So my beloved Muxtape is off line, whether by RIAA fiat or money troubles or both or whatever, I know not. That news kinda sucked although it was not unexpected, being and how the illegality of it was more or less blindingly obvious.
But a great idea and great for the music industry whether it knows it or not. But hark! In the dust of Muxtape, a new service launched called 8tracks which claims to do the same thing but -- gasp! -- legally. I've seen it called "Stracks" too, but I think the squiggly thing is offically an 8. I've signed up but haven't made a mux-er, a ... mix yet. There seem to be more restrictions that with muxtape -- you can't see the whole list before listening for instance -- which are presumably to keep it within the legal requirements. It does look like you can officially create multiple mixes and have them all up at the same time. Which is good, although I was kinda digging the zen-like process of destroying your mux before you could create a new one.
I'm encouraged that it looks uncluttered and simple, but also adds some functions muxtapes lacked -- I like the simplicity of "following" a user and also the ability to add comments to mixes. Will try and maybe get one up tonight.
Update: Did my first 8tracks mix. Painless process and one improvement on Muxtape is you can queue up all your songs to upload rather than have to do them one by one.
There's this new show, see, on Ch.7 tomorrow night at 7.30pm The One: Search for Australia's Top Cold Reader Psychic. I've attended a few of the studio tapings on account of a good friend of mine, Richard Saunders, is one of the judges. I met Richard through the Australian Skeptics and he has taken on the daunting task of being commercial TV token skeptical whipping boy for low rent reality show. Go, Richard! Join our Richard Saunders Fans Facebook page! So I am in the audience for episodes 2 and 4 and watched episode 5 filming from the green room and back of the studio yesterday.
h/t to ... someone for appropriate LOLcat. I forgets, soz.
Richard has done an excellent job with a very tough gig, and has managed to institute a few extra controls on the "tests" although even with that they barely rise above parlour game level (except for one which is just deeply full of FAIL on the crass test.) And yes there's a legitimate discussion to be had about doing more harm than good in legitimising the mystery-monging but these shows are going to happen anyway and in Richard they actually had someone capable of, under pressure, quickly breaking down what was happening and really revealing the workings of cold reading on the spot. Of course he only gets a few lines and the vast bulk of logical fallacies, utter non-sequiturs, post-hoc rationalisations and face-palm moments have to go unchallenged. But the lines he gets are good, although its all in the editing, I guess. I took lots of notes in the last two sessions I was at so I might make further comment once I see the edited version. Podblack blog has made a loose comment about live blooging the first show. I hope she does, that should be fun.
I didn't take any of Skeptico's Cold Reading Bingo cards but perhaps you can print out some to play along at home. I guarantee you odds vastly better than the local Lions club version. You can't lose, in fact.
In my time there I saw lots of readings and "challenges" but not a single inexplicable or even particularly impressive thing, I did see a lot of the standard psychological techniques done to varying degrees of inexpertness and the glorious laws of probability at work. Which doesn't mean it won't "make good TV." It was interesting although LONG to sit through an entire day of faffing about for a few minutes of film. That's the glamour of showbiz I guess.
Saw Respect Yourself: The Stax Records Story at the Sydney Film Festival on Saturday. It was very good but this Internet cafe is charging $3 a half hour and with 11 minutes left I'm not going to tell you about it.
Here's the trailer, the headphones here don't work but I suppose it sounds good:
Somewhat busy, but today is traditonally* the day for a new Muxtape. Have no great plans as yet, but if you have a request for a genre or theme or something you'd like to hear my take on leave a comment with your suggestion!
This article was the pits when it was in the New York Timeslast week, it's even worse now the Herald has recycled it. The story? A couple of men in middle age had heart attacks and a computer geek eats junk food. I do think there are some interesting issues in the bizarro "professional" blogging world, this is a stupidly sensational hook for it.
Where is all the Byron Bluesfest info? I remember when the Herald use to do daily reviews (didn't they?) Can't find no blogs, Google News chucks up nowt, the papers are bereft, the official bulletin board has a few posts but that's it.
Listen to the show from March 15th featuring two of my faves from the Blue Mountains fest Ruthie Foster and Genticorum and one I would love to see this tour but going to miss out on, Jon Cleary.
I have never been to Byron, but I have many times benefitted from the spill over. The annual fretting about money, annual leave, scheduling conflicts has begun.
This year I'm taking some of the pressure off by going to the "Blue Mountains Festival of Folk, Roots and Blues" -- like Byron but less surf and wankers and more ... fog? This crosses Loudon Wainwright III (note to bmffrb website, not "Louden") off the list, plus some others of interest like Elana James, Ruthie Foster and Ron Sexsmith.
I have tickets for John Hiatt (wooooo!) and Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings.
I have not organised Mavis Staples, but I must. I would like to see Jools Holland, Buddy Guy, John Hammond, Keb Mo', Jon Cleary (don't know if he's actually doing Byron but he's here at the same time) and Vusi Mahlasela. Oy vey.
Update: Props to Phineas for letting me know (really must get that album, Career Moves) Loudon actually has a song on this very issue:
They spelled my name wrong again
With an E between the D and the N
Some dope didn't know it should be an O
They spelled my name wrong again
See comments for a listen.
I also just notcied that Danny O'Keefe whom I mention recently on TOB (the old blog) will be in the Blue Mountains. Cool.
Late last year someone told me they saw the blog quoted in Rhythms magazine ("Australia's Roots Music Monthly"). I scoffed. I was half-right, it's an ad for Shock Records:
It sort of reminds me movie posters quoting ecstatic reviews from KSTF-Nowheresville, Missouri to sell their straight-to-beta turkey. Except in this case the product is worth the hyperbole. It also probably reflects how little attention the record got, the fact they were reduced to random Googling for reviews. Which is sad because it's a sweet album. I think it might have got 3 stars and 40 words in the SMH one Friday. Listen!
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