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Via kottke.org.
Did you know that there was a ban on solo encores…:
“Did you know that there was a ban on solo encores at the Metropolitan Opera? Not anymore. After Juan Diego Flórez busted out nine flawless high Cs in a tenor solo, the reaction from the audience compelled the singer into the first solo encore at the Met since 1994.
Peter Gelb, the Met’s general manager, said on Tuesday that he had asked Mr. Flórez weeks ago whether he would be prepared to repeat the aria, if the audience demanded. Mr. Fl’orez had already done so at other houses, including the Teatro alla Scala in Milan, where last year he became the first to violate an encore ban since 1933.
Mr. Flórez agreed to Mr. Gelb’s request, and the orchestra and chorus were warned. A system was established. Mr. Gelb kept an open line on the phone in his box to the stage manager. After the explosive reaction he gave the stage manager the go-ahead. The manager activated a podium light for the conductor, Marco Armiliato. Mr. Armiliato held out a questioning two fingers to Mr. Flórez. ‘He just smiled, and that means ‘Yes,’ ‘ the conductor said.
Flórez nailed all nine Cs in the encore too. The mp3 of the performance is a thrilling listen.
(link)”
From the BBC News:
A group of MPs has called on football clubs to cut the number of foreign players in the English game.
What say you have more important shit to worry about?
Via the BBC Website
BBC Radio 1 has banned the word “faggot” from the Pogues’ 1987 Christmas hit Fairytale of New York to avoid offence.
…MacColl’s mother, Jean, called the ban “too ridiculous”, while the Pogues said they found it “amusing”.
It’s quite funny actually. Listen here
UPDATE
The BBC has backed down!
BBC Radio 1 has said it will allow the Pogues’ Fairytale of New York to be played on the station uncut, after criticism of a decision to censor it.
Dan “Björn Türoque” Crane on the Air Guitar!
I consider the air guitar to be the ne plus ultra of both high and low tech, and thus find myself subservient to its power.
It is a sad day.
Woohoo!
FLAC and Vorbis makes a welcome return to iTunes thanks to the lovely people at xiph.org. Hopefully this will remove the need to run 3rd party apps to listen to music encoded in these open formats.
Get it here.
*UPDATE* - Alas, still no support for native FLAC file format. Only Ogg FLAC, but at least it’s a step in the right directon.
From playlistmag.com
Famed electronic duo The Crystal Method has released Drive: Nike+ Original Run, a 45 minute continuous electronic music mix for runners.
Gotta love The Crystal Method. Vegas is a must-have album.
As the observant among you will have noticed, I have been conspicuous by my absence of late. So where have I been?
Well, some of it it’s interesting and some of it isn’t. Firstly, been spending my free time learning PHP. I’ve become a little engrossed in a little personal project, the purpose of which is to write an app to catalog my movie collection. It’s been fun (most of the time) if a little frustrating (most of the time!).
Other than that, went to my first festival last week! 
The Sunrise Celebration took place in Somerset between the 16th - 21st of June. We (as in my band, Just to Annoy Ray) played a couple of sets there, Friday on the Eartheart (Whirl-Y-Gig) Stage and Sunday in the Bimble Inn. We had a great time with both sets being really well received, though I do HAVE to give a big shout out to the guys at the Bimble Inn for all their hard work. It was touch and go for a while, but they pulled it off. Fair play guys!
Other than playing, the definite highlight was seeing Banco de Gaia play live in Friday night. It was awesome! For those of you that don’t know him, his new album, Farewell Ferengistan is worth picking up, and there are a couple of classic tunes you NEED to hear, namely Last Train to Lhasa, Heliopolis, and Drunk as a Monk (Rabbit in the Moon Mix).
So in summary, I’ve been programming, getting drunk, and dancing around to upbeat ambient dance music in a big field (though not ALL at the same time!)
Technorati Tags: Banco de Gaia, Sunrise Celebration, Just to Annoy Ray, Undulattice
From USA Today
Apple Computer Inc. is entitled to use the apple logo on its iTunes Music Store, a judge ruled Monday, rejecting a suit filed by Apple Corps Ltd., the guardian of The Beatles’ commercial interests.
Apple Corps, which contended that the U.S. company had broken a 1991 agreement in which each side agreed not to enter into the other’s field of business, said it would appeal.
Judge Edward Mann ruled that Apple Computer used the fruit logo in association with the store, not the music, and thus did not breach the agreement.
From the Smashing Pumpkins website.
It’s official, The Smashing Pumpkins are currently writing songs for their upcoming album, their first since 2000. No release date has yet been set, but the band plans to begin recording this summer.
Let’s hope it marks a return to form.
Technorati Tags: music, smahing pumpkins, undulattice
Posted on MacSerendipity
Well I will start off by saying that my work Colleague Mr undulattice will be the first to jump to the fore and say hey this guy knows nothing, nothing I say about music. He will then pull out his 76 string guitar and prove his point
I am a very fond of my strings (currently owning three 12 string acoustics, two 6 string acoustics, one 6 string electric, and two hammered dulcimers - approx 225 strings in total!) but a 76 string guitar might be pushing it a little.
42 strings is the most I’ve seen on a guitar, which is the Manzer Pikasso
In 1984 Pat Metheny asked me to design and build a guitar with ” as many strings as possible” The resulting collaboration was the Pikasso guitar.
SPECIAL FEATURES
Four necks. Two sound holes. Two access doors; one on the upper player’s side and one atthe tail block. ( based on a panel door design by the brilliant -Abraham Wechter)
The “WEDGE” TM1984 is a special feature I designed specifically for this instrument. The body is tapered so that the side closest to the player is thinner than the side that rests on the players knee, thus leaning the top back towards the player for a more aerial view. This is also more comfortable under the player’s arm.
Now THAT is too many strings!
Technorati Tags: guitar, music, undulattice
From the BBC Website
Crazy by Gnarls Barkley has made pop history as the UK’s first number one song based on download sales alone.
‘Bout time me thinks.
Technorati Tags: chart, music, downloads
The ongoing case of Apple Computers vs the Beatles’ Apple Corps record label.
Apple Corps say that Apple computers have broken a contract agreed between the two companies in 1991, in which Apple agreed not to move into the music industry, iPods and the iTunes Music Store being the major points of contention.
While this is old news (lawsuit was filed in 2003) and to be expected in today’s litigation friendly society, it has turned up this choice quote from one of Apple’s lawyers.
“Even a moron in a hurry could not be mistaken about that….”
the distinction between the computer company’s iTunes online music business and a recording company like Apple Corps Ltd.
Made me laugh anyway!
I’m not a Placebo fan. They look like I should like them, in interviews they sound like I should like them , but then…….
I hear his voice! Could never get past his voice!
But is it just me, or does Molko appear to have gotten his whining out of the way and grown a pair on this new album? Or maybe I’m just getting less fussy in my old age!
Technorati Tags: music
