Remixology: Trent Reznor pushes fans to be creative with Garageband
March 31, 2007
Musicians are an intricate breed. Their population is comprised of many minds and many egos. From the days of Lars Ulrich hunting down Napster to Chuck D promoting online distribution of music, we will continue to see an evolution of music delivery for the next decade.
On April 2005, one of music’s technologically forward-thinking individuals revolutionized how a fan can interact with the music they listen to. Trent Reznor of Nine Inch Nails released the single “The Hand That Feeds” in a multi-track Garageband format. Fans were able to download the 80mb dmg file to their Mac computers and remix the song as if they were at the helm of NIN’s studio console. All the tracks that were necessary to make a successful remix were provided: guitars, percussion, vocals, backup vocals, ambient sounds and synths.
A nice little letter comes enclosed with the files stating:
“Change the tempo. Add new loops. Chop up the vocals. Turn me into a woman. Replay the guitar. Anything you’d like. I gave this to my crew and band to test out and all work effectively stopped for a while - it’s fun to mess around with. I’ve now heard a country version of the track as well as an abstract Latin interpretation (thanks, Leo). There are some copyright issues involved, so read the notice that pops up. Giving this away is an experiment. I’m interested to see what comes of it, what issues are raised and what the results are.”
You can’t help but feel a part of the creative process as you work with the files and perform your own mash-up. You can’t help but think “holy shit this is cool stuff.” You can’t help but think this is a band who wants their fans to feel like they are a part of the music they listen to.
I’m not the worlds largest fan of NIN, but I definitely like a handful of their songs. I’ve really started to get into them as of late, appreciating the composition and technology that goes behind the music. This just took me one step deeper into their music as I loaded up the song within Logic Pro and started toying with it.
If you’re not a fan and you have some audio tools, download this and just see what you can come up with. Heck, if you don’t like NIN because you think Trent’s voice sucks, replace his with a new vox track - maybe your own!
Here’s to technology and becoming a part of what you listen to.
Update: Check www.nin.com to download the new single Survivalism in many different multitrack formats for your remix enjoyment!
Planet Oprah
March 31, 2007
This will be quick…
Planet earth and other such shows on discovery, pbs, etc. are wonderful examples that tv can be a teacher or window to the world.
This is why I hate when i see a ad for the show they must justify themselves by saying that “oprah praises this show”. I guess it will bring more people in and that is noble but it bothers me on a larger scale that people need the opinion of someone else to decide what they can watch and not make their own decision.
2001 a reality
March 30, 2007
the web has brought us some many things, and in regards to this post it has brought us many images of what people expected the future to be. We can even consider futuristic movies today.
Yes, we never got the flying cars that hollywood still seems to be fascinated with but things have gotten pretty crazy. And it really is the web and the ubiquitous media that surrounds us. Think about laptops are pretty crazy, it is about an inch thick but is a window to the world. As now, I have my tv on, videos playing and communicating. We have become such multi-taskers that we sometime forget that we are doing it because it is so common.
I guess the point is that once in a while when you step back and think of how crazy things are that we take as normal now. Most of us remember a time without computers outside of word processing, and now we couldn’t live without it.
I always find it interesting that they predicted so much technology but never the web. Once again truth is crazier then fiction.
Texters, Start Your Texting
March 30, 2007
I must say I was not very surprised when I heard that a cell phone company had finally arranged a text-messaging competition. People everywhere pride themselves on how quickly they can send text message *ahem TRAN. Well, for that certain someone in your group of friends who claims to be the Christopher Holl or Emiew of the texting world, there may be hope for glory yet!
What is being billed as the first text messaging competition ever to give out prizes, is happening this Saturday at Paramount Studios in Hollywood, California. The LG National Texting Championship will be crowning the West Coast Texting Champion at this event, in which the winner will receive $10,000 and a chance to battle the East Coast Texting Champion in New York on April 21st for an additional $15,000. Registration is open to the general public, and must be completed at www.LifeWithLG.com for entry to the event.
I know what you’re thinking - No problem, I can OWN that competition. But realize there are a few hurdles to jump before attaining international superstardom, the likes of which Brittany could only dream of. Firstly, competitors must own and use an activated LG enV or The V as their weapon of choice, so if you don’t own one you better run because the competition is tomorrow at 2pm. Here is the clincher though, no texting shorthand will be allowed, which I know some of you just cringed at the thought of. Brave warriors will be judged on both the speed and accuracy of texting set phrases using LG’s new QWERTY keypad.
So if you think you have what it takes, sign up and grab a flight to California. If not, there is plenty of time to hone your skills for next year’s championship. Just remember, girls only want boyfriends who have great skills, and that definitely includes text messaging skills.
Groups of Friends
March 29, 2007
I usually don’t like talking about something that affects my life directly, but I feel that it is a topic that must be addressed to the blogging public. To me having too many groups of friends can be disastrous at times. Having multiple groups of friends is like tearing your body, mind and soul into 1 million different directions, but you have no choice but to make everyone happy. To make everyone happy by tormenting yourself is definitely not the way to do things right.
People tend to split themselves between multiple groups just so that they can get a different experience on the ways of life. The ways of life vary from person to person, something we do not always realize. As we split ourselves amongst many groups we are learning their experiences along with their tendencies. When we put both the tendencies of these people along with their experiences we get their ways of life, and we, in turn, try to emulate their ways of life. To better describe my theory I will use myself as an example. Normally when I am with my ‘fun’ friends (a group within my groups of friends) I try to listen to their stories of how they made someone wet their pants in front of the whole school. After listening I normally come up with a similar story so that I can relate to them. Again, with my ‘fun’ friends, I try to learn their tendencies through watching how they interact with people so that I can interact with people the same way they do. We try to emulate who these people are which proves my theory that we want different experiences so that we can get the whole experience of the ways of life.
Many people try to make everyone happy without taking into consideration their own state of well being. Sometimes we tend to split ourselves amongst so many people we don’t even know who we are in the end. Trying to make everyone happy hampers our own happiness because in the end we have no time for ourselves. Trying to have time for yourself does not mean that you must sit in front of a wall and ponder on your own well being, it is actually to the contrary. Having time for yourself is basically being alone and having fun on your own, without anyone hampering your happiness. Taking time out for yourself can be very rewarding because much more is done for yourself as opposed to taking care of everyone and trying to make them happy.
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