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Resonant Thoughts: Samuel Arbesman’s “The Magic of Code” (2025)
“Enchantment and the belief in nonsense never disappeared in our modern scientific age. Similarly, the worlds of enchantment—or really, wonder—and disenchantment have existed alongside each other in the realm of computing. The utilitarian road of staid and corporate coding has always run beside the path walked by those delighted by the marvels of these machines, Continue reading
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Same Walk, Different Music
Martyn Heyne, “The Hall.” Occasionally I revisit the Brett’s Sound Picks playlists to listen to great music that I would have forgotten had I not saved it. In this way, a playlist is a way to externalize one’s memory, a way to remember those sonic details that make a music soar. A fine track from Continue reading
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Resonant Thoughts: Steve Tupai Francis’ “Kraftwerk’s Computer World” (2022)
“When composing music together, one member, often Ralf or Karl, would introduce a melodic riff or coda, and the other members of the band would ‘jam’ on their synths for several hours. Florian would focus on altering the texture and sound of the music during these sessions. Once locked into a groove they liked, the Continue reading
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Database: Alessandro Baricco on Vibration As Real Experience
“I will always remember that circular movement of my photography director’s hand, and now I know that what we miss in every digital device, and more in general in the digital world, is that breathing, that waviness, that irregularity. Like a vibration. Was that vibration what we used to call a soul? It’s hard to Continue reading
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Music’s Subtle Changes Over Time
Music is most magical when it creates perceptual sleights of ear and sounds more than the sum of its parts. Something is happening, but you can’t quite figure out how. Subtle changes over time, once noticed, are the meaningful details and clues to organizing principles: beats interlocking into polyrhythm,pitches coalescing into chords,melting timbre-textures,background moving to Continue reading
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