MBO Gear Punch List

Playing this music as a three piece is "interesting".

Stuff to do:

Perhaps it's the VST hardware box, killing the latency
Perhaps it's fixing my Boomerang Phrase Sampler that was broken somewhere in Europe on the last Tom Waits tour.
Maybe the Roland MIDI pickups
Dust off the Korg Prophecy
Program the MicroKorg
Rebuild the Anvil for live use
That wall wart for the Kaos Pad needs attention
Change the strings
Program the Adrenalinn
Figure out how to send program changes to live via the Ground Control

RIP William James Samish

Last Sunday while we blindly pounded away in our studio a man was shot to death out in the street.
Link
We didnt know you but we are sad for you.

Fucking Idiots

Anyone ever hear of the term "diversionary tactics"? Are Americans this stupid to fall for this shit? The flag burning amendment to the Constitution was one vote short of passing..

"The Citizens Flag Alliance, a group pushing for the Senate this week to pass a flag-burning amendment to the Constitution, just reported an alarming, 33 percent increase in the number of flag-desecration incidents this year.

The number has increased to four, from three. The naive among us may have trouble appreciating how four flag-burning episodes would constitute a constitutional crisis. But the men and women of the Senate, ever alert to emerging threats, are on the case"

Radiohead Fan Boy

As to be expected Radiohead presented another evening of spectacular music last Saturday evening at the Greek Theatre in Berkeley. Like them or not the bands command of texture and dynamics is simply unsurpassed by any rock band these days. It's nice to be reminded why seeing music can be worth all the effort and hassle (the lines, the inevitable idiotic fan etc etc). The band is in fine form and I must say I think this short tour is their strongest to date (Ive seen them 6 times? Yikes). Fun stuff!

Why The Internet Rules

Just when you think the My Space, Viral, Blogging fuckwits have taken over the whole universe..Along comes something that rekindles your faith in the World Wide Web.

http://hitlercats.motime.com/

Eno Lecture

In what is always a worth while event, Brian Eno and Will Wright (creator of the Sims, Sim City etc) will be speaking this Monday evening in San Francisco. This lecture series sponsored by the Longnow Foundation (Of which Eno is a founding member).

http://www.longnow.org/

Kids Are Wacky

Where's The Law Saying You Have To Pay?

This film may be the thing many Americans need to see.

"America: Freedom to Facism"

"Determined to find the law that requires American citizens to pay income tax, producer Aaron Russo (“The Rose,” “Trading Places”) set out on a journey to find the evidence. Neither left, nor right-wing this startling examination of government exposes the systematic erosion of civil liberties in America since 1913."

Time Cube

Wow, if this doesn't take you out, nothing will. A fine way to start your week. Here's an excerpt from timecube.com:

NATURE'S HARMONIC
SIMULTANEOUS 4-DAY
TIME CUBE

Earth Opposites should split apart - and cascade molten lava upon God Worshippers,for they are the evil on Earth.If god is your father, your mother is a whore. OppositeCreation vs evil god entity.He who speaks, preaches, teaches, condonesor practices SINGULARITY - an evil that equates DEATH by cancellation ofuniversalOPPOSITES - hemispheres, sexes, seasons,races, temperatures, marriages and divided cell (the human Cubic who rotates a 4 cornerstage family rotating metamorphic lifetime) -should have their evil lying tongue cut out.Educators are lying bastards.-1 x -1= +1 is WRONG, it isacademic stupidity and is evil.

The author is back at it...Read more freakout here

The War On Science

Here's some good listening...

from NPR's "Science Friday"

"One pundit says the GOP has unleased a 'perfect storm of science politicization and abuse.' Another pundit says the left is to blame. Who is hijacking science? Join Ira and guests Chris Mooney and Tom Bethell square off on the question, and on topics from global warming to stem cell research to nuclear power."

link

Self Replicating Machine Elves

Have you taken DMT? If so please write us and explain your "trip". While I remain a Atheist I will freely admit that we are all held prisoners of our own language and that "alien" intelligence is in fact something that science should look at more closely. My guess is we are asking the wrong questions when looking to the skies seeking E.T's.

Our song "Self Replicating Machine Elves" (taken from Terrence McKenna) deals with this subject directly.

Read about Mr McKenna here . Interesting stuff, perhaps a bit "reaching" at times, but well worth the attention.

Craigs Top 5

5. LD51 vs No Force Feild
4. La Taqueria on Mission in SF
3. Genesis Archive
2. Dell duel core 1.66GHz Bitch!
1. Ann Coulter media implosion

Our Keys

We like keyboards, both old and new. Rhodes, Wurlitzer, Clavanet, pump organs, Kimbal Caravan. Mini Moog. MicroKorg. Korg Prophecy, Emax and JAYMAR toy piano.We also use MTron, Reason, Reactor, circuit bended Talking Barney toys...

The Tech Hog came to play.

More on Sam Harris...

Interesting interview of Sam Harris and his book "The End of Faith" (In Real Audio)

http://www.wpr.org/book/060611a.html

Human Monsters v1

The New Phone Books Are Here!

After over a year of work, we have completed our ( currently untitled) debut effort and are curtrently looking at the options on how to release it.

One model called "Self Determined Transactions" is very interesting and is currently being used by Jane Siberry. It's cool because she is actually "trusting" her fans and not forcing them into some idiotic DRM scheme (I've yet to see ONE that doesn't suck).

I think the very idea of what a "album" is needs to be re-imagined anyway. The traditional album/tour cycle is now so heavily slanted tword the record company interests it has become unyielding and difficult to manage. Seems to me bands need to be more creative in how they distribute their music.

What if the band does not release traditional albums (12 songs etc), but instead puts out digital "packages" that can contain any amount of songs? The band then decides when to tour (or if to ever stop touring) based on their creative output, not on the quarterly constricts imposed by a record label. This model of delivery also creates a revenue flow directly to the band, so their fans are the one ones directly supporting them, not the record label, who act as nothing more than a bank protecting it's bottom line.

Anyway, personally Im all for giving the album away for free on this site.

So we are beginning to figure this out.

The album clocks in at 57 minutes. here's the current line up of songs ("Long Way Home...most likely will not make the final cut)

01. Idiot Jones Will Have His Day
02. Occam's Razor
03. Kicking The Can
04. Your Time To Lose
05. Nerve Pill
06. Spaceman, Time To Go
07. Take The Long Way Home
08. MBO
09. Drowning Not Waving
10. Self Replicating Machine Elves
11. The Chopping Song

The artwork is not complete but when it is I plan on having a digital "booklet" of the liner notes available for download.

God Could Use a Hole In His Head

We are currently working on a new song "God Could Use a Hole In His Head"..

What's it about?

On the right side of this Blog you will see a link to a book titled "The End of Faith" by Sam Harris. I have to say I haven't read a more engaging examination on the dangers of relgious faith. One of Harris' chief tenets is that any religion that places a great deal of importance in the concept of heaven is poison to the world we live in. It's a strong and valid point. How can we entrust anyone who believes that a "reward" is waiting for them when they die, a reward that is based on the actions (so often militant) of a life that has been intent on the literal "interpretations" of holy books that can, in turn, easily be used to invoke violence.

"when death is simply a door translating us from one existence to another, it loses its sting and finality. Harris pointedly asks us to consider that those who do not fear death for themselves, and who also revere ancient scriptures instructing them to mete it out generously to others, may soon have these weapons in their own hands."
-Ed Dobeas

Harris' argument is stunning in it's simplicity and he asks questions that will not only (and predicibly) ruffle the feathers of devout followers of all faiths, but also disturb the clockwork of moderates and those tollerant of relgious practaces. His stance that a moderate attitude twords relgion (particuarly Islamist and Christians) is perhaps one of the most reprehensible stances a person "can" take, as taking a side is not only needed but essential. Harris argues that literally the only side a sane and rational person can and will choose is the side that holds these systems of beliefs responcible for much of our worlds current depolible conditions.

I'm with him. Take a side. Moderation towards religious dogma, especially dogma as dangerous as Islamist and Christian is the same to me as "being" a Islamist or Christian. Perhaps the oppression and political manipulation of the peoples of the Middle East (and I don't deny these things play a factor in anti western feelings) is not the real reason those men flew planes into the World Trade Center towers. Perhaps their rage was of a different flavor, one that guaranteed a paradisiacal reward, one that made them religious martyrs and fueled the fire of "us vs them" more than any western grab for oil and power could ever muster.

Sorry. Over 50% of Americans believe the Bible to be the literal word of "God". This means 1 of 2 Americans believes that Christ was resurected and was born from a virgin. Tell me where one even starts an argument when faced with this type of thinking? These ideas are not only idiodic they are dangerous beyond belief.

The world is increasingly becoming armed with nuclear, biological and chemical weapons, so what are the chances that a person who has little regard for life on this earth and more regard for posturing before their "God" will be the ones pulling the triggers of these weapons?

So Im all for preemptive wars, IF they are directed at organized religions that feed the idea of afterlifes and inclusion.

And dont even ask me about the word God on my fucking money.