write up of the challenges facing media engineers. We've already witnessed the de-valuing of qualified computer technicians thanks to Geek Squad and the like. I fear the same thing could happen to recording engineers if they don't pay attention to whats going on around them. Media diversification and ease of equipment acquisition are going to make the "market place" extremely competitive.

"There are a lot of advantages of recording
in the home," said Lambertville-based singer-songwriter John Sonntag.
"I can do a lot of tracking here while keeping a budget in line. Trying
to make a living as a musician is tough, but in the digital world, it
becomes a possibility."Sonntag
also is one of a growing number of area home-studio owners who are
opening their basements, garages or closets to other musicians who want
to document their craft at minimal expense.
As
a result, professional studios now find themselves needing to turn up
the volume of their own advantages -- to avoid the risk of fading out.
Even
legendary New York studios such as The Hit Factory and Sony Music
Studios -- recording home of some of the biggest-selling albums and
artists of all time -- have closed within the past two years.
"It's
always been a challenge for (professional recording studios) to
survive, and this is just another thing added to the mix," said Matt
Ballister, owner and head engineer of MJB Recording in Union."I
get some bands in, and if I charge them $40 an hour, they ask me to do
it for $30 an hour. If I charge $30 an hour, they ask for $20 an hour.
And if I say I can't do it, they're like, 'I'll just go to my friend's
house and do it at his home studio.' "

"I just tell them, 'Go ahead.' "

Read the rest here.

One nice thing about the article is I stumbled upon a great blog. GarageSpin has more of a music focus, but is chock full of excellent info. You should check it out!

Powered by ScribeFire.

50 Cent Accepts Offer to Debate Kanye West on Live TV

WTF!?!?! No SCREW that, I'm actually going to write that out, profanity and all.

WHAT THE FUCK!?!?!

This doesn't even make sense, like, at all!
DEBATE who had the best album? When it comes to public speaking, I guess I'll give a slight edge to Kanye (just for his G-Dub doesn't care about black people moment), but neither really strikes me as being the most literate debater.
Just check out this choice quote from Fiddy:

"I accept the challenge," 50 Cent told millions of viewers on Friday (August 3). "Kanye, he's not going to want to show up. Just don't be asking me if I am a conscious rapper. I know exactly what I am saying - so I am conscious."

WOW! I DON'T EVEN KNOW WHAT THAT MEANS!!!
I could even believe them battling, or freestyling, or hell even having a dance-off, but even THEN I give the edge to Kanye as Fiddy can't even remember the lyrics to his own jams let alone come up with rhymes on the fly.

The more I think about what a horrible idea this is, the more I might want to watch them make complete ASSES of themselves...

read more | digg story

Dave Mitchell Sings! Looking for Group: "Slaughter Your World"

Oh who HASN'T wanted to parody The Little Mermaid as some un-dead, evil, killer, mage, ... uh ... thing?

My pal, and client, Dave Mitchell plays Richard in Looking For Group, and who knew he had such a beautiful singing voice.



Awwwww! He's so cute!

An Introduction to Linux Audio

I have to say, I've been personally happy using Windows the last couple years to record and edit, but I can't say I haven't been curious. Being OS Agnostic, I totally wouldn't mind getting into a little hawt Linux action from time to time.

"Linux has come a long way in the last 10 years. At that time, if you were looking through the main audio and music applications on other operating systems, you would have struggled to find comparable, fully developed, apps on Linux. Nowadays, while no one would say the job was done, they could point to an assortment of high-quality applications..."

Now if someone could also develop a distro that would run off of a pen drive like these portable apps, I would be in hawg-heaven. Imagine being able to go to any computer with an open USB port, punching in a drive, and BAM(!) instant audio workstation!

read more | digg story

Angry DeNiro!

Not really audio per se, but it's right up there with the William Shatner post I did a while back.

From the AOL video blog "The Videologist":


And, while he seems to be unreasonable, I'm kinda with him, lil bit, a lil bit.

If you wanted cheesey big selly energy, why would you go with Bobby Deniro?

Survey says: only DRM-free music is worth paying for

I don't trust surveys.

Numbers can be generated to support any claim (83% of all people know that).

Still, doesn't mean I wont link to a survey with results I agree with!

"A survey of general music consumers shows that concern about the negative effects of DRM are on the rise, and that consumers are beginning to rule out purchasing DRM'd music in big numbers."

read more | digg story

NPR Podcast Player For Facebook

I at some point might just have to join Facebook.
It seems to be blowing up right now, and I was WAY late to MySpace. I just find so little use for social networking outside of the occasional "catching up with a friend moment" that I can usually just accomplish through an email or something else.
I will always appreciate MySpace for the simple fact that it did get me blogging, so that's ... uh ... neat ... ?

Anywho, what I think is the coolest part of Facebook, is all the development going on for Facebook apps/widgets/gadgets/geegaws/etc.

Splashcast has just released an NPR Podcast player for your Facebook page. If I used Facebook, I would use this app.

IF I used Facebook...

Check out the app here.

Check out DownloadSquads write up here.

Dragonforce's Song On Guitar Hero III - F*** You That's Impossible

OK, I cant really say for sure that this is an impossible song, as even the easy songs on Guitar Hero kick my arse...



read more | digg story

AUDACITY Tutorials GALORE!

So for newbies trying to record I try to set up the simplest recording environment I can. I tend not to like USB mics, but lately it's been hard to deny how much less intimidating the simplicity of ONE cable to the computer is.
However, once that is out of the way what to do with the audio entering the computer?

I really like Audacity for beginners. It's not very pretty, but it's pretty easy to learn, and well ... you know ... the price is, uh, pretty good. I charge quite a bit for setup and instruction, but often I find that the client really just needed a little advice, not a full blown instructional session.

So not to undercut my own business, but if you're one of those just needing a little push, I found this great little tutorial on Youtube.



Also, if you want more advanced Audacity goodness, you can go here.

Enjoy!

Vampire Rain Review: Bad Voice Acting!

Chris McCarver on 411mania has posted a review of Vampire Rain for the XBox 360, and has some choice words for the VO:

"Oh, good God, the voice acting. I call it acting on a technical basis only, because the dialogue and its delivery remind one of a grade-school production of Blade: Trinity. The fact that the script is weighed down with crippling levels of exposition is bad enough. But when you combine it with voice acting this degree of phoned-in, it reaches a whole new level of dreadful. The music is capable enough, but it doesn't move much beyond your typical creepy and morbid low-toned string section that we've heard in nearly every horror game and movie for the past couple decades. The sound effects themselves supply enough of a creepy ambience, but again, nothing new here."

OK, so apparently the sound design is less than stellar. This is frustrating to me. With all the money that goes into these productions, it wouldn't be a bank-breaker to invest just a little more into the actual performances. As the bar for graphics continues to rise, why do we settle for crap performance?

Read the rest of the review here.

Let them sing it for you - your text sung by rock stars!

This is HIGH-sterical!

A neat little text-to-speech applet that converts any text into a sound file pieced together using clips from pop and rock songs. There's a pretty eclectic mix of source material in there, try to work out what song each word comes from...

This is of course nothing like AT&T's vocal synthesis.
What's even funnier, is I'm SURE that no one has authorized usage of individual sound samples for this type of application. Let's see how long this site stays up...

read more | digg story

Click the read more to check it out!

Yes Men: The Chronicles of Flip and Scoot

Hey cool, I helped edit some of the sound on this short.



That's totally me in the credits! Didja see? Didja see?!?!

Some Audio Guy Tells You a Story! A SCARY Story!

I almost forgot about this. I read this a year ago for Librivox. One of my favorite stories of ALL time, "The Masque of the Red Death" by Edgar Allen Poe.



Enjoy!









Kinda funny. I can't say "horror", heh-heh...

Eminem Sues Apple for Music Rights

"Eight Mile Style and Martin Affiliated, Eminem’s music publisher and copyright manager, has filed a multimillion-dollar lawsuit against Apple, alleging that the company violated copyrights by allowing downloads of Eminem’s songs onto iPods."

read more | digg story

Facebook Audio Nuked

"Like Napster, you knew it couldn’t last. Facebook has killed off the Audio application for copyright violations, making it one of the first 3rd party apps to get the chop. We’d previously heard that audio was no longer showing up in the App directory, but now it has gone entirely from the site."

read more | digg story

Danger! Music Eating Virus Alert! Danger!

Wow!
This is farggin awful. According to Symantec, there's a worm floating around that chews through MP3's. I'm sure it doesn't differentiate between your "backups" (wink-wink) and your legit back ups.


That's ... bad ...


I blame the RIAA.

Here's a more eloquent write up over at Gizmodo.

SAG and AFTRA News for August 1st: Good, Bad, and Ugly

A bunch of stories to link out here.

SAG REAFFIRMS 'PHASE ONE' WITH AFTRA (Hollywood Reporter)

Why they would do this I dont know. Basically 'Phase One' means that at negotiations SAG and AFTRA have an equal number of seats at the table. I think this is ... well ... dumb. SAG has a lot more members. If SAG has twice as many members, they should have twice as many seats (though I think the actual difference is 10 to 7 in SAG's favor).
I did find this interesting though:

"Now here's the catch, The final, amended wording of the resolution stated a desire to tinker with how Phase One is implemented during negotiations. Specifically, SAG may try to implement so-called bloc voting on the negotiating committee, sources said. Representation still would be apportioned 50-50, but SAG votes would automatically be counted as a unanimous bloc in favor of whatever position is carried by a majority of SAG reps on the committee. "So if, say, eight SAG committee members want to vote for a position and two are against, through bloc-voting all 10 votes would count as being for the position," a labor community insider explained."

Variety also has a quick write up of the same situation HERE.

AFTRA FORGES ALLIANCE WITH IATSE (Hollywood Reporter)

Interesting development here. With SAG circling the wagons, hoping into bed with the WGA and DGA, and working really hard against Fi-Cores, it looks like AFTRA is trying to reach out to other unions also:

"It grows out of our desire to strike strategic alliances with a large number of entertainment unions," AFTRA spokesman John Hinrichs said of the IATSE announcement. "We have worked with IATSE in the past on a number of ventures, (and) what this says is that we're gong to sit down to figure out ways of working together to benefit our members on a continuing basis."Hinrichs added, "There are no plans at this point to merge."

AFTRA and IATSE?


And lastly:

SCREEN ACTORS GUILD MAY PUSH FOR STRIKE (ASSOCIATED CONTENT)

'Nuff said yeah?

"Other unions, like the Screen Actors Guild have become increasingly concerned at the prospects of a work stoppage sometime within the next year driven by unhappy members that feel they've been treated unfairly by the studios. While SAG's contract doesn't officially expire until July of 2008, and while the Writers Guild expires later this fall, they appear to have many common goals and fears: a general labor strike.
Between the big three, the WGA is considered to be the most militant of the guilds, that is to say they are the most willing to strike if several issues that have been simmering on the back burner since as far back as the 1980s are not addressed this time around, while the Directors Guild of America has been the most pacifist, having never struck in their entire existence.
All three unions are particularly frustrated over the studio's refusal change the residual formula for DVDs, and at least for the WGA, their refusal to even negotiate a new formula for the emerging download and streaming market.
The Screen Actors Guild jointly negotiates its television contract with American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (AFTRA), the former of the two having significantly more members and operates more closely to that of a blue collar union. Factions have developed within SAG that are angry over AFTRA's practice of signing contracts with productions for lower wages than are required by the SAG contracts, which they feel severely undercut their bargaining power."


Whew...

So we WILL be seeing Shrek 4 &5 then?

Straight outta the LA Times,


"Shrek the Third" MADE SOME MONEY for Dreamworks. Even though I wasn't that positive on it (like anyone cares what I think), apparently it pulled in a $60 million profit for the studio.

'Shrek' lifts DreamWorks Animation

"The Glendale-based studio said it had net income of $61.8 million for
the three months ended June 30, or 60 cents a share, compared with net
income of $13.7 million, or 13 cents, in the same period last year.





Revenue soared to $222.5 million, compared with $74.9 million a year earlier."

Read the rest here.