From: owner-alloy-digest@smoe.org (alloy-digest) To: alloy-digest@smoe.org Subject: alloy-digest V6 #24 Reply-To: alloy@smoe.org Sender: owner-alloy-digest@smoe.org Errors-To: owner-alloy-digest@smoe.org Precedence: bulk X-To-Unsubscribe: Send mail to "alloy-digest-request@smoe.org" X-To-Unsubscribe: with "unsubscribe" as the body. alloy-digest Tuesday, January 30 2001 Volume 06 : Number 024 Today's Subjects: ----------------- Alloy: I AM NEW ["PAULO GONZALEZ" ] Re: Alloy: Matthew Seligman/Robyn Hitchcock/Soft Boys? [Robin Thurlow ] ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Mon, 29 Jan 2001 10:52:39 -0200 From: "PAULO GONZALEZ" Subject: Alloy: I AM NEW I AM NEW AT ALLOY, BUT AN OLD FAN OF THOMAS DOLBY SINCE 1984. I LIVE IN BRAZIL AND IT IS DIFFICULT TO GET INFO ABOUT HIM HERE. UNFORTUNATELY NOWADAYS HE IS COMPLETLY UNKNOWN IN MY COUNTRY. MY VERY FIRST QUESTION TO ALL OF YOU OLD MEMBERS IS: I THINK HE IS SUCH AN ACCOMPLISHED MUSICIAN AND WRITES SUCH BEAUTIFUL SONGS THAT HE SOULD NOT BE AWAY FROM HIS FANS FOR SO LONG. I REALLY MISS HIS MUSIC. THE LAST ALBUM PROPER WAS RELEASED ALMOST 10 YEARS AGO (ASTRONAUTS AND HERETICS), BECAUSE THE GATE TO THE MINDS EYE ALTHOUGH BRILLIANT IS A SOUNDTRACK ALBUM (NOT A "NORMAL POP ALBUM"). RESTROSPECTACLE IS A BEST OF WITH NOTHING NEW (APART FROM URGES/LEIPZIG) AND 12 X 12 ALTHOUGH FANTASTIC IS 12" REMIX OF OLD SONGS. SO THE QUESTION IS: DOES MR. DOLBY HAVE NO MORE INTENTIONS OF RECORDING ALBUMS? IS HIS CARREAR AS A POP SINGER OVER? WILL HER ONLY BE INVOLVED WITH BEATNIK FROM NOW ON? IS THERE ANY PLANS FOR A NEW ALBUM? WHAT DO YOU KNOW ABOUT IT? THANK YOU SORRY FOR ENGLISH MISTAKES PAULO TD FOREVER ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 29 Jan 2001 11:21:13 -0500 From: Robin Thurlow Subject: Re: Alloy: Matthew Seligman/Robyn Hitchcock/Soft Boys? Melissa, are you going to the show? I'm very much in the dark about Soft Boys but it would be great to hear them! hope your hand feels better :) xxxx Robin T "Melissa R. Jordan" wrote: > > A quick one-handed note - I saw in the Washington Post today that a > group called The Soft Boys is playing in town soon - it's a quartet of > folks (I assume, since I saw four names under the listing), including > Robyn Hitchcock and Lost Toy Person Matthew Seligman. > > Matthew was the person who directed me to the nascent Alloy group - I > can't remember now how I found his e-mail address out there in the days > of my very, very primitive e-mail access, but he was cheerful, > enthusiastic, so very kind and spoke of Thomas in such glowing terms. > I'm grateful to him for directing me to Alloy (gosh, was it even "Alloy" > at that point?) > > Can someone clue me in on The Soft Boys? Muchas gracias! ------------------------------ Date: 29 Jan 2001 11:18:08 -0800 From: mde@stanfordalumni.org Subject: Alloy: birthday greetings Thanks for the birthday greetings guys! I went out for dinner multiple times and went dancing. It was great. Monya - ---------------------------------------------- E-mail@stanfordalumni.org is brought to you by the Stanford Alumni Association and Critical Path. ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 29 Jan 2001 14:25:08 -0500 From: Robin Thurlow Subject: Alloy: Sonify.org teams with Beatnik (news item) New Community Destination Designed for the Development of Interactive Audio On the Web and Wireless SAN FRANCISCO, Jan. 29 /PRNewswire/ -- Sonify.org, the online resource and community designed to further develop sonification and interactive audio for the Web and wireless devices, today officially launched their Web site at: http://www.sonify.org. Sonify.org is a tutorial resource, communication channel and gallery to educate sound designers, Web developers, consumer and business professionals about the value and impact of interactive audio on the Web, in games, and in wireless devices. While there are a many Web sites devoted to graphics or Web authoring, Sonify.org is the first to focus on interactive audio. "Sonify.org's mission is to make interactive sound and music a truly integral and universal part of the Web and device market," said Tony DeYoung, co-founder, Sonify.org. "Audio plays a critical role in defining mood, the effectiveness of navigation, brand recognition and overall stickiness. The sonification tutorial and community resources on Sonify.org span a broad range of interactive audio technologies (Beatnik, Macromedia Flash and Shockwave, Java Sound, Apple QuickTime, RealAudio, Windows Media Player) and provide a timely, easy-to-use reference source that both novice and expert developers can use and contribute to." "Sonify.org is set to become a self-sustaining community of developers who will enhance the core sonification techniques pioneered at Beatnik and elsewhere. A strong, active developer community has proven to grow a technology much faster than a single company," said Thomas Dolby Robertson, founder and chief Beatnik, Beatnik, Inc. "Beatnik fully supports Sonify.org and will continue to work closely with its community members to introduce new applications for the Web and mobile device arenas." Beatnik has led the charge to add sonification to the Web and digital devices through interactive audio. It has been proven that immersive audio experiences dramatically increase the minutes-per-page ratio of Web visitors and creates a rich environment for powerful sell-through opportunities on a myriad of digital devices. "Macromedia Flash and Shockwave designers create innovative, interactive content that relies on quality sound to complete their artistic vision," said Miriam Geller, senior product manager for Macromedia. "This site will enable our designers to more easily use audio effectively in their content, which will reduce their development times and make their content more immersive and magnetic." Sonify.org Site Highlights Sonify.org offers users information on the latest sonification news and developments, more than 100 interactive audio tutorials, discussion boards hosted by experts in the field and job listings and postings. The site also has a broad array of Rich Music Format (RMF) music and sound effects that Web developers can use freely in their projects. Beatnik tutorials cover a range of topics from cut and paste Javascripts to advanced record and playback of interactive remixes. A series of Macromedia Flash tutorials show you how to add sound to conventional Web sites without relying upon a Macromedia Flash graphics interface. Sonify.org provides examples and tutorials on using audio in combination with Macromedia Flash movies, as well as innovative solutions such as taking advantage of the ubiquitous Flash Player to deliver purely auditory solutions on regular Web pages. New tutorials covering a range of interactive audio technologies are added weekly. Sonify.org's Gallery section features over 120 sites and applications that have been sonified in a compelling way using Beatnik, Macromedia Flash, Java Sound and Shockwave content. Examples of sonified sites include: Music Buddha -- MuBu's objective lies in enlightening people to new music they will love. Users can rate instant Beatnik & Macromedia Flash previews of songs and MuBu learns their tastes and makes recommendations for other music. http://www.mubu.com/ NPR All Things Considered -- Award-winning evening news magazine, All Things Considered from National Public Radio, brings its strong audio brand & top personalities to its Web site using Beatnik. http://www.npr.org/programs/atc/ Electrica -- Retro electronic media experience with an exciting use of DHTML and interactive audio using sci-fi sounds from the 1950's. http://electrica.leonid.de/cgi-bin/index.cgi The Best Maria Callas Arias -- A sonified tribute to the best arias sung by the quintessential operatic soprano, Maria Callas. Move your mouse over an image and hear a short phrase from that aria. http://www.geocities.com/callas_arias/ Top applications include: MoodMaker -- Sutter Home's MoodMaker is a simple, yet elegant desktop application that re-creates the sights and sounds of California's Wine Country. Users can enjoy several unique sound Collections that give users the ability to experience and customize a sensory journey through some of the most beautiful landscapes in the world. Created by Red Sky. http://www.sutterhome.com/ Miller Lite Beer -- A sonified desktop application that enables users to plan & track your own Miller Times with friends. http://www.millerlite.com/beerpager/splash.html Shockwave Mixmakers -- Shockwave.com Mixmakers are interactive remixes of top artist music created with the Beatnik Xtra and Shockwave content. Mixmakers for Britney Spears and Moby remain among the top five most popular items because they are the ultimate in music personalization. http://www.shockwave.com About Sonify.org Sonify.org is a community resource where developers can unite with the common goal of adding interactive audio to the Web, wireless and digital devices, as well as advancing the development of the underlying interactive audio technologies. Founded in 2000, Sonify.org believes that eventually all Web sites, mobile phones and digital appliances will take advantage of interactive audio for user interfaces, branding and entertainment. For more information please visit Sonify.org's Web site at http://www.sonify.org. ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 29 Jan 2001 19:18:59 -0500 From: "Robin" Subject: Re: Alloy: I AM NEW Hi Paolo, Welcome to Alloy - we're very glad you've joined us here! As to your questions about Thomas' music - from everything he's said in interviews on the subject of making another 'pop' album, it sounds unlikely - though he is still very interested in making music it will very likely not be in the conventional 'album/tour' format (visit http://www.thomasdolby.com for some very thorough answers in his Reading Room - there's a section where he answers his most Frequently Asked Questions) Thomas has said he does intend to continue making music however, making good use of self-publishing and Internet-based distribution, which is a prospect he's said is extremely promising for artists and their fans. And he is still very much in touch with his fans in fact, thanks to the Internet - through his Flat Earth Society page and this mailing list, he's gotten the chance to hear his fans' opinions and thoughts directly! As for new music/public appearances, we are all loooking forward to any news of either... and one thing I like is that Thomas tends to keep us on our toes where this is concerned (it was almost a year ago when he made a surprise appearance with David Bowie, backing him on keyboard & vocals for his Roseland Ballroom show in NYC!) It's true that Beatnik is something he's very involved with, but if you think of it as a lot of us do (something that's very important to him & will lead to making things easier for artists and their fans everywhere!) it might make you feel happy to know he's dedicating so much of himself to it. I hope I've managed to make you feel better & hopefully you'll be here with us at Alloy for updates and news as they occur. Thomas likes to keep us informed through this list and through the Flat Earth Society page, which is always being updated! If there's anything you might need help with, please write to me & I'll do my best to help you. Paolo, how did you come to hear Thomas' music for the first time? I'm curious! xxxx Robin T ------------------------------ End of alloy-digest V6 #24 **************************