34 minutes ago, bluebruce said:

That's actually something I'm interested in myself, as I've wanted instrumentals for a relatively underground artist for something I intend to do later in the year and I don't think I'll be able to find them ready-made. I've been assuming something like that must exist, but hadn't got to the point of looking it up, so appreciate you mentioning one you've worked with that can be relied on. I see it's free too! Can it be used to keep some vocal elements in place, like if you wanted to keep the chorus, or some kind of 'background' voices etc?

Yeah absolutely, you just need an audio editing tool. I tend to use something like Cool Edit 2.1 which is ridiculously old these days, but if you're literally just wanting to splice two audio tracks together it's perfectly capable. Programs like Adobe Audition are obviously better, but it depends how far you want to go with it really.

Anyway, it's pretty simple. Download the program, load the track you want into the input, select your output, then tweak the settings to your liking. I've got mine set up as below:

But YMMV depending on the type of music you're working with. I primarily extract rock/metal and this works pretty well, but not sure how it would fare with other genres. 

Anyway, it'll save a vocal and an instrumental stem. If using the above setup make sure to check the HP-UVR extracts that are created - I often find these sound better than the fully ensembled output. 

Once you have your instrumental and vocal files output and you're happy with them, you're sorted. Open up your audio editing program, insert the instrumental to channel one and the vocals to channel two... and then do whatever you please. Audio volume between both tracks should be perfect so no need to mess around with those, unless you want to lower or raise volume. 

It's genuinely scary how accurate voice cloning has become, so I can understand the pessimism. What is noticeable is that AI struggles with natural accents and general dialects. Like, 95% will be fine but then there's 5% that just sounds wrong. Not that the voice itself is wrong, but the inflection doesn't quite match what you'd expect to hear.

From what I've read this is (at the moment) being solved by having somebody provide the vocal rhythm and cadance, and then putting the AI over the top of it to change the sound to the voice of the person you're cloning. So you don't have to actually sound like the person in question, you just have to be able to match their accent and general delivery of sentences. So, in theory a voice over studio could license out a famous person's voice and then hire a random voice actor to deliver the lines with the AI voice being laid over the top. Ultimately I imagine the technology will advance to the point where the VA in the middle is no longer required, but I can see that being the interim process. 

To be honest in terms of AI I mainly just use ChatGPT and Ultimate Vocal Remover these days - the former to help with coding and the latter for musical endeavours. Both very cool and in terms of the latter, something I wish had existed 14 years ago when I could really have made use of it. But alas. Still very cool to be able to create instrumental versions of basically any song I want within 2 or 3 minutes, as well as being able to play around with the vocal stem. 

I don't really use Stable Diffusion for anything these days (although I'd probably use it if I wanted to create temporary front/back pages for any books I'd written that I wanted to potentially do something with - whereas before I'd have been asking someone on fiverr or something) and most of the other AI related software is a bit too intensive for my current setup. Laptop has an RTX 2070 which is reasonable enough, but the heat generated as programs like RVC-Beta run is too much of a concern for me. Not so bad on the tower, but that's only got a GTX 1070 - still VR capable which is nice, but in terms of AI somewhat slow.   

Many teams who have won tournaments have squad imbalances. Even the Brazil team of 2002 had the likes of Roque Junior and Kleberson starting for them. Nobody would have said Greece had anything close to the best squad in Euro 2004. It's rare to have a team, even at international level, which is top quality in every position. It can happen, but even those teams can struggle if the set up is wrong. It's about making a team greater than the sum of its parts - Southgate, in fairness to him, has come close to getting it right. He's just lacking that final piece of the puzzle which, as a result, always sees us fall short at the end. 

2 hours ago, den said:

Running a small squad intentionally in order to allow for youth development? 
 

I remember when I was lucky enough to meet with John Williams. He met many fans on a one to one basis at that time. It was after Jack Walker had died, while we were still in the PL but owned by the Walker trustees.

He explained that finances were much tighter and that the wage budget had been reduced. He said there were two options open to him. Either run a larger squad which would have been with a likely reduced player quality, or run a smaller squad that allowed him to potentially bring better quality players in. He had opted for the smaller squad because he believed without top players the club would struggle. I thought he’d made the right decision. No mention of Academy players at all.

Compare that with the way the club is currently going. “Intentionally” going with a smaller squad - not with the intention of bringing in better players. It’s very, very obvious we aren’t bringing in better players. We’re either selling them, or watching them walk away for nothing. Academy players would make the first team in a championship side anyway, if they were good enough. We’ve seen it happening now for lots of years. 

That’s a plan? It’s a plan for disaster IMO. It’s a defeatist plan. It’s a plan based on just HOPING some of the youngsters come through. If they don’t come through, what then?

 

 

Relegation, and at this rate it's coming soon. If not this season then most likely next. 

Whilst I agree that the result means nothing in the grand scheme of things, and the scheduling is stupid, a friendly against Brazil is still a special occasion. We haven't played them at a tournament since 2002, and I believe it's the first time we've come up against them since 2017 in a competitive match. England Vs Brazil is always a fascinating tie (on paper). Also very rare that we beat them - once in twelve matches since 1990. 

But yeah, the timing is not particularly great. 

Brazil weren't even particularly good, but had all of the good chances in the game. England were largely boring and listless. Not sure I can recall us creating much if anything of note. A shame for the fans who went expecting to see a decent match, but then, it's England under Southgate. Functional but rarely exciting. 

Ipswich have scored the most goals in the league and lost the least games in the league (5 out of 38). A point behind Leicester and Leeds and eight points ahead of Southampton on a fraction of the budget. They're an incredibly well-drilled team with an extremely strong mentality. We haven't seen that in well over a decade. That isn't talking them up or talking us down, it just is what it is, and at this stage of the season the table doesn't lie. You don't fluke 81 points, 80 goals and 5 defeats across 38 games. 

With that said, of course they're beatable. Any team in this league is, especially when you're at home. They've conceded 49 goals so their defence can be breached, and they've actually conceded the most goals of anyone in the top eight save for Norwich. Our problem is that we now don't score many and our defence is still pretty dodgy, despite improvements in that regard since Eustace came in, so it's going to be a very difficult match to get anything from. We can match them if we're up for it, and they've shown they can have off days - Cardiff recently - but the reality is we will need to have a solid game plan and the players up for it from the first whistle if we want all three points. 

It's obviously galling to see a team come up from League 1 and do something we haven't managed in 12 years of being in this league (excepting L1 season), but there you go. That's what a combination of good ownership and management can do. Perhaps one day we'll experience that again, when Venky's finally disappear. 

Ipswich will be coming to Ewood to win, no question about that. They're gunning for top two and will be desperate to take advantage of Leicester stumbling at the finish line, also aware that Leeds' imperious form over the past few months leaves little margin for error in terms of keeping pace with them. Ipswich's playoff spot is essentially secured, so they can afford to put it all on the line in every match. Very little pressure either, as the team are already performing high above expectations. 

It remains to be seen how a Eustace-managed Rovers will deal with this. Ipswich are top scorers in the division by some margin (80 goals scored, Leicester next best with 74), so the chances of our sub-standard defending not being punished at least a couple of times seems small. Holding out in general seems unlikely, but try to fight fire with fire and it could be back to getting properly hammered. 

Don't really envy Eustace in preparing for this one. 

Good point in isolation. Two previous games are where we fucked up, unfortunately. Will see at the end of the season how costly those dropped points are. This one is a good one. 

6 hours ago, islander200 said:

Pears back tomorrow.

JRC , Tronstad and Carter back after the international break according to telegraph 

That's good news, I just hope we're careful with them - JRC especially. Problem is we're desperate for points and need our strongest team out there where possible. 

48 minutes ago, rovers11 said:

Looking at the clubs in league 1, it's a very poor league that we'd do well in. The likes of Garret, Leonard, Gilsenan would do very well in lge 1. But a club like ours should not be anywhere near that league. Thank you Venkys.

I'm not so sure, Garret aside I'm not sure how many of our players would cope with the rough and tumble of L1. Last time we had multiple players who were clearly well above that level - Raya, Mulgrew, Dack, Graham, Lenihan, Armstrong - this time we'll have players who may be suited to that level but not many who I'd consider above it based on what I've seen from them this season. 

Looks like the WBA manager made it clear their first half performance was unacceptable, they're much more up for it in the second half.

The form table for the last six games, in regards to us and the teams below us:

Plymouth - 4 points
Rovers - 5 points
Stoke - 9 points
QPR - 10 points
Birmingham - 7 points
Huddersfield - 7 points
Sheff Weds - 12 points

Extrapolate that over the next six games (I know it isn't that simple, but just as a comparison point) and the table would look like:

Stoke - 50 points
Sheff Weds - 50 points
QPR - 49 points
Rovers - 46 points
Birmingham - 46 points (game in hand)
Plymouth - 45 points
Huddersfield - 44 points (game in hand)
Rotherham - 19 points (let's just assume they'll lose every match at this point, doesn't matter either way)

Obviously that deosn't take into account who each team is playing during the next six games, so form can drop quickly, but even if the likes of QPR, Sheff Weds and Stoke stutter a little and drop to 5/6 points over the next six we will still be well in the mire unless our own form picks up dramatically in games we are unlikely to get anything from. We really need to hope Plymouth, Birmingham and Huddersfield continue to falter alongside us, as if that is the case we will probably just about finish above them.

That does rely on us continuing to pick up around 5 points from our next 6 matches and, considering our last 6 were against teams we'd be expected to get something from, and the next 6 are Boro (a), Ipswich (h), Sunderland (a), Southampton (h), Bristol City (a) and Leeds (a) ... well, you can predict three easy defeats there immediately. To replicate our current five points from six we would likely need to beat one of Boro, Sunderland or Bristol City - all away - and draw the other two. At least one must win and the other two must not lose. Away. We've won 5, drawn 3 and lost 10 of our away matches - but our last six away matches read LLLDDL. 

So yeah, I really think we are in the shit and we are going to be relying on other teams staying as bad as they are or getting worse. In some cases a lot worse.

4 hours ago, lraC said:

A game that was live on TV in the UK and beyond and had millions bet on it.

Shots on it off target BRFC 0 Spurs 19.

I remember the post match interview from King Rat and the look on the faces of the pundits on n the studio, which was one of pure bafflement. 

All I can say is I don't think I've ever watched a losing team so devoid of attacking intent. It wasn't just that we were poor, we didn't even attempt to threaten them. It was absolutely deplorable, a national league team would have put up more of a fight than we did on that day. 

Mowbray won two of his first three matches (away draw against Burton two days after he was appointed, two home 1-0 wins against Derby and Wigan). We then only picked up 4 points from the next 21 available, a run which basically relegated us. Four draws in a row and then three defeats. We finished the season with three wins and two draws, but the damage had been done. 

Most likely Mowbray's initial results will prove to be slightly better than Eustace by way of those early two victories, but there won't be much between them. Goes without saying that the reason Mowbray probably got less flak was because he took over from a dismal joker in Coyle, who the majority of the fanbase hated. Eustace has taken over from JDT who was nowhere near as reviled, albeit sections of the fanbase never took to him after he spoke the truth rather than pretend everything was OK.

5 minutes ago, Ossydave said:

If true? Like I'm going to make it up

I'm always careful with my wording for a few reasons, but I believe you. 

If true then I can't pretend it surprises me in the least. We're a rudderless ship. Standards aren't just low, they are effectively non-existent as the CEO talks of having no pressure on results and the latest manager praises today's pathetic showing as an "amazing effort". The players won't be answering to Eustace, Waggott won't care and who knows if the owners even know we played a match today.  

32 minutes ago, Blue blood said:

This is the only thing that will keep us up but surprisingly I think it's the only thing I'm positive about with Rovers. 

We are disappointed at another poor result but Plymouth will be gutted that they didn't beat us. And let's be honest if you can't beat the utter shower we are when we are down to 10 you aren't likely to stay in this division. Birmingham have shown they do runs as bad as us already this season and with the awkward managerial situation they have there, must be considered a likelier bet than us to go down. Stoke haven't got it right in about 26 managers - including some good ones - showing they are pretty rotten and frail club too. Also Sheff Weds have nuts owners too, albeit not on the scale of us. 

A few other things give me hope we will stay up. Firstly our run has been atrocious and yet we are still not in the bottom 3. That's perversely impressive. Secondly there are so many clubs down there. Lots of candidates to go down. Lots of teams where a bit of bad luck with injuries or decisions and they are in the mire.

Finally closer to home having the league top scorer and still getting draws adds to my optimism. It's not acceptable form, would see us destroyed over a season but for this season may see us limp over the finish line. 

Don't misunderstand me. The owners are ro blame. The run is unacceptable. The squad is so poor. The manager is a dud. Maggot is a maggotAnd we will go down sooner or later if the club is run like this. But I feel this season we may well just sneak over the line and the club will herald it as a massive success. 

I hope you're right, but for the past four months or so we've been neck and neck with Rotherham as the worst team in the league. Extrapolate that to another two months and I think it sees us playing League 1 football next season, and deservedly so. Ironic if the likes of Gallagher then leave due to contract expiry, as he might finally have found his level otherwise. 

To quote an old nemesis of ours - "miracles now, I'm afraid it's miracles now". That's how it feels, anyway. 

4 minutes ago, arbitro said:

https://www.rovers.co.uk/news/2024/march/09/red-card-changed-the-game/

We actually predicted that his excuse would be the sending off. He mustn't have been facing the pitch much in the first half as they got in behind us several times. He chose not to change anything at half time so this is entirely on him.

Why even say "no excuses" when every interview is littered with them. Simply because it's an empty 'positive' cliché. 

30 minutes ago, roversfan99 said:

4 of the 9 are against the top 4 who are far superior compared to every other team in the league.

Every game is tough though with these players and with a manager who is happy to draw every game.

Highly likely we lose all four of those. If we somehow won three and drew two of the others we'd only get to 52 points, matching 16/17. Realistically we'll do well to win two of the five and draw one of them. Seven points, 48 overall, a good chance we go down.

No worries though, today wasn't a must win after all. 

When Spurs beat us 2-0 in April 2012 I don't think I've ever seen a match where a team was less obvious about not wanting to win. We played that match like a training game. Even the pundits were gobsmacked at how lifeless our performance was. I'm not suggesting it was fixed, but for whatever reason our team had no desire whatsoever to get anything out of that game, despite the fact we needed every possible point to survive. 

4 minutes ago, NeilInBristol said:

Warnock just left/quit/got fired.

Why don't we sack this useless coach and get Warnock in to keep us up for the last couple of months

That would require common sense, urgency and competency, three things that are solely lacking at Ewood.

I said before Millwall I felt we needed at least four points from them and Plymouth. We got two. Hard to see us getting another win this season, and it feels like we'll need a couple of surprise wins now to stay up - either that or two teams below us (Rotherham are already gone) go on runs as bad as us. Eustace hasn't had any kind of new manager bounce which obviously isn't a good sign.