June 12th, 2005 @ 9:55PM
alive
June 12th, 2005 @ 9:55PM
still
June 12th, 2005 @ 9:54PM
am
June 12th, 2005 @ 9:54PM
I
March 3rd, 2005 @ 9:24PM
37 weeks.
Thats when I last visited, although I showed the site to two people at christmas time.
My finger reverted to its pre-op shape. And the operation itself caused the loss of sensation, i.e., numb, on the side of the pinky. I've stopped playing for escape purposes, that being different from playing for soundtracks or even playing while composing. But through the years, jamming with myself in idle moments was one great way to 'touch ground' -- get to a neutral spot where I could let go of all the stress.
What happens now, in the middle of some simple passage (usually involving arpeggio or stretch for a ninth - egad I used to be able to hit thirteenth), the pinky's new feel breaks any hope of gaining selflessness.
On the plus side, and to please my optimistic spirit, it has made my ear stronger as compensation. And that's about as far up as the plus side gets in music. I have returned to programming, and now work two jobs, which does not leave a hell of lot of time left to be writing this babble online.
Anyways, there's some great technological things in the pipe involving music.
See you all in 37 weeks!
February 25th, 2004 @ 6:03PM
So Marisa was cut in the semifinal round last week on American Idol. Simon said she had a stance like a barroom singer. Marisa said, "But that's how Tina Turner stands!?!"
January 23rd, 2004 @ 11:01PM
I had a crush on Mary Beth at one time.
Before Mad Fables, I was a Dorm Director of Webster Hall on U of Montclair (then an uncredited college), NJ. Since my major in grad school was Human Organizational Processses, this made sense at that time.
The Dorm Director of Stone Hall was Jon Sobecki, a great guy who did a Neil Young/ Jimmy Buffet kind of thing. He introduced me to his sister, Mary Beth. She was a singer with a sultry blues voice. She knew how to 'growl'.
Flash forward. Many years go by...............................................
Mary Beth's daughter, Marisa, is a finalist on American Central. She knows how to growl.
January 1st, 2004 @ 12:52PM
In this new year, let's get down on our knees and give thanks we're still standing on our feet.
December 22nd, 2003 @ 2:15PM
Levity is the key to reducing friction but it only seems to work when all parties are interested in doing so.
Concerning the internet battle of the bands, I processed the stages of mourning -- Santa's new reindeers amongst the old ones: "Dancer and Denial and Donner and Anger, Comet and Disbelief and Blitzen and Depression...but do you recall the most famous reindeer of all?" Next year, perhaps, there will be an internet battle of the rants.
Go with the flow. I spent a week on God Rest Ye Shoppers; maybe more than that since I had previously written the four part string harmony which started the track. I had fun doing it. Thanks for that. In this comedy of miscommunication and false assumptions, one can only pull the energy through them, absorb it and let it pass. Like chili which gives you heartburn, it doesn't change the fact that it tasted good.
To all my buddies, forum friends, shoutbox addicts and whacko artists:
Merry Christmas!
p.s. I'll be in L.A. til New Years
December 18th, 2003 @ 6:28PM
Hit Song Science
The prediction that the Norah Jones album Come Away With Me would have eight tracks hit the charts is the poster child for the software company Polyphonic HMI. It was touted in articles in the New York Times magazine, the London Times and on their own website. And why not? Their artificial intelligence application called Hit Song Science (HSS) uses algorithms to compare a song to a database of hits from the recent past. These comparisons predict the hit potential for the song in today's music environment. The Norah Jones album was fed into the computer by the HSS scientists and found it to be loaded with winners.
The ideology behind the technology is based on three questions, which HSS says should all be answered yes:
1. Does the song sound like a hit?
2. Does the song have encouraging mathematical patterns?
3. Does the songs have the right kind of promotion for the current market?
HSS takes care of the math question; their research shows that if there are not encouraging mathematical patterns in a song, it will not see commercial success. And, of course, music labels are sitting up and taking notice with a serious eye.
Approximately 3.5 million songs have been analyzed in their database, covering all music label releases since the 1950's. This database is updated weekly with new releases. In a process called Spectral Deconvolution, a program "listens" to any CD and isolates patterns in many musical events, some of which are melody, harmony, tempo, pitch, octave, beat, rhythm, fullness of sound, noise, brilliance, and chord progression. Each song is then mapped onto a grid according to its mathematical characteristics. A song at one position in this grid greatly differs from songs at the other end of this grid and songs with mathematical similarities are positioned very close to one another. When songs that were not hits are removed from the grid, definite clusters of songs appeared: hit songs have common mathematical characteristics. Upon analysis of a new song, if it falls within one of the hit song clusters on the grid, it is of mathematical significance.
"Even if the songs we say are mathematically similar to your song do not sound anything like your song you must understand that many mathematical patterns are not obviously apparent. In some cases you'll just have to take our word for it. Our application is based on solid science and is never wrong in this sense.”, their web site boldly states. However, since lyrics are not part of the analysis, there can be deviation points on the grid – songs which have been hits because of their lyrics. Although this is not the science for hip-hop, they point out that strong lyrics with music that ranks mathematically high will have an easier time in the marketplace.
HSS takes a very mercenary stance in the war between the RIAA and artists; it will accept money from anyone. There are two versions of Hit Song Science services: HSS Pro and HSS Basic. Pro is available only for major labels. It includes more in-depth information which includes timing for marketing and financial break-even points. Basic is available to anyone over the internet and priced on a sliding scale of how many songs are submitted, from 1 song at $50 to 12 songs for $420, an ouch for the casual garage band. A sample report is viewable at their website as well as a description of the technology and FAQs, which provided much of this information in this article.
sources:
New York Times Magazine, “Year In Ideas”., Dec 14,2003
www.hitsongscience.com
