Kakyo.basic.zip: 音乐

新番

Wed, 08 Oct 2008 03:30:34 GMT

Wisp
Crisopa
Killswitch Engage

Metalcore

Tue, 07 Oct 2008 21:47:04 GMT

Before reading about the history of metalcore, I had thought of it as the acoustic marriage between melodic death metal and late 90's North American post-production style, plus marketing. But apparently, there was something more interesting going on there, with a lot of strange names (Metalcore bands adore names made up of stupidly long phrases). And the reason why I ignored this sub-genre for so long was mainly due to the old big names associated with those old big genres have all silently evolved into this new market-favorible wave from a long time ago, and so has my ears. As a lesson, genre classification thus arguably has to be directed with social data.

If I have to point out one thing that metalcore sounds differently to me from its ancestor death fellows, it would be the highly compressed guitar tracks, in other words, overly tight and neat riffs; other than that, Gothenburg Big 3 have pretty much nailed everything. Content-wise, lyrics from the early In Flames have long been a departure from the mythical/satanic dramas; metalcore sustained this trend, and started to write screamable love songs.

我的愛情是一卷自製混音帶

Sat, 27 Sep 2008 01:33:52 GMT

pintolivros:我的愛情是一卷自製混音帶 - 樂多日誌

我的愛情是一卷自製混音帶

作者：羅伯．薛菲德
原文作者：Rob Sheffield
譯者：夏荷立
出版社：商周出版
出版日期：2008年08月08日
售價：107　會員：91

害羞的樂評人羅伯，遇上搖滾酷女郎芮妮，
因為音樂，他們相知；因為音樂，他們相守。
經歷了愛的失落，
羅伯以搖滾寫成了愛妻安魂曲！

◎紐約時報暢銷書
◎獲出版人週刊、柯克斯評論、圖書館學刊星號書評（Starred Review）
◎滾石雜誌、洛杉磯時報、邁阿密先鋒報、新聞週刊推薦
◎《性，毒品與可可煙》（Sex, Drugs, and Cocoa Puffs）作者恰克．克羅斯特曼（Chuck Klosterman）推薦

愛是什麼？

根據女歌手佩特．班納塔（Pat Benatar）的說法，愛是一座戰場。法蘭克．辛納屈會說，愛是甜蜜的陷阱。愛會傷人，愛令人厭，愛會咬人，愛會流血，愛是毒品。大家都想知道愛情是什麼，其實答案很簡單。

一九九○年代，「另類」突然成了主流，珍珠果醬（Pearl Jam）、人行道（Pavement），超脫（Nirvana）和R.E.M.等，一年前如果出現在MTV音樂台會顯得很怪異的樂團，儼然成了MTV的代名詞。屬於科特．柯本（Kurt Cobain）、仙妮亞．唐恩（Shania Twain）與泰勒．丹恩（Taylor Dayne）的十年，結束得太匆匆。美國文化的界限崩解，由音樂帶頭前進。

怕羞的愛樂怪胎羅伯．薛菲德也是在這時代，遇見喜歡吵吵鬧鬧的阿帕拉契龐克搖滾女郎芮妮。對羅伯而言，芮妮實在是太酷了，無論如何，芮妮還是愛上了羅伯。羅伯高大，芮妮嬌小。羅伯靦腆，芮妮是愛交際的花蝴蝶。羅伯講的笑話向來很冷，只有芮妮聽了會笑。除了彼此都熱愛音樂之外，他們倆毫無交集。音樂將他們湊在一起。當羅伯突然遭遇喪妻之痛，也是音樂幫助他走出難以言喻的失落。

羅伯如今是《滾石雜誌》的撰稿人。在《我的愛情是一卷自製混音帶》裡，他利用十五卷自製合輯裡的歌曲，敘述他和芮妮短短相處時光中發生的故事。從貓王到蜜西?艾莉特，從滾石樂團到優拉糖果，這些自製合輯裡的歌曲編出他們的生活原聲帶。

羅伯不是音樂人，他是作家；《我的愛情是一卷自製混音帶》不是情歌，卻與情歌無異。羅伯藉著這本書向音樂致敬，向塑造他的時代致敬，尤其是藉此稱頌一個令人難忘的女人。

作者簡介

羅伯．薛菲德（Rob Sheffield）

《滾石》雜誌的特約編輯，替該雜誌撰寫〈流行音樂生活〉（Pop Life）專欄。作品散見於《村聲》、《旋轉》、《石板》、《細節》、《打開收音機》、《文學雜誌》等雜誌。同時，替MTV撰稿，上VH1與MTV等節目。住在紐約布魯克林區。《愛情是一卷自製混音帶》是作者第一本書，不僅獲得好評，並進入《紐約時報》的暢銷排行榜。

Why Should Rock Stars Expect To Be Rich?

Fri, 26 Sep 2008 22:47:55 GMT

Why Should Rock Stars Expect To Be Rich? | Word Magazine

It's no longer enough to have two million people like your song, buy the single and earn you a house. They'll just download it, and you won't see a penny. Instead, you need a deeper relationship with fewer people.

Music Thing: Alan Parson's '10 things everyone recording music should know'

Tue, 16 Sep 2008 13:31:59 GMT

Music Thing: Alan Parson's '10 things everyone recording music should know'

9.9.08
14 comments
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Alan Parson's '10 things everyone recording music should know'
More from Alan Parsons (Part 1 was here), via MT reader Adam, his all time best recording tips:
1. Keep cable runs short particularly low impedance I.e. guitars and mics. It WILL affect the sound. Having said that I don't believe expensive cables offer significant improvement.
2. Even the best instruments and recording equipment will probably sound like crap in the wrong hands. The reverse can also be true.
3. Don't suck the life out of a recording by overuse of limiting and compression.
4. Go for performance not perfection.
5. Log EVERYTHING on a recording so that anyone can pick up where you left off. Particularly tracks that should not be used - better still, get rid of them.
6. Always consolidate tracks (in other words all tracks should have the same start and finish times) so that they can be loaded onto a different platform. Give every track a meaningful name.
7. Even if your ideas are making all the difference, make the other person think they were theirs.
8. The two most important things on a great record are: 1. The Song. 2. The Song.
9. Never trust anyone in the music business with a vowel in their name.
10. The check is NOT in the mail.
Thanks Alan & Adam. If you live round the corner from someone famous, why not ask them to write a list for Music Thing...
Posted by Tom Whitwell.

Comments:
"9. Never trust anyone in the music business with a vowel in their name."

How many vowels in "Alan Parson"?

& from the 1st part :"1. Neumann Km84 Microphone - good for anything except vocals."
He can't be serious! Ask "Classic sound London" what they think about it ... PFFFFffff

Sorrry couldn't login with my old pass & login so i just as anonymous - Purple
# posted by Anonymous Anonymous : 6:52 PM

What if someone from the Republic of Georgia enters the music biz? Those people love thier vowels so much that they only bring them out for special occasions.

Would he trust a record company exec named "Tkxk Gshwnd?"
# posted by Blogger nulldevice : 8:00 PM

retards, it's sarcasm. he's saying never trust anyone in the music business. similarly, never trust anyone without a sense of humor and never trust anyone who doesn't get sarcasm.
# posted by Anonymous Anonymous : 8:28 PM

Not that i want to doubt someone with such high credentials as Alan Parsons, but as anyone noticed that guitars generally have a high impedance output?..
having said that, everything else he has to say is invaluable!
# posted by Blogger tim : 9:18 PM

Generally good stuff, but I disagree with 3. in particular - most amateur engineers shy away from using enough compression in my experience!
And who's got time to do 6. I don't do that unless some other person needs to mix it or use the tracks.

George Shilling
myspace.com/georgeshilling
# posted by Anonymous Anonymous : 5:26 PM

this is a great help for everyone recording music
# posted by Anonymous The Serrano Boy : 3:56 AM

Being a recording and performing musician for my living and being signed to Warner Bros with my band, I do think I know a few things about recording music and while I don't have the cred of Alan, I don't think any these rules are always true.

1) No one cares b/c almost no one records in huge studios anymore.
2) Though good gear can sound bad, enough money can make good music. It's called paying people to do it for you and they are called session musicians.
3) Nobody who has access to an actual compressor/limiter has ever overcompressed or limited when they weren't going for that effect.
4) Duh usually true but in this world of polish, sometimes an "edited" sound is what you want. It all goes back to Edgar Varese and tape splicing.
5) This is irrelevant with computers.
6) This is also irrelevant.
7) This is something people say to make themselves sound important. This is crap. In the heat of a good session. No one thinks about where a good idea came from. If people are playing that game when it comes time to deciding on writing splits, good luck!
8) If Alan means, by "a record," a song and not an album (which is what I believe), then he is dead wrong. The KLF are excellent examples of a group that had just a melody idea, paid someone else to write the track around it, and made one million pounds. OFF ONE SONG!! I'm sorry but at the end of the day great songs are great songs and they come through but there are kids and adults all over the world writing great music who will never be discovered or paid. If you are in a studio, at the end of the day the most important thing is how many copies this is going to sell b/c otherwise you aren't coming back to the studio.
9) This crap statement is said about people in every industry. This is not an insight!
10) Refer to the above.

Alan has revealed nothing that isn't painfully obvious.
# posted by Blogger Tom : 4:06 AM

someone sounds a bit bitter....
# posted by Anonymous Anonymous : 5:53 AM

the man engineered Dark Side of The Moon, have you heard of it? obviously you have because 1 in 4 houses in america owns a copy and at any one time there is a copy playing- fact. therefore his opinion trumps yours.
# posted by Anonymous Sam : 12:30 PM

In that case I'm sure Dark side of the moon was written by him as well in light of #7. My point is that we shouldn't take everything he says blindly just b/c he's famous. Much of what he says is outdated -fact.
# posted by Blogger Tom : 6:21 PM

I think #7 is more about keeping your ego out of it and making everyone feel involved.

People will always follow their own ideas with more conviction, even if you suggested them in the first place ;-)
# posted by Anonymous Anonymous : 12:22 PM

I used to over use compression and then I realized I had to just research a little more and experiment with some techniques. Consolidation is also huge in this hip hop world of sample cutting, grouping and looping.
# posted by Anonymous Mario Mendoza : 11:58 PM

Come on! This is the guy that gave us the Chicago Bulls theme music.
# posted by Anonymous Anonymous : 2:51 AM

1) "No one cares b/c almost no one records in huge studios anymore."

--it makes a difference even in small home studios.

2) "Though good gear can sound bad, enough money can make good music. It's called paying people to do it for you and they are called session musicians."

--which means, even the best gear will sound like crap in the wrong hands, so hire the right hands to do it for you. Session musicians prove Parsons' point, not yours.

3) "Nobody who has access to an actual compressor/limiter has ever overcompressed or limited when they weren't going for that effect."

Unless they didn't know what they were doing...which in both home studios and big pro studios has been known to be the case.

4) "Duh usually true but in this world of polish, sometimes an "edited" sound is what you want. It all goes back to Edgar Varese and tape splicing."

--I'll concede that one.

5) "This is irrelevant with computers."

--Actually, with computers it's even more important--especially since you can now keep every take, every edit, every version. Communicating your intent with all those pieces lying around is crucial.

6) This is also irrelevant.

--You're clearly not an engineer. This is not only relevant, it's part of the AES spec for archiving DAW sessions.

7) "This is something people say to make themselves sound important. This is crap. In the heat of a good session, no one thinks about where a good idea came from. If people are playing that game when it comes time to deciding on writing splits, good luck!"

---FYP. Also, it's a good note about humility.

8) "If Alan means, by "a record," a song and not an album (which is what I believe), then he is dead wrong. The KLF are excellent examples of a group that had just a melody idea, paid someone else to write the track around it, and made one million pounds. OFF ONE SONG!! I'm sorry but at the end of the day great songs are great songs and they come through but there are kids and adults all over the world writing great music who will never be discovered or paid. If you are in a studio, at the end of the day the most important thing is how many copies this is going to sell b/c otherwise you aren't coming back to the studio."

--Wow, I think you missed the point completely.

9) "This crap statement is said about people in every industry.
This is not an insight!"

--no, but it is a bit of a joke. Lighten up.

10) "Refer to the above."

--Refer to the above.

Tag Smooth Jazz is so good...

Sun, 14 Sep 2008 01:13:46 GMT

Can't get enough of it on last.fm.

Patrice Rushen - "Remind Me" (awesome Quiet Storm)

Thu, 11 Sep 2008 20:49:48 GMT

Patrice Rushen’s Biography – Listen free at Last.fm

old stuff on Musit Thing, but never short of brilliance.

Mon, 08 Sep 2008 13:58:08 GMT

31 people playing the Zelda theme tune on YouTube

from Music thing by Tom Whitwell

I don't know who sent out the memo, but you can't move on YouTube for people playing the various Legend of Zelda themes (with the Mario Theme running a very close second) on every instrument ever invented. Here's a small selection - any more goodies/horrors gratefully received in the comments:
1. Pipe Organ
2. Accordion
3. DIY analog synth
4. Hand farts
5. Tuba
6. Euphonium
7. Xylophone
8. Vibrophone
9. Korg MS-2000
10. Clarinet
11. Some synth
12. Drum, synth and guitar (simultaneously)
13. Irritating distorted humming
14. Trombone
15. Flute
16. Ocarina
17. Nose Recorder
18. Guitar + Flute
19. Electric Guitar
20. Ukulele
21. Violin
22. String Quartet
23. String Quartet plus piano
24. Full orchestra
25. Choir
26. Theremin
27. 4 String Bass
28. 6 String Bass
29. 11 String Bass
30. Piano
31. Wii Orchestra (conducted by Koji Kondo, who composed the original music)
PS: If you're looking for the Zelda sheet music, it's here.

How Mac sound was made

Fri, 18 Jul 2008 04:40:47 GMT

Music Thing: TINY MUSIC MAKERS: Pt 4: The Mac Startup Sound

26.5.05
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TINY MUSIC MAKERS: Pt 4: The Mac Startup Sound
The Mac startup sound wasn't a $$ marketing exercise. It was a hack that was quietly dropped into the machine by an engineer with a home studio…
/>> This [mp3] famous Mac startup sound (still installed in every new Mac) was recorded Jim Reekes, and first used on the Quadra 700, which launched in 1991 costing $7,000.
/>> Jim's most famous pop-culture moment was the scene in Jurassic Park where the park's computers are all rebooted with his sound. But it's most awesome musical use is as the bassline in Transformer di Roboter's ace cover of 'Stranger in Moscow' - here [mp3]
/>> Jim 'came out' about creating various Mac sounds (most famously Sosumi) to Boing Boing last month. But he's never before revealed how he actually made them:
/>> "The startup sound was done in my home studio on a Korg Wavestation. It's a C Major chord, played with both hands stretched out as wide as possible (with 3rd at the top, if I recall). This just sounded right to me. I wanted something really fat, heavy bass, high notes, and a sharp attack. The chiffy sound was from pan pipes and something like a stick hit (I'm testing my memory here). I wanted lots of evolving timbres, stereo phasing, and reverb for further richness."
/>>"Mac people are very familiar with the sound, after restarting their machines too often. In fact, that was one of the issues I was conscious of when designing the sound. Turning the Mac on is one thing, but being forced to reboot from a crash is a totally different experience. I wanted to avoid a sound that would be associated with the crash. I wanted it to sound more like a "palette cleanser".
/>>"After I changed the startup sound (which required much persuasion and working around the system) the ROM engineers continued changing it with each new machine. Some of them were weak, such as the Stanley Jordon guitar strum used on the first PowerMacs. I objected to it, because that sound had no "power". The engineer wasn't a recording engineer, and not familiar enough with audio. The sound was hallow and without depth. When Steve Jobs returned in 1997, I heard he wanted only one sound for all Macs. He wanted the "good one" which was the one I created. At least that's how I heard the story, and I was still working there at the time."
/>> If you're concerned that you don't know enough about vintage Mac Startup sounds, I can recommend Mactracker, which runs on Mac or PC. Don't show it to your girlfriend. ... [CONTINUE READING]

How Win-95 sound was made (by Brian Eno)

Fri, 18 Jul 2008 04:38:58 GMT

Music Thing: TINY MUSIC MAKERS: Pt 2: The Microsoft Sound

24.5.05
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TINY MUSIC MAKERS: Pt 2: The Microsoft Sound
Ten years ago, Microsoft spent $300m launching Windows 95 (just under $3 per copy sold). A tiny slice of that money went to Brian Eno, who recorded the startup sound on a handful of ageing synths in his studio.
/>>There are various different versions of 'The Microsoft Sound'. I'm pretty sure that this is the one (it sounds Eno-ish with delayed pianos). Please tell me if I'm wrong.
/>> Brian Eno is proper arty. He once urinated in Marcel Duchamp's 'Fountain'.
/>> Brian Eno has produced six U2 albums, which have sold 70 million copies worldwide. Windows 95 sold 110 million copies in just two years.
/>> Brian told XFM that he was paid $35,000 for the sound.
/>> In 2001, MS-hater post-rock band Trans Am released Let's Take The Fresh Step Together [iTunes Link], which is the Microsoft Sound timestretched to 51 seconds.
/>> Brian loves Yamaha FM synths. In 1995 he was using: Three DX7s, one TG77 and a Prophet VS, according to this Future Music interview.
/>> The told the whole Windows 95 story in this 1996 interview with Joel Selvin: "The idea came up at the time when I was completely bereft of ideas. I'd been working on my own music for a while and was quite lost, actually. And I really appreciated someone coming along and saying, 'Here's a specific problem -- solve it.'
/>>"The thing from the agency said, 'We want a piece of music that is inspiring, universal, blah- blah, da-da-da, optimistic, futuristic, sentimental, emotional,' this whole list of adjectives, and then at the bottom it said 'and it must be 3 1/4 seconds long.'[He doesn't say how he persuaded them to eventually use a piece six seconds long]
/>>"I thought this was so funny and an amazing thought to actually try to make a little piece of music. It's like making a tiny little jewel.
/>>"In fact, I made 84 pieces. I got completely into this world of tiny, tiny little pieces of music. I was so sensitive to microseconds at the end of this that it really broke a logjam in my own work. Then when I'd finished that and I went back to working with pieces that were like three minutes long, it seemed like oceans of time."

黑白能量

Sun, 18 May 2008 04:42:03 GMT

嘿嘿， simon的专辑mastering工作终于如期完成。
跟原版小样对比起来听着很有成就感。

黑能量只给艺术和运动，
白能量只给工作和生命体。

这个规则很合我身。

再推几个last.fm邂逅

Tue, 29 Apr 2008 02:33:09 GMT

来自last.fm的Female Vocal台,

1) Keren Ann, 以色列/荷兰双国籍独立乐手, 犹太/俄罗斯/荷兰/爪哇四国混血儿,

操吉他/钢琴/单簧管, 并且从事古典合唱作曲.

又是飘逸一族的indie pop.

2) Aqua Bassino, 苏格兰爱丁堡的电爵艺人, bass手, 杀死人的lounge酷氛围.

Song of the day

Mon, 28 Apr 2008 14:55:23 GMT

Christina Antipa "Lovesong", random recommendation from Last.fm's "female vocal" tag/channel.

A tribute to the Cure's classic ballad. The one that talks about "however far away, I will always love you" cliche in a memorable pushy tone.

This, is a truly delicate re-interpretation.

Honestly Antipa's voice is by no means a departure from Alternative female vocal formula exemplified by people like Beth Orton or Cranberries, but the arrangement and the production are spakling enough to bring her lazy but focused narratives to the foreground and they are injected into your scull. The subtle vocal chorus, with beating effect, plays the vocal line into a spooky but strangely warm stream that well absorbs the minimum background instruments (literally an acoustic guitar and some electronics maybe)

I think part of the inspiration might go back directly to another the Cure's screamer "lullaby".

死亡金属死腔发声法教程 - wikiHow

Tue, 22 Apr 2008 06:25:41 GMT

不是一年前发的那个恶搞哦~~ wikiHow真是个好地方啊~~很有爱~

How to Do Harsh Death Metal Vocals

Death metal band Incantation
Are you in awe of the raw vocal stylings of death metal bands? Do you ever want to sing along? Here's how to emulate the guttural lyrics that make extreme metal music distinct.

[edit] Steps

Listen to any album using harsh vocal techniques. If you're not already familiar with the genre, browse the links listed below. Buy CDs from bands and singers whose voices you admire. A few notable death metal vocalists are George Fisher & Chris Barnes from Cannibal Corpse, Mikael Akerfeldt from Opeth, Nergal from Behemoth, and Angela Gossow from Arch Enemy.
Before you start performing death metal vocals, drink some water, it will help relax your vocal chords. Avoid cold water as it could cause more pain and make your cords feel raw and grated, warm water is a very good idea. Things like honey, or milk, do not actually help. None of that ever touches your vocals cords. Being well hydrated is the best thing you can do.

Warm up your voice before recording or performing death metal. "Warming up" can mean anything from singing midtone melodies to delivering your vocal patterns in a clean chest tone. Even humming for five minutes would be more beneficial to you than not warming up your voice at all. When performing live, drink lukewarm water in between songs. Cold water shocks the voice and warm water...well, it doesn't taste that great. Following these simple guidelines will help protect and strengthen your vocal chords. If you don't sing properly, you may not be singing for much longer.
Learn how to sing properly. Start with something not that intense, like Black Sabbath, then go to songs with faster and more aggressive singing styles like Slayer or Kataklysm. The most important technique for performing death metal vocals is to be able to control your breathing, establishing a balance between the force used by your diaphragm and vocal cords. Using only the vocal cords will put undue pressure on them and is sure to damage them (minor damage will heal in time). Proper technique is established by using the diaphragm to push air out of your lungs.
Try going sssssss quietly and then increase in volume. The feeling in your stomach is your diaphragm. This is what you want to feel when performing death metal vocals.
Fill up your lungs with air, then push out some of the air, tightening your throat and moving your tonsils as you do this. Do this all in one motion, but don't push too hard. The resulting sound should hopefully be the type of low grunt that you want to achieve, so work on that.
Pick a lyric you want to perform. Always try to pick songs from bands like Slayer, Metallica or other bands who do not use the death grunts as it will be easier to rehearse your grunts. Try singing it normally, then slowly add more "fire" to it, until you can feel your diaphragm really pushing and you're getting that deep sound you're looking for. If you don't succeed in the deep guttural vocals try the raspier approach to these vocals like Mark Hunter of Chimaira. Anyone can achieve this, men as well as women (listen to the current vocalist for Arch Enemy). So long as your vocal range is Alto or lower. Arch Enemy's Vocalist Angela Gossow is an alto, and will say herself, if you are a Soprano, don't even try Death Growls.
Practice barking like a dog, not just a bowow, but force it out from the bottom of your belly, really imitating the barking sound. Then extend the barking sound and try it with several words and before you do it take a deep breath and go from your diaphragm. Breathing like a dog, as stupid as it sounds, can also help you open your throat and get a guttural sound to your grunts. Don't do it loudly at the beginning, increase your volume as you get better at it.
After you've mastered basic death grunts, move on to bigger things. Make your grunts louder, faster, lower, deeper, or all of the above. It will help add some variety to your vocals.
After you've mastered death metal vocals, try to mix things up by learning another vocal style, because even the best death metal vocalists don't use only death grunts in their songs. For example, George Fisher of Cannibal Corpse is known for having high-pitched screams in a few of his songs and Trevor Strnad of The Black Dahlia Murder has been known for using a mix of death grunts, high-pitched shrieking and screaming. Piq Squeals are also performed by a few Death Metal artists. Also, start headbanging when you're performing the vocals, it will make your presentation seem a lot more intense!
After you're done performing death metal vocals, drink some water, it will help relax your vocal chords. Make sure the water is not cold, or it will cause pain and make your throat feel very sore, stick to warm water (not too hot!)

[edit] Tips

Constantly experiment with what your voice can do!
Learn to control rasp and phlegm. Rasp = air coming up; phlegm = saliva in your mouth/throat
Harsh vocals will grow in volume as you gain skill with them and use them correctly.
Exercise wouldn't hurt. You'll need strong neck muscles to support the pressure that extreme metal vocals put on your neck area.
Don't use distortion or effects to cover any lack of vocal ability. It sounds bad and it's obvious why you did it.
To create a more "brutal" sound, you can experiment with saliva in your mouth. It can be trapped between your tongue and throat. It's that "gurgling" you hear in many songs. An open throat is the key. The notes sung and air must come up with ease. One can use their tongue to deflect air being forced up and change tone. The lips are the second method of changing tone. You should never change tone by tightening your throat. There are many techs used in harsh vocals, but keep with a simple growl and scream until you've gained quite the skill within this vocal type.
Warm up your voice before recording or performing death metal. "Warmimg up" can mean anything from singing midtone melodies to delivering your vocal patterns in a clean chest tone. Even humming for 5 minutes would be more beneficial to you than not warming up your voice at all. When performing live, drink lukewarm water in between songs. Cold water shocks the voice and warm water...well, it doesn't taste that great. Following these simple guidelines will help protect and strengthen your vocal chords.
A little advice from George "Corpsegrinder" Fisher from Cannibal Corpse. When asked in an interview if his vocals strain his throat, he commented: "Not anymore. That's the funny thing. People ask me like, "Well, how'd you learn to sing like that?" Because I put on the albums and started singing to them. And some people say to me, "But my voice starts to hurt after ten minutes." Well yeah, but eventually my voice got used to it. If you hear me talk now, people think I'm sick but I'm not. They think that I have a cold or I just woke up - this is how I always sound." This is likely the result of poor technique leading to nodules. Your voice should NOT be damaged over time through singing - only bad technique will make this happen.
Act like you are gargling, but without the water, of course. Practice this until you can hear the gargling noise in the back of your throat.
A good way to practice your grunts is to say the letters a,e,i,o,n,u. As you get better at your grunts, try doing this faster.
The "cookie monster" effect cannot be reproduced by straining your voice. That will only damage your vocal chords. You have to push through your abdomen. All of your vocal strength comes from the diaphragm. It also helps if your back is in a fixed position. Don't slouch or leave your spine limp. Inhale and belt out a deep roar by loosening your vocal chords. Your throat has to be relaxed in order for your growl to rumble with intensity. Again, don't force your voice to crack. If it still doesn't crack, then your vocal chords simply weren't made for growling.
Try moving your tongue while you perform your vocals, but not too much.
To create even lower harsh vocals, use the inhaling technique. Pinch the incoming air flow a bit farther back in the throat than when "gargling" an outgoing air flow. Moving the base of the tongue back creates a smaller opening and higher pitch; with the tongue forward (even sticking out if you like) the pitch will be lower. This inhaling technique can produce an extreme range of pitch, allowing you to both grunt and squeal like a pig. The incoming airflow will be nowhere near the volume of normal speech. You will need to speak using exaggerated lip movements and the front of the tongue while keeping the back of the tongue muscle in place. While an "inhale vocal tech" may sound "cool", be careful using it. It can (and likely will) damage your vocal cords. The inhale sound can still be created from properly done harsh vocals but requires range needed.
Don't smoke, and if you insist on drinking, drink in moderation. Smoking may deepen your voice, but it will also reduce your breath support. Delivering death vocals requires a great deal of energy, and drugs of any sort will only emasculate your staying power. Exercise wouldn't hurt. You'll need strong neck muscles to support the pressure that extreme metal vocals put on your neck area.
Over time you'll learn your range, skills increase and you can try to achieve your favorite sounds.
Practice normal singing for a month first. This will really strengthen your vocals cords and make it easier on you when you start doing death growls.

Be sure to have variation in your vocals. Monotone growling will sound boring after awhile, no matter how impressive your vocals are.A good vocalist for inspiration is Matthew Chalk, formerly of Psycroptic.

Drinking a lukewarm liquid may aide in expanding your vocal cords, helping your voice get deeper.
If you're already good at screaming, picking up death metal vocals should be a piece of cake. Already having skill in death metal singing is also a benefit when learning to scream.
Switching between screaming vocals and clean like such bands as Reign Of Chaos or Trivium who only have the one singer it is best to focus on breath control more, some bands have 2 singers one for clean vocals and one for the screaming side but if you are singing solo you are best to focus on breath control more than anything before this is attempted as your clean vocals may sound really off. Practice makes perfect.
With 2 vocalists one doing high and another doing deep in harmony can create a superb sound. Bands such as Despised Icon, Carcass and Nile use this in different ways but all do it to great affect.
Visualize a column of air rising from your diaphragm, through your chest, and up through your facial mask (the space behind the nose, under the eyes, above the upper teeth.) Keep your larynx down also. This technique will not only help your death metal vocals be strong and present, but is also the correct technique for melodic singing. The only difference between them is that regular voice comes from your vocal chords while death metal vocals come your false vocal chords. (Instead of vibrating your vocal chords, focus your growling sound under your vocal chords, around your collarbone.)
“Timings a big deal. When someone’s out of time, anybody that hears it is going to know. It just sounds like mush. I’ve seen bands where I know when somebody is off. More so with the vocals and the drums, I can tell that as well because I’ve followed drums my whole life. For timing, it can be hard when you’re banging your head the whole time. We do have a lot of stuff that’s in 4/4, but it’s not simple. You’ve got to pay attention to what you’re doing. I’m still banging my head, but I’m counting the whole time, and then you’ve got people diving around you, and all this stuff going on around you the whole time. It is a challenge. I’m not saying it’s the hardest thing in the world to do, I just get annoyed when it’s made out to be easy, or at least what I’ve heard from people about this DVD."- George "Corpsegrinder" Fisher

GOOD PRACTICE SONGS:
SLOW: - Normal (Vocals): “Black Sabbath” by Black Sabbath, “Dead Skin Mask” by Slayer, "Hard Rock Hallelujah" by Lordi, & “The Profit of Doom” by Type O Negative - Death Metal (Vocals): “Death Walking Terror”- Cannibal Corpse, "Festering in the Crypt" by Cannibal Corpse, “I Cum Blood” by Cannibal Corpse
FAST: - Normal: “Aggressive Perfector” by Slayer, “Dittohead” by Slayer, “Jesus Saves” by Slayer, “Necrophobic” by Slayer - Death Metal: “Disposal of the Body” by Cannibal Corpse, “Carnage in the Temple of the Damned” by Deicide, “Post Mortal Ejaculation” by Cannibal Corpse, “The Exorcist” by Possessed, "The Optimist" by Skinless, "4:20" by Six Feet Under, "Stabwound" by Necrophagist, "Egypt, the Red Earth" by Necronomicon

[edit] Warnings

You can severely damage your voice if you use prolonged bad technique but mild damage will heal in time.
Don't smoke or drink excessively (Do it in moderation!), if you want to do these vocals! It may provide pain relief at the time but you will pay for it later. Smoking may deepen your voice, but it will also reduce your breath support. Delivering death vocals requires a great deal of energy, and drugs of any sort will only emasculate your staying power. It's hard enough to scream/growl and headbang without any toxins in your system.
Don't be surprised if you don't sound like your favorite harsh vocalist--it's akin to everyone having a different singing voice.
Prepare for some raised eyebrows and harsh criticism (Some people don't consider Death Metal singing real singing at all) when showing friends or family your unique style of singing.
There's a chance that these vocals might mess up your voice a bit and make you sound like you have the flu when you're not singing. This is what happened to George "Corpsegrinder" Fisher from Cannibal Corpse. But the chances aren't too high, because if you notice, many other harsh vocalists, like Chris Barnes, Glen Benton, Nergal and Angela Gossow all have normal talking voices.
If you go for the extremely low/brutal Chris Barnes-style vocals, the chance is greater that you will damage your voice.
If you have a throat infection or even a mild cold/the flu (Which includes coughing), give your vocals a rest for a day or two.
Harsh vocals always come from your gut; never your throat.

[edit] Related wikiHows

How to Sing
How to Get Started Playing Hard Rock and Metal Guitar
How to Play Guitar Like Eddie Van Halen
How to Custom Paint Your Electric Guitar
How to Be Metal
How to Sight Sing
How to Properly Stress Your Vocal Chords With Screaming

How to Do Harsh Death Metal Vocals - wikiHow

水樹奈々-"Secret Ambition"

Tue, 08 Apr 2008 05:13:43 GMT

上松範康 has brought to 奈々ちゃん's recent albums the trend of arrangement extravagancy. Full of lush techno booms and synth orchestra with serious mixing and mastering, they still sounded pretentious, probably due to the lack of energy contrast. 奈々ちゃん's vocal performance, however, remains the strongest component in even the songs of the weakest composition. "Secret Ambition" is a strange recent song. The composition/arrangement dynamics seemed to be more carefully crafted, but they still jitter at some passage transitions if you know what I mean. Somehow I fell for 奈々ちゃん's voice again. With vocal subtlety, she "secretly" conveyed pain/melancholy in her powerful high-register performance, especially the line "僕は知ってるから". It somehow interplays with the old song "Cherish" from 2004's <Alive and Kicking>, ONE OF MY ALL TIME FAVORITE. They are pasted below.

"Secret Ambition"

"Cherish"

水喉练法（基本）

Thu, 20 Mar 2008 16:08:58 GMT

水喉练法（基本）
2008-01-22 21:18
       练水喉之前，请先确定自己是不是的承受嗓子因长期低吼而疼痛或者是发声不正常。
       首先，先天条件很重要，如果自己是个声音很细或者很发生无力的人，那你的嗓子不太可能能练成RUBEN那样。最起码能够很低声的说话，能够低吼。多练练低吼，拓开低吼到正常发声的这段音域，会对练习有帮助的。
       当自己能够很轻松的吼了，就可以继续练习了。试着让自己发声更低，就是嗓子深处在震动的感觉，这个时候可以控制喉咙的肌肉收缩，尽量把声音顶上来，此时的发声应该是有点水喉的意思但还是很薄而且夹杂着出气的锐利的杂音。没关系，尽量多这样吼一吼。
       下一步，当自己适应这样发生之后，可以去试着唱一唱。最好是音响开得很大，而自己小声得跟着唱。以后尽量唱得大声，但要注意不要使自己得声音变形。这时候的声音还不成熟，一般是加些鼻音，就够水了。
       此后基本上就是多练练唱了，注意不能玩命得只练吼，多注意音色得变化。一段时间后，你会发现自己唱的时候很轻松了，再也不像一开始那样费尽了。这个时候说明你得基础已经打好了，可以进行下一步发展个性音色得时候了。

果壳中的宇宙_博客

Melt by the beach boys

Fri, 29 Feb 2008 05:21:13 GMT

Good music is drug.

Dream

Sun, 24 Feb 2008 20:33:57 GMT

I had an amazing dream last night, in which Aska was singing the final released single from My Little Lover. This was a total fiction (I've never heard him sing their songs) yet appeared perfectly convincing in my mental acoustic image (that was exactly Aska's engaging tremolo). It at least implies what a high quality that voice synthesis can reach.

Deeper and simpler

Wed, 30 Jan 2008 06:39:30 GMT

The name ECM used to be deified as a symbol of taste even though the records under the label receive minimal exposure in party hours. What was exactly "the ECM sound"? Someone said before that it's the sequel of Cool/West Coast Jazz or it's the representative of Euro-Jazz. Recently a conversation with the sound engineers revealed something essential that I've never confirmed before: the blatant usage of reverb. This kind of production techniques were never explored so extensively in the pre-ECM history of Jazz recording. True, it is most definitely an over-simplified model; however, imagine that if the reverb were expelled, too much sheer silence (empty auditory space) would be the immediate result of many works made by the label. On the other hand, sound processing aside, the same compositional aesthetics (writing styles) have been there for quite a while by forefathers like Miles Davis; composition/performance alone wouldn't have established ECM as it is. All in all, here in the empire of Manfred Eicher, reverb was far more than a filler production tactics but the punctuation of the audio writing, which sketches the unique acoustic syncopation.

My intensified attention to recent Western R&B and Urban-style recording merely woke me up from the illusion that the Chinese music production business has made a giant step towards the international standard. In my ears, the gap remains the same as before, if not greater, relative to the further perfected Western rivals/ancestors. Now I fully understood why my friend J believes, at this stage, that the only regional music in Asia that may have a share of the Western market is J-Pop. A quick comparison between any of 周杰伦's albums and Rihanna <Good Girl Gone Bad> (2007) would prove this an rational argument. From my other experience, the production of any of 水樹奈々's album (a seiyuu singer from a class-B company King's Records) can dwarf the guitar rock recording from mainland China; I've's Trance production make countable similar outputs from Hongkong (黄耀明, 陈奕迅, 王菲....) look like from kindergarten finals.

Getting into the groove

Fri, 25 Jan 2008 06:12:36 GMT

I never knew I'm so talented in mixing and mastering. Looks like years of oppressive-compulsive sound anatomy started to pay off.

.....

While I was in Toronto on the X'mas trip, me and Simon had a reunion lunch; knowing that I was reading sth on mixing, he momentarily raised this possibility of helping him with mastering his old album <rise and shine>, which I had listened to and quite liked at least two or three tracks. We both agreed that there was sth wrong with the mixing but he really wanted to use it as part of his resume for some game music job opportunities this summer. Then I said ok let's do it.

Now I've come up with and implemented the rough idea for inter-track timing scheme and effects processing. There were a few rather exciting experiments like pitch-bent, stereo-delay, morphing, and granularization that truly enhanced the raw sound and what's even better is that Simon was amazed even more.

Now I've entered the key area of mastering: EQ. I sensed that we might have different preference in spectral balance because, for instance, most of his tracks were pretty heavy in the low-end (even muddy as to have masked other high-end sounds) , which I would rarely do; but to bring out the participant instruments in their context as much as possible, I still took my chances and I'm pretty sure that I've saved a dozen lives in there.

Looks like we'll stay in this partnership for a long time.

Since I was little, the role I most enjoyed and projected onto myself has always been a supporting one: dub actor, background harmony singer, etc. I guess it could be my destiny to be a supporter, to listen, understand, co-develop, and reinforce (at least in what I do for a living), though I'd rather be totally flexible at least in one area, e.g., best supporting actor and best actor in a leading role, lol.

BTW, I think I'm a fan of Al Pacino now and it's hard to believe he's one of the few in Hollywood who were never married. So cool.

Audio features in genre classification

Thu, 24 Jan 2008 23:15:33 GMT

Modern R&B and Hip-hop recording has incorporated a gread deal of the indie electronic aesthetics.

The early genres tend to display distinc audio features resulted from specific pioneer techniques, which by themselves are aural tourist attractions; however, as the entire genre tree flourishes across time, the early localized features soon became diversive and started to invade other branches. The hidden driver is the meme, in other words, human interest and copy&paste-based reproduction. When we say "genre evolves", we actually mean that the audio features evolves. As a consequence, audio-feature-based classification should undergo constant upgrades as well. Although there must be the axis features that stay rock steady, but the other concurrent sounds rarely do. Thus the ever hunted target may disappear into the growing bush, which calls for the hunters to hack skillfully.

Preferable aliasing

Tue, 22 Jan 2008 06:17:57 GMT

Revisiting the soundtrack of <るろうに剣心~追憶編>, which were first obtained online in 2001 (yes, the files remain intact), the nostalgia is so overwhelming that even the aliasing from the low bitrate (64kbps WMA) appeared so emotionally preferable; I just love the high-frequency sound out of the aliasing.

黄耀明 and my new garbage filter

Sat, 12 Jan 2008 22:26:17 GMT

I mark all his personal stuff as "never-a-2nd-listen". I guess the problem is that each individual track is usually OK or even better than OK, but they end up only dimmer when working together. It's hard to say whether it is the recipe, the temperature for the ingredients, or anything else that went wrong. The mixing appears perfect, Antony's whispery voice is as charming as in 达明, the digital reverb stirs the soup properly.. but there is no particular flavor that can be easily sensed; and after all, they are all supposed to be coherent songs, instead of sound clips. One thing I could be picky about is the poor concept of chord progression and key change in his composition (although criticism about composition is an ultra-dangerous taboo). He stays in the minor key forever and lacks tricks in instrumentation that could have enriched the overall symbolic feature as the Cure once did. The Cure are well known for their notorious tonal humdrum yet somehow they received a quite-the-opposite overall rating.

黄's production is probably among one of the best in the Chinese circle and 达明 used to be the first name occurred to mind when it came to C-Pop; however, I'd have to remove most of his stuff from my harddrive now for several reasons: A, the composition really "sounds like shit" (quote from my producer friend) to me now; B, it's easy to find similar production quality in other works. The contemporary production paradigm has bridged most acoustic gaps between the best and the worst, in both objective and subjective senses, which seriously increased the difficulty in shooting a death penalty against any music whatsoever. In that sense, no professional output is worthless; there should always be something interesting in there, and they come back every once in a while in new outfits.

Now here is the point. Considering the sheer amount of music input nowadays, you'll always find the same strawberry on the top of a tastier cake; therefore, throw away the sour cake at hand. Chances are you'll get another one right away. Save your space for the safely best.

This again marks Dissection as one of the few true-to-their-words death/black metal bands

Fri, 11 Jan 2008 07:04:48 GMT

However, Dissection's summer tour plans were abruptly cut short, and it was announced that the band would split up following a final string of U.S. dates, which were subsequently canceled due to difficulties obtaining an entry visa because of his criminal record. And then, even while fans were still coming to grips with their disappointment, news began spreading across the Internet that the 31-year-old Nödtveidt had committed suicide with a gunshot to the head, surrounded by candles in his Stockholm, Sweden, apartment, sometime around August 16, 2006. Shortly before the suicide, Nödtveidt is said to have sent farewell letters to his father and several friends and acquaintances -- one of which reportedly read, "I'm going away for a long, long time. I'm going to Transylvania."

allmusic ((( Dissection > Biography )))

Rest in chaos, Jon!

Pro

Fri, 21 Dec 2007 03:13:35 GMT

According to J, a professional Drum 'N' bass DJ is supposed to make 8~9 tracks per month regularly (including remixes and original compositions), which is why he gave up on this career path. All year long, this kind of pace tends to rip off the joyful creative process (full of magical encounters and bit-by-bit implementations as the audience may imagine). To achieve this productiveness, one has to be reduced to an efficient machine, with an extremely disciplined top-down approach to the acoustic end products.

However, all the above is actually not far from the truth in every other professional area. A pro is supposed to be well organized in what he/she does and knows better than an amateur the nuances in ways of handling details. Speaking the professional language while thinking in the language of the audience/users could be a preferred balance.

'Jに従って、プロのDrum 'N' Bass DJは定期的に1カ月あたり8~9つの道を作るべきです(彼がこのキャリアパスに見切りをつけた理由です)(リミックスと独創的な作品を含んでいて)。一年中、この種類のペースは楽しい創造的な過程(不思議な遭遇とビットごとに聴衆としての実現が想像するかもしれないいっぱいの)を盗む傾向があります。この多産性を達成するために、1つは効率的な機械に変えられなければなりません、音の最終生産物への非常に規律があるトップダウンアプローチで。

しかしながら、すべての上記が実際に他のあらゆるプロの領域の真実から遠いというわけではありません。プロは詳細を扱うその人が何で方法でニュアンスをして、アマチュアよりよく知っているかで組織化された井戸であるべきです。聴衆/ユーザの言葉を借りて言えば思っている間、プロの言語を話すのは、都合のよいバランスであるかもしれません。

<人狼> OST

Wed, 19 Dec 2007 04:41:16 GMT

True classic is sth that makes you shiver whenever you make contact with it.

本当のクラシックはあなたがそれに接触するときはいつも、あなたを身震いさせるのものです。

我给孟庭苇写的last.fm艺人介绍

Sat, 15 Dec 2007 10:42:27 GMT

听了这么久的孟庭苇, 再看看last.fm上的scrobbling记录, 感觉都是我的, 估计我是加拿大孟庭苇后援会光杆司令....汗, 而且艺人介绍始终空缺, 每次听的时候看着last.fm界面就是 "care to help?". 今天终于醒悟了, 自己动笔写咯. 刚刚完成.

last.fm的孟庭苇页面链接:

http://www.last.fm/music/%E5%AD%9F%E5%BA%AD%E8%8B%87

我写的传记wiki页面:

http://www.last.fm/music/%E5%AD%9F%E5%BA%AD%E8%8B%87/+wiki

基本遵照last.fm的音乐中心原则, 没有过多的八卦 (last.fm上所有的亚洲艺人介绍写得都很八卦), 集中在音乐特征上.

其实5年前曾经试着给AMG空缺的JPop艺人写过碟评, 那个时候AMG还有用户投稿界面 (现在好像已经没了), 结果我的投稿全部泥牛入海. 现在都是Wiki了, 各位国内的写手们, 可以给亚洲音乐的世界推广作点贡献了, 如果有亚亚的铁杆也欢迎去修改我写得不对的地方, 呵呵.

全文刊登如下: Meng, Tingwei (孟庭苇), born on 22 December 1969 in Zhanghua (彰化), Taiwan, China, is one of the most important female singers in the early 90's Mandarin pop scene. With her constant high register, crisp-clear articulation, and the subtle support from the easy-listening arrangements and productions, her unique singing style has often been commented as being "ethereal", "spacey", "immaculate", "untarnished", and rather difficult to reproduce till today. She had received an unofficial nickname "Moon Princess" for her hit single "Look! Look! The Face of the Moon"("你看你看月亮的脸").

Originally named Chen, Xiumei (陈秀玫), Meng received her artist name from her initial record label Shangge(上格) through fortune-telling, with an idyllic touch in the chosen Chinese characters (庭苇 means "the flower in the courtyard"). Her hardcore fans often prefer using her nickname Yaya (亚亚).

Her first two albums <I Actually Still Kinda Care>(<其实我还是有些在乎>), <Growing> (<成长>), released in May and November, 1990, fell into the typical 80's Soft-Rock routines and failed to draw much attention.

Her third album <Look! Look! The Face of the Moon>(<你看你看月亮的脸>), released September, 1991, introduced to the audience in the region a refreshing style characterized by her high-pitched and minor-key-dominant vocal melody-line, well articulated and emotionally rich vocal narratives, in contrast with the slow tempo and the relaxed analog synths and acoustic guitars in the background, all of which are wrapped into strong artificial reverbs, creating a gradually built-up atmosphere around the lyrics that frequently refer to natural phenomena as a kind of metaphors for loss of love. This style was distinct compared to the Disco and New-Wave oriented Mandarin/Cantonese pop tradition in Hongkong, Taiwan, and Mainland China from the late 80's till early 90's. The album sold 500,000 copies in Taiwan and 5,000,000 throughout Asia, which established her fame as one of the most popular Taiwanese female singers at the time.

The following three albums <Coming to Taipei in Winter to See the Rain>(<冬季到台北来看雨>, released May, 1992), <Whose Tears are Flying> (<谁的眼泪在飞>, February, 1993), <There is a Cloud Made by Rain in the Wind> (<风中有朵雨做的云>, November, 1993) were essentially the continuations of the same style and achieved consistent commercial successes in Asia. Many of these songs were well fitted into the aesthetics of the Taiwanese romantic TV dramas from the early 90's (she did perform a couple of such themes). Around the releasing time of her sixth album, she was rated as the best "Dream Lover in the Military" ("军中情人") in Taiwan. On the other hand, her success in the Mainland Chinese market also gained her a lot of invited professional appearances in both commercial and governmental events in Mainland China, which was rarely seen among all the Taiwanese artists at that time considering the well-known political tension between the two entities.

<The Age of Innocence> (<纯真年代>, August, 1994) saw Meng and her production group’s attempts to exploit more traditional Chinese folk flavors, lusher arrangements and productions, marked by richer analog synth overdubs and a little digital ones, more ethnic instruments, and more foreground-oriented instrument mixing. These were further emphasized in the next two albums <True or False> (<真的还是假的>, March, 1995) and <Heart Talks and Hands Speak> (<心言手语>, March, 1996), with the immediately standing-out pieces such as "Telepathy" ("心电感应"), "My Heart is Broken for Breaking Yours" ("伤了你的心的我伤心"), "Placed into Heart" ("放在心里面").

Entering the mid-90’s, influenced by the trendy Alternative Pop/Rock and Electronica scene at the time, along with the flourishing digital production technology, Meng's next few albums were a complete departure from her most-remembered style. Lots of dynamic elements such as Bossanova were adopted, resulting in songs that are faster and rhythmically more complex; her voice was heavily compressed and the reverbs over her voice were considerably reduced for an enhanced presence; the bass and mid-range of her voice became more emphasized with EQ, creating a “whispering” quality; digital effects such as delay, flanger, and chorus, and stereo imaging were piled upon her originally natural performances; the old analog reverbs and synths were replaced with the fuller and broader digital ones. These albums are <The Second Rainbow> (<第二道彩虹>, March, 1997), <Lover> (<恋人>, November, 1997), and the Fujian-dialect album <In Love with Shiyanwen> (<爱到史艳文>, October, 2000); the latter two albums were made under her new label the Friendly Dog (友善的狗). Two months after the releasing of <In Love with Shiyanwen>, Meng announced the end of her professional singing career for the first time.

According to some other artists in the circle and herself, Meng realized that her straightforward personality and her exclusive focus on music were incompatible with the climate of the circle, which much contributed to her leaving.

Before her leave, she had become obsessed with Buddhist music. Soon, she released a Buddhist music album <E Mi To Fo> (<阿弥陀佛>, November, 2001) and also appeared in a number of charity concerts in Mainland China. Another Buddhist album <Heart Script> (<心经>) was released in January, 2003.

Five months after her marriage with her high-school classmate, Meng finally decided to return to her career and signed to her current record label Jingwen (京文). The first album after her return was <Red Flower> (<红花>, January, 2005), which consists of mostly the remastering of her early classics. In this and her latest album <Sense of Happiness> (<幸福感>, September, 2006, released after her first pregnancy), not only the Electronica-dominant arrangements and refined productions, but her singing (such as the staccato feel) showed certain influences from another super star in the 90-00's Mandarin/Cantonese pop scene, Wang, Faye (王菲).

One of the unique features of Meng's singing style compared to the contemporary Chinese female pop singers is her zero usage of falsetto even at rather high registers.

こんなに長い孟庭葦を聞いて、更にlast.を見てみますfmの上のscrobbling記録、感じはすべて私のです....汗、その上芸人は紹介してずっと空いて、毎回聞く時last.を見ていますfmインターフェースは "care to help?". 今日ついに目が覚めて、自分で筆を執って書いて吐き出します. ちょうど完成します.

last.fmの孟庭葦のページのリンク:

http://www.last.fm/music/%E5%AD%9F%E5%BA%AD%E8%8B%87

私の書いた伝記wikiページ:

http://www.last.fm/music/%E5%AD%9F%E5%BA%AD%E8%8B%87/+wiki

基本はlast.によってfmの音楽センターの原則、多すぎる八卦がありません (last.fmの上ですべてのアジアの芸人の紹介はとても八卦の)をすべて書いて、集中は音楽の特徴の上にあります.

実は5年前にかつてAMGの空くJPop芸人に小皿を書いたことがあって評論・評定することを試みて、その時にAMGはユーザーの投稿するインターフェースがまだあります (今すでにないようです)、結果の私のは投稿してすべて再び帰りません. 今すべてWikiで、各位の国内のは手達を書いて、アジアの音楽の世界に行って貢献したことを広めることができて、も歓迎して私の書くのが間違いの地方を改正するもしとても亜鉄の棒があるならば、ほほほ.

次の通り全文を載せます:

Symbolic Listening, Acoustic Listening, and Cognitive Satisfaction

Wed, 05 Dec 2007 06:47:13 GMT

A-side

Wuhanese from my generation may still remember the mid-90's phenomenal thriving of the Hongkong pirated cassette series aiming at the emerging Alternative Rock/Pop audience. Some notable names including the Britpop old boys and the 4AD poets. Those tapes were in extremely gross quality: Everything was clipping; the high-end was literally nowhere to be found, and some weird background noise was always haunting... However, I for one seemed to have either bypassed the obvious perceptual discomfort or cognitively accepted their acoustical validity. In other words, I was pursuing symbolic listening all the time, with my focus solely devoted to the symbolic musical dimensions such as melodies, rhythms, and lyrics. The audiophiles from that age were completely eliminated from my field of view because their concerns about the spectral balance and stuff were simply gobbledygook to me.

A decade later, I have unfortunately been converted to at least half-acoustic listening. As a result, a lot of the old recordings I had and the sound from regular consumer PC speakers including those heavily colorized models as the Logitech Z-series now "sound like shit" (quoted from J, my recording engineer friend). I doubt that the clear-cut aesthetic dichotomy between the symbolic and acoustic approach should ever be emphasized; however, it is hard to resist just like every other kind of mental rewiring from certain cultural shock. It resembles the feelings when you realized that for all these years the one in bed with you wasn't paying full attention when you reached your own climax.

曾经沧海难为水 says that the regression in cognitive routines is difficult to perform; however, a personal balance between the two could still lead to a sweet-spot. I somehow achieved the emotional break-through with my trust to the clipping bass sound of Depeche Mode <Ultra> cassette that I bought when I was a freshman. The memory is still there. Nowadays, the pursuits for higher quality in all aspects of life are no less than an oppressive-compulsive disorder. But in fact, cognitive satisfaction has always been within reach at any scale. Know when to stop by.

B-side

还记得90年代风行一时的港版D版磁带么? 我的Suede, 4AD都是从那个时候开始的, 可能主要因为打口带的价钱对每个月只有5块钱的某中学生太过血腥, 就自然选择了廉价港版, "0-G时代最重要的就是内容", 自然而然地滤掉了如今显而易见的低劣翻录质量, 其实大批那种磁带一直都歇在店里架上, 只有我这种自适应滤波器才去问津. 我那来自美国流行乐黄埔军校Berklee的录音师朋友J的口头禅"sound like shit"对那些唱片再合适不过, 更何况J已经用他的录音作品向我证明了中国唱片界同仁整体水平上的"shitty sound"是怎样的. 符号欣赏和音响欣赏本无高下; 甚至内容与形式之争中, 形式也是形式者的内容; 只是审美是条单行道, 前路多惊险, 回头路更远. 知足乃四海一家的解决之道.

Formula to my musical homesick

Fri, 23 Nov 2007 03:15:13 GMT

Since I left China, music has been my only homesick inducer.

First Ennio Morricone's stuff. Then 孟庭苇. Then 新居昭乃. Now 王菲...

But I finally got the formula to all these.

All the cases share the following patterns

All the artists walked through 80's.
The average tempos of the albums of these artists are all below 200bpm.
All music has thin low frenquency content and extremely rich high frenquecy content.
All music is of or at least was played at low sound levels (perhaps further eliminated perceived low-end).
For each of these artists, what I did was play his/her 3+ albums non-stop.
The homesick occurences were exclusively nocturnal.
No one was awake in the vicinity.
I was working, and was working at loose pace. So there were intermittent moments for active listening while the foregournd activity wasn't much disturbed. In other words, the homesick was pretty much subliminal.

Finally, I was able to completely decode this and the key is not just Ennio Morricone as I had been thinking since 3 years ago.

Venetian Snares "Winnipeg is a frozen shithole"

Wed, 21 Nov 2007 21:05:05 GMT

Catchy and crazy IDM. Some parts are almost death/black metal ... all by drum machines.

80's Nostalgia

Tue, 13 Nov 2007 07:12:06 GMT

Been re-visiting 王菲's discography today. Uncovered some forgotten treasure from her 王靖雯-era. Damn, quite a few decent compositions! And my 80's nostalgia just kept coming back. I'm in deep love with the bassline from the 80's. The zero bass boost in EQ, the laid-back plucking style and the occasional slaps were perfect for background sonic stream. Asian recordings have been criticized by north-American engineers for their poor spectral emphases and aimless usages of reverb, all of which are actually parts of my auditory memories. So it's quite difficult for me to resist such "distorted" aesthetics. Some of my Korean engineer friends have been converted to the American acoustic religions. I don't know what if I were also convinced that the Britney Spears' recordings are classic.

Oh, crap. I so love songs like "情敌" from 王靖雯.

今日、王菲のディスコグラフィーを再訪問します。彼女の王靖雯-時代から覆いのない少し忘れられた宝。畜生、相当な数の適切な作品！そして、私の80年代のノスタルジアは、ちょうど戻り続けました。私は、80年代からbasslineに対する心からの大好きでいます。EQ、気楽な引き抜いているスタイルと時折の平手打ちの0低音後押しは、バック音のストリームに絶好でした。アジアの記録は北のアメリカのエンジニアによって彼らの貧しい幻のような強調と残響の目的のない使用法の理由で批判されました。そして、その全ては実は私の聴覚記憶の部分です。それで、私がそのような「ゆがめられた」美学に抵抗することは、全く難しいです。私の韓国のエンジニア友人の何人かは、アメリカの音響の宗教に変わりました。私がブリトニースピアーズの記録が古典的であることをも確信していたとしたら、私は知りません。

ああ、クソをしてください。私は、王靖雯の「情敵」のような歌が好きです。

J's recordings

Fri, 02 Nov 2007 00:44:00 GMT

Came across several decent Japanese semi-pro singers that J produced, each of who beats lots of mainstream J-idols in the vocal expressiveness, such as a girl called Kana Sanefuji. Ich's gonna go crazy about them...

Overnight session

Thu, 01 Nov 2007 20:29:05 GMT

Assisted a session with J for an amatuer singer group
6 X'mas songs for church, pretty smooth, 2 takes each.
The pianist/singer later decided to add some new stuff.
Then she improvised for 2 hours, with lyrics, non-stop.
She's a student admission officer at our school. 人民万岁.
J was from Berklee, his former partner was almost accepted by Chick Corea as his sound engineer. Only got wiped off because of his drug history.

Brian May，从摇滚明星到天体物理学家 | 格致

Mon, 29 Oct 2007 14:21:46 GMT

Brian May，是著名摇滚乐队Queen的吉他手(60岁)，完成了耽搁已久的天体物理学领域的博士论文，已正式向30年前就读的伦敦Imperial学院递交了论文，论文标题是"Radial Velocities in the Zodiacal Dust Cloud"。如果审核通过的话，还要等到明年他才能获得博士学位。1970年，Brian May在Imperial学院天体物理系读书时与主唱Freddie Mercury，鼓手Roger Taylor组成了Queen摇滚乐队，随着Queen的走红他放弃了星际尘埃方面的博士研究。

Brian May，从摇滚明星到天体物理学家 | 格致

"Grain" OP

Tue, 09 Oct 2007 09:15:40 GMT

Composer/Arrangement: 蓜島邦明

Among all the Anime themes that I've been exposed to, this one impressed me the most with its coherent logical progression in terms of the storyline, judging from my subjetive evaluation of the Anime itself, of course.

A "trilogy" as it is, this 1min piece starts with an introductory anthem by a female choir, soon torn apart by slow industrial beats entangled with distorted guitar, then came the hi-end synth on a major key, finally a reverbed texture and additional orchestral bits melts away the entire aural space.

Simply put, <Monster> is about the lost-and-found of innocence, the personal yet collective return made by every character in its world. The music shows a pretty accurate auditory image of the idea.

The anthem is the human morality. The rumbling beats and the guitar distortion, with their tonal conflicts to the anthem, stand for the unstoppable rolling wheel of modernization and the more profound psychological cravings/weaknesses of human beings, which drive all the events and the characters' moves. The beats are heavy yet slightly off metrics, indicating the instability of the wheel. As it stumbles into the 2nd part, the beats and the guitar distortion are confined within the lo-end of the spectrum while the ethereal synth stays on the hi-end, leaving the audience a hollow mid-range, which conveys that the human spirits (mid-range) are devoured when the wheel is rolling yet a faint consciousness (synth) remains trembling in the wind (vibrato). Fortunately, the relentless wheel won't be in an eternal progression. Morality (anthem) eventually makes its return in a more tolerant, compassionate, yet powerful manner (reverb with orchestra), as the wheel fades away.

-- kakyo