tunequest

Allow me to share with you one of my favorite apps in all of Apple's App Store: TonePad. You see, I've been intrigued by the elusive (and expensive) "visual music composition device" known as Tenori-on since I first heard about it a couple years. And since I don't really have the time to make the most of a thousand dollar diversionary investment like the Tenori-on, only ...

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Total hat-tip to Webomatica for this. The web is slowly filling up Songsmith "remixes" of popular songs. It's a program recently released by Microsoft Research that purports to make anyone and everyone a songwriter. Just select a musical style and sing into a microphone and the app will automatically generate accompanying music. Arrangements and chords can all be customized. Of course it didn't take long for enterprising users to ...

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Released in the spring of 1997, Songs in the Key of Springfield is the first album to feature music that appeared on The Simpsons. The songs span from seasons 2 through 7, with the earliest song being Tony Bennett's Capitol City from Danicin' Homer and the latest being In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida sung by church-goers from Bart Sells His Soul. (Though technically a version of the Itchy & Scratchy ...

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http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=6627904867875032821 Ethan Winer plays all 37 separate parts on A Cello Rondo, including the percussion, on his cello. He also composed the song. The music is about 6 minutes long and the end of the video shows his digital music editing and some of his film setup. Not only is the production quite smooth, showcasing the power of modern technology to allow a single person to (relatively) ...

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This past weekend, I saw The Simpsons Movie and must declare that I thoroughly enjoyed it. I know it's become a bit of pastime to bemoan the show's decline, but honestly, you won't find much cynicism coming from me with regards to the movie. The plot is straightforward, but fittingly expansive and engrossing for a motion picture. The jokes are actually rather good, largely avoiding the ...

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What can I say? This is brilliant. It's a bit long (11 minutes), so block out some time to watch the whole thing. It also helps to be familiar with Trapped in the Closet, R. Kelly's hip-hop opera in multiple parts which tells a complex story (with several interwoven plots) of increasingly bizarre cases of infidelity and sexual hang-ups. Here's a Google Video if you need to ...

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The ringing in my ears serves as a reminder that I have permanently lost a portion of my hearing, but I'm telling you it is worth it. I just got home from Ratatat's show in midtown Atlanta and I have something to admit to you: Seeing Ratatat perform live is one of my favorite things in the world. This show marks the third time I've managed to ...

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I had forgotten that I had this song, but I was rummaging through my archives and was delighted to find it on today of all days. So in light of today's news as well as the date, let's celebrate some James Brown with his Santa's Got a Brand New Bag. Enjoy. [audio:061225SantasGotaBrandNewBag.mp3] For more Brownian Christmas classics, check out James Brown's Funky Christmas at Amazon. Strangely, Santa's Got a ...

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James Brown died of pneumonia on Christmas Day 2006 at the age of 73 in Atlanta Georgia. The obits are all over the net, but here's one from the AJC. Besides his musical legacy, he leaves behind one of the funniest, catchiest Simpsons' lines, for its out-of-character absurdity and earnest delivery. From the fifth season episode Bart's Inner Child, it's a heck of a catch-phrase: [hana-flv-player video="http://www.tunequest.org/video/james-brown-simpsons.flv" description="This bandstand ...

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