- i've got a few albums that i really need to listen to in order to determine which song i really do and don't like on said albums [so i can thus make space in the 8 gbs i have.
- once again, an album by one of my favorite artists dropped without my knowledge...dagh! i have only myself to blame...what's up with me?
- i just bought said album thru amazon's mp3 store. it's the first album by this artist that i have not bought in CD format and to be honest i feel kinda funny about it. call me a purist or whatever [wouldn't i have to be into vinyl to really be a purist?], but there are certain albums/artists where owning the hard copy has some meaning to it. i was able to get the album for $8.99 tho...i'm sure it would cost around $16-$18 in store [if i could even find it there] as it's a double disc set and likely an import. ughhh...i guess in certain cases it's just nice to have a physical copy of things.
Showing posts with label music. Show all posts
Showing posts with label music. Show all posts
Sunday, May 31, 2009
musical changes
so...i meant to go to sleep a while ago but that's clearly not happening. instead it seemed like it would be a good idea to sort thru the music on my computer and remove some stuff from my iPhone [ughhhh...i hate owning an apple product as many of my close friends like to tease me about this fact] that i don't really listen to or need on there. a few realizations:
Sunday, April 26, 2009
harsh realities
As a high school student, I remember spending many an afternoon [and often an early evening] in my school's darkroom. When the time to figure out where I wanted to go to school came around, one of my good friends worked on a portfolio to submit to the Savannah College of Art and Design. My brother was already in college studying music at the University of Michigan. At the time I considered, ever so briefly, the idea of pursuing photography or art more generally. I never really felt I had the talent or skills necessary to become successful at photography, not enough so to make a living, support a family one day, and so on.
Because I saw as too risky it was something I ended up turning away from and failed to pursue. I do not regret that decision...in many ways photography is still a passion and hobby of mine, albeit one I need to spend more time developing [in all honestly, the thing I probably miss the most is all those hours in the darkroom...printing pictures is simply therapeutic for me in many ways]. But I do sometimes wonder what would have happened if I didn't have to worry about the whole economic side of things.
At the same time, I know how lucky I was to have all the opportunities available to me outside of the arts. I figure that I probably was not going to reach a level of achievement or accomplishment that I would have been satisfied with in the arts and so I'm OK leaving to be a hobby, an interest, a passion [altho who knows...maybe that's just a rationalization and telling myself what I need to hear to be OK with that decision from over 10 years ago now].
But while I likely did not have the talent and instead had other opportunities, there are far too many who do have the talent but who simply cannot pursue their dreams or fulfill all that potential because they are not so fortunate. I came across this article a couple weeks back and it really saddened me in many ways and reminded me just how important it is to support the arts and to support artists.
First, no teenager should have to face all that the young girl from that article has had to face...not by that stage in her life. But worse is the fact that pursuing her musical talents is simply not an option to her. It is clearly unfair to her, but it is also a travesty for the rest of us...as we lose out on all her ability and all she could potentially create. It is unfortunate that this young woman and many others like her face a world in which they may not even have the opportunity to discover their talents due to a lack of funding for the arts.
A society can be judged in many ways by its arts. A lack or creativity, especially when it is due to a lack of opportunities to discovery and explore one's creative talents, is indicative of a lack of culture and civility. Obviously that is a somewhat highfalutin statement that makes me sound somewhat ridiculous...but the arts are important on many levels. Most of all, the provide an important role for many of our nation's youth. They are an outlet to find oneself, to express oneself, to work through the many troubles of adolescence, and also an alternative to many of the ills that ail our youth. Further, the creative process allows for development and growth...not only on an individual level but also as a society and nation. Stifling creative also stifles innovation...something we are in need of more than ever in this time.
Personally, tho I didn't end up pursuing anything artistic in life, my brother has and that friend of mine did eventually end up S.C.A.D., and it's important to ensure that our society appreciates and encourages such pursuits. Such creativity needs to be nurtured...
[this post was originally intended to appear and does appear on my music blog.]
Because I saw as too risky it was something I ended up turning away from and failed to pursue. I do not regret that decision...in many ways photography is still a passion and hobby of mine, albeit one I need to spend more time developing [in all honestly, the thing I probably miss the most is all those hours in the darkroom...printing pictures is simply therapeutic for me in many ways]. But I do sometimes wonder what would have happened if I didn't have to worry about the whole economic side of things.
At the same time, I know how lucky I was to have all the opportunities available to me outside of the arts. I figure that I probably was not going to reach a level of achievement or accomplishment that I would have been satisfied with in the arts and so I'm OK leaving to be a hobby, an interest, a passion [altho who knows...maybe that's just a rationalization and telling myself what I need to hear to be OK with that decision from over 10 years ago now].
But while I likely did not have the talent and instead had other opportunities, there are far too many who do have the talent but who simply cannot pursue their dreams or fulfill all that potential because they are not so fortunate. I came across this article a couple weeks back and it really saddened me in many ways and reminded me just how important it is to support the arts and to support artists.
First, no teenager should have to face all that the young girl from that article has had to face...not by that stage in her life. But worse is the fact that pursuing her musical talents is simply not an option to her. It is clearly unfair to her, but it is also a travesty for the rest of us...as we lose out on all her ability and all she could potentially create. It is unfortunate that this young woman and many others like her face a world in which they may not even have the opportunity to discover their talents due to a lack of funding for the arts.
A society can be judged in many ways by its arts. A lack or creativity, especially when it is due to a lack of opportunities to discovery and explore one's creative talents, is indicative of a lack of culture and civility. Obviously that is a somewhat highfalutin statement that makes me sound somewhat ridiculous...but the arts are important on many levels. Most of all, the provide an important role for many of our nation's youth. They are an outlet to find oneself, to express oneself, to work through the many troubles of adolescence, and also an alternative to many of the ills that ail our youth. Further, the creative process allows for development and growth...not only on an individual level but also as a society and nation. Stifling creative also stifles innovation...something we are in need of more than ever in this time.
Personally, tho I didn't end up pursuing anything artistic in life, my brother has and that friend of mine did eventually end up S.C.A.D., and it's important to ensure that our society appreciates and encourages such pursuits. Such creativity needs to be nurtured...
[this post was originally intended to appear and does appear on my music blog.]
Wednesday, April 1, 2009
some catching up
Aight...been slackin' and so i'm going with an oversize post tonite...
Money bear.
via Like cool
A teddy bear made from dollar bills? Awesome! You can even up him [or her] up and replace the filling with your own crumpled dolla dolla bills. Awesomer! Price = $1,250.00. NOT AWESOME.
An Imaginary Life
A short film about what happens to the imaginary friends we all end up leaving behind. It's a sad part of growing up...and this just makes it sadder. All the more reason to refuse to grow up and remember that age ain't nothing but a number and a state of mind.
Ghost in the Machine
via iri5
A sweet collection of works by iri5, an artist whose specialty is non-traditional media. These works are made from old cassette tapes...impressive.
Your Inner dj.
Learn to dj in a few short classes [or even just one extended session]. DJ 4 Life offers classes in dj'ing and will teach u all u need to get those wheels of steel spinning. Hot ladies interested in you as the pictures below display not guaranteed. At least I assume they're not guaranteed. But if they are, sign me up!
Editorial update [4.25.09]: the nyTimes is biting my style!
Checkout this article.
Hotel in the air.
via Limited Hype
The world's first flying hotel, also the world's largest helicopter [to be expected when it doubles as a hotel] is set to take off this summer.
Mmm...BACON!!!
via Bacon Salt
I'm sure you know I love bacon. Well...many of us have heard of Bacon Salt:
Some of us are lucky enough to know about Baconnaise:
But the real question is, do you know about Bacon Lip Balm?
Air Yeezy's...the making of...
via complex
Article on the process behind the hyped Air Yeezy shoe. Let's of sweet pics to go with.
Money bear.
via Like cool
A teddy bear made from dollar bills? Awesome! You can even up him [or her] up and replace the filling with your own crumpled dolla dolla bills. Awesomer! Price = $1,250.00. NOT AWESOME.
An Imaginary Life
A short film about what happens to the imaginary friends we all end up leaving behind. It's a sad part of growing up...and this just makes it sadder. All the more reason to refuse to grow up and remember that age ain't nothing but a number and a state of mind.
Ghost in the Machine
via iri5
A sweet collection of works by iri5, an artist whose specialty is non-traditional media. These works are made from old cassette tapes...impressive.
Your Inner dj.
Learn to dj in a few short classes [or even just one extended session]. DJ 4 Life offers classes in dj'ing and will teach u all u need to get those wheels of steel spinning. Hot ladies interested in you as the pictures below display not guaranteed. At least I assume they're not guaranteed. But if they are, sign me up!
Editorial update [4.25.09]: the nyTimes is biting my style!Checkout this article.
Hotel in the air.
via Limited Hype
The world's first flying hotel, also the world's largest helicopter [to be expected when it doubles as a hotel] is set to take off this summer.
Mmm...BACON!!!
via Bacon Salt
I'm sure you know I love bacon. Well...many of us have heard of Bacon Salt:
Some of us are lucky enough to know about Baconnaise:
But the real question is, do you know about Bacon Lip Balm?Air Yeezy's...the making of...via complex
Article on the process behind the hyped Air Yeezy shoe. Let's of sweet pics to go with.
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
new old skool
via kanYe Westan ironic take on the mp3 player. it looks like an old skool cassette tape but it's playback is all new skool as it plays mp3. but u get to relive some of that old skool magic, not only in terms of styling but also doing that twist ur finger in the hole thing to fast forward or rewing songs. comes with a case to help aid the classic look.
Sunday, March 8, 2009
television music
Last week's episode of CSI was an interesting and unique taking on storytelling...and a pretty good one. As the episode came to a close a song came on that definitely piqued the interest of my ears and after about 3 seconds I realized it was likely a Taylor Swift song...as she starred in the episode. I also figured there was a good chance it was a remix of one of her songs as it had a definite tone and styling that I wouldn't expect from her...turns out I was right but more importantly u can listen to the song on the video above and if u want to buy it, hit up iTunes. [I'm ashamed to be spreading the word about iTunes but I haven't seen the song on Amazon and am not about to tell u to go download it "illegally" off a file-sharing network. Enjoy!
Thursday, March 5, 2009
Farewell to the King
via Yahoo! News
The King of Pop has decided it's time to say goodbye. A farewell set of concerts in London at the 02 Arena. He announced that the shows will be his final shows and that he'll perform the songs his fans want to hear. As crazy as he's gotten over the years, he's still the greatest and no one has reached his level since his peak. It'll be interesting to see what the King has left...
3.6.09 update: maybe the farewell already took place?
and more...
Wednesday, March 4, 2009
the future of music
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via ars technica
Interesting article documenting the origins of music-oriented video games*...and showing how we got to the great enjoyable fun of games like Rock Band and Guitar Hero. PaRappa the Rapper was one of the all time great games in my opinion: "You Gotta Believe!!!" I'm tempted to bust out the game right now and play it again. Intuitive, ingenious, innovative...great beats, animation, and fun. It's cool to see how far we've come.
*One line of games I think the article overlooks is the Bust A Groove series. Similar to Parappa but focused on dancing...if you combine Bust A Groove and Parappa...in many ways u take a step towards the DDR series.
Monday, March 2, 2009
Licensing the future
via ars technica
an interesting article about the discussion of the future of music licensing. it's clear that the digital era has wreaked havoc upon the traditional model of the music industry. but where do we go from here? what's next? is the recording industry irrelevant? i could go on (and have written about the subject before)...feel free to deposit any thoughts here and be sure to take in the article.
an interesting article about the discussion of the future of music licensing. it's clear that the digital era has wreaked havoc upon the traditional model of the music industry. but where do we go from here? what's next? is the recording industry irrelevant? i could go on (and have written about the subject before)...feel free to deposit any thoughts here and be sure to take in the article.
Saturday, February 28, 2009
additional directions...
It's become painfully clear that my blogging has fallen off in a serious way over the past whatever amount of time. In many ways I find myself disappointed. But in the past few weeks I find myself spending a bit more of my interweb surfing time perusing other blogs...blogs of a very different nature. I of course have a few mainstays and thru them I'm often stumble onto new and interesting blogs or at least posts and tidbits.
The combination of a lack of writing and the experience of other blogs...along with a bit of thinking over the past couple days and observing my silly facebook habits has resulted in a realization: When I did the most consistent writing in the place it was done with a purpose...it was really something I needed to do at that time in my life and it was a way of working and thinking thru various ideas, feelings, emotions, experiences...and so on.
But now is a different time and I find myself in a different place on many levels...that's why they say life is journey. And at this different place, it seems only appropriate to add some new direction(s) to this blog...I don't think it's time to abandon what came before as I know there will be a time and a need for such writing. But in between those posts, which are clearly more sporadic than previous times, I plan on just adding things I find interesting...be it articles, videos, songs, random funny links, pictures, and pretty much whatever. Hopefully I'll put a few things a day [I'd like to say 3 posts a day of various things of interest I come across...but I'm guessing sometimes it could be more and others it could be less.
Anywho...let's get to it...
The combination of a lack of writing and the experience of other blogs...along with a bit of thinking over the past couple days and observing my silly facebook habits has resulted in a realization: When I did the most consistent writing in the place it was done with a purpose...it was really something I needed to do at that time in my life and it was a way of working and thinking thru various ideas, feelings, emotions, experiences...and so on.
But now is a different time and I find myself in a different place on many levels...that's why they say life is journey. And at this different place, it seems only appropriate to add some new direction(s) to this blog...I don't think it's time to abandon what came before as I know there will be a time and a need for such writing. But in between those posts, which are clearly more sporadic than previous times, I plan on just adding things I find interesting...be it articles, videos, songs, random funny links, pictures, and pretty much whatever. Hopefully I'll put a few things a day [I'd like to say 3 posts a day of various things of interest I come across...but I'm guessing sometimes it could be more and others it could be less.
Anywho...let's get to it...
**********
kanYe West was on vh1's Storytellers tonite. Definitely worth checking out. kanYe is an individual often the subject of criticism and controversy but you have to respect his ability to perform and entertain. He puts on a show like few others do or even can...what impresses the most is that he takes the opportunity of performing live to take the music beyond the simple recordings and builds on them in innovative and interesting ways. You can find 10 videos from the kanYe West Storytellers here. Look for it to be replayed in your local listings...and take the time to listen. Too bad they didn't air the full 3 hours or so that it actually ran...maybe they'll make all that content available.
Telling Stories
kanYe West was on vh1's Storytellers tonite. Definitely worth checking out. kanYe is an individual often the subject of criticism and controversy but you have to respect his ability to perform and entertain. He puts on a show like few others do or even can...what impresses the most is that he takes the opportunity of performing live to take the music beyond the simple recordings and builds on them in innovative and interesting ways. You can find 10 videos from the kanYe West Storytellers here. Look for it to be replayed in your local listings...and take the time to listen. Too bad they didn't air the full 3 hours or so that it actually ran...maybe they'll make all that content available.