Living With a Nerd

Inspiration for The Transient Unknown has come from a variety of places.  If I had to choose a single source as the primary musical influence, it would be from the ambient group Redshift.  Their style hasn’t influenced me so much as their overall “feel” has.  While the structure of their songs is quite different from my own, I get the same vibes in my soul listening to my own music as I get while listening to theirs.

I try to find musical inspiration from a myriad of places.  It can be something as mundane as the noise my car makes when going over a pothole in the road, or the sound of my hard drives spinning away.  I have found inspiration in everything from Fizzgigg’s trills, to bird calls (especially apparent in “Cold Signals”). 

Another part of the inspiration used in creating The Transient Unknown has come from how various images and experiences have “sounded” to me.  My senses are not uncontrollably confused, however I do experience something similar to synesthesia in my daily life. Thankfully, I believe this occurs more in my own imagination rather than as a result of a case of mild synesthesia.  Regardless of its origin, I have found it to be a valuable tool in the creation of ambient electronica, especially in the style that I have been working with lately.

While The Transient Unknown still has plenty of work left to complete on it, the long-term portion of my brain has already begun the planning work on my next album.  I started with an ambient album because I wanted to make music that Brittnie and I could sleep to, and I felt it would be a good way to learn how to use the equipment due to the amount of experimentation required to get things sounding “just right”.  What I would really love to do is make an eclectic album consisting of various gabber, jungle, and tweaky tracks…more of a collection of “albums within an album” kind of thing, rather than an album that flows together and has a cohesive sound.  Brittnie provided me with what is quite possibly the perfect name for an album such as this, “Lost on the Way to the Laundry”.  And so shall it be known as.

Just a reminder: The Transient Unknown should be available on iTunes, Rhapsody, CDBaby, Napster, etc. at some point before the end of this year.  Below, you can check out the three tracks I am releasing for free off the album.  They provide an excellent representation of what to expect from the album once it is completed.  Download them, tell your friends about them, do whatever you want with them; they are sans DRM and I encourage you to distribute each one freely amongst your social circle and amongst peer to peer networks.  Go nuts.

Cold Signals

Omicron Ceti

Fomalhaut’s Zenith

I very highly recommend you listen to these tracks with a set of decent headphones turned up fairly loud.  There are a lot of layers to these songs, and using speakers or low-quality earbuds can cause everything to melt together.

A steak that rivals the Ol’ Ninety-Sixer from The Great Outdoors was cooked up and served to the gaming public today by Blizzard.  Various portions were served, some better received than others.  Much like the Ol’ Nintey-Sixer, Blizzard is making us eat all the fat and gristle as well.  Apparently, Starcraft 2 will not have a multiplayer over LAN option.

I’ll repeat that for those whose minds couldn’t accept the information the first time.  According to Blizzard, they have no plans to support Starcraft 2 multiplayer over a LAN.

The general consensus so far is that it is Blizzard’s attempt to cut down on piracy.  While understandable, I think this is taking things a bit too far.  Why have no LAN option at all?  Why not require that the CD key be authenticated online (either through the Starcraft 2 software or through a website).  After that, if a duplicate or non-authenticated key is found, that computer can’t connect to the LAN game.  Or, even more simple…instead of requiring the game be played over battle.net, require each copy to just authenticate over battle.net every time the LAN lobby is loaded.  Both options keep the pirates at bay, and it treats the paying customers like paying customers.

I know how fickle PC gamers can be.  I predict that if Blizzard releases Starcraft 2 with no LAN support, two consequences will occur parallel to each other.  People are just going to not buy the game out of spite, and SOMEONE SOMEWHERE is going to find a way to make LAN multiplayer work, thus increasing the demand for a pirated copy.  Even if their reasons are because of piracy, as I recall the original Starcraft included an option on the retail CD that enabled you to use a single copy of the game for a multiplayer game over a LAN.  The “old” Blizzard wouldn’t have done this…Activision Blizzard?  Yeah…I’m not all that surprised.  The more the gaming industry has become an industry, the worse it has gotten. 

I sincerely hope that Blizzard isn’t planning on axing LAN play for Diablo III.   Whether they do or not, I’m going to purchase both Starcraft 2 and Diablo III anyway…but my opinion of Blizzard as a company will be significantly deflated.   Hopefully, Blizzard will do what they have always done and listen to their community.  I do my best to stay away from any battle.net forum, but I can only vaguely imagine the shitstorm that must be occurring at this very moment.

Oh, and instead of releasing campaigns for all three races in the same retail copy of the game, releasing three DIFFERENT retail copies, one for each race?  GG, Blizzard.  Thanks.

I have signed up for a Fight Night Round 4 tournament that occurs in mid-July.  It’s been quite a while since I consciously practiced to get better at a video game.  As of now, my training regiment is fairly light…I try to put in at least 2 hours a day, and I’m playing various other games such as Tempest and Geometry Wars to keep my reaction times low.

It seems very out of order for me to actually prepare for competition involving a video game.  Competition has never really been a driving force behind my joy of picking up a controller or sitting down at a keyboard.  This has, however, been slowly changing.  I’m not sure what caused this, but I have noticed myself wanting more and more to not just play games, but to actually excel at them. 

Despite the thousands upon thousands of hours I have spent playing video games throughout my life, I’ve never been what I would consider to be a “pro” gamer.  My skills are good enough to beat Ninja Gaiden Black on multiple difficulty levels, but at the same time I’m not too hard to beat head to head.  I’m not sure if this is because of the level of my gaming ability, or if it is my general distaste for participating in anything competitive.  Considering I tend to do extremely well in single player games, but choke during multiplayer, I believe it to be a little from column A and a little from column B.  Interestingly enough, if there is a large audience, I get extremely nervous while engaging in competitive gaming…yet for some reason, my performance improves dramatically.

My buddy Mike routinely beats me in just about any game we play head to head; I am not ashamed of this, however.  Mike is that rare breed that just has natural gaming ability, and losing to him feels more like a learning experience rather than defeat.  He is currently helping me prepare for the FNR4 tournament (by “helping me prepare” I mean playing FNR4 on a regular basis for an hour or so longer than we normally would play a game head-to-head.)  I know that this “tournament” can barely be called as such, and I will be surprised if there are even 20 people there…still, for some reason I feel motivated to give a solid, realistic attempt at winning.  Mike and I have spent hundreds of hours between FNR2, FNR3, and now FNR4, so he makes a good sparring partner.

The only issue is when he gains skills and strategies faster than I do :P.

A game-changing decision could be made sometime in the next couple of days. Upon listening to Stasis Dreams throughout the day, I have come to the conclusion that it serves as the perfect introduction for the album’s epic 15 minute climax. My original intention behind the Stasis Dreams track was to create another slow, “not much is going on” soundscape. The first indication that this would make a perfect intro for “Transient Unknown” (the name of the previously mentioned 15 minute epic climax) was upon hearing the ending. I had already allowed its slowly sweeping sound to enter my ear canal multiple times today, but for some reason it became different. The end is the absolute last thing that I work on in a song, and I only work on it after I have deemed the rest of the song complete. In it’s unfinished state, however, I believe the ending to what is currently known as Stasis Dreams would serve as a perfect intro for the end of this album.

In all honesty, I could leave Stasis Dreams alone, and just create the introduction I originally had floating around in my head for Transient Unknown.  Stasis Dreams by itself is an ok track; it’s not bad, but it certainly doesn’t stand out. While I think the intro I originally had planned for Transient Unknown would sound more intriguing, I don’t think it would fit with how I want to end the album. Stasis Dreams, however, has a certain edge to it that would be perfect for wrapping up the experience. Beyond using Stasis Dreams as just an intro for the final track, I am considering using it as a basis for the entire song, while my original plans for the track currently known as “Transient Unknown” would be condensed, simplified, and renamed Stasis Dreams.

In many of the ambient albums I listen to, I find that the final track provides me with the overall “feel” of the album; it gives me the emotional response that I will forever associate with it. The final seconds are potentially more important than the rest of the album. I want the last track on this album to bring out a very specific physical, emotional, and spiritual response in those who listen to it, and I think within the track currently known as Stasis Dreams, the secret to accomplishing this is waiting to be found.

After nearly three solid weeks of work (which is about two weeks too long), I have FINALLY finished track number five from The Transient Unknown.  The snafu was with one particular sound that I was trying to get exactly right.  As mentioned in a previous entry, I was having a mind-to-MIDI issue; I couldn’t quite get what I was looking for.  A couple of days ago, out of nowhere, something in my brain clicked and I suddenly knew exactly how to get the elusive noise I had been feebly attempting to create.  With the hardest part of the task completed, I am only four tracks away from finishing this album.

So far, I’d say that I’m quite happy with how it has turned out.  My original intention was to create music that Brittnie and I could sleep to, and music that I could listen to while at work; I have accomplished this, and I am happy to report that the results are good.  I’m still organizing what will eventually be the longest track on the album (approximately 15 minutes).  I have an inkling of where I want the other three tracks to go, but I don’t have any definite plans yet.  The Transient Unknown has become one of those “active track, quiet track, active track” kind of albums…completely by accident, interestingly enough.  I’ve put together three quiet tracks in a row (Fomalhaut’s Zenith, Stasis Dreams, and another that is as of now unnamed), which means I need at least two more “active” tracks to round things out.

While I enjoy putting together the more active stuff, I find the quiet tracks to be MUCH more challenging.  Trying to get a layered sound that has a surprise for you each time you listen to it while keeping the surface of the soundscape uncrowded is no easy task.  Most ambient tracks that don’t have much going on seem to meld together, and it’s quite difficult to create something that sounds original.  The actual programming for the quiet tracks isn’t hard by any measure, however finding creative and original ideas that layer together subtly and without appearing as a wall of sound certainly is.

While Stasis Dreams isn’t one of the tracks I am releasing for free, here are links to three songs off the album that I am putting out for all to enjoy.  Download them, tell your friends about them, do whatever you want with them; they are sans DRM and I encourage you to distribute each one freely.  Go nuts.

Cold Signals

Omicron Ceti

Fomalhaut’s Zenith

I recently came to the conclusion that while our blog had a lovely minimalist look to it, navigating the various culture that we post about left much to be desired.  After a quick hop over to the Wordpress website, I decided on the “Pixel” theme.  It’s a fraction more cluttered than what we were using before, but it’s easier to find the oat clusters amongst the bran flakes.  While I wish the text was slightly larger, overall I’m rather impressed with it.  I’m especially happy that the author’s name is displayed prominently above each post, making it much easier to see who owns what.

The ability to view all of the topics that we post about splashed across the top of the page is a vast improvement, and the easily customized message at the top of the right column is an unexpected but welcome addition.

I have had a penchant for science fiction for as long as I can remember.  I grew up reading novels and stories written by authors such as Issac Asimov, Kevin J. Anderson, Dafydd ab Hugh, Robert Heinlein, Greg Bear, Ben Bova, Arthur C. Clarke, Phillip K. Dick, William C Dietz…the list goes on.   My preference for a science fiction story isn’t specific; the mode of transportation has never been important to me, so long as the destination provides a spacey, far out feel.

I am currently reading “Steel Beach”, by John Varley.  I had never heard of either the book or the author prior to finding it buried in my bookshelf, but apparently Varley has won both the Hugo and Nebula awards multiple times, plus he has been writing novels since the 70’s.  I suppose this would make me a bit late to the party, given that I am only now discovering him, but better late than never. 

Within the first 10 pages of starting Steel Beach, I felt like I have known Hildy (the main character) my entire life.  Backstory is trickled out at a perfect pace, and the more I learn about him the more he feels like some lost family member rather than just a protagonist in a story.  Varley’s writing style is flawless, and elicits a particular brand of happy chemicals I didn’t realize my brain had the capacity to manufacture.  He somehow manages to squeeze entire paragraphs into a single sentence.  Even within his descriptions, every word has a purpose and seems to be necessary for the story to be told.  Typically, it only takes two paragraphs for me to get “sucked in” to a novel’s world, in which my perception of my world disappears and the novel I am reading becomes “reality”…it becomes similar to The Matrix, where they are just looking at raw code but “see” a blond, or a brunette, etc.

With Varley’s writing style, it only takes an average of two sentences for my world to melt and for his world to become my reality.  If you enjoy science fiction in any capacity, be sure to check him out.

Digital Rights Management.  Three little words which embody everything wrong with the software, video game, and music industries.  Here, I have attempted to recreate the experience of dealing with a piece of media that has intrusive DRM.

You go to a store, plunk down your hard earned money, and inform the cashier that you would like to purchase one of their discs encased in plastic.  You are given said disc encased in plastic, and go about the rest of your day, excited about the purchase of your new best friend.  Upon arriving back home, you remove the packaging surrounding your buddy with a bullet hole, and prepare to engage your brain in what is collectively known as “fun”.

It is not to be, unfortunately.  You the consumer can’t be trusted.  As soon as you put your new friend into a disc drive, you are immediately handcuffed, pushed into an enclosed room with no windows, and chained to a chair.  Your PC, TV, game console, or whatever it is that allows your newly bought media to function is wheeled into the room, strapped to a hand cart.  A wide man in a black suit, wearing sunglasses, waits with his hands on the cart.  Chained to a chair, you are now permitted to play with your new friend.  The instant you do something you aren’t allowed to do, such as attempt to make a backup copy, request that you be allowed to put your music or movie on two different portable devices (both of them yours), the man standing behind the hand truck sneers and wheels away your new friend.  You are only permitted to play with your friend as long as you are strapped to a chair, he is strapped to a hand truck, and a lackey is waiting with a spring in his step to pull that hand truck out of the room.

The contempt these companies have for the people who keep them in business is astounding.

I think that if you asked any of my friends (all 2 of em), they’d tell you that I’m pretty much a Microsoft fan-boy.  From my desktop pc, to my netbooks, my game console, and EVEN my cell phone (Mr. Gates and Mr. Balmer, send me an email so I can tell you who to make the check out to for the plug).  So when the time came  for the Big O to upgrade his smart phone, the most obvious choice was going to be a new a snazzy, techy, cell phone with a MS based OS, right?  Wrong.  I was about to make a switch, and in a major way.

In the summer of ‘07, Google made waves when they announced that they would be getting into the cell phone market, and would be releasing a NEW hand held OS called Android.  Of course this announcement was met with a ressounding (including by yours truly) “Wat chu talkin bout Willis”.  It seemed like the monster that is Google was just trying to get its slimy, intrusive tentacles into a portion of someone else’s pie.  Well a little over a year later, amidst some fanfare, Google released their first Android phone by way of HTC called the G1for T-Mobile North America.

Android turned out to be a BEAST!!!

Google released a Linux based MONSTER, and since it’s Linux based, you know that its rock solid and open sourced.  Google had a lofty but reachable goal to seamlessly integrate everything Google (Gmail, Google Maps, Google Search etc) in to this phone without a hitch!  One of my favorite features about the phone is if you ever were to lose your phone and buy a new android phone there is no need to search for your contacts.  All of your contacts are automatically synced to your phone instantly, names, addresses, and numbers via your gmail account without missing a beat.  Then you have the open source model that has always been a bedrock of Linux.  The Android community has proven themselves to be on top of their games by creating ROMS, actual variations on the Android OS like the Rosie and Hero roms.  These two examples alone show how much potential Android has, and where the OS could be headed in the future.  Oh, and that doesn’t even touch the Android Market place and the 5,000+ open sourced, user created apps there.

The OS has established itself as such a stud that Asus earlier this year showed off a fanless netbook running Andriod.  Asus and Eee plan on releasing several netbooks before the end of this year that will have Android as the OS.  Couple this news with the fact that 23 Android phones are slated to hit the market this year (every carrier is going to get at least 2 but most are going to T-Mobile) the first of these is now the new myTouch G for T-Mobile to be released July 8th to Tmo customers, and a couple of Android tablets that are already on the market and you have yourself a smorgasbord of Androilicious(patent pending) goodness.

When the first Android phone was released people were asking, “Is this going to be the iPhone killer” or “How will Google and Android fair against the iPhone”.  It took me a while but I’ve finally realized that creating an “iPhone Killer” was never Google’s intent.  Their true hope was to deploy one more weapon in their technological attempt to infiltrate our homes (like MS and Apple) and take over the world.  I don’t know about you, but Android has me ready and willing to fall in line.

As a gamer, my desire for widespread destruction is rarely satiated.  Granted, destruction exists in many games, but rarely am I, the player, the cause of it.  There are extreme examples such as Fallout 3 (in which you can detonate a nuclear bomb) and smaller examples such as the classic game Bedlam (in which just about everything blows up like a car flying off a cliff in an action movie).  Still, most of the times these are macro events…things that occur on a grand scale but with a very “hands-off” approach.  Games like GTA IV and Crackdown do indeed feature widespread carnage…but these are more in the form of disruption rather than destruction. 

Enter Red Faction: Guerrilla.  The first Red Faction game, released in 2001, promised a revolution in the ability to live out your destructive fantasies.  While the obliteration went far beyond “you can break open crates!”, the reality wasn’t quite as robust as we were led to believe.  The “destruction” was limited to certain types of walls or doors, and not much beyond that.  Still, it was impressive for its time, and the game’s Geo-Mod technology laid the groundwork for future middleware and primary game engines.

Red Faction: Guerrilla doesn’t just let you break through a wall here or a door there.  It let’s you drop a building to the freakin’ ground.  As you whack at a building with your giant mining hammer, walls fall apart and support beams get crushed.  On the mini-map, the structural integrity of the building is noted as a percentage.  Reduce the integrity enough, and you will start to hear creaks and groans of protest from the assaulted metal and concrete.  Get that percentage to zero, and the building collapses.  You can do this to ANY building, environmental obstacle, vehicle…any object that appears in the game exists solely for your destructive pleasure.  This opens up many avenues for gameplay.  Need to break a miner out of jail?  You could fight your way through the prison and smash down the gate on their cell…or just drive a truck through the wall, giving you and them a chance to dip out before the guards even know what happened.  The choice is yours. 

Work on the music project has hit something of a snag. I wouldn’t call it writer’s block, because I have a ton of ideas waiting to make the transition from brain cell to MIDI instructions. Things seem to be getting lost in translation however, and I am finding it difficult to get things laid down the way I want them to. I don’t think it is a limit of the equipment I’m using, but rather the limit of my knowledge of using said equipment. I’m getting the hang of the advanced features of both the software and hardware at my disposal, but it has become obvious that my goals would be achieved more rapidly if I spent the time to actually learn how to use the tools available to me rather than twisting knobs and pushing switches until I get the sound I want. That being said, the tracks that are finished (Cold Signals, Omicron Ceti, and Fomalhaut’s Zenith) have all turned out more or less how I wanted them to, so there is encouragement found in listening to them on repeat.

It is increasingly likely that I will not have all 9 tracks finished before the end of July. Luckily, this is a self-imposed deadline whose sole purpose is to encourage me to put the time into production that my goals require…it doesn’t matter if the album is done by then, but I will certainly feel accomplished if this somehow occurs. Still, I would rather miss my own deadline instead of releasing something that isn’t an accurate representation of my creative or aural desires.