LD20080618 - David Hudson - Has the Philosopher's Stone Been Found - Part 1

In this episode I introduce the concept of what we in the modern day call ORMUS or white powder gold (a bit of a misnomer since it includes not only gold but also other metal group elements), or m-state materials, what alchemists called the philosopher's stone, and what in ancient times was called the manna or mzkft ("what is it?").

In the 1990s a farmer living in the southwest US named David Hudson made a mysterious discovery in the tailings of his mining expeditions. This episode is the first in a series of parts from a lecture David gave entitled "Has the Philosopher's Stone Been Found?"

For more (quite extensive) information, discussion and pictures relating to the ORMUS phenomenon, check out Barry Carter's site Subtle Energies. At his site are several email lists discussing the effects of ORMUS and how to make it by extracting it from natural sources.

The last 5 minutes of the show feature chanting by Dufay named "Nuper Rosarum Flores".

Listen or download to this episode here. The mp3 is 54:59 long and takes up 62.9MB. Enjoy it and stay tuned for the rest of the lecture as well as more in-depth discussion of ORMUS in the coming weeks.

LD11: Live and Direct Listens IV - Ruth MacKenzie - Kalevala

Today's episode of Live and Direct Listens features a musical interpretation of a Finnish epic poem. It's 33.6MB and 1:02:03 long. Ruth MacKenzie's album "Kalevala: Dream of the Salmon Maiden" is a mixture of Finnish and English folk song punctuated by a high pitched call named "kulning", which is actually a Finnish animal call. MacKenzie has said that in Kalevala she realized that beauty and ugliness are not too different and also that there is very little separating the earth, the animals and the human voice.

The original written work that the album is based upon is called the Kalevala, it was published in 1849 and is a collection of oral tradition which may come from as far back as pre-recorded history and include fragments as recent as the Iron Age. Part creation myth, part folk song and poetry, it has a national Finnish holiday dedicated to it (February 28th) and has influenced numerous artists, of whom Ruth MacKenzie is one.

There's an overview of the Kalevala here on wikipedia, along with the source text (in english) here on wikisource. You can buy it from Ruth on her site and also find it on iTunes.

I hope you enjoy today's show. It's a little bit different from things you normally hear on the radio, and I wanted to share it with you in the hope that it would touch something within you and awaken part of you. Thanks for listening, and please tell me what you think.

LD3 reloaded: Weather++

This week I replayed my third show (Weather), and as an added bonus at the end I played a medley of Somewhere Over the Rainbow and What a Wonderful World by a young Canadian singer named Aselin Debison. It would be redundant to put up the episode again, so instead I'll just direct you to the original podcast episode of Weather (45:18, and 41.5MB) and to Aselin's song Over the Rainbow/What a Wonderful World (5:20, 7.3MB) from her 2002 debut Sweet is the Melody, recorded when she was 12 years old. Some people have mistaken her for Norah Jones in this song, but I actually prefer her version over Jones'.

The episode I intended for this week was, in part, delayed by weather (specifically, high winds ripping part of my roof off), making this an appropriate episode to rebroadcast. Stay tuned next week for fresh new content.

LD9: Live and Direct Listens III - NetPD CD 1 (Dub Area) - Massively Multiplayer Online Music

Click, download, listen! Live and Direct number 9 (Live and Direct Listens ep #3) has arrived. It's 48.9MB, and 56:10 long. In it, I featured an album composed in real time on the Internet by a group of musicians collaborating with some software called NetPD. NetPD in turn relies on PD, which is a graphical programming language particularly suited to music synthesis and composition, but also extensible to video and other forms of data, hence the name "Pure Data".

The album is "dub" in style, featuring samples and loops that wind here and there at the whim of the collective controlling them. I played most of it, sans the last bit, which I had to cut for time constraints whilst on-air. If you wish to listen to it, you can find the whole thing here as an mp3. It's 72.1MB and 1:18:44 long, and the bit that I cut starts at 1:08:03 and goes till the end.

If you're interested in playing around with PD, you should check out the main site listed above as well as other sites on the PD webring. PD comes in Mac, Windows, and Linux flavors, so chances are it's compatible with your hardware. There's also a book, which gives some of the philosophy and context of PD's development as well; you can download the whole thing in pdf format here. Wrap your mind around the idea, install PD, download some other people's patches (PD programs are called patches), and then give it a whirl. It's free, you're bored, go create something!

As always, feel free to let me know what you think. In the future (given a large enough listenership) I'd love to do an experiment in live radio where you, the listener get to influence the music going live on the air. Whether this is via a web browser which interfaces with PD behind the scenes, or some such similar arrangement, I think it'd be fun.

LD8: Stop the Fed!

=

Live and Direct episode #8 has arrived. It features background and critical analysis concerning the Federal Reserve System, why it is illegal and unconstitutional, and why it must be abolished. This episode runs for 55:33, and is 50.9MB. For your convenience, the times listed below in parentheses indicate the start and end of each segment.

The song I played is Money For Nothing, by Dire Straits (it's between 01:12 and 09:12).

I then played the intro to Aaron Russo's documentary "America: Freedom to Fascism" (09:48 to 13:30). "Freedom to Fascism" is a timely, shocking expose of the duplicitous and corrupt nature of not only the Federal Reserve, but also the IRS and the federal income tax. You may watch a low-quality version of it here on Google Video, see it in select theatres, rent it, or buy it directly from Aaron's site. Aaron also maintains a blog on the site with timely news, interviews, and commentary.

Next up is a 2002 speech before Congress by Ron Paul, current Presidential hopeful and monetary-reform advocate (14:05 to 19:22). You may watch it on YouTube or read it at the House's web site as well.

I followed Ron Paul's speech with another excerpt from "Freedom to Fascism" detailing the creation of the Federal Reserve, its unconstitutionality, and the ways in which it harms the American people and government (20:24 to 33:44).

Lastly I read from Dr. Cleon W. Skousen's publication "The Urgent Need for a Comprehensive Monetary Reform". I have included it here on my site (in an easy to read and print PDF format) as the original at the National Center for Constitutional Studies seems to be defunct. You may check out the table of contents, the first section "Development of the United States Monetary System", the second section "How the Federal Reserve System Operates and Why it Has Failed", or the third and final section "Providing the United States with a Sound Money System". I retrieved the above linked pages with the help of the Internet Archive's Wayback Machine, mentioned in my show as a handy online research tool.

I continue to delve into the conspiracies by a powerful few elite bent on controlling and dominating the rest of the people, aided by money-hungry politicians, complicit industries, and helped along here and there by a few sad historical accidents. Please stay tuned to Live and Direct for more provocative and imperative issues. Listen to WRFR locally in Midcoast Maine at 93.3 and 99.3FM, online, or subscribe to my podcast and listen at your convenience using your computer, iPod, or other MP3 player. As always, please email me with what's on your mind. It's a pleasure to produce this show, and I'd love your feedback.

LD7: Hypothetical Real Genius Soundtrack

A scant week later, it's time for Live and Direct, episode #7. This week I've assembled a hypothetical soundtrack to the 80's comedy Real Genius, starring Val Kilmer. I say "hypothetical" because there was never an official soundtrack, however many fans have compiled their own lists of songs heard in the movie. This week's show is 44.5MB and runs for 50:36.

The playlist for the show is below, along with the point in time at which each song starts (minutes:seconds). The only song played in the movie that is not included is Tonio K's "The Tuff Do What", as it is unreleased and apparently unavailable in the wild. (however, if you have it, please, please send me a copy?)

1. You Took Advantage of Me - Carmen McRae, 01:31
   
2. I'm Falling - The Comsat Angels, 03:32
   
3. Number One - Chaz Jankel, 08:01
   
4. All She Wants to Do Is Dance - Don Henley, 11:50
   
5. One Night Love Affair - Bryan Adams, 17:01
   
6. The Walls Came Down - The Call, 21:26
   
7. Pleasure Seekers - The System, 25:47
   
8. Standing in the Line - The Textones, 30:25
   
9. Summertime Girls - Yesterday & Today, 34:51
   
10. You're the Only Love - Paul Hyde and the Payola$, 38:25
    
11. Everybody Wants to Rule the World - Tears for Fears, 44:16

a Real Genius sequel? What you say? That's right, at the end of last year multiple news sites, wikipedia, and blogs were reporting that Val Kilmer has announced a desire to reprise his role as Chris Knight in a sequel to the original Real Genius. A fan has started a site dedicated to this hypothetical sequel. We'll see how that pans out. I suppose it could work, though I'm leery of sequels by default.

If you haven't seen the movie, you should. In the immortal words of Chris Knight, it's a moral imperative!

Enjoy this "what if" soundtrack, and as always, please let me know what you think.

LD5: Live and Direct Listens II - ESCM - BT

Behold, Live and Direct #5. This, the second episode of Live and Direct Listens, and the 5th episode of Live and Direct, is upon us. This too-long-for-the-air, uncompromising, special podcast version runs for one hour, ten minutes, and seventeen seconds, and will set you back 64.4 megabytes of disk space.

Today's featured Listen is ESCM by BT (also known as Brian Transeau). This album was released in 1997 following his debut album Ima. The US version (featured in this podcast) included the track "Lullaby for Gaia" (5:26); in the UK, the track included instead was "The Road to Lostwithiel" (8:38), which I have not heard but will attempt to dig up.

I didn't have time to play tracks 5 and 6 ("Memories In A Sea Of Forgetfulness" and "Solar Plexus") on air, but I've inserted them in the proper place in the podcast, thanks to Audacity, a podcaster's best friend.

BT rose to fame in the late Nineties and helped define the sub-genre of Electronica called Trance (specifically "Dream Trance"). His albums, however, often avoid categorization and jump genres happily. He has created and employed several production effects, notably the "Stutter Edit" and "Break Tweaker", which are both slated to be released by BT's software venture this year. Speaking of software, BT codes much of the software used to produce his music himself, by hand. Check out some of the interesting trivia and hard-core geekiness behind his latest effort, This Binary Universe. On a more domestic note, "BT has said that the album has a lullaby-like quality, inspired by his newborn daughter, Kaia, who sat on his lap throughout most of the song writing process." [from this Wikipedia article]

As one of my listeners noted, sadly, BT's studio was recently burglarized again (the first time was in 2001), and hundreds of thousands of dollars of equipment stolen. This includes the data for his current show. On his site, Transeau discusses his intent to create a non-profit dedicated to helping musicians recover stolen gear and also to providing equipment to aspiring musicians who would not otherwise be able to afford it.

If you have ideas for future Listens, please email me. Good night, and enjoy.

LD4: Live and Direct Listens - Chill Out - The KLF

Live and Direct episode 4 is available for you to download and enjoy. It's 44.4MB in size, and 48 minutes and 24 seconds long. Live and Direct Listens is a new series on my show where I'll play cohesive albums in their entirety, as they were meant to be heard. This week's album is Chill Out, by the KLF.

I prefer to listen to this album at night, because of the atmosphere and mood it evokes. It brings to mind a road trip through the Deep South, which was the artists' intent:

I've never been to those places. I don't know what those places are like, but in my head, I can imagine those sounds coming from those places, just looking at the map.

Chill Out is one of my favorite ambient albums of all time, by one of my favorite artists of all time. Let me know what you think of it, and if you have any suggestions for future albums to feature on Live and Direct, drop me a line.

LD2: Auddities

Here is Live and Direct episode #2, "Auddities" in a slightly edited podcast (i added two songs; think of it as the Deluxe Remastered Podcast Edition). It weighs in at 62.5MB and clocks in at 1:08:15. (I ran over due to excess blabbing... good thing the hosts of the show after mine couldn't make it :)

"Auddities" = "audio" + "oddities". These run the gamut from odd sounds to unusual production techniques to strange content. I divided the show up into the following sections, each followed by the approximate starting time (should you wish to skip to a particular section):

1. Introduction, 0:00:00
   
2. Algorithmic music, 0:00:42
   
3. MIDI music, 0:04:52
   
4. Tracked music, 0:10:20
   
5. Sample-heavy music, 0:19:35
   (note for upstate NY peeps: Rochester/Vertex shoutout @0:33:30)
   
6. Digitally produced music, 0:34:00
   
7. Numbers stations (The Conet Project PDF; music: disc 1, disc 2, disc 3, disc 4), 0:42:40
   
8. Natural phenomena (Electric Enigma PDF; music: disc 1, disc 2), 0:50:10
   
9. Music about odd things, 0:54:46
   
10. Wrap-up, 1:07:18

The playlist for this show is as follows:

1. A Poke Cheer (links 1, 2, and 3), Atari basic source code by Lloyd Burchili
   
2. Rule 150 Binary, Java source code by Paul Reiners (IBM)
   
3. *Rule 150 All Binary, Java source code by Paul Reiners (IBM)
   
4. Fanfare, Ultima 3: Exodus, composed by Kenneth W. Arnold
   
5. Towns, Ultima 3: Exodus, composed by Kenneth W. Arnold
   
6. Bubble Bobble theme, composed by David Whittaker, Tim Follin, and Peter Clarke
   
7. M.U.L.E. theme, composed by Roy Glover
   
8. Runaway Scales, composed by U4ia
   
9. Gods theme, Nation 12 (composed by "John Foxx"/Dennis Leigh)
   
10. The Queen and I, 1987, KLF
    
11. House of the Dead, The Big Cahoona, Sequencial
12. Anna Denies Tattoo Rumor, Purveyors of Reason and Law, Quelnt (8bit peoples), Irdial-Discs
    
13. IiPP Three, Islets in Pink Polypropylene, Anthony Manning, Irdial-Discs
    
14. The Lincolnshire Poacher, The Conet Project, Irdial-Discs
    
15. Phonetic Alphabet NATO, The Conet Project, Irdial-Discs
    
16. Fish Rock Road Whistler Shower, Electric Enigma, Stephen McGreevy, Irdial-Discs
    
17. Eves River Auroral Chorus, Electric Enigma, Stephen McGreevy, Irdial-Discs
    
18. *The Power of Lard [explicit lyrics], Power of Lard, Lard
    
19. Plea From a Cat Named Virtue, Reconstruction Site, The Weakerthans

* only on the Deluxe Remastered Podcast Edition

Again, thanks for listening. Your feedback is always welcome.