Anyone still pumping out Kid Cudi tracks from a traditional speaker setup is really missing out. With this iPod dock that’s shaped like a log, you and your homeboys will be poppin’ wood all night. Dancing and prancing will never feel more right. And to boot, it’s actually made from a real, honest-to-god log. Killer beats. Tree killer beats, that is.
The Arduino continues to power innovation and creation well into 2009. This blender, created by Matti Niinimaki, is rigged to create beats. No smoothies here, folks, just pounding techno full of cheesy sound FX. The Beat Blender prototype reads fruit embedded with RFID tags that are dropped into it. Hitting different blending speeds (Puree, Liquify, Blend, Grind, etc.) will add different effects and filters to the music, allowing for a unique style of making new music.
Matti’s setup makes use of a combination of hardware and software, including Max/MSP, Ableton Live, an RFID reader and of course, the Arduino. What gives Matti? Max/MSP? You know Pure Data would work just as well and we’d all be able to play around with your code.
I guess when God gives you lemons, you make music.
Mashups. Two songs seamlessly flowing over one another. This is what video-mixup collective Eclectic Method does perfectly. After seeing them multiple times in New York City, I wondered to myself why in the hell I haven’t posted about these dudes yet. Let me break it down for you: RAW MIX POWER. That’s what these guys do. We’re talking music videos mixed into movies with breakbeats, house beats and party beats blasting from every direction. It’s almost too much to handle at times, but the ladies move their asses so everything must be working out.
Eclectic Method’s latest video is a masterpiece of editing. Dubbed “Lock Up Your Videos,” it’s available as donationware, similar to Radiohead’s “In Rainbows” business model. You pay what you think is right for the video, which is about an hour long and full of surprises. If you’re broke, watch it on Eclectic Method’s website for free. Trust me when I say you simply won’t be disappointed with the skills these guys have.
ALSO: If you live in NYC, be sure to stop by WTF NYC tonight, where Eclectic Method will be throwing down an insane 3-hour set of mixin’!
DJ Spock knows how to lay down the hot beats. As publicity stunt for the release of Star Trek Seasons 1, 2 & 3 on Amazon.com, CBS put this ad online that shows Spock, from Star Trek, hanging with Kirk on the Enterprise while mixing up some Vulcan rhythms that are so fly, your ears will turn pointy. Bust out the beers, grab the Enterprise bottle opener, it’s time to get down.
If you ever felt like wearing a visor that looks straight off of the head of that local old towny guy who sits in front of the corner barbershop everyday, but wanted some radio and eco-friendliness, the Solar Powered Visor Radio could be right up your alley.
The visor has built-in power speakers on both sides of your head so you can hear the room-thumping beats of CCM or whatever it is kids listen to these days. On a sidenote, they should really add in some beer bong functionality, maybe a little funnel and tubing. — Andrew Dobrow
