Friday, May 25, 2012 at 8:52PMMeet the Guy Who Invented All Those Star Wars Sounds
It was 35 years ago this month that the world was first exposed to what was going on in a galaxy far, far away. Unless you were there, it's hard to explain how big a deal Star Wars become with that first movie. Not only did it change sci-fi, but it also was a landmark in CGI technology.
And then there was the sound of Star Wars. We heard things from a movie that we'd never heard before. Now, many of those sounds are indelible parts of pop culture.
This is where we meet Ben Burrt who was just 28 when he figured out the sound of a light sabre or how R2-D2 should beat. Check out this article from Wired:
Shunning the slick sounds typically associated with science fiction movies, George Lucas tasked Burtt with creating audio that would lend realism to his epic space opera.
“You had this fantasy world, but the sounds give the illusion that it was all real,” Burtt told Wired in an interview at Skywalker Sound. “That it really existed. That spaceships really sounded like that.”
The Cult Return. Again.
[This is my column in today's Metro newspapers across Canada. - AC]
Ian Astbury is home — sort of. Reclining in a chair at the back of an appropriately dark downtown club, the singer of the Cult is happy to be back in Ontario where he spent his early years in Hamilton and later years in Toronto.
Now living in LA, he’s excitedly talking about the new Cult album, Choice of Weapon, part of which was produced by Canadian Bob Rock.
This reunion seems to be sticking.
(Ruefully) Reunion (laughs). We’ve been ‘reconvening’ for seven years. The first one, ’95 through ’99, I needed time. I needed to walk away. In ’99 we signed to Warner Brothers and the industry just went ‘kablooie’. It was a difficult time to come back. Then the Doors thing (a semi Doors reunion with Ian as singer) came along. Then I just started popping around doing stuff. There was Trent Reznor. We were potentially working on a group together…
Wait, wait! What potential group with Trent Reznor?
We were kind of toying with the idea of doing something at one point. He was sniffing around. I think he was looking for what his next move was going to be. I’d love to work with Trent at some point, but we’ll see.
Top 10 Animated Bands
[Another fine list from special list-making correspondent Brent Chittenden. Give him a "Like,"okay? He works on on these things--and he's just moved house. He could use a hug. - AC]
If you live in Toronto, there's something weird happening this weekend. Head up Airport Road and you will be confronted by a myriad of humans in outrageous costumes of all sorts, some of them good, some of them amazing. That’s because it’s Anime North, one of North America’s largest anime (anime being a term for Japanese animation) fan conventions.
This me thinking. What are the top animated bands of all time? There are a surprising number of animated outfits, from those that start off in cartoons and become real (Dethklok, The Archies) to bands that exist as animated-only creations (Detroit Metal City). And there's Gorillaz who live in both worlds..
So, in honor of Anime North, here’s a list of the Best. Animated. Bands. Ever.
10) BECK (Mongolian Chop Squad)
While they never became a real musical act like Dethklok, BECK (as oppsed to Beck, the "Loser" and "two tables and a microphone guy") was a very popular manga and anime series from Japan which makes a ton of pop and rock music references through out. In their animated world, BECK is pretty awesome.
Musicians Buried With Weird Stuff Just Like the Pharoahs
Many cultures have buried their dead with things they believe they'll need in the afterlife. Nice idea, but then we eventually came along and dug it all up. Right, King Tut?
Our modern pharoahs have followed in this practice. Bob Marley went to his final resting place with plenty of weed. Frank Sinatra went to the great beyond equipped with a flask of Jack Daniels. And Whitney Houston will spend eternity wearing $500,000 worth of jewels. Some things never change, huh?
The Houston Chronicle lists these and seven other musicians who tried to take it with them.
Please, Please, Please Let the Babas Win Eurovision 2012
Russia's entry in Eurovision 2012 is the Buranovskiye Babushki, a group of women aged from 43 to 86. With the finals coming up on Saturday, they have an excellent shot at winning when they reprise their song, "Party for Everybody" which they sing in both English and their native Udmurt. Yes, that's a real language.
Watch as they chill out in a town on the Caspian Sea.
Tool's Danny Carey Rocks Out With Some Kids for a Good Cause
From Music for Good:
It’s hard to think of a more heart-warming scene than a 6’5” metal drummer jamming with a bunch of enamored kids. On Friday night, Tool drummer Danny Carey did just that, thrilling a bunch of aspiring young musicians at the School of Rock in West L.A.
Carey – a founding member of one of the world’s biggest rock bands and widely considered a world-class drummer – performed Tool and Led Zeppelin tunes with several long-haired teens who ably filled in on guitar, bass and vocals.
Between jams, Carey fielded questions from the kids and their equally elated parents, and offered advice about becoming a successful musician.
Nice. Now can we get back to making a Tool album?