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Automatic Christmas Music

Posted by michael on from the rated-m-for-muzak dept.

crispinalt writes "Just in time for the holiday season, Brian Whitman, the creator of Eigenradio, has had his computers compose the 'statistically optimal' Christmas music in A Singular Christmas, a freely downloadable MP3 album. A bank of computers listened to as much Christmas music as they could handle, and then learned their own true meaning of holiday cheer. Enjoy!"

15 of 295 comments (clear)

  1. I'm waiting for missing track #17 - Silent night! by garcia · · Score: 4, Informative

    Hmm, I don't know if any of you will be able to actually listen to this "music" but it certainly isn't worth wasting your time and bandwith to try. Expecting something more like "music" I downloaded it at work and at home before the story posted to the front page for everyone...

    To my surprise it is quite "infantile". What I mean when I say "infantile" is that it sounds like a 9 month old baby banging on the keys randomly until you want to duct tape their hands together (see 02 - Mountain noel for an example of this).

    03 - Faithful clear is certainly "clear" as it is basically the same tone for 2:31. Really holidayish, thanks! Expecting 13 - Cherry misfortune to perhaps be exactly the opposite I listened intently three times hoping to catch a glimpse of the artistry that would cause this story to be posted to Slashdot. I didn't find it.

    Needless to say it won't exactly be a Merry Christmas for Brian Whitman and his computers and I doubt they will be making any money anytime soon if they continue to put out work of this "caliber"...

    Brian, perhaps "17 - Silent night" should just be a blank MP3 that goes on for 2:34. I think that one would be the most popular.

  2. My cats can do better by jdray · · Score: 4, Funny

    1. Spread catnip on organ keys
    2. Add two cats and a recorder
    3. ???
    4. Profit!!

    --
    The Spoon
    Updated 6/28/2011
  3. NO MORE CHRISTMAS MUSIC! by lilmouse · · Score: 5, Funny

    I work at Rockefeller Center in NYC - the music is starting to drive me mad!! The *last* thing I need is people finding ways to optimize the torture!

    --LWM

    1. Re:NO MORE CHRISTMAS MUSIC! by ender- · · Score: 4, Insightful

      I'm not sure I'd really want to advertise my Christmas specials during or immediately following the airing of A Charlie Brown Christmas.

      No, but it proves that most people probably just watch the pretty cartoons, and have no concept of the meaning of what they've just watched. Because you KNOW that most of them watch the show, then said, "Oooh, Mervyn's is having a sale!".

      ender-

      --
      Nothing to see here
  4. Re:This is the aural equivalent... by east+coast · · Score: 4, Funny

    All Christmas music is the aural equivalent of fruit cake.

    --
    Dedicated Cthulhu Cultist since 4523 BC.
  5. I for one.... by CharonX · · Score: 4, Funny

    I for one greet our new Christmas-song listening computerized Overlords.

    --
    +++ MELON MELON MELON +++ Out of Cheese Error +++ redo from start +++
  6. Silent Server...Holy Server by FerretFrottage · · Score: 5, Funny

    all is gone, all the bytes
    round platters spinning away
    IT admins going "what the hey"
    Thrash in heavenly peace, thrash your drives to pieces.

    --
    "Look Lois, the two symbols of the Republican Party: an elephant, and a fat white guy who is threatened by change."
  7. Re:I'm waiting for missing track #17 - Silent nigh by TBone · · Score: 4, Informative
    Garcia said:
    Brian, perhaps 17 - Silent night should just be a blank MP3 that goes on for 2:34. I think that one would be the most popular.

    It would also be a Copyright Infringement of John Cage's most famous work :)

    --

    This space for rent. Call 1-800-STEAK4U

  8. this guys in trouble by bigberk · · Score: 4, Funny

    but how can he post these?!? MP3s are illegal. mit's gonna have is ass. he should be ashamed for robbing profits from a desperate industry

  9. Not really new by CharonX · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Not really new I think.
    They already use this technique to churn out new Boybands and Reality TV shows - at least that's the only way I can explain them. :)

    --
    +++ MELON MELON MELON +++ Out of Cheese Error +++ redo from start +++
  10. UHF by suso · · Score: 4, Insightful

    You know, sometimes slashdot reminds me of that old Weird Al movie UHF:

    Stanley Spadowski: Who wants to take a drink from the fire hose!
    *Kid gets knocked up against the wall by the water pressure*

    Slashdot is the water pressure.

  11. ahahaa holy god by Perianwyr+Stormcrow · · Score: 4, Funny

    The album should be called "A Christmas In Computer Hell" or maybe "Heilige Fucked Up Buzz Box Nacht"

    --

    What we call folk wisdom is often no more than a kind of expedient stupidity.-Edward Abbey

  12. Re:If someone wants to give it to me I could mirro by Bill_Royle · · Score: 5, Funny

    Miami network admin: "Sir? We've got gigabytes of usage all of a sudden, all from one VLAN."

    Miami network manager: "Let's see... all the students have gone home. Who's left in that building?"

    30 seconds later, Toadman8 becomes confused as his IM session (and all network traffic) drops.

    Moral of the story: When laying waste to a network bandwidth-wise, it is best to do it when you're able to point a finger elsewhere.

  13. I've studied music! by scottblascocomposer · · Score: 4, Interesting
    Actually, its fantastically difficult (if not impossible) to write good or interesting music without using dissonant chords! Dissonances are necessary to make a harmonic progression interesting, whether they are dissonances between harmonies, or within them.

    Um, let's see, what else? Ah, the tritone (augmented 4th/diminished 5th) was the Devil's tone, and it was in fact essentially verboten for some time, but has certainly been in wide use both in and out of the church for the last 300 years at least. Oh, and Mozart wrote a string quartet which was dubbed "Dissonances" that very successfully makes dissonant harmonies a fundamental part of it's materials.

    I'm a pretty competent musician, a composer no less, and I couldn't imagine keeping a musical line interesting without the use of dissonance at some level--it really is not feasible. Its like trying to discern depth without light and shadows... contrastless mush.

    --
    To reign is to serve.
  14. Re:A torrent, a torrent... by __aaitqo8496 · · Score: 4, Informative

    never done this before so i hope it works correctly...

    http://maximus.homedns.org/A_Singular_Christmas.zi p.torrent

    If I notice funny business I'll kill my entire connection so play nice :)