Room 34 Posted September 22, 2004 Share Posted September 22, 2004 I already posted about this a few weeks ago in Entertainment and Sports, but it slipped off the radar quickly... so I apologize for pimping my works with a second thread but maybe this subject line is catchier. I've got a new EP (4 songs ~ 15 minutes) that I've made available as free downloads. (They're in Apple's AAC format, which works in iTunes.) Here's a look at the songs: CX2600 It's a two-part funk-ish track. Part of it features a bunch of 2600 sound effects. See if you can identify them all! Saturday Morning A mellow acoustic guitar track. Also has some keys and bass. Boogie Preacher A big change from the previous track. And within itself. Boogie, reggae, and disco (sort of) all make an appearance. Limitations of the System This is sort of an alt-rock tune. The lead instrument is none other than the 2600 itself, using Paul Slocum's Synthcart! I started the song with the guitar, bass, and drum parts, and then felt something needed to be added. Miraculously, not only was the music in the right key for the Synthcart, but it was almost in tune with the 2600's notoriously off-key tone generators. Here's my page where you can download the songs: http://room34.com/music/lots Check 'em out and let me know what you think! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spongebue Posted September 22, 2004 Share Posted September 22, 2004 I know you are a bit anti-mp3 on this, but I'd suggest having those anyway, since not every one has a mac, an ipod, or a Windows 2k/XP computer. Some people are still on Windows 98. It's kind of like RT's website suggestion of not making others install new fonts just to see your website Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Room 34 Posted September 22, 2004 Author Share Posted September 22, 2004 I don't really have a problem with MP3, I just think AAC is better. I have a lot of my CDs ripped as MP3s, but I can't have them below 192 kbps because I hear too much compression noise. AAC sounds as good or better at 128 kbps, so you get good quality with a much smaller file. Sorry to those of you who can't get iTunes. I wasn't aware the OS requirements for the Windows version were so steep. (Then again, the only place I encounter Windows is at work, and everyone has 2000 or XP there anyway.) Tell you what... if anyone else starts to show interest in it, I'll rip 'em as MP3s. I just wanted to avoid filling up space on my host's server. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mika Posted September 22, 2004 Share Posted September 22, 2004 i'm interested in that, too! and i couldn't found any tool to convert it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spongebue Posted September 22, 2004 Share Posted September 22, 2004 also, keep in mind that while the ipod is one of the most popular mp3 players, the vast majority of HD/media card based music players do not support AAC. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spongebue Posted September 22, 2004 Share Posted September 22, 2004 err, I meant to say that they are players that don't support it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spongebue Posted September 22, 2004 Share Posted September 22, 2004 I should really think of everything I wnat to say before I post. Also, I wish that you still had 2 minutes 16 seconds up for download on that one thread.. it looks like you took it off your server. Oh well, I'm going to buy your cd sooner or later Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Room 34 Posted September 22, 2004 Author Share Posted September 22, 2004 OK, you guys have some valid points, but at the risk of sounding too harsh (especially since I'm trying to get you to take the time to check out my music): 1. Why convert them? iTunes is a free download. 2. If you can't run iTunes because you're still on Windows 98... why are you still on Windows 98? It's 2004! 3. Buy the CD! OK, the new stuff isn't on the CD, and CafePress only lets you have 1 CD in your store at a time unless you pay $6.99 per month. At the rate I'm going that would result in gross revenues of -$6.99 per month. But anyway, I digress... I am working on a "Best of Room 34" type CD featuring selections from everything I've recorded from 2001-2004... plus an old avant garde gem from 1995 when I was into that stuff. All of the new "Limitations of the System" tracks will be included on that CD. I'm going to work on artwork for that (which will just be modifications of the LotS joystick art) and get the tracks uploaded to CafePress soon. I've got bigger fish to fry at the moment... we just closed on our house today and once we've moved in and I get all of my game crap set up in my new digs, then I'll get down to the business of the CD, as well as trying to find a new band to play in. I've done enough of the solo stuff for a while. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Room 34 Posted September 22, 2004 Author Share Posted September 22, 2004 I should really think of everything I wnat to say before I post. Also, I wish that you still had 2 minutes 16 seconds up for download on that one thread.. it looks like you took it off your server. Oh well, I'm going to buy your cd sooner or later If you liked "2 Minutes 16 Seconds" then you should dig "CX2600"... and REALLY dig "Hidden Track" (which is only available if you download the ZIP file of the entire EP). "Hidden Track" is 2 minutes and 16 seconds of silence, perfect to squeeze in a game of Combat, Air Sea Battle, Star Ship (ungh), Freeway, or any of the other early games that uses the mysterious internal 2600 clock count of 136 seconds. After that silence comes the Atari 2600 game sound tracks from "CX2600", stripped of all of the "live" instruments. It's the same basic concept as "2 Minutes 16 Seconds" was... take 2600 game sounds and turn them into musical sounds... but since I was doing it in the context of some other music I had already created, I think the results are a bit more interesting, even when heard alone. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bjk7382 Posted September 22, 2004 Share Posted September 22, 2004 I would like to give these a quick listen thru, but I don't want to have to hassle with installing something just to do it. I am on a XP machine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
inextremis staple Posted September 22, 2004 Share Posted September 22, 2004 I would love to hear them as well, however, I too am on Win98. It's not by choice. I'm a college student and I got the old family computer and don't have money right now to upgrade. Oh well, maybe I'll be able to listen to 'em when I go home sometime. is Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
video game addict Posted September 22, 2004 Share Posted September 22, 2004 They're currently playing in winamp on my non-Apple computer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
foxglove9 Posted September 22, 2004 Share Posted September 22, 2004 Seemed okay. Not really my style I guess. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZylonBane Posted September 22, 2004 Share Posted September 22, 2004 AAC? Ugh. Nothing like shoving a proprietary format down people's throats to endear yourself. Leave the Apple proselytizing at home. If MP3 offends your ears, encode to OGG instead. It's open-source, better quality than MP3 and AAC at equivalent bitrates, and is supported by all the major media players. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phosphor Dot Fossils Posted September 22, 2004 Share Posted September 22, 2004 Count me in for another MP3 request. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kevin242 Posted September 22, 2004 Share Posted September 22, 2004 Okay I downloaded Itunes despite the fact I will never buy 99 cent music downloads and I dont have an Ipod. It was fairly painless... but umm this song sounds a bit repetitive (cx2600). kevin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kevin242 Posted September 22, 2004 Share Posted September 22, 2004 Okay, I take that back (repetitive) it gets better at the end. This sounds wierd but it reminds me of like a synthesizer RUSH or maybe really old school (80's) techno. kevin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
video game addict Posted September 22, 2004 Share Posted September 22, 2004 Nobody uses Winamp anymore? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laner Posted September 22, 2004 Share Posted September 22, 2004 Winamp 5 has a built-in AAC decoder which should work fine on anything from Win98 on up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cap5750 Posted September 22, 2004 Share Posted September 22, 2004 They're currently playing in winamp on my non-Apple computer. Same here. Cap Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
inextremis staple Posted September 22, 2004 Share Posted September 22, 2004 I use Winamp (5 I think) and Win98 but I still couldn't get it to work for me. I am pretty computer illiterate though. Ah well, I'll keep trying. is Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WildBillTX Posted September 22, 2004 Share Posted September 22, 2004 Be sure to download the full version and not the "lite" version of Winamp at www.winamp.com I dont think the lite version has the plug-in for playing AAC files. You can also use Winamp's "Disc Writer Plug-In" to convert ACC to Wav files so you can re-encode them to OGG, MP3 or burn them to CD-R. I enjoyed CX2600 - I like the little sound effect "quotes".. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Room 34 Posted September 23, 2004 Author Share Posted September 23, 2004 OK, I get the hint on the MP3s. I will convert and upload them in a few days, once things settle down at the new house. As for the songs themselves... I think "CX2600" is the weakest of the bunch, so I'd encourage you to check out the others, especially "Boogie Preacher" or "Limitations of the System" before passing judgment. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nostalgic Posted September 23, 2004 Share Posted September 23, 2004 Thanks for offering to convert the songs to MP3. I'm using Linux as my primary OS (with Win 98 SE as a rarely-used secondary), so I definitely needed something else. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
liquid_sky Posted September 24, 2004 Share Posted September 24, 2004 another thanks for mp3... therre isnt an itunes for linux, ya know? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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