Grand Slam 3/Grand Slam 3.iso/026/netmusik.001

Text File | 1995-06-07 | 22KB | 507 lines

 ooooo      ooo               .                   NetMusik # 1
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  8 `88b.    8   .ooooo.  .o888oo           "The Big Fat Intro Issue"
  8   `88b.  8  d88' `88b   888                  June 1st, 1995
  8     `88b.8  888ooo888   888                    Saint Vitus
  8       `888  888    .o   888 .          ([e-mail])
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      T h e   D i g i t a l   A u d i o   M u s i c   N e w s l e t t e r


  Contents:

 1) Introduction   - "What's This NetMusik Thing All About, Anyway?"
 2) 2nd Generation - "Sampling = Power"
 3) Runthrough     - "RealAudio n' Me"
 4) NOTEworthy
 5) Last Words
 --------------------------------------------------------------------------

 - What's This "NetMusik" Thing All About, Anyway? -


 Good question. Give me a second to introduce myself, and I'll get
right to it.


 Hi, and welcome to the first issue of "NetMusik - the Digital Audio Music
Newsletter". I'm Saint Vitus, and I'm going to be the wacky host of this news-
letter, which should be a bi-weekly tour through some of the most exotic
audio locales the net has to offer, with stops for discussion about what
issues are lurking, how they affect us, and how can we go about making the
net, and more importantly, the world at large, a better place - at least,
for our ears.


 - Insert Mission Statement Here... -


 There's a revolution going on in sound today.

 The computer is to the 90's what the electric guitar and a
distorted amp were to the garage bands of the 60's and 70's. Musical
and audio possibilities that were exclusively in the clutches of
gluttonous culture-industry recording studios ten, even five years
ago, can now be accessed, controlled, and utilized by any 5-year-old
who can turn on his parent's PC.

 Less than 2 years ago, the idea of sending an entire song, across
the internet, with fidelity approaching that of CD sound was
considered ludicrous. Now, high-density audio compression makes
copying off that favorite new Nine Inch Nails single for 100 friends
as easy as hitting <enter>.

 In 1994, you couldn't receive real-time audio. Not without a hefty
backbone connection to the internet. Soon, you'll be able to be your
own radio station.

 Things keep happening.

 It's a rule of nature. It's human nature.

 "NetMusik" is devoted to balancing on the tripod created by the
intersection of the computer, the net, and the need to create music,
that comes from deep within the soul. The goal here is to present new
ideas, hash over the old ones, and make a space where discussion and
encouragement ignite and flame, long and brightly.



 - "The Art of Noise suddenly realized that their badge might well
    be the one that the Stanley family gave to the Isle of Man -
    Three legs conjoined at the middle and the motto, 'Wherever you
    throw it, it will stand'." + "Who's Afraid Of?" The Art of
    Noise, 1984 -



 What's going to be covered? Expect to see tracker music, and plenty
of it. I really do believe that tracking is the most revolutionary
way to make music out there today, and I'll advance, promote,
enthuse about, and support it any chance I get. Also expect to see
digitally distributed DJ mixes, fractal music, audio-on-demand,
chaos composition, virtual jam sessions, sampling, genetic music,
how to release your music on CD, cassette, vinyl and 8-track (yes,
8-track), digital sound engineering, videogame soundtracks, and a
host of other things. Too damn numerous to mention at this point.
Anything that dynamically involves computers and people in creation,
and the issues that accompany them is fair game. And suggestions are
so welcome, it's scary.

 What won't you see?

 Although I plan this mag to be tracker-centric, you're not going to
see much about the "demo scene" or "music scene". Why? Because:

 a) there are plenty of mags out there that deal with this already

 b) the rampant elitism does NOT appeal to me

 c) I want to enshrine the music, not the technology


 You can apply this to most scenes out there (the DJ scene, the MIDI
scene, etc...) but I'm picking on the demo scene because it's there
and it's relevant. Coding is an art, and although technological
artistry can be both personally inspiring and awe-inspiring, MUSICAL
artistry has to be the first component.

 Composing with the computer is like a nuclear blast. Powerful, but
extremely isolating. ;) "NetMusik" is meant to support, encourage, and
break through that wall of isolation. To let you know that as long
as you're doing something you're musically proud of, there are
people out there who are with you, rather than tearing you down. God
knows every tracker/musician has experienced that moment when you
share the your creation, only to be met with derision, or its uglier
cousin, apathy. Hopefully "NetMusik" can let you see that there are
people out there doing and feeling the same way you are, and maybe
you'll work through that frustration and blow everyone away! That's
what it's all about.


 - "the future... is where... we will spend... the rest... of our
    lives..." + Jeff Goldblum, FutureQuest -


 The future of this mag depends on you, the reader. Of course, it
does depend to a somewhat larger extent on me, the writer, but this
is my ploy to try and get you to send some feedback. I'm planning on
going HTML with this after I get a few issues under my belt.
Continuing to make an ASCII mag every other week, with back issues,
reference information, and hotlinks to other useful sources on the
Web Site. Without feedback, though, the whole idea is useless. So
write. Got an idea for an article you'd like to write? Send it.
Constructive criticism? Hey, yo. Angry drooling rants? Send 'em this
way. Any issue or idea you want to see covered, hurl it over. The
email address is at the end of the mag.

 Now, on with the show.

  --------------------------------------------------------------------------

    ooooo        ooooo
   ooo  oo      oo   oo
       oo       oo
 -   ooo        oo oooo
    oo          oo   oo
   ooooooo nd    ooooo  eneration

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 Sampling = Power.

 There's just no doubt about it.

 Sampling means power in a hell of a lot of ways.

 It's the power of assimilating some one else's high-priced
production values and instruments, and using them for your own
purposes. A note that may have cost a record company thousands of
dollars to create now becomes part of your repertoire in the short
instant it takes to digitize it. Stealing sound from audio gods. You
are Prometheus.

 It's the power of improving on a sound - taking a horn sample from
Dizzy Gillespie and layering a sax from Ellington over it. Or an
African frog. Or anything. Stitching together a new, live, noisy
beast from the corpses of dead songs. You are Frankenstein.

 It's the power of building on a riff, a groove you heard just for a
second that was left neglected, orphaned in the song. Knowing you
can feed it, make it grow. Emancipating it from the aural slavery
you first heard it in. You are Moses.

 It's the power of twisting meaning. Making Nancy Reagan say "Yes!"
to drugs, or Mr. Rogers start a sentence that Charles Manson
finishes. Negativland calls it "culture jamming" - the experience of
playing the culture that surrounds you like a musical instrument.
Smashing sound bytes together like atoms on a test range in 1940's
Nevada. You're goddamn Oppenheimer.

 Sampling IS power.

 Traditional copyright laws, however, recognize NO ORIGINALITY in
any creation done with samples. No power.

 "2nd Generation" is going be a recurring feature in NetMusik,
discussing ideas, techniques, and legal updates regarding the
musical quark of the 90's, the sample. If we're going to do that,
though, we first need to give it some definition.


 - The Fat Boys On Copyright Law -


 Let's be straight on this. Sampling is cool. Sampling is fun.
Sampling is neat. Sampling is also 100% illegal.

 Being technical, releasing a work in a fixed format that contains
samples OF ANY SORT without the permission of the sampled artists -
that's what's illegal. What does "of any sort" mean?

 "Of any sort" means melodies are protected. Meaning just because you
play "Happy Birthday To You" on your kazoo, don't think you don't
owe Happy Birthday To You, Inc., for using their song. It also means
drumbeats are protected. Yup. This was established in 1992. Prior to
that, only actual melodies were protected.

 And what have the Fat Boys given to copyright law? More than you'd
think. The Fat Boys have precedent with one of the largest issues in
copyright law - at least as it relates to us. After another rap artist
sampled the human beatbox noises that the Fat Boys made and used them,
the law ruled that any sound that was recognizable, was protected.

 Now, being practical, what the hell does all this mean? Should we care?

 My answer? To a point. We should definitely care, we should definitely
know the law. Ignorance can be used as a weapon against you. And at the
very least, it can certainly spring a number of very annoying surprises
on you. It's important if we're going to be the people whom the law
affects, to be aware of, and strive to change it so that it's not
detrimental to us.

 On the other hand, many people get by perfectly well by not clearing
any samples, and just not worrying about it. Biz Markie is a good example.
He's been sued over half a dozen times for ripping off beats and samples
without permission. He just keeps doing it.

 It shouldn't interfere with your creativity. First law. However, you
may want to ask the ring of British DJ's who were selling their mixes
containing bits of Annie Lennox, Seal, and other artists if it matters.
They were shut down, product seized, and each heavily fined. It does have
an effect, but it's a slow, cumulative fog of an effect. A fog that creates
indecisiveness, and a fear to release in a wide scale any work that's
threatening to the status quo. By status quo, I don't just mean morals
and attitudes. I mean threatening to the way culture is produced, packaged,
and sold around the world, by major conglomerates who dominate their markets
in a way that would be unacceptable if it were any other commodity, such
as oil or steel. It's something I think is worth fighting against, and
something I certainly want to be informed about. Speaking of culture
conglomerates...

 -If The Net Won't Come To The Record Producers... -

 The Recording Industry Association of America, or R.I.A.A. as they are
affectionately known, is going to be an acronym to watch for in the next
few years. These are the folks responsible for making sure that nobody
out there is skimping on their royalties, whether they're playing a
Barney CD for a batch full of hyperactive daycare preschoolers, a radio in
a restaurant, or distributing 15-second samples of bands on a BBS in
California. (All true.) Think of them as a sort of musical tax-collector.

 The R.I.A.A. has been watching the net very carefully in the past few
years - watching it turn from a simple communication mechanism to the
most powerful individually controlled mass-medium to ever exist. In the
past, the R.I.A.A. has been able to keep a steady, monolithic, legally-
imposing presence on physically-based business. But the net ain't like
no Taco Bell.

 You see, part of copyright law as it relates to royalties is that
the piece in question must be played in a public performance. Radio is a
public performance. So is that Barney CD. But downloading a song over the
net? Is that a public performance?

 The jury's still out on that one.

 The R.I.A.A., never a group to be hindered when there's money to be
found, realized that it had better try to pioneer some ground, here, or
risk being fossilized by technology. In December 1993 they filed suit
against Compuserve for an alleged 690 copyright infringements; specifically
690 unlicensed downloads of a MIDI version of "Unchained Melody".
They were seeking $100,000 per infringement. The case was settled out of
court.

 High on their successes, on August 2, 1994, the R.I.A.A. submitted
a formal complaint to the Congressional task force on the National
Information Infrastructure. This task force will be telling Congress
what areas of the Net need to be looked at, and in some way
regulated. The R.I.A.A. is trying to convince the task force that
a digital transmission is the same as a public performance, and
should be subject to payment of royalties.

 Will this affect you? Well, it certainly won't help.

 If Congress decides that a digital transmission is the same as a
public performance, you could forseeably feel a major tremor in net
creativity, as form letters are sent out to those with copyrightable
sounds (and other works), and a mass of ugly, complicated and
essentially useless disclaimers fly in your face at every URL and
address known to man. Certainly the quality and availability of net
music will go down, and hey - these guys sued a bunch of
pre-schoolers. Who knows what sort of evils they're capable of?

 As always, better informed than uninformed. Most of your
Congressmen and -women have email addresses. Search them out, save
them. Write to them. It's simplicity itself. And it does a lot more
good than you might think.

 A fantastic site about copyright law as it applies to the net is
NegativWorldWideWebLand.(http://sunsite.unc.edu/id/negativland/) You might
want to take a gander.


 That's the 2nd Generation rant this time around. I know there are some
musicians out there who are angry at how I've slammed the R.I.A.A., and
would love to make the case for royalties. So write! We'll publish
a rebuttal in a future issue.

 Next Time: Samples - Making, Obtaining, And Mutilating Them: A Guide


  - "This is a chord. Here's another. Here's a third. Now go start your
     own band!" + a diagram in "Sniffin' Glue", 1977, the first punk
     rock fanzine -



 _____          _______ _                           _
|  __ \        |__   __| |                         | |
| |__) |   _ _ __ | |  | |__  _ __ ___  _   _  __ _| |__
|  _  / | | | '_ \| |  | '_ \| '__/ _ \| | | |/ _` | '_ \
| | \ \ |_| | | | | |  | | | | | | (_) | |_| | (_| | | | |
|_|  \_\__,_|_| |_|_|  |_| |_|_|  \___/ \__,_|\__, |_| |_|
                                               __/ |
                                              |___/


 - RealAudio N' Me -



 "RunThrough" is the section where we crank on the software and see what
cruises like Isaac on the Love Boat, and what sinks like everyone on
the Titanic.

 This time around it's RealAudio (http://www.realaudio.com/) and
their RAPlayer for Windows.

 To get you up to speed: RealAudio is one of producers of client and
server software for the current catchphrase "audio-on-demand".
"Audio-on-demand" is a snazzy way of saying "We're turning your
modem into a radio!" Instead of downloading thick, mucky chunks of
sound onto your hard drive, uncompressing them, and THEN playing
them, the idea is to send a signal that can be decoded on the fly -
no messy saving, no hard-drive pac-man gobbling up space, just a
quick and easy way of getting sound from someone else's mouth to
your ears. Click on an icon, sit back, and listen to a show.

 That's the idea.

 RealAudio is now accepting beta-testers, and we decided to take
them up on the challenge. After a relatively and needlessly
complicated registration process, I downloaded RAPLAYER.EXE. In its
favor, it was simple and surprisingly quick to set up; no bothersome
configuration setting. I linked it into Netscape and prepared to
experience my first exciting foray into "audio-on-demand".

 Now the spokesman for RealAudio says, "If you do the math, it
should work even at 9600 baud, but we use a 14.4 kilobyte modem for
added buffering." I ran this on my Acer 486/DX 33 with 4 megs of
RAM (which I cannot WAIT to upgrade) and a ZOOM 14.4 - admittedly
this is the slowest recommended platform for using their player. I
also tried it on a Pentium 100, but we'll get to that in a minute.

 I clicked on one of the icons at the RealAudio server. The voice
that came through my speakers was very choppy, at first, breaking up
every other second or so. RealAudio had a notice on their server
that they were doing some upgrading and were sorry for any problems
it might cause, so I tried clicking on "RadioNet", a radio program
about (guess what) the net, on another server.

 This time the voice came through noticably better. After the clunky
start, I minimized everything on my desktop. The performance did
improve noticably. I called my girlfriend, Kerri, over and we
listened to it.

 The sound quality is said to be that of AM radio, and that's
approximately right, although in place of fuzzy reception and
competing signals, you should insert a sort of mild, almost
subliminal electronic gurgle. It's a side effect of compressing the
sound so much. It gave the voices a ghostly sort of unearthly
quality... but after repeated listening you lose notice of it.

 What you don't lose notice of are the repeated hiccups in the
sound. Every so often a fraction of a second of data would somehow
be lost, and the voice would hop, like a skip on a record player.
When I tried this on the Pentium, I got the same result, although
without the initial choppiness I experienced on my machine.

 At any rate, the signal was definitely listenable. It really did
have an almost clandestine quality that was appealing - that
somehow, you were listening to some secret transmission on shortwave
radio. This could definitely be used in its favor by some clever
individual.

 RealAudio's gimmick, however, is that you need the RealAudio server
proggy to send your own program out to the hungry masses. That's
where they charge you.

 However... there's a bonus right now that may be of interest to all
you audio artists out there. RealAudio is trying to promote their
player, and set the standard. To do that, they need something people
actually WANT to listen to. So they're in the process of creating
what they call "The RealAudio Radio Dial".

 Simple equation. They have the equipment. You have the creativity.
You make your own show (and they are incredibly vague about what
they're looking for, so at this point I'd have to say ANYTHING
goes), convert the file with their encoder, upload it to their FTP
site, and then they choose from what's there and make it accessable
through their server. Seems like an easy way to make yourself
famous. What have you got to lose? I may have to try something
myself. :)


 RunThrough Final Analysis:

 Program: RAPlayer.exe (the RealAudio player)

 Platform: Available for Mac and Windows

 URL: http://www.realaudio.com/

 Summary: AM quality sound that takes up zero space on your drive. A
little clunky, a little buggy, but an exciting idea nonetheless. A
step in the right direction.



     _ ___ _
|\ |/ \ | |_     _ ._ _|_ |_
| \|\_/ | |_\/\/(_)|   |_ | |\/
                             /
-------------------------------

 This is where we shove the bits and pieces of net gossip, URLS,
ideas, and miscellaneous e-stuffs that just won't fit anywhere else.
They're music-related, hence the title "NOTEWorthy". Get it? Get it?
<Elbow in ribs> I'll just be over here if you need me...


 - Check out the John Goodman mixes! He's an illustrator/DJ who,
besides having a wack homepage, spins some good ambient/trance over
the bandwidth. Have a listen, shake a booty.
   (http://www.mcs.net/~jgoodman/mixes/mixes.html)


 - Compression is becoming the Holy Grail of the digital audio and
video movement. A bunch of guys over at HARC think they have the
answer: a wavelet based video compression scheme that compacts
visual data up to 300 times, and can be run on a PC. This isn't a
misprint. They say they can turn a 3 meg movie into a 10k file. They
also say it works on audio. I make no claims. Look into it yourself.
   (http://www.harc.edu/harcc.html)


 Yes, we are short on NOTEWorthy items. Contribute! <hypnotic gaze>

 _
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| |  __,   , _|_            __   ,_    __|   ,
|/  /  |  / \_|    |  |  |_/  \_/  |  /  |  / \_
|__/\_/|_/\_/ |_/   \/ \/  \__/    |_/\_/|_/\_/


 All right. You made it through. I hope you liked it. If you want to
see more, or if you want to see less for that matter, write.

 The address is: [e-mail]


 If you want to subscribe, tell me so. If you want to unsubscribe,
do the same thing. I'm a person, not a bot; you can use full
sentences. Besides subscribing and unsubscribing, you can send me a
word of encouragement, ideas, items of interest, writing
propositions, reviews, and assorted flavors of whatnot.  Angry
drooling rants, as I said before, will also be accepted and
courteously replied to.

 Thanks for reading. I appreciate it. Keep in mind next issue will
be better, with more reviews and interviews, and probably a little
bit more handsome to look at.

 Remember, anything your mind can conceive, you hands can create.
Til next time!


      -$aint Vitu$-
     June 1st, 1995
([e-mail])



 - "It's better when it's more screwed up" + Billy Idol, MTV 1986 -