I've become an enormous fan of NPR (National Public Radio) as of late. An addict, almost. I've been preferring it to the music on my iPod, and have been consistently surprised by the entertaining, well-produced, thought-provoking programs I've heard. A new favorite* show of mine is RadioLab, broadcast by WNYC. While my passion for science manifests itself as more of a hobby than an academic pursuit, it's still a legitimate passion...and one that RadioLab has teased into a frenzy on more than one occasion.
On my way back from a tennis match on Thursday evening, I caught the tail end of a recent episode entitled "Musical Language." The final story focused on David Cope, professor and composer at UC Santa Cruz. Inspired by a debilitating case of composer's block, he devised a computer program that could discern, decipher and ultimately mimic the patterns and stylistic tendencies of composers. It's a fascinating story, and very interesting questions are raised at the end of the program concerning music and artwork in general. I've embedded this story here, for your listening pleasure:
I intend to check out the first two thirds of the program soon, and suggest you do the same. But more on point, what do you think of it?
*American English spelling, not Her Majesty's, will be the norm on the blog for the time being. While I apologize for the inconvenience, I would invite you to deal with it.
On my way back from a tennis match on Thursday evening, I caught the tail end of a recent episode entitled "Musical Language." The final story focused on David Cope, professor and composer at UC Santa Cruz. Inspired by a debilitating case of composer's block, he devised a computer program that could discern, decipher and ultimately mimic the patterns and stylistic tendencies of composers. It's a fascinating story, and very interesting questions are raised at the end of the program concerning music and artwork in general. I've embedded this story here, for your listening pleasure:
I intend to check out the first two thirds of the program soon, and suggest you do the same. But more on point, what do you think of it?
*American English spelling, not Her Majesty's, will be the norm on the blog for the time being. While I apologize for the inconvenience, I would invite you to deal with it.
Oh man, NPR is my home boy nowadays. Every day to and from work I get to listen to MPR and it's always awesome, and those few times that I get to catch Science Friday are always golden. Definitely have had a few "driveway moments" where I don't want to go inside until the program is over.
ReplyDeleteHaven't heard of radio lab, though- will have to check this out.