Wired: Pop Culture May Evolve at the Same Rate as Birds and Bugs. “We like to think modern culture moves at a dizzying pace, fueled by a relentless parade of new works of music, literature, and technological design. Change in nature, by contrast, seems to follow a slower trajectory as genetic mutations over generations give animals bigger teeth, say, or a better camouflage. But maybe the opposite is true, and human culture doesn’t move so fast and we consumers are less eager to embrace change than we realize.”
Music
Ubergizmo: Björk And Microsoft Use AI To Create Music That Adapts To Changes In The Sky
Ubergizmo: Björk And Microsoft Use AI To Create Music That Adapts To Changes In The Sky. “We’ve seen AI used for all kinds of things, ranging from automation and to even helping doctors detect diseases and illnesses they might have otherwise missed. Now it looks like AI could soon be applied to music, thanks to a collaboration between musician Björk and Microsoft, where they are using AI to adapt Björk’s music to the ever-changing skies.”
Pitchfork: Radiohead Add Rarities to Streaming Services in Online Archive Launch
Pitchfork: Radiohead Add Rarities to Streaming Services in Online Archive Launch. “The archive groups the miscellanea by era, with thumbnails linking to ad-free videos and galleries. After creating their own library card, fans can explore the band’s catalogue, visuals, and various artefacts in a “highly curated and organised archive,” a press release notes. That includes detailed artwork, music videos, HD live and TV performances, B-sides and rarities, previously out-of-print merchandise, and the playlists band members shared around their latter-period recording sessions.”
Google Blog: Manage audio and video in Chrome with one click
Google Blog: Manage audio and video in Chrome with one click. “We’ve all been there: You have lots of tabs open and one of them starts playing a video, but you can’t figure out which one. Or you’re listening to music in your browser in the background and want to change the song without stopping your work to find the right tab. With Chrome’s latest update, it’s now easier to control audio and video in your browser. Just click the icon in the top right corner of Chrome on desktop, open the new media hub and manage what’s playing from there.”
New York Post: Spotify is now making playlists for your pets
New York Post: Spotify is now making playlists for your pets. “Spotify can now generate playlists for your pets, with a new tool that claims to customize mixtapes to a critters’ species and personality traits.” I tried this but it did not work for me; got all the way to the end of the process of generating the playlist and then threw an error. I tend to listen to Spotify kind of erratically, though.
Tubefilter: YouTube To Stream Coachella For 10th Year Running, Announces Doc About Festival
Tubefilter: YouTube To Stream Coachella For 10th Year Running, Announces Doc About Festival. “YouTube, which has long streamed coverage of Coachella — the trendy music festival that has become a buzzy scene for influencers and marketers alike — has created a documentary about the event. Titled Coachella: 20 Years In The Desert, the YouTube Originals film is slated to premiere on March 31 — roughly a week ahead of the annual event, which kicks off on April 10. The film will discuss how the festival was shaped, with never-before-seen footage, artist interviews, and more. It will feature performances from Billie Eilish, Kanye West, Daft Punk, BlackPink, the Pixies, Bjork, Madonna, Radiohead, and more.”
Popular Science: Inside the extraordinary experiment to save the Stradivarius sound
Popular Science: Inside the extraordinary experiment to save the Stradivarius sound. “Stradivari remains the defining figure in violin-making, a name on par with Chanel or Ferrari. He fashioned instruments for kings and cardinals, and his creations bring their distinctive voice to the repertoires of modern soloists like Itzhak Perlman and Anne-Sophie Mutter. Musicians, luthiers, and scientists have tried for decades to figure out what gives a Strad its beautiful sound, yet no one has ever quite replicated it. And so the dream is to create a digital archive that will survive long after the last Stradivarius falls silent, allowing composers and artists to continue making music with them.”
