Music Stuff
The
stuff I've collected over the past few years since I've owned
this computer has amassed quite the chunk of hard-drive
space. Since my ISP provides a limited amount of drive space,
E-mail me to receive anything listed below.
If
it's got something to do with music, chances are I've got it, or
I'm onto its trail. But lately I'm discovering that I'm taking a lot of my cues from my buddy Jeff Pitman. He's hooked me up with all sorts of cool stuff and helped me find new ways to get more cool tunes for the 'puter. He's also shown me the benefit of having a CD burner.
MP3 Files
MP3
files are the wave of the future - no pun intended. These files are the latest in
digitally recorded music. The files have been either mastered in digital format
and converted to MP3 format for easier and more compacted downloads, or ripped from actual audio files and converted. Of
course, a lot of pirating of copyrighted music goes on, so be careful what
you choose to keep. But there is a lot of original music out there for the
taking.
They've even marketed a personal Walkman-style MP3 player for which you can
download your favorite MP3 files and import them into the player for around
an hours worth of music. Slick, eh? I've also heard they are working on a unit that will allow some 35 hours of music, available as a pull-out system for your car - complete with AM/FM. I think MP3's might be here to stay.
One of the coolest places I've found to get what I need in MP3 format is MP3.com. This place is the authority for all things MP3. Click on this link to get your own MP3 Player, Mod Player, or Combination player. They also have MP3 files and links to other sources of most sound files
Go to this site to get the coolest Multi-role player out there - Nullsoft's WinAmp. The latest version is here as well as a bunch of cool plugins to make the player more fun and functional.
One last cool place you must check out is Napster. This place is like ICQ for MP3 enthusiasts. You'll register with Napster, download some MP3's, and share them with everybody else - which makes a pretty damn big library. You'll find almost anything you can think of through Napster.
Mod Files
Mod
files...You're probably asking yourself what the heck Mod files
are. Simply put, they are somewhere between a MIDI file and a
Wave file. Not quite MP3, but just as cool. The Mod file editors
allow you to insert sampled noises, sounds, instruments and
manipulate them much the same as MIDIs, but have a much bigger
variety of input media you can use.
Mod files are also an artform. There are lots of people out there who are making mod files out of various samples and turning out some pretty cool tunes. Even though I prefer MP3's, I've got a strong liking for the Mods.
You can either try and find a current copy of a good Mod player, or simply download the WinAmp player mentioned above and use it for Mods as well. The Mod Archive is a great place to start into the world of Mods. Unfortunately, this site has temporarily gone offline - I'll track it down and get a good URL for it soon.
MIDI Files
My MIDI File listing is immense! I have almost 50 Meg of MIDI files, which if you are a MIDI-Phile you'll know that is a helluva lot of MIDI files. I feel bad because I used to swear by MIDIs until I got into Mods, and later, MP3's. I haven't gotten many new MIDI files, and I even rarely listen to them anymore, except for these web pages.
The MIDI files I have range from AC/DC, to ZZ Top, to Bach, to Vivaldi, to Flock of Seagulls, to Metallica, to those Macarena dudes, to Will Smith, to Vangelis, to Dueling Banjos, to the Star Wars soundtrack suite, to Depeche Mode, to Rush, to Enigma, to Van Halen (of course), and on and on and on...
Basically,
I've got something from every category of music out there, with
the exception of hardcore Gangsta Rap, Deep jungle tribal music,
that Achy-Breaky song, or anything by those little weenies that go
by the name of Hanson. Notice they spell their names wrong
anyway.
This is one of the cool places I've gone to find MIDIs when I was seriously into collecting them.
The Complete MIDI File Directory This'll get'cha started...
Music and Links
These links will get you the latest on some of my favorite bands - keep checking, I'll keep adding.
The Official Van Halen Web Site
Check out my Van Halen page
