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April 19, 2007
Radio MXUT Vol. 3 - Under 30
Thesis
Radio MXUT returns to the Internet, this time as an experiment upon a new methodology rather than the latest installment in the mega-mix series.
Background
As preparation for the labor-intensive creation of an hour-long mega-mix dragged on, projections for the completion date became intolerably late. Looking for a temporary solution, the creators behind MXUT - Marxy and U.T. (Kiiiiiii) - stumbled upon a much more radical procedure for creating an original podcast of musical content, one which any person with a computer and a library of songs could make.
Necessary Tools
a very large mp3 library
iTunes (or equivalent mp3 players with library features)
Audio Hijack Pro
Pro Tools LE (or any other WAV/AIFF editor)
Methodology
1. Open up iTunes.
2. View "All Artists" (and "All Albums")
3. Organize song list by "Time" in ascending order.
4. Select all songs under 0:30 (thirty seconds) and place them in a separate playlist. Keep songs in ascending time order.
5. Remove doubles.
6. Turn off crossfader playback and make sure gapless playback is active to assure no space between tracks.
7. Turn up volume all the way.
8. Re-launch iTunes within Audio Hijack Pro.
9. Start hijacking and record the output of the playlist as an AIFF/WAV file.
10. Edit AIFF/WAV in Pro Tools (especially if using sample version of Audio Hijack Pro that only allows 10 min sessions.)
11. Bounce out final AIFF of mix and convert to mp3/aac.
Note: No songs in this mix were edited to match the length requirements!
Observations
1. Radio MXUT Vol. 3 - Under 30 is 186 songs in 50:53.
2. The mix begins slow, but builds in pace.
3. The mix is very heavy on 8-bit NES soundtracks, which form an exoskeleton to the other songs.
4. There are relatively few full songs that have been cut off either through ripping mishaps or download problems.
5. The mix is like a cross-country journey through stereophonic space. The listener visit different recording techniques, mastering technology, and timbres along the way. 6. This MXUT is best enjoyed in large headphones with no distractions of multitasking.
File: mp3
Feed: .rss feed
Credits:
marxy - iTunes operation, 8-bit tracks
u.t. - Jackson-family tracks
Posted by marxy at April 19, 2007 9:30 AM
Trackback Pings
TrackBack URL for this entry:
http://www.pliink.com/mt/mt-tb.cgi/251
Comments
Holla!!
Posted by: SoccerBoy at April 19, 2007 1:28 PM
Want to load the NES emulator... must.. fight...
Posted by: Adamu at April 19, 2007 4:52 PM
Hm. That's a bit like listening to a sample CD ("1000 8-bit game melodies for you AKAI S1000")...
Posted by: der at April 19, 2007 7:59 PM
You don't listen to sample CDs regularly?
Posted by: marxy at April 19, 2007 9:00 PM
We visit his web - blog and it is fantastic, congratulations
There visits our blog, the irreverent mas and iconoclast of the world in Catalunya - Spain
Http: // telamamaria.blogspot.com
Thank you very much
Maria
Posted by: Maria at April 20, 2007 3:03 AM
Sadly, my library doesn't have much variety in the short lengths. Most of my songs >30s long are just 7th Guest audio clips. :(
"No angels heeeeere, buddy boy!"
Posted by: lauren at April 20, 2007 2:29 PM
Is that Origami at 50:00 or so?
Posted by: sphinx at April 20, 2007 3:21 PM
I declare this the end of art as we know it.
Posted by: Johan Nystrom at April 21, 2007 12:56 AM
Wow, this is freaking great stuff! I dig it.
Posted by: neb at April 21, 2007 5:58 AM
naice !
am curious to hear what kind of track you finally end up with..... that should be some kind of state-sponsored public projects, that you end up editing as the best and worst of music history ( of course under 30 secs... ) x
Posted by: Mc Hummer at April 22, 2007 1:25 PM
Hey Marxy! It's been a long time since I posted here, but I have been checking in when I have the chance.
Listening to this makes me feel kinda weird, as you're making me put all your dirty Underoos in the washing machine for you, but instead of dumping it all at once, I have to inspect each pair individually. I spotted a few pairs that are in my drawer as well!
Last year I put together a couple of tracks using iTunes' shuffle function and forcing myself to use whatever songs it spit out as sample sources, with results that were kinda nice, making sense out of chaos. Check out "48 loops" and "49 loops" here: http://www.myspace.com/laotreej
(Hey, I just noticed my 49 Loops track contains the same Can song that comes in at 37:05 or so on your mix!)
The tracks used as source material are listed in the blog section for the curious.
So what's in store for the next proper MXUT mix? I've got a mammoth mashup mix I've been alternately working on and sitting on since last October; I know what you mean about the labor intensity. (I'll post a link when it's ready for consumption, I think that you and a lot of the regulars would appreciate it.) Look forward to hearing your new stuff! Thanks!
Posted by: Laotree at April 23, 2007 5:46 PM
suki dayo!! i love all the 8 bit goodness!
°rz
Posted by: mexist at May 10, 2007 3:16 AM