By the end of every week there are a bunch of music-related stories, cool links, videos, and other internet ditties that we haven’t managed to get to throughout the week.
As a remedy to this, we’re happy to introduce our new column Friday Fun – our avenue for sharing cool music tidbits we’ve come across for you to nibble on before the glory of the weekend. Dig in!
The Lonely Island & Solange Give Us A Punctuation Lesson
The boys from one of the funniest musical comedy troupe are back and after some collaborations with Mr. Justin Timberlake and fellow monster Lady Gaga, they’re getting they’re soul on with a little help from newest Terrible Records alum, Solange. In the track, the four sing of the importance and joys of semicolons, giving such hilarious (albeit incorrect) examples while Miss Knowles comes in with her chorus singing “we run these streets; stop lights/all eyes on me; spot lights/ each semicolon brings us closer to the top”. Who said punctuation isn’t cool? Not us.
MP Supporting Push For National Slim Dusty Day
Mark Coulton, the local member for Parkes has been petitioning for a national day of appreciation for the late Aussie music legend Slim Dusty who passed away a decade ago. “Slim Dusty is an icon of Australia,” Mr Coulton said. I have been a fan ever since I can remember. He is without peer,” said the MP to the Mudgee Guardian. Others who have also publicly supported Slim Dusty Day including Keith Urban, Nicole Kidman, Kasey Chambers, Lee Kernaghan, Shane Nicholson, Ray Hadley, Dick Smith, Beccy Cole, and Adam Harvey. Coulton added,“He clearly understood what made people tick in Australia and his songs reflect that,” clearly referring to Dusty’s biggest pit ‘Pub With No Beer’.
Meet The Guy Who Invented The Remix
Tom Moulton is a name you might not know straight away, but had it not been for this kooky producer, music today wouldn’t be the same. He was responsible for the first remix, first continuous-mix album, first 12″ single, first extended breakbeat and was the proprietor of one of the best moustaches of the 1970s. Despite never working as a live DJ, his work transformed the dance-music scene through a series of continuous mixtapes—made in the days before mixers states Red Bull Music Academy. Now, you can watch a lecture from the man himself as he talks about the history of the remix, as well as his work producing albums by Grace Jones, Isaac Hayes, and others.
Now You Can Master Recordings On An iPad
We can all agree that making music today is easier than it’s ever been thanks in most part to newly accessible technologies that the people of yesteryear only dreamed of. Where once you needed expensive equipment and professional studios to record and produce music, today you can do it all on your own a la Bon Iver or Vampire Weekend. Now, it’s been taken a step further with the help of a handy new app which works in a similar way to professional mixing desk. Costing only $9.99, this iPad application takes accessibility to a whole new level.
Listen To Morrissey’s Wiki Page Read By A Robot
Morrissey has been called a lot of things; pompous, arrogant, and inflammatory to name a few. Safe to say though, for however many labels he’s been given, ‘funny’ isn’t necessarily one of them. Cue the hilarity of robot voices. In celebration of the former lead singer of The Smiths’ 54th birthday, someone took the time to record a robot reading his Wikipedia page aloud. Robot voices, unlike catty musicians, just don’t get old.
Chemistry Made Into Dubstep
Science and electro music don’t usually tend to go hand in hand, but now, two scientific music nerds have made it so. Making this dubstep tune “solely from sounds recorded in our labs” these two employ the use of Bunsen burners, liquid nitrogen, and other cool exploding shit in their quest to make chemistry rad. We kinda buy it, too.
Orchestra Play ‘Carmen’ Using Only Mobile Devices
The Czech National Symphony Orchestra sold their souls to an all digital bank in Europe called Hello Bank! and we don’t even mind ’cause the results are really damn cool. In a bid to promote the German money-managers, 60 professional musicians used 227 different interfaces that were hooked up to Wi-Fi to play the famous Georges Bizet piece, reports Mashable.
Taxpayer-Funded ‘Indie Music Manager’ Video Game Released
Did you know there’s no need for real life anymore? Well, that’s what this new Kiwi videogame would have budding music managers believe. According to the game’s website, you can “Record tracks, hire producers, do promos, go on tour, create hits, top the charts and create the next MegaBand.” As the NZ Herald reports, the manufacturer of the game was given $287,460 in New Zealand On Air funding in 2011 to create it. That’s right, taxes paid for this shit.
