All posts tagged: music

The Apprehension Engine

If you ever wondered how some of the hair raising sounds in your favorite horror movie are made, they may have been created with this instrument. The Apprehension Engine was created by film composer Mark Korven and musician Tony Duggan-Smith in order to create all of the spooky sounds they wanted to hear in movies without relying on a limited pool of digital samples. Listening to the instrument in person is described as being especially unsettling. Brad Wheeler with the Globe and Mail noted during a demonstration by Kroven that “As Korven manipulates the thing, the room’s temperature drops about 10 degrees and the composer’s tiny dog retreats to an upstairs closet.” If you were interested in owning one of these nightmare sound machines, the base cost is a mere 10,000.00. Not in your Halloween budget? Then enjoy some of the videos below, and check out some of the movies this instrument has been featured in, like The Witch and Cube.

You Don’t Own Me

You Don’t Own Me was originally recorded by Leslie Gore in 1963 when she was only 17 years old. At the time, the defiant song inspired young women, and is seen as one of the early influences of the Women’s Liberation Movement.  There have been several successful covers of the song, most recently by SayGrace in 2015, who gives the song a modern swagger. Interestingly, SayGrace’s version is produced by Quincy Jones, who also produced Leslie Gore’s version. 

Strange Happenings in June

June 3rd Watcher in theaters. “Watcher is a thriller movie directed by Chloe Okuno. Watcher follows Julia (Maika Monroe), an American woman who moves to Bucharest with her boyfriend, Francis (Karl Glusman). As she doesn’t speak the language, she becomes isolated while Francis is at work, and in fear of a local serial killer, Julia starts to feel she’s being constantly watched and followed by a suspicious neighbor.” June 7th A Botanist’s Guide to Parties and Poisons by Kate Khavari on shelves. “The Lost Apothecary meets Dead Dead Girls in this fast-paced, STEMinist adventure. Debut author Kate Khavari deftly entwines a pulse-pounding mystery with the struggles of a woman in a male-dominated field in 1923 London.” June 8th World Oceans Day. Celebrate virtually with the United Nations, take a beach walk if you live near the ocean, or enjoy some ASMR ocean waves. June 14th Full moon. June 19th Juneteenth. Also known as Freedom Day and Liberation day, the holiday marks the 1865 announcement of General Order No. 3 in Galveston, TX. June 20th Summer …

Muse of the Day

Everyone is born creative; everyone is given a box of crayons in kindergarten. Then when you hit puberty they take the crayons away and replace them with dry, uninspiring books on algebra, history, etc. Being suddenly hit years later with the ‘creative bug’ is just a wee voice telling you, ‘I’d like my crayons back, please. Hugh MacLeod, Ignore Everybody: and 39 Other Keys to Creativity