original

This is interesting. Sony Music's The Remix Project is a contest on Facebook where music fans can create their own remix of Dylan's "Subterranean Homesick Blues" using the song's original 4-track "stems"--the individual vocal, guitar, bass, and drum tracks.

Fans can mix and match the components of the original, with new versions of the classic that have been recorded for the project by Sony Music artists, including The Ting Tings, 2AM Club, and more. Best of all, fans can record and upload their own covers of "Subterranean Homesick Blues," and … Read more

A commercial pilot project for carbon sequestration and large-scale algae biofuel manufacturing in Australia has been successfully completed, OriginOil announced today.

The company partnered with Australian energy company MBD Energy through a licensing agreement that has allowed both companies to share intellectual property on proprietary algae-to-fuel conversion processes.

The algae-to-fuel process in this case begins with an existing coal power plant.

CO2, given off as a byproduct of MBD Energy's coal-fired power plants, is captured by micro-algae. The micro-algae convert that captured CO2 and use it to reproduce, creating higher amounts of algae, which can then be used as … Read more

"The Witmark Demos" two-CD (or four-LP) set features 47 Bob Dylan songs recorded for his music publishers, Leeds Music and M. Witmark & Sons between 1962 and 1964. Fifteen songs have never been officially released until now. All of the songs on "The Witmark Demos" were written and recorded before Dylan was 24 years old.

Some of the earliest songs on "The Witmark Demos" weren't first heard on Dylan's own albums; they were covered by others, including Peter, Paul, and Mary, Stevie Wonder, Judy Collins, and the Byrds. In 1962-3 Dylan was primarily known as a songwriter, and the demos were made in hopes of getting more artists to cover his songs.

The demos weren't recorded at official Columbia Records sessions, so there's no fancy production or sweetening, just Dylan singing and playing his guitar in a tiny 6-by-8-foot studio at Witmark Publishing on 51st Street and Madison Ave. in NYC. "The Witmark Demos" contains Dylan's very first recordings of songs like "Blowin' In the Wind" and "The Times They Are A-Changin'," so it's almost as if you're hearing them at their moment of creation.

Reissue producer Steve Berkowitz worked from the surviving original analog tapes and promo records. The amount of research that went into finding the best possible tapes and other materials from nearly 50 years ago was extensive. Even so, some tunes are distorted and downright fuzzy, and sound quality varies from track to track, but most are good, and some are the best, most natural sounding versions I've heard. The demo recordings are free of dynamic range compression so you really hear Dylan singing his guts out. "Boots Of Spanish Leather" gave me a new appreciation for Dylan's singing. He's really thinking about the words. … Read more

When I was a kid, holding the light while my father turned wrenches in some dark corner of the family car's engine bay was a sacred duty to be performed seriously and to the best of my ability. I don't have kids of my own, so when I find myself in need of illumination, I often find myself precariously balancing a hot work light into some odd angle or awkwardly holding a pen light between my teeth. For those who have found themselves in similar situations, Joby, creator of the Gorillapod camera mounting system, has just announced the … Read more

Nissan and Original Wraps today launched Nissan Graphics for the Cube, and soon for the Juke, Frontier, and other models.

The decorative wraps come in graphics for side, front, and hood. The decorations are all printed on automotive-grade 3M Scotchprint On-Demand vinyl and are fade-resistant.

The catalog features stars, stripes, polka dots, and flowers, so the images should appeal to tastes ranging from subtle to bold.

Prices range from $100 to $300 with installation.

"The Original Mono Recordings" box set features Bob Dylan's first eight albums, available on CD and in their original release format, mono LPs (and on MP3, sans box). The set runs from his first album, "Bob Dylan," released in March 1962, to "John Wesley Harding" from late December 1967. At that time most people listened to Dylan's music over mono AM radios in the car, mono portable radios, or mono home hi-fi systems. Sure, stereo Dylan LPs were simultaneously released with the monos, but it's my best guess that Dylan and his production team listened to the mono mixes in the studio. Besides, mono LPs retailed for $2.98 in the early 1960s, and stereo LPs were a buck more, so most kids bought the mono, even if they had a stereo (that would include me). "John Wesley Harding" was the last mono LP from Dylan; after that all subsequent American releases were stereo only. So unless you have original 1960s-era LPs, chances are you've never heard the mono mixes.

I spoke with reissue producer Steve Berkowitz to get more details about how the transfers were done. He assured me the 96/kHz-24-bit resolution digital masters were made from the original analog master tapes, played on vintage mono tape machines, and that the LPs were cut directly from the analog masters. I was relieved to hear that; most, no, nearly all newly recorded or remastered old analog music that comes out on LP is sourced from digital masters. "The Original Mono Recordings" on LP are pure analog discs, with no digital conversions whatsoever in the mastering process. The LPs were cut here in NYC at Sterling Sound by George Marino, a true master of the record-cutting lathe.

Berkowitz stressed the guiding principle for everyone involved, including engineer Mark Wilder and producer Jeff Rosen, was to make the new LPs sound as close to the first generation American LPs as possible. Berkowitz said, "We went back and forth comparing the new mono LPs and CDs with the original LPs. They were the 'masters' we served to replicate." … Read more

Load your shotgun, put on your trench coat, and find your best black hat. The first thing you notice about Vampire Origins HD for iPad ($4.99) is the great artistic style and smooth UI. Chillingo (makers of InkVaders HD and Angry Birds) seems to have a great eye for design, but in the case of VOHD, game writing does not appear to be a priority.

Despite the coolness of the hero character, Vincent, and the fact that you get to destroy plenty of vampires, transitional screen graphics contain less-than-inspired prose. Add the lackluster variety in the gameplay and Vampire … Read more

Update: Origin informs us that the Big O will, in fact, support a wireless Xbox controller out of the box.

Origin PC made a strong impression on us a few months ago when, in its first-ever CNET review, it earned an Editors' Choice Award for its high-end Genesis gaming desktop. As strong as we found that near-$5,000 PC, it was a relatively by-the-numbers luxury gaming box. Origin's new Big O desktop is anything but.

Starting at $7,669, the Big O features a double-wide case (the Danger Den Tower 21, to be specific) with all the usual high-end bells and whistles. Even in the base configuration, the CPU, both GPUs, and the motherboard all come liquid-cooled. Upgrade options include up to two six-core Intel Xeon X5680 CPUs, two 1,000-watt power supplies, and up to four graphics cards. All of that is, of course, impressive, but the real innovation comes along the bottom edge of the system, where Origin has built in a liquid-cooled Xbox 360 Slim.

You can see from the detail shot exactly how the Xbox 360 has been built into the Big O. By the wired controller in the picture we gather that Origin has not been able to build in wireless support, but if you're willing to spend $7,000-plus on a PC such as this one, we don't suppose an extra $99 for the Windows wireless controller kit will present much of a financial obstacle.

… Read more

Load your shotgun, put on your trench coat, and find your best black hat. Vampire Origins HD combines slick design and hardcore vampire-blasting action, but it falls short of great because of poor writing and repetitive game play.

The first thing you notice about Vampire Origins HD for iPad ($4.99) is its great artistic style and smooth interface. Chillingo, makers of InkVaders HD and Angry Birds, seems to have a great eye for design, but in the case of VOHD, game writing does not appear to be a priority.

Despite the coolness of the hero character, Vincent, and the … Read more