Mode: D Dorian
Get It Here

Another week, another change. It could almost be one of my “normal songs”…. This song is fast. Very fast at times. Other times it slows down for some groove.

The inspiration was partly from Windows Weekly #99 where Mr Paul Thurrott was comparing a song by Jim Allchin (a former Microsoft executive) to an old video game theme.

It was also partly from listening to a bunch of Strapping Young Lad and wondering if that kind of feel could be achieved without all the guitars.

So its kind of a video game themesong meets strapping young lad meets my usual style with a dash of jazz/blues in the underlying musical chords and structure.

Which is probably a description that means nothing to almost everyone on the planet.

Image (8)bit-ten from here

What don’t kill you…. makes you more strong!

Mode: C Ionian (aka Major)
Get it here

This is one of the few times I’ve ever used the standard major scale. Whether that is due to my metal musical influences or my general dark attitude could be debated, but the fact is that I default to minor.

So…. this song is me not just going major, but going all the way and writing the most mellow tune I’ve ever written, or that I’m ever likely to write (assuming no commercial contracts or influences).

Pads & synths, vibraphone, harpsichord…. no percussion, no distortion….

A generally soothing tune, almost a lullaby.

Basically exactly what you wouldn’t expect me to do, which is kinda the point of the project.

Image lulled away from here

From the wikileaks

Illegal_link++

Look at this picture (which was an ad on a news website -
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/)

This is obviously a scam, but why?

The whole make a lot of money for almost no work is a dubious claim at
the best of time, let alone when the claim is being made by a
advertisement.

The real trick is to look very closely at the picture itself.

On a cheque, the value is in 2 different places. The “amount” in
digits on the right (zoomed here via the conveniently provided
magnifying glass), and the “The sum of” in words on the left.

The zoomed amount is quite obviously $1,717.68

The sum is very small, and hard to read, but to my eyes it says ONE
HUNDRED AND FIFTY-SIX AND…..

A quite different value, from a doctored image.

QED.

So, banned hyperlinks could cost me $11000 a day? (smh article)

Well…. EFA gives me more details

Fuck you and the censorship you rode in on.

1. Australian Government censorship of US anti-abortion site abortiontv.com, 21 Jan 2009 (wikileaks)

2. Australia secretly censors Wikileaks press release and Danish Internet censorship list, 16 Mar 2009 (more wikileaks)

3. The danish censorship list (from wikileaks)

4. AbortionTV.com who I think are completely crazy right wing anti-religious fuckheads. But they should be able to state what they think in an open forum

So I now owe the government even more money. Add it to the fucking bill. And then take it from my cold dead hands.

Mode: B Locrian
Get it here

This song is not like the last song. At all.

It starts with a piano part, hinting at menace…. partly from the mode, partly from the time signatures shifting around. It kinds of puts you off kilter, makes you uneasy…. the kind of thing that gets played as that guy is walking thru the dark house and the shadow of the killer is moving behind him.

Then the chorus hits, and everything shifts…. but doesn’t. Lots of 5/8, weird bass, the choir…. a big wall of almost noise that calls back to the piano, but is more what happens when that guy sees the killer and runs.

And that is just the start…. It builds until…. The second section. Which is pure fucking insanity, and must be heard to be believed.

Unlike last week, this is not something your parents will like…. unless they like jazz fusion weird horror soundtrack songs.

Picture Regalia’d from here

Intro:

Now hopefully everyone reading this blog already knows I write and release songs for free over at chaotimusic.com. If not, there are currently 85 songs over there for you to listen to, download and share with everyone you know (and anyone you don’t).

I’ve been writing and releasing a new song every week for the past 80+ weeks, but that kind of thing can cause you to get stuck in a rut. After 8 albums worth of songs I felt like I needed a change.

Project Vortex is that change.

It is partly a practical measure due to my work schedule for this semester, but mostly I just needed to step outside the box I usually stay in.

So…. I’ve put down the guitar and the bass, cut out the vocals and I’m trying out some of the more extreme, out there, crazy, weird and experimetal ideas that have been sitting around.

I’m also going to be shifting thru the modes of C (i.e. just using the notes ABCDEFG no sharps or flats, but starting with a different root for each song)

This may go well…. it may be utter shite. Whatever. Its an art experiment, I don’t care what anyone thinks.

Alpha:
Mode: A Aeolian (aka minor)
Get it here

For a looooooong time I’ve wanted to write song thing like this. A nice moody piece for a string quartet. This desire intensified when I got my hands on some cool free instruments by Ben Boldt that included a bunch of nice string instrument sounds (get them over here)

I think I acheived what I se out to do. Its very Apocalyptica-esque in sound, but with my own stamp (and its not just cellos). It has a very dark and gothic tone. My girlfriend said it made her think of vampires.

Anyway, check it out…. especially if you don’t like my usual metal. Your parents might even like this.

Images from here and here