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In the Spring of 2020, as the world locked down upon the onset of the pandemic, I like so many others with a high-speed Internet connection began a series of experiments in streaming myself interacting with computer software, ending the period of my formally avoiding "social" media that also birthed the present web site; these big web distributors are already so clogged with spurious "content," it seemed appropriate to direct into it such a mindlessly data-generating activity as streaming audio/video. After finding that Youtube doesn't allow new accounts to go live, I managed to use Twitch (owned by Amazon, also the present site's web host) to stream a mix of loops I'd been collecting -- for about fifteen minutes, before my computer crashed. Unlike with the MONO series, I made no separate audio recording of these proceedings.

"heal_the_bay" went live a total of nine times that year, and each time I put the results on Youtube immediately thereafter; links to all these streams can be found below. The first few end with my computer crashing, the final two are marred by audio drop-outs. None had more than two live viewers at any given time.

The name "heal_the_bay" was picked as an appeal to familiar branding (what you hear in most of these recordings itself results from the manipulation of other recordings, after all) and a certain imagined sound and look, when I thought it would deal more in a particular computer-music sound I never ended up pursuing. Here new rhythms emerge from the joining of sundry samples with disparate origin -- selected haphazardly and presented live with video. I pursue similar techniques with Mother of Vinegar, which continues the numbering that starts here.

Previously only available on Youtube, as of April 2021 these streams can now be heard as semi-remastered 192kbps MP3s, ripped from the videos and minimally edited. Though the recordings still suffer from the problems noted below, they can now be played louder than ever.


000: My First Stream [Youtube] [192kbps MP3] ends when my computer crashes. Streamed the evening of April 9, 2020. [15:07]

001: My Second Stream [Youtube] [192kbps MP3] combines two sequential attempts that both end when my computer crashes. Streamed the evening of April 11, 2020. [40:01]

002: Rebuilding Club Blanket Piecemeal (Love Theme from Easter 2020) [Youtube] [192kbps MP3] features the first lengthy example of the loop bracket shifting I made wider use of in later streams. Ends when my computer crashes. The MP3 restores some audio cut from the video by Youtube related to "content ID" automatic copyright claims. Streamed Easter 2020. [56:42]

003: Double Trouble [Youtube] [192kbps MP3] was streamed with Shahrod, with whom I'd collaborated on MONO-000 and MONO-002. This was my first stream that didn't end with my computer crashing. Streamed the evening of april 18, 2020. [1:00:12]

004: My First DJ Controller Stream [Youtube] [192kbps MP3] is the only of these not primarily executed in one particular popular DAW, being a very poorly constructed "DJ set" style mixing of full recordings, mainly of vinyl records I own, using digital "decks" controlled with a plastic device imitating two platters and a mixer. The video was subject to various "content ID" automatic copyright claims and automatically edited by Youtube to trim the parts it recognizes as copyrighted material; this audio, more than a third of the original stream, is restored in the MP3 accessible through the link above. Streamed the evening of May 17, 2020. [1:39:08]

005: Riddance FM [Youtube] [192kbps MP3] was once again streamed with Shahrod; this is also MONO-003, because I couldn't control the stereo separation. Though the Youtube audio is split arbitrarily across the two stereo channels, the MP3 mix restores the intended monaural fidelity. The only one of these not primarily executed in samples (not composed of other recordings), what you hear here is directly recorded output from an FM synth and various drum machines: That is, strictly techno. Though the first part uses MIDI data based on a well-known popular song, by the end "it's something unpredictable." Streamed the evening of August 9, 2020. [41:30]

006: Babalon Star: Witch Theme from Halloween 2020 [Youtube] [192kbps MP3] begins with a modular synth patch performed by Shahrod and goes on to include an eclectic variety of samples both rhythmic and atmospheric, including audio of Cameron herself. Streamed Halloween 2020. [1:08:00]

007: Dateline: Election Special -- Cacophony 2020 [Youtube] [192kbps MP3] was recorded the night of the 2020 U. S. presidential election as a way to cope with the general anxiety of the evening, incorporating a wide variety of audio sources: Live radio, pre-prepared samples, and multiple live television feeds received on various devices, all mixed live in the computer. The original recording was marred by a persistent audio drop-off problem I tried to correct for the MP3 using Audacity's "truncate silence" feature, which makes for a somewhat smoother listen. If you listen carefully you can make out and re-experience for yourself the confusion of that momentous evening. This is by far the longest and least "musical" of these streams, and features the most complicated audio routing setup. Streamed election night 2020. [2:30:19]

008: Prosperity is Just Around the Corner [Youtube] [192kbps MP3] is again marred by the audio-dropping problem I experienced with the previous stream, and again I tried to correct this for the MP3 using Audacity's "truncate silence" feature. Includes audio of celebrations in West Hollywood following media reports calling the results of the U. S. presidential election. Streamed the evening of November 10, 2020. [50:42]



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