ElectricDisk

Back in the days before this site was a blog.  ElectricDisk used to be dedicated to spreading “Quality Independent Electronic Music Worldwide”. Well, that never happened entirely. However, one of the first artists on the site was “Max Fomitchev” a classically trained Russian composer and computer programmer (living in Tulsa, Oklahoma). Going by the name “Ultra-Max” he has been continually hammering out tracks for fun and for a living.

Today I got an email announcing his DVD debut. He managed to wrangle an actual orchestra and combine awesome electronic sounds and integrate it into a live orchestral performance. I can’t show everything here, but the video below will give you a good example of what is on the DVD. The track below is “Moonlight Sonata (Beethoven, Prelude, Sonata No. 14)”  Congrats to Max.

Max Fomitchev - UltraMax - Youtube (video)

I was looking at a book the other day and it seemed pretty old, first printed 1992. This is before the creative commons was created. I decided to scan the copyright notice. Basically it’s telling you to make copies, now or in the future without attribution - with any system “Now known or to be invented”. It’s over 300 pages long. Here is the notice and no photoshop used, other than the red lines I added for emphasis. I’d like to see other examples of a “no copyright” clause when not used in the creative commons way.

If you don’t understand why we (60 nations) are building a super collider capable of finding the “god” particle, maybe this rap from the CERN lab will help you. This is a great way to educate the masses by combining music with education. Sort of like a grown up “School House Rock”. I usually like robotic voices (ala Kraftwerk + Africa Bambaataa) but PLEASE ignore the stupid computerized intro. It adds nothing to the song - ignore it. The rest of the track is highly educational. They’ve even added subtitles for those not accustomed to listening to Rappish lyrics.

CERN Rap - Youtube (video)

Yes, I saw this a long time ago. It is old but I don’t care. I’ve been thinking about how advertisers keep throwing ads in our faces on the web, on TV, on the radio and in videogames. I’ve probably been thinking about this because I’m reading the book “Small is the New Big”, by Seth Godin.  This ad sums up the entire book in about 2 minutes. The ad is dead-on and so is the book. Go check it out.

Advertiser v/s Consumer - Youtube (video)

The first time I heard “Wind Cries Mary” was when I was looking on the mashupciti site and they had an automated loop (youtube plugin) to it.  I don’t listen to Jimi Hendrix, and apparently this video has been on youtube before, but taken down. Well now it is back up. The orchestra that is mashed with this track is amazing and the two combine to create a wonderful song. I still can’t find an MP3 of this, but here is the video until then.

[Update: I HAVE found an MP3 of the “orchestra” mixed with this song. The music is from a band called MUSE and the track is called “Blackout”. I went searching for the song since I just read the dedication in the book “Breaking Dawn” thanking MUSE as the author’s favorite band. Search for MUSE on youtube for more muse videos]

Wind Cries Mary (Jimi Hendrix Mashup) - Youtube (video)

I found this through jawbone radio’s site. This is a new twist on the dancing with the stars theme. More bearable to watch than the Star Wars Christmas Special, but not much. Looks like the surprise guest at the end kept the show from getting too corny. I liked it and all my younger (80’s Types) friends will like it too - I guess.

Star Wars Dance Contest - Youtube (video)

Here is a video for a 60 dollar synthesizer kit that you put together. It has knobs and dials to twist and is also ‘tweaked’ by the 2 LED lights that come with it. The sounds are very 8-bit, but maddeningly analog. The all in one kit concept is nice, but just a tad beyond my price point for an birthday present. I’ve always wondered how to make my own synthesizer. Kraftwerk has been making their own since the 70s without the use of integrated circuits. Looks like this kit comes with everything.

Bleep Labs - Youtube (video)
Bleep Labs (website)

I noticed that this “Creepy” magazine cover was a copy of an “Amazing Stories” cover from June 1926. There are slight variations, but you can tell one was copied from the other. I don’t own either magazine. Take a look at the mast and sail, they are almost identical.

Creepy circa 1964

Amazing Stories - June 1926

The other day I was in McDonalds and saw someone in fatigues. Everyone has to have their last name on their fatigues and the guy in line had his last name printed as “Tom”. The only person I could think of with a last name of “Tom” was the astronaut from the song “Space Oddity” by David Bowie that was released in 1969. I always assumed that Maj. Tom died in his spacecraft, but I did some searching and found that he might have lived. Here is the original song for perspective.

Space Oddity - Youtube (video)

In the 1980’s Maj Tom got a tribute from the band “Peter Schilling”. From their perspective, NASA’s computers were fouled up and ground control was getting false readings from the spacecraft. “The World is Mourning, No one Realizes that He is Alive”…. Here is Part II to the Maj. Tom saga.

Peter Schilling / Major Tom - Youtube (video)

I like both versions very much, but the 2nd one seems so upbeat and “synthetic” (i.e. Synthesizers) it gives away the happy secret that Maj. Tom is still alive. Some people say he is still stuck in space, but Maj. Tom says it best “I’m Coming Home…” Meaning, he *is* coming home and sometimes computers screw up. The human element prevailed here and Major Tom is asserting his authority to over-ride whatever bugs the previous (Pre Apollo-11) computers had on board. Rock on Major Tom, and welcome back to Earth.

Sorry about that cheap pocket calculator we sent with you. We only had slide rules to calculate trajectory and we were using centimeters instead of inches. Whoops.

I recently watched “King of Kong” (a documentary about someone trying to get the world record score on Donkey Kong). This is similar, but it is told from the point of view of pinball game designers. This hour long movie, tells the story about the attempt to save the pinball industry when it was going into decline.

The designers tell us about behind the scenes meetings with the corporate “suits” who basically threatened them with losing their jobs if they didn’t produce something that sold.

Their website is really nice if you want to take a look around and buy the DVD for 20.00, they even have a corporate license if you want to broadcast at a school or commercially. Their website is (here)

Tilt: The Battle to Save Pinball - Youtube (video)