u better chkdsk urself before etc etc
April 10, 2017 10:37 AM Subscribe
Master Boot Record is a band that makes very good very heavy synthy metal that you should listen to immediately and at a high volume. Their albums include C:\>COPY *.* A: /V, C:\>CHKDSK /F, C:\>EDIT AUTOEXEC.BAT,
C:\>EDIT CONFIG.SYS, and C:\>FIXMBR. They also make some badass video game soundtrack stuff.
Also you can get all 5 EPs for like 5 dollars on Bandcamp, whatta bargain! (been jamming to this for the last two weeks now, and the Zelda cover is rocking as well)
posted by FatherDagon at 10:42 AM on April 10, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by FatherDagon at 10:42 AM on April 10, 2017 [1 favorite]
This is extremely my jam. Thank you for bringing it to my attention.
posted by NMcCoy at 10:52 AM on April 10, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by NMcCoy at 10:52 AM on April 10, 2017 [1 favorite]
via somebody on Mastadon
guess that tooting is working out OK, huh?
posted by tocts at 11:04 AM on April 10, 2017 [4 favorites]
guess that tooting is working out OK, huh?
posted by tocts at 11:04 AM on April 10, 2017 [4 favorites]
in this case, more a beep than a toot.
posted by oneswellfoop at 11:22 AM on April 10, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by oneswellfoop at 11:22 AM on April 10, 2017 [1 favorite]
Thank you.
Ordinarily I can't tolerate this genre of music.
This, though, works for me.
posted by hank at 11:36 AM on April 10, 2017 [1 favorite]
Ordinarily I can't tolerate this genre of music.
This, though, works for me.
posted by hank at 11:36 AM on April 10, 2017 [1 favorite]
This is pretty great, thanks!
posted by Mister_Sleight_of_Hand at 11:51 AM on April 10, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by Mister_Sleight_of_Hand at 11:51 AM on April 10, 2017 [1 favorite]
DOScore
posted by thelonius at 11:52 AM on April 10, 2017 [4 favorites]
posted by thelonius at 11:52 AM on April 10, 2017 [4 favorites]
God, I love this stuff. These days it's so easy to realize that there's so much music out there that's easily accessible and easily missed. When I listen to computermusic like this it takes me back to my childhood in a way that nothing else does: not 80s-ified movies or videos, not 80s pop tunes, nor 80s commercials. C64, or the Amiga and hooking up my mom & pop's stereo system to record game and demo in all its 4-track, stereo glory. Graphic equalizers. Type IV metal tapes.
Walking the halls of school, when I wasn't cool, or eating lunch alone and blasting the music from a Walkman. The cool drummer dood, popular with everyone, sitting down next to me, asking what I was listening to. I hand over my headphones and let him listen to really, really lame drum patterns. He thought it was really cool, and we talked about music. Though I didn't realize it at the time, it was the first time someone made an effort to incorporate the obvious outsider in their social circle.
I can remember exactly what I was listening to, and listening to it now, I cringe. Anyway, here, you can listen to it, too. But don't think that it was all bad, the game the music came from came with its own cassette tape with this song on it, replete with subliminal swirly vocals. It was playing on my father's car stereo when we went on a beach trip for a work conference, and as we pulled into the parking lot of the hotel, a tall, buxom woman in a silver glitter bikini walked by. I don't know the significance of this.
Good stuff, cortex. Thanks. I'll trade you links. Here. Early mashups with C64 game tunes.
posted by herrdoktor at 12:00 PM on April 10, 2017 [10 favorites]
Walking the halls of school, when I wasn't cool, or eating lunch alone and blasting the music from a Walkman. The cool drummer dood, popular with everyone, sitting down next to me, asking what I was listening to. I hand over my headphones and let him listen to really, really lame drum patterns. He thought it was really cool, and we talked about music. Though I didn't realize it at the time, it was the first time someone made an effort to incorporate the obvious outsider in their social circle.
I can remember exactly what I was listening to, and listening to it now, I cringe. Anyway, here, you can listen to it, too. But don't think that it was all bad, the game the music came from came with its own cassette tape with this song on it, replete with subliminal swirly vocals. It was playing on my father's car stereo when we went on a beach trip for a work conference, and as we pulled into the parking lot of the hotel, a tall, buxom woman in a silver glitter bikini walked by. I don't know the significance of this.
Good stuff, cortex. Thanks. I'll trade you links. Here. Early mashups with C64 game tunes.
posted by herrdoktor at 12:00 PM on April 10, 2017 [10 favorites]
I tried listening to their album C:\>FORMAT C: on my FreeDOS system and it got some sort of virus and won't even boot up now.
posted by leotrotsky at 12:14 PM on April 10, 2017 [12 favorites]
posted by leotrotsky at 12:14 PM on April 10, 2017 [12 favorites]
The guy behind Master Boot Record also records as Victor Love, which is pretty good stuff if you like old-school rebellious type industrial musics along the lines of KMFDM, late-eighties WaxTrax, et al.
posted by neckro23 at 12:33 PM on April 10, 2017 [5 favorites]
posted by neckro23 at 12:33 PM on April 10, 2017 [5 favorites]
Thanks for sharing, Cortex! I too am a fan of the genre "Metal done with computers"
posted by rebent at 12:34 PM on April 10, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by rebent at 12:34 PM on April 10, 2017 [1 favorite]
Anyboy manage to decode the sekrit message at the bottom of the page? It's a 256-byte message with some base 64 keys. (I thought it might be an actual MBR, but those are 512 bytes on PCs)
posted by RobotVoodooPower at 12:46 PM on April 10, 2017 [2 favorites]
posted by RobotVoodooPower at 12:46 PM on April 10, 2017 [2 favorites]
Not even really a metal fan, but that shit rocked my tracker! \m/
posted by Samizdata at 1:00 PM on April 10, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by Samizdata at 1:00 PM on April 10, 2017 [1 favorite]
sekrit message at the bottom of the page?
Best I can tell the KEY/PASS keys came from encipher.it, but I can't seem to guess the required passwords to decipher them
posted by quite unimportant at 1:15 PM on April 10, 2017 [2 favorites]
Best I can tell the KEY/PASS keys came from encipher.it, but I can't seem to guess the required passwords to decipher them
posted by quite unimportant at 1:15 PM on April 10, 2017 [2 favorites]
I tried listening to their album C:\>FORMAT C: on my FreeDOS system and it got some sort of virus and won't even boot up now.
You'll want to have a listen to A:\>SYS C: now probably.
posted by Wolfdog at 1:15 PM on April 10, 2017 [4 favorites]
You'll want to have a listen to A:\>SYS C: now probably.
posted by Wolfdog at 1:15 PM on April 10, 2017 [4 favorites]
It was me on mastodon! I'm a big fan.
Here is a good interview that Bandcamp daily did with MBR.
posted by sleeping bear at 1:33 PM on April 10, 2017 [4 favorites]
Here is a good interview that Bandcamp daily did with MBR.
posted by sleeping bear at 1:33 PM on April 10, 2017 [4 favorites]
If you like this, it's also worth checking out another prolific bandcamp solo synth/computer/metal artist that leans a bit more ambient but is still metal af: Mesarthim
posted by sleeping bear at 1:36 PM on April 10, 2017 [3 favorites]
posted by sleeping bear at 1:36 PM on April 10, 2017 [3 favorites]
OOooh.
I found this band a couple of weeks ago fooling around on Bandcamp and it's basically a mixup of two of my favourite things, doom metal and retrowave. As herrdoktor says, it reminds me of my childhood, playing California Games while some eighties metal is blasting from the stereo.
posted by MartinWisse at 1:42 PM on April 10, 2017 [1 favorite]
I found this band a couple of weeks ago fooling around on Bandcamp and it's basically a mixup of two of my favourite things, doom metal and retrowave. As herrdoktor says, it reminds me of my childhood, playing California Games while some eighties metal is blasting from the stereo.
posted by MartinWisse at 1:42 PM on April 10, 2017 [1 favorite]
It was me on mastodon!
Ha, the circle is complete.
I'll trade you links. Here. Early mashups with C64 game tunes.
Nice!
a bit more ambient but is still metal af: Mesarthim
Man, no kidding. Pretty rad.
posted by cortex at 1:58 PM on April 10, 2017 [1 favorite]
Ha, the circle is complete.
I'll trade you links. Here. Early mashups with C64 game tunes.
Nice!
a bit more ambient but is still metal af: Mesarthim
Man, no kidding. Pretty rad.
posted by cortex at 1:58 PM on April 10, 2017 [1 favorite]
So, are their any secret commands in the music, to turn off my tinnitus? This is pretty gothic, I am waiting for the uber vampire to arrive and instruct the novices.
posted by Oyéah at 2:35 PM on April 10, 2017 [2 favorites]
posted by Oyéah at 2:35 PM on April 10, 2017 [2 favorites]
I prefered his earlier 8-bit work as File Control Block. A>DEVICE CON was really pared down industrial funk, and A>INITDIR C: fook that one step further to almost ambient levels of noiseburst/glitch. But A9>PIP B:[G3]=STAT.DAT really set the scene for the evolution to MBR, in retrospect. I would have preferred it if he'd followed some of the former paths before going full-on orchestro-metal, to be honest.
posted by Devonian at 4:07 PM on April 10, 2017 [4 favorites]
posted by Devonian at 4:07 PM on April 10, 2017 [4 favorites]
In the 1990s, I made a small-run cassette of experimental music under the name “/vmunix”, which was short for “cat /vmunix >/dev/audio”.
(The actual music wasn't binaries/data sent to a DSP device, but primitive algorithmic composition to MIDI files played through a Gravis Ultrasound, but the name was too good to not use.)
posted by acb at 4:39 PM on April 10, 2017 [1 favorite]
(The actual music wasn't binaries/data sent to a DSP device, but primitive algorithmic composition to MIDI files played through a Gravis Ultrasound, but the name was too good to not use.)
posted by acb at 4:39 PM on April 10, 2017 [1 favorite]
> The actual music wasn't binaries/data sent to a DSP device
Which is an actual thing.
posted by pwnguin at 5:54 PM on April 10, 2017 [1 favorite]
Which is an actual thing.
posted by pwnguin at 5:54 PM on April 10, 2017 [1 favorite]
I'm more into the California sound, so INIT HELLO is my jam.
posted by RobotVoodooPower at 6:23 PM on April 10, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by RobotVoodooPower at 6:23 PM on April 10, 2017 [1 favorite]
This is great! It's like industrial synth metal. Thanks for sharing.
posted by k2x4b at 7:08 PM on April 10, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by k2x4b at 7:08 PM on April 10, 2017 [1 favorite]
I listened to "Super Metroid" over and again while making pasta for dinner. My garlic chopping got . . . intense.
posted by Don.Kinsayder at 7:46 PM on April 10, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by Don.Kinsayder at 7:46 PM on April 10, 2017 [1 favorite]
This is fab! I get introduced to the best music on mefi.
posted by inparticularity at 9:49 PM on April 10, 2017 [2 favorites]
posted by inparticularity at 9:49 PM on April 10, 2017 [2 favorites]
Videogame retrofuturism is totally my jam. Thanks for posting.
posted by Svejk at 12:00 AM on April 11, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by Svejk at 12:00 AM on April 11, 2017 [1 favorite]
This could easily be the soundtrack for Super Meat Boy.
posted by BishopFistwick at 5:31 AM on April 11, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by BishopFistwick at 5:31 AM on April 11, 2017 [1 favorite]
C:\>Chkdsk /F is available on Apple Music too, in case anyone was wondering.
(yes yes, I'm giving them money on bandcamp too for their other albums now)
posted by strange chain at 7:43 AM on April 11, 2017 [2 favorites]
(yes yes, I'm giving them money on bandcamp too for their other albums now)
posted by strange chain at 7:43 AM on April 11, 2017 [2 favorites]
Whoa, I know this guy from Facebook! I'm happy to see him doing well!
posted by Uther Bentrazor at 10:06 AM on April 11, 2017
posted by Uther Bentrazor at 10:06 AM on April 11, 2017
C:\>Chkdsk /F is available on Apple Music too
Oh man I'm getting a total uncanny valley trip with Xcopy.Exe reminding me of Orion which I don't think I've listened to in 15 years.
posted by Space Coyote at 11:04 AM on April 11, 2017 [1 favorite]
In their collection of video game covers is what might be their first "album," W A R E Z, a collection of classic Amiga and DOS themes. It used to be free on their Bandcamp account, but it's gone now.
posted by filthy light thief at 9:34 PM on April 11, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by filthy light thief at 9:34 PM on April 11, 2017 [1 favorite]
Hello.exe! Here's MBR.
@everyone: thanks for all the words of support and for spreading the code!
@cortex: Thanks for sharing it here! By the way: Not a band. I am one.
@Wolfdog: Great! I also joined mastodon.cloud/@masterbootrecord REZ of Razor 1911 brought me there
@RobotVoodooPower: Main crypto is AES 256bit. The 2 hints to guess that main key are with encipher.it but you need to guess the 2 passwords basing on the album concept. Previous album puzzles are easier.
@filthy light thief: WAREZ is not the first album but a collection of cover songs I started to on soundcloud after the release of 4th album C:\>CHKDSK /F. It was never available on Bandcamp also because songs are added regularly to it. However you get a link to download it for free if you buy my music on Bandcamp. I'm also planning a bandcamp + vinyl & cassette release for it soon.
@space coyote: Yes that song was inspired by Orion. Check also the drescription/lyrics of the song :)
@Devonian I guess you are talking about another project cause I have no albums or songs with those titles you mention. However yes new album is more orchestral/neoclassical to avoid repetition with the other 4 i released 6 months ago.
posted by MASTERBOOTRECORD at 3:44 AM on April 12, 2017 [16 favorites]
@everyone: thanks for all the words of support and for spreading the code!
@cortex: Thanks for sharing it here! By the way: Not a band. I am one.
@Wolfdog: Great! I also joined mastodon.cloud/@masterbootrecord REZ of Razor 1911 brought me there
@RobotVoodooPower: Main crypto is AES 256bit. The 2 hints to guess that main key are with encipher.it but you need to guess the 2 passwords basing on the album concept. Previous album puzzles are easier.
@filthy light thief: WAREZ is not the first album but a collection of cover songs I started to on soundcloud after the release of 4th album C:\>CHKDSK /F. It was never available on Bandcamp also because songs are added regularly to it. However you get a link to download it for free if you buy my music on Bandcamp. I'm also planning a bandcamp + vinyl & cassette release for it soon.
@space coyote: Yes that song was inspired by Orion. Check also the drescription/lyrics of the song :)
@Devonian I guess you are talking about another project cause I have no albums or songs with those titles you mention. However yes new album is more orchestral/neoclassical to avoid repetition with the other 4 i released 6 months ago.
posted by MASTERBOOTRECORD at 3:44 AM on April 12, 2017 [16 favorites]
This is exactly what I needed and I did not know I needed it. Money given, ears happy. Thanks, MBR and cortex!
posted by corvine at 6:04 AM on April 12, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by corvine at 6:04 AM on April 12, 2017 [1 favorite]
Hello.exe! Here's MBR.
Rad! Hi!
@cortex: Thanks for sharing it here! By the way: Not a band. I am one.
Heh, yeah, I wondered but have gotten into a habit of "them" and "band" as the default for musical acts at this point when I don't explicitly know better, and was too jazzed to just post about your work to slow down and do anything like research.
Also I am 100% sure Devonian was just straight-facedly riffing on the DOS theme. MetaFilter can be that sort of place!
posted by cortex at 8:44 AM on April 12, 2017 [1 favorite]
Rad! Hi!
@cortex: Thanks for sharing it here! By the way: Not a band. I am one.
Heh, yeah, I wondered but have gotten into a habit of "them" and "band" as the default for musical acts at this point when I don't explicitly know better, and was too jazzed to just post about your work to slow down and do anything like research.
Also I am 100% sure Devonian was just straight-facedly riffing on the DOS theme. MetaFilter can be that sort of place!
posted by cortex at 8:44 AM on April 12, 2017 [1 favorite]
I used to have this program on my C64 that would make my dot matrix printer and my floppy drive play a duet.
This is nothing like that. But thanks for making this anyway!
posted by not_on_display at 5:56 PM on April 12, 2017 [1 favorite]
This is nothing like that. But thanks for making this anyway!
posted by not_on_display at 5:56 PM on April 12, 2017 [1 favorite]
Welcome, MBR! Thanks for the great music, and for answering our questions! Here's the Welcome To MetaFilter MetaTalk thread.
Also, MetaFilter has a Music section where musicians post individual tracks, collaborate and work on themed challenges, and a Projects section, where people on MetaFilter can share things they've done or made, because MetaFilter has a strict no self-posting policy on this, the main section of the website.
posted by filthy light thief at 7:25 PM on April 12, 2017 [1 favorite]
Also, MetaFilter has a Music section where musicians post individual tracks, collaborate and work on themed challenges, and a Projects section, where people on MetaFilter can share things they've done or made, because MetaFilter has a strict no self-posting policy on this, the main section of the website.
posted by filthy light thief at 7:25 PM on April 12, 2017 [1 favorite]
@filthy light thief: ah that's great! thanks. The project section seems like a place where I could post the cyberpunk pixel art adventure game I'm doing with Alessio Cosenza (he also hacks stuff) and Valenberg (pixel artist). Together we are Theta Division Games and the game is called VirtuaVerse
posted by MASTERBOOTRECORD at 3:00 AM on April 13, 2017 [3 favorites]
posted by MASTERBOOTRECORD at 3:00 AM on April 13, 2017 [3 favorites]
YES, YES IT IS
posted by cortex at 7:31 AM on April 13, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by cortex at 7:31 AM on April 13, 2017 [1 favorite]
What is this
TEXT EDITOR.
With apologies to Ed, man! !man ed, which also says:
posted by borsboom at 4:21 PM on April 14, 2017 [2 favorites]
EDIT command in EDIT AUTOEXEC.BAT? We're on DOS 5.0 now? EDLIN! EDLIN! EDLIN IS THE STANDARD!!!TEXT EDITOR.
With apologies to Ed, man! !man ed, which also says:
When IBM, in its ever-present omnipotence, needed to base their “edlin” on a Unix standard, did they mimic vi? No. Emacs? Surely you jest. They chose the most karmic editor of all. The standard.Seriously though, loving this music.
posted by borsboom at 4:21 PM on April 14, 2017 [2 favorites]
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posted by cortex at 10:39 AM on April 10, 2017 [7 favorites]