Have Accordion / haveaccordion.com

Now that I’m in the middle of starting my web business -...

Wed, 15 Dec 2010 12:04:11 -0500

Now that I’m in the middle of starting my web business - Concert Window - I think it’s time to start up this blog again. I need a place to write down my observations about what’s happening in the tech industry and the world. Getting my thoughts down like this usually leads to new ideas.

If anybody actually reads this, I hope you’ll enjoy. I don’t have an agenda with the blog - it’s really a place to think over new ideas. Feel free to comment and bounce stuff back and forth with me.

Now to do something about this background….

New sites

Mon, 03 May 2010 07:44:30 -0400

So I think it’s time for this blog to take a rest again… I’ve been working on a new project and it’s taking up all my attention. Actually, it was indirectly inspired by my posts here: the future of record labels + web design + paying for music = Take a wild guess what I’m up to!

You can follow the new project at:

Facebook and Twitter

See you over there!

Why buy?

Wed, 07 Apr 2010 12:49:00 -0400

This past week, I did something that I haven’t done for a while: I bought music.

And I was amazed by how good it felt.

I would imagine that a good number of people get their music from free sources. You can use YouTube as a jukebox, listen to online radio stations, stream tracks from MySpace. Thanks to the Internet there’s a lot of music out there, and a lot of ways not to pay for it.

So much so that I had forgotten what it felt like to actually buy a digital album. And so, before I knew what hit me, I had bought three: one from iTunes, one from Bandcamp, and one from a stand-alone webshop.

Each site made it quite easy for me to spend my money - with iTunes the easiest, thanks to my saved credit card information, and Bandcamp following a close second with PayPal. All three downloads arrived quickly and without problems. The music was on my iPod a few minutes afterward.

A painless process - far less of an ordeal than buying a CD, importing it into iTunes, and putting it on the shelf, never to be touched again. And even though the whole thing felt somewhat intangible, it felt good. Really good.

Why? Because I knew my money was going to the artists. They’re all people I know and want to support. Instead of enduring the subtle guilt of listening to their music for free, I am now partially responsible for their income for the year. I’ve bought in.

That connection - that general sense of “I helped out” - is worth $30 to me. And it’s what musicians and online shops have to foster. At the very least, it has to be incredibly easy to spend the money and just as easy to download the album. But more than that, I need to feel that connection through liner notes and pictures bundled with the download; a thank-you note after the sale; a mutual sense of trust.

And much more than iTunes or the webshop, that’s what Bandcamp nailed. Not only was I allowed to stream the entire album for free - which showed the musician’s respect for my ability to pirate the album elsewhere if I so chose - but I was given the option to pay more than the asking price. So instead of paying $10, I typed in $14 and considered the rest a donation. Ironically, spending that extra $4 made me feel better than if I hadn’t. Then, after I had received my download, I got an (automated, but who cares?) email from the artist acknowledging my support.

That artist-consumer connection is what Bandcamp got right, and if paid digital downloads are going to thrive, a respect for that relationship is how it will happen.

Simplicity, Steve Jobs, and the iPad

Sun, 04 Apr 2010 14:29:00 -0400

This was a big question for a while: Why isn’t Steve Jobs including a video camera and multitasking in the initial iPad?

A few months ago, when we (consumers) heard about that, we were shocked because we assumed an advanced computing product like the iPad would contain such straightforward and accepted technology.

We didn’t yet grasp what Steve Jobs is trying to do with this product.

Now, I think we do. The more iPad reviews I read, the more it seems that people have sensed that Jobs is attempting to create a massive paradigm shift in computing, similar in scale to the jump from text- to mouse-based input.

We didn’t always recognize the iPad’s importance. Upon its unveiling, we were impressed but not shocked - we thought we were just seeing a bigger iPhone.

We were right and wrong. Right because the iPad is essentially a bigger iPhone, and wrong because it’s something more.

The iPhone now seems to be just a warmup, a way for Jobs to get us accustomed to a little media window that feeds us all the information we need. Now, that window is more immersive, both because it’s larger and also because we no longer take special notice of the interface, which we’ve been using on the iPhone for years. Now we just see the media.

That’s the key. That core mission - to create a portable media consumption device - is why Steve Jobs didn’t include multitasking and a camera. I have no doubt that someday he will. But for now, this is why he released a product which could even be called a stripped-down iPhone: No phone, just media. He wants to finish the job he started with the iPhone, getting us completely accustomed to the idea of a little media window - and this time, he’s hammering home his point as directly as he can.

And so once we’ve warmed to the concept on its most fundamental level, once we’re used to consuming our media on the iPad - once we’ve gone all the way through a complete paradigm shift - then he’ll introduce the bells and whistles.

Yep, Steve Jobs knows exactly what he’s doing, and his work on the iPad is a perfect example of how to use simplicity to create change.

Making the web more user-friendly

Sat, 27 Mar 2010 21:21:03 -0400

These days on the web, it seems like many sites have settled on the same underlying structure: A title and a directory of pages - Home, About, Contact, etc.

It’s simple, it makes sense, and it works in the same way that a book’s table of contents does - as a linear description of what the website contains. A cover page, followed by content. But as the Internet evolves, so should our interactions with it.

Window dressing isn’t enough: rather than merely adding motion to the directory - for example, if you click on “About,” and the page slides onto the screen - we should experiment with a more fundamental reimagining of website design.

I think it’s time to move past the idea of separate “pages” and toward a unified concept of “page.” The website should be a single, fluid entity. A list of links? No, we’re ready for something more subtle. By now, with years of internet navigation under our belts, we’re savvy enough to intuitively guess where certain content is. We no longer need a link that says “Home” to find our way back to the home page. Instead, we know to click on the site logo. We’re past wondering where to find the latest updates; we immediately click on the Twitter icon.

The future is all about natural integration. If I’m looking at a website, I’d rather not think about where to go. It should be a seamless experience that allows me to follow my curiosity. Right now, I get frustrated when I have to go through rabbit holes of page-after-page links. I wonder how I’ll get back out, or even to where I was a few pages ago. If usability was the goal, I shouldn’t have to be constantly retracing my steps, always conscious of my place in the overall system just to be able to proceed.

So what’s the solution? Is there a way to get rid of the “main menu” directory and the pages within pages?

Easy. Don’t have a main menu in the first place. Don’t have pages.

Instead, have all of a website’s information located within one single page - or, more accurately, one large ecosystem which is the direct backdrop for anything that happens on the site. Use visual cues, logical pathways, and contextual pop-out boxes. The goal is to get rid of the rabbit hole effect, which means no more menus within menus. We should always be within one degree of any other piece of information on the site.

Is this possible? Even though I’m not sure exactly how, I think it is.

As the internet merges increasingly with our day-to-day reality, navigating a website should be like moving through the world: it should be an intuitive experience.

Follow up on 3D

Tue, 23 Mar 2010 16:21:00 -0400

Earlier today, Nintendo announced its next portable gaming platform - the 3DS.

Although it hasn’t been confirmed yet, it could use the same 3D-without-the-glasses technology (using a built-in camera to track the position of your head) that I mentioned a few posts ago. This video shows a glimpse of what it might be like.

I think we’ll be seeing a lot more of this tech in the future. Nobody wants to wear 3D glasses. They’re uncomfortable and yet another thing to carry around. My bet is that this head-tracking tech will start showing up everywhere. It has a few serious disadvantages compared to the glasses - for example, you’re essentially looking through a window instead of surrounded by your environment - but ease of use should be the deciding factor.

To think we were playing Mario in black-and-white (more like green and gray) only a few years ago…

The Recognizers and the American Dream

Mon, 22 Mar 2010 11:24:58 -0400

There’s a moment in Hoop Dreams, a fantastic basketball documentary from 1994, in which a group of sportscasters is sitting around a table discussing the top up-and-coming prospects in Chicago, and they mention a young player named William Gates.

Usually, if we were watching this kind of television show, we wouldn’t take special notice of such a mention. But in this case, we’ve followed William’s progress as he grows up in one of Chicago’s most dangerous housing projects, beats the odds to enroll at state basketball power St. Joseph’s, and develops into one of the nation’s top high school prospects. For the entire documentary we’ve seen things from William’s perspective - someone who believes that basketball stardom is his way to escape a life of danger and poverty. But in the brief moment with the sportscasters, we glimpse their perspective - as commentators, deciders, recognizers, who know nothing about this kid’s life except his skills on the basketball court.

The jarring contrast between those two perspectives, neither of which was aware of the other, got me thinking: Who are the recognizers, for lack of a better term? What is their role? And how have they changed as a result of the internet?

It’s pretty clear that the recognizers are people in positions of relative power and influence. People who are well-connected in the communications network. People whose opinions carry weight, perhaps because they have expertise in a field or merely because of the outlet through which they communicate (say, the New York Times over a local paper).

There’s certainly a lot of responsibility involved. By mentioning one person over another, the recognizers can change lives. For example, by mentioning William, they give him exposure and affirmation, which may have led to more college scholarship offers and a higher chance of escaping the ghetto. I doubt the recognizers are always aware of this moral element. Maybe they should be. Or, they might argue, such concerns would interfere with their role to recognize the best athlete, the most talented new band, the most promising young writer.

Over the last decade, the setting for these concerns has changed. As the print and television media has increasingly moved online, so have the recognizers.

But now it’s a more democratic field. Power is based on page views. It doesn’t matter - at least, not quite as much as it once did - who has been there the longest, who has the most industry connections, and who has the best distribution network. Now it’s wide open.

As a result, the recognizers are a more varied group. Blogs, forums, online newspapers, online magazines, social networks. And in this new landscape with fewer barriers to entry, it’s much more realistic for a random person to aspire to eventually becoming a recognizer, someone with power and influence.

That classic journey - from nobody to somebody - has been around as long as mankind.

Hoop Dreams takes us right through a life-or-death version of it, showing us the power of following our aspirations, and that’s how a basketball documentary can turn into something indescribably more.

For those who might find this interesting - you know who you...

Sun, 21 Mar 2010 13:53:14 -0400

For those who might find this interesting - you know who you are:

A new tune, inspired by the music of two Musical Priests.

“The Popped Collar”

Wisdom of the Day (which I'm going to start following myself!)

Sat, 20 Mar 2010 20:24:46 -0400

Stop talking, start doing.

What the hell is going on in that "Telephone" video?

Tue, 16 Mar 2010 12:54:15 -0400

Given that over 17 million people have watched Lady Gaga’s new music video on Youtube in its first 5 days, it’s clearly spreading fast.

Why?

Because it’s seriously weird - a nonstop visual grab bag of subliminal imagery and product placements, by turns unexpected, hilarious, disturbing, insensitive, tacky, and appalling. And, dare I say, brilliant?

I’ve watched it a few times now and I’m still overwhelmed by the sheer volume of mixed messages that gets thrown onto the screen. Some of the details are integral to the video’s theme: the lesbian prison guards, the catfight, the telephone hat in the kitchen. Still, many other details - the cigarette sunglasses, the tacky and out-of-place plug for a dating website, the subtitles in the restaurant - seem like throwaways.

But then so do a lot of the aesthetic choices that Lady Gaga (or her minders) make. That’s part of her appeal. She works hard to give the impression that she marches to her own drummer, doing things that seem incongruous or nonsensical. Moreover, in doing these things, she is quite open about her desire to push the envelope of the commercial star-making process.

That’s what makes her popularity so interesting, and such a self-perpetuating cycle: Lady Gaga’s music and videos are, by her own admission, performance art existing in some relationship to actual art. The costumes are intentionally ridiculous. The phone hat? The fire-shooting bra? Brilliantly ridiculous. On the other hand, the music is slick, catchy, and well-written for the genre. So people don’t know what to think. They’re curious. They buy more Lady Gaga.

She’s easy to hate, as an unashamedly ambitious rich girl from New York who isn’t even that hot. But the music is compelling and the visuals are compelling. And she’s honest about what she’s doing: toying with the fame-making process. It’s funny. What’s not quite as funny is that in the meantime she’s making a huge profit off our interest in her. Which, says my inner cynic, is exactly what she’s wanted all along.

Good for her, but it doesn’t feel great to be a dupe.

And...

Mon, 15 Mar 2010 10:41:14 -0400

Remember how I thought we had the technology to make 3D internet right now?

Turns out I’m behind the times - someone is already working on it.

Thanks to Christina for the info (one of the most internet savvy people I know!!).

It’s a company called Oblong. Here’s a video of their 3D interface:

Very cool.

Where the internet is going

Sat, 13 Mar 2010 16:13:00 -0500

Now that Avatar has proved that 3D can be commercially successful, the rest of the film industry has been quick to follow in its footsteps. TV channels, too, have announced plans to broadcast in 3D; ESPN will broadcast a 3D World Cup match on June 11.

But there’s something that would be far more exciting in 3D than movies or sports: the Internet.

Think about it: while movies and television are passive mediums, the internet is interactive. And so this will be the place where we truly get to experience 3D. Not sitting back in our chairs, but navigating through links in 3 dimensions. It’s like moving from black & white to color.

But here’s the interesting thing. Instead of it taking years for 3D Internet to happen, I think it might be possible now. And better yet, it won’t require those annoying glasses.

Here’s how. The two necessary technologies are computer screens in 3D and a way for us to interact with them.

For the 3D part, take a look at this video:

As you can see, it’s a pretty convincing demo. And it’s possible now. With those visuals, all we need is an operating system built in 3D. But before we design a 3D operating system, we need some way to interact with it on 3 axes: forward, sideways, and up/down.

Voila. Thank you, Microsoft:

So with a combination of these technologies (3D displays and 3D tracking), we can create an interface where, for example, you sit in front of your computer, gesturing with your hands Minority Report-style and seeing their mirror image onscreen as you interact with folders, links, and applications.

The possibilities are pretty exciting. Imagine a shopping website where you actually move through aisles and take products off the shelf. (I know, almost like real life!) Or a sports website where, in the middle of a live game, you can point to players around you and see their stats.

Suddenly websites aren’t just designed up-down, left-right. There’s depth. This would take some getting used to, and as with all new technologies, it will have possibilities we can’t yet fathom.

This is all very exciting, and (from my uninformed non-technical viewpoint, anyway) it seems to be possible now, so let’s hope the computer people get to work on it. Otherwise it’s going to be a long slog as 3D slowly makes its way from movies, to TV, to the web. Trust me, Rush Limbaugh 3D is going to get old fast. Chatroulette 3D? That’s more like it.

(Am I totally wrong? Did I miss something obvious? Leave a comment below…)

The Future of Record Labels

Thu, 11 Mar 2010 19:52:00 -0500

First, have a look at this article. It’s a remarkably clear-eyed overview of the current state of the record business. The conclusion? Record companies will have to change their business model in order to become relevant in the internet age.

OK, sure, that’s no surprise. But how will they have to change? The article poses some good ideas, many of which I’m rehashing here, but I’d like to take a more personal look at the situation from a musician’s perspective.

If I’m an impoverished musician (aren’t we all?), here are the two things I want from a record label:

(1) Someone to fund the project. This means the recording, production, design, and manufacturing of my album. It’s expensive to make an album and a substantial financial risk — assuming you have enough money in the first place. If you self-produce your album, you better know how you’re going to sell it. Having a record label erases this initial financial outlay.

(2) Someone to market and distribute the finished product. Conceivably a label will have connections all over the industry, both in terms of promotion and placement. I’d rather not worry about ad buys, cold calling, and radio play. If a competent professional can do it instead, sign me up. I’ll be saving a lot of time and cash.

So, ultimately, that’s really what I’d need a record label for: money. Money and connections. I could do all this stuff myself — save up for the recording and manufacturing, create a marketing scheme, distribute the album. But again: it’s expensive and time-consuming. Right?

The good news is, the advent of the digital revolution has made it possible to do most of these steps myself, at little to no cost. I can use Kickstarter or Rockethub to crowdsource funding for the album. If I’m really on a shoestring I can record it on Garageband, free with every Mac. I can design the cover art myself on Photoshop. I can distribute the album digitally through Tunecore and CDBaby. I can begin to market it on Facebook and Myspace.

That’s pretty good, right? But it’s not everything. The process isn’t quite over.

The part I couldn’t do on my own, unless I’m really good at Facebook status updates, is getting my album out there.

Because an underfunded, little-known musician just doesn’t have those mass market record label connections. Radio stations, critics, venues, agents. That’s what the machine, as it has existed until now, is there for. I could have the best, most cheaply made album in the world, but it’s not going to turn into a hit unless people — lots and lots of people — know about it. I need a way to get the word out. I need a way to tour. I need a way to get into the public consciousness. And like it or not, the record labels have those connections.

So if they’re going to survive in the bold new do-it-yourself internet age, they need to find a way to capitalize on those connections. And as the world moves away from physical objects and into cyberspace (except for live music… but that’s another story), that means waking up and learning how to work the internet.

Record companies need to learn how to use their resources and connections — the very things that unknown musicians don’t have — in order to position themselves as an essential part of the process again. In the digital world. This will mean thinking outside the box.

For example, I read something about how the band OK Go, which has become known for its viral music videos, gets paid by its record label to spend months working on video ideas, since just one Youtube hit could equal the publicity of any number of tours.

That’s the kind of thing I’m talking about. Priorities have shifted; it’s a new landscape.

I don’t think we’ve seen the last of record companies, even if they’ll have to exist in a different form. Although it’s terrific that the internet has democratized much of the album process, it’s still nice to have some resources behind you. That’s why companies — banks, firms, (ugh) hedge funds — exist in the first place. And if labels can figure out how to apply that size as a competitive advantage, they’ll stick around.

For better or for worse.

The Hurt Locker

Wed, 10 Mar 2010 09:29:00 -0500

I watched The Hurt Locker again last night. It’s a compelling story. But especially in terms of filmmaking, it’s fascinating.

Kathryn Bigelow, the director, doesn’t waste a detail. Every shot is efficient; every camera movement draws our attention to what Bigelow wants us to see. The tired blink of Sanborn’s eye as he mans the sniper rifle in the desert, which James observes… he asks for the juice box, which, based on his prior selfishness, we assume is for himself… and the camera tracks its progress as James quietly hands it over. It’s the juice box here that is significant, as it symbolizes that James’ character is perhaps more complicated than we had thought.

Or how about the scene in the beginning when James is about to defuse the first bomb. We hear his heavy breathing inside the suit as he approaches the IED, we see a brief shot through the visor, we pull back to see him walking alone, we view the scene through the metal grillework of an apartment window. There’s a terrific sense of context. We sense just how many people are viewing this scene, and we are conscious of their perspectives: James, the other soldiers, the Iraqis in the apartments alongside. And since Bigelow’s efficient style has already signified to us that no shot will be wasted, we know that something as seemingly innocuous as the view through the grillework signals a potential menace; someone must be looking through that viewpoint. Indeed, that initial shot, uninhabited and peaceful, eventually reveals itself as the perspective of a man hustling downstairs to detonate his bomb.

Bigelow accomplishes everything — creating suspense, furthering plot, revealing character — through details like these. And the handheld camerawork and quick zooms mimic how an actual bystander would view the action. As a result, we (sitting comfortably on our couches) feel like we’re actually there. We get enveloped in the film. And then, an occasional sustained, zoomed-out shot punctuates what has just happened, like a period at the end of a sentence, and reminds us that this is just a story.

But, of course, that’s the genius of this forceful Iraq war film: it’s not a story. It’s real.

Six months later...

Tue, 09 Mar 2010 11:00:32 -0500

Halfway into my time in Ireland, I’m going to start up the blog again.

Now, though, it’s more about what I’m thinking than what I’m doing. I might post about music I heard, a movie I saw, issues I read about in the news, who knows. This is mainly a chance for me to write.

And even if I’m doing this mostly for myself, it’s always better to share. Leave comments, feedback, rants in the box below each post.

I’ll start tomorrow… really!…

Summer's End

Thu, 10 Sep 2009 19:14:00 -0400

Wow. I haven’t posted anything for weeks now. Sorry about that. Here’s the belated wrap-up.

Istanbul, as you can see in the last video, was different and unforgettable. I had finally reached the edge of the Middle East and it left me wanting more. Sometime, someday, eastern Turkey beckons.

So I made it to Istanbul. When I take a step back, I realize that is something in itself. The journey there was harder than I thought, that’s for sure. I made some huge planning mistakes - two and a half months of European capitals turned out to be an exercise in masochism. Sure, each one is beautiful. But when everywhere you’re seeing is beautiful, it all starts to blend into sameness. I should have mixed in a few crappy destinations. Because then, you have something to judge by. Still, I saw some wonderful things. And even more importantly, I hung out with some wonderful people. To my friends both old and new, thank you so much.

The busking was not as smooth as I’d hoped. It got better as I reached France and Austria, but never did I make more than 20 euros or so. I wonder if the days of “busking across Europe” are over. Nevertheless I played in almost every city I visited. I met plenty of people and - how’s this for seeing the upside? - I got over any apprehension of playing in front of indifferent crowds. Which is not to say that people didn’t enjoy the music. Many did. From their reactions I learned that Irish music has a reputation across Europe and a distinctive energy that is all its own.

Over the many hours I spent playing on the street, visiting artists, listening to concerts, seeing museums, and hearing Beyonce piped into sidewalk cafes, I came up with a few general ideas and guidelines for a life in art:

Good music has the power to be heard all over the world
Make your house your own and it will improve your creativity
Don’t be afraid to branch out and shake things up
Do work that can stick around, ie. recordings and compositions

I learned some other things, too, mainly lessons about being self-employed. For numerous reasons I’m not going to mention them here. But suffice it to say that this was the Summer of Lesson Learned.

This summer, more than what to do, I learned what not to do.

And that can be a valuable thing.

- - -

I have no idea who’s reading this, but if you are or did, thank you! I hope you enjoyed following along on the trip.

Right now I’m currently settling into a year in Galway, Ireland. I’ve had great adventures even in the last week, but you know what? I’m ready to be off camera for a while.

Keep an eye on this space and on my other website, dangurney.net. I’ll post updates from time to time, and maybe even videos, once I’ve had some time to recover! I have a few big things in the works - a new music-oriented website that will be related to a U.S. tour this winter, a new book, and, most of all, TONS of music.

After all, that’s why I’m here.

Keep in touch, thanks for reading, and all the best,

- Dan

The last stop: Istanbul.

Thu, 10 Sep 2009 18:51:54 -0400

The last stop: Istanbul.

Istanbul!

Mon, 24 Aug 2009 14:54:00 -0400

Fast-forward one surprisingly painless night bus ride, and here I am in Istanbul.

It was really tough to leave the farm, especially since a couple great new volunteers had arrived and things were getting better and better. But I said goodbye to that little corner of Bulgaria, pushed the five kittens off my lap, and got on the bus for Istanbul.

Luckily, Istanbul is awesome. I had a somewhat idealized expectation of “East meets West” but you know what? It’s mostly true. On the tram ride to my hotel, I caught a breathtaking glimpse of the Blue Mosque glistening in the morning sun. It was one of those moments that you know will stick with you even as it’s happening.

Today I walked around Sultanahmet and some of the area across the river, and it’s easy to see how Istanbul has been the center of the world for quite a long time. All kinds of influences mix together here. I feel like I’m seeing a bit of everything - a little Asia, a little Western Europe, a little India, etc.

And for 22 euros, I have a real hotel room, with a bathroom and - this is a first - A/C. Tomorrow I’m going to explore the Grand Bazaar and try out a Turkish Bath.

Now: bed.

Tech issues

Mon, 24 Aug 2009 06:09:31 -0400

For some reason the videos aren’t showing up right now … I think it’s something to do with the fact that I’m in Turkey, where Youtube is outlawed. I’ll see if I can fix it, but more likely it will fix itself in three days once I’m in Ireland.

Last one for Bulgaria… Episode 8. Tomorrow I leave for 3...

Sat, 22 Aug 2009 15:13:23 -0400

Last one for Bulgaria… Episode 8.

Tomorrow I leave for 3 days in Istanbul, and then fly from there to Ireland on the 27th. Hard to believe I’ll be in Galway in less than a week!

No housing plans, as usual. Oops. You’d think I had learned my lesson by now.

Some kind of wrap-up to follow… not now… have to finish the dishes, get the crickets out of my room, and, well, the trip isn’t quite over yet.