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LUKE MUEHLHAUSER




MEDIA DIET FOR Q1 2024

April 1, 2024 by Luke


MUSIC

Music I most enjoyed discovering this quarter:

 * John Surman: “Pebble Dance” (2024)
 * Cliff Eidelman: Magdalene (1988)
 * Hans Zimmer: Dune: Part Two (2024)
 * Mark Knopfler: “An American Hero” (1997)
 * George Fenton: Cry Freedom (1987)
 * Michel Legrand: Musicales Comédies (2009)
 * David Shire: The Taking of Pelham One Two Three (1974)
 * Mychael Danna: Kama Sutra (1996)
 * Various: Black Cat, White Cat (1998)
 * Kevin Penkin: Made in Abyss (2017), Made in Abyss 2 (2020), Made in Abyss 3
   (2022)
 * Kenji Kawaii: Avalon (2001)
 * Le Cri du Caire: Le Cri du Caire (2023)
 * John Zorn: Parrhesiastes (2023)
 * Matthew Halsall: An Ever Changing View (2023)
 * David Maslanka: “An Ascent Into Heaven Where Pagan Dances…” (1981), Symphony
   No. 4 (1993), Concerto for Alto Saxophone and Wind Ensemble (1999),1
   “Solvitur Ambulando” (2000), 11:11, A Dance at the Edge of the World (2001),
   Testament (2002), Traveler (2003), “Mother Earth” (2003), Symphony No. 6
   (2004), “Coming Home” (2005), Give Us This Day mvt 2 (2006), Symphony No. 8
   mvts 1 & 3 (2008), Quintet for Winds No. 4 mvt 1 (2008), “Nighthawks”
   (2009), Liberation (2010), Concerto for Saxophone Quartet and Wind Ensemble
   (2012), “Illumination” (2013), “On This Bright Morning” (2013) [playlist]
 * Heitor Villa-Lobos: Fantasia for saxophone, three horns, and strings (1948)
 * Pierre Max Dubois: Concerto for Alto Saxophone and String Orchestra (1959)
 * Darius Milhaud: Scaramouche, Suite for Saxophone and Orchestra (1939)
 * Henri Tomasi: Saxophone Concerto (1949)
 * Toshiyuki Honda: Concerto du vent (2005)
 * Jacques Ibert: Concertino da Camera (1935)
 * Takashi Yoshimatsu: Saxophone Concerto “Cyber-bird” [Opus 59] (1994)
 * Nico Muhly: “Storm Centre” (2009), “Can’t Wait” (2010), So Far So Good
   (2011), Viola Concerto, mvts 1 & 3 (2014)
 * Nonkeen: “Ceramic People” (2016)
 * Michael Gordon et al.: Cloud River Mountain, mvts 1 & 2 (2015), Road Trip,
   parts 1-5 & 8-9 (2017)
 * Julia Wolfe: Flower Power (2020)
 * Joby Talbot: “Hovercraft” (2006), Tide Harmonic [Eau] (2009), Fool’s Paradise
   (2012), Suite from Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland (2012) [playlist]
 * Miklos Rozsa: “Quo Vadis Prelude” (1951)
 * Dmitri Shostakovich: “The Youth of Maxim Overture” (1935), “The Gadfly
   Overture” (1955)
 * Michel Legrand: “Sword for Your Supper” (1973)
 * Dimash Qudaibergen: “Diva Dance” (2017), “Sinful Passion” (2018), “Olimpico”
   (2019), “SOS d’un terrien en détresse (2021 live)“ & “Stranger” (2021)
 * Angelina Jordan: “I Put a Spell on You” (2016), “Bohemian Rhapsody” (2020),
   “Love Don’t Let Me Go” & “Now I’m the Fool” (2023)
 * Emma Kok: “Voilà” & “Voila [duet]” & “Hallelujah” (2023)
 * Disturbed: “The Sound of Silence” (2016)
 * Diana Ankudinova: “Last Dance” (2018), “Wicked Game” (2019), “Can’t help
   falling in love“ & “Personal Jesus” (2021)
 * Teddy Swims: “Lose Control” (2023)
 * Indila: “Last Dance” (2013)
 * Asaf Avidan: “Different Pulses” (2012), “Lost Horse” (2020), “Reckoning Song”
   (2023 version)
 * Pentatonix: “Daft Punk” (2013), “Hallelujah” (2016)
 * MB14: “La Cup Worldwide Showcase 2018” (2018)
 * D-low: “Sing a Little Harmony” (2023)
 * Aurora: “Runaway” (2015)
 * Yebba: “My Mind“ (2014)
 * Jackie Evancho: “Nessun Dorma” (2011)
 * Heart: “Stairway to Heaven” (2012)
 * Solomia Lukyanets: “Time to Say Goodbye” (2015)
 * Jordan Smith: “Mary Did You Know” (2021) and live version (2023)
 * Bei Bei: “The Voice of China” (2020)
 * Marcelito Pomoy: “Time to Say Goodbye” (2020)
 * Piet Arion: “SOS d’un terrien en détresse” (2019)2
 * Cristina Ramos: “Call Me” (2019)
 * Chezelle Shahadat: “The Sound of Silence” (2019)
 * Tamara Weber-Fillion: “Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door” (2016)
 * Lord Huron: “The Night We Met” (2015)
 * Lara Fabian: “Je Suis Malade (live)“ (2016)
 * Yma Sumac: “Tumpa” (1954)
 * So Hyang: “Bridge Over Troubled Water” (2015), “Arirang Alone” (2015)
 * Chris Stapleton: “Nothing Compares to You” (2016), “The Star-Spangled Banner”
   (2023)
 * Chase Holfelder: “I Will Always Love You“ (2016)
 * Kristen Cruz: “I See Red” (2022)
 * Matt Corby: “Brother” (2020)
 * Paolo Nutini: “Iron Sky” (2014)
 * Malakai Bayoh: “Pie Jesu” (2023)
 * James Last: “The Lonely Shepherd” (1977)
 * Alex Shapiro: “Moment” (2016)
 * Omar Thomas: “Mother of a Revolution” (2019)
 * Ravi Shankar: Symphony (2010)
 * Shirish Korde: Svara-Yantra (2005)
 * John Tchicai: Moonstone Journey (1999)
 * Moondog: Snaketime Series (1957)
 * Denny Zeitlin: “Syzygy” (1977)
 * Albert Mangelsdorff: “Do You Like Pastrami” (1999)
 * Tom Harrell: “Vista” and “Brazilian Song” (1990)
 * Daniel Kobialka: “Prelude to Afternoon of a Faun” (1986)
 * Craig Harris: “The Veil” (2005)
 * Ernie Krivda: “The Glory Strut” (1980)
 * acloudyskye: What Do You Want! (2022)
 * Jerskin Fendrix: “Poor Things Finale and End Credits” (2023)
 * Distant Cowboy: “Core Memory” (2022)
 * Christine and the Queens: Paranoia, Angels, True Love (2023)
 * Sewerslvt: “Jvnko Still Loves You” (2020)
 * Raja Kirik: “Waru Doyong” (2023)
 * Myroslav Skoryk: “Melodia in A Minor” (1982)
 * Fabiano do Nascimento & Sam Gendel: The Room (2024)

I also watched many YouTube “reaction” videos for my two favorite vocal
performances of all time: Ankudinova’s “Can’t help falling in love” and Dimash’s
“S.O.S.” Lots of warranted shock, goosebumps, speechlessness, and weeping on
display. A few examples: one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine.
YouTuber “Fairy Voice Mother” has excellent explainers on how each performance
is achieved technically: Ankudinova, Dimash. You may also enjoy her
reaction/analysis for Johnny’s Cash’s “Hurt.”

Another very impressive vocal performance I discovered this quarter is Will
Ramos’ “To the Hellfire,” but I can’t exactly say I “enjoy” it, so I didn’t list
it above. How many different species of demon do you hear?

[Read more…]

 1. Unsurprisingly I also like the arrangement for orchestra. []
 2. Still cool even though the highest whistle notes appear to be manipulated.
    []

Filed Under: Lists


MEDIA DIET FOR Q4 2023

January 1, 2024 by Luke


MUSIC

Music I most enjoyed discovering this quarter:

 * Munich Radio Orchestra w/ James Morrison: “Mission Impossible Theme” (1994)
 * Peter Warlock: Capriol Suite (1926)
 * Gibran Alcocer: “Idea 1” & “Idea 9” & “Idea 10” & “Idea 22” & “Solas” (2022)
 * Astor Piazzolla: “Fuga y Misterio [arr. for cellos]” (comp. 1968),
   “Libertango [arr. for cellos]” (comp. 1974)
 * Thylacine: Vivaldi (and 74 musicians) (2023)
 * Yuja Wang: “Variations on the Turkish March” (2017)
 * David Bruce: “The Crescent Moon is a Dangerous Lunatic” (2009), Cymbeline
   (2013)
 * Rafael Krux: The Epic Baroque (2021)
 * Hania Rani: Ghosts (2023)
 * Noordpool Orchestra: Radiohead, A Jazz Symphony (2012)
 * Ara Malikian: “Dzovarev” and “Paranoid Android” and “L’estate” (2017)
 * Steve Hackman: Brahms X Radiohead (2013)
 * Multiphonic Quartett: “Mishima Closing” (2021), “Air” (2022), “Songs for Tony
   (1st movement)” (2022)
 * Howard Shore: The Lord of the Rings Symphony (2011)
 * Louie Ashley: “Knights of Cydonia” (2022)
 * Marnie Stern: The Comeback Kid (2023)
 * John Rutter: Suite for Strings (1973)
 * Oren Ambarchi: Shebang (2022)
 * Alfonso Peduto: Binary Data, Vol. 1 (2022)
 * Joseph Nicolas Pancrace Royer: “Le Vertigo” (1746)
 * Brad Mehldau: Jacob’s Ladder (2022)
 * Philip Glass: The Complete Piano Etudes (2014)
 * Bryce Dessner: Murder Ballades (2013), Concerto for Two Pianos (2018),
   “Alarms” & “Pulsing” (2021)
 * Katie Gately: Fawn / Brute (2023)
 * Odette: “Thunderstruck” (2020)
 * Alex Lahey: “Welcome to the Black Parade” (2019)
 * Prizes Roses Rosa: “Always Returning” (2022)
 * Connor Gallagher: “Shostakovich Symphony 5” (2015), “Shostakovich Symphony 10
   mvt 2” (2016), “Shostakovich String Quartet 8” (2018), “Stravinsky’s Infernal
   Dance” (2018), “Adagio for Strings on Electric Guitar” (2019)
 * Hope Lies Within: “Der Erlkönig” (2012)
 * Andre Antunes: “Master of Puppets in the style of Muse” (2022), “Akhiyan
   Udeek Diyan” (2023)
 * Zequinha de Abreu: “Tico Tico No Fuba” (1917)
 * Tomaso Antonio Vitali: “Chaconne in G Minor” (~1740)
 * Neptunian Maximalism: Eons (2020)
 * Amen Seat: Amen Seat (2023)
 * Georg Muffat: “Violin Sonata in D Major” (1677)
 * Anatolijus Senderovas: Concerto in Do [Concerto in C] (2002)
 * Nikolai Korndorf: Symphony No. 3 (1989)
 * Paul Dresher: Concerto for Violin and Electro-Acoustic Band (1997), Concerto
   for Quadrachord & Orchestra (2012)
 * Urmas Sisask: Spiral Symphony (1999)
 * Mason Bates: Omnivorous Furniture (2004), Violin Concerto (2012)
 * Klaus Makela & Orchestre de Paris: The Rite of Spring & The Firebird (2023)
 * Arvo Part: Fratres (version for guitar & orchestra) (1977), “Cantique des
   degrés” (1999), “Littlemore Tractus” (2000)
 * Thomas Ades: “The Thieves” and “Mount Purgatory” (2020)
 * Steve Lehman: “39” (2023)
 * Darcy James Argue: Dynamic Maximum Tension (2023)
 * Allison Miller: Rivers in Our Veins (2023)
 * Lakecia Benjamin: Phoenix (2023)
 * Isaiah Collier: “Village Song” (2023)
 * Tyshawn Sorey: Continuing (2023)
 * Elliot Goldenthal: “Truffaldino’s Sausage Shop” & “Under Bustle Funk” &
   “Green Bird Descent” (2000)
 * Nino Rota: La Strada Suite (1966)
 * Patrick Williams: An American Concerto (1980)
 * Stjepan Sulek: Symphony No. 8 mvt 2 (1981)
 * Heikki Sarmanto: Suomi (1984)

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Lists


MEDIA DIET FOR Q3 2023

October 4, 2023 by Luke Leave a Comment


MUSIC

Music I most enjoyed discovering this quarter:

 * Takeshi Inomata: Jazz Rock for Grand-Prix (1971)
 * Erik Hall: ten Holt’s Canto Ostinato (rel. 2023)
 * Mammal Hands: Shadow Work (2017), Gift from the Trees (2023)
 * Ben Lukas Boysen: “Medela” (2020)
 * Philip Glass: Symphony No. 12 (comp. 2019), Symphony No. 14, mvt. 3 (2021)
 * A Love Supreme Electric: A Love Supreme (2020) [i.e. disc 1 of this.]
 * Jaimie Branch: Fly or Die Fly or Die Fly or Die (2023)
 * Aaron Hibell: “Destroyer of Worlds” (2023)
 * Lautten Compagney: “Opening” (2010), “Anthem Part 1” (2019), “Larghetto” &
   “Il Bajazet” & “L’Inverno focoso” & “Summer Tempest” (2022)
 * Belgorod State Symphony Orchestra: Nyman’s “Memorial” (2017)
 * Topology: Perpetual Motion Machine (2003)
 * Paul Bailey Ensemble: Retrace Our Steps (2007), Alt-Classical (2010)
 * Hypnotic Brass Ensemble: Youngs’ “Soon It Will Be Fire” (2021)
 * Blue Cranes: Voices (2021)
 * Odesza: “The Last Goodbye” (2022)
 * London Philharmonic Orchestra: The 50 Greatest Pieces of Classical Music
   (2009)1
 * Alice Babs: “Jazz Fuga” (1963)
 * Florent Ghys: “Hommage à Kevin Volans” (2007), Television (2014)
 * Don Plonsey: Moving About… (2001)
 * Esmerine: Dalmak (2013)
 * Mouse on the Keys: An Anxious Object (2009)
 * Makaya McCrarven: In These Times (2022)
 * Yonatan Gat: American Quartet (2022)
 * Max Richter: Beethoven Opus 2020 (2020)
 * Emily Wells: Regards to the End (2022)
 * Brooklyn Raga Massive: In D (2020)
 * Johan Ullen: Infinite Bach (2021)
 * Nikolai Kapustin: Piano Concerto No. 2 (1974)
 * Lawrence: “Don’t Lose Sight” (2021)
 * Joe Parrish: “Shostakovich 10 Mvmt. II” (2020), The Rite of Spring (2021),
   “Dirty Boy (acoustic)” (2021),
 * Nono & Roie Shpigler: Appassionato [single] (2023)
 * Ludwig Goransson: Oppenheimer (2023)

This quarter, I was reminded that I often like orchestral arrangements of
originally non-orchestral pieces (by a different composer). Here are some
favorites, most of which I discovered for the first time this quarter
[playlist]:

 * Leopold Stokowski (as arranger): Bach’s Toccata and Fugue in D Minor and
   “Sheep May Safely Graze” and “Jesu, Joy of Man’s Desiring,” Rachmaninov’s
   “The Bells of Moscow,” Clarke’s “The Prince of Denmark’s March,” Mozart’s
   “Turkish March,” Beethoven’s Moonlight Sonata mvt 1, Franz Schubert’s
   “Serenade,” Chopin’s “Funeral March” and “Minute Waltz” and Preludes (Opus
   28) No. 24, Albeniz’s “Festival in Seville,” Handel’s “Dead March,” Purcel’s
   “Dido’s Lament,” Mussorgsky’s “St. John’s Night on the Bare Mountain,”
   Debussy’s “Clair de Lune”
 * Ferde Grofé (as arranger): Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue
 * Henry Wood (as arranger): Grieg’s “Funeral March in Memory of Rikard
   Nordraak,” Rachmaninoff’s Prelude in C-sharp minor
 * Maurice Ravel (as arranger): Mussorgsky’s Pictures at an Exhibition
 * Henri Büsser: Debussy’s Petite Suite
 * Gustav Mahler (as arranger): Schubert’s String Quartet No. 14
 * Steven Stucky (as arranger): Purcell’s Music for the Funeral of Queen Mary
 * Arnold Schoenberg (as arranger): Brahms’ Piano Quartet No. 1
 * Benjamin Britten (as arranger): Purcell’s Chacony in G Minor
 * Franz Liszt (as arranger): Schubert’s Wanderer Fantasy
 * Erwin Schulhoff (as arranger): Beethoven’s “Rage Over a Lost Penny”
 * Claud Debussy (as arranger): Satie’s Gymnopédies
 * Francis Poulenc (as arranger): Satie’s Gnossiennes No. 3
 * Gustav Holst (as arranger): Bach’s Fugue a la gigue in G Major [BWV 577]
 * Eugene Ormandy (as arranger): Bach’s “Sleepers Wake” [BWV 140]
 * Various arrangers: Brahms’ Hungarian Dances

[Read more…]

 1. Of course this is closer to a “most popular” list than a “greatest” list,
    but regardless, these pieces are great, and do seem to me like a great
    selection for introducing someone to classical music. []

Filed Under: Lists


MEDIA DIET FOR Q2 2023

July 3, 2023 by Luke


MUSIC

Music I most enjoyed discovering this quarter:

 * Mason Bates: Philharmonia Fantastique (2022)
 * Bebawinigi: Stupor (2022)
 * Anna Meredith: Concerto for Beatboxer & Orchestra (2010)
 * Ran Cap Duoi: *1 (2023)
 * Kaatayra: Inpariquipe (2021)
 * Alice Boman: Dream On (2020)
 * Tony Ann: Emotionally Blue (2023)
 * Medicine Singers: Medicine Singers (2022)
 * Jeremy Blake (arr. David Bruce): “Aquamarine” (2020)
 * Tuatara: Trading with the Enemy (1998)
 * Squid: O Monolith (2023)
 * Model/Actriz: Dogsbody (2023)
 * Monika Roscher: Failure in Wonderland (2012), Witchy Activities and the Maple
   Death (2023)

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Lists


MEDIA DIET FOR Q1 2023

April 2, 2023 by Luke


MUSIC

Music I most enjoyed discovering this quarter:

 * I Like to Sleep: Sleeping Beauty (2022)
 * Quadratum [Unlucky Morpheus]: “The Dance of Eternity” (2021)
 * Mason Bates: Piano Concerto (2022)

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Lists


MEDIA DIET FOR Q4 2022

January 1, 2023 by Luke


MUSIC

Music I most enjoyed discovering this quarter:

 * Siddhartha Kohsla: “Only Murders in the Building Main Theme” (2021)
 * Low & Spring Heel Jack: Bombscare (2000)
 * The Comet is Coming: Hyper-Dimensional Expansion Beam (2022)
 * Mazie: The Rainbow Cassette (2021)
 * The Grassy Knoll: III (1998)
 * P’taah: “Perfumed Silence” (2011)
 * Mulatu Astatke: Inspiration Information (2009)
 * Yussef Kamaal: “Strings of Light” (2016)
 * Shibusashirazu: Shibuboshi (2004), Shibuki (2007), Shibu-yotabi (2010)
 * Salaryman: Karoshi (1999),  The Electric Forest (2006)
 * Turing Machine: Zwei (2004)
 * Government: “Masses Bald as Love” (2022)
 * Alex Weston: The Novice (2021)
 * Ikarus: Plasma (2022)
 * Alexander Noice: Noice (2019)
 * Meute: Taumel (2022)
 * Cristobal Tapia de Veer & Kim Neundorf: White Lotus Season 2 (2022)
 * Ensemble 4’33”: Sergey Kuryokhin: The Spirit Lives (2016)
 * Serge Gainsbourg: “Bonnie and Clyde (Akse Remix)” (2012)

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Lists


MEDIA DIET FOR Q3 2022

October 1, 2022 by Luke


MUSIC

Music I most enjoyed discovering this quarter:

 * Anteloper: Pink Dolphins (2022)
 * Labrinth: Euphoria (2019), “I’m Tired” and “Love Is Complicated” (2022)
 * Sirom: The Liquified Throne of Simplicity (2022)
 * Karrots: Karrots I (2020)
 * Bitch ‘n’ Monk: We Are Peering Over (2016)
 * Ran Cap Duoi: Dep Trai Chet Het (2018)
 * Jon Mueller: Tongues (2016)
 * Balungan: Kudu Bisa Kudu (2022)
 * Janel Leppin: Ensemble Volcanic Ash (2022)
 * Peruvian Sleep: “Shapeshifter” (2015)
 * Broun Fellinis: Real Moments (1995), Out Through the N Door (2000)
 * Mimika Orchestra: Divinities of the Earth and the Waters (2018)
 * Fun Da Mental: Erotic Terrorism (1998)
 * DJ Krush: Jaku (2004)
 * Viagra Boys: Street Worms (2018)
 * Jihye Lee: Daring Mind (2021)
 * Nik Bärtsch: Stoa (2006), Randori (2006), Holon (2008), “Modul 29_14” (2016)
 * Oren Ambarchi & others: Ghosted (2022)
 * Fleshquartet: Love Go (2000)
 * Jimsaku: “Aztec” (1997)
 * Eivind Aarset: Light Extracts (2001)
 * Tim Hagans: “Animation/Imagination” and “Hud Doyle” (1999)
 * Matthew Herbert: Goodbye Swingtime (2003)
 * Payton MacDonald & others: Void Patrol (2022)
 * Benny Omerzell & others: “Omersall, Kong & Sievaerd” and “Skagerrak” (2017)
 * Cinema Cinema: Man Bites Dog (2017)
 * Plaistow: Lacrimosa (2012)
 * Innercity Ensemble: II (2014), IV (2019)
 * Meute: “You & Me” (2018), “Peace” (2022)
 * Szun Waves: “Exploding Upwards” (2002)
 * Daniel Rossen: You Belong There (2022)
 * Meute: Tumult (2017), “You & Me” (2018)
 * High Castle Teleorkestra: The Egg That Never Opened (2022)
 * Trance Mission: Le Pendu (2020)

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Lists


MEDIA DIET FOR Q2 2022

July 3, 2022 by Luke


MUSIC

Music I most enjoyed discovering this quarter:

 * Metropole Orkest & Leo Pellegrino: “Brass House / Moanin’ / Better Git It In
   Your Soul” (2017)
 * Emmet Cohen / Bruce Harris / Patrick Bartley: Live From Emmet’s Place Vol.
   52 (2021)
 * Spiritualized: Everything Was Beautiful (2022)
 * Sault: Air (2022)
 * Arcade Fire: We (2022)
 * Congotronics International: Where’s the One? (2022)
 * The Smile: A Light for Attracting Attention (2022)
 * Amorphous Androgynous: The Isness (2002)
 * Transglobal Underground: Rejoice, Rejoice (1998)
 * Mark Pistel: “Colorful World” (1997)
 * Joe Rainey: Niineta (2022)
 * Loop Guru: Moksha: Peel To Reveal (1996), Loopus Interruptus (2001), Bathtime
   with Loop Guru (2003)
 * Directions: “Echoes (Continental Drift Version)” (1997)
 * William Parker: Mayan Space Station (2021)
 * Embryo: Auf Auf (2021)
 * Eclectic Maybe Band: Reflection in a Moebius Ring Mirror (2019), Again Alors?
   (2022)
 * Gnome: King (2022)
 * Poliça: “Alive” (2022)
 * Snarky Puppy: “Trinity” (2022)
 * Miroslav Vitous: Universal Syncopations (2003)
 * Vivaldi / Max Richter: The New Four Seasons (2022)1

[Read more…]

 1. I really enjoy this, but did we really need another Richter “recomposition”
    of this exact piece before Richter has provided the same treatment to other
    beloved works? Could he next recompose Beethoven’s 9th or Stravinsky’s Rite
    of Spring or something else? []

Filed Under: Lists


EFFECTIVE ALTRUISM AS I SEE IT

June 6, 2022 by Luke

Here’s the main way I think about effective altruism, personally:

 1. I was born into incredible privilege. I can satisfy all of my needs, and
    many of my wants, and still have plenty of money, time, and energy left
    over. So what will I do with those extra resources?
 2. I might as well use them to help others, because I wish everyone was as
    well-off as I am. Plus, figuring out how to help others effectively sounds
    intellectually interesting.
 3. With whatever portion of my resources I’m devoting to helping others, I want
    my help to be truly other-focused. In other words, I want to benefit others
    by their own lights, as much as possible (with whatever portion of resources
    I’ve devoted to helping others). This is very different from other
    approaches to helping others, such as helping in a way that makes me feel
    good (e.g. a cause I have a personal connection to, or “giving back” to a
    community that has benefited me), or helping specific kinds of people that I
    feel special empathy for (e.g. identifiable victims, people with whom I
    share particular characteristics, or people who face particular deprivations
    that are salient to me), or helping in a way that allows me to achieve
    particular virtues, or helping in ways that aren’t scope-sensitive (e.g.
    spending $1 million to save one life via bone marrow transplant rather than
    spending the same amount to save ~220 lives via malaria prevention).1 I
    might do those other things too, but I wouldn’t count them as coming from my
    budget for other-focused altruism. (See also: Harsanyi’s veil of ignorance
    and aggregation theorem.)
 4. Okay, so what can I do that will benefit others by their own lights, as much
    as possible (with the other-focused portion of my resources)? Here is where
    things get complicated, drawing from domains as diverse as ethics, welfare
    economics, consciousness studies, global health, macrohistory, AI,
    innovation economics, exploratory engineering, and so much more. There will
    be many legitimate debates, and I’ll never be certain that I’ve come to the
    right conclusions about how to help others as much as possible, but the goal
    of all this research will remain the same: to figure out how to benefit
    others as much as possible and then devote my other-focused resources toward
    doing that.

In other words, I’m pretty happy with the most canonical definition of effective
altruism I know of, from MacAskill (2019), which defines effective altruism as:

> (i) the use of evidence and careful reasoning to work out how to maximize the
> good with a given unit of resources, tentatively understanding ‘the good’ in
> impartial welfarist terms, and
> 
> (ii) the use of the findings from (i) to try to improve the world.

This notion of effective altruism doesn’t demand that you use all your resources
to help others. It doesn’t even say that you should use your other-focused
budget of resources to help others as much as possible.2 Instead, it
merely describes an intellectual project (clause i) and a practical project
(clause ii) that some people are excited about but most people aren’t.3

Effective altruism is radically different from many other suggestions for what
it looks like to do good or help others.4 True, the portion of resources devoted
to helping others may not differ hugely (though it may differ some5 ) between an
effective altruist and a non-EA Christian or humanist or social justice
activist, since the canonical notion of effective altruism doesn’t take a stance
on what that portion should be.6 Instead, effective altruism differs from other
approaches to helping others via one or more of its defining characteristics,
namely its aspiration to be maximizing, impartial, welfarist, and
evidence-based.7

For example, I think it’s difficult for an effective altruist to conclude that
the following popular ideas for how to do good or help others are plausible
contenders for helping others as much as possible (in an impartial, welfarist,
evidence-based way):

 1. Providing basic necessities (food, shelter, health care, education) to
    people who are poor by wealthy-country standards, at a cost that’s ≥100x the
    cost per person of providing those necessities to people who are poor by
    global standards. (Not maximizing, not impartial.)
 2. Funding for the arts. (Not maximizing: there is already more great art than
    anyone can enjoy in a lifetime, and the provision of marginal artistic
    experience benefits others much less than e.g. providing the poorest people
    in the world with basic necessities.)
 3. Religious evangelism, e.g. to spare souls from hell. (Not evidence-based.)
 4. Funding advocacy against GMOs or nuclear power. (Not evidence-based.)
 5. Funding animal shelters rather than efforts against factory farming, which
    tortures and slaughters billions of animals annually.8 (Not maximizing.)
 6. (Many, many other examples.)

Of course, even assuming effective altruism’s relatively distinctive joint
commitment to maximization, impartialism, welfarism, and evidence, there will
still be a wide range of reasonable debates about which interventions help
others as much as possible (in an impartial, welfarist, evidence-based way),
just as there will always be a wide range of reasonable debates about any number
of scientific questions (and that’s no objection to scientific epistemology).9

Moreover, these points don’t just follow from the canonical definition of
effective altruism; they are also observed in the practice of people who call
themselves “effective altruists.” For example, EAs are somewhat distinctive in
how they debate the question of how best to help others (the debates are
generally premised on maximization, welfarism, impartialism, and careful
interpretation of whatever evidence is available), and they are very distinctive
with regard to which causes they end up devoting the most money and labor to.
For example, according to this estimate, the top four EA causes in 2019 by
funding allocated were:10

 1. Global health ($185 million)
 2. Farm animal welfare ($55 million)
 3. (Existential) biosecurity ($41 million)11 — note this was before COVID-19,
    when biosecurity was a much less popular cause
 4. Potential (existential) risks from AI ($40 million)

Global health is a fairly popular cause among non-EAs, but farm animal welfare,
(existential) biosecurity, and potential (existential) risks from AI are very
idiosyncratic. Indeed, I suspect that EAs are responsible for ≥40% of all
funding for each of farm animal welfare, potential existential risks from AI,
and existential biosecurity.12

 1.  My estimate of the cost of a bone marrow transplant is taken from Millman
     (2020). My estimate for the cost of saving lives via malaria prevention is
     $4,500, which is GiveWell’s estimate for the average cost-effectiveness of
     GiveWell-directed funding to Malaria Consortium in 2020, taken from this
     page on June 4th 2022. I might be misunderstanding the cost estimate in
     Millman (2020), though in any case I suspect that basic point will stand,
     that paying for bone marrow transplants will save much fewer lives per
     dollar than funding malaria prevention via donations to Malaria Consortium.
     []
 2.  See MacAskill (2019), section 2. []
 3.  You could call this a “watered down” or “weak” version of moral realist
     utilitarianism, but it is not a watered down or weak version of effective
     altruism (as suggested by Nielsen). It is the primary, canonical notion of
     effective altruism, crafted with input from a survey of effective altruism
     “thought leaders” from a few years ago. []
 4.  Contra Srinivasan and Nielsen. []
 5.  It’s hard to get comparable numbers on this (or any numbers at all), but my
     anecdotal sense is that highly engaged EAs are substantially more likely to
     choose a “direct work” EA career than similarly engaged members of most
     other morally-motivated communities are, though of course it’s not at all
     rare in other morally-motivated communities. EAs might also on average
     donate a bit more than most other morally-motivated communities, though
     it’s worth noting that e.g. the median EA (in this survey) donates much
     less than 10% of their income. If anyone has numbers for any of these
     claims, let me know!
     
     
     
     Some EAs embrace a more morally demanding version of EA, even though strong
     moral demandingness is not part of the canonical definition of EA. I
     applaud and respect these EAs and think they are morally superior to me,
     but my sense is that they are in the minority of EAs, and of course many
     other morally-motivated communities also have a minority of practitioners
     who embrace an especially morally demanding lifestyle. []

 6.  See again MacAskill (2019), section 2. []
 7.  MacAskill (2019) uses the phrase “science-aligned” rather than
     “evidence-based,” and notes that effective altruism’s impartialism and
     welfarism is “tentative.” []
 8.  For context, Lewis Bollard estimates that “US animal rescue shelters had a
     combined budget of $3.2B in 2021. Shelters house 6.3M animals/year, so
     that’s ~$500 spent per shelter animal (often for a short period of time).
     US farm animal advocacy orgs had a combined budget of ~$100M, while the US
     has 2.7B farm animals alive at any time, so that’s $0.04 spent per farm
     animal.” []
 9.  Indeed, after making a small number of moral assumptions, questions about
     which interventions will help others the most just are, in a broad sense,
     scientific questions. []
 10. See the same post for estimates of how much EA labor goes to different
     causes; that picture is harder to describe succinctly so I’ve skipped it
     here. []
 11. By “existential biosecurity” I just mean “Biosecurity and pandemic
     preparedness interventions focused on avoiding existential catastrophe from
     pathogens,” which is generally the sort of biosecurity work that EAs fund.
     []
 12. This is harder to determine for the case of existential biosecurity, since
     existential biosecurity interventions overlap a lot with lower-stakes
     biosecurity interventions, and biosecurity in general has become a more
     popular cause since COVID-19. On farm animal welfare, Lewis Bollard
     estimates that EA funders were responsible for perhaps ~45% for farm animal
     advocacy work in 2021, though Leah Edgerton’s estimate of 25% for 2018 may
     have been correct (EA funding in this area has increased in recent years).
     []

Filed Under: Musings


MEDIA DIET FOR Q1 2022

April 9, 2022 by Luke


MUSIC

Music I most enjoyed discovering this quarter:

 * Laika & the Cosmonauts: Surfs You Right (1990), “Delayrium” (1995),
   “Disconnected” (1997)
 * Tarta Relena: “Me yelassan” (2021)
 * Godswounds: Death to the Babyboomers (2018)
 * Anna von Hausswolff: Live at Montreux Jazz Festival (2022)
 * Fontanelle: Vitamin F (2012)
 * Tigue: Peaks (2015)
 * Kashiwa Daisuke: Program Music III (2020)
 * Dakota Suite & Quentin Sirjacq: “Committing to Uncertainty” (2014)
 * Grandbrothers: All the Unknown (2021)
 * Gurrumul: Djarimirri (Child of the Rainbow) (2018)
 * The Styrenes: In C (2003)
 * Moonshake: First (1991), Secondhand Clothes (1992), Big Good Angel (1993)
 * King Cobb Steelie: “Quo Vadis” (1997)
 * Ben LaMar Gay: Open Arms to Us (2021)
 * Tsukasa Saitoh: “Elden Ring” and “The Final Battle” (2022)
 * Ghost Rhythms: Ghost Rhythms (2007), “Sept Cercles” (2012), Madeleine (2015),
   Imaginary Mountains (2020), Spectral Music (2021)
 * Fucked Up: Year of the Horse (2021)

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Lists


MEDIA DIET FOR Q4 2021

January 1, 2022 by Luke


MUSIC

Spotify playlist for this quarter is here. Playlists for past quarters and years
here.

Music I most enjoyed discovering this quarter:

 * Robert Een: Mystery Dances (2003)
 * Throwing Muses: Chains Changed (1987)
 * Nigel Kennedy: The Kennedy Experience (1999)
 * Barrows: Red Giant (2014)
 * Regular Music: Regular Music (1985), North South East West (1996)
 * The Lost Jockey: Professor Slack (1982)
 * Cartoon: Boot-Legged (1983)
 * Lil Ugly Mane: Volcanic Bird Enemy and the Voiced Concern (2021)
 * Springtime: Springtime (2021)
 * Urok: Urok (2019)
 * Yoko Kanno: Cowboy Bebop (1998)
 * Ken Thomson: Settle (2014)
 * Collocutor: Instead (2014)
 * Faust: “Knochentanz” (rec. 1974, rel. 2021)
 * Portico Quartet: Memory Streams (2019), Monument (2021)
 * JC & The Microtones: Cowpeople (1984)
 * President’s Breakfast: President’s Breakfast (1989)
 * Jonny Greenwood: “Arrival” (2021)
 * Ill Considered: Liminal Space (2021)
 * Konami Kukeiha Club: “Beginning” (1994)
 * Michael Lee Firkins: Michael Lee Firkins (1990)

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Lists


MEDIA I’M LOOKING FORWARD TO, Q1 2022 EDITION

January 1, 2022 by Luke


ADDED THIS QUARTER:

 * Kirby and the Forgotten Land (TBD 2022) [game]


BOOKS

bold = especially excited

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Lists


MEDIA DIET FOR Q3 2021

October 1, 2021 by Luke


MUSIC

Spotify playlist for this quarter is here. Playlists for past quarters and years
here.

Music I most enjoyed discovering this quarter:

 * Nikolaj Hess: Spacelab & Strings (2021)
 * L’Rain: Fatigue (2021)
 * Caroline Shaw: Let the Soil Play Its Simple Part (2021)
 * Clown Core: “Diarrhea inferno welfare burrito” (2010), “Toilet” (2018),
   “Existence” (2020), 1234 (2021)
 * Can: Live in Stuttgart 1975 (rec. 1975, rel. 2021)
 * Iosonouncane: DIE (2015), IRA (2021)
 * Jaubi: Nafs at Peace (2021)
 * Haley: Pleasureland (2018)
 * Low: Hey What (2021)
 * Cristobal Tapia de Veer: The White Lotus (2021)
 * David Grisman: Mondo Mando (1981), Dawg Jazz / Dawg Grass (1983)
 * Tony Rice: Mar West (1980)
 * Lingua Ignota: “Man is Like a Spring Flower” (2021)
 * 15-60-75: Jimmy Bell’s Still in Town (1976)
 * Penguin Cafe Orchestra: When in Rome (1988), Concert Program (1995)

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Lists


MEDIA I’M LOOKING FORWARD TO, Q4 2021 EDITION

October 1, 2021 by Luke


ADDED THIS QUARTER:

 * Clarke et al., Rethinking Moral Status (Oct 2021)
 * Byler, In the Camps (Oct 2021)
 * Bhattacharya, The Man from the Future (Feb 2022)
 * Iñárritu, Bardo (TBD) [film]
 * Aronofsky, The Whale (TBD) [film]
 * Santos et al., Into the Spider-Verse sequel (Oct 2022) [film]


BOOKS

bold = especially excited

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Lists


MUSK’S NON-MISSING MOOD

July 12, 2021 by Luke

Over the years, my colleagues and I have spoken to many machine learning
researchers who, perhaps after some discussion and argument, claim to think
there’s a moderate chance — a 5%, or 15%, or even a 40% chance — that AI systems
will destroy human civilization in the next few decades.1 However, I often
detect what Bryan Caplan has called a “missing mood“; a mood they would
predictably exhibit if they really thought such a dire future was plausible, but
which they don’t seem to exhibit. In many cases, the researcher who claims to
think that medium-term existential catastrophe from AI is plausible doesn’t seem
too upset or worried or sad about it, and doesn’t seem to be taking any specific
actions as a result.

Not so with Elon Musk. Consider his reaction (here and here) when podcaster Joe
Rogan asks about his AI doomsaying. Musk stares at the table, and takes a deep
breath. He looks sad. Dejected. Fatalistic. Then he says:

> I tried to convince people to slow down AI, to regulate AI. This was futile. I
> tried for years. Nobody listened. Nobody listened. Nobody listened… Maybe [one
> day] they will [listen]. So far they haven’t.
> 
> …Normally the way regulations work is very slow… Usually it’ll be something,
> some new technology, it will cause damage or death, there will be an outcry,
> there will be an investigation, years will pass, there will be some kind of
> insight committee, there will be rulemaking, then there will be oversight,
> eventually regulations. This all takes many years… This timeframe is not
> relevant to AI. You can’t take 10 years from the point at which it’s
> dangerous. It’s too late.
> 
> ……I was warning everyone I could. I met with Obama, for just one reason [to
> talk about AI danger]. I met with Congress. I was at a meeting of all 50
> governors, I talked about AI danger. I talked to everyone I could. No one
> seemed to realize where this was going.

Moreover, I believe Musk when he says that his ultimate purpose for founding
Neuralink is to avert an AI catastrophe: “If you can’t beat it, join it.”
Personally, I’m not optimistic that brain-computer interfaces can avert AI
catastrophe — for roughly the reasons outlined in the BCIs section
of Superintelligence ch. 2 — but Musk came to a different assessment, and I’m
glad he’s trying.

Whatever my disagreements with Musk (I have plenty), it looks to me like Musk
doesn’t just profess concern about AI existential risk.2 I think he feels it in
his bones, when he wakes up in the morning, and he’s spending a significant
fraction of his time and capital to try to do something about it. And for that I
am grateful.

 1. Indeed, this is not a rare view among researchers who publish at some of the
    top AI conferences, at least as of 2015; see here. []
 2. For collections of other AI-related quotes from Musk, see e.g. here and
    here, along with this panel. []

Filed Under: Musings


MEDIA DIET FOR Q2 2021

July 2, 2021 by Luke


MUSIC

Spotify playlist for this quarter is here. Playlists for past quarters and years
here.

Music I most enjoyed discovering this quarter:

 * Godspeed You! Black Emperor: G_d’s Pee at State’s End (2021)
 * Stefan Lakatos & Andreas Heuser: The Orastorios / Moondog Rounds (2009)
 * Squid: Bright Green Field (2021)
 * Sparks: “Moon Over Kentucky” (1973)
 * BRUIT ≤: The Machine Is Burning and Now Everyone Knows It Could Happen Again
   (2021)
 * Sons of Kemet: Black to the Future (2021)
 * The Narcotix: Mommy Issues (2001)

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Lists


MEDIA I’M LOOKING FORWARD TO, Q3 2021 EDITION

July 2, 2021 by Luke


ADDED THIS QUARTER:

 * Cowen & Gross, Talent (May 2022)
 * Korinek et al., Oxford Handbook of AI Governance (TBD)
 * Silver, On the Edge (TBD)
 * Anderson, Soggy Bottom (Nov 2021) [film]
 * Metroid Dread (Oct 2021) [game]
 * Forza Horizon 5 (Nov 2021) [game]
 * Elden Ring (Jan 2022) [game]
 * Breath of the Wild sequel (TBD 2022) [game]


BOOKS

bold = especially excited

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Lists


TREACHEROUS TURNS IN THE WILD

April 23, 2021 by Luke

Bostrom (2014) worries about an AI “treacherous turn”:

> …one idea for how to ensure superintelligence safety… is that we validate the
> safety of a superintelligent AI empirically by observing its behavior while it
> is in a controlled, limited environment (a “sandbox”) and that we only let the
> AI out of the box if we see it behaving in a friendly, cooperative,
> responsible manner. The flaw in this idea is that behaving nicely while in the
> box is a convergent instrumental goal for friendly and unfriendly AIs alike.
> An unfriendly AI of sufficient intelligence realizes that its unfriendly final
> goals will be best realized if it behaves in a friendly manner initially, so
> that it will be let out of the box. It will only start behaving in a way that
> reveals its unfriendly nature when it no longer matters whether we find out;
> that is, when the AI is strong enough that human opposition is ineffectual.

Some people have told me they think this is unrealistic, apparently even for a
machine superintelligence far more capable than any current AI system. But I
learned today1 that this has already happened at least once before —  twenty
years ago!

As part of a project studying the evolution of (simulated) organisms, computer
scientist Charles Ofria wanted to limit the replication rate of a digital
organism. So, he programmed the system to pause after each mutation, measure the
mutant’s replication rate in an isolated test environment, and delete the mutant
if it replicated faster than its parent. However, the organisms evolved to
recognize when they were in the test environment and “play dead” (pause
replication) so they would not be eliminated and instead be kept in the
population where they could continue to replicate outside the test environment.
Once he discovered this, Ofria randomized the inputs of the test environment so
that it couldn’t be so easily detected, but the organisms evolved a new
strategy, to probabilistically perform tasks that would accelerate their
replication, thus slipping through the test environment some percentage of the
time and continuing to accelerate their replication thereafter.

[Read more…]

 1. Hat-tip to Carl Shulman, who noticed it as an example in a Chinese social
    media post (#26 here), and then noticed that it had previously appeared in
    Lehmann et al. (2018), pp. 8-9. According to Charles Ofria’s account there,
    the events described in this post occurred as part of the research
    eventually published as Wilke et al. (2001). []

Filed Under: Quotes


MEDIA DIET FOR Q1 2021

April 3, 2021 by Luke


MUSIC

Spotify playlist for this quarter is here. Playlists for past quarters and years
here.

Music I most enjoyed discovering this quarter:

 * Lonker See: “Split Image pt. 1, 2 & 3” (2016), “Lillian Gish” (2018), “Earth
   is Flat” (2020)
 * Mumps: A Matter of Taste (1977)
 * Eddie Henderson: Realization (1973), Inside Out (1974)
 * Black Country, New Road: “Opus” (2021)
 * Michael Gibbs: By the Way (1993)
 * White Hills: No Game to Play (2006)
 * Nick Cave & Warren Ellis: Carnage (2021)
 * Medeski, Martin & Wood: End of the World Party (Just in Case) (2004),
   “Reliquary” (2008)
 * Turtle Island String Quartet & Paquito D’Rivera: Danzon (2002)
 * Ponga: Psychological (2000)

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Lists


MEDIA I’M LOOKING FORWARD TO, Q2 2021 EDITION

April 3, 2021 by Luke


ADDED THIS QUARTER:

 * Johnson, Extra Life (May 2021)
 * Grossman, How Social Science Got Better (Aug 2021)
 * Buchanan & Imbrie, The New Fire (Mar 2022)
 * Kemp, Downfall (TBD)
 * Rick and Morty: season 5 (Jun 2021)
 * Better Call Saul: season 6 (TBD 2022)
 * Curb Your Enthusiasm: season 11 (TBD)
 * Succession: season 3 (TBD 2021)
 * Barry: season 3 (TBD)
 * Atlanta: season 3 (TBD)
 * Master of None: season 3 (TBD)


BOOKS

bold = especially excited

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Lists

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