I downloaded the Dr. Horrible soundtrack on Amazon. I had to use the Amazon MP3 downloader to buy an album as a single unit, and the Ubuntu version was for 7.10. (Old!) They had one for Debian Etch, so, being stubborn and not using XP, I brought up a VirtualBox Etch instance and downloaded the album from there. To get the shared folders to work I had to do the Install Additions thing. The install additions button mounts a disk image of the installers. The Linux version was a bash script and required the GNU compiler(s? I just installed both and it was fine) and kernel headers. It installed a kernel module, necessitating a reboot, and then I could successfully mount my shared folder as described in the manual. (Link is pdf.) Hooray stubbornness!
Category: Music
0wned!
The RIAA just got served a healthy helping of logic, a vital nutrient their lawsuits lack to this day!
Global Drum Project
On Saturday I experienced the most amazing performance of my life. We went to see Global Drum Project, a band of five individuals who use rhythm to tremendous effect. There were many moments when my jaw literally hung open in awe.
The performance started with two of the performers drumming on driftwood – fossilized roots. There were a total of four drummers and one tech guy. The tech guy was on the back of the stage and edited the audio from the drummers in real-time to continue loops they were playing at their request. For example, the drummer in the middle played a riff on his xylophone, and then after nodding at the tech guy, was able to within a few seconds play a duet with himself. This also allowed sound to continue playing when someone walked off the stage or stopped playing for a rest from the two-hour long drumming marathon.
They would use vocals occasionally, and there was a segment where one drummer would look at the others and vocalize, and they would copy it on their drums. One guy had this awesome talking drum, which was very entertaining. Lighting was also used to good effect. We got their CD. This was one of the two times where I’ve sincerely given something a standing ovation. The other time was a performance of Little Shop of Horrors at the Wharton. We bought their CD.