“An Object Lesson on High-Frequency Artifacts in Digital Audio”

-or-

“Every Argument on the Internet Ever”

If somebody asked me, “what do you think would be the fastest way to increase the reach of indie music today?” - I’d have an answer.

We need to fast-track submissions of indie music - I’m talking artists down to the level those who hand out free CD-Rs while busking - to music identification services. You know, those apps where you hold a smartphone up to a speaker and it tells you what song is playing.

Here’s what needs to be true, and currently isn’t (that I know of):

• It needs to be very very easy to submit music.
• Music needs to be quickly integrated into the live database.
• Artists need to be aware that they can quickly, easily index their work and that they really should do so!

And here are the big three services which do some form of music identification:

• MusicBrainz, which currently only does full-track identification (rip or download a random MP3, MusicBrainz will identify it).  This is the oldest and it’s very comprehensive.
• SoundHound, whose primary interface is a smartphone app and which identifies songs on partial, noisy samples.
• Shazam, which is also primarily used on smartphones and identifies songs on partial, noisy samples.

What I’m talking about here are SoundHound and Shazam.  MusicBrainz is incredibly useful for tagging files that you’ve downloaded, but because it requires a full-length clear recording, it’s not useful if you’re in a crowded restaurant and just have to know what’s playing so you can buy it.

We need to fast-track ALL recorded music into the SoundHounds, Shazams, and (please oh please) their free and open-source alternatives.

I think doing this would be the fastest way to boost small artists right now.

Major bonus points if the apps linked to Bandcamp in addition to other more traditional retailers.

3 days and about $1500 to go!

You can pre-order the album for $5, or pledge more for bigger rewards (anything from vinyl to a house concert!) at http://kck.st/10a3vjI

I just pledged - dearly wish I could’ve afforded a house concert!

Gillian Welch: ‘Everything Is Free’

Most musicians still want that personal connection with listeners forged through their music. And that means that they have a power that nobody — not record labels, not file-sharing music fans — can take away. In 2001, in the aftermath of the Napster file-sharing lawsuits, Gillian Welch released an album, which included a song called “Everything Is Free.” It starts out like a lament, but Welch says that was only part of her intention.

“Ultimately, it’s more of a threat,” Welch says. “It’s the ultimate threat that the artist has at any point to stop sharing their art with the world. And what’s sort of implied in our song is, ‘I can keep doing what I do and I can entertain myself and don’t need to take it out of my living room.’ If it ceases to be feasible to make a living, I could just stop going public.”

Maybe this was the decade that made everyone question his or her place in the chain. Listeners became writers, or librarians, or minilabels. Labels went from litigants to friends on Facebook. Musicians became bloggers, or wall-decal manufacturers. Thankfully, they’re also still making music.

— “The Decade In Music: How Musicians Create,” All Things Considered, NPR, 3 December 2009

I love this song so much. Click the video to listen to it for $0.00. Then maybe buy a record from Gillian.

(Source: pupdateblog, via babeforlashes)

I’ve been waiting for this. My favorite Portland band, Shook Twins, just launched a Kickstarter for their third studio album. It’s big. It’s ambitious. And whether you donate $1 or $1000, it’ll be money well spent.

Radio East PDX is proud to support Katelyn and Laurie Shook and their bandmates Kyle Volkman*, Niko Daoussis of The Bucky Walters and Anna Tivel of Anna and the Underbelly. We’ll comb our bank statements and couch cushions and announce a pledge shortly.

* Recently achieved enlightenment. Results not typical.

“Laura,” Bat For Lashes.

I’d never heard this before last night’s show. I should say, I had the privilege of hearing it for the first time live, rather than from a recording. Powerful. Powerful. A girl behind us was weeping.

• NME Review: “If only we all had friends like her to pull us out of a funk, eh?”
• Spin: “Who is Bat For Lashes’ ‘Laura?’”

In this transfixing [2011] Tiny Desk Concert, Y La Bamba plays songs from its growing catalog, as well as one from an album due out next year. We’ve told Mendoza’s story before, but hearing her and the band live adds another dimension entirely.

Felix Contreras, NPR