Today’s Google doodle on the Google homepage is an interactive synthesizer (a “Mini-Goog”) that pays tribute to an genius of the music world: The late Bob Moog (rhymes with vogue), an adopted Ashevillean who invented the first commercially available synthesizer–and changed music forever.
Above: Local mural created for Bob Moog’s birthday anniversary today, May 23
Today would have been Bob Moog’s 78th birthday. Honor his legacy locally–and enjoy some delicious Early Girl food–by dining out today: All day, Early Girl Eatery is donating 20 percent of all its sales to the Bob Moog Foundation.
Fun at Early Girl also includes live synth music, a raffle and Moog-inspired art. Details here.
Moog’s legacy lives on right here in Asheville, home to the musical instrument company he founded, Moog Music; the Bob Moog Foundation, the education and innovation nonprofit run by his daughter; and Moogfest, the major electronic music festival held here annuallyn where top musicians honor Moog’s memory as well as rock the house.
Google is celebrating May 23, which would have been Dr. Robert Moog’s 78th birthday, with an interactive homepage logo that looks and plays like a Moog synthesizer. You can use the cursor to adjust the synth’s oscillators, pound on the keys, apply filters and even record and share your own synthesizer creations. At the right-hand side of the doodle, the animated recording equipment generates a sharable link of your creation for you to copy and paste; there’s even a G+ button, for Google+ users to post their songs directly to the social network.
From TIME Magazine: Google’s Moog Doodle: Play a ‘Mini-Goog’, Celebrate the Life of an Electronic Music Pioneer
From Moog Music, a video on how to work the Goog controls and have fun. Moog Music’s site is hosted locally, and has received over 3 million hits today.
Official Google Blog: A tribute to Bob Moog, sonic doodler
Christian Science Monitor: Bob Moog: How he changed music forever
TechCrunch: Today’s Google Doodle Is An Awesome, Playable Moog Synthesizer
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The Mini-Goog interactive synth is live all day. Play and have fun, and think of a world-class local pioneer while you do it.
A lot of people today don’t realize what this man brought to the masses. He brought electronic music to the masses and changed the way we hear music. — Charles Carlini
I see Bob Moog as the father of Asheville’s vibrant creative community. His influence on the world of music is impossible to overstate. The Bob Moog Foundation’s current creative influence on Asheville and our children is at the top of my list of why we are so proud to run a business and raise a family in WNC. — Julie Stehling of Early Girl Eatery


