December 27ths

12/27/2009

Interesting: Part of the reason Hitchcock shot Psycho in BW was that it would mask blood. The first color out of a world of black and white is red.

12/27/2016

When we think of light, we understand it as a retinal phenomenon. But music has been used as a metaphor for centuries, most notably during the impressionist period in the late 19th century, with works primarily by Debussy and Ravel. 
            
In the 20th century, artists such as James Turrell and Brian Eno extended the phenomenological (or ambient) aspects of light. Eno was interested in light even before he became involved with sound and Turrell, while not an audio artist, recontextualized light as being an ambient phenomenon worthy of deeper meaning and attention.

There is a natural linearity of moving from visual phenomenon to sound; They are joined at the hip in many ways. People who have synesthesia understand this with an intensity that others may not. Still, most understand that light and sound are comprised of various frequencies, which manifest in spectra of colors, luminosity, and pitch.
                        
Algorithms can be programmed to correlate light and sound, with the most simple and prosaic example being the laser light displays, sometimes digitally synchronized with sound—sometimes in a more analog fashion using pressure-sensitive piezo microphones, as used in a laser light show accompanying Stravinsky’s Rite of Spring.
                        
The association of color frequency and sound frequencies is highly subjective—and no two people will be in agreement. But that is not what matters: In terms of how sunlight waxes and wanes at various points on the globe, it is an impelling force to contemplate the power of sunlight and celestial awareness and extend it to how we experience music and sound. We don’t automatically perceive the connection between light and sound but it has always existed, and it is the interdisciplinary artist (or rather “sciartist”) who can bring it to light.

Excerpt Library (Music): "Discuss the connection between sound and light frequencies"

12/27/2023

Apparently, Eno is on tour with an orchestra—including flutes (What ever happened to “The Society to Melt Down Flutes”?) 

What is the "Society to Melt Down Flutes?"

12/27/2024

One of the main differences between making music manually and generating music with AI is in the quality of the production and how quickly you can create songs that are fully developed. But after a while the productions all sound the same and you have to explore new ways of production that don’t involve AI at all. So far, AI music looks like it has a short shelf life, unless there are more options for exploring different production vibes. 

[12/27/2025: Repeated cliches haven't been a problem (so far). What I want is for every spin to be unique in some way. I'd rather spend the time curating things that seem odd rather than wading through sameness]

 

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12/27/2025

Experimented using AI on the lyrics of one of my 90s songs. Horrible. As much as I am amazed by what it's currently doing, there are simply things AI cannot do, and will always be the case--at least in music. For example, it doesn't suss triplet feels. A quarter note or half-note triplet would be impossible for AI. Why? Because the data sets don't have those note values in them. It's a "swing thing". Only jazz would have those kinds of lazy rhythms in it, and the only way to get those rhythms is to make the genre jazz. It's evidence that AI can't have organic influences.