tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29480112Fri, 24 Jul 2026 05:57:38 +0000Creative ProcessSelected ReprintsSonic BrandingSonic SemioticsDecoding the NowEliasMusic Producer's SyllabusStory/Message TheoryMusic HouseBlister MediaNew Music ModelMusic and CultureArtists and RepertoireMusic DesignAcoustic EcologyMusic TechnologyQuantum AudioInteractive AudioSound of the YearNew MediaSynclavierRock BrandsEarly ChildhoodMedici ModelSilenceSongwriter ConfessionsWaxing NostalgicCamelback CollateralGreen SoundMusic MemeticsMystic AudioPost ProductionTemp TrackTop Down Bottom UpUnbrandedAd MusicAdded Value AudioArt of NoisesBrand MixMashupMusic Brain CognitionMusic Design 2015Music and LinguisticsPedagogyPost Sell Out WorldTerry O'GaraArtist ManagementBlack Noise BrandingDefining MusicEnvironmental SoundSound BytesAcousticsAncient AudioAudio AestheticsAudio BrandingAudio KoansAural IntelligenceEar WormsEthnomusicologyIntellectual PropertyJazzLyricMadison AlleyMusic LicensingMusicologyNoise PollutionPattern RecognitionRemixScreaming VideoShell ShockedAbout this BlogConvergenceElectronic MusicMusic EconomicsMusic Noise CodeMusic SupervisionPosition ManagementPress ReleasePunk RockSamplesSonic PhenomenaSound MarketingStyle GuideUr SongWorld MusicZoomusicologyAural StimuliBird SongBrandingDemo LoveGotham ArtistsIntonarumoriJinglesMusic ImagingMusic MnemonicsMusic PackagingNetwork TheoryPoint of ImpactScoring ImageSeismic SoundSonificationSound MarksStrategic Audio PartnerTelephonyThe Future of Music ProductionTimeVoiceAdhanAlien EarArt and EthicsArtists and BrandingAudio InstallationsCalypsoClassical MusicEternal Golden BraidFirst Blog Music CueGlossolaliaGödel Escher BachHuayñoHumourIconsInformation MarketingMUNYMantrasMusic 2.0Nursery RhymesPrayerSignature TunesSite Specific AudioSonic LogosSound DesignSpeaking in TonguesSynesthesiaTHXThe Silicon ChipsTuningZhàozhōu's DogSound | Story | Culturehttp://criticalnoise.blogspot.com/noreply@blogger.com (Terry O'Gara)Blogger281125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29480112.post-8326006837639344786Mon, 25 Aug 2025 01:45:00 +00002025-09-11T15:23:30.127-04:00Decoding the NowBack in 2014, I published a list of cultural contrasts that I was noticing, and along the way launched a new lexicon that described how the world seemed to be sliding from one paradigm into another. You can find that original post here: 2014 Post: Zeitgeist Explained | 20th Century → 21st Century I wasn’t sure what to call it this sensation, or my reaction to it, only that I felt the ground http://criticalnoise.blogspot.com/2025/08/back-in-2014-i-published-list-of.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Terry O'Gara)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29480112.post-4687147518579264898Sat, 03 Jan 2015 06:00:00 +00002015-02-01T14:01:50.440-05:00Post ProductionWhatever role you now hold in production or post production, you can begin transforming yourself into a better professional version of yourself right now. How do you do it? You do it by simply asking the people around you, or in your charge, or whose projects you produce, to assess your current capabilities. Yeah, scary, I know, but in the end, I think the positives outweigh the temporary stinghttp://criticalnoise.blogspot.com/2015/01/new-years-resolutions-for-post.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Terry O'Gara)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29480112.post-7107701324923670718Sun, 07 Dec 2014 23:47:00 +00002015-03-16T20:55:42.201-04:00Decoding the Now Bedford Ceramic Urinal (Artist Unknown) The BBC new magazine has published this month an article titled: A Point of View: Has modern art exhausted its power to shock? It is a question that is not unlike one I heard from a semiotician who in 2011,  inquired in an online forum we both inhabited, “Why is modern art so boring?"(Decoding the Now)  The BBC article is well worth the http://criticalnoise.blogspot.com/2014/12/celebrating-bedford-ceramic.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Terry O'Gara)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29480112.post-279106807671731858Mon, 01 Dec 2014 06:00:00 +00002014-12-24T15:55:58.005-05:00Ear WormsMusic and CultureSound of the Year Swedish Global Pop Star Robyn First, let's rewind: In 2013 Swedish songwriters and producers had a hand in 34 US top ten hits  and 32 UK top ten hits. Then, by the year's end, ABBA’s greatest hits album, 'Gold', released in 1992,  surpassed ‘Sgt. Pepper’s’ sales, released in 1967, on The Beatles’ own home turf. Now, a year later, there is still no sign that global youth culture ishttp://criticalnoise.blogspot.com/2014/12/sound-of-year-2014-swedish-pop.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Terry O'Gara)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29480112.post-5457565149097139143Sat, 01 Nov 2014 05:00:00 +00002015-05-21T22:40:13.165-04:00Post Production Image courtesy Michael Hilton In the world of post production, a common organizational model is a partnership whereby one partner assumes the role of creative lead, and the other handles production and business affairs. Naturally, in order to grow a successful company, a creative lead must actually possess the artistic talent to deliver. The same, however, can't always be said for the http://criticalnoise.blogspot.com/2014/11/professionalism-and-post-production.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Terry O'Gara)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29480112.post-6620747096669432751Mon, 01 Sep 2014 05:00:00 +00002014-11-29T11:57:38.992-05:00Sonic BrandingVISUAL CRITERIA: Size Shape Position Direction Units Repetition Pattern Figure Ground Hierarchy Now apply to audio. http://criticalnoise.blogspot.com/2014/09/what-sonic-branding-can-learn-from.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Terry O'Gara)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29480112.post-3073794144467123869Fri, 01 Aug 2014 05:00:00 +00002015-01-25T15:23:50.710-05:00Music EconomicsPost Production Monster # 2 by Julia P. If you're the Executive Producer or Creative Director of an established music production company whose core capability has long been the development of original music compositions for advertising and entertainment, how do you compete in an environment when agencies and brands increasingly elect to license stock music, not simply because it's cost effective, but becausehttp://criticalnoise.blogspot.com/2014/08/music-licensing-is-cannibalizing-your.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Terry O'Gara)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29480112.post-4829225377496324644Sun, 01 Jun 2014 05:00:00 +00002014-11-27T10:29:01.367-05:00Music and Culture Photo Credit: AK Rockefeller As much as it may be that Music is no longer the catalyst for social change that it once was, it is still a powerful medium for political communication. Consider Pussy Riot, for instance: Has there been a single musical performer in the last decade that exploded into our collective conscious with as much political punch as this candy colored group of Guerrilla http://criticalnoise.blogspot.com/2014/06/the-top-3-things-you-must-do-in-order.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Terry O'Gara)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29480112.post-4495626389613814789Thu, 01 May 2014 05:00:00 +00002014-12-02T09:37:28.685-05:00Music Economics Future Music Festival 2013 (Courtesy Eva Rinaldi) It recently struck me that music, like water, is arguably the product of an ecosystem, –another complex but demonstrable asset that economists have trouble pinning value to with any accuracy. “An ecosystem is a community of living organisms (plants, animals and microbes) in conjunction with the nonliving components of their environment (thingshttp://criticalnoise.blogspot.com/2014/05/music-as-ecosytem-service.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Terry O'Gara)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29480112.post-2976128576052049420Mon, 03 Mar 2014 06:00:00 +00002015-01-25T15:34:11.324-05:00Camelback CollateralMusic Economics A few decades ago, it was a common childhood aspiration to grow up to be a platinum selling rock star who practiced neurosurgery (The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension); but in this day in age, it seems more young people would rather flip that model and be a neuroscientist with 93 million downloads. Music has not been a catalyst for social change since the sixties, or for http://criticalnoise.blogspot.com/2014/03/ch-ch-ch-ch-changes-turn-and-face.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Terry O'Gara)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29480112.post-1824702117148100182Sat, 01 Feb 2014 06:00:00 +00002015-01-06T11:19:57.497-05:00Post Production Image Courtesy David Castagneto In the 20th Century we respected producers who got things done by any means necessary. In recent years, the increasing influence of digital processes have promoted the ascent of project managers into what were once conceived as creative processes. I submit that while there is much we can learn from classic project management, that media production is its own http://criticalnoise.blogspot.com/2014/02/crisis-management-and-emotionally.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Terry O'Gara)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29480112.post-1707021932460412945Sun, 05 Jan 2014 06:00:00 +00002015-05-21T22:52:31.097-04:00Post Production Beautiful But Deadly Great creative, a shelf of awards, a stream of clients – Gee, what could possibly be wrong with this picture? The fact is that when you're riding a rocket fueled by creative success or innovation, it's easy to miss, ignore or deny mistakes until the whole thing blows up under your ass. In this regard, organizational accomplishments and industry recognition can actually http://criticalnoise.blogspot.com/2014/01/the-problem-with-post.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Terry O'Gara)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29480112.post-695299947111162850Fri, 03 Jan 2014 06:00:00 +00002025-08-24T21:38:35.607-04:00Decoding the Now 20th Century → 21st Century Industrial Age → Information Age Book → Interface Actify → Gamify  Album → Playlist Alone → Connected Analog → Digital Art → Design Artist → Curator Audience → User Authentic → Adobe Assumption → Data Big → Nimble Boomer → Millennial Broadcast → Dialogue CIA → NSA Cliques → Tribes Collaborate → Crowdsource Collage → Mashup Compose → Sample Construct → http://criticalnoise.blogspot.com/2014/01/zeitgeist-explained.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Terry O'Gara)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29480112.post-8660930931670740044Sun, 01 Dec 2013 05:30:00 +00002014-12-23T10:29:41.142-05:00Sound of the Year Image Courtesy Alberto Racatumba In May 2013, an infrastructure analyst by the name of Edward Snowden, working for US defense contractor Booz Allen Hamilton, arranged to meet with documentary filmmaker and journalist, Laura Poitras and Guardian commentator Glenn Greenwald. The meeting took place in Snowden's Hong Kong hotel room after he had fled the United States with a trove of classified http://criticalnoise.blogspot.com/2013/12/sound-of-year-2013-tap-tap-tapping-of.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Terry O'Gara)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29480112.post-2543960755804971225Tue, 01 Oct 2013 05:00:00 +00002014-12-01T07:41:47.643-05:00Post Production Image Courtesy liladepo The hardest lesson I had to learn in my professional development from producer to Executive Producer is that: Neither sales nor doing is leadership; Communication informed by empathy and purpose is leadership. But maybe you don't even want to be a leader; delegation can feel like an awkward at first, while others are simply uncomfortable giving up control. Or maybe http://criticalnoise.blogspot.com/2013/10/from-media-to-management.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Terry O'Gara)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29480112.post-41418318902251377Thu, 01 Aug 2013 05:00:00 +00002014-11-10T12:19:21.297-05:00 Balance your levels. You need a hook. Timing is Everything. Roll off all unnecessary frequencies. Don't get stuck in a loop. Remove noise between important moments. If you crank up the volume there's no place to go. If input rises above threshold, reduce level. Regularly Boost, Sweep and Cut. Cut the offending frequency and tighten up your Q.  Mix with Multiple Speakers Three http://criticalnoise.blogspot.com/2013/08/music-production-techniques-that-apply.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Terry O'Gara)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29480112.post-312129061272039996Fri, 01 Mar 2013 05:30:00 +00002015-05-07T09:06:49.332-04:00Decoding the NowMusic and CulturePunk Rock Image: EPA/KERIM OKTEN Has any popular artist or band in the new millennium mattered any more than Pussy Riot? From the beginning, the members of Pussy Riot risked subverting their political message with same flashmob tactics and theatricalized sexuality that they employed to gain attention in the first place. That group members freely combine Realpolitik and Porn within and beyond the http://criticalnoise.blogspot.com/2013/03/pussy-riot-hooliganism-or-heroism.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Terry O'Gara)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29480112.post-8745863906231145124Tue, 01 Jan 2013 15:21:00 +00002014-08-02T10:35:30.776-04:00Quantum AudioSonic BrandingSonic Semiotics Image by: Craig Cloutier Music, as we know, comes in many forms. And one person's music is another person's noise. Readers of this blog know I'm fascinated by microstructures; that is, those forms of noise and aural expression that may not represent complete 'works' as we think of the concept, but which nonetheless capably convey meaning. THE DESCENDING CADENCE AS CLOSING STATEMENT For http://criticalnoise.blogspot.com/2013/01/audiomarks.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Terry O'Gara)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29480112.post-5979832296456434434Sat, 01 Dec 2012 05:30:00 +00002014-12-23T10:30:03.167-05:00Music and CulturePunk RockSound of the Year Photo Image from Pussy Riot's website. On February 21, 2012, five modestly clad Russian women entered the Cathedral of Christ the Savior in Moscow, Russia.  And once inside they cast off their black outer wear to reveal brightly colored skirts and tights beneath. Then they pulled equally colorful homemade ski masks over their faces and stormed the front of the church whereby they http://criticalnoise.blogspot.com/2012/12/soundoftheyear2012pussyriot.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Terry O'Gara)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29480112.post-8164686387305414674Sat, 01 Sep 2012 05:00:00 +00002014-07-30T10:45:35.789-04:00Ancient AudioAudio BrandingEar WormsEarly ChildhoodMusic Brain CognitionMusic MemeticsMystic AudioSonic BrandingUr Song Regardless of one's cultural background, primary language or education, some people believe babies call their mother ‘MA’ (or some version thereof) not because they’re taught do so, but because they’re programmed to do so. This theory stipulates that just as humans are born with certain physical body parts, we're also born with a bit of a pre-birth cognitive fodder called ‘Archetypes’. In http://criticalnoise.blogspot.com/2012/09/branded-birth-or-how-mommy-goes-viral.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Terry O'Gara)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29480112.post-7338879385260336401Wed, 01 Aug 2012 04:30:00 +00002013-12-01T20:46:23.805-05:00Decoding the Now Interestingly, Pussy Riot’s punk prayer continues to agitate and inspire. It also lends itself to the reflection and analysis of other cultures and societies well beyond the Russian Federation. That is, Pussy Riot is a lens with which we can use to examine any tier of any society. We can ask ourselves, where ever we live in the world: 'What does Pussy Riot say about Thailand?' or 'What http://criticalnoise.blogspot.com/2012/08/pussy-riot-and-emerging-power-of-women.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Terry O'Gara)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29480112.post-7128225068233828108Sat, 02 Jun 2012 18:12:00 +00002012-08-20T15:59:47.748-04:00Quantum Audio Medieval Musicians If we accept the notion that a melodic hook or motif and musical meme are synonymous with one another, we must also accept that a meme is not simply a unit of cultural transmission, as Richard Dawkins initially posited when he coined the word, but the smallest possible unit of cultural transmission, as others have since suggested. And once we do this we will also realize, http://criticalnoise.blogspot.com/2012/06/extra-musical-expression.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Terry O'Gara)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29480112.post-3292812636620227895Tue, 01 May 2012 04:30:00 +00002015-05-07T09:10:01.249-04:00Decoding the NowSonic Semiotics Naturally, one can't help but make comparisons with controversial performers. Neither Madonna nor Sinead O'Connor, for instance, are strangers to provocation. However, they were already global superstars when their offending actions threatened to derail their careers.  In contrast, Pussy Riot's illegal in-church protest was actually the thing that transformed this theretofore little http://criticalnoise.blogspot.com/2012/05/a-sign-of-times-semantic-terrorist.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Terry O'Gara)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29480112.post-844956720003771100Sun, 01 Apr 2012 04:54:00 +00002012-08-20T15:55:39.654-04:00Art of Noises Photo Credit: R.Bart Fundamentally, all musical instruments are machines, whether they are composed of nineteenth century spruce, horsehair and animal gut, or plastic parts and circuit boards. The piano is an early computer with a digital keyboard interface. The violinist is a cyborg wielding a controller in one hand and symbiotic touch screen in the other. Both devices are designed to http://criticalnoise.blogspot.com/2012/04/what-machines-teach-us-about-music.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Terry O'Gara)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29480112.post-7145887553576574689Tue, 13 Mar 2012 14:16:00 +00002015-05-07T09:25:40.993-04:00Sonic Semiotics   Machines, Music and Meaning: From orchestral cannonfire to the Countdown clock [First published by SEMIONAUT†, March 13, 2012.]   From rail rhythms in rock, to drill bits in glitch hop and dub step, the use of machines to make music is not a new idea, although their influence may not always be apparent to our ears.  In one very clear link, music refers to the http://criticalnoise.blogspot.com/2012/03/machines-music-meaning.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Terry O'Gara)1