(( analog tara ))

analog tara: demo of DSI mph synth + darkglass electronics b3k...

Thu, 26 Jul 2012 12:02:12 -0400

analog tara: demo of DSI m*ph* synth + darkglass electronics b3k overdrive pedal

sound of one hand clapping: with the Boss HC-2, EH Memory Man...

Wed, 25 Jul 2012 20:13:56 -0400

sound of one hand clapping: with the Boss HC-2, EH Memory Man Deluxe, and Fostex 6301b. the HC-2 = “a single-function hand clap synthesizer” for “a wide range of hand-clapping effects” :-)

new set of quiet noise compositions - sand, snow, breeze -...

Fri, 22 Jun 2012 10:29:28 -0400

new set of quiet noise compositions - sand, snow, breeze - photos of landscapes and weather events, with color data converted to filtered brown/white/pink noise - now available via tararodgers.bandcamp.com

made a sonic christmas tree with SuperCollider sounds, iPod...

Sat, 24 Dec 2011 15:50:02 -0500

made a sonic christmas tree with SuperCollider sounds, iPod shuffles, and AYL portable mini speakers (as ornaments). happy holidays!

ANOTHER NOISE JAM on the kitchen table

Wed, 30 Nov 2011 23:37:17 -0500

ANOTHER NOISE JAM

on the kitchen table

ANOTHER NOISE JAM on the kitchen table with drone commander...

Wed, 30 Nov 2011 23:33:00 -0500

ANOTHER NOISE JAM

on the kitchen table

with drone commander & jealous heart analog synths, plus memory man deluxe.

getting ready for a short improv set at carly ptak’s record release at two boots pizza in baltimore, saturday nite.

NOISE JAM on the kitchen table

Sat, 26 Nov 2011 22:51:42 -0500

NOISE JAM on the kitchen table

post-holiday kitchen-table rockout mind-clearing NOISE JAM. with...

Sat, 26 Nov 2011 22:46:00 -0500

post-holiday kitchen-table rockout mind-clearing NOISE JAM.

with flower electronics little boy blue & jealous heart analog synths.

for instant pop/noise mashup, stream together with:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dn8-4tjPxD8

audio postcard from snowy night in october.

Sat, 29 Oct 2011 22:34:00 -0400

audio postcard from snowy night in october.

audio postcard from snowy night in october: was playing...

Sat, 29 Oct 2011 22:31:00 -0400

audio postcard from snowy night in october: was playing ‘blue in green’ on the piano & after awhile it turned into this groove. decided to record it to capture the left hand pattern, which i will inevitably forget. family dog barked right on cue (which reminded me of one of george booth’s cartoons). combined piano recording with a sample of white noise from the jealous heart synthesizer (for an off-kilter hi-hat) & ran both through some digital effects. blue in noise…

this week in the sound course i’m teaching, we’re...

Fri, 23 Sep 2011 21:55:00 -0400

this week in the sound course i’m teaching, we’re reading articles on mobile listening by michael bull and jean-paul thibaud. thibaud develops the concept of “sonic door”: “The door of the house may also function as a sonic door. On one hand, the door serves as a transition between two places of distinct status; on the other hand, as an intermediary between two kinds of listening experience” (2003, 332). these two modes of listening experiences have to do with social and architectural contours of indoor spaces versus comparatively expansive outdoor environments. here are two 45-second excerpts of recordings i made in august of nighttime insects. both record the transition as i walk through doors from inside to outside. the first is in a wooded area of upstate NY; i walk through two doors (front and porch) before arriving outside. the second is near DC. among the sonic details i enjoy are little bursts of wind when i open each door (in the first example), and children inside contrasted with cicadas outside (in the second). technical note: there is a lot of handling noise; admittedly, i didn’t plan to keep these transitional segments.

i passed by this patch of green, with yellow flowers and red...

Sun, 11 Sep 2011 13:14:38 -0400

i passed by this patch of green, with yellow flowers and red berries, in my neighborhood last sunday morning. it was buzzing with these sounds of crickets or cicadas. (i’m never sure who is sounding what, but here is a guide.) i had just watched this documentary on evelyn glennie, also featuring fred frith, and was thinking about something she said: that for everything we see, we associate a particular sound and imagine that sound even when we cannot hear it. in looking at this buzzing field, i wondered if that hypothesis tests out. in a sense, it does; here, one expects a field to buzz with insects in a particular way this time of year. yet, when i strained to see the sounding insects, or any movements associated with them, i couldn’t see them at all. this made me wonder whether r. murray schafer’s concept of schizophonia could be twisted to apply here—where sounds seem separated from their source not as an effect of human technological intervention, but as a strategy of communicating insects whose bodies remain concealed. schizophonia as an effect of insects’ technological interventions, if one considers their appendages as musical tools… glennie insightfully suggests that “the opposite of sound” is not silence but, rather, something akin to stillness or death. this helps to explain the aberrational effect of hearing the lively insects and sensing their rapid movements, but seeing a relatively still field of green.

insects buzzing in a nearby field, last sunday

Sun, 11 Sep 2011 13:08:00 -0400

insects buzzing in a nearby field, last sunday

found in the bins: message on a vinyl record sleeve, ca. 1982.

Mon, 08 Aug 2011 13:54:24 -0400

found in the bins: message on a vinyl record sleeve, ca. 1982.

keep the groove moving. audio curio found in family closet:...

Sun, 03 Jul 2011 14:10:33 -0400

keep the groove moving. audio curio found in family closet: one-fluid-ounce tube of oil for Hammond L-100 series organ, ca. 1960s, with some still in there. must’ve been included when we acquired the Hammond through a local newspaper ad years ago. found oiling instructions online, and this informative page on Hammond mechanisms, which explains that “depending on the model, about 100 spinning disks create the individual pitches.” the text reads: “Hammond organ generator oil… Order from your dealer or direct from factory… Manufactured for Hammond Organ Company, Chicago, Illinois 60618.”

Jomox XBase09 drum machine (ca. 1999) with standard alder wood...

Sat, 02 Jul 2011 09:41:27 -0400

Jomox XBase09 drum machine (ca. 1999) with standard alder wood panels, on red Formica table. Photo accompanies my recent blog post on the history of wood paneling in synthesizer design.

some jazz piano by tara rodgers w/curt newton on drums &...

Thu, 30 Jun 2011 18:34:15 -0400

some jazz piano by tara rodgers w/curt newton on drums & random bassline generator programmed in supercollider

excerpts from analog tara back catalogue now on the cloud…

Thu, 30 Jun 2011 18:29:04 -0400

excerpts from analog tara back catalogue now on the cloud…

my first record player, General Electric solid state portable,...

Sun, 19 Jun 2011 16:46:41 -0400

my first record player, General Electric solid state portable, ca. 1970s, with first 45: Debby Boone’s “You Light Up My Life” (the 45 was a gift from a babysitter, I think). after sharing this photo on Facebook, i learned that many other women of my generation were rocking this same turntable back then…

1983: my sister & i used to listen to American Top 40 every...

Thu, 02 Jun 2011 09:52:54 -0400

1983: my sister & i used to listen to American Top 40 every week on the radio and write down the top 10 on an index card. sometimes i’d hook up the tape player and record our favorites on cassette. on this particular list, i was probably most obsessed at the time with asia’s “don’t cry,” because the video was in heavy rotation on MTV and our local library had the LP, and that’s where i got most of my music back then (also dubbing onto cassette). like casey always said, keep your feet on the ground and keep reaching for the stars…

(( analog tara ))

analog tara: demo of DSI m*ph* synth + darkglass electronics b3k...

sound of one hand clapping: with the Boss HC-2, EH Memory Man...

new set of quiet noise compositions - sand, snow, breeze -...

made a sonic christmas tree with SuperCollider sounds, iPod...

ANOTHER NOISE JAM on the kitchen table

ANOTHER NOISE JAM on the kitchen table with drone commander...

NOISE JAM on the kitchen table

post-holiday kitchen-table rockout mind-clearing NOISE JAM. with...

audio postcard from snowy night in october.

audio postcard from snowy night in october: was playing...

this week in the sound course i’m teaching, we’re...

i passed by this patch of green, with yellow flowers and red...

insects buzzing in a nearby field, last sunday

found in the bins: message on a vinyl record sleeve, ca. 1982.

keep the groove moving. audio curio found in family closet:...

Jomox XBase09 drum machine (ca. 1999) with standard alder wood...

some jazz piano by tara rodgers w/curt newton on drums &...

excerpts from analog tara back catalogue now on the cloud…

my first record player, General Electric solid state portable,...

1983: my sister & i used to listen to American Top 40 every...

analog tara: demo of DSI mph synth + darkglass electronics b3k...