Ears On

Guitarist Robert Fripp recently visited Microsoft HQ in Redmond, Washington to record sounds for Vista, formerly Longhorn, the next-generation PC operating system. The occasion is commemorated by a 25-minute video on a Microsoft website. Fripp was told to generate sounds for a "clean, connected, confident" operating system with emphasis on the colors blue and green (which he translated as the keys of D and E). The musician’s recent switch from an IBM ThinkPad to a Mac goes unmentioned during the session.

Fripp is best known as a longtime member and reluctant leader of King Crimson. Lately he has been touring with solo performances of Soundscapes, his orchestral guitar-synthesizer technique. He has also reorganized his small, mobile, and intelligent record company's DGMLive website to enable fans to purchase downloads from a 35-year treasure trove of historic King Crimson and other recordings. The downloads, including the occasional "hot tickle," are available in both lossless FLAC and 128kbps MP3 formats. Fripp maintains an engrossing diary on the site.