Math & Science Mix

Here's a mix I made of songs about math and science for all my math-y and science-y friends. I may not  always understand you, but I do appreciate you.

Get it while it's hot: here

Remix

Here is a remix I did of the American Green x-mas track We Floated Through The Town Freely In A Weightless Condition.

Radio!

One of the most difficult about being in Nepal is the lack of access to music; I didn't bring my iPod, my netbook doesn't have much room for music, and the internet isn't fast enough for much streaming or downloading. So I was happy to discover that my cheap Chinese cellphone has an FM radio in it. Since then, I've been listening to the radio a lot.

There are some differences between radio in Nepal and radio in America. There's the same talking stations to skip over, but one thing is that there are distinct shows with DJs who seem free to play what music they want. The shows often have a theme rather than the station as a whole; you can hear Nepali songs one hour and then Korean pop the next hour. I particularly enjoy the classic rock shows - classic rock was the music of my youth and it makes me feel like I'm at home when I hear it.

Here are the stations and some of my favorite shows. Unlike in America where all the stations end in odd numbers (to avoid stations being too close together?) lots of stations here end in even numbers which still seems weird to me. Anyway, here are my favorites:

• 90.6 - Times FM ("You deserve better") : They play some good pop music, also have a cool show called Rock Vibes (10pm on tuesdays).
• 91.2 - Hits FM ("Hits you where it matters" / "Intelligent people listen to hits FM") : This is usually the first station I check. My favorite show is called The Choice of the Voice which is the best classic rock show on Nepali radio (9pm on wednesdays).
• 94.0 - Citizen FM ("Citizen FM ninety-four megahertz, your voice") : They have a lot of talking in Nepali, but they have some great techno at night and occasionally I find blues or jazz on here. 
• 96.1 - Kantipur FM (I don't know what their catchphrase is ...) : Also a lot of talking in Nepali, but I like a request show called Global Connection (10pm tuesdays). 
• 99.4 - China Radio (Also no catchphrase ...) : It's a little faint sometimes and often has Chinese talking, but they play some good pop music sometimes. 
• 103.0 - BBC World Service : Not music, but my main source for news and English talking. I actually really like the way they report the news, a little bit classier than in America. I heard a story about Libya and the West and their resident poet (yes, they have a poet) read a poem about it! And it was actually pretty good - you can read it here. (Although Alan Johnson has a really weird voice I think ...)

Well that's what I'm listening to ... I can't tell you how happy I get when I get to hear some Pink Floyd or Guns 'n' Roses or Beatles. I think absence does make the heart grow fonder ... 

New Music

 I have a new song on Bad Panda records called T27.  Check it out and read a short interview with me here.  It's about 18 minutes long, so get ready!

A Naked Baby Photo ...

While I was at my parents house in Michigan this summer I came across a box of old cassettes.  One of the tapes was of the Grosse Pointe North "Senior Concerto Concert" on June 1st, 1995.

In 1995 my older brother was in a band that lacked a drummer but wanted to play in the concert (I assume someone in the band was a senior in high school at the time).  I was twelve at the time, and though I got a drum set for the previous christmas, I hadn't been playing much longer than a few months.  Somehow intense shyness and lack of musical ability didn't stop me from playing with them.

We played an epic eleven minute version of the Allman Brothers' classic "It's Not My Cross To Bear" complete with a kazoo solo and what sounds like a violin (though I have no memory of any violin player).  Anyway, for your listening pleasure, here it is:



Sound quality is not the best, but what do you want from a cassette that's been sitting in a basement for fifteen years ...

Music recommendations from the universe

Earlier this week I got a package from amazon.co.uk and it had a CD by John Renbourn in it.  I was surprised because I didn't order anything from amazon.co.uk and I never heard of John Renbourn before.  I emailed Amazon and told them what happened and they replied with a nice email saying,

Normally, we would ask that you return the item to Amazon.co.uk. As the cost of returning this item is likely to be prohibitive, please dispose of this item at your own convenience if the item is unusable, otherwise please keep it with our compliments or you may donate it to a local charity.

So I ripped the CD and have listened to some of it and I actually like it a lot so far.  It is instrumental acoustic guitar playing, a little similar to Leo Kottke.  I'm not sure of the odds of getting a CD sent to you by mistake, but it seems unlikely.  It seems even less likely that it would be something that you actually like.  Anyway, was a nice surprise.

UPDATE: Turns out this was a gift!  Still a nice surprise though ...

New Ukulele

I bought a new Ukulele last week and I like it a lot so far.  It was about $50 on sale from about $90 and I'm surprised at how good it sounds.  It's perfect for wandering around the house on hot afternoons.  Here are some pictures and a sound clip I recorded (I'm not too good yet so don't expect much ...)

Late At Night 2:30 Disco

When I was in Lhasa for the first time about eight years ago, my friend Aaron found this beat up cassette on the ground.  After acquiring a crappy portable player we listened to it and found that it contained the most ridiculous techno ever.  The title is 深夜2：30的土高 (shenye 2:30 de tugao) - "Late At Night 2:30 Disco."  Classic.

When I moved back to Lhasa after college I would sometimes go out to dance clubs there (at that time it was either Babi-La or Tang Hui depending on which was open), and believe me this is pretty representative of what they played.  At first I hated it, but after a while its bizarre charm grew on me.

Anyway, I had planned to make an mp3 of the tape for a long time and since it is a miserable and rainy spring break here in Providence, today felt like the day.  So after eight years, here it is in all its glory, Late At Night 2:30 Disco:

• Side A (33:20, 69.4 mb) 
• Side B (33:34, 69.8 mb)

There is some clicking at the start of the tracks, but what do you want from an eight year-old cassette that was found in the street.  For my money, the best part is at about thirteen minutes into Side A which features a segue from Aqua Smile.dk to Bon Jovi to Bonnie Tyler.  Magnificent!