http://www.RobertDevereux.com/ en-us Copyright 2007, Robert Devereux webmaster-rss@robertdevereux.com Sun, 6 Jul 2008 05:00 GMT Sun, 6 Jul 2008 05:00 GMT Wed, 25 Jun 2008 05:00:00 GMThttp://www.RobertDevereux.com/blog.php?day=20080625http://www.RobertDevereux.com/blog.php?day=20080625This has been a good week so far. On Sunday, I finished my Wilderness First Aid certification course. Now I should be able to offer more help to people I encounter while hiking. It also puts me closer to leading hikes for Venture Outdoors. Tue, 6 May 2008 05:00:00 GMThttp://www.RobertDevereux.com/blog.php?day=20080506http://www.RobertDevereux.com/blog.php?day=20080506My favorite clothing company, Nau, is closing. Many people focused on Nau's unconventional business model (direct sales only, storefronts exist to let you try on clothes and have them shipped to you). Many focus on the environmental standards they upheld (all organic and recycled fabrics, recycled packaging) and their focus on charities (donating 5% of income to charities). To me, those things were the icing on the cake, the reason I loved Nau was the clothing. Mon, 31 Mar 2008 05:00:00 GMThttp://www.RobertDevereux.com/blog.php?day=20080331http://www.RobertDevereux.com/blog.php?day=20080331The New Weird page at MySpace has a new song from me. Go to the Web site to listen to Squid Blizzard. Fri, 29 Feb 2008 05:00:00 GMThttp://www.RobertDevereux.com/blog.php?day=20080229http://www.RobertDevereux.com/blog.php?day=20080229Shearwater's new disc, Rook, will be released on June 3 (two days after my birthday). Matador Records has one song available for download, Rooks. The song lives up to my high expectations, and if the rest of the CD has the same quality of writing, I expect it to be my favorite 2008 release. Wed, 2 Jan 2008 05:00:00 GMThttp://www.RobertDevereux.com/blog.php?day=20080102http://www.RobertDevereux.com/blog.php?day=20080102I have grown tired of the idea that the release date of a CD matters. Yearly best-of lists require music to be released between specific dates, leaving no room for discovery of older music. Some people make a second best-of list for older releases, but this makes a distinction that I don't care for. The only difference between a new CD and a CD that is "new to me" is marketing, and that doesn't matter to me. Thu, 25 Oct 2007 05:00:00 GMThttp://www.RobertDevereux.com/blog.php?day=20071025http://www.RobertDevereux.com/blog.php?day=20071025I have some photos of my recent trip to Hawaii posted on my Flickr Page. The first six were taken on my first scuba dive in the ocean. Thu, 27 Sep 2007 05:00:00 GMThttp://www.RobertDevereux.com/blog.php?day=20070927http://www.RobertDevereux.com/blog.php?day=20070927People seem to be fooled into thinking Amazon's MP3 store offers higher quality music than iTunes. They think this because Amazon offers 256 kbps MP3 files, while iTunes only offers 128 kbps AAC files. They mistakenly believe that when comparing them, the higher bitrate wins. This isn't true. Thu, 16 Aug 2007 05:00:00 GMThttp://www.RobertDevereux.com/blog.php?day=20070816http://www.RobertDevereux.com/blog.php?day=20070816Unfortunately, working on music has been a low priority lately due to the interference of life. Other things have gotten in the way both for myself and my singer. Thu, 7 Sep 2006 05:00:00 GMThttp://www.RobertDevereux.com/blog.php?day=20060907http://www.RobertDevereux.com/blog.php?day=20060907Jeff VanderMeer has a short video of his recent trip to Europe. Some tracks from Fungicide were used for music. Head over to YouTube to watch it, or head to Jeff's blog. Wed, 6 Sep 2006 05:00:00 GMThttp://www.RobertDevereux.com/blog.php?day=20060906http://www.RobertDevereux.com/blog.php?day=20060906 Tue, 23 May 2006 05:00:00 GMThttp://www.RobertDevereux.com/blog.php?day=20060523http://www.RobertDevereux.com/blog.php?day=20060523 Sat, 13 May 2006 05:00:00 GMThttp://www.RobertDevereux.com/blog.php?day=20060513http://www.RobertDevereux.com/blog.php?day=20060513 Sat, 15 Apr 2006 05:00:00 GMThttp://www.RobertDevereux.com/blog.php?day=20060415http://www.RobertDevereux.com/blog.php?day=20060415 Tue, 11 Apr 2006 05:00:00 GMThttp://www.RobertDevereux.com/blog.php?day=20060411http://www.RobertDevereux.com/blog.php?day=20060411 Thu, 6 Apr 2006 05:00:00 GMThttp://www.RobertDevereux.com/blog.php?day=20060406http://www.RobertDevereux.com/blog.php?day=20060406 Wed, 5 Apr 2006 05:00:00 GMThttp://www.RobertDevereux.com/blog.php?day=20060405http://www.RobertDevereux.com/blog.php?day=20060405Work is progressing slowly on the followup to Fungicide. Two songs are worked out in their entirety, including vocals. The singer and lyricist is Maurice Bajcz, who has worked with the Pittsburgh based experimental music ensemble, Aepithex. Wed, 1 Feb 2006 05:00:00 GMThttp://www.RobertDevereux.com/blog.php?day=20060201http://www.RobertDevereux.com/blog.php?day=20060201 Fri, 27 Jan 2006 05:00:00 GMThttp://www.RobertDevereux.com/blog.php?day=20060127http://www.RobertDevereux.com/blog.php?day=20060127After a long silence, work is finally progressing on the followup to Fungicide. I got together with a singer last night to go over lyrics for several songs. We worked on a few first verses, but did not have time to get beyond them. Thu, 26 Jan 2006 05:00:00 GMThttp://www.RobertDevereux.com/blog.php?day=20060126http://www.RobertDevereux.com/blog.php?day=20060126 Tue, 3 Jan 2006 05:00:00 GMThttp://www.RobertDevereux.com/blog.php?day=20060103http://www.RobertDevereux.com/blog.php?day=20060103I realize 2005 just ended, but this provides a good opportunity to revisit 2004. Albums bought in 2004 have now had over a year to be digested. Now is a better time to judge the merit of the music. Was the album included only because it was new? Did it quickly fade away, or or does it really hold up to repeated listens? Thu, 15 Dec 2005 05:00:00 GMThttp://www.RobertDevereux.com/blog.php?day=20051215http://www.RobertDevereux.com/blog.php?day=20051215Why do we have to make yearly "Top-10" or "Top-20" lists? What's the point in listing an arbitrary number of albums? If you think more than 10 albums are worth mentioning, you should list all of them. If you don't think 10 albums are worth mentioning, you shouldn't add mediocre albums just to fill out the list. Wed, 9 Nov 2005 05:00:00 GMThttp://www.RobertDevereux.com/blog.php?day=20051109http://www.RobertDevereux.com/blog.php?day=20051109Fungicide is now available through Amazon.com. If you enjoyed it please write customer reviews or include it in lists. Wed, 28 Sep 2005 05:00:00 GMThttp://www.RobertDevereux.com/blog.php?day=20050928http://www.RobertDevereux.com/blog.php?day=20050928On Tuesday night, I saw Joseph Arthur perform live at Club Cafe. His performance was interesting, and I've never seen anybody play quite the way he does. Wed, 14 Sep 2005 05:00:00 GMThttp://www.RobertDevereux.com/blog.php?day=20050914http://www.RobertDevereux.com/blog.php?day=20050914I previously compiled a Best of 2003 list. More than 18 months later, I revisited it, to see what may have changed during that time. Mon, 22 Aug 2005 05:00:00 GMThttp://www.RobertDevereux.com/blog.php?day=20050822http://www.RobertDevereux.com/blog.php?day=20050822 Thu, 7 Jul 2005 05:00:00 GMThttp://www.RobertDevereux.com/blog.php?day=20050707http://www.RobertDevereux.com/blog.php?day=20050707It's pretty hard to find reviews for When. The Lobster Boys has a decent number of reviews you can find in Google, but Pearl-Harvest has fewer, and Whenever has barely any. This is a shame because When makes such good music and should be heard by more people. Thu, 16 Jun 2005 05:00:00 GMThttp://www.RobertDevereux.com/blog.php?day=20050616http://www.RobertDevereux.com/blog.php?day=20050616I recently got a Surround Sound system and have been watching a lot of films and listening to a lot of music with surround mixes. Very little of it is worth having a surround sound system for. Mon, 6 Jun 2005 05:00:00 GMThttp://www.RobertDevereux.com/blog.php?day=20050606http://www.RobertDevereux.com/blog.php?day=20050606In March of 2002, Jeff VanderMeer wrote an editorial for Fantastic Metropolis. It was titled The Shadow Cabinet and dealt with out of print or hard to find books. He recommended many great books that are frequently overlooked, books that can only be found by scouring used bookstores and that are worth the search. Tue, 17 May 2005 05:00:00 GMThttp://www.RobertDevereux.com/blog.php?day=20050517http://www.RobertDevereux.com/blog.php?day=20050517To promote the UK paperback of City of Saints and Madmen, a short video was made which features Flooded Streets. Watch the video here. Sun, 15 May 2005 05:00:00 GMThttp://www.RobertDevereux.com/blog.php?day=20050515http://www.RobertDevereux.com/blog.php?day=20050515I've begun working on demo tracks for a new album. It will be a continuation (and revision) of my Strange Travelers demo: rock music, some world music influence, and it will have lyrics. It will incorporate the weirdness and atmospheres of Fungicide. Mon, 9 May 2005 05:00:00 GMThttp://www.RobertDevereux.com/blog.php?day=20050509http://www.RobertDevereux.com/blog.php?day=20050509 Thu, 5 May 2005 05:00:00 GMThttp://www.RobertDevereux.com/blog.php?day=20050505http://www.RobertDevereux.com/blog.php?day=20050505 Wed, 4 May 2005 05:00:00 GMThttp://www.RobertDevereux.com/blog.php?day=20050504http://www.RobertDevereux.com/blog.php?day=20050504 Tue, 3 May 2005 05:00:00 GMThttp://www.RobertDevereux.com/blog.php?day=20050503http://www.RobertDevereux.com/blog.php?day=20050503 Mon, 2 May 2005 05:00:00 GMThttp://www.RobertDevereux.com/blog.php?day=20050502http://www.RobertDevereux.com/blog.php?day=20050502 Fri, 29 Apr 2005 05:00:00 GMThttp://www.RobertDevereux.com/blog.php?day=20050429http://www.RobertDevereux.com/blog.php?day=20050429 Thu, 28 Apr 2005 05:00:00 GMThttp://www.RobertDevereux.com/blog.php?day=20050428http://www.RobertDevereux.com/blog.php?day=20050428 Wed, 27 Apr 2005 05:00:00 GMThttp://www.RobertDevereux.com/blog.php?day=20050427http://www.RobertDevereux.com/blog.php?day=20050427 Tue, 26 Apr 2005 05:00:00 GMThttp://www.RobertDevereux.com/blog.php?day=20050426http://www.RobertDevereux.com/blog.php?day=20050426Continuing with the ideas behind the review of Book of the Key, I'm trying some new approaches to reviews. Instead of simply describing the music, I feel the music should dictate the form of the reviews. Some will continue the storytelling style of Book of the Key, but some consist of other ideas, drawn from the music and lyrics. Fri, 15 Apr 2005 05:00:00 GMThttp://www.RobertDevereux.com/blog.php?day=20050415http://www.RobertDevereux.com/blog.php?day=20050415For most bands, cover songs are not interesting. They usually faithfully recreate the songs in a bland and uninspired manner. Or they make enough changes so it sounds close, but not enough to make the song stand out. Why listen to the cover when you can listen to the original? Thu, 14 Apr 2005 05:00:00 GMThttp://www.RobertDevereux.com/blog.php?day=20050414http://www.RobertDevereux.com/blog.php?day=20050414So says a page from University of Helsinki. Thu, 31 Mar 2005 05:00:00 GMThttp://www.RobertDevereux.com/blog.php?day=20050331http://www.RobertDevereux.com/blog.php?day=20050331There was a survey conducted regarding the most wanted and unwanted songs. The results can be found at DiaBooks.org. The most unwanted song sounds like it could be interesting. Mon, 21 Mar 2005 05:00:00 GMThttp://www.RobertDevereux.com/blog.php?day=20050321http://www.RobertDevereux.com/blog.php?day=20050321In a previous entry, I tried a little experiment. I wrote a review of Anthony Curtis's CD in the form of a short story. I was curious if one could convey what a piece of music sounded like, without actually talking about the music. Fri, 11 Mar 2005 05:00:00 GMThttp://www.RobertDevereux.com/blog.php?day=20050311http://www.RobertDevereux.com/blog.php?day=20050311 Fri, 25 Feb 2005 05:00:00 GMThttp://www.RobertDevereux.com/blog.php?day=20050225http://www.RobertDevereux.com/blog.php?day=20050225 Thu, 24 Feb 2005 05:00:00 GMThttp://www.RobertDevereux.com/blog.php?day=20050224http://www.RobertDevereux.com/blog.php?day=20050224 Thu, 17 Feb 2005 05:00:00 GMThttp://www.RobertDevereux.com/blog.php?day=20050217http://www.RobertDevereux.com/blog.php?day=20050217 Wed, 16 Feb 2005 05:00:00 GMThttp://www.RobertDevereux.com/blog.php?day=20050216http://www.RobertDevereux.com/blog.php?day=20050216 Wed, 9 Feb 2005 05:00:00 GMThttp://www.RobertDevereux.com/blog.php?day=20050209http://www.RobertDevereux.com/blog.php?day=20050209 Wed, 3 Nov 2004 05:00:00 GMThttp://www.RobertDevereux.com/blog.php?day=20041103http://www.RobertDevereux.com/blog.php?day=20041103I have finished my travels in New Zealand and Australia. I have some photos of New Zealand and a separatepage of photos from Australia. Thu, 13 May 2004 05:00:00 GMThttp://www.RobertDevereux.com/blog.php?day=20040513http://www.RobertDevereux.com/blog.php?day=20040513Cinescapehas a review of Fungicide available online here. Sat, 3 Apr 2004 05:00:00 GMThttp://www.RobertDevereux.com/blog.php?day=20040403http://www.RobertDevereux.com/blog.php?day=20040403Satan Stole My Teddybear has just reviewed Fungicide. Read the full review here. Thu, 1 Apr 2004 05:00:00 GMThttp://www.RobertDevereux.com/blog.php?day=20040401http://www.RobertDevereux.com/blog.php?day=20040401Video clips of some short films by Elizabeth Cromwell have been added to the Miscellaneous Music page. Elizabeth did the spoken word part on Fungicide, and has been working on Tom Savini's most recent project, Chill Factor. Wed, 10 Mar 2004 05:00:00 GMThttp://www.RobertDevereux.com/blog.php?day=20040310http://www.RobertDevereux.com/blog.php?day=20040310Dead Angel gave a very nice review of Fungicide in issue 62. Thu, 19 Feb 2004 05:00:00 GMThttp://www.RobertDevereux.com/blog.php?day=20040219http://www.RobertDevereux.com/blog.php?day=20040219Orlando Weekly has published an article about Jeff VanderMeer. I'm mentioned towards the end of the article. Mon, 12 Jan 2004 05:00:00 GMThttp://www.RobertDevereux.com/blog.php?day=20040112http://www.RobertDevereux.com/blog.php?day=20040112Here is my list of the best music and books of 2003. Thu, 30 Oct 2003 05:00:00 GMThttp://www.RobertDevereux.com/blog.php?day=20031030http://www.RobertDevereux.com/blog.php?day=20031030 Fungicide is now available! Online ordering is not set up yet, but the CD should be available through CD Baby and Shocklines very soon. If you live in Pittsburgh, copies can be purchased from Paul's CDs or Eides. See the order page for more information. Fri, 10 Oct 2003 05:00:00 GMThttp://www.RobertDevereux.com/blog.php?day=20031010http://www.RobertDevereux.com/blog.php?day=20031010The CD release party for Fungicide was held on November 8, 2003. See photos from it here. Sat, 4 Oct 2003 05:00:00 GMThttp://www.RobertDevereux.com/blog.php?day=20031004http://www.RobertDevereux.com/blog.php?day=20031004I spent the weekend in Washington DC for the World Fantasy Convention. The main reason I went was to meet Jeff VanderMeer in person. After working on Fungicide with him for over a year, all through e-mail, it was nice to meet him in person. The other reasons for attending were to meet other authors and artists, and to buy books. I only attended the final day of the convention, arriving there Sunday morning. Mon, 29 Sep 2003 05:00:00 GMThttp://www.RobertDevereux.com/blog.php?day=20030929http://www.RobertDevereux.com/blog.php?day=20030929Fungicide is at the printer, and I expect to have copies within a few weeks. The CD will make its debut at the World Fantasy Convention in Washington, DC over the Halloween weekend. It will be available for sale through CD Baby shortly after, with more vendors following. Thu, 22 May 2003 05:00:00 GMThttp://www.RobertDevereux.com/blog.php?day=20030522http://www.RobertDevereux.com/blog.php?day=20030522Fungicide is currently scheduled for an August/September release, to coincide with the trade paperback version of City of Saints and Madmen. More audio samples are coming soon.