Stephen Mejias

I’m sort of a jerk (stubborn, old-fashioned, anti-social, fiercely independent) and have managed, for my entire adult life, to survive without the Internet in my home. I realize that that will someday have to change&#151probably sooner than later&#151as I relinquish my autonomous life for one shared with another person. (And her two cats.)

For many people, the Internet means access to email, social networking sites, weblogs, forums, countless apps and other crap. For me, the Internet will inevitably mean Computer Audio.

And when the time comes for me to dive into Computer Audio, I’ll rely on Michael Lavorgna’s AudioStream to lead the way.

We all know that good beer and good music make a beautiful couple, so it should come as no big surprise that craft brewer Stillwater Artisanal Ales is partnering with independent artists to create a new line of beers. The first of Stillwater’s Sensory Series is inspired by “In the End is the Beginning,” the closing track from Lower Dens’ recently released Nootropics.

Says Brian Strumke, Stillwater owner and brew master:

Wednesday, September 19, 6–9pm: Innovative Audio Video (150 East 58th Street, New York) will hold a “Meet the Innovators” event, featuring Dan D’Agostino, who will introduce and demonstrate the new D'Agostino Master Audio Systems Momentum Analog preamplifier. Refreshments will be served. Space is limited. RSVP: (212) 634-4444 or info@iavny.com.

I'll have more to say about Dan Deacon's America, both here and in the pages of Stereophile, but, for now, I'll just quickly say that I like it&#151a LOT.

Full of major chords and glorious crescendos, littered with screeching electronic noise and dressed up with sweeping violins, America is bold, ambitious, arrogant, pretentious, and really beautiful.

As I mention in last month’s “Entry Level,” September 5th would have been John Cage’s 100th birthday, and celebrations of all shapes and sizes are taking place around the world. Fans of Cage’s music are especially lucky: several exciting new releases are now available.

Here are just a few:

I will not pretend to understand the concept behind The Ganzfeld EP, electronic duo Matmos’ upcoming release, but I will simply say that I dig it, deeply. From the press release, because I can’t say it any better:

The EP and the album [The Marriage of True Minds, available early 2013] have the same conceptual basis: telepathy.

Telepathy!

For the past four years the band have been conducting parapsychological experiments based upon the classic Ganzfeld (“total field”) experiment, but with a twist: instead of sending and receiving simple graphic patterns, test subjects were put into a state of sensory deprivation by covering their eyes and listening to white noise on headphones, and then Matmos member Drew Daniel attempted to transmit “the concept of the new Matmos record” directly into their minds. During videotaped psychic experiments conducted at home in Baltimore and at Oxford University, test subjects were asked to describe out loud anything they saw or heard within their minds as Drew attempted transmission. The resulting transcripts became a kind of score that was then used by Matmos to generate music. If a subject hummed something, that became a melody; passing visual images suggested arrangement ideas, instruments, or raw materials for a collage; if a subject described an action, then the band members had to act that out and make music out of the noises generated in the process of the re-enactment.

The result, to which I am now listening and which is in turn driving me crazy, is perhaps the greatest work I’ve heard from Matmos&#151and that’s saying a lot, as Matmos generally blows my mind.

Drip.FM offers an interesting new way for music lovers to connect with their favorite record labels. The platform is free to participating labels, with no sign-up costs or usage fees; Drip.FM makes money when the participating labels make money, through a revenue share on sales. Labels set their own user-fees for access to a Drip.FM account. While content varies depending on the label, fans can expect to receive digital files (MP3 and WAV) of new titles on the day they are released (or sooner); randomly selected back-catalog titles; and plenty of enticing perks, such as exclusive, subscription-only tracks and remixes, and other giveaways (imagine: t-shirts, posters, LPs, CDs, concert tickets).

Back in June, AudioStream’s Michael Lavorgna reported on Domino’s new Drip.FM service.

Founded by Ghostly International and currently operating in closed beta, Drip.FM has also partnered with Dead Oceans, Dirtybird, Fool’s Gold, Luaka Bop, Mad Decent, Morr Music, Now-Again Records, Planet E Communications, Stones Throw, Wav.Pool, and now Jagjaguwar.

I recently signed up for an account with Jagjaguwar.