Yesterday, G-Force Software introduced the OB-E synthesizer emulation. It's another OB-8 emulation - sort of - except it has some features that make it look really compelling. Oberheim has some absolutely iconic synths. They were originally built around the SEM, the Synthesizer Expander Module, which was a monophonic synth; it was pretty simple, although it… Continue reading G-Force’s OB-E Looks AWESOME
Category: music
Ayn Rand and Rush
There’s been some discussion recently on Rush Fanatics - a Facebook group - about Ayn Rand, in part because of a reference to the “meek inheriting the earth.” The phrase comes from “The Fountainhead,” and is in the context of the book’s overarching villain - a man named Ellsworth Toohey - who uses the phrase… Continue reading Ayn Rand and Rush
Rush from 2000 feet
I wrote an article a few years back entitled “How I See Rush’s Albums from 10000 Feet,” basically summarizing each studio album in the context of the entire discography. That’s... pretty high level. I wanted to kinda of give myself more room to dive in to each album, to look at them all a little… Continue reading Rush from 2000 feet
What Makes Rush Special?
I’ve been a Rush fan for close to four decades now - since 1983 or so. In that time I’ve probably absorbed every lyric multiple times, and hundreds of musical nuances (with thousands to go, with my luck and attention spa- hey, look, a squirrel!), and despite what I think is a pretty absurd level… Continue reading What Makes Rush Special?
Voltage Modular and MIDI Out in Cubase
I’d like to explain how I got Cherry Audio’s Voltage Modular to generate Euclidean patterns for Cubase. The process for it should be generalizable to other DAWs, but since Cubase Pro is my daily driver (as a DAW, I guess) I’m going to focus on it. Euclidean patterns rely on the idea that percussive hits… Continue reading Voltage Modular and MIDI Out in Cubase
The Trees is an ideal (and pragmatic) leftist’s song
I love the song “The Trees,” by Rush, on their “Hemispheres” album. It’s the first song of Rush’s catalog that I heard, even though I didn’t know the band was Rush at the time. It’s an incredibly leftist song. I wholly approve. I am a leftist at heart. I’ve been asking people I know what… Continue reading The Trees is an ideal (and pragmatic) leftist’s song
The Beatles
The movie "Yesterday" - a romantic comedy featuring the music of the Beatles as a core mechanic - is a great watch, but something about it got me thinking about my love of the Beatles as a band. I find that I separate the Beatles' music into four groupings, in order from least awesome to… Continue reading The Beatles
The Grammy Awards ignored Rock and Metal!, Gordon Ramsey, Larry Hogan on CNN
Things I'm thinking about: The Grammies An article in "Ultimate Classic Rock" was entitled "How the 2019 Grammy Awards Basically Ignored Rock and Metal". I'm... a little bit surprised, considering how rap and hip-hop (are those different?) have been ignored by the Grammy Awards ever since they became significant art forms, and rock - historically… Continue reading The Grammy Awards ignored Rock and Metal!, Gordon Ramsey, Larry Hogan on CNN
Blogging, getting wordpress running properly on Ubuntu
Things I'm thinking and feeling: I really don't "blog" all that much. I record, I guess, and that's sort of a "web log," but I really don't expose much of my innermost feelings - it's like observations with a mirror in the way. I've always been that way when I write. Always.Today I'm going to… Continue reading Blogging, getting wordpress running properly on Ubuntu
Afoot!, football refs, music books
Things I'm thinking: If I was a detective, or if I was writing a detective story, I'd never have someone say "The game is afoot!" ... Why? Glad I asked. Because "afoot" is a terrible name for a game. I get that there are games based on "Dr. Pimple Popper" and stuff, but "Afoot, the… Continue reading Afoot!, football refs, music books
