I have been playing with my Behringer Neutron, a semi-modular analog synth. It’s a great way to get into modular gear at a reasonable price point. It’s got 2 oscillators, an LFO and other good stuff. It’s even made to be mounted into a modular rig, if you so desire.
New Album Release
Well, I finally released the album I started working on July of last year. It has 15 tracks and is in the genre of semi-experimental electronic music ans is titled “Electronica #1”. I know, not a very creative title. The linktree has a link to my distributor’s landing page for the album, at https://linktr.ee/jaypeach53.
The Enshitification of Meta
It’s bad enough that Zuck had to bend over to kiss the feet of King Trump, but now InstaGram has ceased providing somewhat useful user stats for creators to guage whether posts and reels are getting decent engagement. Fuck you Zuck the Cuck.
I’ve already deleted Facebook and WhatsApp off my phone, known data mining apps. And I have relegated InstaGram to a barely used app. Meta is now relegated to my schmuck company bin, along with the increasingly evil Google. Never let an Indian run your company.
Another Voice on Spotify’s Subterfuge
Here’s a post from the fediverse on Spotify’s anti-competitive nature:
Spotify Errs Again
Spotify errs again, being that they’re again late for the party. Last year they announced that they were going to penalize artists that got their streams from bad actors. But they were complicit in those fake streams, because Spotify was monetizing those fake streams. And there was no way artists could identify those bad actors.
Well Spotify is finally putting a bandage on that despicable oversight. They announced a half-assed solution. Instead of creating processes to weed out spam user accounts, they slap up a web page where artists can report bad actors.
I suppose this is a better solution than not doing anything at all; like they’ve done for the past year. But they probably don’t have a procedure to actually do something about the reports they’re about to receive. The bottom line is Spotify is benefiting financially from the current fucked up mess they’ve created.
Relaxation/Meditation Tune
Kinda late announcing this, I have a relaxation/meditation tune called, in part, “Bells #70”. It’s out on SoundCloud and most major DSPs like Spotify, Apple Music, and Amazon Prime. Links to some platforms are at Https://linktr.ee/jaypeach53. And no, there are no vocals, especially explicit ones.
Still Working On New Electronica Album
Ho-hum, I know I’ve been in a creative desert with the latest electronica album. For one thing, it has no name, but more troubling is the inability to get the sound I’m looking for. Trying to make it a DAW-less creation has been a major logjam.
In the DAW, I have access to dozens and dozens of plugins to craft the sound, whereas I only have 15-20 effects pedals to choose from. Though those pedals cover a large portion of treatments to the sound I’m trying to make.
New Gear
If I choose new gear, I want it to interface with my existing gear. That means the interface would be either an XLR connection or a 1/4” jack. 1/8” inch means an adaptor which would potentially degrade the signal or worse.
Moog Mother-32 and Mavis
I’ve been playing with the Mother-32 and Mavis. Dug out the manuals and will go digging on YouTube to see if there’s any useful videos there. The Mother-32 manual has presets in the back of the manual for a start if your’re stuck as a beginner, but they’re a bit lame.
The one thing about the Moog gear, when there’s a firmware update, you need to remember if your gear has it installed, as there’s no way to check which version is installed. I supposed you can review the manual addendum to see if the added features exist on your gear, but, for the money you pay for the Moog name, there should have been a more user-friendly system in place. And with the Mother-32, the update process id a bit convoluted.
Temu, Problems Getting Refunds
Anybody else have problems getting refunds from Temu? I ordered a set of art supplies on November 1, and Temu charged my credit card. Temu notified me that the order would not be fulfilled November 7. It took Temu until November 13 to issue a refund and of yet I have not seen the refund. Is Temu running a scam?
Edit: well it turns out if you purchase from Temu through Klarna, when your purchases don’t get fulfilled, it’s only a couple of days until you get a refund. So my recommendation is to not purchase directly through your credit card, but purchase through Klarna.
