The blog has only been around for a week, but it’s been a very productive week. Although I have been the only one updating the blog, the feedback I’ve received from readers has been nothing but positive, plus it’s enough enjoyment writing these entries. If you know of any music related blogs in the Pittsburgh area, please let me know. I’m interested in getting some links together and possibly having affiliates related to music.cantstopthis.net. Also, if you haven’t noticed, I try to link to Wikipedia whenever possible to make looking into artists and different things a lot easier. Some future ideas include more concert reviews with a chick of the concert receiving a music.cantstopthis.net t-shirt (oh boy, the ideas), interviews with artists, and random contests which have been in the works for awhile. I’d really appreciate any feedback and also, commenting on entries is encouraged! Trolling is permitted as well; no empire is complete without epic trolls. 
There is another spectrum of music that is far off from the mainstream and rooted deeply in electronic music, that being algorithm-generated music. This means that the composition was not by hand but by some mathematical rule or formula that generated the notes, times of samples, or something else of that nature. As much as it seems lifeless and talentless, the results are always interesting. Want a weird example? They have sequenced the Swine Flu and someone has made music from the primary gene using the following rule:
The algorithm I used is a bit complicated, but just in case you’re curious: since the gene is expressed as a surface protein antibodies can sense, it’s considered as a string of amino acids. Each beat corresponds to one amino acid, and the piece is in 3/4 time, so each six measures would correspond to five turns around the alpha structure. (I’m weaseling because I haven’t the foggiest idea how the protein actually gets folded.) Amino acids with side chains that are neither aromatic not aliphatic control the piano and organ: the nine non-hydrophobics the piano, and the four hydrophobics the organ. The three amino acids with aliphatic side chains control the low synthesizer, while the four with aromatics control the percussion.
Pretty cool if you ask me. The piece is free for download on the link above. There are artists that stick strictly to this form of music, and the results are really interesting. Understandably, there isn’t much of a market for it, but it’s recommended for the geeky listeners.
(Look at how suave this mofo is… Bad ass enough to be on his own cd cover but too cool to look straight at you. So mysterious!)
Disc One
- “L.A. Nights”
- “What About Us”
- “Swept Away”
- “A New Day”
- “My Everything”
- “Summervibes with 9PM”
- “Gravity”
- ATB pres. Josh Gallahan: “Luminescence”
- ATB pres. Flanders: “Behind”
- “Future Memories”
- “Still Here”
- “My Saving Grace”
- “Terra 260273″
- ATB pres. Jades: “Communicate”
Disc Two
- “Talismanic”
- “Missing“
- “Horizon”
- “Voices”
- ATB pres. Flanders: “Behind (ATB’s Ambient Version)”
- ATB pres. Apple & Stone: “Authentic Reaction”
- “Careless”
- “Twilight”
- “Listen To Me”
- “Living Life Over”
- “Silent Meaning”
- “Malibu Road”
ATB makes trance music and seems to be a huge name in Germany when it comes to this. Wikipedia even says he’s rated #25 DJ in the world according to some DJ magazine. So this guy has to make good music. This album has been hyped exclusively through the artist’s myspace and was released May 1st, 2009. The first cd is not a mix, but single trance songs that typically are 5 minutes long with vocal tracks on top of them. I’m not sure what to really get into detail about trance music, because it’s hit or miss half the time. It is what it is, and it’s good. If you never listened to trance, this might be a good album to start with. The one album that got me hooked was DJ Tiesto’s In Search of Sunrise 1 which still remains one of my favorite electronic cds.
I actually like the second disk a lot more… It’s a single mix and is downbeat compared to the first one. This makes really nice music for night time anywhere. There’s still vocal tracks on the second disk, but they seem to be a lot more sparser. I’ve always viewed trance as something to either use as background music or just get your mind of things. I don’t think there’s really anything to analyze deeply when it comes to this type of music, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t check it out. Music is primarily for enjoyment, so enjoy it rather than trying to squeeze any ounce of meaning you can get from it.