Subject URL: Rob Hubbard

In looking up a music sample of the C64 game "Commando" today I discovered "The Complete Works of Rob Hubbard", the genius who created the music for Commando in one night. The Complete Works site includes interviews, SID files of all of his songs, and d64 image files of all the games.

In listening for the half hour that I did, I realised I'm influenced more by this guy than almost anyone I could mention. So many excellent riffs, banging techno that'd probably make Jeff Mills smile (probably) and crazy metal solos that Dream Theater would be able to play.

hehe. I like it when I only make sense to myself.

Subject URL: Rage tonight

Hard-core 90's alternative fans will love Rage tonight. Looks like a celebration to the late Alice In Chains front man. Every Alice In Chains vid, Pearl Jam, Smashing Pumpkins, L7, Soundgarden, Offspring, Nirvana etc. etc.

Walken jammed today with a fan bobbing his head in the corner. This didn't bother me at the time (only a few hours ago) but something occured to me today. If, for some bizare reason we get popular, and we decide to keep the current drummer, this guy will have seen pretty much the first jam of the band that is now Walken. He's seen us play the majority of our current songs. He's seen us working on arrangements. He even got the chance to hear some of our mega early demos and stuffing around...

Thinking about it again... I'd have killed to be him.

I used to think Aphex Twin was cool for making music from random noises and frequencies, stuff most people would just call shit he passed off as music. But it turns out it's all a cop out, he wasn't trying to pass off random squeeks and squeals as music, he was hiding his face in the music. Loser. (um, sarcasm people...) (via acb)

Walken has been interviewing new drummers for a while now. The latest one is looking good. Meanwhile, we look forward to being poor...

Artists are poor because 1) they're common as muck and 2) no one pays much for content. Labels are rich because 1) their distribution channels are scarce and 2) promotion is costly. While web radio and the Internet reduce label's ability to make money, artists are as fungible as they ever were and no law can overcome these basic economics.

from Winterspeak, (thanks Dave)

Music is weird. Personally if music is cheap I'm more likely to buy it than if it's expensive, and therefore more likely to accept it if it's not fantastic. So I love R.E.M.'s "Up" because I got it for $8 but it would have taken longer to like it if I'd paid $30 for it because I'd have been pissed off I paid so much for album I only like four to five songs on (which come to think of it is actually pretty good so shut up Bowie). But then if it's free suddenly all music because cheap... I have trouble giving it the time it deserves. I can get so much music so easily and for free... when I've paid money for it and I have to put a CD in and deliberately listen to it I'm more likely to give it time...

So what we get with free music is a nurturing of the pop mentality. If it doesn't please in the first listen, throw it out and move on to the next band...

Drolling consumer mode on :

New Tori Amos album soon. The new Transformers comics are looking good. New Invader Zim episodes are on TV (which I forgot about to I just remember). New Propellerheads album soon.