The Beatles’ Surprising Contribution To Brain Science

09 Nov 2012 Leave a comment

by Ed Cyphers in General Posts Tags: ,

(Source: NPR)

The same brain system that controls our muscles also helps us remember music, scientists say.

When we listen to a new musical phrase, it is the brain’s motor system — not areas involved in hearing — that helps us remember what we’ve heard, researchers reported at the Society for Neuroscience meeting in New Orleans last month.

The finding suggests that the brain has a highly specialized system for storing sequences of information, whether those sequences contain musical notes, words or even events.

But the discovery might never have happened without The Beatles, says Josef Rauschecker of Georgetown University.

Listen to the full story here:

(Thanks, Elaine)

The Upgrade is Here!

08 Nov 2012 Leave a comment

by Ed Cyphers in General Posts Tags:

A recent upgrade to this site will make your experience as a reader or follower a more convenient and enjoyable one. All posts that recommend music (the Songs You May Have Missed and Recommended Albums entries) are now accompanied by embedded audio clips, rather than off-site links (to Grooveshark or YouTube.) This applies to upcoming posts as well as all previous ones, which have now been edited to include new audio. All video too will now be presented in embedded form, rather than as off-site links. The improvements are several:

  • Now you may play an audio clip while you read the accompanying post, rather than going off-site to hear the song–especially beneficial when lyrics are reprinted within a post.
  • The embedded audio clips represent a significant improvement in sound quality over most of the off-site links.
  • YouTube or other videos may still accompany some music posts, but only as a supplement. You won’t be at the mercy of videos becoming unavailable due to licensing issues or YouTube users closing their accounts.
  • The embedded audio will be available to users in all countries, whereas Grooveshark and YouTube have restrictions for certain users.
  • I’m no longer limited by the selection of music I can find full audio clips of online. My personal collection is now the music source, and I’ve already begun posting songs I previously could not because they were unavailable elsewhere.

Next I’ll begin revamping the posts in other series which contain music, such as the Forgotten Hits and Story Behind the Song posts. I hope you revisit some of the older posts, especially if you were previously unable to access certain music.

Let me know how you like the improvements!

~Ed

 

Does Anyone Even Remember What ‘MTV’ Used to Stand For?

08 Nov 2012 Leave a comment

Maybe they should change their name :)

Image by Ed Cyphers

A Celebration of Retro Media

07 Nov 2012 Leave a comment

by Ed Cyphers in General Posts Tags: , , , , ,

What is the appeal or value of vinyl in the digital age? In part, its “object-ness” in contrast to the non-thing that a digital music file is.

Think about it: your dad’s record collection most likely still exists. It’s either upstairs on shelves or in boxes, or has been traded in at some record store. Perhaps pieces have found their way by now into various collections of young hipster fans of old vinyl and have changed hands several times. But the objects that were your dad’s record collection are probably still around because they were objects. And because music in old formats is harder to delete than an mp3, which is always about 2 mouse clicks (or one fried hard drive) from non-existence.

The music playing on a vinyl record required your attention; you had to flip it or change it every 20 minutes or so. And that, combined with album art, lyric sheets, etc. made the listening experience a more engaging one generally, and may have led to a more intimate connection to the music than the iPod generation commonly makes. The digital music file can accompany you everywhere you go and be background to everything you do. But when was the last time you set aside time to just listen to your iPod? To oversimplify: vinyl listening was a more active experience, digital listening is more passive.

This short film is a little reminder of how art can lose a degree or aspect of its power to connect with us each time we find a seemingly more “perfect” format for its conveyance. Sometimes, as with 8mm film and even Polaroid photos, imperfection is an inseparable part of the art itself.

And if art is a reflection of life (which is imperfect) doesn’t art with imperfection make a more perfect reflection?

Introduction to a Band: The A.C.T Instrumental Megamix

05 Nov 2012 Leave a comment

by Ed Cyphers in General Posts Tags: , ,

Last EpicSilence

Meet Swedish pop-proggers A.C.T, a band who deserves a wider audience. Their name is clearly part of their PR problem; no one except the band knows what A.C.T actually stands for (and they won’t tell). Their lack of recent recorded output is certainly another hindrance–they haven’t been heard from since their excellent 2006 half-concept album Silence. (I say “half-concept album” because A.C.T tends to split the difference between conventional records and concept albums by sequencing the first half of their releases with stand-alone tracks and using second half–what we used to call “side two”–for one long suite of shorter, thematically linked songs.)

Not only has it been a full six years now between releases but it seems impossible to even get news about the band. No recent news, clips, tour dates, interviews–it’s like Biff Tannen went back and erased them from history. Whatever–I have four CDs to prove they not only existed but excelled. Whatever their issues producing album number five; whatever their challenges finding fans on this continent, talent isn’t the problem.

I’ve stitched together, rather tidily if I may say so, a five-minute clip featuring some of their flashier instrumental moments as a little calling card. Though most of their songs do contain vocals, this instrumental mix focuses on the strength of the band’s ensemble playing, not to mention a penchant for an ear-friendly riff. My hope is that it’ll lead a few more people to discover an excellent band–I’d recommend starting with either Silence or Last Epic, which preceeded it. (And if you happen to find out what A.C.T actually means, please let me know.)

Have a listen to what I call the A.C.T Instrumental Megamix:

New Album of Old Music from Prog Legends Nektar

04 Nov 2012 Leave a comment

by Ed Cyphers in General Posts Tags: , ,

A Spoonful of Time  Magic Is A Child (2012 ReMaster) Recycled - Deluxe Edition Sounds Like These [LP, DE, Bacillus BDA 7501]

Tonight I clicked on my favorite progressive rock website, Prog Archives, just to see what was up. Just beneath the site’s banner, which, by the way, is a very cool mural that makes for a great exercise in “name that album art”, is a listing of the top 50 artists of the last 24 hours. Presumably this list is based on the site’s activity. I was mildly stunned to see one of my favorite prog bands, Nektar, listed first.

Nektar, you see, while well-known to old prog heads (and people like me who befriended old prog heads and/or gave ear to their rantings) rate more as a bit of rock esoterica to younger music fans. Like say, Uriah Heep. But without the hits. Anyway, I was excited and a little concerned to see their top-of-the-list status on the site, knowing it likely indicated either a buzz over a new release…or perhaps the death of band leader Roye Albrighton. (Isn’t is so that the old bands usually make headlines only for one or the other of the two?)

Gladly I confirmed it was indeed a new release that was generating Nektar-related searches. A Spoonful of Time is the band’s first-ever covers album, and a very credible one it is. In fact, Prog Archives allows contributors to rate albums on its site, and A Spoonful of Time (which has been out in Europe since September 11) is actually, shockingly, rated higher than even their legendary 1970’s releases. So let’s see what all the fuss is about:

An A-list of prog legends contribute their talents: Geoff Downes (Asia/Yes), Mark Kelly (Marillion), Ian Paice (Deep Purple), Rod Argent (Zombies/Argent), Steve Howe (Asia/Yes), Ginger Baker (Cream), Rick Wakeman (Yes), Bobby Kimball (Toto), David Cross and Mel Collins (King Crimson) and many more.

The ambition of the album matches its list of hired guns. It’s either real ballsy or outright folly to try to cover songs like Rush’s “Spirit of the Radio“, Toto’s “Africa“, Steve Miller’s “Fly Like an Eagle“, Pink Floyd’s “Wish You Were Here”, Blind Faith’s “Can’t Find My Way Home” and the Doors’ “Riders on the Storm“, not to mention Alan Parsons Project’s iconic and ubiquitous  instrumental “Sirius“. More audacious still, perhaps, is the decision to mix in pop, folk and R&B classics: 10cc’s “I’m Not in Love”, Neil Young’s “Old Man” and The O’Jays’ “For the Love of Money”. The breadth of this playlist invites disaster of Hindenburg proportions. Unless…

Did I mention the stellar cast of musicians? I did. I should also mention that, although Nektar’s heyday of mass popularity is decades behind them, Roye Albrighton still helms the ship. And, since their return from a generation-long hiatus around 2002 they’ve released a very respectable string of new records that manage somehow both to sound like classic Nektar and yet not sound dated. The guy knows what he’s doing, and seems incapable of releasing a dud album. Surely covering such sacred songs is the test of that. Albrighton and company pass with flying colors.

A Spoonful of Time will be released domestically on November 27th. You can listen to samples here:

http://www.amazon.com/A-Spoonful-of-Time/dp/B009RRPDKE/ref=tmm_other_meta_binding_title_0?ie=UTF8&qid=1352081936&sr=1-1

By the way, a little Nektar trivia: their 1977 album Magic is a Child (pictured top right) featured a young, unknown model named Brooke Shields on its cover.

Check out Prog Archives (and test your knowledge of iconic prog cover art by seeing how many albums you can name from its banner.)

http://www.progarchives.com/

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