My Interview with Jonathan Miles, Author of Want Not

A few days ago, I spoke books, writing, food and squirrels with author Jonny Miles.  What a treat- he helped me remember how great the town of Oxford MS can be. _______________________ _________________________________

Sound Walk's Featured Artist

Today, I'm the featured artist for the Soundwalk website.  Most of it you know but some of it is new.
Go check it out and come see the show October 1 in Long Beach.  What I did last year is here. _______________________ _________________________________

KCRW and Jason Bentley's Workspace and the LA sound

I'll leave the story of why I feel the way I do about Lynda.com for another day, but I broke down and complied with my current class and ponied up some money to view videos at the instruction site.  While flipping through and looking for a video byte to cleanse the palette and refresh the brain so to speak, (so I could keep viewing instruction videos,) I came across interviews with different artists and KCRW's Jason Bentley was one of the packages.  
He seemed to sum up why it's probably taken me so long to fall in love with the city of Los Angeles.  Among other things, Los Angeles and Hollywood come with preconceived notions.  Even if one hasn't been here they know it through our greatest commodity of media-namely TV and film.  I also came to Los Angeles thinking it's urban sprawl and strip shopping upon strip shopping, not to mention freeways and traffic!  
My last 10 years being in and around Los Angeles has shown that arts and culture are important and the theatre scene is strong and as legit as other towns.  Jason Bentley talks of Los Angeles and the sound and the pulse comes through in the clubs--interesting that since we're in our cars so much, it's the cultivation of the clubs and the sharing of it on the radio that makes KCRW unique.  Commercial radio will not take the risk but I think KCRW does in it's own public radio way work to create the unique sound and station that is Los Angeles.  There is so much that the food bloggers can write of this town, I'd say the same could be said of music and the airwaves.  There is so much culture and fusion of music and it could be such a wonderful thing to hear our unique sound on the radio!




Workspace

Jason Bentley, Radio DJ and Musician | by Jason Bentley

View this entire Torq course and more in the lynda.com Online Training Library®.

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Panda Earphones. WANT!

Amazmi.com is running a great deal on these too cute ear buds, known as the Pineapple Panda Earphone. The website boasts that these ear phones have an audio isolating design, crystal clear sound, and mega Bass sound.
For $9.99, I'm all for the cute and fun factor and bonus if they deliver what they say they will. Want! _______________________ _________________________________

Resurgence of Ribbon Mics

I never knew they went away!
Just was directed to a wonderful bit of posts at Wired Magazine.
They are celebrating ribbon microphones and the history of sound/microphones.
Great pictures and great information
birth-of-the-microphone
ribbon-mics-part-1
ribbon-mics-part-2 _______________________ _________________________________

Sweet Home Chicago Radio!

WXRT is my very top thing I look forward to upon returning to the Chicago area.

When I was a young co-ed at Illinois State, I used to know what mile marker on North I-55, XRT could be picked up by the car stereo.  Although now swallowed up by corporate radio, the station gives the hometown feel and has many of the DJs that have been on since I started listening in the 90s.  It was a station that was one of the last hold outs to internet stream---something I still forget to this day!

I was driving the parents car today and made the station flip automatically and pleased to hear many familiar voices and just about the best variety of songs from multiple decades.  Although possibly less alternative songs in the rotation now versus the past--in a era of less programing and more formula radio, it's a breath of fresh air and a treat for my ears when they make their way home to Chicago. _______________________ _________________________________

Ladybug FunkyFonic Headphone! Santa please!

People Magazine's Cool Kid Gifts for Every age is plugging for your 5 year old female audiofile, a pair of Ladybug FunkyFonic Headphones, $28 from modernlola.com.  They may want to think of making adult size pairs...I want some!

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Turner Prize goes to a Sonic Artist

Here's a NY Times article on Susan Philipsz, recipient of the prize earlier this week.  Looks like her medium of sound is different from mine in that she uses the voice and strictly sound vs my preference for some sculpture or object and field recordings or sounds from memory. The work is now in a gallery but looks to be a bit more interesting in site specific areas.  Love the related writing of Telegraph art critic, Richard Dorment. 
Turner Prize
Susan Philipsz
Richard Dorment _______________________ _________________________________

Thunder and Lightning

Sorry, but as an audio person, I loved the costume for thunder! Makes me start thinking about Halloween costumes....

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