Alex the Hack

“The Unearthly Phonograph” A brand-new song for 2012, this time...

Mon, 23 Apr 2012 11:19:30 -0500

“The Unearthly Phonograph”

A brand-new song for 2012, this time in a spooky/sampletronic/hauntological vein. It’s the titular lead-off track from “The Unearthly Phonograph,” a loosely conceptual song compilation that I hope to release as the first of a series of radio programs later this year. I’m also hard at work on more original tracks in this vein in the hopes of a proper digital EP or LP. Stay tuned…

“Half Asleep, Half Awake” Here’s my original...

Sun, 12 Feb 2012 20:58:00 -0600

“Half Asleep, Half Awake”

Here’s my original song from last year’s CD Exchange Party: a spacey, moody, 7/8 extravaganza about that disorienting feeling of being caught between two worlds. This time out, I combined live and virtual instruments with a couple of samples, as well as some not-completely-embarrassing lead vocals (thank you, Auto-Tune).

The Weekly Obsession, 2/2/2011

Wed, 02 Feb 2011 22:40:40 -0600

Precision Coffee Instrument: Burr grinder

Unexpectedly Beautiful Rendition: PS22 Chorus Sings Ariel Pink’s “Round and Round”

Browser Tune-Up: sharkZapper Extension for Chrome

Leafy Green: Spinach

Proto-Beatboxing Moment: Jimmie Riddle & Jackie Phelps Eefing and Hambone Act

Intake Control: Lose It!

The Weekly Obsession, 1/27/2011

Thu, 27 Jan 2011 14:05:28 -0600

Interactive Lovefest: SXSW Interactive

Coin-Operated Curiosities: Musée Mechanique

Musical Genius: Frank Zappa

Literary Genius (Who Was Even Smarter than Everyone Thought): Vladimir Nabokov

Cartoon Re-Imagining: The Monkeys You Ordered

Hauntological Soundtrack Source: Ghost Box

The Weekly Obsession, 1/12/2011

Wed, 12 Jan 2011 22:28:11 -0600

Excuse to Go Back to the Future: iCADE

Whoopie Pie: Society Bakery

Tool for Reading It Later: Instapaper

Brain Cartography: MindMeister

Celestial Jukebox: Grooveshark

Way to Keep Up with the iJoneses: Mac App Store

The Weekly Obsession, 1/5/2011

Wed, 05 Jan 2011 22:21:55 -0600

Excuse to Buy a Bigger Hard Drive: Thousands of free Netlabel albums, curated by Phlow Magazine, Free Music Archive and Archive.org

Chance to Discover Your Inner George Martin: Propellerhead Record 1.5

Book to Read Before Seeing the Movie: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (UK Edition)

Where to Find a Book to Read Next: Project Gutenberg

Fully Customized E-Magazine: Flipboard

Device to Read All This Stuff On: iPad

Photo

Tue, 30 Nov 2010 22:17:06 -0600

The Weekly Obsession, 10/27/2010

Wed, 27 Oct 2010 21:30:00 -0500

Pocket-Sized Ubiquitous Capture Device: Moleskine Volant X-Small Plain Notebook

Reimagining: Sherlock

8-bit Musical Massacre: Flying Lotus – Kill Your Co-Workers

Digital Brain: OmniFocus

Unexpectedly Delicious Diet Food: Alton Brown’s Sardine-Avocado Sandwich

Cool Internet Trick: Easy Bit.ly QR Codes

Note: This will likely be my last Weekly Obsession entry until December, as I will be taking the month of November to participate in my first ever NaNoWriMo. Wish me luck!

The Weekly Obsession, 10/20/2010

Wed, 20 Oct 2010 21:31:21 -0500

Pocket Pen: Zebra F-301 Compact

Lust Object: The new MacBook Air

Fashion Statement: Playbutton

Musical Evolution: Sufjan Stevens – The Age of Adz

Burger Topping: ¡Jalapeños!

Mind-Eff: When does a dream become a nightmare?

The Weekly Obsession, 10/13/2010

Wed, 13 Oct 2010 21:22:18 -0500

Cheap-Ass Lunch: Gourmet Ramen noodles

Music Groop: Stereolab

Controversial Cartoon Show Opening: The Simpsons by Banksy

Mac App for Writers: Scrivener

Productivity Podcast: David Allen Getting Things Done Podcast

Brew: Guinness Draught

The Weekly Obsession, 10/6/2010

Wed, 06 Oct 2010 21:34:22 -0500

Author, Dream-Weaver, Visionary (Plus Actor): Garth Marenghi

Spice: Rosemary

Netflix Queue-Enlarger: instantwatcher.com

Vintage Adventure Novel: At the Earth’s Core by Edgar Rice Burroughs

Source for Random Asian Goodies: 99 Ranch Market

Album: Deadringer by RJD2

The Weekly Obsession, 9/29/2010

Wed, 29 Sep 2010 16:00:09 -0500

Concert: Field Music, 9/30/10 at The Loft, Dallas

Store-Bought Salsa: Herdez Salsa Verde

Restaurant Salsa: Chuy’s Salsa Fresca

Non-Paper-Based Mobile Reading Experience: iBooks

Online Diversion: Website Asteroids

Offline Diversion: Chess

The Weekly Obsession, 9/22/2010

Wed, 22 Sep 2010 13:39:49 -0500

Geographical Source for Televised Entertainment: Great Britain

Starbucks Order: Grande Caffè Americano

Publisher of Random Awesomeness: Dover Publications

Mommy Blog: Mother Is Not Concerned / LitLad (Tied)

Personal Challenge: NaNoWriMo

Free Music Download: Jim Noir – Melody Junction EP

The Weekly Obsession, 9/15/2010

Wed, 15 Sep 2010 21:34:39 -0500

Britcom: Green Wing

Pen: Pilot Varsity

Season: Autumn

Vintage Keyboard: Clavinet / Mellotron (Tied)

Lust Object: The Boxee Box

Wow App: Epic Citadel

The Weekly Obsession, 9/9/2010

Thu, 09 Sep 2010 22:24:18 -0500

Video Series: Between Two Ferns with Zach Galifianakis

Coffee: Zabar’s Dark Espresso Roast

Dessert: Ridiculously Easy Peach Crunch Cake

Browser: Google Chrome

Bookstore: The public library

Birdcall: Mourning dove

The Weekly Obsession, 9/1/2010

Wed, 01 Sep 2010 22:23:47 -0500

Comic: Mouse Guard

Video Series: Put This On

Music: The Clientele – “Bookshop Casanova”

Color Scheme: Silver & orange

Paper Innovation: PocketMod

Booze: Talisker 18

10 Random Thoughts on the iPad

Mon, 12 Apr 2010 15:35:26 -0500

1. Incredible design (as always w/ Apple). Amazing fit & finish, and a true pleasure to hold and behold. Also super-fluid, breathtakingly fast, uber-responsive feel. That new A4 chip must be magic.

2. Heavier than I expected. Hard to hold for any length of time one-handed.

3. Gets smudgy as all hell, and harder to wipe on a t-shirt sleeve than the iPhone b/c of the much larger screen.

4. The iBooks app is neat. The page curl effect actually changes based on where you drag the page (such attention to detail!).

5. The virtual keyboard is surprisingly usable, especially in landscape mode.

6. Still not sure how best to hold it. It’s too flat to be used like a laptop, but too heavy to be used like a book.

7. On a similar topic, you really need to get the Apple flip-top case, both for protection and to prop the iPad up. However, unlike most Apple stuff, it’s kinda fugly.

8. Crazy-good battery life. They weren’t lying when they claimed 10 hours! Of course, the ginormous battery is probably part of the reason why it weighs so much.

9. The apps are nicely adapted to the bigger screen, but still a little lacking. Also MIA from the iPhone: Calculator, Voice Recorder, Weather, Stocks.

10. You get the sense that the best is yet to come. It’s a touchscreen with a button, and the magic will increase as newer, better apps are developed. Lots of untapped potential here (pardon the pun).

This is for the haters. The ones who said we were too white, “alarmingly unathletic”...

Tue, 06 Apr 2010 00:56:14 -0500

This is for the haters.

The ones who said we were too white, “alarmingly unathletic” and lacking in NBA-caliber talent. The ones who complained that we got all the calls, that we cheated, faked and flopped. Those who claimed the NCAA gave us an easy ride.

This is for the ones who called us arrogant, smug and elitist, who derided our Hall of Fame coach and called our players “goofy,” “pasty” and “ugly.”

It’s for those who rooted against us at every turn, and badmouthed us after every victory we racked up. And it’s for those who cast our group of bright, talented, hard-working student athletes as the bad guys.

Because no matter what the haters say, no matter how much they complain, argue, curse or spit, none of it can change the fact that the Duke Blue Devils are the 2010 NCAA Division 1 Men’s Basketball Champions.

And their team isn’t

“Itlaly” Here’s an original song I wrote for...

Mon, 01 Feb 2010 11:07:00 -0600

“Itlaly”

Here’s an original song I wrote for this year’s CD Exchange Party. It’s inspired in equal parts by “The Girl from Ipanema,” cheesy theme songs to risque European game shows, and prog-funk soundtracks from schlock Italian horror films of the ’70s. Special thanks to Stephanie Fisher for lead vocals and the Launch Players for screams, chants, and assorted background noise.

Why musicians should piss each other off more often

Tue, 24 Nov 2009 11:12:57 -0600

So. Matthew Friedberger of The Fiery Furnaces (a band I love) took a potshot at Radiohead (another band I love) and their tribute to the British airman Harry Patch. Only he mistakenly(?) thought it was actually a song about the avant-garde American composer Harry Partch.

Later, he explained the Patch/Partch mixup was a deliberate joke, and in the process managed to also insult Beck (yet another artist whose work I like) and his Scientologist faith. You can read a nice sum-up of the proceedings at Pitchfork: http://pitchfork.com/news/37147-beck-writes-song-about-harry-partch/

But wait, it gets better. Rather than declining to respond as did Radiohead, instead Beck wrote a 10-plus-minute musical response (appropriately enough, titled “Harry Partch”), which somehow manages to lampoon/celebrate the cut-up musical approach of The Fiery Furnaces AND pay tribute to the microtonal/American gamelan style of Harry Partch, resulting in one of Beck’s strangest, coolest and most adventurous tracks in years. Oh yeah, and he’s giving it away for free. Check it out here: http://stereogum.com/mp3/Beck%20-%20Harry%20Partch.mp3

So…I guess….thank you, Matthew Friedberger?