Song Meme Days 9-12

Day 09 - A Song that you can dance to
Nelly Furtado - Maneater



The second I heard this song I was jamming. Nelly's harsh vocals, against harsh percussion, against harsh synths, and mixed in signature Timbaland fashion. I asked this to be played at every school dance and occasionally wait for it or request it at a club. The one song that can make me jam no matter the hour.

Day 10 - A song that makes you fall asleep
Belong - Same Places (Slow Version)



Download it (Uploaded by the band themselves): http://www.mediafire.com/?tmjtm35wu4x

This song is one of my top played songs on Last.fm strictly because I play it before I go to sleep if I'm having a rough night or just want some ambient music to mellow me out a little bit more. The Youtube link provided is a condensed version of the song - The Mediafire link is the full 14+ minute masterpiece. It sounds a lot better slowed down. I wish I had more information on this band. They're kind of hard to come across.

Day 11 - A song from your favorite band
Massive Attack - Small Time Shot Away




Robert Del Naja's vocals drone through the entire 100th Window record. It's a record that perfectly puts into place the mind state of the world in a post 9/11 world and Small Time Shot Away is one of the most played tracks from my entire Massive Attack catalog. I'm unsure if this could be considered my favorite song because there are a couple of handfuls of songs that I constantly put on repeat, but it's up there in the top five.

I really like how minimalist it sounds, but it's fairly obvious to anybody with ears that a shitload of edits and work went into this song. Especially with the vocals. I also think the cymbals sound magnificent on this record and the soft kick brings everything together. Bravo, Massive Attack. Bravo.

Day 12 - A Song from a band you hate
Nickleback - Too Bad




There are a lot of bands that I hate worse than Nickleback. However, they're the epitome of Radio Friendly Rock - they don't really do anything remotely interesting for me. "Too Bad" is a nice little jam though..I guess.

Day 01 - Your favorite song
Day 02 - Your least favorite song
Day 03 - A song that makes you happy
Day 04 - A song that makes you sad
Day 05 - A song that reminds you of someone
Day 06 - A song that reminds of you of somewhere
Day 07 - A song that reminds you of a certain event
Day 08 - A song that you know all the words to
Day 09 - A song that you can dance to
Day 10 - A song that makes you fall asleep
Day 11 - A song from your favorite band
Day 12 - A song from a band you hate
Day 13 - A song that is a guilty pleasure
Day 14 - A song that no one would expect you to love
Day 15 - A song that describes you
Day 16 - A song that you used to love but now hate
Day 17 - A song that you hear often on the radio
Day 18 - A song that you wish you heard on the radio
Day 19 - A song from your favorite album
Day 20 - A song that you listen to when you’re angry
Day 21 - A song that you listen to when you’re happy
Day 22 - A song that you listen to when you’re sad
Day 23 - A song that you want to play at your wedding
Day 24 - A song that you want to play at your funeral
Day 25 - A song that makes you laugh
Day 26 - A song that you can play on an instrument
Day 27 - A song that you wish you could play
Day 28 - A song that makes you feel guilty
Day 29 - A song from your childhood
Day 30 - Your favorite song at this time last year

Song Meme Days 8-11

I was supposed to do a shitload of these and the next couple of them don't involve any technical reasoning behind the motivation for choosing them - so I'm just going to list them off.

Day 04 - A song that makes you sad
Jeff Buckley - Hallelujah




There isn't anything I could even say about this song. Jeff Buckley has the most gut wrenching voice I've ever heard and I'm crying like a baby anytime this song is played the entire way through. I'm not even going to entertain you with words. Just listen.

Day 05 - A song that reminds you of someone
Seal - Kiss From a Rose




Every time my Mom would drive me to Kindergarten I would pop in the Cassette single of this song and play it on repeat. Anytime I hear this song I can still imagine the scene of us waiting in the parking lot and for her to drop me off. The scent and everything as well. So many songs bring back memories and make them vivid and this is the one that always pops up first.

Day 06 - A Song that Reminds you of Somewhere
Metric - Parkdale




Right before I left on my road trip to Arizona, made me a mixtape of music that had the theme of traveling. The song that stuck out the most and the song I played constantly on my road trip and still today was this song. It's cute and poppy and the lyrics are really nice. I haven't heard much else from Metric but always wanted to get into them.

Day 07 - A Song that Reminds you of a current event
Christina Aguilera - Lift me Up (Hope for Haiti 2010)




Talk about an amazing performance? Reminds me of the telethon and reading all of the news on what was happening with Haiti, as well as other natural disasters that have happened in recent years. This could also go under a song that makes me sad. But only during this live performance.

Day 08 - A Song That You Know All the Words To
TLC - No Scrubs




You would expect me not to know all the words to a TLC song? I know all the words to their entire catalog of music.

That's all for now. After these days I get back into explaining things.
Day 01 - Your favorite song
Day 02 - Your least favorite song
Day 03 - A song that makes you happy
Day 04 - A song that makes you sad
Day 05 - A song that reminds you of someone
Day 06 - A song that reminds of you of somewhere
Day 07 - A song that reminds you of a certain event
Day 08 - A song that you know all the words to
Day 09 - A song that you can dance to
Day 10 - A song that makes you fall asleep
Day 11 - A song from your favorite band
Day 12 - A song from a band you hate
Day 13 - A song that is a guilty pleasure
Day 14 - A song that no one would expect you to love
Day 15 - A song that describes you
Day 16 - A song that you used to love but now hate
Day 17 - A song that you hear often on the radio
Day 18 - A song that you wish you heard on the radio
Day 19 - A song from your favorite album
Day 20 - A song that you listen to when you’re angry
Day 21 - A song that you listen to when you’re happy
Day 22 - A song that you listen to when you’re sad
Day 23 - A song that you want to play at your wedding
Day 24 - A song that you want to play at your funeral
Day 25 - A song that makes you laugh
Day 26 - A song that you can play on an instrument
Day 27 - A song that you wish you could play
Day 28 - A song that makes you feel guilty
Day 29 - A song from your childhood
Day 30 - Your favorite song at this time last year

Song Meme Day 3: A song that makes you happy

Day 03 - A song that makes you happy
Blue Six - Close to Home





It was hard to pick out a song that makes me the happiest from this artist. The album "Beautiful Tomorrow" by Blue Six is one of the only albums I own that I can throw on and it can instantly put me in a better mood. It's the deep beats, it's the use of jazzy horns, it's the use of beautiful female vocalists and it's mixed in standard deep house fashion but with a but more shine on the higher frequencies of the vocalists, which gives it a great pop feel.

The vocal melody and layers in "Close to Home" has to be one of my favorite melodies and vocal mixing of any song I've ever listened to. There's subtle effects and doubling on the verses and great backgrounds on the choruses that make the words and the way they're sung really jump out and when you combine that with the happy walking beat that the kick/snare/hi-hat's give (and the cool ass drum fill at the end of every verse) it makes for one

As for the lyrics, There is something that someone posted on a message board I frequented years ago that stuck with me through the years that went along the lines of "Pop music sounds so happy because it comes from such a dark place." The message is disguised so well within the structure that's built around it that the darkness of the lyrics don't do anything but give it a subtle hint of darkness.

Subtle. That's what this song (as a whole) is.

Sidenote: The second time I ever listened to this album I was in the pool and was having a terribly stressful time. This song and the rest of them instantly brought me out of it and haven't looked back sense. I'm reminded of that strength every single time I play Blue Six.

Close calls for Songs that Make me Happy:
"It's Been Done" by Angela McCluskey
"Traveling" by Utada Hikaru
"For Real" by Amel Larrieux
"The Mambo Craze" by De Phazz
"(Doo Wop) That Thing" by Lauryn Hill
"Happy Face" by Destiny's Child
"Daylight Robbery" by Imogen Heap
"Tight Rope" by Janelle Monae
"I Would Die 4 U" by Prince
"Two Months Off" by Underworld
"I'll Be There" by Weekend Players

Day 01 - Your favorite song
Day 02 - Your least favorite song
Day 03 - A song that makes you happy
Day 04 - A song that makes you sad
Day 05 - A song that reminds you of someone
Day 06 - A song that reminds of you of somewhere
Day 07 - A song that reminds you of a certain event
Day 08 - A song that you know all the words to
Day 09 - A song that you can dance to
Day 10 - A song that makes you fall asleep
Day 11 - A song from your favorite band
Day 12 - A song from a band you hate
Day 13 - A song that is a guilty pleasure
Day 14 - A song that no one would expect you to love
Day 15 - A song that describes you
Day 16 - A song that you used to love but now hate
Day 17 - A song that you hear often on the radio
Day 18 - A song that you wish you heard on the radio
Day 19 - A song from your favorite album
Day 20 - A song that you listen to when you’re angry
Day 21 - A song that you listen to when you’re happy
Day 22 - A song that you listen to when you’re sad
Day 23 - A song that you want to play at your wedding
Day 24 - A song that you want to play at your funeral
Day 25 - A song that makes you laugh
Day 26 - A song that you can play on an instrument
Day 27 - A song that you wish you could play
Day 28 - A song that makes you feel guilty
Day 29 - A song from your childhood
Day 30 - Your favorite song at this time last year

Song Meme Day 2: Your Least Favorite song

Day 02 - Your least favorite song
DL4 - Laffy Taffy





When this song came out I was three or four years deep into exploring the world of programming beats. They were mostly electronic but sometimes bled lightly into the more experimental Hip-Hop world. A lot of the times I'd start by making really simple beats like the one in this song as just a warm up or a way of laughing at all of the default presets that FL Studio had to offer in it's program. So, when this song came out I said it sounded like something I could throw together in three minutes and still make it sound better than it does...and almost four years later I still hold on to that claim.

Most people blame Souljah Boy for the downfall of this genre, but if Souljah Boy ever came on in a club I'd be out there. "Laffy Taffy" takes unoriginality to a different level. It sums up everything that is wrong about the state of rap music. There's nothing remotely interesting in the song except for the "Candy girl" sample (by New Edition) that's used every four/eight/sixteen bars (and using a sample like that every four/eight/sixteen bars is pretty standard, so even that's played out). The lyrics say nothing.

It does have a catchy hook, but the way it's delivered is horrid.

Close calls for least favorite song:
Souljah Boy By Souljah Boy Tell-Em
Something in the Way by Tricky
Island of Wonder by Nelly Furtado
Amazing by Kanye West
Bobblehead by Christina Aguilera

Day 01 - Your favorite song
Day 02 - Your least favorite song
Day 03 - A song that makes you happy
Day 04 - A song that makes you sad
Day 05 - A song that reminds you of someone
Day 06 - A song that reminds of you of somewhere
Day 07 - A song that reminds you of a certain event
Day 08 - A song that you know all the words to
Day 09 - A song that you can dance to
Day 10 - A song that makes you fall asleep
Day 11 - A song from your favorite band
Day 12 - A song from a band you hate
Day 13 - A song that is a guilty pleasure
Day 14 - A song that no one would expect you to love
Day 15 - A song that describes you
Day 16 - A song that you used to love but now hate
Day 17 - A song that you hear often on the radio
Day 18 - A song that you wish you heard on the radio
Day 19 - A song from your favorite album
Day 20 - A song that you listen to when you’re angry
Day 21 - A song that you listen to when you’re happy
Day 22 - A song that you listen to when you’re sad
Day 23 - A song that you want to play at your wedding
Day 24 - A song that you want to play at your funeral
Day 25 - A song that makes you laugh
Day 26 - A song that you can play on an instrument
Day 27 - A song that you wish you could play
Day 28 - A song that makes you feel guilty
Day 29 - A song from your childhood
Day 30 - Your favorite song at this time last year

Song Meme Day 1: Your Favorite song

Day 01 - Your favorite song
Aphex Twin - Blue Calx

Aphex Twin - Blue Calx from Heady on Vimeo.

The amount of beauty this simplistic ambient song possesses is catastrophic. A feeling of despair seeps through every single frequency, but underneath it all is a dull feeling of hope with a "light at the end of the tunnel" feel to it, as well as time bomb effect with the fast paced tick-tock that's layered and reverberated in the background. A lot of commentators on the song envision soldiers in their head when they listen to this song (more specifically WWII) and I can't say they're wrong. It feels like destruction, it feels like the bottom, it feels like a fight, and buried in it is a tiny spot of optimism.

Sonically, the song has so much space and room to breathe in it that it's almost completely atmospheric if the main synthesizer weren't as dominant as it is. It took me a few listens to hear the 808-esque Kick drop that is randomly placed throughout the song, but adds a nice, more deep and present sound that lacks in the rest of the instruments.

I'd kill to know how this was engineered and what equipment was used to make this track. For as simple as it is, the reverbs used and mixing on this track is flawless. I wonder if Aphex Twin took the sounds that were recorded and played them in a room fit with a nice reverberation sound and stuck it in the track instead of using outboard reverb or a plug-in. I'll never know and he'll sure as hell never tell..but I think I like it that way all the same.

Close calls for favorite songs:
Max Richter - On the Nature of Daylight
Boards of Canada - Tears From the Compound Eye
Esthero - Breath From Another
Bjork - All is Full of Love
The Beatles - Revolution 9
Destroyer - Bay of Pigs
Transister - Stars Collide

Day 01 - Your favorite song
Day 02 - Your least favorite song
Day 03 - A song that makes you happy
Day 04 - A song that makes you sad
Day 05 - A song that reminds you of someone
Day 06 - A song that reminds of you of somewhere
Day 07 - A song that reminds you of a certain event
Day 08 - A song that you know all the words to
Day 09 - A song that you can dance to
Day 10 - A song that makes you fall asleep
Day 11 - A song from your favorite band
Day 12 - A song from a band you hate
Day 13 - A song that is a guilty pleasure
Day 14 - A song that no one would expect you to love
Day 15 - A song that describes you
Day 16 - A song that you used to love but now hate
Day 17 - A song that you hear often on the radio
Day 18 - A song that you wish you heard on the radio
Day 19 - A song from your favorite album
Day 20 - A song that you listen to when you’re angry
Day 21 - A song that you listen to when you’re happy
Day 22 - A song that you listen to when you’re sad
Day 23 - A song that you want to play at your wedding
Day 24 - A song that you want to play at your funeral
Day 25 - A song that makes you laugh
Day 26 - A song that you can play on an instrument
Day 27 - A song that you wish you could play
Day 28 - A song that makes you feel guilty
Day 29 - A song from your childhood
Day 30 - Your favorite song at this time last year

Change.

I was playing around on my Macbook yesterday. This was the outcome.

There really isn't much to say regarding the actual election beyond the fact that I am extremely proud that this country used their brains this time and voted for a man who will hopefully bring about the change this nation needs. I'm so excited to see what is in store for the United States and hope the last 8 years are burned alive and served cold and spoiled to the Bush Administration.

While I'm soaking up the joyful democratic waves, there is a huge part of me that has been smacked in the face by not only California, but Florida, Arkansas and my own temporary state of Arizona. I don't understand how the people of these states even remotely thought that it was a good idea to take away the rights of homosexuals and no matter how much I search to find answers there is no response that is sufficient enough for someone to vote "no." This country is built on religious freedom and separation between church and state, so its not even the state's right to ban marriage in the first place and I'm pretty sure that if enough people rallied together to propose a ban on Heterosexual marriage, the front page headlines would be relentless in how unjustified it would be to take away the rights of two people who loved each other. Its extremely heartbreaking to know see that the progress the gay community has made throughout the years has been set back a million years, but I'm holding out hope. Hope that not only Obama will stick to his promise of allowing civil unions but that all of these protests in California will do something. Originally, I thought the ban would be passed and everyone would complain and not do anything so its nice to see celebrities and citizens lashing out so vocally.

Okay, thats all for my political rant. Its on to a normal entry. I cannot stand not walking and getting my exercise in the fresh air. I really wish I would've walked passed that guy in the park and didn't stop to play nice and have a conversation with him. I would've still been able to go there and walk around. I've been thinking of just walking around the block a couple of times but that seems more dangerous than trying my luck at the park.

School hasn't been going too good. The first three weeks of school is exactly how everyone described it. You sit in a room for four hours a day and the instructors throw out a shitload of information at you that you're supposed to remember with minimum hands on experience. I bombed the MIDI test because I figured that I knew how MIDI worked so I didn't need to look it over. The test was pure vocabulary and specifics and I knew next to none of it and I also barely passed the test on different microphones, soundwaves, signal flow, etc. I'm retaking both tests and I know I will pass with flying colors but its a bit disappointing that I didn't do too hot on them the first time around. Its great that these instructors are so understanding and treat you like a real person as opposed to my high school where if you failed a test the teacher automatically added you to their death list and didn't even give you another chance to succeed. I love how all of these extra classes are in place and test retake sessions and feel so extremely fortunate to be at this school right now. We start our next cycle of classes on Monday where the concept of live sound is introduced and the concepts of recording (digitally and analog) are expanded. It seems a lot more hands on so I am ready.

Part of the reason I didn't study and bombed the MIDI test is that the time I had to prepare for the test was thrown off by my first week at my job. For the first two weeks I literally received calls daily that I would answer and they would ask if I would cover someone's shift (which is fine to a point, money is a good thing.) I constantly obliged and it definitely took a lot of time away from me that I needed to ensure I did well on it. My cell phone is still harassed more than Sarah Palin will be for the next two years because she didn't know Africa was a continent, but I've implemented a new rule in my life: "Don't pick up the phone unless you want to go into work." The upside to the job is I still like all of my co-workers and last night I bought a $45 hoodie that was put on clearance for $10.49 for $6.00. I also bought an Amy Winehouse poster and some mints for less than a dollar.

For the last part of the entry I guess I can ramble on about a movie I watched last night for a bit. I rented Dancer in the Dark off of Netflix because it had Bjork in it and I've been wanting to see it for a long time. It had to have been one of the most depressing movies I've ever watched in my entire life. All the reviews I read spoke about how sad it was, but I didn't believe them. I'm a pretty tough cookie when it comes to movies, but this one had me crying like a baby. Poor Selma. She couldn't have had a good day if she tried. :-(

Exciting Times.

School has been going well for the most part. There have been a lot of days where I have been utterly clueless as to what is going on (do I blog like a guy who would understand how electrical circuits work?) but I can feel my mind opening up to all it needs to know and with every time I go back over my notes and PDF files to re-read what was learned, something clicks in my mind and I'm literally floored at what I just learned. Even if its something little about how AC circuits work or how an XY microphone technique picks up a symphony. It was also weird watching a Saturday Night Live performance from Coldplay and actually paying attention to the microphones and how everything is set up, trying desperately to apply what I've learned in these two weeks to what I've been watching on the TV.

On Monday, our instructor opened a Mulitrack file of one of the Beatles songs in Logic to demonstrate how much hard work went into creating their later albums (Sgt. Pepper in particular.) When he played the song, I do not remember which one it was unfortunately, I couldn't believe what I was hearing. All the effects, all of the different sounds..and they only had a four track to work with. I am still astounded just thinking about it. I think it would've been a more exciting time working during that time, but I'm sure its just as exciting with all of the technology we have at our fingertips that allow us to create albums with a lot more ease than it was forty years ago.

I am thinking about just sticking with one job instead of two. The one I have right now has been calling me in for a lot of hours and its literally a two minute drive down the road from my house. I like everyone, I like what I do and I'm sure I'd like working at the other place as well, but right now, I think I can only handle one job with school.

Beyond that, everything is good here and I'm thoroughly enjoying myself. I saw "Saw V" a week ago with someone from school, which was fun..but the movie was the worst one out of the series. I suppose they haven't been good since the third one though. What can you expect? The only thing I am missing about Pennsylvania (beyond the people) is rain. I love the heat here, but I've been begging for just one day when I can open my balcony and see a cloudy day. I don't think their rainy season is coming anytime soon, so in memory of the precipitation, I downloaded a Screen Saver from Apple.com that simulates a thunderstorm on your desktop. The rain gently washes away your desktop/any open applications. I like it.

Look what I got

The Grand Tour

I'll upload pictures later.

Purpose: Found

After almost a year of having nothing on this blog I've decided that I am going to use it to update everyone on my ~fantastic~ life in Arizona. I officially get internet on Friday, so I will post the first entry after that. For now, I am stealing net in a Starbucks, sitting 10 feet from some guy who isn't wearing deodorant.

Here's to new and exciting experiences!