May Brothers Digest: Recent Episodes

Joel, Neal, Pierce, and Reid May

We are four brothers, sharing the last name May, who are spread across the United States. We participate in a quarterly mix CD exchange and review, a blog, and a video podcast. We trash talk and laugh a lot.

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So you guys should have received a non-suspicious package by now...or maybe not...I sent it with the cheapest postage possible. Even though I said that I was pretty much ready during our last Hangcast I sat on it and changed a few things and helped us keep our late schedule. Hope you enjoyed my freehand copy of the above image on the disc...let me just say that each of you got a unique rendition of the mouth/tongue (so hard to draw).

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You guessed it: another long, low action, soft hitting show reviewing music. But at least we talked over each other a little less this time around. If you ever wonder when we'll be recording the next episode so you can watch live, good luck. We don't really schedule a session in advance, and at the moment, they only happen four times a year, coinciding with our mix CD distributions. Maybe we'll try to work something out, or use social media, or something. Maybe. Just watch the video or listen to the audio.

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Above is the artwork Reid made for the cover of the first mix CD for our second season of the quarterly exchange. Below is the videocast we recorded, MMORPG 003 (click here for audio), where all four of us got together using Google Hangouts to review the songs. In this episode some improvements are noticeable in Pierce's audio and Reid's video. We are still learning how to get things right, so forgive us for our lack of structure, not using social media, not including the names of the songs and bands we are reviewing, constantly talking over each other, and possible copyright infringement. These issues will dissolve when we finally become rich and professional. And powerful...

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Well played on the hidden track, well played.

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At least two of us contributors are devout Thom Yorke-ists, and on the previous mix CD Joel included a Thom Yorke solo track called Atoms for Peace. It looks like he helped form a new band with Flea and some other slightly famous dudes using the track's title as the band name. I heard about it on the All Songs Considered podcast. The Radiohead legacy is nothing to be effed with, but I don't worship their toenails or anything. The discussion on the podcast is mainly about how they put their music together. It's some kind of electronic free-form collaboration, which definitely interests me currently. Listen to it here.

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We just got our first piece of fan art. Created by the great Matt Napoletano. This is actually the first acknowledgement of our work's existence from the outside world.

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So I figured it would be good to make a top ten list of the songs we liked from the other's MBM contributions for the year 2012. Rules are; it has to be from a MBM in 2012 and you can't pick your own songs. Hopefully we had at least ten songs we all collectively appreciatiated.

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Welcome the second installment of MMORPG to the stage! Joel's fall mix cd hit our mailboxes a few weeks ago, and we're finally reviewing it. It's another episode pushing an hour and a half. Don't be surprised if you hear us talk about idols and chick songs, as well as some our collective favorites. Find out what Pierce will keep this mix for, the dumb things Reid did when he had a girlfriend, and Neal elaborates on his passion for Radiohead.

Just in case we didn't mention the titles of all the tracks we reviewed, here they are:1. Cyborgs vs. Robots - Ludo2. Sorrow - Bad Religion3. Stockholm Syndrome - Muse4. I Will Wait - Mumford & Sons5. Monster - Paramore6. Forbidden Nector - Jack Black7. The Believers - How To Destroy Angels8. Home - Phillip Phillips9. True Affection - The Blow10. Atoms For Peace - Thom york11. Stewball - Peter, Paul & Mary12. Dog Days Are Over - Florence + The Machine13. State Of The Art - Gotye14. Sunset In July - 31115. Settle Down - Kimbra16. Rusty Cage - Johnny Cash17. Someone Like You - Adele

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So I was really going to sit down and burn the CDs on Saturday, but then my computer crashed. So I am going to try and back up all the info that I can before I reinstall the OS this weekend. I just need to appropriate an external hard drive... If all goes well, I should have the CD's in the mail at the beginning of next week.

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So before I took the kids out trickor treating in our neighborhood (which was lame, I mean only 1 out of every 7 houses was dishing out the goods) i had them watch this video. I think that I was the only one laughing. Enjoy reliving our childhood.

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The first official episode of our new podcast is up! MMORPG stands for May Music Online Review Podcast Gibs. We are communicating across the U.S. using Google's Hangouts On Air. In this episode we discuss our reasons for starting this show, as well as reviewing Pierce's summer mix CD. Thankfully, we endured the A.V. and bandwidth technical difficulties we were expecting to have.
LISTEN HERE, or watch the show below.

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This is the pilot episode for our new show, MMORPG (May Music Online Review Podcast Gibs). We are four brothers, sharing the last name May, who participate in a quarterly mix CD exchange and review, and a blog. We trash talk and laugh a lot. In this episode, we discuss how to go about making the show, coming up with a title, deal with technology, and show off Lego structures. We are trying out Google Hangouts to produce the video.

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What's going on, brothas?? Haven't reported in a while, but in anticipation for my mix CD you all will be getting in the mail in the next couple days or so, I figured I'd take us all on a quick stroll down Memory Lane. Do you guys remember that game "Rise Of The Triad"? I remember it being one of the first games we had when we first got the PC back in '96, was it? Talk about a blast from the past! Anyways, I played it a while back on an online DOS emulator or something of the sort, and I must admit it was quite fun. So hopefully you guys will get as much a kick out of this as I did playing it for the first time in 16 years. Enjoy!

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I've been listening to the Trent Reznor/Atticus Ross soundtrack for the American Girl With The Dragon Tattoo movie. I like it, except for track one, Immigrant Song, featuring Karen O.

I was excited about the idea, mainly because it is a killer song, Reznor is the king, and I enjoy some of Karen O's work with the Yeah Yeah Yeah's. Somehow, they managed to make it very boring and generic-pop-electro. I guess this track was intended for the big ending credit roll, and maybe as a single to sell to the kids. Luckily the rest of the soundtrack has all the great stuff you could expect from the mature Reznor, like synthesized drones and echoes with pretty and simple piano melodies, all with the classic underlying tension and creepiness.

As long as the good outweighs the bad, I'm happy.

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Ok, I am 30 years old and getting closer to 31 every day, but I just beat the latest Legend of Zelda game on the Wii, The Skyward Sword. I think I like it even better than The Orcarina of Time on the 64. One thing about it is that you don't even get a glips of Gannon until the last battle of the game. I almost thought I had it in the bag without facing him. My kids even like it. When I get home from work they say, "Hi daddy! do you want to play Legend of Zelda?" Then I look at Sam and see if I will get a beating for accomodating my children. I do get flak for getting them addicted to video games and I always come back with the old "look at my impecable hand-eye coordination and astonishing problem solving and finding skills."

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Check this out! A full album 8-bit music conversion of Kid A.

Can download tracks from here.

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Does anybody know what happened to my survey results post? There is some ghost in the machine thing going on here. I have made posts before that show up, but later, disappear.

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Neal, for your birthday, I'd like to suggest we all take a moment to reflect upon one of the songs that resides in the foundation of all of our rock and roll music explorations. This video is almost as awesome as the song.

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Reid,
My how you have grown! We are all so proud of you. You are such a big boy now. Happy Birthday!
Love,
Your Older Brothers

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You guys made me post this.
(May not be suitable in workplace environments, or with small children around. Large children, however, will be fine.)

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The highly anticipated second mix CD has been distributed to the brothers May, and is now ready for judging and trashing, or praising, if you wish. I've decided to make Neal's dream of a blog post for every song a reality, except I will just have a separate comments started within this posting that will contain the track title and Neal's comments, and we can sub-post on each comment. I'm hoping this procedure will keep it less cluttery.

I'm basing my initial comments on the first impression of each song and Neal's comments about it.

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Neal, you have to get your robots working and start a band.

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With all respondents to the survey checked in I thought I would share the stats. I hope you weren't expecting anonymity...using my heightened sense of deduction I figured out who voted for what and matched these masked thugs, exposing them to the justice entitled them.

Rate the songs
I'll list the top three and bottom three. Of course, these were all over the map but thanks to the survey tools it gives them a numerical point ranking.

Highest Rating
1. Book T: Exodus by the Secret Chiefs 3 - 4.25 stars
2. Raccoon Eyes by Priestess - 3.75 stars
3. Back In Judy's Jungle by Brian Eno - 3.75 stars

Lowest Rating
20. Mysterium by Liturgy - 1.75 stars
19. Grohnal Pod Edin Dub by Svarrogh - 2 stars
18. Gelly Roll Gum Drop by Sic Alps - 2 stars

3&4. Favorite and Most Disliked
I'll just put each person's pick and their explanation.
Favorite
Neal - Vintage Clothes by Paul McCartney

Just can't stop singing it in my head. Good, catchy lyrics. Cool guitar tricks.

Reid - In Service of Time by Abysmal Dawn

Lyrics about the unstoppable power of time are epic. Musically tight, heavy, and over-all, COLOSSAL!

Joel - Book T: Exodus by Secret Chiefs 3

It was weird, but it didn't sound like it crawled out of a hole. Good thinking music.

Pierce - Agony Of The Damned by Toxic Holocaust

Because it's awesome!

Most Disliked
Neal - Mysterium by Liturgy

It went from the build up start to the end that never finished. There is no middle. Is the growling lyrics?

Reid - Winter Winds by Amber Asylum

Of course, I like all the songs I chose for this mix, it's just this one is my least favorite. I threw it in there mainly for something different.

Joel - Grohnal Pod Edin Dub by Svarrogh

It sounds like goblin rock. Seriously, if Lord of the Rings had a rock soundtrack, this would be when the goblins attack in Moria. Only slightly more annoying than Coltrane's elevator music. Gun in mouth!

Pierce - Mysterium by Liturgy

C'mon, you call that music?!?

Race
Only one white person, the rest like walkabouts.
Age
Pretty sure everybody got that right.
Future Git'n
Three people were going to get new jeans and a drink of water soon.
Two were going to get a haircut and get the new Mars Volta CD
Only one person was going to get an old beat-up car, a life, and/or arrested.
Thanked?
Only one person didn't feel thanked. Ungrateful bastard! After all I went through to make this a pleasurable experience and this all I get in return! Here is a suggestion that I hear a lot nowadays...GO DIE IN A FIRE!!!

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I went to a fancy lecture last night by this guy, Edgar Choueiri, who is working on a 3d audio technology he called BACCH, which is essentially a filter with some crazy math applied to stereo recordings that is supposed to give the listener a realistic experience. I'm not quite sold on it. I only heard it used with weird sound effects, like flies buzzing around the head. I'd like to try it on recordings with sounds I am familiar with, like music.

Here's a video that explains it, and has a few examples that are designed to employ your laptop speakers to experience the effect.

Here is what Princeton says about it, from http://www.princeton.edu/engineering/video/player/?id=3990:

Edgar Choueiri, a professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering, has developed a way to play true three-dimensional sound recordings over regular loudspeakers, such as those found in televisions and computer laptops.
The technique may one day be used to allow 3D televisions to produce lifelike sound and to help people with certain types of hearing impairments locate noises. Segments of the video above incorporate Choueri's 3D filter to demonstrate the phenomenon.The filter is designed to work with loudspeakers - not headphones - and can be experienced through standard computer speakers. (Make sure the right and left speakers are on the correct sides.)Note: If you are using a recent Apple MacBook to view this video you may not be able to hear the demos in 3D due to a known problem in the MacBook design, related to the location of the internal "subwoofer," which creates a strong left-right imbalance in the audio. This could not be compensated for while creating the 3D audio for this video.Video by Michael E. Wood