Two mates and I went hiking yesterday. The sun was beating down on us, but luckily, it was also rather windy which helped to cool off. Unfortunately, we also encountered bucketloads of drunk hikers with hardcarts loaded full of beer who had to very loudly please everbody with their shitty taste of music. What a stupid tradition on 1st May public holiday over here. Other than that, it was a great hike.

I was pleasantly surprised that my trains were dead on time, so both super short times to switch connections worked out perfectly on both the way there and back. I did not expect this to happen at all and already braced myself for an additional half hour waiting time. Especially with the stupid Stuttgart Beer Festival right now. Even more drunk idiots everywhere and of course also in the trains. On the return journey, I learned about all sorts of family relations etc. in various Allgäu villages. Oh boy. At least nobody vomited, that’s a bonus.

Also, I sweated more on the first return Sauna-Bahn than on the entire hike combined. It was awfully hot in there.

Anyway, all in all it was a great time in the outdoors with my mates: https://lyse.isobeef.org/monrepos-favoritepark-hungerberg-ruine-hoheneck-2026-05-01/

Spotify Adds ‘Verified’ Badges To Distinguish Human Artists From AI
Spotify is adding “Verified by Spotify” badges to distinguish human artists from AI-generated personas, using signals like linked social accounts, consistent listener activity, merchandise, and concert dates. The BBC reports: The world’s most-used music streaming service said the ‘Verified by Spotify’ text and green checkmark icon wo … ⌘ Read more

@lyse@lyse.isobeef.org Really depends on the genre, I guess. 🤔 Quite a lot of “non-pop” music still uses the format “concept album”, I think. 🤔 But don’t ask me for any solid statistics. 😅

With all these new ways of digital publishing, I’m wondering for years why music artists still release entire albums. I would have imagined that most bands simply publish a new song whenever it’s good to go. But no, at least in my bubble, everybody still collects a bunch of new songs before throwing them as a collection into the crowd. I never used any of these streaming services, though, so maybe I’m just completely uninformed.

GNOME-Aligned Amberol 2026.1 Music Player Released, Phosh Improves X11 Support
A few weeks past the GNOME 50 release and there continues to be a lot of ongoing GNOME app activity worth highlighting… ⌘ Read more

Supreme Court Sides With Internet Provider In Copyright Fight Over Pirated Music
Longtime Slashdot reader JackSpratts writes: The Supreme Court unanimously said on Wednesday that a major internet provider could not be held liable for the piracy of thousands of songs online in a closely watched copyright clash. Music labels and publishers sued Cox Communications in 2018, saying the company had fa … ⌘ Read more

XMMS Codebase Brought Back To Life By AI With GTK4 + GStreamer/PipeWire Port
Longtime Linux desktop users will likely remember the glorious days of the XMMS music player inspired by Winamp. It’s been about two decades since the last official release but thanks to AI there is now a modern port of the codebase to GTK4 and GStreamer/PipeWire… ⌘ Read more

Rapper Afroman Wins Defamation Lawsuit Over Use of Police Raid Footage In His Music Videos
Longtime Slashdot reader UnknowingFool writes: Rapper Afroman, born Joseph Edgar Foreman, famous for his 2000 hit “Because I Got High”, has won a defamation lawsuit that seven Ohio police offers filed against him. A jury found he did not defame the officers in music videos he made about a 2022 po … ⌘ Read more

Apple Can Delist Apps ‘With Or Without Cause,’ Judge Says In Loss For Musi App
An anonymous reader quotes a report from Ars Technica: Musi, a free music streaming app that had tens of millions of iPhone downloads and garnered plenty of controversy over its method of acquiring music, has lost an attempt to get back on Apple’s App Store. A federal judge dismissed Musi’s lawsuit against Apple with preju … ⌘ Read more

@bender@twtxt.net H-Blockx covered it, the original was by Snap! https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Power_(Snap!_song) But it’s actually not my type of music at all. The high pitch refrain “I’ve got the power” is iconic and has somehow burned itself into my brain. Must have been a short circuit.

Since I’ve been recently appointed “the bringer of music” … 🤪

Lauren Hart has joined Arch Enemy 😍 Arch Enemy – To The Last Breath

Kayla Dixon replaced Avienne Low in Vintersea a while ago and she’s doing a phenomenal job 🤯 (Avienne was already great) Vintersea – Become The Wave

Rikke List with Konvent makes for funny stories in YouTube comments (little boy wonders “women can do that?!”), and those are just killer riffs by Sara Nørregaard 🤘 Konvent – Puritan Masochism

I miss the days when Mina Špiler was with Laibach, she was perfect for this group 😢 Laibach – Bossanova

Courtney LaPlante is from another world entirely 😍🫠 (be sure to watch this to the very end 😅) Spiritbox – Rule Of Nines (one take)

‘The Death of Spotify: Why Streaming is Minutes Away From Being Obsolete’
An anonymous reader shares a column: I’m going to take the diplomatic hat off here and say with brutal honesty: basically everybody in the music business hates Spotify except for the people who work there. It’s a platform that sucks artists for everything they have, it actively prevents community building, and, despite all … ⌘ Read more

@aelaraji@aelaraji.com hey, hey! I saw you tinkering with ActivityPub, so I know you were well.

Glad to have you back here! No much has happened on twtxt.net-world. @prologic@twtxt.net is quite busy with large language models, and seeking further independence through capitalistic ways. @lyse@lyse.isobeef.org continues dazzling us with his clicks, @movq@www.uninformativ.de brings us interesting music, videos to see, and a sprinkle of home made computing here and there, and me… well, I continue bending (or trying to) things! 😂

Google’s AI Music Maker Is Coming To the Gemini App
Google is bringing its Lyria 3 AI music model into the Gemini app, allowing users to generate 30-second songs from text, images, or video prompts directly within the chatbot. The Verge reports: Lyria 3’s text-to-music capabilities allow Gemini app users to make songs by describing specific genres, moods, or memories, such as asking for an “Afrobeat track for my mot … ⌘ Read more

Sony Tech Can Identify Original Music in AI-Generated Songs
Sony Group has developed a technology that can identify the underlying music used in tunes generated by AI, making it possible for songwriters to seek compensation from AI developers if their music was used. From a report: Sony Group’s technology analyzes which musicians’ songs were used in learning and generating music. It can quantify the contri … ⌘ Read more

The Music Industry Enters Its Less-Is-More Era
The music industry’s long romance with an ever-expanding catalog of songs appears to be souring, as streaming platforms and rights holders confront a daily deluge that now includes 60,000 wholly AI-generated tracks uploaded to Deezer alone – roughly 39% of the French service’s daily intake, a statistic the company shared during Grammys week last month.

Streaming services … ⌘ Read more

Anna’s Archive Quietly ‘Releases’ Millions of Spotify Tracks, Despite Legal Pushback
Anna’s Archive, the shadow library that announced last December it had scraped Spotify’s entire catalog, has quietly begun distributing the actual music files despite a federal preliminary injunction signed by Judge Jed Rakoff on January 16 that explicitly barred the site from hosting or distributing the copyrigh … ⌘ Read more

Are CDs Making a Comeback? A Statistical Analysis
Reports of the compact disc’s death may have been slightly premature, according to a new analysis from Stat Significant that finds CD sales as a share of U.S. music industry revenue have quietly stabilized after years of steep decline. RIAA data shows CD revenue share fell from 7.15% in 2018 to 3.04% in 2022 but has since flatlined at roughly 3%, coming in at 3.14% in 2023 … ⌘ Read more

Also the short documentary ‘John Was Trying to Contact Aliens’ was really heartfelt and great. Didn’t know the story of John Shepherd yet. Discovered some great music thanks to this short film. Inkl. Harmonia

What’s the ‘Best’ Month for New Movies and Music? A Statistical Analysis
An analysis of film and music release patterns has found that summer and late fall are the optimal windows for movie premieres, while the music industry has no clear “best” month – only a worst one, December, which the report’s author dubbed “Dump-cember.”

For films, the calendar splits into distinct strategic zones. Summer … ⌘ Read more

The Swedish Start-Up Aiming To Conquer America’s Full-Body-Scan Craze
An anonymous reader quotes a report from DealBook: Fifteen years ago, Daniel Ek broke into America’s digital-content wars with his streaming music start-up, Spotify, which has turned into a publicly traded company with a $110 billion market value. Now he and his business partner, the Swedish entrepreneur Hjalmar Nilsonne, aim to crack … ⌘ Read more

Bandcamp Bans AI Music
Bandcamp has announced a ban on music made wholly or substantially by generative AI, aiming to protect human creativity and prohibit AI impersonation of artists. Here’s what the music platform had to say: … Something that always strikes us as we put together a roundup like this is the sheer quantity of human creativity and passion that artists express on Bandcamp every single day. The fact that Bandcamp is home to suc … ⌘ Read more

Samsung’s CES Concepts Disguise AI Speakers as Turntables and Cassette Players
Samsung is bringing a pair of retro-styled speaker concepts to CES 2026 that combine old-school aesthetics with OLED screens and AI-powered music recommendations, and the company is positioning them as alternatives to conventional Bluetooth speakers that typically depend on a paired smartphone or tablet for con … ⌘ Read more

MTV’s Music-Only Channels Go Off the Air
An anonymous reader shares a report: MTV shut down many of its last dedicated 24-hour music channels Dec. 31. The move, announced back in October, affected channels around the world, with the U.K. seeing five different MTV stations going dark. These include MTV Music, MTV 80s, MTV 90s, Club MTV, and MTV Live. As Consequence notes, MTV Music – which launched in 2011 – notably ended it … ⌘ Read more

Linux 6.19-rc2 Adding Support For CRKD Guitar Controllers
Most notable with the input subsystem updates sent out today ahead of the Linux 6.19-rc2 release is some new hardware support. New this week is adding support for CRKD Guitars for those into musical gaming/apps… ⌘ Read more

Microsoft Made Another Copilot Ad Where Nothing Actually Works
Microsoft’s latest holiday ad for its Copilot AI assistant features a 30-second montage of users seamlessly syncing smart home lights to music, scaling recipes for large gatherings, and parsing HOA guidelines – none of which the software can actually perform reliably when put to the test. The Verge methodically tested each prompt shown in the ad and foun … ⌘ Read more

Travelling teacher brings instrumental music to regional schools
Tina Greenfield drives 350 kilometres each week to teach music to students at five schools in regional Queensland. ⌘ Read more

Alter Boy’s NRG is up for vocalist of the year — yet he doesn’t sing
Luke Eastman’s interpretation work using Auslan in the band Alter Boy is recognised in this year’s WA Music Awards, with a nomination for vocalist of the year. ⌘ Read more

Fragile, inconvenient and low quality: Why are cassettes back in vogue?
For a supposedly obsolete music format, audio cassette sales seem to be set on fast forward at the moment. ⌘ Read more

Strictly stars gear up for Musicals week as final looms
There are just two weeks left in the contest, and things are heating up on the ballroom floor. ⌘ Read more

Beer box musician and land rights champion: Ted Egan’s ‘big and generous life’
A former Government House occupant and a prolific author and historian, Ted Egan will also be remembered as the man who reinvented the beer box as a musical instrument. ⌘ Read more

Breaking: Former NT administrator, musician and author Ted Egan dies aged 93
Folk music legend, author and former Northern Territory Administrator Ted Egan has died aged 93. ⌘ Read more

Sabrina Carpenter slams White House for using her song in ICE video
Two-time Grammy winner Sabrina Carpenter slams the White House for using her song in a social media post about ICE raids, telling the Trump administration to never involve her in their “inhumane agenda”. ⌘ Read more

Supreme Court Hears Copyright Battle Over Online Music Piracy
The Supreme Court appears inclined to side with Cox Communications in a major copyright case, suggesting that ISPs shouldn’t be held liable for users’ music piracy based solely on “mere knowledge,” given the risk of forcing outages for universities, hospitals, and other large customers. The New York Times reports: Leading music labels and publishers who … ⌘ Read more

Another music festival canned as ‘numbers no longer stack up’
Park Waves festival, set for February 2026, has been cancelled amid economic challenges, joining a growing list of scrapped Australian music events. ⌘ Read more

How music venues and stages are becoming more accessible for people with disability
Going to a concert can be hard for people with disability. But sensory concerts and bringing lived experience on stage can open up this world for everyone. ⌘ Read more

Victorian music festival cancelled at last minute due to fire safety, permit problems
A festival that has been running for 30 years has been cancelled just days before it was due to begin. ⌘ Read more

The 10 albums our critics couldn’t stop listening to in November
Sensitive song-smiths, reinvented boy bands, rock and rap upstarts — it’s all here in an Ausmusic Month edition of the best new music. ⌘ Read more

Viral Song Created with Suno’s genAI Removed From Streaming Platforms, Re-Released With Human Vocals
An EDM song by the British group Haven ran into trouble in October after it shared clips of upcoming song “I Run” on TikTok.

The song “was an overnight viral sensation online,” writes Digital Music News — racking up millions of plays “even before it hit streaming serv … ⌘ Read more

Parents fear music exam ‘gold standard’ slipping in parts of Australia
It is held up as the “gold standard” of music testing in the country, but there are claims the Australian Music Examinations Board is letting down talented students. ⌘ Read more

Why King Gizzard defied Spotify, then embraced orchestras and raves
Their rock, rave and orchestral music attracts a cult global following. But the prolific, chaotic King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard are just “at peace with failing”. ⌘ Read more

ABC Classic’s curated Christmas list has music for everyone
ABC Classic’s Christmas music selection has everyone covered, whether you’re a fan of choirs, orchestras, Christmas movies, operas, musicals or video games. ⌘ Read more

Think you know Aussie music? Prove it in our quiz
Celebrate Ausmusic T-Shirt Day with our Australian music trivia quiz. How well do you know your local legends? ⌘ Read more

Warner Music Group Partners With Suno To Offer AI Likenesses of Its Artists
Warner Music Group has reached a licensing deal with Suno that will let users create AI-generated music using the voices and likenesses of artists who opt in. WMG says participating artists will have “full control” over how their likeness and music are used. “These will be new creation experiences from artists who do opt in, … ⌘ Read more

Udio Users Can’t Download Their AI Music Creations Anymore
An anonymous reader shares a report: As part of the settlement with Universal, Udio has amended its terms of service, and users can no longer download their outputs. This has AI music makers furious, and with good reason. Unfortunately, they have little recourse, as the contract they sign when creating a Udio account includes a waiver of the right to … ⌘ Read more

Google Mocks iPhone in Musical ‘Wicked’ Ad Claiming Pixel Firsts
Google this week shared a new ad in its ongoing anti-Apple “BestPhonesForever” series, this time leaning into the launch of the new Wicked: For Good movie that’s out in theaters.

The spot features an iPhone fawning over a Pixel smartphone before breaking into the Wicked: For Good song. Google suggests that it was first to multiple features that the ‌iPhone‌ then copied, like screening phone calls an … ⌘ Read more

Major Music Labels Strike Deals With New AI Streaming Service
An anonymous reader quotes a report from Bloomberg: The world’s largest music companies have licensed their works to a music startup called Klay, which is building a streaming service that will allow users to remake songs using artificial intelligence tools. Klay is the first music AI service to reach a deal with all three major record labels, … ⌘ Read more

We can finally hear the long-hidden music of the Stone Age
Ancient rock art was meant to be heard as well as seen and now acoustic archaeologists are bringing the sounds of prehistoric rituals to life ⌘ Read more

‘Holy Winamp! Opera Puts a Music Visualizer Inside Its Browser’
An anonymous reader shared this report from PC World:

It won’t whip the llama’s ass, but Opera has added a Spotify visualizer to its latest iteration of its free Opera One browser. Known as Sonic, the visualizer will be part of Opera’s Dynamic Themes, which use the WebGPU standard to employ a dynamic theme that runs in the background of the … ⌘ Read more

#Menestrel é uma nova tag mensal para celebrar a música em suas formas mais conceituais: os álbuns. E para abrir com chave de ouro, estreia-se com o tema #debut - que mais?

É suposto ser sobre “os primeiros trabalhos de seus artistas favoritos”, mas eu quis não só escolher isso, como também um album que, lá por ser o debut da banda, não deixa de mostrar o melhor que a banda tem para oferecer.

Não é que os álbums que se seguem na discografia de Ashram sejam menos excelentes que este “Ashram” (sim, é um self-titled - e quem sabe se #selftitled não é um tema de um próximo menestrel…), mas este, lá por ser o primeiro, não fica nada atrás em excelência… e é provavelmente o que eu ouço mais vezes, talvez por ser também o álbum com o qual conheci a banda - e o único que tinha para ouvir até sair o próximo…

Na foto mostro o album na sua re-edição em digipak (limitada a 1000 unidades), com a qual substitui a edição original em jewel case, porque esta tem uma faixa extra (Fourth).

Uma edição mais recente (de 2013) também com esta faixa ainda existe em stock na editora*, aproveitem!

Mas que é isso, Ashram? Bem, Ashram é um trio Italiano de música neoclássica, e em vez de os descrever… ouçam! O disco começa assim:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wmJsvsWWIuQ

#début

• https://www.mandalia-music.com/produit/ashram/

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