Archive for April 5th, 2007

Posted on April 5, 2007 - by jono

It just works, it really does

A while back I posted about Rhythmbox including support for Open Content services such Jamendo and Magnatune. For a while now Rhythmbox has included support for last.fm and I have used it to update my account there. Well, today I went to fire up my music in Rhythmbox, clicked the last.fm entry and started listening to my Neighbour’s music. One click and I am now listening to a stack of incredible metal, perfectly suited to my tastes.

This is great for a number of reasons:

• For last.fm to figure out the kind of stuff I like listening to it did not resort me entering metadata. I just listen to music, and it learns about my impeccable taste in music.
• To access this Neighbour radio it is one-click-tastic. I click a button and I get some decent music.

This is exactly the kind of stuff I am talking about. Rhythmbox has made it easy for last.fm to learn about what I like to listen to and as such provide me with with new content via my Neighbour’s radio, all from within the comfort of a single Rhythmbox window.

We need more stuff like this in the Open Source desktop. Yes indeed.

Posted on April 5, 2007 - by jono

Bring it on

J5, I would love to jam in Brazil, and maybe something at GUADEC. I would love to perform some music live with some of my fellow Open Source musicians.

Posted on April 5, 2007 - by jono

The Big Red CD and Tab

Well, its been just under a week since the Big Red Recording was released and I am pretty pleased with the response to it. Thanks to so many of you who have said such kind words about it. Its not perfect, but it gives a decent indication of what can be accomplished with 24-hours, with no sleep and a lot of Red Bull.

Now, there are two other things I would like to achieve now it is recorded:

• Produce a CD, sell it and make more money for Comic Relief
• Get the tunes transcribed so others can play, perform and create derived versions

So, lets look at each one and what is involved – I am positive that every reader of my blog can help in achieving these goals. Read on people…

Produce a CD

I would like to produce a professionally reproduced shrink-wrapped CD complete with liner notes that can be sold for a reasonable amount of money, and in which all the profits can go to Comic Relief. With this we have the possibility of making another £10,000 or so for Comic Relief which would be a huge achievement.

To do this I am looking for a sponsor to cover the production of the CDs. This is going to cost around £500 – £1000 to get 500 CDs produced. I am looking for such a generous sponsor (who would of course be credited in the liner notes) to cover this cost. If you can help with this, please [contact me](mailto:jono AT jonobacon DOT org) and we can discuss it further.

In addition to this I am looking for help from creative minds and artists to create the liner notes art, album cover and other artistic elements for the package. I will lay out the liner notes, but I am…erm…artistically challenged, so I could do with some help to create a cool, moody, interesting looking theme for the album. If you think you can help with this, please [contact me](mailto:jono AT jonobacon DOT org).

Transcribe the songs

I am really keen to see all of the music transcribed so people can play it on the guitar, bass, drums and other instruments. I would particularly like to see the songs transcribed into guitar and bass tablature. I don’t have time to do this, so it would be great if a team of volunteers could work on this, maybe using some of the incredible Open Source tabbing programs to create the final transcription. We could then make these transcriptions available so others can play the songs themselves.

This basically involves a team of people listening to the songs, figuring out how to play them and writing the tab. I could then look over the tab and fix up any specific inaccuracies – it mainly needs someone to spend the time documenting the songs. So, if you can help, please [get in touch](mailto:jono AT jonobacon DOT org).

Lets make it happen

If we work together, we have an opportunity to make even more money for charity and produce some transcriptions so others can share, play and create their own derivatives of the music. Lets see whats possible, and do get in touch if you can help.