This just in from mixonline.com
DIGIDESIGN PRO TOOLS 8: Pro Tools 8 (which includes Pro Tools HD, Pro Tools LE and Pro Tools M-Powered) has been completely updated with a new user interface, dozens of new bundled plug-ins (including five new virtual instruments and 20 effects), fully integrated MIDI and score editors, and expanded editing features. The user interface is enhanced with a more modern color palette and higher-contrast text and graphics, yet the key functions users rely on are still right where they should be, while enhancements—such as dockable Editor windows and a configurable Edit Window toolbar—make it easier to navigate than ever. Pro Tools 8 software will be available in late 2008 for Windows Vista (32-bit Business or Ultimate), Windows XP and Mac OS X 10.5 (Leopard)-based Pro Tools HD, Pro Tools LE and Pro Tools M-Powered systems. AES Booth: #702.
I think I'm in love... modern color palette? 20 new effects? 5.. virtual.. instruments... dockable editor windows.. sigh.
Tuesday, September 30, 2008
Monday, September 29, 2008
This week...
A lot is happening this week, first and foremost is the AES Convention in San Francisco, where PRO TOOLS 8 is expected to be previewed. You had better believe we are going to be all over that shit!!
I guess this is also first as well, because it's just as important. We are going to have a new type of feature called DIY Audio!! We are going to build a guitar pedal, and eventually expand into preamps, and maybe some vintage equipment as well!! Words cannot articulate our excitement, so the following will have to suffice:
fjdlgjdlkgjklsdjgkje9wtwu5ih3oiio3j!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!rjelkjrlk!!!!!!!!
This week is going to kick ass.
PS- Cut Copy and the Presets concert on Sunday... now THAT is second to the other things mentioned above.
I guess this is also first as well, because it's just as important. We are going to have a new type of feature called DIY Audio!! We are going to build a guitar pedal, and eventually expand into preamps, and maybe some vintage equipment as well!! Words cannot articulate our excitement, so the following will have to suffice:
fjdlgjdlkgjklsdjgkje9wtwu5ih3oiio3j!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!rjelkjrlk!!!!!!!!
This week is going to kick ass.
PS- Cut Copy and the Presets concert on Sunday... now THAT is second to the other things mentioned above.
Friday, September 26, 2008
Second Opnion: Metallica 'Death Magnetic'
I consulted my therapist about having to listen to a full, modern Metallica album, and she suggested that I outline some ground rules before delving into the murky waters of commercial metal. So if you will, please picture the following written in crayon with suns with smiley faces strewn about:
- Listen to as little of the new album as possible, but just enough to make a stable opinion of it
- Do not put on “Ride the Lightning”, enjoy it, then make up a convoluted path that they would probably follow through a decade, and then do a review of where I think they would have ended up, instead of actually listening to Death Magnetic
- Remind myself that there are worse things to subject myself to, like Death Cab for Cutie, or rubbing lemon, salt, and copious amounts of heroin into the cut marks on my arms (Not across the street but down the highway!) that would have been the result of listening to Death Cab For Cutie.
So with pinhole pupils and a heavy heart I bring you, the (DEEP BREATH) ‘Second Opinion’ of Metallica ‘Death Magnetic’:
Will did a damn good job acknowledging that this record is a victim of the battle of compression dipped in compression with a dash of compression, also known as the Loudness Wars. While it would be very easy to exploit the fact that no one wants their name on the sleeve of this record, I decided that the media and fans have covered that enough.
What I think is the most interesting part of this record is that not only the audio engineering community is upset about the state in which it was released, but the general public can hear it as well. I find this fact astounding… that average people can hear the lack of dynamics.
That is not meant to sound condescending in any way, but for a record to be so poorly mixed that an untrained ear can recognize that fact is unprecedented.
Of course there was an outcry to this travesty, from professionals and consumers alike. Intertwined with poor production (A 7:00 single? Come on guys, my 20-year-old pothead brother knows better than that!)
The movement behind this record has truly moved me. It gives me hope that people recognize the minute details of information (musical, lyrical, etc) that is being fed to them, and if that happens to be distasteful, they do something about it.
Though ‘Death Magnetic’ may not be my personal preference of auditory art. I respect it as the catalyst for musical awareness among loyal fans and the general public.
Let this be the reminder that the artistic fields we adore and indulge in can always be molded into the influences, that in our hearts, we desire them to be…. Art has always been a community-based outlet, of both our human and mortal capacity. We owe ourselves to not let it stray from that mainstay.
- Listen to as little of the new album as possible, but just enough to make a stable opinion of it
- Do not put on “Ride the Lightning”, enjoy it, then make up a convoluted path that they would probably follow through a decade, and then do a review of where I think they would have ended up, instead of actually listening to Death Magnetic
- Remind myself that there are worse things to subject myself to, like Death Cab for Cutie, or rubbing lemon, salt, and copious amounts of heroin into the cut marks on my arms (Not across the street but down the highway!) that would have been the result of listening to Death Cab For Cutie.
So with pinhole pupils and a heavy heart I bring you, the (DEEP BREATH) ‘Second Opinion’ of Metallica ‘Death Magnetic’:
Will did a damn good job acknowledging that this record is a victim of the battle of compression dipped in compression with a dash of compression, also known as the Loudness Wars. While it would be very easy to exploit the fact that no one wants their name on the sleeve of this record, I decided that the media and fans have covered that enough.
What I think is the most interesting part of this record is that not only the audio engineering community is upset about the state in which it was released, but the general public can hear it as well. I find this fact astounding… that average people can hear the lack of dynamics.
That is not meant to sound condescending in any way, but for a record to be so poorly mixed that an untrained ear can recognize that fact is unprecedented.
Of course there was an outcry to this travesty, from professionals and consumers alike. Intertwined with poor production (A 7:00 single? Come on guys, my 20-year-old pothead brother knows better than that!)
All of this unrest has begat some amazing results. A collective movement of fans trying to resurrect the glory they at one time felt for this band. People cutting down songs, independent projects of remastering the album , etc.
Really, this is the loyalty that this dying field of the music business needs! Since the dawn of the internet, music has become a very fluid, niche consumer-influenced medium. Everyone has a very detailed description of music that they like, and they rarely venture outside the red line, more or less participate.The movement behind this record has truly moved me. It gives me hope that people recognize the minute details of information (musical, lyrical, etc) that is being fed to them, and if that happens to be distasteful, they do something about it.
Though ‘Death Magnetic’ may not be my personal preference of auditory art. I respect it as the catalyst for musical awareness among loyal fans and the general public.
Let this be the reminder that the artistic fields we adore and indulge in can always be molded into the influences, that in our hearts, we desire them to be…. Art has always been a community-based outlet, of both our human and mortal capacity. We owe ourselves to not let it stray from that mainstay.
Monday, September 22, 2008
PRO TOOLS 8
is confirmed, bitches! We have confirmation that Pro Tools 8 will have its' undoubtedly glorious debut at AES, and will probably be available in Spring 2009.
The We-Verb staff will personally bring you the details from AES in early October.
Coming this week: Will's highly anticipated review of Metallica 'Death Magnetic'; Blythe's begrudging second opinion; and fun things that you can do with Tool "10,000 Days".
The We-Verb staff will personally bring you the details from AES in early October.
Coming this week: Will's highly anticipated review of Metallica 'Death Magnetic'; Blythe's begrudging second opinion; and fun things that you can do with Tool "10,000 Days".
Thursday, September 18, 2008
Disappointment... in the plural form too.
Time to get back into the swing of things. It’s been a weird week, and a disappointing one at that. Metallica? Attaining good reviews? From sources I adore and respect?
Shit.
Half of the We-Verb staff is upset about this, only because this means that she will have to conduct a ‘second opinion’ of Death Magnetic… meaning that she has to actually listen to the damn thing.
So in the spirit of being disappointed, here are my top 5 hyped-up disappointments:
Band of Horses- This band was the result of two members of Carissa’s Wierd [sic] wandering off and creating ‘Everything All The Time’, which was one of the most exciting things about 2006. The sweeping instrumental movements tinged with sadness, like night-driving through the thick forests of the Pacific Northwest. Combine that with desperate and innocent vocals caressed with the perfect amount of delay to make my heart slap back and forth in my chest.
Music that moves me, for god’s sake! Yes! I’m in! It was the first CD I had bought since I was employed at a record store (which was 2005… if anyone asks, I have no idea how I acquired music within that timeframe).
2007, rumors of a new Band of Horses record. Yay! Only, Mat Brooke (the main instrumentalist from Carissa’s Wierd) is no longer with the band. Um, ok… maybe it’s still good?
Nope, what we got was “There Is A Ghost in My House”. The voice does nothing without the sweeping background music to back it up, the result is a whiney, dare I say it… emo… clusterfuck of annoying.
Bloc Party- What can I say? Your 2004 EP was rad. It was hip. It felt earthmoving,… at the time. Little did I know, you were Gang of Four rip-offs that never developed into your own sound. Stop making boring albums with equally boring covers. I used to have hope for you, but now you are no better than the mongoloid infested Vampire Weekend. You make me shudder with disgrace that your music is legal. Which reminds me...
Vampire Weekend- As my beloved iLm so delicately put it; You are the Arctic Monkeys of 2008…. Which means you’re a piece of dust floating in space that happened to catch a flicker of light from a distant star for just a moment. You mean nothing, and your mere mention in music news was pure luck. You’re worthless and I would rather lose a portion of my frequency range of hearing than listen to your record.
Primal Scream- Ok, so I also could have put Oasis, Blur, or Pulp in this placeholder as well. They’re all early 90’s British bands that seemed like they were the children that would grow up to change music for the better. But unlike the 3 alternatives, Primal Scream had a solidly mixed album (Screamadelica, much?) as well as the mold-shattering 180 record(XTRMNTR). They’ve released two albums in the past three years, the first whose name I can’t be bothered with, their 2008 disaster is titled ‘Beautiful Future’. The prophecy fulfills itself if your definition of a beautiful future is “typical virtual instrument filler with repetitive lyrics that make me wish an asteroid crashes into the exact location that Bobby Gillespie is currently standing”.
South- This may be my own private disappointment. You guys produce your own material, of which I am in awe of, and absolutely adore you for this fact. You have morphed between records from mandolin-playing troubadours to honoring the good parts of New Order. Your 2008 offering ‘You Are Here’… kind of boring. I promise I will try to listen to it more, but really, I expected more from you guys. I don’t want to say it, but my heart did break just the tiniest bit.
Honorable mention to my Disappointment Fest- Radiohead… but we have an entire entry planned for these guys, and I dare not ruin the surprise.
Shit.
Half of the We-Verb staff is upset about this, only because this means that she will have to conduct a ‘second opinion’ of Death Magnetic… meaning that she has to actually listen to the damn thing.
So in the spirit of being disappointed, here are my top 5 hyped-up disappointments:
Band of Horses- This band was the result of two members of Carissa’s Wierd [sic] wandering off and creating ‘Everything All The Time’, which was one of the most exciting things about 2006. The sweeping instrumental movements tinged with sadness, like night-driving through the thick forests of the Pacific Northwest. Combine that with desperate and innocent vocals caressed with the perfect amount of delay to make my heart slap back and forth in my chest.
Music that moves me, for god’s sake! Yes! I’m in! It was the first CD I had bought since I was employed at a record store (which was 2005… if anyone asks, I have no idea how I acquired music within that timeframe).
2007, rumors of a new Band of Horses record. Yay! Only, Mat Brooke (the main instrumentalist from Carissa’s Wierd) is no longer with the band. Um, ok… maybe it’s still good?
Nope, what we got was “There Is A Ghost in My House”. The voice does nothing without the sweeping background music to back it up, the result is a whiney, dare I say it… emo… clusterfuck of annoying.
Bloc Party- What can I say? Your 2004 EP was rad. It was hip. It felt earthmoving,… at the time. Little did I know, you were Gang of Four rip-offs that never developed into your own sound. Stop making boring albums with equally boring covers. I used to have hope for you, but now you are no better than the mongoloid infested Vampire Weekend. You make me shudder with disgrace that your music is legal. Which reminds me...
Vampire Weekend- As my beloved iLm so delicately put it; You are the Arctic Monkeys of 2008…. Which means you’re a piece of dust floating in space that happened to catch a flicker of light from a distant star for just a moment. You mean nothing, and your mere mention in music news was pure luck. You’re worthless and I would rather lose a portion of my frequency range of hearing than listen to your record.
Primal Scream- Ok, so I also could have put Oasis, Blur, or Pulp in this placeholder as well. They’re all early 90’s British bands that seemed like they were the children that would grow up to change music for the better. But unlike the 3 alternatives, Primal Scream had a solidly mixed album (Screamadelica, much?) as well as the mold-shattering 180 record(XTRMNTR). They’ve released two albums in the past three years, the first whose name I can’t be bothered with, their 2008 disaster is titled ‘Beautiful Future’. The prophecy fulfills itself if your definition of a beautiful future is “typical virtual instrument filler with repetitive lyrics that make me wish an asteroid crashes into the exact location that Bobby Gillespie is currently standing”.
South- This may be my own private disappointment. You guys produce your own material, of which I am in awe of, and absolutely adore you for this fact. You have morphed between records from mandolin-playing troubadours to honoring the good parts of New Order. Your 2008 offering ‘You Are Here’… kind of boring. I promise I will try to listen to it more, but really, I expected more from you guys. I don’t want to say it, but my heart did break just the tiniest bit.
Honorable mention to my Disappointment Fest- Radiohead… but we have an entire entry planned for these guys, and I dare not ruin the surprise.
Tuesday, September 16, 2008
Updates...
... shall commence soon!
Just pretend that we posted a "We will be sans internet for a week" message... um, a week ago.
I would have forged such an entry and altered the time stamp, but I kind of forgot how to work this thing.
Just pretend that we posted a "We will be sans internet for a week" message... um, a week ago.
I would have forged such an entry and altered the time stamp, but I kind of forgot how to work this thing.
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