I know the question has been on all of your minds, and I am here to quell your worries with the answer: Hell yes! Will and I are both certified in Waves processors.
Aside from our superior implementation of them in our work, today we decided to play trivial pursuit in the form of a multiple choice test... answering mind numbing questions about the parameters we already know how to operate. Why, how do you spend your Sunday afternoon? I prefer filling mine with compression. Lots of compression.
Additionally, if you pass the Waves Certification Program you get a free shirt. I feel it was my moral obligation to inform you of that... had we been aware of that fact, we probably would have taken the test sooner.
Sunday, August 31, 2008
Monday, August 25, 2008
Rumour
... has it that Pro Tools 8 is in beta testing. We have some pretty reliable sources (someone with close Digi connections who is more obsessed with Pro Tools than we are... yeah, those people exist).
If we hear anything else, it will be posted here.
My speculation: AES will reveal the truth... you know how Digidesign can be an attention whore.
If we hear anything else, it will be posted here.
My speculation: AES will reveal the truth... you know how Digidesign can be an attention whore.
Sunday, August 24, 2008
Introductions
The staff of We-Verb got kind of carried away this week, clearly we were too eager to express our opinions about a sham indie artist and a washed up rock band hanging by a thread to past iconic prestige. I would love to say that this probably won’t happen again, but that would just be a lie.
However, our quips make more sense if you have some back-story: We both are complete music geeks. We both prefer the DAW Pro Tools. We both treasure condiments and odd food combinations. Our basic framework is the same but the way we operate within that framework is through a series of lovely parallels, which I will gladly share with you now:
So now you can see how this will get interesting. Our plan is to approach music and music production from both sides of the recording booth, musician and engineer, so all ground is covered. Plus, when people are different they develop rivalries with hilarious consequences!
However, our quips make more sense if you have some back-story: We both are complete music geeks. We both prefer the DAW Pro Tools. We both treasure condiments and odd food combinations. Our basic framework is the same but the way we operate within that framework is through a series of lovely parallels, which I will gladly share with you now:
So now you can see how this will get interesting. Our plan is to approach music and music production from both sides of the recording booth, musician and engineer, so all ground is covered. Plus, when people are different they develop rivalries with hilarious consequences!
Saturday, August 23, 2008
Second Opinion: Metallica (I want that 7:56 of my life back)
(insert a very long and awkward pause)
Sorry about that, I'm back from having to vomit... I just got the stomach wrenching news that Metallica is still making records. You remember when that racehorse had to be euthanized on the track because it broke it's ankle and it just wasn't going to heal? This is what should have transpired with Metallica after S & M... and I'm just being generous because I like strings.
No, I am not a connoisseur of heavy rock, nor am I familiar with any Metallica record that is not named 'Ride the Lightning'... but certain circumstances have brought me to this painful moment... and I will persevere.
After falling asleep through the painfully long intro, I was softly awoken by the entrance of a vocal part. The first thought that ran through my mind was "Well shit! Incubus got heavier!" Yes, the vocals had qualities reminiscent of this guy. Ouch.
One aspect I did find exciting is the repetitive guitar part that goes on for like 3 minutes straight. That basically means that if fate brings me to such crossroads, my novice guitar skills could potentially score me a gig with Metallica.
I should also note that they finally start rocking out at the 5:00 mark... come on guys, you make radio friendly rock music! Your target market has an attention span of about 1:35... and that's on a good day! My humble advice would be to follow the likes of your fellow on-the-radio colleagues, or switch to post-rock, where pretentious bastards can get away with an 8 minute song.
Sorry about that, I'm back from having to vomit... I just got the stomach wrenching news that Metallica is still making records. You remember when that racehorse had to be euthanized on the track because it broke it's ankle and it just wasn't going to heal? This is what should have transpired with Metallica after S & M... and I'm just being generous because I like strings.
No, I am not a connoisseur of heavy rock, nor am I familiar with any Metallica record that is not named 'Ride the Lightning'... but certain circumstances have brought me to this painful moment... and I will persevere.
After falling asleep through the painfully long intro, I was softly awoken by the entrance of a vocal part. The first thought that ran through my mind was "Well shit! Incubus got heavier!" Yes, the vocals had qualities reminiscent of this guy. Ouch.
One aspect I did find exciting is the repetitive guitar part that goes on for like 3 minutes straight. That basically means that if fate brings me to such crossroads, my novice guitar skills could potentially score me a gig with Metallica.
I should also note that they finally start rocking out at the 5:00 mark... come on guys, you make radio friendly rock music! Your target market has an attention span of about 1:35... and that's on a good day! My humble advice would be to follow the likes of your fellow on-the-radio colleagues, or switch to post-rock, where pretentious bastards can get away with an 8 minute song.
Thursday, August 21, 2008
Metallica - The Day That Never Comes
It's been a while since Metallica did anything particularly relevant, so many did not notice that today they released a stream of their new single "The Day that Never Comes" over at their website. Not that they don't have any fans; millions of ravenous metal heads slobber at the thought of Metallica returning to form after a decade of blues-rock or ill-conceived garage concepts. The strangest thing of all my be this new single, the first ever specifically written to be played in guitar hero.
Ok, so that may be a stretch, but the song format is less thrash from days of "...Justice..." or "Lightning" and more progressive, starting out slow and melodic with more than a touch of eighties hair ballad, before speeding up into some "Black Album" hard rock and crescendoing in dueling solos clearly influenced by Guitar Hero mainstays such as Dragonforce. Not that this is a bad thing; since "St. Anger" decided to forgo soloing in leu of more snare drum, devil-horn aficionados believed Metallica's days of shred were gone for good. It's nice to see they still have their chops. And oh, what chops!
So... yay for soloes, and maybe we'll have to look past iffy songwriting and contrived lyrics to get there. Ah, good ol' Metallica. Probably the biggest question mark other than soloes had been lead singer James Hetfield's voice, which has sounded shot for years now and really suffered on their last release and subsequent tours. Live clips showing early versions of songs on then new album, "Death Magnetic," only reinforced fears that the band was soon done. It seems that producer Rick Rubin may have noticed this too, because there seems to be liberal use of processing and perhaps more than a little autotune thrown on to keep Hetfield's voice in line. And once again, that isn't necessarily a bad thing. Unlike their past effort, the vocals don't make the songs intolerable, letting the prodigious shredding shine without distraction.
Death Magnetic comes out September 12 worldwide and on Guitar Hero (the intended audience).
Ok, so that may be a stretch, but the song format is less thrash from days of "...Justice..." or "Lightning" and more progressive, starting out slow and melodic with more than a touch of eighties hair ballad, before speeding up into some "Black Album" hard rock and crescendoing in dueling solos clearly influenced by Guitar Hero mainstays such as Dragonforce. Not that this is a bad thing; since "St. Anger" decided to forgo soloing in leu of more snare drum, devil-horn aficionados believed Metallica's days of shred were gone for good. It's nice to see they still have their chops. And oh, what chops!
So... yay for soloes, and maybe we'll have to look past iffy songwriting and contrived lyrics to get there. Ah, good ol' Metallica. Probably the biggest question mark other than soloes had been lead singer James Hetfield's voice, which has sounded shot for years now and really suffered on their last release and subsequent tours. Live clips showing early versions of songs on then new album, "Death Magnetic," only reinforced fears that the band was soon done. It seems that producer Rick Rubin may have noticed this too, because there seems to be liberal use of processing and perhaps more than a little autotune thrown on to keep Hetfield's voice in line. And once again, that isn't necessarily a bad thing. Unlike their past effort, the vocals don't make the songs intolerable, letting the prodigious shredding shine without distraction.
Death Magnetic comes out September 12 worldwide and on Guitar Hero (the intended audience).
Tuesday, August 19, 2008
Album Review: Scarlett Johansson 'Anywhere I Lay My Head' (2008)
I’ll be bold and go ahead and call it: set-up. If there is any pin-up girl to the hipster music critics it is Ms. Johansson. I wholeheartedly agree, she had some awesome performances in Ghost World, as well as Lost In Translation. When that fact is combined with the general agreement upon the validity of Wait’s catalog… now this starts to get suspicious.
I like to stick with a general rule with artists whose catalog I tend to occasionally indulge: They are either masked, dead, or just fucking insane. I’m not sure how I would react if someone I preemptively found attractive made a record.
That being said, I totally WANT to hate this album. I really do. They trick me with the chamber pop instrumental intro, and they second song she sounds like a man at first… but damn! It hits me on track 4... her vocals are irreverent and haunting. It’s a darker Fiona Apple… it’s what one would listen to driving across the country alone with a big open sky above, exploding with stars.
Not to give her all the credit, the arrangements are beautiful. The wall of sound is lush, and definitely compliments the low tone of her voice. Everything is balanced and where it should be. She hits her notes, and in my opinion, there is not an obvious use of pitch correction… so the girl has a vague understanding of music theory!
For what it is, it’s good. I can accept the novelty of it, and for whatever marketing reason behind it, it was well executed. My only regret in all of this was having my Last.Fm application open while analyzing it, further proof that I fell into the hype of my music elitist male counterparts.
* * In unrelated news: If anyone knows how to delete history on a Last.Fm account, please email me ASAP. * *
I like to stick with a general rule with artists whose catalog I tend to occasionally indulge: They are either masked, dead, or just fucking insane. I’m not sure how I would react if someone I preemptively found attractive made a record.
That being said, I totally WANT to hate this album. I really do. They trick me with the chamber pop instrumental intro, and they second song she sounds like a man at first… but damn! It hits me on track 4... her vocals are irreverent and haunting. It’s a darker Fiona Apple… it’s what one would listen to driving across the country alone with a big open sky above, exploding with stars.
Not to give her all the credit, the arrangements are beautiful. The wall of sound is lush, and definitely compliments the low tone of her voice. Everything is balanced and where it should be. She hits her notes, and in my opinion, there is not an obvious use of pitch correction… so the girl has a vague understanding of music theory!
For what it is, it’s good. I can accept the novelty of it, and for whatever marketing reason behind it, it was well executed. My only regret in all of this was having my Last.Fm application open while analyzing it, further proof that I fell into the hype of my music elitist male counterparts.
* * In unrelated news: If anyone knows how to delete history on a Last.Fm account, please email me ASAP. * *
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