Google announces their new multimodal AI, aka their version of ChatGPT. Available Dec 13 for developers. I recommend watching the sample videos.

forgot about Shingy

Nice breakdown of why Spotify works the way it does and why royalty rates are so low. It does omit how every streamer is actively trying to pay less but it’s a great read overall.

Hey, it just so happens to be Bandcamp Friday and I just so happen to have a dose of Nashville based music that would be worth your dollars and, more importantly, your time. Books on Tape is the latest full-length from Sam Hoffman and it hits me in all the right places. I have played "Glencrest Lane" more times than I can count. It's got that yearning melancholy vibe that I am a total sucker for. And the artwork from Sarah Goldstein is top notch.

The cover / title combo on this one should tell you everything you need to know - Here Come the Warm Jets. It's rare to be able to make a Brian Eno Hot Tub pun but Rainsticks did it! The record itself is not funny but it's got a light hearted and airy vibe to it.

Just a single song here from BIFFF but "BABY TAPES = GONE" packs a lot in for its sub-3-minute run time. Love those occasionally frantic drums, the DIY-ish production and the sparkling guitars. Get it into your ears.

Have I talked about my annoying levels of enjoyment for Total Wife previously? I really like them. At it's core it's shoegaze; lots of fuzzy guitars, low-mixed hushed vocals and enormous walls of sound. That alone is completely satisfactory for me. With each new release from TW, they explore new layers, sounds and techniques. It's the natural progression you want to see from a band - growing and changing without going too far afield from what you initially liked about them. If you're not a huge fan of walls of noise, start with "Rest" and ease your way in. If you're up for something a bit more challenging, dive into "UHF optate wav.er" and prepare yourself for some unexpected late 90's blast beat drums. The entire record is a delight and I recommend a start to finish listen ASAP.

Car Colors - Old Death is...

The first new music in 20 years from Charles Bissell, the singer-writer-producer of the Wrens, his first release since the landmark album The Meadowlands.

If you know The Wrens album Meadowlands, this will be exciting news! If you do not know that album, maybe start there as it is a phenomenal piece of work.

Having listened to that prior record so much, this new 3-song EP is immediately familiar. Bissell's voice is distinct and his use of acoustic guitars driving a load of other layers is just wonderful. I am also intrigued by how similar the artwork is between these two releases, 22 years apart. I can't tell if this is an intentional nod to the previous work or just an affinity for a type of image.

Anyway, this isn't meant to be an in-depth review - just something I find worth recommending.

Oh, and I'd also say you should check out Aeon Station, the new project of Kevin Whelan - also of The Wrens. Gotta hear it all.

Been taking a bit of a deep dive into the Tennessee Encylopedia lately; specifically the Nashville Music Venues article(s). That's right, I'm directing you to read an online encylopedia and I stand by it.

It hasn't been updated since 2018 but still manages to cover a lot of ground; from the Bijou Theater in 1904 through Mary Mancini's Revolution's Per Minute that became Lucy's all the way up to Mercy Lounge. That's all useless gibberish unless you're invested in Nashville's history of music venues, which somehow I am!

A collection of 4210 classic 88x31 buttons from the 1990s and beyond.

a directory celebrating great, independent businesses. worth a bookmark to peruse and support when you are just noodling around.

Louie Zong churns out a lot of EPs that give a nod to a familiar style. They are all great and this one is no different. Get it.

The fifth season of Nashville Galaxy designs is now available. Twelve new shirts paying tribute to Nashville locations that have closed but hold a special place in people's hearts. If you're an outsider, Blue Sky Court may feel meaningless but if you grew up here, you know the deal. The audience is niche but we like it that way!

Every time we launch one of these seasons I end up doing a ton of research on every location to learn more about it, write it up on the product description and gather historic visual materials to be used in marketing later. It's a blast. If you do not have a Newspapers.com subscription, I can't recommend it enough. Not a phrase I thought I'd ever say but there it is.

Follow @nashvillegalaxy on IG for updates. Gonna be fun to promote these!

i am not brave enough to do it but enable your webcam and have a staring contest with a stranger. the site will detect whoever blinks first. the web is still weird.

beautiful images. makes me wanna putt-putt asap

My feathers still feel pretty ruffled from the recent Bandcamp transition. I don't even work there but letting so many staffers go, impacting so many people of color disproportionately and basically shuttering the Union does not leave a good taste in the mouth. Despite that, I am trying to be optimistic that the future of Bandcamp is much the same as it ever was - a destination for purchasing music that has some community features and a reliable editorial arm.

However, that doesn't mean I'm not also looking at alternatives. At VHX we always told filmmakers that ubiquity was the key to success - be everywhere. I still believe that. So, here's a few platforms I've had my eyes on recently that maybe you'll find interesting. The TLDR of it all is that nothing is anywhere close to Bandcamp in terms of feature maturity but features aren't important if your platform is headed six feet under. Anyway, here we go.

• AmpWall - very early stages platform being built by Chris Grigg and John McKinney; two self-described metalheads out of New York that is established as a Public Benefit Company. They've got a working profile page and that's about all I know. This only started in September 2023, so there's actually quite a bit of growth for such a short period. I recommend joining their mailing list as they've sent out a number of surveys to help inform where they are headed.
• Sone / Tone - this is a platform / protocol being led by Kevin Duquette; whom you may know from Top Shelf Records and calling out Bandcamp for trying to union bust. I'm in their Discord and find that there are plenty of smart people in there discussing interesting problems. To be transparent, I can't figure out why there are two names - are they the same service? Different pieces of the same service? I've no idea. Additionally, there's a foundational usage of blockchain at the core of this endeavor and that gives me pause. It's not NFTs or similar grifts as far as I can tell but it's still a curious aspect to keep in mind.
• nina - out of all the options I've seen so far, this is the most mature. It's got album pages, flexible "hubs" to host labels & blogs, bonus material, allows for following and very easy uploading. I even made a yk Records Hub and tossed two records on the service to see how it worked. It was all quite smooth! I believe this platform also uses the blockchain - both to note ownership of a given release and to store the actual audio. Solana is at it's core, which is a "proof-of-stake" blockchain, so the environmental impact is nill. I'm hesitant about anything involving blockchain but they also allow for regular ole credit card transactions, so it's seems somewhat flexible.
• Ampled - I'd like to also note this "co-op for musicians" endeavor that looks very promising but has announced they are closing in 2023. Bummer!

So far, that's about the extend of my research. I know there are more. Hit me up via email (yewknee at gmail dot com) if you have anymore you think I should check out.

must admit, a clever way to modernize this process. best part is the laser setup requires wearing sunglasses, which seems rife with disaster. otherwise, very cool!

The one and only album from Mama Zu has been announced for pre-order. Quilt Floor will be released in February of 2024.

The album is a collaboration between Lindwood Regensburg and Jessi Zazu. Way back in 2006, Zazu was a founding member of Those Darlins, an alt-country outfit that evolved into a full blast rock band over their decade together. Linwood officially joined the band around 2011 and was a constant collaborator through their last two albums. Sadly, Zazu passed away from cancer far too young in 2017; she was only 28.

I heard about these recordings at that time but assumed they were not to see the light of day since six years had passed. I am happy to be wrong and excited to hear more from Zazu's musical mind.

You may have seen a How It's Made: Vinyl Records, a process that starts be cutting into a lacquer disc from a master audio recording, which then becomes a stamper through electroplating process, which then molds vinyl blobs into LPs.

What boggles my mind about the process is that the lacquers are only made by one company; Public Record Company / MDC in Japan. There used to be a second company- called Apollo/Transco - but it was destroyed in a fire in 2020. The idea that one company supplies the entire planet with the raw materials for creating vinyl records is truly mind boggling.

There are alternative ways to make a vinyl record that do not involve a lacquer but those processes are not as widespread nor as high in fidelity for all kinds of recordings.

Regardless, enjoy this pleasant manufacturing video of the lacquers being made at PBR / MDC. Soothing.

very clever. I do not personally need this but I do love that it exists in the world.

as intrigued as I am by this device, I also can not deny the appeal of scathing first look. Ron Amadeo is not a fan.

you gotta be reading Garbage Day. Honestly, if you enjoy thinking about The Internet, then subscribe asap.

Don't let anyone tell you that the web isn't fun anymore. You have to look a little harder for it and you have to be willing to make time for it now but it's out there. Evidence: YASLY, Tamara Chu and inspired by Susan Kare.