Musepack Blows
If you’ve spent any time at all downloading music from the various file sharing networks you’ve undoubtably come across files with an MPC extension. If you’re not particulary computer-savvy you simply attempted to play these files in whatever player you use, failed, and promptly deleted them. Good for you. It may have felt like a failure, but believe me, you did yourself a favor.
But, if you’re one of those people given to investigating strange computer problems until you’ve found a solution or run out of options, then you discovered that what you’ve found are indeed audio files, but audio files compressed in a format called Musepack.
I’m here to tell you (mostly because a Google search for “musepack blows” comes up with zero results) that Musepack does, in fact, blow.
Now, don’t take the statement “musepack blows” (which will now appear a number of times in order to produce a search result) to mean that Musepack is not effective at compressing audio. Apparently, Musepack performs very well in listening tests. This does not, however, change the fact that Musepack blows.
In order to play Musepack files you need to download a plugin for WinAmp or various and sundry other audio players. This is fine if your computer is the only place you want to listen to your music. I often enjoy listening to music on my iPod. For this, Musepack blows, because Apple does not support the Musepack format (for this I applaud them). Other people don’t own iPods. While I pity them, they are not safe from the scourge that is Musepack. No digital audio player supports the Musepack format. There are no plugins for digital audio players. This is because Musepack blows.
In the geek world there is a saying, and this saying is true. That saying goes something like “Standard is better than better.” What this means, if you need further explanation, is that higher-quality results alone do not outweigh the benefits of enabling everyone to cheaply and easily work on the same page. Currently, MP3 is the dominant audio compression standard.
Now, this is not to say that new standards cannot be produced. New standards should, by all means, be produced. Some times standards are accepted because they’re the first out of the gate. MP3, which is actually an extension of the existing MPEG standard, is a good example of this. Other times formats become standard because the company that develops them has a certain amount of leverage in the market. WMA and AAC are good examples of this. And some times standards are accepted because they’re free (libre and gratis, or speech and beer, whichever you prefer) and open and a community cares about them. Ogg Vorbis is a great example of this.
No one but lonely geeks whining about listening tests on message boards cares about Musepack. But since lonely geeks are the ones posting music to file sharing networks Musepack is finding a certain following there. It is not, however, finding a following anywhere else. The biggest difference between Musepack and all the other formats mentioned is that there is no third-party support for Musepack. No one has used it in a game and no one has made a digital audio player that supports it. This is because Musepack blows. This is also because Musepack is not so hugely superior to the other four major formats that it merits spending time and money developing hardware and software which supports it. Their frequently asked questions page is very short, which I take as futher evidence that no one really gives a shit.
Let me elaborate further on why Musepack blows. In order for me to get Musepack files to play in my audio players of choice (iTunes, iPod, MP3 player in my car [notice the numerous applications of a standard in the previous list]) I must use the following process:
- Use a Musepack decoder to make WAV files out of MPC files
- Use an MP3 encoder to make MP3 files out of WAV files
- Run MP3 files through MusicBrainz to get good metadata, because most of it is lost during the previous two steps
Now, this is a 3-step process and doesn’t seem very complex right? Right. It’s not complex, but the problem is that both Musepack and MP3 are lossy (as opposed to lossless) compression algorithms, meaning that data is lost duing the compression process (that’s how file sizes are reduced so dramatically). So I’m having to run the same audio through two separate, lossy compression schemes, removing data which describes the original sound each time. So much for the awesome quality of Musepack, huh? And all because Musepack blows.
So, whenever you run across files in the wild with an MPC extension, not only delete them, but publicly denegrate the person who gave them to you. Shame is the great motivator, and the fuckwits pushing Musepack could use a good shaming. Because, at the end of the day, Musepack blows.
The Mystical Music Release, vol 002
Note: I occasionally share new music that I’ve acquired with a group of my friends. I’m going to start posting the emails that go along with each release to this web site, but you’ve already got to be on the list to receive the torrent. Email me if you want to beg for it. Volume 001 has been posted back in time.
In the interim between this release and the last one I acquired almost 1,000 new songs. About 70% of this material was suitable for release in this forum, but even that would have been overwhelming. Hell, I’m overwhelmed and I did it to myself on purpose. I’ve managed to pare the selection down to 203 songs, 1.2 GB of music. Still a lot, but you’re worth it. If you feel buried, just start with the highlights.
There’s a little something for everyone in this collection, so if you don’t find something you love then you’re a moron and I can’t do anything to help you (try as I might). So, without further ado…
!!! – Louden Up Now
This New York octet (!) (pronounced Chk-Chk-Chk, or any other percussive sound repeated thrice) lays down the funkiest post-punk this side of, well, anywhere. By the time I got to the middle of track two I was hopping around my living room shouting along with the lead singer: “Like I give a fuck! Like I give a fuck about that motherfucking shit!”. If cynical office workers have been lacking an anthem in their struggle to deal with the banality of office politics, they just requisitioned one. Highlights: Pardon My Freedom, Dear Can, Shit Scheisse Merde (part 2).
Cat Power – You Are Free
Cat Power (Chan [pronounced “Shaun”] Marshall) is one of those bands that I should have been into for a long time. The name kept coming up in conversations with people who’s taste I trust, but I just kept forgetting to check it out. Then, one night, sitting at the computer feeling bored I started looking around for new music. Ah-ha! Cat Power! The opening bars, a simple little piano line played by itself, are intriguing. Then she sings “You were swinging your guitar around” and I fell in love. These sparse, delicate, gruff, honest songs form an engaging thesis on love and freedom that has earned not only my love (and lust!) and respect, but constant rotation on every device I own that will play it for me. Tracks one through seven are gold, Jerry. Highlights: I Don’t Blame You, Good Woman, Werewolf.
Various Artists – Mute: A Hush Records Instrumental Compilation
Hush Records gave us The Decemberists, and we love them for it. They are, not surprisingly, also the home of some excellent but as-yet-unknown bands, and this collection of instrumentals is an excellent showcase. I know absolutely nothing about the bands themselves except that some of them are on the other Hush Records compilation in this release, but their output is noteworthy. It’s definitely rough at some points, but with a pretty solid start. Play this on some lazy Sunday morning while you sip your coffee and slowly start the day. Highlights: Nova, Centralia, Ceiling Fan (Remix By Chad Crouch).
Various Artists – Read: Interpreting Björk
Covering Björk is tricky, particularly because your audience is full of fanboys like me. Hush Records, in their infinite wisdom, put together a pretty damn good collection of covers, both faithful and original. With very few exceptions (the awful, lazy, loungey version of Hyper-Ballad) the songs succeed in not only conveying the messages of the originals, but in taking them into interesting areas unique to each performer. The unabashed geek in me requires that I disclose my annoyance that one of the songs (It’s Oh So Quiet) is a cover of a cover. Highlights: The Hunter, Possibly Maybe, Unravel.
Low & Dirty Three – In the Fish Tank
I downloaded a bunch of Low albums and a bunch of Dirty Three albums, so I decided just to give you the one where they play together: In the Fish Tank. Low are apparently the kings of slowcore (or melancore, or sadcore), but I wouldn’t know because I haven’t had time to listen to their albums. Dirty Three are a three-piece (violin, guitar, drums) from Melbourne, Australia that plays chamber music for the indie rock era, or something like that. The music they make together is intriguing, beautiful and brooding. Highlights: Down By the River, Invitation Day, Cody.
Mirah – C’mon Miracle
All of the reviews I read about this woman compared her to everyone except Frente, of whom she is greatly reminiscent. Better, but reminiscent. C’mon Miracle has a folk heart that likes to rock out from time to time. Her voice is sultry and naive at the same time, lending the songs an adolescent confidence, a bit of a strut. Highlights: The Light, We’re Both So Sorry, The Dogs of B.A.
Múm – Finally We Are No One and Summer Make Good
I want to take this time to thank Jonathan for repeatedly asking me if I’d listened to these guys yet, which caused me to finally download them. I downloaded a lot of their work, and it’s good enough to merit including two albums in the release. Summer Make Good is the latest from this Icelandic crew. After the noisy wash of the opening track comes a sound that had me enthralled when I first listened to it with headphones. This is moodiness, this is ambience, this is emotive. This Is Good. Highlights (from Summer Make Good): Weeping Rock, Rock, Nightly Cares, Will the Summer Make Good for All of Our Sins.
Rachel’s – Selenography and systems/layers
Another double-album entry. I am constantly moved by the beauty in these tracks. A chamber music garage band populated with genius skater kids, or something. When I first read about the blend of chamber music instruments with drum kits and acoustic guitars I was pretty psyched. Then I listened to it, as executed by these bloody brilliant kids, and was blown away. Highlights from Selenography: A French Galleasse, Kentucky Nocturne, An Evening of Long Goodbyes. Highlights from systems/layers: Water From the Same Source, Last Things Last, 4 or 5 Trees.
The Album Leaf – In a Safe Place
In the same vein as Sigur Ros or Mogwai, The Album Leaf puts out the kind of droning, low and intentional music that is at once soothing and unsettling. Primarily the work of classically-trained pianist Jimmy LaValle, the songs move from the moody chords of the opener to the unexpectedly beat-driven Thule. Vocals are few and far between, and the instrumentals all seem to end too soon. Lovely. Highlights: Thule, TwentyTwoFourteen, Over the Pond.
The Arcade Fire – Funeral
Montreal’s The Arcade Fire found a way to completely capture that dueling sense of certainty and naivete that pervades adolescence, and then they rocked out with it. Bursting with desperation and anticipation, these are songs that grab you from the very beginning, even if you can’t understand the words (they seem intentionally obscured at times). I always seem to find myself pounding on the steering wheel and yelling at the top of my lungs when driving to this music. They’re also full of great little nuggets of wisdom like “If you want something, don’t ask for nothing.” Highlights: Neighborhood #1 (Tunnels), Neighborhood #2 (Laika), Une Annee Sans Lumiere.
The Fiery Furnaces – Blueberry Boat
This brother and sister team not only have a serious penchant for the quirky and theatrical, but also for creating songs epic in scope and duration. It takes a certain amount of guts to make your album opener over 10 minutes long. It may take a few listens before it all really starts to sink in, but it’s worth the effort. Tracks will change tone and tempo at the drop of a hat, but always be on message. What that message is I’m not sure. These guys are playing at Emo’s in Austin on October 22 (with Rilo Kiley) for anyone who’s interested. Jonathan and I will be attending. Highlights: Straight Street, I Lost My Dog, Mason City.
The Foreign Exchange – Connection
The Postal Service of hip-hop, Connection was put together through Internet collaboration between Phonte (Little Brother) and Dutch producer and multi-instrumentalist Nicolay. The production is warm and relaxed and the lyrics are confident and smart. Some of the best new hip-hop around. Highlights: Raw Life, Let’s Move, Sincere.
The Walkmen – Bows + Arrows
I keep coming back to this album and only listening to The Rat. That one song could carry this entire album, but it doesn’t need to. Quiet and loud, somber and furious, Bow + Arrows never fails to please. Go listen to The Rat right now! (Alex Ross is never wrong) Highlights: The Rat, Little House of Savages, 138th Street.
TV On the Radio – Desperate Youth, Blood Thirsty Babes
For the first couple of seconds of the album opener you think “jazz”. Then that driving loop arrives and the horns take on a different feel. And then the driving loop doesn’t go away! And then the song has soul, and you’re dancing around the room, jumping up and down, and various and sundry other expressions of joy. Ring in the new! So on and so forth for the rest of the album. Highlights: The Wrong Way, Staring at the Sun, Ambulance.
Tycho – Sunrise Projector
If Music Has the Right to Children was a vague and anonymous childhood filmed in 8mm in the 70’s then Tycho’s Sunrise Projector is the story of a similar childhood, shot with MiniDV some time around 1998. Confused? The influence of Boards of Canada is unmistakable in the songs on this album. The same meandering melodies populate this alien landscape, but they’re cleaner, shinier. In this case, more of the same is definitely a plus. Also, for you design geeks, Tycho is also the mastermind behind the lovely prints of ISO50. Highlights: Sunrise Projector, Pbs/Kae, Lapse.
They Might Be Downloads
Pitchfork Media is reporting on the new home-baked digital music distribution service from They Might Be Giants, called TheyMightBeDownloads.com (or Pitchfork’s oh-so-cute “I Palindrom iTunes”).
Following the iTunes pricing model of $0.99 per song and $9.99 per album, TMBG are offering not only their studio works but “bootlegs” of their live shows, available on the site relatively quickly after the show has finished.
How cool is that?
Brains!
How often do you get to see what your brain looks like? Not often enough.
Oh my god, those are my freaking eyeballs!
Please excuse the poor quality. It’s hard to scan in negatives on a cheap-ass flatbed scanner.
Build a Better Magnet
The University of Illinois at Chicago unveiled a new, more powerful MRI machine earlier this week. Today’s standard MRI machines are rated at 1.5 tesla, with the new one clocking in at an astounding 9.4 tesla, more than 100,000 times as powerful as the magnetic field of the Earth.
At their measly 1.5 tesla, modern clinical MRI machines can only image water molecules, which means that only anatomical changes can be measured. The new machines can detect signals from sodium, phosphorus, carbon, nitrogen, and oxygen, allowing doctors and researchers to measure the physical components of thought. The physical affects of just about any stimulus, from drugs to injuries to dreams, can now be measured and examined down to the most miniscule of levels.
This is terribly exciting news.
[via]
The Mysical Music Release, vol 001
Hello boys and girls. You are receiving this email because you are, like myself, an open-minded music lover. Also, most of you were previously privy to my now-discontinued Workplace Condition Memos (thanks for coming up with the concept and subject line, McD) at Our Place of Work (known locally as “This Fucking Place”).
But being open minded and loving music do not an extensive and meticulously metatagged music collection make, however. That’s where I come in. You see, while you are out “living life” and “making friends”, I’m busy finding new music, downloading it, running it through an elaborate metadata process (I’ll have the IA done soon, I swear) and, finally, listening to and enjoying it. I do all this so you don’t have to.
Alas, increased security and scrutiny of hard drives at That Fucking Place have caused me to stop sending out the Workplace Conditions Memo. This has bothered me quite a bit, because not only do I enjoy finding and listening to new music, I love sharing it my friends (and writing witty little micro-reviews of the albums).
Now, thanks to the Power Of The Internet, the Memos can continue! And this time we don’t have to hide behind a fake subject line! In this rebirth of the Memo, we will be using BitTorrent in lieu of a network drive. If you wish to participate in this fun little act of sharing you will need to download and install a BitTorrent client. Don’t worry, it’s as boring as it sounds, but it’s easy.
[snip boring instructions]
If you want out of this list, please let me know and you’ll be forever banned, shunned, never to know exciting new music forever and ever.
And now, without further delay, is the Release!
Björk’s newest album, Medúlla, is an experiment in the human voice. Almost the entire album is composed of nothing but people’s voices, digitally manipulated, forming the beats and melodies. The result is positively sparkling! Vocal beat smiths Rahzel, Shlomo and Dokaka provide the rhythmic underpinnings (with help from Mark Bell’s expert programming), and Mike Patton and two, count ‘em two, choirs fill in behind Björk’s unmistakable screams and sighs. All in all, a triumph and a joy to listen to. Highlights: Where is the Line, Oceania, Mouth’s Cradle.
CocoRosie, a Parisian duo comprised of sisters Sierra and Bianca Cassidy, have produced something very unique with their album La Maison de Mon Reve. Filled with strange samples, staggering beats and hard-panned vocal tracks, La Maison de Mon Reve is an album I’ve yet to put a genre to. Think Fog meets Beth Gibbons meets Mazzy Star meets Beck. Seriously. Highlights: Terrible Angels, Good Friday, Candyland.
Frou Frou works in the tried-and-true formula of sultry female vocals over groovy beats and basslines ala Sneaker Pimps, Morcheeba, Portishead and Lamb, although Details lacks the instrumental imagination of the latter two. Moments spent in a more uptempo range keep things interesting. Good stuff for driving around with the windows down on a beautiful day. Highlights: Let Go, Must be Dreaming, Hear Me Out.
Oh, sweet heaven above, a new Mouse on Mars album! Radical Connector marks the return of this German duo with more vocals, more danceability, but with that all too familiar, squeaky, Mouse on Mars thing. I am one happy camper. Highlights: Wipe that Sound, Send Me Shivers, The End. Thrown in for good measure is their 1995 release Iaora Tahiti, the album that turned me on to these guys in the first place. So much perfection in a second effort.
Pest, a group of five Londoners coming out of Ninja Tune, produce the kind of uplifting and interesting electronic music that is so sorely lacking these days. Necessary Measures is filled with so much groove and so much life that I’ve had to get up and shake my money maker three times while writing these few short sentences. Highlights: Chicken Spit, Duke Kerb Crawler, Heard Yer Bird Moved In.
Rilo Kiley is a band’s band. These kids freaking breath music. Just look at the catalog. Not only have they released three full lengths as a group, but singer Jenny Lewis sang on The Postal Service’s album Give Up and toured with them, drummer Jason Boesel recorded with Bright Eyes and singer/guitarist Blake Sennett recorded, released and toured for his solo act, The Elected. (Which is really good. You should really listen to it. Yes, I’m talking to you, Mandi.) But did all this stop them from coming back together to put out another Rilo Kiley album? Well, if it had you wouldn’t be reading this little missive, now would you? More Adventurous is filled with alt-country indie rock goodness. If you don’t get out of your seat and dance to Portions for Foxes then I’m afraid I’m going to have to ask you to tell me only the good things about your mother. Highlights: Portions for Foxes, Accidental Deth, Love and War. Also included is their previous release, The Execution of All Things. I haven’t listened to that one nearly as much, so I don’t have nearly as much to say about it.
Jazzy, downtempo, groovy. What more could you want from an album, right? Zero7 (with or without a space? The Internet can’t decide either) dishes it out in generous portions on Simple Things. With an opening bassline that sounds straight from Air’s Moon Safari, producers Henry Binns and Sam Hardaker slip track after track under the radar of a cluttered life. This is music that sneaks up on you. It’d give you a foot massage if it had hands. Highlights: Polaris, In the Waiting Line, Out of Town. I’ve thrown in the bonus CD as, well, a bonus. Remixes and whatnot.
Extreme User Experience
The Adaptive Path crew will be at Burning Man this week, holding a series of workshops called Extreme User Experience.
I’m especially looking forward to “Who Moved My Puppy” and “I’m Serious. Get the Sledgehammer.”
[via Veen]
Creative Commons Benefit Concert
Wired and the Creative Commons project are holding a benefit concert in New York on September 21. I’m not going to be anywhere near this event, sadly, but I thought I’d help extend its influence in the (ahem) blogosphere by posting about it (although, Matt Haughey posted about it on his blog, so I’m the drop in the proverbial ocean).
What is of particular interest to me is the line-up: David Byrne (with the Tosca String Quartet) and Gilberto Gil.
You may remember the Tosca String Quartet (then called the Tosca Tango Orchestra) for their work with Glover Gill on the exquisite soundtrack to Richard Linklater’s film Waking Life.
Bleep out Ninja Tune
Bleep has added Ninja Tune to their list of labels. The whole catalogue isn’t up yet, but it’s coming this week. Omigod omigod omigod!
I thought it was really cool when Warp first opened Bleep, but I had no idea they were going to take it this far. You can get stuff from Def Jux, Lex and a whole slew of other labels.
Go check it out, and buy something while you’re there. Gotta support the good stuff. Vote with your money!
iPod Owners! Learn This Lesson!
Ryan Sims over at Just Watch The Sky learned a hard lesson recently: if you lose all the music on your computer, do not sync your iPod until you’ve figured out a way to get the songs off it.
A hard drive on his G5 crashed, destroying his entire music collection. He installed a new hard drive, installed iTunes and hooked up his iPod. iTunes then asked him if he wanted to sync the iPod and without thinking he clicked “Yes”.
All remaining remnants of his collection were then erased.
Let this be a lesson to all you iPod/iTunes users out there. Your iPod may one day become the only backup you have of a vast music collection. Sync with care!