i expected this was going to happen...
my isp is cutting my plan out. they just doubled my usage cap from 75 gb to 150 gb and increased my bill by $3. but, these are my actual usage stats recently:
nov: 15 gb
dec: 9 gb
jan: 8 gb (so far)
i wouldn't want lower than 50 gb, for the security blanket. but i'm rarely going to go over 20 gb. 150 gb is completely useless to me.
i'm not going to make any changes, because it's still under $30, which is my breaking point. for now, i can just treat this as inflation. i refuse to pay more than that. why? because i always had unlimited access for less than that. i don't want or need more bandwidth. i want a cheap plan in the 3-10 mbps range, and i'll take as low as a 50 gb limit if i have to.
but, it's coming up on it. and if i can't find the cheap enough option, i'm willing to cancel altogether. if you don't believe me, take note: i believe phones are overpriced and haven't paid for one in over five years.
i have no problem going to the library every few days instead...
like, i guess i'm ok with usage-based billing on some level - if you cut the flat rate. go ahead and charge me $1/gb or something. if you make it flat, i'm going to save money, in the long run, because my usage is so low.
but don't sell me a service i don't want, and then deny me the opportunity to downgrade....
i guess i'm still old-fashioned, in the sense that the dominant thing i do on the internet is READ.
Thursday, January 15, 2015
yeah...
if i saw a cougar zoom by, it seems to have been smart enough to take the sidewalk to avoid tracks. and i DID see it up along the sidewalk. but there's no tracks coming on or off the sidewalk. more importantly, there's no tracks coming back and forth from the tree, which is what i was really worried about.
there's some tracks across the street, but they look smaller. skunk, maybe. or even a house cat.
so, i basically have no evidence. and i'm not calling in such an outlandish claim with no evidence. i'm not going out after dark for a while, though....
i tell you, though, it sure looked like one. but it was dark.
if i saw a cougar zoom by, it seems to have been smart enough to take the sidewalk to avoid tracks. and i DID see it up along the sidewalk. but there's no tracks coming on or off the sidewalk. more importantly, there's no tracks coming back and forth from the tree, which is what i was really worried about.
there's some tracks across the street, but they look smaller. skunk, maybe. or even a house cat.
so, i basically have no evidence. and i'm not calling in such an outlandish claim with no evidence. i'm not going out after dark for a while, though....
i tell you, though, it sure looked like one. but it was dark.
actually, i think i just saw a fucking cougar outside the window.
i said "clear canid tracks". well, all i could tell was that they weren't human, really, and that they were quite large. clear, large paws. but could i tell the difference between wolf/coyote tracks and cougar tracks? no. but, i mean, coyotes wouldn't be that unusual. a cougar, on the other hand...
i just had a bad feeling about going out for a smoke tonight, so i had one in my back room instead. i looked out the window and saw a rather large cat zoom by on the sidewalk...much, much larger than the one that hangs out around here...
...and not the same colour. yes, it was dark. and it admittedly seemed to have more of that bobcat grey than that cougar peach. but it also had a long tail, which bobcats and lynxes don't have.
is this even possible? are there cougars around here? that's a tricky question. apparently, the answer is an emphatic yes, but it's not entirely clear what their range is or where they've come from. the official story is that they were hunted to extinction in this region well over a hundred years ago, but there have been consistent unconfirmed reports of cougars in the region basically ever since. and there have been confirmed reports in southern ontario over the last few years, with some people believing that they're migrating back into the area, others believing that some "pets escaped" and still others arguing that they never really were extinct in the first place. there have apparently been numerous sightings in the waterloo region, recently.
i didn't get a really good look - not good enough to state it was really a cougar with any certainty. those tracks are long gone. and i'm not going back out until the sun comes back up.
but i'll have to check for tracks in the morning.
i think it would be rather remarkable to confirm a cougar sighting in an urban area like this.
http://blogs.windsorstar.com/news/cougar-sighted-near-ganatchio-trail
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/windsor/alleged-cougar-spotted-in-southern-ontario-1.1252531
it seems like grey cougars are a thing that exists. hrmmn. that was my largest point of skepticism.
i think i saw a cougar on my front lawn. creepy.
i said "clear canid tracks". well, all i could tell was that they weren't human, really, and that they were quite large. clear, large paws. but could i tell the difference between wolf/coyote tracks and cougar tracks? no. but, i mean, coyotes wouldn't be that unusual. a cougar, on the other hand...
i just had a bad feeling about going out for a smoke tonight, so i had one in my back room instead. i looked out the window and saw a rather large cat zoom by on the sidewalk...much, much larger than the one that hangs out around here...
...and not the same colour. yes, it was dark. and it admittedly seemed to have more of that bobcat grey than that cougar peach. but it also had a long tail, which bobcats and lynxes don't have.
is this even possible? are there cougars around here? that's a tricky question. apparently, the answer is an emphatic yes, but it's not entirely clear what their range is or where they've come from. the official story is that they were hunted to extinction in this region well over a hundred years ago, but there have been consistent unconfirmed reports of cougars in the region basically ever since. and there have been confirmed reports in southern ontario over the last few years, with some people believing that they're migrating back into the area, others believing that some "pets escaped" and still others arguing that they never really were extinct in the first place. there have apparently been numerous sightings in the waterloo region, recently.
i didn't get a really good look - not good enough to state it was really a cougar with any certainty. those tracks are long gone. and i'm not going back out until the sun comes back up.
but i'll have to check for tracks in the morning.
i think it would be rather remarkable to confirm a cougar sighting in an urban area like this.
http://blogs.windsorstar.com/news/cougar-sighted-near-ganatchio-trail
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/windsor/alleged-cougar-spotted-in-southern-ontario-1.1252531
it seems like grey cougars are a thing that exists. hrmmn. that was my largest point of skepticism.
i think i saw a cougar on my front lawn. creepy.
Wednesday, January 14, 2015
yeah,
i'm not doing this. or not right now. i feel like i'm forcing it.and
i've bought eps with forced remixes that aren't worth it. it's not like i
have a demand to print this. if i do print it, though, i'll have to
think about this before i get there.
i want this to come to me more organically. it's like...i have the abstract idea of wanting to take it in that more glitch hop direction, but i don't have a concrete plan and don't want to just fuck with it for content.
more likely is that i'll be playing with something at some point and it will click. for now, on to inri042...
i want this to come to me more organically. it's like...i have the abstract idea of wanting to take it in that more glitch hop direction, but i don't have a concrete plan and don't want to just fuck with it for content.
more likely is that i'll be playing with something at some point and it will click. for now, on to inri042...
i'm still undecided. it's just...
that time single is not sitting so well with me. it seems a little haphazard. 35 minutes is a little short. i feel it needs at least one further remix....
but the "glitch hop" mix i want to do is sort of similar to the instrumental that is up.
i'm still thinking about this. i should really just sit down and do it. but i want the link dump cleared up until i moved to windsor before i move forwards, which is another month.
that time single is not sitting so well with me. it seems a little haphazard. 35 minutes is a little short. i feel it needs at least one further remix....
but the "glitch hop" mix i want to do is sort of similar to the instrumental that is up.
i'm still thinking about this. i should really just sit down and do it. but i want the link dump cleared up until i moved to windsor before i move forwards, which is another month.
Tuesday, January 13, 2015
Monday, January 12, 2015
siren’s sound review
for the sake of transparency, this post came up on my request, and it seems like the "reviewer" (he's more of a link sharer than a reviewer) was a little befuddled by it.
his analysis...
A TOTALLY STRANGE FORM OF PSYCHEDELIC NOISE
well, it fits. and to an extent i revel in that sort of confused reaction; it means i'm doing something right. but it's the kind of site where the odd person that stumbles upon it might connect with it, so this is a good start with this...
http://www.thesirenssound.com/2015/01/12/deny-everything/
i'm going to get something like 1/1000 on youtube. i might get 1/100 or something at a site like that. the flip side is i'm going to get ten times as much traffic at youtube....
his analysis...
A TOTALLY STRANGE FORM OF PSYCHEDELIC NOISE
well, it fits. and to an extent i revel in that sort of confused reaction; it means i'm doing something right. but it's the kind of site where the odd person that stumbles upon it might connect with it, so this is a good start with this...
http://www.thesirenssound.com/2015/01/12/deny-everything/
i'm going to get something like 1/1000 on youtube. i might get 1/100 or something at a site like that. the flip side is i'm going to get ten times as much traffic at youtube....
well,
he took me *half* seriously. and it turns out he could fill out the
forms, but decided not to. instead, i got two appointments in february -
which is enough to string me along without pulling off the aspirin
stunt. it's still possible, but not for another month. we'll see how
that goes.
i dropped some hints, mentioned i may need to "generate a crisis", so it shouldn't be a total surprise. i think he's mostly got me coming back in for observation on the 2nd; i can see an actual psychiatrist on the 17th.
this message will self-destruct in 24 hours.
i dropped some hints, mentioned i may need to "generate a crisis", so it shouldn't be a total surprise. i think he's mostly got me coming back in for observation on the 2nd; i can see an actual psychiatrist on the 17th.
this message will self-destruct in 24 hours.
i
just realized they scheduled me with a nurse, who can't fill the forms
in, anyways. i don't think it's likely that i'm going to be taken
seriously, today.
i'd consequently say it's almost completely certain that i'm going to be in the hospital by noon. i'd just point out that the purpose of this is to create a crisis, because they seem unable to react to perform on a crisis management level and solely able to perform on a crisis response level. that is, i seem to have little choice but to create a crisis situation if i want to get these forms filled in. this is a very stupid/liberal way to organize a system that is likely to cost more in the long run than a focus on prevention would, but we live in a very stupid/liberal society....
the point is that i'm not putting myself in serious danger, at least not today. i will give them a time frame before i begin to consume the aspirin. i will consume the aspirin in the medical facility, if i have to. they will have no choice but to call an ambulance, and they should be able to pump my stomach fairly easily.
i will ensure that this is done in an easy to respond to manner the first few times i do this, because the point is to draw attention to myself rather than to actually succeed. classic cry for help scenario. if this drags on unsuccessfully, and i'm faced with eviction again, i will choose a more decisive way to kill myself than overdosing on aspirin at the doctor's office. i've explained my position on this, and the rational factors that may or may not lead to my decision.
i'll update if there's a different outcome. but that would be a surprise to me.
i've given them every opportunity to respond in accordance with their public mandate, and wash my hands of responsibility regarding the consequences of their inaction.
i can only hope that more people are willing to take this kind of a confrontational stance when it comes to dealing with public institutions that have been co-opted by liberalism, and are now working against their designated purpose.
hopefully, people get fired.
i'd consequently say it's almost completely certain that i'm going to be in the hospital by noon. i'd just point out that the purpose of this is to create a crisis, because they seem unable to react to perform on a crisis management level and solely able to perform on a crisis response level. that is, i seem to have little choice but to create a crisis situation if i want to get these forms filled in. this is a very stupid/liberal way to organize a system that is likely to cost more in the long run than a focus on prevention would, but we live in a very stupid/liberal society....
the point is that i'm not putting myself in serious danger, at least not today. i will give them a time frame before i begin to consume the aspirin. i will consume the aspirin in the medical facility, if i have to. they will have no choice but to call an ambulance, and they should be able to pump my stomach fairly easily.
i will ensure that this is done in an easy to respond to manner the first few times i do this, because the point is to draw attention to myself rather than to actually succeed. classic cry for help scenario. if this drags on unsuccessfully, and i'm faced with eviction again, i will choose a more decisive way to kill myself than overdosing on aspirin at the doctor's office. i've explained my position on this, and the rational factors that may or may not lead to my decision.
i'll update if there's a different outcome. but that would be a surprise to me.
i've given them every opportunity to respond in accordance with their public mandate, and wash my hands of responsibility regarding the consequences of their inaction.
i can only hope that more people are willing to take this kind of a confrontational stance when it comes to dealing with public institutions that have been co-opted by liberalism, and are now working against their designated purpose.
hopefully, people get fired.
Sunday, January 11, 2015
well, i've got all my documents in order. tomorrow morning at 11:00 am. at least it'll be nice out....
i'm going to have to bring up the ms thing. i don't know if there's some kind of test for it. it may be the best way to do this. i mean, i can handle some muscle spasms and stuff but i've recently been getting the classic difficulty swallowing, and i think i'm really better off getting it diagnosed. if i can get them to take me seriously...
it's an mri...
i'm going to have to bring up the ms thing. i don't know if there's some kind of test for it. it may be the best way to do this. i mean, i can handle some muscle spasms and stuff but i've recently been getting the classic difficulty swallowing, and i think i'm really better off getting it diagnosed. if i can get them to take me seriously...
it's an mri...
detroit has a serious wild dog problem, but i'm not aware of one here and getting across the river would be rather difficult.
City of Windsor naturalist Paul Pratt said he hears reports of coyote sightings from everywhere in the city, even downtown. Coyotes took down a deer in the woodlot behind his LaSalle house about a month ago.
They’re mostly nocturnal and largely go unnoticed, Pratt said.
“If you have small dogs or cats, you shouldn’t let them out at night unattended, even if you’re in a built-up area.”
He said there are more coyotes in Windsor now because there’s more wildlife in Windsor – skunks, feral cats, groundhogs, possums and deer.
“There’s all this wildlife, something’s got to eat them,” said Pratt. “We have coyotes.”
City of Windsor naturalist Paul Pratt said he hears reports of coyote sightings from everywhere in the city, even downtown. Coyotes took down a deer in the woodlot behind his LaSalle house about a month ago.
They’re mostly nocturnal and largely go unnoticed, Pratt said.
“If you have small dogs or cats, you shouldn’t let them out at night unattended, even if you’re in a built-up area.”
He said there are more coyotes in Windsor now because there’s more wildlife in Windsor – skunks, feral cats, groundhogs, possums and deer.
“There’s all this wildlife, something’s got to eat them,” said Pratt. “We have coyotes.”
i'm pretty sure i've heard them rustling around where i can't see them. with all the cats and the skunks around, it seemed like a matter of time. but it took the snow to reveal them: very clear canid tracks coming up across the front lawn, right to the door and across the other way. right where the cat that's been following me around sits, actually. relatively large, at that - if these are coyote tracks, it's a big coyote. may be one of those coywolves...
i suspect that may be the last i'll see of that cat.
it's said they're around, and you'll rarely see them. they know they can't really take you down. but there's kids around here. and it's enough to be a little bit more cautious about going out at night.
i haven't set up my new blog yet, and i have my meeting on monday. this post will eventually self-destruct. but, for now i'm going to post on the results of my meeting in the comments of this post. i suppose if there's no posts here by tuesday, that's bad news.
i suspect that may be the last i'll see of that cat.
it's said they're around, and you'll rarely see them. they know they can't really take you down. but there's kids around here. and it's enough to be a little bit more cautious about going out at night.
i haven't set up my new blog yet, and i have my meeting on monday. this post will eventually self-destruct. but, for now i'm going to post on the results of my meeting in the comments of this post. i suppose if there's no posts here by tuesday, that's bad news.
existence (vst mix) (for thru)
this was a piece i wrote up in the fall of 2001. i can't remember exactly what the root of it was, but it had something to do with a voice-leading assignment for what was the equivalent of a course in music theory 101. the root of the piece may consequently come from what was presented to me. i can't recall exactly - but i believe the assignment was to build the different voices up.
my negative relationship with music theory is stated throughout this page and was well established well before the end of 2001. i had an interest in the music theory course for the purposes of deconstructing the theory - in the context of writing, specifically, and not performing. i actually have one of those classic stories - i failed this course. it is actually the only course i have ever legitimately received an F in. hey, if einstein can fail math, i can fail music theory.
the story actually revolves around sight-reading aspect of the course, and specifically it's vocal content. there were three aspects of the course (theory, vocal sight-reading and african drumming which i'm thinking was meant to be a rhythmic component but was really just a ridiculous waste of time). i really wish they would have let me sight read on a guitar, or even a piano, because i'm just simply not a talented singer; i've never had aspirations to become one, and i had a lot of problems controlling my vocals. even with that being said, the reality is that i had a very low level of _interest_ in this. i probably could have passed the course if i spent less time on abstract algebra and more time singing in the mirror, but i just couldn't be bothered...
i really disapprove of the way the course was designed. i was interested in learning about music theory, and needed the course as a pre-req for more advanced courses, which i never ended up taking. i still don't fully understand why i had to pass a singing exam to take further composition courses. the best answer i got was that the school didn't want graduates who couldn't pass a singing exam, but i was at no point enrolled in a b. music so it's a pretty weak response.
anyways, this was a voice-leading assignment that i perverted into something mildly atonal and then built up into something else. you can hear it if you listen, except that it's all "wrong". i'd have to sit down and analyze it to come to a more detailed exposition on it's "wrongness", and i'm not going to, but it's not hard to hear how "wrong" it is, either.
i was clearly listening to a lot of glass at the time, but this goes beyond his medievalism. i'm using so many "wrong" notes that it's ultimately just chromatic - although there's no tone rows or anything that's formally serialist about it. it's not meant to abolish the structure so much as it's meant to just flaunt the rules. that gives it an almost satanic feel, in the context of a vocal piece using "forbidden" intervals.
but, looking back, i think that what the piece really explores is existential anguish. i was in the second year of a math degree (after switching from physics after switching from software engineering) and really had little idea where i was going with it. i was considering switching into music and probably would have had i not failed the singing exam. the thing is i actually knew i was going to fail the course at that point, and was just feeling lost as a result of it. i ended up in math as this sort of default choice, vaguely thinking i might end up teaching somewhere but not having any real interest in it...
so much choice, so few options. i suppose that this is how i expressed what i was feeling about this reality at the time.
i can't remember the exact way this happened, but i believe the piece was initially written for voice (as a voice-leading assignment) and then expanded into further voices and then converted into a composition for nine instruments. i've picked halloween as the date, but that's symbolic - it was around then, anyway. it would have been around december that it was put aside, because i don't remember working on it after i moved.
this version was created in october, 2014 by mixing three separate vst mixes together: the choir mix, a string orchestra mix and an arranged mix.
written in the fall of 2001. rendered, remastered and remixed in late september and early october, 2014. this render is from october 3, 2014.
http://jasonparent.bandcamp.com/track/existence-4
my negative relationship with music theory is stated throughout this page and was well established well before the end of 2001. i had an interest in the music theory course for the purposes of deconstructing the theory - in the context of writing, specifically, and not performing. i actually have one of those classic stories - i failed this course. it is actually the only course i have ever legitimately received an F in. hey, if einstein can fail math, i can fail music theory.
the story actually revolves around sight-reading aspect of the course, and specifically it's vocal content. there were three aspects of the course (theory, vocal sight-reading and african drumming which i'm thinking was meant to be a rhythmic component but was really just a ridiculous waste of time). i really wish they would have let me sight read on a guitar, or even a piano, because i'm just simply not a talented singer; i've never had aspirations to become one, and i had a lot of problems controlling my vocals. even with that being said, the reality is that i had a very low level of _interest_ in this. i probably could have passed the course if i spent less time on abstract algebra and more time singing in the mirror, but i just couldn't be bothered...
i really disapprove of the way the course was designed. i was interested in learning about music theory, and needed the course as a pre-req for more advanced courses, which i never ended up taking. i still don't fully understand why i had to pass a singing exam to take further composition courses. the best answer i got was that the school didn't want graduates who couldn't pass a singing exam, but i was at no point enrolled in a b. music so it's a pretty weak response.
anyways, this was a voice-leading assignment that i perverted into something mildly atonal and then built up into something else. you can hear it if you listen, except that it's all "wrong". i'd have to sit down and analyze it to come to a more detailed exposition on it's "wrongness", and i'm not going to, but it's not hard to hear how "wrong" it is, either.
i was clearly listening to a lot of glass at the time, but this goes beyond his medievalism. i'm using so many "wrong" notes that it's ultimately just chromatic - although there's no tone rows or anything that's formally serialist about it. it's not meant to abolish the structure so much as it's meant to just flaunt the rules. that gives it an almost satanic feel, in the context of a vocal piece using "forbidden" intervals.
but, looking back, i think that what the piece really explores is existential anguish. i was in the second year of a math degree (after switching from physics after switching from software engineering) and really had little idea where i was going with it. i was considering switching into music and probably would have had i not failed the singing exam. the thing is i actually knew i was going to fail the course at that point, and was just feeling lost as a result of it. i ended up in math as this sort of default choice, vaguely thinking i might end up teaching somewhere but not having any real interest in it...
so much choice, so few options. i suppose that this is how i expressed what i was feeling about this reality at the time.
i can't remember the exact way this happened, but i believe the piece was initially written for voice (as a voice-leading assignment) and then expanded into further voices and then converted into a composition for nine instruments. i've picked halloween as the date, but that's symbolic - it was around then, anyway. it would have been around december that it was put aside, because i don't remember working on it after i moved.
this version was created in october, 2014 by mixing three separate vst mixes together: the choir mix, a string orchestra mix and an arranged mix.
written in the fall of 2001. rendered, remastered and remixed in late september and early october, 2014. this render is from october 3, 2014.
http://jasonparent.bandcamp.com/track/existence-4
the walk (vst mix)
this was written as the introductory walk scene to the first rabit is wolf single; this vst version is exclusive to this collection..
written late 2001; re-rendered through vst on jan 10, 2015.
http://jasonparent.bandcamp.com/track/the-walk-2
written late 2001; re-rendered through vst on jan 10, 2015.
http://jasonparent.bandcamp.com/track/the-walk-2
Saturday, January 10, 2015
lol...
so, i just tried to do a lossless compress on that last track, and it won't compress. if you know how this works a little...
what it does is it looks for strings of zeroes, which represent empty space in the wave file. now, what that means is complicated but "empty space" is intuitive - it's data that's not filled in, or is filled in with zeroes to be precise. it then combines strings of zeroes together, cutting down on the amount of bits required to store the data. what that means is that - and this is different than an mp3 - that the amount you can losslessly compress a sound by depends on the complexity of the sound. a recording of the creek outside your house will have more empty space than a recording of a symphony, and will compress much better.
so, if i run my symphony through the lossless compression and i'm only able to compress it by 1%, that means i've got data in 99% of the possible places there could be data.
that's a dense track...
so, you think you got a phat track, yo? see how far you can compress it. if your track is really phat, you're looking at 70%. but 99%? that's fucking ridiculous.
so, i just tried to do a lossless compress on that last track, and it won't compress. if you know how this works a little...
what it does is it looks for strings of zeroes, which represent empty space in the wave file. now, what that means is complicated but "empty space" is intuitive - it's data that's not filled in, or is filled in with zeroes to be precise. it then combines strings of zeroes together, cutting down on the amount of bits required to store the data. what that means is that - and this is different than an mp3 - that the amount you can losslessly compress a sound by depends on the complexity of the sound. a recording of the creek outside your house will have more empty space than a recording of a symphony, and will compress much better.
so, if i run my symphony through the lossless compression and i'm only able to compress it by 1%, that means i've got data in 99% of the possible places there could be data.
that's a dense track...
so, you think you got a phat track, yo? see how far you can compress it. if your track is really phat, you're looking at 70%. but 99%? that's fucking ridiculous.
the intersection of two identical particles moving in completely opposite directions (vst mix) (for thru)
ok...
so, to understand this piece, it's necessary to go back to 1998.
i was working out primitive sequencer parts for the first inri demo and it just sort of crossed my mind that there was really nothing stopping me from composing symphonies except for a lot of music theory. well, if i could write electronic music without training, why couldn't i write symphonies without training? i mean, the score writing program exists in front of me. it was just a question of experimenting with it. i could do it myself...
...but i actually already had a pretty hefty disdain for music theory by the age of 17. i'd managed to come across a music history textbook that traced the deconstruction of western theory from beethoven through to schoenberg and this, combined with my experiences as a guitarist, was enough to prevent me from taking it seriously. the perception i had was of modern composers viewing music theory sort of like how biologists viewed creationism. i use that analogy fairly frequently. it just didn't strike me as relevant.
now, i've softened a bit over time to a view that music theory is best understood in terms of the underlying physics. this renders the theory useless, but upholds the basic relationships between tones as physical, mathematical realities. the thing is the next step of abstraction is understanding that these mathematical objects can be arranged and analyzed in any arbitrary way, and the conventional theory really *is* a fallacy akin to creationism. so, i still hold to the general thesis. this is actually the first serious example of me putting that disdain for the idea that music should have a theory into real action. i remain adamantly of the view that art is not a realm where theories should exist or be viewed with anything other than scorn. theories are rigid, formal things; art is informal, chaotic.
so, it's 1998. i have a scorewriter and a very basic soundcard and i want to bullshit a symphony out of it. i did this by composing a single brief melody by randomly mashing notes into a scorewriter. i then took that melody and pasted it over top of itself at differing speeds (64th, 32nd, 16th, 8th, quarter, half, whole notes). i then took that, cut it off near the end of the half notes and pasted it over itself, backwards.
that might sound like it's going to sound awful, but it actually sounds quite lovely. one could analyze it quite easily, but it's creation is beyond the realm of any rules of construction.
which is where art belongs.
...excepting the algorithm i used, of course. i suppose it's more reich than schoenberg, but kind of more xenakis than either.
in 2001, i ran the midi file through my soundblaster live!, which as primitive as it is, has a much nicer wavetable in it than the primitive soundcard i used in 1998 and 1999 (i don't remember what it was). i also slowed it down by about 20 bpm and allowed the full file to "intersect", which let it breathe more.
why? well, i was writing a lot with scorewriters at the time and was just experimenting with the old file, really. but i was also finishing up what would be the only year i would spend in the math-physics department, and thought it sounded like i would imagine intersecting particles *should* sound like. i was generally interested in finding ways to combine science with music then - an interest that is present in older tracks as well and that has stuck with me. i may explore these themes further in time. one of the ideas i really wanted to accomplish was a physical modelling of the universe, to actually simulate the music of the spheres, as pythagoras imagined it. i think i underestimated the complexity of such a task....
of course, i never expected the music of the spheres to be tonal. and i wouldn't expect the sound of particles intersecting to be musical, either. but, we can take some artistic license. if intersecting particles are to make a sound, it OUGHT to be something like this!
written june, 1998. reimagined june, 2001. slightly rearranged and re-rendered at the end of july, 2014. this render is from july 24, 2014.
http://jasonparent.bandcamp.com/track/the-intersection-of-two-identical-particles-moving-in-completely-opposite-directions-4
so, to understand this piece, it's necessary to go back to 1998.
i was working out primitive sequencer parts for the first inri demo and it just sort of crossed my mind that there was really nothing stopping me from composing symphonies except for a lot of music theory. well, if i could write electronic music without training, why couldn't i write symphonies without training? i mean, the score writing program exists in front of me. it was just a question of experimenting with it. i could do it myself...
...but i actually already had a pretty hefty disdain for music theory by the age of 17. i'd managed to come across a music history textbook that traced the deconstruction of western theory from beethoven through to schoenberg and this, combined with my experiences as a guitarist, was enough to prevent me from taking it seriously. the perception i had was of modern composers viewing music theory sort of like how biologists viewed creationism. i use that analogy fairly frequently. it just didn't strike me as relevant.
now, i've softened a bit over time to a view that music theory is best understood in terms of the underlying physics. this renders the theory useless, but upholds the basic relationships between tones as physical, mathematical realities. the thing is the next step of abstraction is understanding that these mathematical objects can be arranged and analyzed in any arbitrary way, and the conventional theory really *is* a fallacy akin to creationism. so, i still hold to the general thesis. this is actually the first serious example of me putting that disdain for the idea that music should have a theory into real action. i remain adamantly of the view that art is not a realm where theories should exist or be viewed with anything other than scorn. theories are rigid, formal things; art is informal, chaotic.
so, it's 1998. i have a scorewriter and a very basic soundcard and i want to bullshit a symphony out of it. i did this by composing a single brief melody by randomly mashing notes into a scorewriter. i then took that melody and pasted it over top of itself at differing speeds (64th, 32nd, 16th, 8th, quarter, half, whole notes). i then took that, cut it off near the end of the half notes and pasted it over itself, backwards.
that might sound like it's going to sound awful, but it actually sounds quite lovely. one could analyze it quite easily, but it's creation is beyond the realm of any rules of construction.
which is where art belongs.
...excepting the algorithm i used, of course. i suppose it's more reich than schoenberg, but kind of more xenakis than either.
in 2001, i ran the midi file through my soundblaster live!, which as primitive as it is, has a much nicer wavetable in it than the primitive soundcard i used in 1998 and 1999 (i don't remember what it was). i also slowed it down by about 20 bpm and allowed the full file to "intersect", which let it breathe more.
why? well, i was writing a lot with scorewriters at the time and was just experimenting with the old file, really. but i was also finishing up what would be the only year i would spend in the math-physics department, and thought it sounded like i would imagine intersecting particles *should* sound like. i was generally interested in finding ways to combine science with music then - an interest that is present in older tracks as well and that has stuck with me. i may explore these themes further in time. one of the ideas i really wanted to accomplish was a physical modelling of the universe, to actually simulate the music of the spheres, as pythagoras imagined it. i think i underestimated the complexity of such a task....
of course, i never expected the music of the spheres to be tonal. and i wouldn't expect the sound of particles intersecting to be musical, either. but, we can take some artistic license. if intersecting particles are to make a sound, it OUGHT to be something like this!
written june, 1998. reimagined june, 2001. slightly rearranged and re-rendered at the end of july, 2014. this render is from july 24, 2014.
http://jasonparent.bandcamp.com/track/the-intersection-of-two-identical-particles-moving-in-completely-opposite-directions-4
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