K.M.Krebs \ 833-45 http://833-45.net electronic, ambient & electro-acoustic music. Sat, 15 Nov 2008 00:49:16 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.6.3 en Good Copy, Bad Copy and Sport Stacking http://833-45.net/2008/11/14/good-copy-bad-copy-and-sport-stacking/ http://833-45.net/2008/11/14/good-copy-bad-copy-and-sport-stacking/#comments Sat, 15 Nov 2008 00:49:16 +0000 K.M.Krebs http://833-45.net/?p=194 I finally took the time out to watch Good Copy Bad Copy, a recent documentary exploring the contemporary clash of copyright and culture and possibilities for the future. In keeping with the theme, you can watch or download it for free via their website.
An unofficial trailer…
This video was embedded using the YouTuber plugin by Roy Tanck. Adobe Flash Player is required to view the video.

And on a completely unrelated topic, I happened upon a strange thing called sport stacking (aka cup stacking or speed stacking). It is exactly what it sounds like, and although I was tempted to dismiss it as ridiculous, I am astonished by the dexterity and speed required to compete. It doesn’t hurt that it is also entirely mesmerizing to watch. Somebody needs to make a behind-the-scenes documentary about this!

This video was embedded using the YouTuber plugin by Roy Tanck. Adobe Flash Player is required to view the video.

]]> http://833-45.net/2008/11/14/good-copy-bad-copy-and-sport-stacking/feed/ Excentrica.org vanishes http://833-45.net/2008/10/30/excentricaorg-vanishes/ http://833-45.net/2008/10/30/excentricaorg-vanishes/#comments Thu, 30 Oct 2008 21:15:49 +0000 K.M.Krebs http://833-45.net/?p=181 By chance I discovered that my latest online album Tunguska seems to have vanished.  Not only that, but the Russian-based netlabel Musica Excentrica and a handful of other related sites all re-direct to the homepage of a Russian musician named Александра Розенбаума.  He must have some popularity judging by his Youtube presence.  I’ve been contacting the individuals who I previously communicated with at the netlabel, but haven’t gotten an answer yet as to what is going on.  Is it a simple mix-up or a take-over?  I’ll post more information as it arrives…

]]> http://833-45.net/2008/10/30/excentricaorg-vanishes/feed/ Richard Dawkins must be pulling our legs. http://833-45.net/2008/10/29/richard-dawkins-must-be-pulling-our-legs/ http://833-45.net/2008/10/29/richard-dawkins-must-be-pulling-our-legs/#comments Thu, 30 Oct 2008 03:51:02 +0000 K.M.Krebs http://833-45.net/?p=174 In a Telegraph article I read (via Arts & Letters Daily), Richard Dawkins has made the hoax-like move of announcing his plans to step down from his teaching position and write a book “aimed at youngsters in which he will warn them against believing in ‘anti-scientific’  fairytales.” Although he admits he hasn’t read ‘Harry Potter’ he is greatly concerned that books about spells and wizards can somehow corrupt the development of a child’s rationality.  This behaviour seem almost parallel to the moral panic many fundamentalists had about Harry Potter and makes me wonder if he’s noticing he has more in common with his alleged enemies than he originally thought!

Now, I can understand the point of his earlier works showing the impossibly accurate and logical implications of his interpretation of Darwinian theory against what some consider a bloodless and overly-simplified theology (and more here, here and here).  I consider him a necessary cultural counter-weight to the ever increasing levels of fundamentalism at home and throughout the world.  But this announcement, which still seems too ridiculous to be real, reveals that Mr. Dawkins is so caught up in his zeal for scientism that he has deified rationalism as the only true way and cut off the subjective and imaginal world that is the substance of our life.  An essential part of being human is telling stories about the world and ourselves and our dreams — and why should that be limited to what we currently consider rational?

Mr. Dawkins‘ irrational fear and seeming need to control what children read strikes me as bewilderingly intolerant and desolate.  I’m willing to bet just about every child in every culture grew up reading or hearing  fairy tales and myths, including most of the greatest scientists. Does he dream of a sterilized childhood where kids only read books that are rational and scientifically accurate? (and probably have no good pictures in them, either!)  Ultimately, I don’t see the need to set rationality and imagination against one another with such hyperbole.  Perhaps he’s just discovered that writing a controversial book make him more money than what he’s getting at Oxford?  I can sympathize far more the guy if it is simple human greed rather than a real conviction that he must warn children and their parents about the dangers of fiction!

…and I’ve just discovered a very recent article by Libby Purves taking him to task on his perceived threat of fairy tales.

]]> http://833-45.net/2008/10/29/richard-dawkins-must-be-pulling-our-legs/feed/ Autumn cleaning - Alchymy CD-R sale. http://833-45.net/2008/10/24/autumn-cleaning-alchymy-cd-r-sale/ http://833-45.net/2008/10/24/autumn-cleaning-alchymy-cd-r-sale/#comments Fri, 24 Oct 2008 17:57:28 +0000 K.M.Krebs http://833-45.net/?p=146 While doing some cleaning, I unearthed eight un-opened copies of my Alchymy CD-R which was released through the Con-V netlabel last year.  I have a description and some exceprts on my Alchymy page, and an in-depth review can be found on Earlabs.  I’m selling them for $10 US each, or purchase it with my Collected Works DVD-R for $20 US (you save $5! — shipping is inclusive.)

Contact me directly if you are interested in this offer.

]]> http://833-45.net/2008/10/24/autumn-cleaning-alchymy-cd-r-sale/feed/ The Light 3000 http://833-45.net/2008/10/09/the-light-3000/ http://833-45.net/2008/10/09/the-light-3000/#comments Fri, 10 Oct 2008 00:14:38 +0000 K.M.Krebs http://833-45.net/?p=136 This video was embedded using the YouTuber plugin by Roy Tanck. Adobe Flash Player is required to view the video.

An minimalist cover of The Smiths‘ There Is a Light That Never Goes Out by the peculiar Schneider TM.  He strips the original down to a sparse stream of electronic tones and clicks against which the voice of HAL 9000’s significantly more introverted cousin laments Morrissey’s ambiguously hopeful lyrics.

This track is featured in a new mix of mashups and electro-remixes I recently created on 8tracks – Musique électronique.

]]> http://833-45.net/2008/10/09/the-light-3000/feed/ Mixing music with 8tracks http://833-45.net/2008/09/18/mixing-music-with-8tracks/ http://833-45.net/2008/09/18/mixing-music-with-8tracks/#comments Thu, 18 Sep 2008 17:41:44 +0000 K.M.Krebs http://833-45.net/?p=130 Large Hadron Collider Mix

8tracks.com has been gaining a lot of momentum during the last few months.  It offers an alternative to the now defunct Muxtape.com.  Unlike Muxtape, which encountered problems with both hosting costs and legal issues, 8tracks appears to have a solid plan and is not in danger of vanishing like its cousin.

I’ve put my first mix together, a bit of a tribute to the Large Hadron Collider and the unfathomable mysteries of the universe we’re about to encounter.

K.M.Krebs - Large Hadron Collider Mix

]]> http://833-45.net/2008/09/18/mixing-music-with-8tracks/feed/ Recommened music podcasts http://833-45.net/2008/09/16/recommened-music-podcasts/ http://833-45.net/2008/09/16/recommened-music-podcasts/#comments Wed, 17 Sep 2008 00:10:34 +0000 K.M.Krebs http://833-45.net/?p=113 Podcasts fill a vital need in my life, allowing me to accidentally encounter music I’d probably never hear otherwise.  There’s a number of musical podcasts that I always like to see on my download list in Juice.

Here’s a list of highly recommended musical podcasts:

Subnav.com - An inspiring source of wide-ranging, eclectic mixes with a good dose of soul, R&B and dub.

KEXP Live Performances - Live performances from KEXP featuring some great bands like Why, Stars, Sufjan Stevens and many, many more.

Bleepshow - A daily netlabel-based electronic music podcast.

NonPop - A popcast dedicated to “non-pop” music — perhaps you’ll need to listen to a few to understand what that encompasses.

Have any you recommend? Leave a comment!

]]> http://833-45.net/2008/09/16/recommened-music-podcasts/feed/ Max Richter - “Song” http://833-45.net/2008/09/12/max-richter-song/ http://833-45.net/2008/09/12/max-richter-song/#comments Fri, 12 Sep 2008 17:10:00 +0000 K.M.Krebs http://833-45.net/?p=109 This video was embedded using the YouTuber plugin by Roy Tanck. Adobe Flash Player is required to view the video.

‘Song’ by Max Richter, a contemporary German composer.  His compositions and videos have a haunting ephemeral quality.  Their sparseness and emotive power remind me of Arvo Pärt’s instrumental works.

]]> http://833-45.net/2008/09/12/max-richter-song/feed/ Tunguska update http://833-45.net/2008/09/08/tunguska-update/ http://833-45.net/2008/09/08/tunguska-update/#comments Mon, 08 Sep 2008 17:45:21 +0000 K.M.Krebs http://833-45.net/?p=106 Musica Excentrica has had a redesign and restructuring and now includes an informative and accessible page dedicated to my full length (and free) Tunguska album. I encourage those of you who haven’t heard it yet to visit the page and preview it online.

833-45 - Tunguska

]]> http://833-45.net/2008/09/08/tunguska-update/feed/ Photos: Tetrapod beaches of Japan ::: Pink Tentacle http://833-45.net/2008/08/12/photos-tetrapod-beaches-of-japan-pink-tentacle/ http://833-45.net/2008/08/12/photos-tetrapod-beaches-of-japan-pink-tentacle/#comments Tue, 12 Aug 2008 17:25:02 +0000 K.M.Krebs http://833-45.net/?p=92

Pink Tentacle posted a collection of photos documenting Japan’s ‘tetrapod beaches.’  It’s a curious engineering of the environment that overwhelms the natural beauty of the coast with a Utopian repetitiveness of form.  Yet, the form, scale and patterns of the tetrapods somehow come together to create a new, if utterly urban aesthetic.  I once saw some similar structures in the Western Korean town of Mallipo, but on a much smaller scale.

Photos: Tetrapod beaches of Japan ::: Pink Tentacle.

More images of tetrapod beaches from Flickr.

Creative Commons License photo credit: +fatman+

]]> http://833-45.net/2008/08/12/photos-tetrapod-beaches-of-japan-pink-tentacle/feed/