Online Electronic Power

Check out the latest in the Autopilot experiment. Real time generated electronic music via the net.

"Autopilot is a self-running generative audio software system which takes disparate audio elements from a large custom sound pool and combines them in a completely random manner to create an infinite, everchanging, never-repeating landscape of sound. While Autopilot has no beginning and end, these podcasts are excerpts grabbed at random daily times."

Link to the music
Link to Autopilot page

MBO Book Club: Grant Morrison

Book Club? Yes,just like Oprah. Well, if Oprah was eating heroic doses of DMT and shitting herself.

If your looking for a wonderfully bizzare graphic novel check out Grant Morrison's "The Invisibles". This epic Joyceian trip delves deep into the nether regions of subversive culture and is ripe with occult,conspiracy and drug references of all stripes and colors.

Morrision is also a proponent of something called "Pop Magic" and claims the whole "Invisibles" cycle is a spell of sorts (otherwise known as a Sigil) brought on by an alien visitation while he was high in Northern India. Our song "MBO" is dedicated to him. He's a master!

Link

Shit Meet Fan

My frigging 17" Powerbook went south last week, causing all sorts of road bumps for the last MBO rehearsal (We use the computer for keys etc). This is sad as I will never fix a computer older than 4-5 years old, which means it's time for a new box. Im thinking about the Macbook 15" and am looking forward to the speed increase and end of latency issues in Reason/Live. Ahh the sound of money sucking away.

Some dimwits at Sirius radio have "updated" the Sirius Streaming Player and now it doesnt work. So I can't hear Howard. Idiots.

And in a related side note, If I had my way ALL engineers who design commercial tools would read the book "The Inmates Are Running The Asylum" by Alan Cooper so they may learn that most people who use the crap they build are NOT engineers and don't THINK like engineers.

Grumble. Where is the bong.

MBO Web Cam is Now Live

O-Qua Tangin Wann

Space is still the place.

Link

(re) Runs and Poses

Part of MBO went to the GnR show at the Warfield in SF last eve. Being we are rock stars we got all access to the hot back stage action. Thanks Brain and Robert.

Some impressions:
01. Axl has corn rows. This is deeply troubling on many levels especially up close.
02. Mother Goose plays a mean modified Serge Synth
03. Excessive guitar solos are only one peg up from drum solos in their capacity for causing profound mental duress. I lost count after 14 or so. God is dead.
04. Any band that has three guitar players shouldn't.
05. The world is filled with human monsters
06. Explosions and fire rule.
07. Axl has a very cool voice
08. Sebastian Bach does not
09. People still smoke weed at rock shows
10. The case for forced sterilization of a large percent of our population should emphatically be made and then enforced.
11. Drunk people are funny
12. Drunk people are very un-fucking funny.
13. A real rock star is neurotic and is unnecessarily respected/feared.

Brain Sucks

Rehearsal Update

It was good to be back in the MBO saddle after a three week break. Happily we found all of the songs were as we left them, if not better, so this was a relief.

We made our first pass on Nerve Pill, which is a bear and will take some time to sculpt out the right tones and arrangements, but it didn't suck horribly. This one is hard as a three piece.

I am finding that I need a new sampler to pull of many of these tunes, Kick The Can being the latest in need of attention. This is the reality of this band, we have lots of sounds/textures to deal with. I am now taking huge doses of Bovine growth hormones In the hope I will grow another set of arms, which are needed. Results thus far are not promising. Perhaps I should up the dosage.

I have been getting some email from various people asking when we will finally play, and I expect we will book some dates in SF area in late Oct or Nov. So now you can plan your life accordingly.

Duh

We've fixed a coding error that was fucking up IE (on Windows only) ability to load a Flash film and present the correct info for the Idiot Jones download page.

Alert the media.

Drugs Rule

Save Darfur

Everyday, the 2.5 million people chased from their homes in Darfur face the threat of starvation, disease, and rape, while the few lucky enough to remain in their homes risk displacement, torture, and murder.

Perhaps we can do something about it?

Link

B-Side: Long Way

Once in a while we will post weird B-Sides that didn't make the album. Here's the first one - It's called "Take The Long Way Home" (No, it's not the Supertramp song). We left it off the album because I felt it was slanting things in a "pop" direction, which the album didnt need, plus it sucks to sing this one.

Link

Fame, Fame, Fatal Fame

Someone just told me they heard our pal Les Claypool on the Sirius networks Ferrel show. This is not so astounding except Ferrel's focus is sports and the caller was talking about betting on football games. Hell, I could be wrong, but suspect a fraud is at large as I've never known Les to even mildly be interested in sports betting. This is classic and cracks me up.

Images From The Motherheart

Flash Earth

Not that this is new or anything, but it fucking rules.
Link

Jesus Camp

I'd agree with Sam Harris when he comments in "The End Of Faith" that a tangible danger exists with religious moderates. Most moderates refuse to engage in meaningful critisism concerning religion and do a disservice to both Atheists and religious zealots alike. They refuse to pick sides in the name of some humanist world view.

If films like "Jesus Camp" dont force these "live and let live" intellectual pacifist to see the folly of their views then nothing will, and I truly hope they are on the front lines when the shit finally hits the fan.

Link

9/11 Debate

I'm off today to hear a forum featuring opposing arguments from proponents of a few 911 conspiracy theories. The "Osama did it' vs the "Government did it" camps will line up and present their arguments. Should be mildly entertaining as the old Mondo 2000 mutant RU Sirius is hosting the thing.

Personally I'm not ready to take a definitive stance as some of the arguments on the "Government did it" side are pretty weak and reactionary (have you seen Loose Change?) and Im certainly not willing to swallow the heavily slanted/Republican official version.

My guess is a brilliantly composed conspiracy of this sorts would have to be made up of people who are not aware that they are even in a conspiracy, leaving the real manipulations to the well informed few, who simply will never talk.

Link

Guitar/Kaos Pad Mod

Straight from the freakish mutant Lundola comes the Kaos Pad in a guitar mod. Who knows how it sounds but it sure looks cool, and frankly that's all that ever matters in any situation. I want one but am way to stoned to build something that requires brain power.

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Eno On a Mac

Here is a delightful bit of tech to battle creative road blocks of all sorts. This Widget is a port of Brian Enos Oblique Strategies card set from the 1970's.

"...features the complete sets of the Original (1975), the Second (1978) and Third (1979) Editions, as well as the elusive, commercially not-available Fourth set (1996) by Brian Eno and Peter Norton. Selection of the Editions is user-controllable via a preferences panel."

Eno rules

Link

God Is An Excuse

Sam Harris, author of one of the most rational answers to the religious dogma that seems to have the world by the balls, has a new book "Letter To A Christian Nation". If it's anything like his last one it should be well worth the read.

Link

Craig and Chris Sitting In A Tree

Our very own Bass playing mutant found a good one and is getting hitched this week. Congrats Craig!