NAMM Oddities, Now a Museum Piece

Barry Wood’s fantastic NAMM Oddities list is the definitive guide to strange things at NAMM — as in rare delights, as well as just plain weird. And the 2008 guide is now available. NAMM Oddities 08 Square drums are the oddity of the year, and will now be on display at the Museum of Making […]

Trance Falls on Hard Times, DJ Mars Sells his Technics 1200s (Not Really)

Overheard on Craigslist San Francisco: Hi, and thanks to all you rituos brothers for reading my post. Yes, it is true, I am selling my DJ gear as I need the cash. First up is a set of turntables (1200s) played on by myself and with my own genuine autograph. I will autograph them again […]

Artist Profiles: Monolake in New Zealand

Window is a lovely arts blog — across “writers, academics, engineers — anyone with a good idea” — out of Aukland, New Zealand. They have a good overview of Monolake, aka Robert Henke, electronic composer and musician and co-founder of Ableton. Monolake/Robert Henke 2008 And you know what that means. Time for some video action. […]

Renoise, Unique Music Tracker, Now in Demo on Linux

Commercial music development on Linux is at a trickle, but a real gem as far as music production is now available: Renoise, the modern tracker tool. Not only is Renoise a cult favorite for its unique approach to composition, but the Linux version looks to fully embrace Linux technologies. And that’s a big deal, because […]

Retro 80s Casio Keyboard Ad from Allmusic

Allmusic.com’s blog is doing vintage music-related ads. A true classic: this ad for Casio keyboards. Grab an MT-100 and some hair product, hit the NYC subway, crank your volume, and pick up trashy 80s women! The NYPD will nod in approval. Wow, now I know how to supplement my income. Retro Ad of the Week […]

The Flashbulb Pirates His Own Album; Fires Torpedo at the CD

Photo: WadeB. Caution: piracy can make you … queasy / vomit-y. Discussions about music distribution, sales, and piracy often return to that time-worn theme of “supporting artists.” Of course, what usually gets left out is what actually supports the artists. Sure, it’s lovely that the industry likes this theme — maybe you imagine an ingenious, […]