http://cooltunes.blogsome.com Just another WordPress weblog Thu, 09 Oct 2008 15:25:22 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en One of my dinner companions last night was a young man who has spent the last four or five years serving his country in remote areas. He was out biking near the junior high one day when he too became aware of loud music blaring over the playing fields. As ... http://cooltunes.blogsome.com/2008/10/09/chipmunks-music-update/ For more days than I want to consider, music has been coming from the direction of the junior high. Most of it is hip hop-related, and seems to occur during lunchtime and recess. We neighbors don’t understand. Today, I’m happy to say that the music of choice is by the Chipmunks, ... http://cooltunes.blogsome.com/2008/10/08/chipmunks-on-a-loudspeaker/ At his site, you can see and hear some of the instruments he’s developed, including the phonoharp, much loved by the Kronos Quartet. There’s a wind-powered turntable, another turntable that can play a composition powered by an earthquake, and many other fascinating devices. His photographs are awesome. http://cooltunes.blogsome.com/2008/09/23/walter-kitundu-macarthur-prize-winner/ Just as some can see colors while listening to music, others can hear the sounds of a moving image, such as a screen saver. Kind of a crossover of the senses, as it were, called synaesthesia. This article contains a test you can take to see ... http://cooltunes.blogsome.com/2008/08/07/the-sound-of-an-image/ No difficulties working to Jeff Kowal’s The Gate . The didgeridoo raises the hackles just enough to keep me very alert. http://cooltunes.blogsome.com/2008/08/07/listening-to-terra-ambient/ And now, as they used to say on SNL, for something completely different. http://cooltunes.blogsome.com/2008/07/23/chris-watson-and-bj-nilsen/ Cliff Martinez soundtracks are always excellent accompaniments for a late evening drive to San Francisco. Wicker Park might not be the best for first thing Monday morning after trekking around mountainous trails on Sunday though. It is surprising how many gentlemen of a certain age are out there ... http://cooltunes.blogsome.com/2008/07/21/wicker-park-soundtrack/ About mid-morning, the crew brought out the boombox. I didn’t want to listen to it, so I cranked up my Blank & Jones collection, which can get me through most of the day in a productive haze. At some point, the painters turned down their stuff. After lunch maybe. Then ... http://cooltunes.blogsome.com/2008/07/03/house-painting-music/ Actually, the prep work is today. The pressure washing is done (forgot and left a bathroom window open, major mess), the windows all covered over. The workers have been singing, frequently in falsetto, and whistling. The boombox appeared, which is fine with me, my neighbor in back deserves a couple ... http://cooltunes.blogsome.com/2008/07/02/sounds-of-a-house-being-painted/ A small, secluded monastery comes close to topping the UK pop charts. Can one really be isolated if there is internet access? The story of the monks is here, and a video is here. Are they able to handle the fame and subsequent fortune? Well, the abbot ... http://cooltunes.blogsome.com/2008/06/26/nearing-the-top-of-the-charts-cistercian-monks/