Entries Tagged "music"
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Hacking Spotify
Some of the ways artists are hacking the music-streaming service Spotify.
Hiding a Morse Code Message in a Pop Song
In Colombia:
The team began experimenting with Morse code using various percussion instruments and a keyboard. They learned that operators skilled in Morse code can often read the signals at a rate of 40 words per minute but played that fast, the beat would sound like a European Dance track. “We discovered the magic number was 20,” says Portela. “You can fit approximately 20 Morse code words into a piece of music the length of a chorus, and it sounds okay.”
[…]
Portela says they played with the Morse code using Reason software, which gives each audio channel or instrument its own dedicated track. With a separate visual lane for certain elements, it was possible to match the code to the beat of the song—and, crucially, blend it in.
Hiding the Morse code took weeks, with constant back-and-forth with Col. Espejo and the military to make sure their men could understand the message. “It was difficult because Morse code is not a musical beat. Sometimes it was too obvious,” says Portela. “Other times the code was not understood. And we had to hide it three times in the song to make sure the message was received.”
Edward Elgar's Ciphers
Elgar’s cryptography puzzles from the late 1890s.
Mention of Cryptography in a Rap Song
The new movie Safe House features the song “No Church in the Wild,” by Kanye West, which includes this verse:
I live by you, desire
I stand by you, walk through the fire
Your love is my scripture
Let me into your encryption
Friday Squid Blogging: Squid's Beard
It’s an acoustic bluegrass band.
As usual, you can also use this squid post to talk about the security stories in the news that I haven’t covered.
Cryptography Rap
The rapper MC Plus+ has written a song about cryptography, “Alice and Bob.” It mentions DES, AES, Blowfish, RSA, SHA-1, and more. And me!
EDITED TO ADD (5/8): An article about “geeksta rap.”
Sidebar photo of Bruce Schneier by Joe MacInnis.