Just now discovering this artist, Tim Knol. The first 10 seconds or so of this video is in Dutch.  The song is in English, and it’s absolutely gorgeous.

A little tune for your Saturday by Reno-based Misha.

This is a sweet collection of RBhop songs.

Some good stuff has been coming out of Reno musically this year, and this fall brings a few things worth mentioning.  Keep the quality music coming, Reno musicians, and we’ll keep listening and reporting on it!

Months ago, we at Burncards were ever-so-excited for the arrival of Chromeo on our local music scene at The Knitting Factory.  Alas, the show was in February, and snow prevented Chromeo from making it to Reno – but they promised to come back on October 13.

And they are indeed coming back on October 13!  So if you’re into electro-funk, get your tickets now – only general admission is left.  Along with Chromeo, Mayer will be performing.

Here’s some tunes from both.

Hey Reno nerds, geeks and other related subcultures!  It may surprise you to find out that the grand poobahs of science fiction will be convening on our fair city this very month for several days of scientific and fictional action!

Have you ever heard of the Hugo Awards?  The awards are a very prestigious recognition of the best works of science fiction to come out in a given year.  Categories include novels, novellas, short stories, graphic novels, editing, zines, fanfic and more.  These awards are given out at the World Science Fiction Convention, in Reno, August 17 – 21.  The convention will be based at Reno-Sparks Convention Center and the awards ceremony will occur at Peppermill.

So if you’ve got the bling, and the ganas, join musical guests Trixie Pixie, comic superstar Bill Willingham, guests of honor Ellen Asher, Tim Powers, and Boris Vallejo, for 5 days of geeky goodness including the aforementioned awards, a Masquerade, a film festival, art show, plus readings and Q&A sessions with writers Cory Doctrow, Walter Jon Williams, Connie Willis, Jo Walton, Steven Gould, Sharon Lee & Steve Miler, and Carol Berg at the Sierra View Library on Wednesday, August 17, starting at 11 am.  That’s a lot of high caliber readings for Reno, on one action packed day.  Book nerds, you have one week to get the day off work.

This is a pretty sweet event to be landing in Reno.  If you’re into sci-fi at all, you’ll kick yourself if you miss it.  Consider yourself notified.

Melodious Punk has a new album out: “Sex, Death and Videogames.”   Yes, click here to download it, and donate him a few bucks, why don’t'cha (click “Buy Now,” and name your price!)

As I tagged him “Local Spaceboy,” in the Reno Noise Night event (which went off without a hitch, and thanks to all who attended) he comes now with a collection of spacey and wonderful sexiness to stir your emotions, reduce your inhibitions, and require you to do so in zero gravity.

I have enjoyed Kevin Fredericks’ music for some time, and this is no exception.  Experimental, guitar, synth and beats come together in a atmospheric swooning you shall soon not forget.

I’m not just saying this because I’m filled with drinks and good times from a work excursion to Winnemucca and visiting the wonderful “The Pig,” barbecue joint, either.  I mean every single damn word. Enjoy your copy of “Sex, Death and Videogames,” today!

“The ashtrays here are full of other things
Than cigarettes and matches
Yellowed Plastic
No one knows this place is

Home”

That’s a line from the track “Pull Over, Son” on Wolpertinger’s album Lady Midday.  Like those ashtrays, Wolpertinger is familiar and also very unexpected.  The vocals rumble.  The music sparkles… how to say? darkly.  It’s a bit difficult to classify.

The band call it “Gothic Country Techno.”  That’s a pretty good description.  It’s a sound that wavers between progressive and glam rock sounds with a dark, melancholy undertone and an occasional country twang.

The singer’s voice is deep.  His lyrics seem to be inspired by the one-night-stand, androgyny, art, literature and gayness.  (Who isn’t inspired by those things?)  Here’s a line from “Snowing in New York”:

“You’re leaving me with the last bed we slept in,
You’re leaving me alone with the mini bar.”

Another one from “Mr. Darling”:

“I have grown up
started working in an office
Though I’m also a man
We can sort the sex out together”

The expressiveness of the lyrics is one thing that makes this fun music to listen to.  It is at times manic, schizophrenic music.  To quote more lyrics from the track “76-love”:

“I’ve got problems I must keep.”

After a listen or two, you may have a new problem to keep, yourself.  You may want to keep listening to this record until you simply can’t stand it anymore.

Olay+Yeni from Paris wants you to know about his new EP, Introduction.  This track is “Be”, one of the tracks from the EP.  The EP is short, and has sounds that range from ambient to stupid house, generally carrying itself very well no matter what sub-genre it’s playing in.  Standouts from the EP include “All yellow everything” and “You make me laugh(feat Nalalie Portman’s laugh)”  Someone should tell Nalalie.  Anyway good music, especially for free, a nice addition to your electronic playlist for the summer.

I really wasn’t sure what to think when I saw the mincingly lame Guitar Center ad come in my mailbox with this weird cover artwork, quasi-patriotic, somewhat propaganda-like attack squadron ala 1940′s poster art, with guys in long hair and mohawks attacking with guitars rather than guns. Further in, I see a spread on the new Roland Jupiter 80.

Everyone knows I’m famous for reviewing synths without actually playing them, because I haven’t had the time to go to a proper music store and play one, nor the cash to faithfully plop down almost $4,000 for something to really whisper sweet nothings into its ear in my own home.  Synthesizers are a unique musical instrument for at least one reason:  sitting down and playing one in a store is not always the best way to really get to know something about them.   Largely, the staff won’t know a damn thing about them, and if you have to figure them out yourself, are you going to read a 300 page manual and jump right in?  Not unless they start charging you rent.  Nope, synths are not like a guitar, bass or drums:  they are not all intrinsically the same, and no, you can’t just sit around playing five minutes of Sammy Hagar licks and nod at the store, buy the thing, go fire up your bong at home, and continue playing Sammy Hagar licks.

After some research on the trusty World Wide Web,  people are pissed at this here Roland Jupiter 80.  Why?  Well, let’s check out this promo video and I’ll go into further detail as to why:

Besides the narrator’s voice making me want to hollow out my ears with an icepick (synth ad narrators are notoriously bad), it’s quite obvious to me why this machine, as cool as it could be, is making other people upset.  Let’s have a proposed list:

A)  Using the “Jupiter” name.   Old Jupiter 8 (6,4)’s are big, impressive, expensive and rare.  Those out there with them are very proud of them, proud of themselves, and a poseur coming along, Roland or not, cheapening their image or their ego, will not sit well.  Then there’s the issue of everything on the planet being a re-run or a re-make of something in the past, because we’re in the End Times and have finally run out of real ideas—-okay, that was a bit dramatic, but really.

B)  The thing is almost $4,000.  What did I say about the Kronos?  Korg was there, did that, and as much as I bitch about the fact with our current technology we can certainly make a reasonably affordable synthesizer that isn’t a toy for $800 or less, here Roland is flopping its synth-dick on the table next to Korg with a proud grin.  Meanwhile, you could get an original Jupiter,  mint, for about this much money.

C)  It looks super cool.   Don’t get me wrong, it really does look cool.  Why would anyone hate something that looks cool?  Because they styled it after the old one.  The old one also looked pretty cool.  A rainbow of synthy fun!  See “A” above if this isn’t making any sense.

D)  It is a lot of things, but it ain’t analog.  Referring back to “A” again, and I have to kind of side with the naysayers on this one, the old Jupiter line was a tour-de-force of what made synthesizers cool.   Now, this new one could easily do the same thing—-from what I can see, there’s literally options for everyone.  Presets to complex programming.   It has something reminiscent of a virtual-analog programming structure.  It still ain’t analog.

This is the main list of what I can tell is irritating people, and things I myself was wondering finding information on this beast.  Here’s what I think:

*  Roland, as well as other companies, are desperate to reinvent themselves, but are refusing, like other companies, to listen to the public.  They are used to being worshiped on any pedestal they lay down, and the public isn’t buying it.

*  The Jupiter 80 looks fucking awesome.  Potentially, with all the specs I’ve looked up on it, it should SOUND awesome.

*  The Jupiter 80 has a screen:  a screen that IS NOT dedicated to being a workstation, and we all know how I feel about workstations:  I don’t like them.

*  Contrary to “A” above, people kind of did want a new Jupiter—-or at least to bring back the old one the right way.   This attempt pleases me, even if it may be misguided.

*  This “superNatural,” thing is perplexing me, and I hope spirits and phantoms burst out of it like the failed storage machine in the fire station in the original “Ghostbusters” movie.

*  Everyone’s brash hate will cause them to fall out of favor.  Which means I can get one,  because everyone is too worried about soiling their precious image.  That, and they’ll hopefully bottom out in price.

*  It’s just too fucking big—-but I shall forgive it.

* I finally hope it is more like a V-Synth than anything.  The V-Synth was cool.  Real cool.

See?  I don’t hate everything synth that’s new and coming out now.  I also think this thing is a future flop and synth buyers are going to cross their arms, pout, bitch and moan about it all the live long day.  It isn’t exactly what people want.  It is, however, closer to a synthesizer and the thing that I, Kyle Weiss, wants in an instrument, and am willing to go give it a more serious look.