Craft has been said to be the art of doing more with less. Part of the appeal of famous adaptationalists like MacGyver and The Swiss Family Robinson is how they take everyday objects and minimal materials and create sophisticated solutions through inventiveness and a deep command of basic principles. So it should perhaps not be such a delightful surprise that the Black Cab Sessions reconnect with a primal experience of musical performance, stripped down as they are to musicians stuffed in the back of London’s famous cabs and making the most of a limited space. Yet within that basic premise – “One song, one take, one cab” – some truly wonderful, understated experiences develop.

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Although I confess to being strictly an enthusiastic non-user of the technical application Mathematica, dating from when I managed a college computer lab, I still enjoy seeing it evolve over time and take on new roles. For example, Wolfram (the company behind it) uses it in a “Math Behind Numb3rs” feature that lets you see demonstrations of the principles that the show’s Charlie Eppes spouts off, which helps to anchor plots to real applied mathematics. And of course, who can forget cofounder’s Theodore Gray’s masterful presentation at the 2002 Macworld Expo when he infused an infectious exuberance into an otherwise lackluster roundup of early Mac OS X developers?

And so I’m befuddled that Wolfram last week launched a Home Edition of its flagship product at the economically tonedeaf price of $259. Seriously? Compare to the varying student Editions, which start at $45 for a Semester Edition license and top out at $140 for a full Standard Edition student license. Of course it compares favorably to the Professional Edition which runs a steep $2,495, but then, how many of those are actually sold to individuals instead of institutions? In the same way that Adobe Photoshop Elements relates to the professional Photoshop and the Creative Suite packages, Wolfram is offering their core tools enhanced with some common-interest tutorials (Decorate Easter Eggs with the Riemann zeta function! Explore the parameterization of Valentine hearts!) And yet they effectively price the average household out of the market, even were we not facing a severe recession and hence curb on extravagant spending.

It might make some sense if this were intended to act as an introductory version of the product for prosumer applications, like Final Cut Express does with the full bundle of Final Cut Studio. But they go so far as to restrict the Home Edition for purely non-commercial home use, stating that it “is not licensed for commercial, nonprofit, academic, or government use.” So what kind of armchair data analyst are they really trying to reach with this expensive yet license-restricted package?

I won’t make any promises, but I am going to see if I can’t restore some life to this place. Be aware that I may end up posting in both directions, chronologically speaking, as I have a lot of material stored to write about that makes more sense to me when put in the correct calendar context.

Albums added in January: 14,007

eMusic Feature

Saddle Creek Essentials

Featured Selections

Andrew Bird, Noble Beast (12)

Andrew Bird continues to veer further away from his swing jazz roots with the Bowl of Fire while continuing to produce consistently pleasing pop/folk concoctions, with trademark violin, whistling, and lyrical flourishes to challenge The Decemberists’ Colin Meloy.

Client, Heartland (12)
-, Untitled Remix (12)
-, Xerox Machine (6)

Not as immediately infectious as preceding albums Client and City, Heartland takes a few listens to gell, but ultimately still delivers the retro synthpop with a bit more Gary Glitter stamp and stomp, particularly the Alice Cooper-esque “Lights Go Out” and their cover of Adam Ant’s “Xerox Machine.” The Untitled Remix includes primarily mixes from Heartland plus collaborations with Douglas McCarthy and fellow synthetes Replica.

Stoa, Silmand (13)

More silky-swoopy neoclassical darkwave from ex-Hyperium act Stoa.

Maria Taylor, Lynn Tweeter Flower (11)

Both Taylor and fellow Azure Ray bandmate Orenda Fink get several older solo releases added (below), while Lynn Tweeter Flower represents the latest output of AR’s more straightforward half.


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