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José the Bronx Rican

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Posts posted by José the Bronx Rican

    Mega Man X series: Maverick Rising - History

    in Projects

    Posted

    If we ever do a physical printing, then it will be given away for free, not ever for purchase - we don't do that here due to the legal liabilities and that we prefer to distribute most of the music for free.

    Don't forget to mention that when we do give CDs out, it will usually be at one of our convention appearances, either with a shirt or other merch purchase, or as a prize, limited, of course, to whatever stock is on hand at the time. So if a physical printing does become a reality, be sure to keep an eye on our event calendar. :)

    Super Dodge Ball: Around the World - History

    in Projects

    Posted

    Isn't "constant variety" a little bit of an oxymoron?

    Ha, that is interesting for one definition of the word 'constant'; the definition in this context is unrelenting continuation. It's a reference to the old TV staple "Wide World of Sports". If no one remembers that program, they surely remember some part of the taglines: 'Spanning the globe to bring you the constant variety of sport. The thrill of victory, and the agony of defeat. The human drama of athletic competition.'

    References for Mastering

    in Music Composition & Production

    Posted

    Starting with the understanding that 'mastering' covers more than what's being discussed here...

    "Experience doesn't always sound good," but no one brings up what guarantees we hope to expect from LACK of it. And how about the 'education' part? Know-how does play into it. Also interesting that 'Antigravity' and 'Fittest' were brought up, both of which were done by someone who currently offers professional mastering services.

    No one would argue that the pros can get it 'wrong' sometimes in the opinion of many listeners, but the implication that 'pro' is as much a crap-shoot as 'DIY' is a honking great conceit. You're much, MUCH more likely to get amazing results from someone who makes it his or her profession. But do your homework and find a good pro, if you care enough, like Rozo does, about getting your product to sound as polished as possible to as many people as possible. If the choice was between someone like Bernie Grundman, who's done everything from Steely Dan to Dr. Dre, and whose name is guaranteed to be found in everyone's album collection, or someone with Audacity and a soft-knee compressor/limiter VST... well, you'd be shit outta luck, because you probably can't afford Bernie Grundman. However, I'm comfortable recommending zircon, who likely is affordable, and is proven.

    All that said, I don't think it's necessary to list examples of well-mastered albums, because I'm certain your all-time favorite albums will fill the bill quite nicely. And it helps to study each whole album, backwards and forwards, to understand as much as you can how peaks and dynamic ranges between tracks are controlled, among other things. Goes without saying we should keep learning, whether or not we let someone else do it for us.

    East Coast Earthquake

    in General Discussion

    Posted

    Do you live in a box?

    Naw, there was plenty shaking in the city, depending how high up you were in buildings designed to 'sway' in high winds and quakes (as opposed to 'crumble'), although where we were, in the basement at Jacobi Medical Bldg. 1, we didn't feel a thing; I almost felt bad. I dunno how I'd react in an actual tremor.

    Naturally, a lot of people panicked and evacuated several floors, although the disaster bell code that was put in place after 9/11 never rang. People are saying 'NYC' and 'East Coast' quake (with schizophrenic news reports mentioning the 'Virginia' quake that hit 'New York'; which is it?), and they also cleared out of City Hall and police headquarters. I'm afraid now I'll never hear the end of it from the media and politicians who want to spend billions upon billions to 'prepare' the city for something that may never happen again in our lifetimes. The epicenter area, however, is a different matter, and I hope our concentration of staff there is all well and good.

    ARTIST WANTED: Super SF2 Turbo HD Remix OST - YOUR badass art for physical CD!

    in General Discussion

    Posted

    Sorry for the wait, Den; I went through a bit of work in making the whole design CMYK-safe, knock on wood. I didn't see a reason for you not to be able to post your work to deviant, but made sure to run it by Dave anyway. He says no problem.

    To all, everything is virtually final; no additional art needed. Thanks everyone for your interest. We sincerely appreciate it. Be on the lookout; I expect there'll be updates to the torrent & stuff after printing.

    ARTIST WANTED: Super SF2 Turbo HD Remix OST - YOUR badass art for physical CD!

    in General Discussion

    Posted

    You came 'round just in time, as we were about to contact you. My design for the digipak is nearly ready, and it looks like your work will be a perfect fit, especially since it's on a clean white background. You'll get a PM on what and where to send.

    To the others offering, the design for the digipak doesn't leave much room for other works. The tracklist and credits likely could take up the remaining area. But stand by: when I submit to Dave and Larry and them, we may yet decide whether something else is needed.

    Kind of Screwed - Andy Baio sued for 8-bit rendition of "Kind of Blue" photo

    in General Discussion

    Posted

    Putting aside this weird concept of 'after-the-fact' licensing, where we infringe first, and then wait for the creator to negotiate what would make it all right...

    Baio seems like a smart man, so it's easy for me to blame this current Internet culture being such that it didn't occur to him to ask about an iconic piece of artwork before reproducing it; can't assume 'fair use' is enough protection. And now we're too hung up on monetary values. Maisel asked for an amount - probably pulled out of his ass - that may have been significantly increased or reduced after a full trial. It may have turned out to be zero, and Maisel ordered to pay for Baio's legal defense. Or the opposite. We don't want Baio punished at all, which is understandable: he slipped, big time, and we're kinda certain he didn't do it with impugnity. But the courts, who would be closer to the facts than we will ever be, decide how much harm was done, and the amount it takes to compensate; we don't, as much as we like to act like we're experts on the negative effects of infringement. The litigants' personal incomes have no say over whatever amount is determined. So, settlement. I'm assuming Baio's still alive, still coherent, still makes a living, and now is a big fat crusader for fair use advocates. But no one has brought up the 'deterrence' aspect of this situation: what happened to him was sudden, serious, and affected his livelihood... that's entirely the reason it occurred to him to license the music. If there might be trouble, and you can't pay your way out, don't risk it. I wouldn't be the only one who doesn't think '8-bit style' is transformative enough, especially as the cover on a commercially sold product. If the subject was Floyd's "Dark Side of the Moon", would Baio be as ignorant about it? His examples of 'fair use' weren't very convincing, mostly because those were under very different situations, and he left out the all-important question of whether the creators of any of those original works were even made aware of these products, much less paid or compensated for them. He makes it sound like anyone could get trapped in a dark alley and attacked with a subpoena, but usually, if you don't do anything, you don't get accused of anything. Baio asked for a cover idea that won't land him in court. Is he kidding? There are a thousand things he could do. Do a faceless 'Miles & trumpet' sprite at 64x64 on a blue background: conveys the same 'message', and doesn't infringe on any photographs.

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