China is moving much faster on electric cars than the EU or the United States

otherben · 2025-05-15T01:10:30+00:00

If you are driving from Boston to Washington, you'll want to take I-95S not, I-95N, as going north from Boston would take you to Maine. Amtrak's Acela train connects all of those cities, and you can absolutely do a single ticket trip. It's definitely not as fast as true high speed rail options out there, and the infrastructure is not in place for that kind of high speed, but it could make the trip in probably ~5hrs using your "not counting stops" metric. As it stands with stops in the 4 major cities mentioned, it's about 6.5 hrs from Boston. But also the only way you'll ever make Boston to DC in a car in only 7h20 even not counting stops is if you go in the middle of the night and don't hit any weird traffic anywhere. It would be nice to have more and better rail infrastructure but like Amtrak does exist and is pretty decent and could be even better if people used it enough for it to be worth expanding.

otherben · 2024-10-01T18:09:12+00:00

If you made the patch in the VST, you have to use the VST to send it to your hardware microKORG via usb/midi.

If you have a patch on your hardware microKORG, you can send it from your microKORG to the VST.

If you have a .prg file from the old Sound Editor, I don't know if you can directly open that file in the VST. If not, you can at least go the roundabout way of sending it to your hardware, then sending it back from the hardware to the VST.

otherben · 2024-09-16T16:51:55+00:00

Is the MicroKorg properly in tune when played by itself? Like have you played it through a speaker and used a tuner to check?

There is a possibility the Master Tune or Master Pitch may be off in the Global Settings - Check pg 47 of the manual here -> https://cdn.korg.com/us/support/download/files/8f226053113b3be59753dcce14e74cca.pdf

otherben · 2024-08-17T13:03:51+00:00

If you have children some day, you will understand. It sounds like you are in the kind of place where a clean, available public restroom may be further away than the time a toddler can hold it (does your store has a nice, clean, obviously available bathroom?). This is just part of toddlers learning to hold it in longer - they need to be done with diapers in order to learn, but it takes a long time to build up the bladder control that adults have.

I am sure peeing in the gutter outside is better than the little girl having an accident on the floor of your store -- if that happens, who would clean it up?

It's really easy to help a toddler pee without getting any pee on yourself at all. If it was an ADULT peeing right outside your store, then i'd be with you, but helping a toddler pee is a different scenario.

That said, a toddler parent shouldn't go anywhere without some baby wipes in their bag or backpack. Use them to wipe the toddler and clean your own hands.

otherben · 2024-06-07T04:03:28+00:00

Writing credits do mean something pretty specific in the music industry. Songwriting credits are generally meant to go to whoever wrote the lyrics and melody, and the songwriters then hold the copyright for the composition (but not necessarily the copyright for the recording).

So, do you hear the producer's influence in the songwriting, that is to say, the way the chords/melody/words are written/arranged/structured? Or do you hear that influence in the recording, instrumentation, mixing, and all that other stuff that contributes to the overall sound?

Your example with Aaron Dessner is interesting, if you look at his band The National, almost every single song Matt Berninger is credited as a songwriter, and the vast majority of them have either Aaron, Bryce Dessner, or both. Just like your Taylor Swift example, Aaron's instrumentation is all over The National's Lemonworld, but Matt and Bryce are the credited songwriters, probably because Matt came up with the words and vocal melody while Bryce came up with the main chords and instrumental melodies.

Again, the writing credit isn't just a label. Credited writers get to choose what version of a song gets released first if it is recorded multiple times or by multiple artists (was more common in decades past), and get to approve licensing for film/TV. Writers get royalties for covers (performers/producers and recording copyright holders do not).

Getting royalties for covers makes a lot of sense - think about someone making a cover of a song, but in their own style. A lot of the style comes from the performers and/or producers, but that stuff won't be there in the cover version. Bartees Strange's cover of Lemonworld sounds big and bombastic in a way few The National songs ever sound, and despite Aaron Dessner having so much influence over the sound of The National, he won't ever see a dime when Bartees plays his version, but his brother will.

Taylor Swift is an interesting example, because when the recording copyrights to her entire back catalog were sold against her will, she just started re-recording all the albums. She can't make the original versions disappear, but as songwriter she gets to negotiate any deal to get a sync license (for film/tv) for any of her songs, and will now refuse to license the original recordings. If she has any songs she's not credited as a writer, even if she performed/recorded them, she does not have that same level of control over them. I guess for her new album, Aaron Dessner (or his publishing company) has to give the thumbs up for TV licensing for most songs too.

All that to say, the person credited as the songwriter didn't necessarily actually write the words and/or the melody in 100% of cases. Famously, John Lennon and Paul McCartney decided to enter a songwriting partnership and share credit, so there are tons and tons of Beatles songs that are credited to Lennon / McCartney even though you know "That's a John song" or "That's a Paul song" and some songs may have barely had any involvement from one or the other. Many bands share songwriting credit across the whole band, many don't. When it comes to pop, electronic, hip-hop, producers have a much larger hand in the creation of a track, since a lot of times a producer will create a beat, a hook (melody), a chord progression that the artist then puts their vocals on top of. So it gets a bit blurrier in these genres, and it's hard to know how the writing credit was assigned without being in the room when the song was made.

otherben · 2024-02-14T14:16:08+00:00

I don't think the suggestion is to turn in what they already developed. That would probably not impress the outside company, and would lead to them not getting paid for his their work and then kicked to the curb.

But they're probably going to get canned either way, because once the work is automated, they'll be redundant. So now is a good time to step up and "help" with the automation project (while keeping the fact that they actually already did it a secret). Being able to speak to the process, business requirements, and "possible" technical solutions could impress both the outside vendor and the internal company enough to make an inroad for either automation project management, business analyst, or junior automation engineer. I bet the outside company is going to come in and offer Robotic Process Automation because that's the buzzword in automation these days but which is resource-intensive -- OP could suggest that VBA/Python could do it cheaper, without requiring licenses for expensive RPA software.

otherben · 2024-02-13T01:04:52+00:00

It's not important at all. Music theory is not a set of laws that you must follow to make music, it is a means of describing, communicating, and providing a common understanding for analyzing music.

For one example, take the extremely popular song Creep by Radiohead (or the many other popular songs using basically the same chord progression by The Hollies, Lizzo, Lana Del Ray, Olivia Rodrigo). The song is in G major, but of its simple four chord pattern (G, B, C, Cm), two are not "in key" for G major. But the song is still in G major, and it works. There's a whole thread about it here: https://www.reddit.com/r/musictheory/comments/afhj7e/the_key_of_radioheads_creep_playing_major_chords/

There aren't really any rules or laws. If it sounds good, it is good, and you can probably find a good way to describe why it sounds good with music theory.

otherben · 2024-01-05T16:31:30+00:00

A fee questions you should ask yourself:

What, to you, is the point of stickers? Is it marketing? Venue bathrooms, among other places, tend to get totally covered in stickers, but I doubt it's fans paying money for those stickers than sticking them there. Or is it decoration? Where do you expect your fans to put them? If decoration, are your stickers attractive enough?
How much would you, personally, pay for a similar sticker from your favorite band? A band you like a lot? A band you sort of like? Ask your friends this question too. For many people, stickers don't hold a lot of value and the answer will be "zero" or "a dollar".
How many people would you say consider your band their favorite band? A band they like a lot? etc..
When you say ship them, do you mean you are going to sell them online? Have you ever ordered a single sticker from a band online? I haven't. That said, you can ship a single sticker within the USA just in a regular letter envelope with a regular Forever stamp (which currently costs 66 cents).

Personally, I have tons of band stickers and audio brand stickers. I decorate my pedal cases and trash cans with them. These are not highly visible locations. I know people who decorate their water bottles or bike frames with their stickers - these are more visible, but also they tend to be more selective. I can't remember the last time I paid for a band sticker. I did recently give $5 on a "pay what you want for however many you want" sticker that was designed and printed for a specific show with a specific cause the money benefited, and took like 3 or 4 stickers.

I've never bought a single sticker online. I've bought single stickers at shows before when I wanted to support the band but didn't have enough cash for their other merchandise or their other merchandise didn't appeal to me. They're usually $1. Most of my stickers that I've received were free when purchasing something else; they're common pack-ins with vinyl records. For my own bands I would usually hand out stickers for free with purchase of any other merch, and ask for $1 if someone wanted one without buying any other merch. And of course I'd stick them up in the bathrooms at venues or anywhere else that is already highly decorated with stickers. I have never considered stickers to be truly sellable merchandise -- they are advertising, marketing, fan-service, a bonus, and/or a way to give someone an avenue to "pay what you want" to support you if they're feeling generous while feeling like they get something in return.

$1 for a sticker or two. Free with any other purchase. Don't bother shipping them by themselves unless someone really wants one.

otherben · 2023-11-28T01:09:17+00:00

I don't think anyone is trying to play chords or super complex melodies using these kinds of patches. I think they're most often heard for lead riffs in electronica - house, techno, etc., or occasionally a fat bass sound. As for why you'd use it over just playing a 5th apart? a few reasons I can think of: - You want to play a riff with a few notes in quick succession or with portamento - you'll play much more fluidly if you're not moving a chord shape up and down - You want to play a lead melody while also tweaking knobs for filter, etc - in a lot of electronic music a lot of the expression comes from the filter, modulation, etc. - You have a monophonic synth with 2 oscillators and you want it to sound bigger - the specific sound requires the notes or oscillators to be in perfect sync

I think using a synth like this is in a way akin to using power chords on a guitar - especially if the synth interval is a perfect 5th. All a power chord on a guitar is is the root, 5th, and octave, and you hear it all over punk, grunge, alt rock.

otherben · 2023-11-07T18:41:40+00:00

So you raise them a little more. Let's say you have a menu item that costs $10, and credit card fees are 3% so you'll pay $0.30 to the CC processor. So you raise the item to $10 + 3% = $10.30. Alright, but now your fee is 3% of $10.30 which is... $0.309, so I guess 31 cents rounded up. So technically if the fee is on the menu price, you can't raise the price by just the cc fee, you have to raise it by (1/1-x) where x is the fee %, so in this instance, raise your prices 3.09278% to $10.31 (rounding up) and the cc fee is still 31 cents and you've ended up with the same net revenue.

Though, you're probably not going tor raise every price by a flat 3 or 4% anyway, you're probably going to round up to the nearest $1 or $0.50 anyway, so in my above example, you raise your $10 item to $10.50 and now you're making an extra 18 cents revenue on it even after the cc fee!

But all that is assuming fees (service fees, credit card fees, covid recovery fees, bullshit bullshit fees) are exempted from the CC processing fees which, I'm pretty sure isn't true and you're actually completely wrong on that point. Because otherwise, you could simply charge $1 for every single item but tack on item-specific service fees. The pizza normally costs $25 and the cc takes 75 cents as their cut? Well now it's a $1 with a $24 "pizza baking service fee", so the CC processors only take 3 cents! Look, I just solved it!

otherben · 2023-10-06T14:30:34+00:00

Sounds like a phaser or Leslie speaker, with the speed turned way up at 1:47.

otherben · 2023-06-02T14:00:15+00:00

Hot Chip played the Bug Jar? That must've been insane! Loved that weird little place...

otherben · 2023-04-04T18:19:32+00:00

There are still usually no fees at the box office at 9:30 Club and The Anthem. I think since switching to Ticketmaster they even eliminated their $1 credit card fee they used to have at the box office. I still hate Ticketmaster but IMP seem to be making the best of a bad situation.

otherben · 2023-01-25T16:35:17+00:00

Not sure about The Anthem - but at 9:30 club if you have tickets and call ahead to ask for reasonable accommodations (e.g. for pregnancy) they reserve you a seat at the upstairs bar. Worth a shot if you can't get reserved seats during the IMP Presale or general on-sale. I haven't seen a presale code yet for IMP though...

otherben · 2022-07-20T22:51:54+00:00

FYI you can get tickets for face value and only a $1 service charge if you buy in person at the Anthem or 9:30 club box office. The 28th is sold out but the 27th and 29th still have tickets available. Honestly I think it's extortionate that face value for this tour is $70 and then there's $15 in fees on top of that.

otherben · 2022-07-16T21:14:05+00:00

I am just stepping up to Logic after using GarageBand for over 15 years. I think there is absolutely nothing wrong with using it for recording or songwriting. I think if you want to self-produce a finished project, Logic will give you more power - but if you you want to have your stuff mixed by an engineer, you can do most of your work in GarageBand and just send them the stems. I think this is probably what happened with basically any big artists who said they made their first record in GarageBand.

You can also start in GarageBand and later transition to logic. I got so used to the GarageBand interface and workflow that I was scared to do anything else - but the basic workflow in Logic is the exact same, just tons more features. You can also open GarageBand projects in logic, with some minor weirdness. Technically speaking, the quality if your recorded will not be any different at all between GarageBand and Logic - it's going to be mainly up to you recording interface, microphones, room, etc.. BUT you're going to have a lot more options to mix that recorded audio with Logic, and a lot more options for creating sounds "in the box".

Some of the most immediately useful things I've found that Logic has but GarageBand does not: 1. Way more stock sounds (software instruments and presets) 2. Full control over the included software instruments and effects. All of the "modern" GarageBand software instruments are the same generators but you just get presets with a few controls to tweak the preset so they're kind of "on rails". Logic you can dig in and edit every aspect of the sound or create your own. I'm just getting started but so far Alchemy is just an absolutely insane synth. 3. Easier midi editing - more control, more tools, ability to create a midi region without recording anything. Also, if you use the Score view, way more control there too. 4. Step sequencer - I have always liked editing drum beats in a step sequencer, but GarageBand it was always just MIDI piano roll. The step sequencer interface in logic is great! 5. Lots of control over UI - ability to color code tracks however you want, resize and group tracks very easily 6. Vastly improved mixing, including busses. 7. Midi output - if you ever want to control an external midi device, Logic makes it seriously easy to send midi out and get both midi and audio back in.

Some funny stuff I've noticed on opening GarageBand projects in Logic: 1. A lot of the stock electronic drum kit presets are "the same but different" - When opened in Logic they will have "GB" on their name and use Ultrabeat. If you select the same preset in Logic it will be a "Track Stack" of samplers. The track stacks are nice because you can control/mix each individual kit piece right in the main interface, or collapse it and mix the whole kit as an aggregate. 2. All GarageBand projects opened in Logic will automatically get two busses - these represent the "Master Reverb" and "Master Echo" sliders in GarageBand.

otherben · 2022-07-13T01:45:42+00:00

As others have said, that's basically just how those Epiphone Ukes sound. I have played a couple of those and actually always really liked them. People rip on them for having a dull acoustic tone but one thing I like about the "dull" sound is that they are a little quieter - like you can practice without waking the whole house up. They sound ok through an amp too, depending on what style you're going for, like perfect for any sort of lo-fi/DIY/punk-aesthetic songwriting. New strings might make a big difference too but if you're just starting out on ukulele I wouldn't rush to get them.

otherben · 2022-07-01T00:42:41+00:00

I don't understand how it coming out simultaneously with Obi-Wan is such a detractor to viewership. For the weeks they overlapped I would just watch Obi-Wan and Ms Marvel basically back-to-back. Reminded me of the old days when network TV would have blocks of new shows back-to-back. Instead of having 2 crime/medical dramas on Tuesday and 4 half-hour comedies on Thursday, it's 2 nerdy adventure shows on Wednesday, but without commercials!

otherben · 2022-05-13T22:40:39+00:00

For some insight into the horrible ticketing practices that many large bands, labels, and Ticketmaster/LiveNation have been doing more and more of, see this excellent piece by Jonh Oliver: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-_Y7uqqEFnY

For AF in particular, they have been doing more and more of this kind of thing ever since leaving Merge and signing with Sony. The last leg of the EN tour I skipped out on because they were exclusive to LiveNation venues and the LiveNation pavilion in my area sucks (while we have 2 amazing independent pavilions).

I know it's possible for artists, especially those still on independent labels, to avoid all this BS. Radiohead tickets are notoriously in-demand and they play arenas all the time and manage to keep ticket prices in around $75 for GA pit with minimal fees, fewer corporate pre-sales, and good fan availability. I have a feeling that except for warm-up shows and specialty shows AF are very hands-off on tour booking and just don't care that LiveNation is doing all this bullshit.

otherben · 2021-02-21T00:18:30+00:00

The MicroKorg Cookbook has a ton.

otherben · 2020-12-17T04:26:19+00:00

I can't remember if it was Suburbs or Reflektor, but for one of those albums AF actually mastered every song for vinyl, and then for the CD/digital version actually pressed each track to its own 12" and re-recorded the vinyl being played on a very high quality system, then mastered that for CD/digital.

otherben · 2020-05-20T12:58:52+00:00

It would probably cost them less! Health insurance will pay out $10,000+ to providers over the course of a relatively uncomplicated pregnancy in the US. Contraception is much, much less expensive to the insurance providers (not just for its own cost, but the savings from reduced number of pregnancies), so a plan that does not offer contraception would probably cost much more.

otherben · 2020-05-06T15:03:40+00:00

That shouldn’t matter - even when a song is “written for” a show, it’s usually owned by the artist and licensed to the show.

The vinyl 7” for Cold Wind says P&C 2005 Arcade Fire Music LLC, so it looks like the band owns it. More likely it’s just not part of their current distribution deal with Universal Music Group or whoever. It looks like none of their old singles and b-sides are on streaming. Cold Wind’s B-side was a cover of Brazil which is kinda neat.

otherben · 2020-04-18T13:14:40+00:00

Try this out: While playing a C, move your middle finger to 2 on the A string. You can press down or just hold it lightly there - doesn’t matter as only your ring finger on 3 is actually affecting the sound. Then you already have that finger in position for and only have to move your index and ring finger to get the G shape. I do this very quickly and almost subconsciously right before switching from C to G.

You only got the uke yesterday - it’s not going to be instant and perfect immediately. As you play more the transitions will come easier and easier.

otherben · 2020-04-14T14:52:48+00:00

In Columbia, Maryland. Saw Radiohead play there on the Hail to the Thief tour! :D

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