FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Q: Who / what is Bull of Heaven?

A: Bull of Heaven is Clayton Counts and Neil Keener, with generous help from all kinds of people. We are based in Denver, Colorado.

Q: How do I listen to files larger than 2 Gigabytes?

A: Due to Apache restrictions, files larger than 2 Gigs cannot even be seen in a web browser. For this reason, we've divided the larger pieces into sections. First, download all of the files from the pertinent folder. You can use HTTrack or FlashGot for Firefox to download whole directories more easily. After nabbing the archive, use a program like HJ-Split to stitch the data back together and save the file. Each part must be downloaded completely or the MP3 will not function as intended. You will need additional space on your hard drive to save each piece—approximately double the total size of the file. After it's finished, you can delete the individual parts, but remember that MP3s larger than 8.5 Gigs won't fit onto a standard DVD.

Q: The damn thing won't play! What gives?

A: Please note that files larger than 4 Gigs are not recognized by the FAT32 file system. Currently, NTFS and HFS+ are the only systems that these files have been tested on. A lot of media players have trouble playing MP3s longer than 24 hours. VLC seems to be the best option for the longer files. It's cross-platform and open-source. MPC can handle most of them, but Windows Media Player and Winamp can be problematic. Don't even bother with iTunes. With a bit more effort, foobar2000 is another very reliable player for Windows. If all else fails, try hunting down a geek. Also, if you're on an older computer, attempting to open a gigantic MP3 might not be the best idea.

Q: Yes, but some of them still won't play!

A: Some of the files are puzzles, non-music, or anti-music, not intended to be easily accessed, or—in some cases—opened at all. Usually, but not always, these are denoted with question marks instead of the files' lengths in our playlist, as they cannot be streamed. Some of the files have been engineered to behave improperly, some have merely had their extensions changed, some are files hidden within files, or archives containing archives containing archives, some are password-protected, some incorporate databending techniques, and some include data concealed steganographically. Please be aware that some of these files can even harm your computer if mishandled. We make no apologies for making these difficult or impossible to acquire. If you're the patient and forgiving type, however, we've provided hints for some of these files on our Facebook page.

Q: So, what's the deal with the Flash files?

A: The files must buffer completely before they will begin playing within a browser. We've provided copies of the SWFs in our media directory to be downloaded for offline playback. If you're determined to play them in Firefox for extended periods of time, take a look at this. Otherwise, the Flash 10 debugger plays the files without incident. We recommend it as the best standalone SWF player for Windows or Mac.

Q: Yes, but what about the ridiculous lengths?

A: We calculated their durations in Gregorian years; one year being a constant 365.2425 days, or 31,556,952 seconds. Mean solar days are getting longer due to tidal drag, and the lengths of years increase over time.

Q: Why can't you stream the longer MP3s?

A: Good question. We could stream the files at reduced bitrates, but doing so would still require an incredible amount of bandwidth. If you'd like to hear any of the part files, Quicktime can play them individually within most browsers. This is also true of files that are too large for our media player, although you'll want to be certain that you have enough available disk space before attempting to progressively download larger files. Hosting this much audio is fairly inexpensive, but serving it up is another matter. We've been getting a ton of plays each month, our traffic is increasing steadily, and we don't have real jobs. Sorry for not having a better explanation, but hey—it's free.

Q: Is there a way to contact you?

A: You can send us an email by clicking here. We ask that you remain courteous, and we'll endeavor to do the same.

Q: Anything else?

A: Thanks for listening!