Seven 9s and 10s

High-res steelopus: Happy birthday, Bob Moog! August 18, 2003 : House of Guitars : Rochester, NY I fell in love with electronic synthesis back in 1998 during my undergrad studies.  Naturally, guys like Bob Moog and Don Buchla became heroes of mine as I began to learn the history of early synthesizers.  I was blessed to have access to an EMS VCS3 modular synth in the studio at school - to this day it’s still the most impressive piece of human engineering I’ve ever laid my hands on. Bob came to town on a promotional tour for the new Minimoog Voyager synth and there was no way I was going to miss it.  I grabbed the only piece of Moog equipment that I owned - the face of a Minimoog D that I found at a musicians flea market in Buffalo (where many Moogs were manufactured for a while in the 70’s) - and headed down to the (legendary) House of Guitars.  Bob gave a brief demo of the unit, which wasn’t all that impressive because, as he was quick to point out, he was an engineer, not a musician.  Then he took questions from the standing-room only crowd that had gathered amongst the dusty and cluttered isles of the store.  It was a hot day, as you can tell from the picture, but Bob stayed up there until every question had been answered, and then he stayed until each person that wanted to chat with him one-on-one was able to do so.  I shly approached him and asked him to sign the remnants of a once-great instrument and he happily obliged, commenting on the condition of the hardware and how surprised he was to see it preserved so well despite its missing guts.  I thanked him for everything he’s done and for his inspiration and went on my way.  He was truly kind, gentle, and engaging. Two years and one week later, Bob passed away after a short fight with a brain tumor.  I feel tremendously priveledged and lucky to have met one of the greatest inventors in history.  Despite how goofy I look, this will always be one of my favorite pictures. Happy Birthday, Bob. It warms my heart to see such a great tribute from Google today. The technology that powers it is as forward-thinking as that which he pioneered over 50 years ago.

steelopus:

Happy birthday, Bob Moog!

August 18, 2003 : House of Guitars : Rochester, NY

I fell in love with electronic synthesis back in 1998 during my undergrad studies.  Naturally, guys like Bob Moog and Don Buchla became heroes of mine as I began to learn the history of early synthesizers.  I was blessed to have access to an EMS VCS3 modular synth in the studio at school - to this day it’s still the most impressive piece of human engineering I’ve ever laid my hands on.

Bob came to town on a promotional tour for the new Minimoog Voyager synth and there was no way I was going to miss it.  I grabbed the only piece of Moog equipment that I owned - the face of a Minimoog D that I found at a musicians flea market in Buffalo (where many Moogs were manufactured for a while in the 70’s) - and headed down to the (legendary) House of Guitars.  Bob gave a brief demo of the unit, which wasn’t all that impressive because, as he was quick to point out, he was an engineer, not a musician.  Then he took questions from the standing-room only crowd that had gathered amongst the dusty and cluttered isles of the store.  It was a hot day, as you can tell from the picture, but Bob stayed up there until every question had been answered, and then he stayed until each person that wanted to chat with him one-on-one was able to do so.  I shly approached him and asked him to sign the remnants of a once-great instrument and he happily obliged, commenting on the condition of the hardware and how surprised he was to see it preserved so well despite its missing guts.  I thanked him for everything he’s done and for his inspiration and went on my way.  He was truly kind, gentle, and engaging.

Two years and one week later, Bob passed away after a short fight with a brain tumor.  I feel tremendously priveledged and lucky to have met one of the greatest inventors in history.  Despite how goofy I look, this will always be one of my favorite pictures.

Happy Birthday, Bob.

It warms my heart to see such a great tribute from Google today. The technology that powers it is as forward-thinking as that which he pioneered over 50 years ago.

Knee 5 - Philip Glass
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Track:
Knee 5

Artist:
Philip Glass

Album:
Einstein On The Beach

Download 80 plays

steelopus:

Philip Glass / Robert Wilson - Einstein On The Beach - Knee 5

8:05 for August 5th

Philip Glass isn’t for everybody, but he’s a hero of mine. This is a beautiful piece of art.

This is the final piece from his 3+ hour-long masterpiece. Text by Mr. Samuel Johnson.

Finally she spoke:
“Do you love me, John?” she asked.

“You know I love you, darling.” he replied.
“I love you more than tongue can tell. You are the light of my life, my sun, moon and stars. You are my everything. Without you I have no reason for being.”

Again there was silence as the two lovers sat on a park bench, their bodies touching, holding handls in the moonlight. Once more she spoke.

“How much do you love me, John?” she asked.

He answered:
“How much do I love you? Count the stars in the sky. Measure the waters of the oceans with a teaspoon. Number the grains of sand on the sea shore. Impossible, you say. Yes and it is just as impossible for me to say how much I love you.

“My love for you is higher than the heavens, deeper than Hades, and broader than the earth. It has no limits, no bounds. Everything must have an ending except my love for you.”

There was more of silence as the two lovers sat on a park bench with their bodies touching, holding hands in the moonlight. Once more her voice was heard.

“Kiss me, John” she implored.

And leaning over, he pressed his lips warmly to hers in fervent osculation.

Happy 75th birthday to Philip Glass!

Older - They Might Be Giants
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Track:
Older

Artist:
They Might Be Giants

Album:
Mink Car

Download 20 plays

They Might Be Giants - Older

You’re older than you’ve ever been
and now you’re even older
and now you’re even older
and now you’re even older.
you’re older than you’ve ever been
and now you’re even older,
and now you’re older still.

Happy birthday to me.

High-res I don’t participate in the whole “favorite parts” meme, but today would be easy if I did. Today is my dad’s 75th birthday. He’d been fishing around for weeks trying to figure out if we had anything planned for him - and we did - but we kept quiet. This morning, my brother, sister-in-law, niece, and nephews took the red-eye out of Los Angeles and arrived in Rochester around 9:30am. They had moved west in the spring of 2010 and had yet to come back to visit (though my parents had gone to LA twice). They parked their rental car in the neighborhood behind my parents’ house and scampered through the backyards like vagabonds until I met them in my parents’ backyard and assembled them on the deck. My sister was running interference inside the house, distracting my dad and keeping him occupied. He has a peach tree in the backyard that he’s been working particularly hard on this spring, hoping that this would finally be the year that it produces a healthy, bug-free, crop. He spends a lot of time tending to it and talking about it. He loves that tree like a son, and that came in handy this morning. I stuck my head inside the house and exclaimed: “Dad? Did you know there are thousands of ants all over your peach tree?!” I knew that would be just the spark needed to get him to come onto the deck. He came out and didn’t notice the visitors for a few seconds but then they stood up, “Surprise!” Hugs. Kisses. Happy tears all around. It was a total success and he got the best gift he could have asked for. Later on, we pulled off a second surprise when my mom arrived home from work. We hadn’t told her they were coming either, and she was just as shocked and overcome with joy as my dad. I’m truly blessed to have such a great family, and few things are more rewarding than having us all together and happy.

I don’t participate in the whole “favorite parts” meme, but today would be easy if I did.

Today is my dad’s 75th birthday. He’d been fishing around for weeks trying to figure out if we had anything planned for him - and we did - but we kept quiet.

This morning, my brother, sister-in-law, niece, and nephews took the red-eye out of Los Angeles and arrived in Rochester around 9:30am. They had moved west in the spring of 2010 and had yet to come back to visit (though my parents had gone to LA twice). They parked their rental car in the neighborhood behind my parents’ house and scampered through the backyards like vagabonds until I met them in my parents’ backyard and assembled them on the deck. My sister was running interference inside the house, distracting my dad and keeping him occupied.

He has a peach tree in the backyard that he’s been working particularly hard on this spring, hoping that this would finally be the year that it produces a healthy, bug-free, crop. He spends a lot of time tending to it and talking about it. He loves that tree like a son, and that came in handy this morning. I stuck my head inside the house and exclaimed: “Dad? Did you know there are thousands of ants all over your peach tree?!” I knew that would be just the spark needed to get him to come onto the deck.

He came out and didn’t notice the visitors for a few seconds but then they stood up, “Surprise!” Hugs. Kisses. Happy tears all around. It was a total success and he got the best gift he could have asked for.

Later on, we pulled off a second surprise when my mom arrived home from work. We hadn’t told her they were coming either, and she was just as shocked and overcome with joy as my dad. I’m truly blessed to have such a great family, and few things are more rewarding than having us all together and happy.

American Girl - steelopus
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Track:
American Girl

Artist:
steelopus

Album:
40 in 40

Download 140 plays

Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers - American Girl (steelopus cover)

Happy birthday, Nicky!

(37 down. 3 to go.)

High-res Stalker? (by steelopus) One time this girl came to Rochester to visit me and celebrate my birthday and then I hid in the trees near our “ocean” and took stalkery pictures of her while she enjoyed a frozen custard while being chased by a little kid and she was single at the time so don’t kick my ass Erik, OK? Like please, don’t kick my ass. I’m fragile. Anyway. Today is her birthday, and so: happy birthday to Maya. You’re a good friend, even if you do constantly make fun of me when you come to visit.

Stalker? (by steelopus)

One time this girl came to Rochester to visit me and celebrate my birthday and then I hid in the trees near our “ocean” and took stalkery pictures of her while she enjoyed a frozen custard while being chased by a little kid and she was single at the time so don’t kick my ass Erik, OK? Like please, don’t kick my ass. I’m fragile.

Anyway. Today is her birthday, and so: happy birthday to Maya. You’re a good friend, even if you do constantly make fun of me when you come to visit.