If you’re wondering why Hannah Fury spends time separating the heart cards from the rest of the pack, you’ve not been paying attention. Whilst other artists, sometimes infuriatingly, feel the need to comment on political matters, or extend their oeuvre to prolong their career, Hannah quietly continues to ruminate on matters of Love. True, sometimes this extends into Passion or Lust – both of which are quickly banished to the naughty step, but if you can appreciate this focus you’ll come to realise that despite the gothic overtones, the results are as warm and as comforting as a winter duvet.
A Latch to Open, the closing track of Subterfuge, the essential precursor EP to the equally essential Through The Gash album, is a lullaby of sorts, or perhaps a weird nursery rhyme, which persuasively advises on various facets of Love depending on how you interpret the lyrics.
Before I go, I must tell the other songs on both of these collections that they too can wake me up at 1am and sing to me. It’s really okay for them to do so.
The Guardian has a write-up of the beta version of the BBC’s iPlayer. This is the long awaited application from the BBC that enables on demand viewing of its television programmes. The review includes a quote resulting from the often ignored issue of seamless integration:
But navigation, awkwardly, switches between several different windows: the web pages for browsing the catalogue and downloading, your desktop-based library for looking through the programmes you’ve downloaded and a pop-up window when you actually watch.
Or, to put it another way: why has esteemed web designer Jeffrey Zeldman switched to using the productivity applications that come bundled with Mac OS X? Because of the iPhone. Specifically:
For many consumers, convenience is of greater value than choice. A platform built of parts that work together seamlessly beats a self-curated collection of apps that don’t.
When Apple introduced the iTunes [Music] Store in April 2003, and video in October 2005, Apple made the correct decision to incorporate the cumulative functionality within one consistent interface: iTunes. The reason the iPlayer doesn’t follow this model is because its developers have used technology provided by third parties: both the downloader (via Kontiki) and the viewer (Windows Media Player) are outside of the BBC’s control. It’s unfortunately a tacky solution.
Obviously one shouldn’t expect a broadcasting company to spend time and (public) money on developing a unique experimental integrated solution. But this insistence that broadcasters have of ‘doing their own thing’ is bizarre. Channel 4, 5 and Sky also have on demand systems, similarly engineered. It’s stupid.
Instead, the BBC should have taken a more radical approach and ditched the iPlayer.
And signed up with the iTunes Store.
Checkerboard is a track taken from Terami Hirsch’s “fun side project”, Story of My Ghost, which weaves sparse piano melodies amongst semi-industrial ambient dance rhythms. Three of these tracks are now up on Story of My Ghost’s MySpace page. They’re all great, but Checkerboard is astonishing.
Music is full of mysteries. Defenestration from Through The Gash contains at least two: Why are the awesome deep organ throbs that appear early on in the song not used again? Believe me when I say they sound extraordinary on a decent hi-fi. Another mystery is why this song reminds me of Billie Ray Martin circa 18 Carat Garbage.
Oh, and if you’re looking for the album, Hannah’s got a new store up, Antoinette’s Revenge, complete with the most vital of promotional devices: T-Shirts!
Emm Gryner has just landed in Los Angeles to start work on her new album. Her first journal post on this is here. With photos!
In some respects I’d expected the bigger news to be about the iPhone. Turns out that Apple’s Q3 2007 was the best quarter for Apple Mac sales ever. Apple shipped 1.7 million Macs, representing a 33% rise on Q3 2006.
Here’s the kicker: 64% of Macs sold were laptops.
Here’s why:
With the exception of two Linux servers – one for each office – we run our business from first generation MacBooks. Earlier this year I spent seven hours on a train developing a fairly complex Ajax web architecture. I couldn’t have done that without a laptop. Secure access via a Virtual Private Network keeps us in touch with our servers, and all connected equipment, with just a broadband connection.
When I’m at the office, my MacBook gets plugged into a proper keyboard, mouse etc., is networked via Ethernet, and I use a 23” Apple Cinema Display as a second monitor. No reboots – I just have to move some windows about. It takes seconds to connect up.
Now the iPhone: Apple reported 270,000 sales of the iPhone during the first 30 hours of sales. Just think about that for a moment. That’s 30 hours of sales in the US alone. How much of that 30 hours is the US asleep for? Smart-asses at the back of the class shouldn’t answer this rhetorical question. Fact is this figure is sensational for an unproven first generation mobile device. Apple’s predicting one million sales by end of September 2007 (representing Q4 2007).
They’re coming to a ‘few major countries’ in Europe later this year. And yes, I’m still buying one.
There’s been a lot of discussion over the previous months regarding the possible extension of musicians’ copyright in the UK from its current 50 year limit. Yesterday the UK government rejected its increase to 70 years, indicating that it wouldn’t actually benefit the musicians that much. Part of the rationale behind this conclusion cites the Gowers Report published in December 2006. But this post isn’t about the validity of the claim. Instead it’s about one chart contained within the report that summarises where our cash goes when we buy music:
Is it any wonder that major labels are in trouble when they so obviously devalue the people they are reliant on? If you’re a musician and you want to sell your music, my advice is to set up your own website, a Last.fm page, a MySpace page and network furiously. It works.
Emm Gryner:
It's the start of the month
One of twelve I don't like
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