Pascal Sijen

tuneage:

Phantogram - “When I’m Small”

Perhaps 2010 is front-loading a lot of its good music, or maybe I’m just taking my sweet time this year. But whatever the reason, I seem to have a stack of music to listen to that’s a mile high and I’m barely making dents in it. A band that I’ve been hearing a lot about in the last month or two and have only in the last week started to listen to is Phantogram. At times I get a trip-hoppy vibe similar to The xx, though not quite as minimal. Other times I hear tinges of soul and hip-hop and even Beach House in their moody indie-electronic music. It’s a winning combination for me, and my repeat listenings to their debut record Eyelid Movies will no doubt be a factor in me being perpetually a week or two behind the music curve for the first part of this year.

Google’s experimental fiber network

“Che” and the Digital Cinema Revolution on Vimeo

Via eightyoneandon

by Mike Masnick:

from the a-thorough-look dept

I’m at the Midem conference this week, and in preparing for it, Steven Masur asked me to write up a chapter for a book he was putting together of thoughts from various thinkers for a gathering of the International Association of Entertainment Lawyers (IAEL) here at Midem. Below is what I submitted. If you’re a regular reader of the blog, there’s little that will surprise you, but even so, it may be a good read, as it’s got a whole bunch of different things I’ve discussed about — things like “CwF+RtB” all summarized in one single place. Later, I’ll do another post on what I discussed this year at Midem, since it builds on what’s written below, and digs in much deeper on how to create compelling reasons to buy.

It’s no secret that there’s a lot of concern these days about what the music industry will look like going forward — especially from those who work on the label side of the business and have been around for a bit. A variety of things have caused rapid change in the market. Competition from other forms of entertainment, such as the internet, movies and video games, have put more pressure on the industry, as consumers have been presented with significantly more options for their entertainment attention and dollars. And, of course, there’s the ever-present specter of unauthorized file sharing — or, as the industry prefers to call it (accurately or not), “piracy.”

While the industry spent many years fighting the rise of the internet as a distribution and promotion method for music, it was eventually forced to recognize it. The labels eventually licensed music to Apple and iTunes (as well as some other stores). It took them way too long to recognize that people wanted DRM-free music, but they’ve finally come around to recognize that as well.

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Sound Editing

• “Avatar” — Christopher Boyes and Gwendolyn Yates Whittle
• “The Hurt Locker” — Paul N.J. Ottosson
• “Inglourious Basterds” — Wylie Stateman
• “Star Trek” — Mark Stoeckinger and Alan Rankin
• “Up” — Michael Silvers and Tom Myers

Sound Mixing

• “Avatar” — Christopher Boyes, Gary Summers, Andy Nelson and Tony Johnson
• “The Hurt Locker” — Paul N.J. Ottosson and Ray Beckett
• “Inglourious Basterds” — Michael Minkler, Tony Lamberti and Mark Ulano
• “Star Trek” — Anna Behlmer, Andy Nelson and Peter J. Devlin
• “Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen” — Greg P. Russell, Gary Summers and Geoffrey Patterson

Congrats to all…

Star Wars vs. Star Trek

Phoenix - Lisztomania

J.D. Salinger (1919-2010)

via laughingsquid

Seth Godin: Quieting the Lizard Brain

tuneage:

SPEAK - “Carrie (Mindfull)”

The first 17 seconds of this song are a Who’s Who of late 80’s FM pop/rock cliches: Handclaps? Check. Overdriven, yet streamlined guitar? Check. Electronic kick drum? Check. Echoed count in? REALLY? Check. On the count of “Whoo,” a synth/voice sound that seems to have been cribbed directly from the Doves’ “Snowden” hits you with the subtlety of Mike Tyson. Then, you double check the band name. Hmm. All caps. I think that’s been MFDOOM before, NOFX what I mean? And the song name. It’s the name of a girl! Where have I seen that before? Oh, that’s right: Everywhere.

These snarky, petty, metaphysical concerns are exactly what the members of SPEAK are asking you to put aside when you listen to their music. They want you to listen closely (hear those synth arps?), sure, but what they really want is for you to sing along. They want you to experiment with your recreational falsetto. They want you to shake your wild head of hair. And yes, they want you to clap your hands on the 3rd, 4th, and 7th 8th notes. In short, they want you to have fun. The indie rock world is often seen as a group of preening, pretentious, self-serious hipsters for whom malice and pointed critiques are the stock in trade. With “Carrie,” SPEAK makes a profound statement by not making a statement at all. Indie legend Stephen Malkmus once wore a t-shirt emblazoned with the slogan “Fuck Art, Let’s Dance.” Now, almost 20 years later SPEAK is working hard to realize this dream.

Star Wars and adidas Originals have officially joined forces…

The 11th COACHELLA VALLEY MUSIC & ARTS FESTIVAL LINE UP HAS BEEN ANNOUNCED!

• JAY-Z, MUSE AND GORILLAZ HEADLINE
• 3-DAY FESTIVAL WITH MORE THAN 130 ACTS
• ROUNDING OUT LINE-UP

TICKETS ON SALE FRIDAY, JANUARY 22 AT 10:00 AM

The flatscreen HDTVs at the Consumer Electronics Show were absolutely dazzling. Color, contrast and clarity are better all the time. OLED displays are the brightest and thinnest yet. And of course, stereoscopic 3D TV is finally a reality. But watching the latest and greatest in TVs, I couldn’t help but flash to a warning James Cameron sounded last week for the movie industry.

As 3D starts to come into the living room, and come in at higher frame rates, then we’re gonna have to up our game again. ‘Cause movies can’t look worse than what you’re getting at home,” Cameron told Daily Variety in a wide-ranging interview coming soon to Variety.com.

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Blue Sky Introduces New Monitoring Systems and Launches a Newly Revamped Website.

Visit abluesky.com for more information.

tuneage:

Yeasayer - “Ambling Alp”

Yes, I know this song came out a couple of months ago. And yes, I know that everyone else has probably already posted it. But I don’t care. I’ve been listening to this song a lot lately, and not posting it wouldn’t be right…especially since this song has a bouncy, reggae-ish quality and an upbeat, after-school-special-worthy chorus that happens to make for fantastic Friday fodder.

This song is also the first single from Yeasayer’s upcoming album, Odd Blood, due out on February 9th, which you should all expect to see on the WWTB for that week.

Another excellent tune to start the work week off right…

Comcast CEO on Cable’s High-Tech Future —

Discussing 3D, internet innovation and more, with Brian Roberts, Comcast CEO, CNBC’s Julia Boorstin and the Power Lunch crew.

Alma

— Written & Directed by Rodrigo Blaas —

Props to my friend Sean England, for his superior work as a Foley artist, on this wonderfully entertaining and beautiful short animated film.

For a complete list of credits, please follow this link.

Top 10 VFX Films of the 2000s | via awn.com

Now with the 2000s behind us, VFXWorld looks back over the past 10 years to showcase the best in visual effects work. The 2000s were the time for digital effects. Advances in digital cinema have leapt forward. The films on this list have set the groundwork for new forms of cinema in the 2010s.

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The Unbroken Thread by Symphony of Science

via laughingsquid

George Lucas Addresses the Haters on The Daily Show

tuneage:

Vampire Weekend - “White Sky”

Do you really think we wouldn’t post a song from Vampire Weekend’s upcoming album Contra? Of course we’re going to post one! Since most of us are already familiar with the tracks “Horchata” and “Cousins”, I chose “White Sky”. I picked it because it was one of the tracks that stood out to me the most while listening to the album in its entirety; a close runner up was “Holiday”.

All in all, a good album, which is what we expect from Vampire Weekend. Contra, for those who haven’t had a chance to hear it yet, is currently streaming on the band’s MySpace if you’d like to check it out.

Lovely.  Well worth a listen.

rcoleman:

This is amazing: ‘Upular’, a track composed using chords, bass notes and vocal samples from the Disney Pixar film ‘Up’.

(via rlangdon:)

LA’s very own blues and rock band Rival Sons currently have a 5 night residency every Sunday night this January: 10, 17, 24 and 31 at Cinespace in Hollywood. We heard nothing but good reviews from the first show that passed this last Sunday, but don’t worry you still have 4 more chances to catch them. If you haven’t hear anything from the band, we highly recommend head over to their MySpace and check out “Lucky Girl” and “Memphis Sun” from their debut album “Before The Fire”. Oh and did we mention that each of these shows are FREE? See you there!

via downtownlobby

A quick sampling…

…Recorded @ The Roxy Theater in Hollywood, CA

Skateistan —

Skateistan is Afghanistan’s (and the world’s) first co-educational skateboarding school. The school engages growing numbers of urban and internally-displaced youth in Afghanistan through skateboarding, and provides them with new opportunities in cross-cultural interaction, education, and personal empowerment programs. The students are selected from all of Afghanistan’s diverse ethnic and socioeconomic backgrounds. They will develop skills in skateboarding, skateboarding instruction, healthy habits, civic responsibility, information technology, the arts, and languages. The students themselves decide what they want to learn; we connect them with teachers who will enable them to develop the skills that they consider important. Since Skateistan has been active in Kabul, we’ve seen that Afghan youth of all ethnicities, genders, and socioeconomic backgrounds love to skateboard. Skateistan brings them together, equipping young men and women to lead their communities toward social change and development.

skateistan.org

via ladiesgottasers.tumblr.com

Jason Reitman On Casting George Clooney For UP IN THE AIR | via @AmericanFilm

tuneage:

Broken Bells - “The High Road”

Welcome to Tuneage 2010, dear readers. It looks and sounds a lot like Tuneage 2009, which is just fine by us. So, new year (Happy New Year, by the way!), new music. Ready? Go.

Danger Mouse has worked with some excellent artists/bands, including The Black Keys, Beck, and Sparklehorse, and now you can add James Mercer (from the Shins) to that list. The collaboration between Danger Mouse and Mercer is going by the name Broken Bells, and where the music generally tends toward Mercer’s comfort zone, it isn’t shy about brandishing that magic Danger Mouse production. The first single from the eponymous debut (due out on March 9th), called “The High Road”, wouldn’t feel totally out of place on the latest Shins album, and while I may be jonesing pretty hard to see what the Shins (and their new line-up) do next, if the rest of this Broken Bells record sounds like this, I’ll be quite satisfied to wait a little longer.

A solid track to start out the new year.

Why Don’t We Know More? A New Year’s Resolution for Humanity.

2010 brings more Auto-Tune goodness — Mario and Mr. T Sing by Accident

Joshua Tree National Park — By Philip Bloom

“Actually, Werner, we’re all tickled to here you say that. Quite frankly, watchin’ Donny beat Nazis to death is is the closest we ever get to goin’ to the movies.”

— Via crabcakes

Happy Birthday Jonah Jones!

Via organicgroov

No Moon At All - Jonah Jones

In voicing initial support for a WIPO draft treaty, the US makes clear that “better copyright” does not always equal “more copyright.”

The Obama administration has offered up a strange mix of copyright policies in its first year (both ACTA and Creative Commons, for instance), but it has at least made clear that “better copyright law” does not always mean “more copyright protection.” In the middle of December, for instance, the administration took a stand in support of a World Intellectual Property Organization treaty on copyright exceptions for the blind. The final bit of the US statement of support is worth quoting in full (emphasis added):

We recognize that some in the international copyright community believe that any international consensus on substantive limitations and exceptions to copyright law would weaken international copyright law. The United States does not share that point of view. The United States is committed to both better exceptions in copyright law and better enforcement of copyright law. Indeed, as we work with countries to establish consensus on proper, basic exceptions within copyright law, we will ask countries to work with us to improve the enforcement of copyright. This is part and parcel of a balanced international system of intellectual property.

It’s a call for “balanced” copyright taken directly to the WIPO—and it’s one opposed by the deepest-pocketed copyright holders. Here’s why.

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MANHASSET, N.Y. — DisplaySearch’s research indicates that LED backlighting and 240-Hz LCDs will serve as an enabling technology for new feature developments in TVs in 2010, specifically for 3-D TVs, an area of intense interest to TV manufacturers.

Manufacturers are developing a wide variety of design elements and performance features to differentiate products and slow price declines.

“The dilemma facing TV set manufacturers is whether to rush in with cheap solutions,” said Paul Gray, director of TV electronics research at DisplaySearch. “Technology alone cannot solve the economics, and it is important to take the time to develop the 3-D proposition thoroughly.”

In a report, DisplaySearch analyzed the development of new features as the interplay of performance, features, cost and power consumption.

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By Adam Satariano, Ari Levy and Ronald Grover

Dec. 29 (Bloomberg) — Netflix Inc. Chief Content Officer Ted Sarandos bypassed Hollywood to jump-start the company’s online film-rental business last year. Now he has to convince the studios the company is a friend and not a foe.

Chief Executive Officer Reed Hastings is counting on Sarandos to cut deals with studios giving Netflix rights to show more films over the Web. Sarandos, 45, says he is willing to write big checks after Netflix went around Walt Disney Co. and Sony Corp. to gain access to movies from the Starz network.

“We have to fight against their fear that we’ll destroy the ecosystem,” Sarandos, a former video-store clerk, said at a Dec. 16 panel discussion. “We’re not destroying anything. We’re creating a new opportunity.”

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Three

via: crabcakes

organicgroov:

Happy Birthday Earl Hines!

Movie and TV studios are experimenting with online distribution by releasing some content ahead of DVDs. This is a good sign, but other studios are holding back industry progress by hiding from the Internet at every turn.

Digital distribution is getting a little more love from some content providers this season as they experiment with releasing digital downloads of shows before the DVDs become available to consumers. However, this trend remains in the experimental stage, despite years of studios dipping their toes into the simultaneous- and early-release pool, and some providers remain steadfastly against giving the Internet any sort of advantage over their precious (and dying) DVD sales.

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Pictured: Blue Sky Studio Monitors @ The SAE Institute - Oxford, England

laughingsquid:

Review: Kodak Zi8 HD Pocket Video Camera (Paul Stamatiou)

Looks impressive for a sub $200 pocketable video camera.  As is noted in the review, the features that really set this camera apart, when compared to competing products such as the Flip Mino HD, are the external microphone input, SDHC memory support and electronic image stabilization (EIS). Although, as is noted in the review, this last feature doesn’t seem to be particularly effective.

tuneage:

The Silver Seas - “The Best Things In Life”

2009 left me with very little time to dig around for music I loved so some of my choices are probably a bit more obvious than I’d like.  That said, I don’t think that makes them any less worthy.  Here’s my list:

• Basement Jaxx - Scars (Bonus Track Version)
• Norah Jones - The Fall
• Metric - Fantasies
• Doctors & Dealers - Lost Friends and Newfound Habits
• Fanfarlo - Reservoir

The Silver Seas’ spunky track “What’s the Drawback?” was by far the most popular post I made on Tuneage this year.  I’ve posted their song “The Best Things In Life,” which has a similar sound and a wonderful upbeat attitude to carry us into the new year.

Avatar: The Making of the Bootleg

Phoenix - 1901 - A Take Away Show

Starting my day off with “Lucky Man” by The Verve.

Coca-Cola product placement on our Christmas tree? I am sure we are being compensated handsomely.