Geddy Lee Baixo Isolado No YYZ Prova Sua Habilidade Impecável.

Geddy Lee’s Isolated Bass Track On “YYZ” Proves His Skill Is Impeccable

No One Slaps The Bass Like Geddy

There might not be another band in music with a higher emphasis on technicality than Rush. The Canadian trio has built a successful career on being just damn good musicians. Geddy Lee, Alex Lifeson and Neil Peart are all masters of their individual instruments, and their songs are seemingly unmatched because of this. To further prove they are individually masters of their respective instruments, we give you a prime example: Geddy Lee’s isolated bass track of the song “YYZ.”

It’s really hard to determine if there’s anyone out there who could surpass Geddy’s skill on the bass, especially after hearing everything he does on “YYZ.” What fascinates us, is his ability to write a backing track that is so complex and mesmerizing, yet it works so well with the song. Until you hear the bass by itself, Geddy’s work (aside from the brief bass solos) goes severely overlooked. Any ordinary bassist probably would’ve settled for a simple, stripped down backing track just to support the drums. But, Geddy almost matches Peart’s phenomenal drumming on this track, with an equally skilled bass track.

Hear the track for yourself down below, and tell us what you think!

Mastodon Ou Mastodon Para Social Midia - Domínio Metal

Mastodon Or Mastodon For Social Media And Sludge Metal Dominance

A few months ago I joined a (still) fledgling social media network called Mastodon. Mastodon is built on a framework similar to Twitter, but something entirely new and open source. Last week Mastodon (the band) released a new album. I'm trying to decide which Mastodon has more value.

Mastodon is free, open source and is funded through a Patreonaccount by apparently the most altruistic developer in history as he is "not interested in VC funding, monetizing, advertising, or anything of that sort." It's a decentralized version of Twitter that runs on many different server instances. These instances can be viewed on the federated (consolidated) timeline or individually (local).

C.Silver

Mastodon Screenshot

There is a slight tinge of anarchy to the way Mastodon is set up, but at the same time there is a sense of forward thinking. For instance, there are no public or private accounts. You can mark your "toot" with a content warning and users can choose to view it. Each "toot" allows for up to 500 characters versus the 140 of Twitter. You can also create your own instance of Mastodon, your own little safe space where you can curl up in your Snuggie and toot out into the void.

Meanwhile, Pitchfork calls Emperor of Sand from Mastodon "metal's answer to Rush's mainstream-conquering 1981 classic Moving Pictures." The seventh studio album from the band almost takes on a concept album challenge, without actually being so. The album is best to be experienced as a whole, apparently holding an interesting story about telepathy or something heavy metal.

Mastodon (the social network) allows you to create your own Twitter land. If you like Twitter but can't stand all the hate speech and trolls, create your own Mastodon instance, invite all your friends and it'll be just like back in the ICQ days. Even to the point that Mastodon users don't have their user names in their direct account link, but numbers. I'm #2595. Of course, like all social networks in infancy, Mastodon prime is currently at capacity.

So you'll have to join one of those many instances to start tooting. Which is a problem. Instead of fostering a framework for exponential growth, it would appear that Mastodon is instead creating a framework of chat rooms that look like Twitter. While all these instances can cross pollinate, it seems generally arduous to leave the cozy armpit warmth of your own instance. Why would you want to sully your toot with the surely fetid repulsion of the Federated Timeline? Viva la resistance after all.

So could Mastodon be the Twitter killer that all the social justice warriors, tech fanboys and anonymous eggs have been looking for? Or could it become the next Ello -- a social construct with grand designs on creating a safe space alternative then eventually morphing into just another niche site with a singular focus?

Ello has become a visual wonderland for designers, while its creator is moving on from building a Facebook killer (of which it was not) to a Snapchat killer with Wuu (of which it won't be.) The only Snapchat killer will be Facebook, the only Twitter killer will be Twitter itself. So perhaps Mastodon, if it's around long enough, can hope to rise from the ashes of Twitter.

It won't though. The only Mastodon rising from the ashes of anything is Mastodon the heavy metal band. Rising from the ashes of cult status and into the mainstream.

If you were so inclined, you could grab a Python 3 script, join dev.twitter.com, get a consumer key and access token, create an app then cross post from Mastodon to Twitter. That sounds exciting. Can I cross post video to Peach?

Naming your social media service after an extinct animal (and also the band) then following that up with naming the social action after slang for a bodily function is either a brilliant piece of subversive artistry or just complete marketing blindness.

Listen, social networks don't have to be the next great thing to unseat the current great thing. Twitter has its problems but isn't likely to just disappear anytime soon. Facebook is trending more towards being the one-stop shop right behind Google. Mastodon is just another thing that exists. Sure, it's currently blowing up right now, but unlike the band it is named after it probably doesn't have the staying power. No matter which way you spin it, staying power requires money.

Mastodon the social network is a great example of the ingenuity that exists in development and serves to show that a future without Twitter could very well be possible but still hearkens too much back to the socially isolated days of internet communication. Perhaps that is what some people desire, to escape the overwhelming reality of social media mainstream for something more comforting and soloed.

My hottest take is that if you are going to invest any of your time into anything called Mastodon I would recommend Mastodon's 2004 release Leviathan, a concept album based on Moby-Dick.That album is something that has true staying power and will keep you head-banging long after every new social media network withers and dies.

Vinil, Streaming & EPs: Qual O próximo Formato Drake Vai Usar?

Vinyl, Streaming & EPs: What Form Could Drake's Next No. 1 'Album' Take?

This week, Drake rules the Billboard 200 for the second frame in a row, and there's a pretty good chance his new collection More Lifewill continue to be in charge for at least a few turns. This time around, the hip-hop star has conquered the charts with what he and his team have deemed a "playlist project," which is something of a confusing term, as the 22-song item streams (and sells) just like an album. The phrase playlist project may be something Drake made up, but it's worth noting that he has now hit No. 1 on the Billboard 200 with both proper albums and now this playlist. Always one to make history and challenge people's ideas about how music can be consumed, the rapper is surely already working on what will be his next chart-topper, but what form could that collection take?

EP

An EP, or an extended play, is essentially just a short album, and while that doesn't exactly seem to be Drake’s style (his releases are only getting longer and longer), perhaps one day it will be. EPs typically feature fewer than eight or nine tracks, and while they are also often sold at cheaper prices, they don’t usually receive the same media attention or marketing budgets as full albums, so it is very rare for an EP to wind up inside the top 10 on the Billboard 200, let alone at No. 1...but this is Drake we’re talking about. If he could place a serious single on an EP and push the collection with his full might, is there really any wonder if it would be a No. 1? 

Drake introduced himself to the mainstream with an EP entitled So Far Gone which peaked at No. 6 on the Billboard 200, so this is a format he's already familiar with. The set included three top 40 hits, including the No. 2 smash “Best I Ever Had,” and had he been a bigger name at the time, So Far Gone may have charted better. Perhaps he’s moved on from EPs, but should he go back, his fans would surely snap up another one. 

Vinyl

Drake has released a handful of his releases on vinyl, and while those sales haven’t necessarily helped him get to No. 1 on the albums tally just yet, both the rapper and the format are becoming more popular by the day. While vinyl continues to sell more copies every year, it is still difficult to imagine Drake hitting the top of the Billboard 200 with only an LP. The vinyl title with the most first-week copies sold in the past several decades remains Jack White’s Lazaretto, which shifted about 40,000 records in seven days. It’s a rare week when that would be enough to secure the highest position, but perhaps if Drake promoted the title heavily and the price was right on the product, he could be the first person to hit No. 1 with a vinyl-only product since Nielsen began tracking sales in the 1990's. 

Streaming-Only

While he is the king of streaming, Drake hasn’t yet relied entirely on sites like Spotify and Apple Music to get him to the top. His albums may bring in hundreds of millions of plays in just the first week, but they also typically sell hundreds of thousands of copies. Looking at the numbers the hip-hop star has been able to rack up with his last few projects, it is clear that if Drake did decide to go with a streaming-only strategy (at least to begin with), there’s a pretty great chance he could become the first artist to hit No. 1 without selling a single copy.

Compilation

As a member of Young Money, Drake has hit the top 10 twice with compilation records: We Are Young Money and Young Money: Rise Of An Empire, but he has never scored a No. 1. Those albums featured contributions from everybody on the Young Money record label (and their friends), and they grant those artists a top 10 as a part of a group. If he really wanted to, Drake could work with Young Money again to push a new compilation to the highest slot, or he could use the idea to promote his own label, OVO (October’s Very Own) and score a No. 1 with that group of artists. This practice isn’t uncommon in the hip-hop space, though there are only a few labels and groups popular enough to send their wares into the highest tier on the tally.

Porque Você Deve Ser Ativo No Spotify Como É No Facebook

Why you should be as active on Spotify as you are on Facebook

10 small steps you can take to maintain and grow your presence on Spotify

Most musicians understand by now that a Facebook page is like a garden. It needs to be tended daily. Neglect your Facebook page for too many days or weeks in a row and your reach will fall off, your engagement will dry up, and you’ll have to work twice as hard to get things back to so-so.

But daily tending doesn’t have to mean hours in front of your computer; two minutes to post something, three or four minutes responding to comments and messages, done.

The same is true for Spotify — you should be tending to your Spotify presence every single day.

Spotify is more than an interactive streaming service:

• It’s a curation platform — and playlisting is the new radio in terms of “breaking” acts.
• Spotify also serves as a direct line to your listeners, since your new releases can be placed in your followers’ weekly customized Discover Weekly and Release Radar playlists.
• Spotify also gives you interesting ways to recontextualize your entire music catalog, so you can continue to promote older songs in interesting ways.
• Spotify gives you monetized ways of sharing your music on your website, via social, and more.

But in order to use Spotify to its fullest potential, you have to put in some work. Not a ton. But at least as much as you’re doing on Facebook each day.

Here are some of the small proactive steps you can take to maintain your Spotify presence:

1. Update your playlists with new songs
2. Do social shout-outs to any artist you add to your playlist
3. Promote your playlists via newsletter and social
4. Re-assess the effectiveness of your playlist titles, descriptions, and artwork — and make any necessary changes
5. Encourage fans to follow you on Spotify
6. Pin a new song or playlist to the top of your artist discography page
7. Embed Spotify players on your website for all your albums
8. Check out your daily Spotify trending reports to better understand your audience and engagement on the platform, and to see what playlists include your music
9. Give a social shout-out to any playlister who has added one of your songs
10. Actually listen to your Discover Weekly playlist (it might be an easy way to find new tracks to add to the playlists you manage)

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If you’re already listening to a lot of music on Spotify, it’s easy to make a daily habit of some of these things. The rest of them don’t take much time at all. So… get tending!

Alien: Covenant - Trilha Sonora

‘Alien: Covenant’ Soundtrack Details

The details of the soundtrack album for Ridley Scott’s Alien: Covenant have been revealed. The album features the film’s original music composed by Jed Kurzel (Assassin’s Creed, The Babadook, Macbeth, The Snowtown Murders). The soundtrack will be released next month by Milan Records and is now available for pre-order on Amazon. Alien: Covenant starring Michael Fassbender, Katherine Waterston, Billy Crudup, Danny McBride, Demián Bichir, Carmen Ejogo, Amy Seimetz, Jussie Smollett, Callie Hernandez, Nathaniel Dean, Alexander England and Benjamin Rigby follows the crew of the colony ship Covenant, bound for a remote planet on the far side of the galaxy, as they discover what they think is an uncharted paradise, but is actually a dark, dangerous world. The movie will be released nationwide on May 19 by 20th Century Fox. Visit the official movie website for more information.

Here’s the album track list (might contain spoilers!):

1. Incubation
2. The Covenant
3. Neutrino Burst
4. A Cabin On The Lake
5. Sails
6. Planet 4 / Main Theme
7. Launcher Landing
8. Wheat Field
9. Spores
10. The Med Bay
11. Grass Attack
12. Dead Civilization
13. Survivors
14. Payload Deployment
15. Command Override
16. Face Hugger
17. Chest Burster
18. Lonely Perfection
19. Cargo Lift
20. Bring It To My Turf
21. Terraforming Bay
22. Alien Covenant Theme

75 Músicos Compartilham Suas Perspectivas De Ser Um Músico

75 Musicians Share Their Perspectives on the Best Things About Being a Musician

Last month, as a part of a competition I asked 400+ musicians what they enjoyed the most about being a musician. After reading through the responses I realised just how much inspiration I had accidentally collected, and I knew I had to share them some how. Today I created this poster / manifesto to share with you 75 of my favourite responses. I hope this brightens your day as much as it did mine :)

Feel free to share this poster or repost it on your blog. I might also make it available to purchase as a poster, but I’d love to know whether people would be interested in this – what are your thoughts?

Google Está Planejando Comprar O Spotify Por US$ 4 Bilhões

Google is now planning to acquire Spotify in a deal valued at roughly $41.1 billion in cash and equity.

The acquisition, first reported by the Wall Street Journal this morning, creates a clear frontrunner in the music subscription space.  It would also give Google a massive edge over competitors like Apple Music.

According to research emerging this week, Apple Music now has more unique users than any other streaming music service.  Apple’s rapid ascent may have rekindled the on-again, off-again acquisition talks.

The unexpected acquisition may also accelerate the upcoming combination of Google Music and YouTube.  Currently, Alphabet and its Google and YouTube subsidiaries are struggling to create a strong, premium music streaming service.  That just changed with the acquisition of Spotify, which is now reaching its 50 millionth paying subscriber.

‘The best of three worlds’

Formal signatures and filings will happen Monday.  On Saturday, key media outlets were given a preview of the deal.  “We’re thrilled to bring Spotify into our family of music properties,” Google Music executive vice president Nathan Rutherford told DMN.

“Now, we can combine the best of three worlds: Google Music, YouTube Music, and Spotify.”

Customary closing details come later.  Post-acquisition, investors Goldman Sachs, Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, Northzone Ventures, and billionaires Sean Parker and Li Ka-shing will receive several billion dollars each.  As part of the payout, all artists will also receive a special streaming payout of 1-penny per-stream, for a limited 24 hours period.

That ‘penny day’ rate will be reduced to the customary $0.00006543 rate after the 24 hour period lapses.

Perhaps most critically, Google is planning to initiate what is being code-named ‘royalty re-engineering’ alongside the acquisition.  In one expected outcome, Google will seek to eviscerate traditional royalty payout models, while maximizing obfuscated direct-pay advertising ‘monetizations’ to Alphabet.  “We hope this game-changing approach will truly re-orient artists towards an exposure model, while we continue to pay the labels,” Rutherford explained.

Daniel Ek: Pushed Out?

Spotify CEO Daniel Ek is now likely to be praised as one of tech’s most important entrepreneurs and visionaries.  But insiders are already speaking of Ek’s ouster, based on his perceived over-spending on artist royalties.

For now, Ek appears none the wiser.  “I’m thrilled by this acquisition and the belief that Google has placed in us,” Ek offered in a statement.  “While we’ve operated as healthy competitors to this point, I think we always considered joining together.  We want to help build the future of music consumption and a place for artists to grow.”

Board member and investor Sean Parker, one of the original creators behind Napster, expressed a sense of relief and validation.  “Napster offered a glimpse into the future of music technology,” Parker said.  “Now, eighteen years later, Google is helping us fulfill that vision in the best, most powerful way possible.”

Also gaining big are the major labels, who each own a piece of Spotify and stand to gain enormously from the acquisition.  But without a juicy IPO, Goldman Sachs is reportedly unhappy with the arrangement.  “They’re only making a fraction of what they could have off of an IPO,” the source relayed.

‘An expensive aqui-hire’

According to dealmakers on the Google side, it remains unclear exactly what happens to Spotify after the acquisition is complete.  One source pointed to “an expensive acqui-hire,” with Google seeking underlying technology and brain-power instead of the app itself.

As noted above, Google is busily transforming its massive music platform, YouTube, into a smoother experience for fans.  YouTube has more content than Spotify, but it’s a comparative mess.  But its content is less organised, far less portable, and generally more difficult to access.