Saturday, 20 October 2007

Van Halen 'Jump' right into atonal mess on stage, fans don't notice/care

Synthesisers are wonderful things, but in the wrong hands can be extremely dangerous. Like when you pre-record a synth part at 44.1kHz sample rate but play it back on-stage at 48, and the pitch shifts up more somewhere between 3 and 4 semitones (or is it 5 and 6?)

It happens to the best of 'em...including a recently reunited (again) Van Halen on stage in Greensboro, NC in September. Watch them soldier on though, turning 'Jump' from a loutish 2am karaoke hit in to a screaming, proggy-jazz atonal mess. And listen to the cheer at the end...seems some can do no wrong! Bonus points for the giant inflatable microphone at the end though.



RW370 via BoingBoing via Gizmodo

Monday, 15 October 2007

Honours part one, done

Yep, today I've handed in just over 40,000 words. Relief and exhaustion. Euphoria hopefully tomorrow.