Watching Sound

Via the On Being Blog, here is a wonderful visualization of a Beach Boys' vocal sample. It uses a "mathematical relationship between a the circumference of a circular surface and pitch."

Friday 80s Flashback for July 19, 2013

"Look at what's happened to me: I'm an accidental superhero!"

[This Looks Like a Job for a Hero! -- Redux] -- I am attending the San Diego Comic-Con this week, and I don't have time to write a new post. So I figured I could re-use the heroic SDCC theme from the 2011 Flashback. I'm fully immersed in movies, comics, web-series, video games, and other media that deal with heroes, anti-heroes, reluctant heroes, and the occasional, honest-to-badness villain. I'll do my best to have a new playlist of 80s music next week. But until then, you can read and hear a flashback of a Flashback after the break.

Friday 80s Flashback for July 12, 2013

[Sharknado] -- I admit it. I watched Syfy's latest craptacular film, Sharknado. But I watched it with the rest of Twitter nation, and I had a howling good time reading the snarknado of tweets. And, although I had something else in mind for this week's Friday 80s Flashback, I knew there was only one way to cap this evening: A retrospective on Great White!

Vocalist Jack Russell and guitarist Mark Kendall had known each other, and had sometimes worked together, since about 1978. However, Great White didn't form until the latter half of the 80s, when Russell and Kendall finally coalesced as a band with drummer Gary Holland and bassist Lorne Black. They supposedly chose their name after Kendall's nickname -- he was called "Great White" after his naturally white-blonde hair, white Fender Telecaster guitar, white jumpsuit, and white shoes. It's a good thing whitening toothpaste wasn't available at the time. He could have seriously blinded people! Fortunately, no one overly suffered that bright image.

Great White remained more or less active until The Station Nightclub fire which killed almost 100 people in a Rhode Island nightclub in 2003. There are now two separate incarnations of Great White. One came out of a 2006 reunion tour, but had to replace an ailing Jack Russell in 2010. And the other, known as "Jack Russell's Great White," was formed by Russell after his recovery, but it features an all-new lineup. There is currently a legal battle of Sharknado proportions over the name and logo.

But here at the Flashback, we're not concerned with a band's current legal woes -- we need concern ourselves with only the music they once produced. Which tunes have the most teeth for this blog? Read and hear more after the break. Oh, and watch out for the spandex and hair spray.

Friday 80 Flashback for July 5, 2013

"Old Glory, Patriotic Rustic Peeling American Flag"
Some rights reserved by Beverly & Pack

[Red, White, and Blue] -- You can look elsewhere for the history of "God Bless America" or facts about the Declaration of Independence. However, I think 80s rock goes hand-in-hand with celebrating the Fourth of July. And if you're visiting my blog, I'm guessing you agree with me, right? For this year's celebration of Independence Day, we're looking at songs that are red, white, or blue. To find out what tunes made this week's star-spangled playlist, read and hear more after the break.

Happy Fourth of July! (Sorry Gotham)