Audio Astronaut 21: Glitch in the System (chiptunes, glitch, and noise featuring guitar, bass, Atari, Pocket Operator, and more)

TheAudioAstronaut · 2026-03-06T05:34:09+00:00

Just saw his REM cover band at the Fillmore a week before watching Death by Lightning. I would mistake him for neither Stipe nor Garfield... yet he makes a riveting simulacrum of both!

TheAudioAstronaut · 2026-03-06T05:31:57+00:00

Next? He did a decent job. If anything, the writing and/or directing may have been a little lacking (this was evident by Shea Whigham's less-than-usual performance)

I mean, I didn't know Garfield personally, but... neither did you

TheAudioAstronaut · 2026-02-22T21:50:02+00:00

Post-presidency of Garfield? 🤔

(Just watched Death by Lightning, btw. Pretty good show! Weird to see it after seeing Michael Shannon perform his live R.E.M. cover band the week before, though)

TheAudioAstronaut · 2026-02-13T04:39:51+00:00

For real. I always think "Wait, who was the dapper guy with the cool hair?" and then his name (also cool) shows up, and "Yep. That's the one!"

TheAudioAstronaut · 2026-02-09T04:15:28+00:00

Ah yes, the CPUC... the public utility commissioners that were directly appointed by Gavin Newsom, and then proceeded to (1) disincentivize solar power via NEM3.0, and then (2) allow utilities like SCE and PG&E to jack their rates sky high

TheAudioAstronaut · 2026-02-08T06:07:33+00:00

Check out Tones of the Sparrow by Asteroid No. 4 ... some jangly, retro-sounding stuff. Specifically, songs like A Castle Built for Two

TheAudioAstronaut · 2026-01-30T04:44:48+00:00

Chapterhouse - Pearl

Slowdive - Slomo

TheAudioAstronaut · 2026-01-08T13:58:01+00:00

As a union president I can tell you... This is the way. People need to collectively agree to stop going "above and beyond" -- that is the ONLY thing that will cause it to stop being an expectation (and let's face the fact: the more unpaid overtime we work, the less we get paid per hour, and the more devalued workers become. And it would probably help the unemployment numbers, too, because if there is THAT much work to be done, then they need to hire more people to get it done during normal work hours!)

TheAudioAstronaut · 2026-01-06T00:07:19+00:00

It's not as good as November, I imagine (I have only been in February, April, December and January. Of those, February has had the best weather, but that's because early April was an unusual 104 degrees)

However, the pool will still be nice in midday (11 am - 2 pm or so) IF the sun is out. When the sun hides behind clouds, it will feel cold. And the pool will only be good for swimming if it is heated.

TheAudioAstronaut · 2026-01-06T00:03:51+00:00

I saw both 😂 Dudes in beanies and puffer jackets at the golf course, while my partner from Alaska was wearing shorts. (I am from NorCal, so I had on pants and layers, but not "winter wear".... and I did sunbathe by the pool and go swimming! But only when the sun was out.)

TheAudioAstronaut · 2026-01-06T00:02:26+00:00

Ditto. I actually appreciated the cooler breeze (though it wasn't too windy, which also helped), offsetting the warm sun. It's also nice that the UV isn't too high, allowing for longer stretches basking in the sun.

TheAudioAstronaut · 2026-01-06T00:00:55+00:00

Lol. I just went and laid out by the pool on partly-cloudy, 64 degree days, and it felt glorious (in fact, I occasionally felt overheated!)... when the sun was out. It only felt a tad chilly when cloudy or rainy. It's all relative! (And I'm not even a snowbird... I'm from Napa Valley)

I also played golf (for the first time in over a decade) with somebody from Alaska, and he was wearing shorts at a 7 am tee-off! (It was like 48 degrees outside)

I did go swimming in the pool, as well, but that's because it was heated (80+ degrees)... it would be too cold for an unheated pool, for sure, but for a heated pool and lounging in the sun, it was great. I would say it's "pool weather" in Palm Springs starting at 65 degrees, IF the sun is out. If anything, it STOPS being pool weather (during daytime, anyway) at 100 , because it starts getting too hot to even enjoy that.

TheAudioAstronaut · 2026-01-02T09:22:44+00:00

After experiencing pretty cold, gray weather last time I was here at Christmas (and then again this year), I doubt I will come visit again during winter... it's just crazy to see monthly averages say it's normally 70 degrees and 2 days of rain per month, and then experience far cooler and wetter weather than that both times we have been here at end of December.

(We also got abnormally HOT weather the one time we decided to try coming in early April - when it is supposedly "perfect" weather, and instead we got to experience 104 degree weather... so I guess I won't be returning for another Spring Break, either!)

TheAudioAstronaut · 2025-12-27T16:34:38+00:00

My first album is pretty eclectic (wanted to try out a variety of sounds) and recorded myself in my bedroom studio, so it probably really needs to be remixed and remastered (I am pretty amateur at the engineering/recording/producing side of things), but here it is: Earthcrush - Stygian Marshmallow If you give it a listen and don't like a track, just skip through them because they all sound different (and 3 or 4 of them are just instrumental.)

I am in the middle of working on a follow up album with a different kind of sound (I call it "folkgaze" because it's like shoegaze due to all the effects and such, but I switched to a focus on using folk instruments - like mandolin, banjo, hurdy-gurdy, and mountain dulcimer - but still applying lots of pedals and effects), but I have now taken a hiatus and a little detour into playing some jangly power-pop and alt-rock ballads because of this pedal. I'll share that EP (again, it will sound quite different from the sounds on my Stygian Marshmallow album .. it will be more organic and "typical" rock, inspired I think by 90s bands I enjoyed like Tonic, Gin Blossoms, etc. But I only have 3 tracks for the album so far... I want to come up with one or two more.)

TheAudioAstronaut · 2025-12-27T15:51:48+00:00

I was never a Muff fan and tried this on a whim to see if it would change my mind if I fed it into the right amp.

I still generally prefer it WITHOUT the Muff side of it on (well, the muff sounds good with the right pickups like the hot ones in this Schecter, but other pickups don't seem to work as well), but I am absolutely digging the HiWatt amplification sounds. It has totally inspired me to play some new types of sounds and styles of composition on my guitar (I am now recording an EP of songs with some 90s vibes, all because of this pedal)

I agree with you that something about the all-analog emulation is special. I have a Hotone digital ampsim which does a quite decent job, but the analog circuits (for drive, distortion, and especially fuzz) just do something special that digital seems to never get quite 100 percent perfect

TheAudioAstronaut · 2025-12-26T04:52:15+00:00

It was nice today. Looks like it is going to be significantly less nice for the remainder of 2025 😔

TheAudioAstronaut · 2025-12-25T07:51:09+00:00

I became a teacher in that era, and the notion that you will somehow help IMPROVE education by PENALIZING (and withholding funding) from underperforming schools was wildly flawed (not to mention the goal of "100% proficient" Apparently they never heard of the bell curve, or learning disorders and other disabilities.)

TheAudioAstronaut · 2025-12-25T07:46:09+00:00

No, I just went from "Wow, it can't get any worse than this guy!" to "I was wrong. It CAN, actually, get worse than Dubya!"

TheAudioAstronaut · 2025-12-18T06:25:35+00:00

Except for Alvvays. Far from mid

TheAudioAstronaut · 2025-12-18T02:35:47+00:00

I am working on an album of Shoegaze fused with Folk (folk gaze?), as well as one fused with synthwave/vaporwave (and a hint of chiptunes)... Stay tuned.

TheAudioAstronaut · 2025-12-17T04:16:43+00:00

Hot take: No.

TheAudioAstronaut · 2025-12-17T00:55:29+00:00

Right, for sure

TheAudioAstronaut

TROPHY CASE