Sophisticates #30: Wait, Video DID Kill the Radio Star
In today’s episode, Ryan, Rajan, and Patches speculate on the future of radio, if we really need it with all the tech we have today or if it serves a greater purpose than flooding our cars with Top 50 hits.
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TweetThe Sophisticates #21
This week:
- Adapting Books into Books (1:14)
- Being Blind in a Paperless World (13:36)
- The Future of Music (23:57)
Leave comments/retorts/suggestions by clicking the header, subscribing to the podcast on iTunes or following @sophisticast on Twitter! If you would like to be a guest on the show, feel free to send us topic submissions and we’ll find a time to have you on!
What do you think about this weeks topics?
Tweet
Rihanna is often described as a ‘manufactured’ pop star, because she doesn’t write her songs, but neither did Sinatra or Elvis. She embodies a song in the way an actor inhabits a role—and no one expects the actor to write the script.
- John Seabrook, “The Song Machine,” The New Yorker, March 26, 2012
The Sophisticates #15
This week:
- Rebecca Black and Meta-Narcissism (1:15)
- Sympathy for Big Businesses (11:11)
- Polo Shirts as a Symbol for “The Man” (21:10)
Leave comments/retorts/suggestions by clicking the header, e-mailing sophisticatespodcast@gmail.com or following @sophisticast on Twitter! If you would like to be a guest on the show, feel free to send us topic submissions and we’ll find a time to have you on!
What do you think about this weeks topics?
TweetThe Flamethrower Trombone
“This is a working playing flamethrower trombone that has fire on demand. It is made up from plumbing, torch, and compressed air parts. It took about two weeks and a couple of weekends to complete. It has a 21 foot range with the fireball, and a concussion wave of 150 feet. It can be difficult to play since it has a recoil.”
One of my favorite feeds in my news reader is CICLOPS, the Cassini Imaging Central Laboratory for Operations. It’s an endless stream of black and white photos of — and the occasional paper about — Saturn, its 62 moons and other satellites. For someone who loves space, its exploration and the possibilities it offers, this almost-daily deposit of images is some serious fuel for the imagination.
The above video is a stunning presentation of some of those photos. It compiles hundreds of images from the Cassini Mission and sets them in motion alongside a track off of Nine Inch Nails’ album, Ghosts¹. The video’s creator, Chris Abbas, describes his project the best when he says,
I truly enjoy outer space. It’s absolutely amazing that we now have the ability to send instruments out into the void of the universe to observe all sorts of interesting things. Asteroids! Moons! Planets! Dark matter! This is the perfect opportunity for a Carl Sagan quote:
“Somewhere, something incredible is waiting to be known.”
1: Ghosts, described by its creator, is “a soundtrack for daydreams.”
Sheet music for John Cage’s “Aria”
Here’s one vocalist’s interpretation:
Listen!
We’re almost ten episodes in (#9 comes later this week), but check out our past eight, with a variety of topics to suit your quest for thinking. If you like what you hear, please share with others! You can find all the episodes here, but here’s a rundown of what we’ve done so far:
Episode 1: The Hobo Box, Cafe Music, First on the Airplane
Episode 2: Beanie Babies, Sharing Your Parents’ Tastes, Conspiracy Theories
Episode 3: E-Mail Formality, Boomboxes, The Hipster Grifter
Episode 4: Rape Mystery Party, Training Your Attention Span, Sex in Space
Episode 5: Vanguards for Prostitutes, Weather Mood, Finding a Worthy Tattoo
Episode 6: YouTube Education, Standing Ovations, Building New Monuments
Episode 7: Geographic Freedom, Guys Dancing with Guys, Cutting Back on Space Travel
Episode 8: Twitter Insurance, Profiling People When Asking for Help, Context vs. Success of Dating
As always, feedback and topic suggestions always welcome!
When was the last time you didn’t give a standing ovation at a concert?
