One of the pains of living “in the province of the empire,” that is to live outside the United States of America, is that access to many online services is precluded on the basis of geographical restrictions. Hulu, Pandora, Netflix, just to name a few, will simply refuse to work for you — no matter…
Category: Music
NewsHosting’s Usenet binary revolution
I recently had the chance to try Newshosting‘s Usenet service, and I was very favorably impressed. For those who don’t know, Usenet is one of the oldest communication systems on the Internet, dating back to 1979. It was born as a bulletin-like system, and is very similar in usage to e-mail. Unlike e-mail, however, it’s…
Menomale che Cilvio s’è (levato di U)
(Song by Marco Catarsi)
Dream Theater’s responses to Portnoy’s departure
A few hours after Mike Portnoy left the band, the other members of Dream Theater have started to comment on the issue. James LaBrie wrote on his website’s forum: Hi Everyone, Thought I would give you time to digest the news of Mike’s departure. MIke stated that he was burnt out with the DT world and…
Mike Portnoy leaves Dream Theater
Dream Theater has released a short press release on their website: To all of our loyal fans and friends: It is with profound sadness — regret — we announce that Mike Portnoy, our lifelong drummer and friend, has decided to leave Dream Theater. Mike’s stature in the band has meant the world to all of…
Chords for “Soft Kitty,” from The Big Bang Theory
One of the funniest “inside jokes” of The Big Bang Theory is the song that Sheldon’s mom used to sing to him when he was sick. It’s featured in three episodes, as you can see here: httpvh://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lqSmzGj_sQc The song is, like most lullabies, very simple. I came up with the chords earlier today, while jamming…
My personal progressive rock anthem: The Ytse Jam
Those who know me also know about my obsession with Dream Theater. I even met them personally on April 11th, 2000. For this reason, I think it would be interesting to share a live version of what I personally consider the archetypal modern progrock anthem, The Ytse Jam. First, a little history: Dream Theater’s first name…
Progressive acoustic music: Maneli Jamal and others
The word “progressive” carries many meanings. When talking about music, it’s the best word to get people confused, as everybody will give a different definition of it. To me, progressive music is not necessarily linked to a genre; rather, it defines the progression of a piece — no pun intended — that defies the typical…