Benjamin John
@srhgbg.bsky.social
The man who (temporarily) killed Svalbard on Metal Archives.
The free-association machine strikes again!
January 30, 2026 at 5:25 AM
The free-association machine strikes again!
Saw Batushka tonight, very cool experience. They were going monk mode, had some stage props, very showy.
Didn’t play IRMOS I though :(
All well, you can’t expect them to play every song they have
Didn’t play IRMOS I though :(
All well, you can’t expect them to play every song they have
January 16, 2026 at 12:32 PM
Saw Batushka tonight, very cool experience. They were going monk mode, had some stage props, very showy.
Didn’t play IRMOS I though :(
All well, you can’t expect them to play every song they have
Didn’t play IRMOS I though :(
All well, you can’t expect them to play every song they have
New Rule: your lists of podcasts you "can't stop listening to" can't include those little miniseries podcasts with six or so episodes. By definition, you can stop listening to them.
December 25, 2025 at 9:49 PM
New Rule: your lists of podcasts you "can't stop listening to" can't include those little miniseries podcasts with six or so episodes. By definition, you can stop listening to them.
Born to spreadsheet (fun)
Forced to spreadsheet (work)
Forced to spreadsheet (work)
August 21, 2025 at 1:09 AM
Born to spreadsheet (fun)
Forced to spreadsheet (work)
Forced to spreadsheet (work)
I’m not going to sign up so I can get it to generate a terrible map, but I can still catch ChatGPT out of Australian geography for free.
August 9, 2025 at 6:12 AM
I’m not going to sign up so I can get it to generate a terrible map, but I can still catch ChatGPT out of Australian geography for free.
I have a weird one. Stumbled on an album called Dream Labyrinth, and I thought to myself "huh... that album covers looks a lot like The Flesh Prevails by Fallujah".
So I gave it a listen. And not only does it sound a bit like the Flesh Prevails.
It IS The Flesh Prevails.
So I gave it a listen. And not only does it sound a bit like the Flesh Prevails.
It IS The Flesh Prevails.
July 26, 2025 at 10:57 AM
I have a weird one. Stumbled on an album called Dream Labyrinth, and I thought to myself "huh... that album covers looks a lot like The Flesh Prevails by Fallujah".
So I gave it a listen. And not only does it sound a bit like the Flesh Prevails.
It IS The Flesh Prevails.
So I gave it a listen. And not only does it sound a bit like the Flesh Prevails.
It IS The Flesh Prevails.
There is definitely an opportunity for someone to make a nice little website which tells you whether a company or product includes AI, and if so, how to disable it (if possible) and what kind of data it uses of your to feed the model.
July 24, 2025 at 1:00 AM
There is definitely an opportunity for someone to make a nice little website which tells you whether a company or product includes AI, and if so, how to disable it (if possible) and what kind of data it uses of your to feed the model.
We need to start demanding that the Grammys have 85 categories for every metal sub-genre. Melodic death metal. Modern melodic death metal. Melodic death metal (Gothenburg). Progressive melodic death metal. Melo…
June 13, 2025 at 7:17 AM
We need to start demanding that the Grammys have 85 categories for every metal sub-genre. Melodic death metal. Modern melodic death metal. Melodic death metal (Gothenburg). Progressive melodic death metal. Melo…
Lol. Come on. That's one of the most famous riffs in death metal. You can't be doing that.
(Lurking Fear - Archdruid)
(Lurking Fear - Archdruid)
May 24, 2025 at 4:39 AM
Lol. Come on. That's one of the most famous riffs in death metal. You can't be doing that.
(Lurking Fear - Archdruid)
(Lurking Fear - Archdruid)
Got inspired by recent news to dig a little into pope data.
These are quick and dirty:
-Leo is the equal 4th most frequent papal name, going to have to inspire a lot of successors to get to #1
-Most elected 40s to 60s, but they used to have some young ones
-About a fifth haven't made it to a year
These are quick and dirty:
-Leo is the equal 4th most frequent papal name, going to have to inspire a lot of successors to get to #1
-Most elected 40s to 60s, but they used to have some young ones
-About a fifth haven't made it to a year
May 9, 2025 at 3:12 AM
Got inspired by recent news to dig a little into pope data.
These are quick and dirty:
-Leo is the equal 4th most frequent papal name, going to have to inspire a lot of successors to get to #1
-Most elected 40s to 60s, but they used to have some young ones
-About a fifth haven't made it to a year
These are quick and dirty:
-Leo is the equal 4th most frequent papal name, going to have to inspire a lot of successors to get to #1
-Most elected 40s to 60s, but they used to have some young ones
-About a fifth haven't made it to a year
I came up with a question I thought I might be mildly challenging of GenAI, and it’s startling how tangential its comments often are and how easy it is to please.
Sometimes it gets the answer, sometimes not, but it will always try to add lots of irrelevant chatter.
Sometimes it gets the answer, sometimes not, but it will always try to add lots of irrelevant chatter.
April 25, 2025 at 7:20 AM
I came up with a question I thought I might be mildly challenging of GenAI, and it’s startling how tangential its comments often are and how easy it is to please.
Sometimes it gets the answer, sometimes not, but it will always try to add lots of irrelevant chatter.
Sometimes it gets the answer, sometimes not, but it will always try to add lots of irrelevant chatter.
We really need to make a shitlist for these bands making these awful trash AI music videos
March 29, 2025 at 5:55 AM
We really need to make a shitlist for these bands making these awful trash AI music videos
Are YouTube ads just all scams now? I had to watch a few tech tutorials and I was shocked to notice “hey, these ads are all for quick money bullshit scams”
March 13, 2025 at 1:34 PM
Are YouTube ads just all scams now? I had to watch a few tech tutorials and I was shocked to notice “hey, these ads are all for quick money bullshit scams”
Interesting that you wouldn’t necessarily clock blackletter font as being inherently fascist for a black metal band, but everywhere else it is probably going be seen as Nazi coded.
March 8, 2025 at 12:13 AM
Interesting that you wouldn’t necessarily clock blackletter font as being inherently fascist for a black metal band, but everywhere else it is probably going be seen as Nazi coded.
Nice argument. Unfortunately for you, I have already portrayed myself as the Agile way of doing things and you as the old way of doing things
March 7, 2025 at 5:23 AM
Nice argument. Unfortunately for you, I have already portrayed myself as the Agile way of doing things and you as the old way of doing things
If you have never seen them live obviously it would be pretty to disappointed to find out Ozzy is only having partial participation in their reunion show. But if you saw them on their farewell tour you absolutely deserve to get hosed on that purchase.
February 25, 2025 at 9:44 AM
If you have never seen them live obviously it would be pretty to disappointed to find out Ozzy is only having partial participation in their reunion show. But if you saw them on their farewell tour you absolutely deserve to get hosed on that purchase.
Reposted by Benjamin John
I scoured the archives to find the most covered songs/bands by #metal bands!
Tables in the article below for:
Top 100 most covered songs
Top 100 most covered bands
Bonus: Top 10 most covered songs for select bands
#metalsky #top100 #mostcoveredmetal
Tables in the article below for:
Top 100 most covered songs
Top 100 most covered bands
Bonus: Top 10 most covered songs for select bands
#metalsky #top100 #mostcoveredmetal
Top 100 Most Covered Songs and Bands by Metal Bands
Sometimes beloved, often maligned the cover song is a cornerstone of the music industry. Whether to show off your influences, skill, or reverence for those that came before or to simply put a new …
metalstats.wordpress.com
February 22, 2025 at 5:53 PM
I scoured the archives to find the most covered songs/bands by #metal bands!
Tables in the article below for:
Top 100 most covered songs
Top 100 most covered bands
Bonus: Top 10 most covered songs for select bands
#metalsky #top100 #mostcoveredmetal
Tables in the article below for:
Top 100 most covered songs
Top 100 most covered bands
Bonus: Top 10 most covered songs for select bands
#metalsky #top100 #mostcoveredmetal
Reposted by Benjamin John
How many covers before an album is a "cover album"? Here is a #histogram of the % of songs on albums that are covers.
Do you consider cover albums as part of a band's primary releases? A short discussion on this and more:
metalstats.wordpress.com/2025/02/17/c...
#metalsky #metal #python #dataviz
Do you consider cover albums as part of a band's primary releases? A short discussion on this and more:
metalstats.wordpress.com/2025/02/17/c...
#metalsky #metal #python #dataviz
February 17, 2025 at 5:16 PM
How many covers before an album is a "cover album"? Here is a #histogram of the % of songs on albums that are covers.
Do you consider cover albums as part of a band's primary releases? A short discussion on this and more:
metalstats.wordpress.com/2025/02/17/c...
#metalsky #metal #python #dataviz
Do you consider cover albums as part of a band's primary releases? A short discussion on this and more:
metalstats.wordpress.com/2025/02/17/c...
#metalsky #metal #python #dataviz
Reposted by Benjamin John
How many tracks do #metal albums, demos, EPs, and singles have on average?
#metalsky #python #dataviz
metalstats.wordpress.com/2025/02/16/a...
#metalsky #python #dataviz
metalstats.wordpress.com/2025/02/16/a...
Average Track Counts by Heavy Metal Release Type
One of the most important questions facing the heavy metal community, nay, the entire music industry in today’s economy and political climate is obviously what the difference is between an al…
metalstats.wordpress.com
February 16, 2025 at 5:48 PM
How many tracks do #metal albums, demos, EPs, and singles have on average?
#metalsky #python #dataviz
metalstats.wordpress.com/2025/02/16/a...
#metalsky #python #dataviz
metalstats.wordpress.com/2025/02/16/a...
Reposted by Benjamin John
What are #metalheads dying from?
An updated look at causes of death from #metal archives.
The chart is interactive! You can click to see more detail on categories.
#metalsky #dataviz
An updated look at causes of death from #metal archives.
The chart is interactive! You can click to see more detail on categories.
#metalsky #dataviz
Causes of Death Among Heavy Metal Musicians
What are metalheads dying from? Along with info on metal musician band membership, country of origin, and date of birth, Metal Archives also keeps track of date of death and cause of death. They e…
metalstats.wordpress.com
February 11, 2025 at 11:40 PM
What are #metalheads dying from?
An updated look at causes of death from #metal archives.
The chart is interactive! You can click to see more detail on categories.
#metalsky #dataviz
An updated look at causes of death from #metal archives.
The chart is interactive! You can click to see more detail on categories.
#metalsky #dataviz
I was already planning on getting out of the Microsoft ecosystem, but Jesus this is crazy. They are trying to get out to pay an extra $50 for AI. I will kill my laptop with a hammer before I pay for AI.
January 17, 2025 at 12:28 AM
I was already planning on getting out of the Microsoft ecosystem, but Jesus this is crazy. They are trying to get out to pay an extra $50 for AI. I will kill my laptop with a hammer before I pay for AI.
Reposted by Benjamin John
Something I can share regarding #metal artist connections is a histogram showing how often artists play in the same band. The majority (~94%) only ever work with other people in one band. At least 8 people have worked with the same person in 13 bands!
#metalsky #python #dataviz
#metalsky #python #dataviz
January 3, 2025 at 3:49 PM
Not that I have remotely comparable experience, but every aspect of AI me of the parts I didn't like about Data Science: using computing as a shortcut for doing the work. Rather than working hard to understand a task, you throw algorithms at it and hope you find something which you call an insight.
Sources: OpenAI's GPT-5, codenamed Orion, is behind schedule and faces technical hurdles, including high computing costs and limited high-quality training data (Deepa Seetharaman/Wall Street Journal)
Main Link | Techmeme Permalink
Main Link | Techmeme Permalink
December 21, 2024 at 5:36 AM
Not that I have remotely comparable experience, but every aspect of AI me of the parts I didn't like about Data Science: using computing as a shortcut for doing the work. Rather than working hard to understand a task, you throw algorithms at it and hope you find something which you call an insight.