Does everyone here know how to use FTP? Yes? Good.

1. Open an ftp connection to 128.163.59.150
2. Login as 'ftp' (leave password blank)
3. cd to /MP3
4. Download and upload to your heart's content

Disclaimers:

1. This is my work computer, so it is not guaranteed to be working after 5 pm...

2. This is a Windows machine, so it crashes occasionally.

3. This is purely a temporary fix.

I'm gonna flip out because that's totally sweet! I'm downloading at around 120 KB/s

I went to the FTP site.  It did not ask me to log in at all.  There was just a link to 'MP3'.  I followed that link, but nothing happened.  Am I doing something wrong?  I have used FTP sites for MP3s before.  Thanks for doing this by the way.

(Edited by jamiecarroll at 10:42 am on Feb. 28, 2002)

jamiecarroll, maybe try again cause i just went in at 10:30 and it was working. i just clicked on MP3 and i didn't log in, then it said 'features' and i clicked on that and everything came up. it should work = )

pardon my ignorance, but what is an FTP? The only things i can do on my computer is access this message board and download midget clown porno.

I miss you Lawnwrangler.

Anyway, try typing ftp://128.163.59.150 into your browser (i.e. where you would type www.thefeatures.com or www.midgetclownporn.com) and then following the links.

To actually download the files, I have to right click on the link and click 'save target as,' but this may just be because I use AOLame.

(Edited by Keith at 12:49 pm on Feb. 28, 2002)

god bless us, everyone.

does anyone have any quality recent live stuff? love to get god save, action, and all those new ones which i don't know the names for.

Apparently, the freeware FTP server I'm using will let users download anonymously, without logging in, using a web browser. This is cool, as long as people want to download the 27 files that are there now.

However, if anyone wants to upload new material (hint, hint), you will need to get an ftp client. Windows95 and later incarnations contain a built-in command-line FTP client. However, if you are unfamiliar with ftp commands, it's probably easier to use a graphical ftp client.

I can recommend smartftp, available for free at www.smartftp.com. It has a graphical interface similar to Windows Explorer, which allows you to 'drag and drop' files between your computer (local) and an FTP server (remote).

That's all for now...

I should add the following:

The FTP server will only allow one connection per IP address at a time. Attempting to log in multiple times at once from the same machine will not work.

That's great. I would say more, but I can't put to words how great it is. Sorry.

I tried following the link to the midget clown porno site, and it didn't work. Is the site down or something?

I would also like the address of a website where I can see pictures of lawnwrangler touching his first pair of breasts. If those breasts belonged to a midget, it would qualify as the most erotic thing I've ever seen.

Well, I don't know why this still isn't working for me. I've visited multiple FTP sites to download MP3s before; I don't know what's going on.

tom, that can be arranged.

You might wanna be careful. Rumor has it that Tom did too much foolery on Dickerson Rd and got herpes.

How does every thread end up revolving around Lawnwrangler's personal life. Can't we just go back to bashing The Strokes?

Maybe Lawnwrangler could be touching a midget breast with one hand and lighting the Strokes album on fire with the other. I don't know if he would want to, though.

Pictures available at www.midgetbreastbandbash.com?

I'm uploading the full version of 'Thursday' to the FTP site. The one that had been previously loaded was the abbreviated sample from Spongebath's web site.

YaDaDa, you probably won't want to download this one because it's not an emo song. And I know you don't listen to anything but emo.

well, Keith, when your personal life starts involving lewd midget clowns, we might consider discussing it too.

I'll dip into the live archives I have and post a few goodies. Some of those mp3s are pretty low quality...does anyone have better copies?

I agree about the sound quality of some of the material. Some of it is pretty lame. When better versions of the same stuff become available, I will try to delete the inferior versions. (for example, the excerpted version of 'Thursday' has been replaced with the full version.) This is yet another reason why ID3 tags are useful. Whenever possible, I try to fill in performance dates, recording session info, or album title, at least for files that I create.

Like I said before, I just posted what I could find on Audiogalaxy.com. (I just noticed that these files were downloaded on 9/11/01, a rather conspicuous date.)

In general, I think 160kbps is a good bitrate for 16-bit stereo 44kHz files: A good compromise between sound quality and file size. 128 is about as low as I'd go.

Anybody have anything they'd like to share? So far, the download-to-upload ratio has been about 100:1. Any other struggling bands the rest of us should know about?

OK, I need to know: Why do we hate the Strokes? I don't really know them that well. I've only heard a couple of their songs. But I liked what I've heard so far.

I don't really know what 'emo' is any more than I knew what 'grunge' was back in 1992. I am aware of a non-dairy sour cream substitute called 'Imo,' but I suspect this is not related. Then there's Emo Phillips. The less said about him, the better.

I've heard the epithet attached to widely disparate-sounding bands, including the Strokes and Dismemberment Plan (who rocked hard when I saw them play Lexington, to an audience of about 50.)

Isn't 'Emo' just marketing jargon, as was 'New Wave' and 'Grunge Rock'? Does the term really describe a musical genre, or is it something tagged onto new music in an effort to sell it to a preconfigured audience? Discuss.

what's wrong with the strokes?

'Emo' is the red monster from Sesame Street. The emo music is made by looping and mixing his various sayings and songs with high-powered, fast-paced electronic drum machines. It's very popular in European dance clubs.

Hahaha

'Tickle Me Emo!'  LMFAOSMCE

OK... back to the topic at hand...

For those of you who have Features material on CD, you might want to do some research on the best method for producing high quality MP3 files. I personally recommend EAC to rip the CD's and LAME to encode them to MP3. Together, these tools can create archive-quality files.

If you're **REALLY** interested in this topic, I suggest you check out http://www.r3mix.net.

We must hate The Strokes because they are somewhat well known to the mainstream at this point, and thus, evil.

Did The Features at one point have different members? A different singer maybe? Because some of those songs (ex: button my shirt, attention) on that ftp site sound really different. Or did Pelham just change the way he sings over time?

Not really Features specific, but related to the MP3 thread, so posted here:

Has anyone out here tried recording live performances direct-to-laptop?  I recently purchased a used IBM Thinkpad with this purpose in mind.  There are some nice looking (~$300) USB-powered microphone pre-amps/DSPs out there that feed 24-bit audio directly to the CPU through the USB bus. This eliminates the need for a messy analog-to-digital conversion through a (cheap) onboard soundcard.

Even without compression, one could get about two hours worth of CD-quality audio per GB.  No need for the intermediate step of DAT.

On the other hand, what's the likelihood of writing a 1GB audio file uninterrupted without a system crash?  I'm guessing that failure is more likely with Windows than with some flavor of Unix.  My machine is a 233MHz with 96MB of RAM.

I'll be experimenting and will let you know how it goes.  Just wanted to see if anyone else had experience along these lines.

(Edited by khautala at 4:18 pm on Mar. 1, 2002)

It's an interesting idea, but I'm a bit sceptical.  First of all, you have to consider the equipment you'd be lugging into a bar.  Your battery could easily run out during a long set since the hard drive would be working non-stop.  This means you'll have to locate a power source.  Secondly, bars are often full of drunk people who spill beer everywhere, bump into you while dancing, or step on your cables.  You'd need a very rugged computer to stand up in this environment.  Finally, as you said, a typical set would produce about a 1 gig file.  Managing such a file (splitting it into tracks, removing clicks, etc.) can be quite tedious unless you've got 1.5 - 2.0 gigs of RAM in your box.

I think you're much better off using a device that's designed specifically for recording (MD, DAT, cassette).  It's easier to manage at the show.  If you invest some money in a good soundcard with a high-end analog-to-digital converter, the quality lossed by transferring the source media to the PC is minimized.

Recently, I've been trying to build the ideal recording rig.  I finally realized that you can't possibly make a recording that sounds better than the show that you're recording.  These shows will never sound as good as a studio (especially at places like the Boro, Red Rose, etc).  So I'm not sure how much effort one should sink into trying to get the 'perfect recording.'

However, as I've said before, I have no formal training in sound recording so I could be way off here...

You also need formal training in not letting people know that you're BORING, Tom!

HeyItsBriggs,
There were Features line-up changes. They lost a guitarist and changed drummers. On the EP, Matt Pelham just sounds different. Some has to do with production, and a lot has to do with their different sound now.

I also hope that those with better things will help out with the FTP thing. Part of the reason for the 100:1 ratio is just that most of the stuff is very hard to get a hold of. I don't exactly know how to remedy that.

Im currently in the process of adding the Mahaffey Session of 'Jurley' (whoever it is that has the live and better version, please upload) and 'Anti-Gravity Class of '93'

Posted.

Thanks. By any chance does someone have a cover of Laid or Heard it through the grapevine?

Thank you so much for the MP3s. I promise to buy the album as soon as I can find it. I was visiting Nashville late last year and saw the band live - a fantastic show. Had never heard of them before. LOVED it. So excited for the album and these songs. Thanks!

first of all khautala, thank you so much for setting this up. big props, you get the message board mvp.
second. i think matt sounds different because he was all of what 19 or 20 then.
third, i think the strokes bashing is due to the fact that we all know how much better our (yes, i said 'our' ) features are.

(Edited by thelawnwrangler at 10:20 pm on Mar. 1, 2002)

I uploaded Laid today. I have Heard it Through the Grapevine on tape, but can't transfer that to my computer...

(Edited by Lauren at 12:56 pm on Mar. 2, 2002)

i need help.  i've had no difficulties getting to the page etc. but once i click on a song to download it, realdownload comes up and nothing happens.  it stays at 0%.  anyone know what i could do to fix this?  i know nothing about computers. oh, and it says 'unexpected token in server response' or something like that.

(Edited by brynnalicious at 5:20 pm on Mar. 3, 2002)

nevermind; i figured it out.

For those of us who are, for whatever reason, 'FTP-challenged,' you can now access my MP3 directory by http as well. Simply point your browser to the following URL:

http://coolmusic.filetap.com

Click on the link that says 'good stuff.'

Note, this uses an IP redirect service provided by a third party. To FTP, use the original IP address: 128.163.59.150. The default directory for FTP access is now /MP3.

That is all.

khautala, you truly are a god! When I finally meet you, I owe you a beer! Thank you so much!

Does anyone have a live or studio version of 'Harold' or 'Don't Lie to Me' that they could upload? Oh, and how do I upload songs onto this new 'http version' of the ftp site?

Presently, you can only upload via FTP.

Hey, who uploaded the Clinic ep? Rock!

(Edited by khautala at 4:15 pm on Mar. 5, 2002)

yeah, so i cannot access the ftp site anymore. it says i do not have permission. could this be because i am behind a firewall on campus? please help.

I haven't been able to get on lately either, and nothing here at the old apartamente has changed.

Are you FTPing to 128.163.59.150 ? I tried this last night from outside campus and it worked just fine. If you log in as 'ftp' it doesn't even ask for a password anymore.

You cannot FTP to filetap.com. That domain belongs to another company, and the computer that lives there is set up to do http redirects only. FTP requests to filetap.com will be refused. (I set up the redirect to make it easier for people; but I see it is just making things more difficult.)

Try opening an ftp to 128.163.59.150 and let me know if that works. If not, please email me with the exact error message you get, so I can fix it. Thank you.