Joe Republic, Paul Weller, Afghan wigs, Verve pipe, Candle Box, Bucketheads, Baby D, PM Dawn, Jon Secada, Everclear, Better than Ezra, Sound Garden, Tony Toni Tone, Dishwalla, Sophie B Hawkins, Rage Against the Machine, Black Sheep, Toad the Wet Sprocket, Natalie Merchant and the 10,000 maniacs, Marcy Playground, Deep Blue Something, Stabbing Westward, Gabrielle, Tonic, the Ghetto Boys, Stone Temple Pilots, East17, Groove Theory, Charles and Eddie, Poe, Gin Blossoms, Fuel, Big Mountain, Zoe Ball, Collective Soul, Ugly Kid Joe, Soul Asylum, Del Amitri, Spin Doctors, and many many more.. do you remember their music?
Sometime ago, I was talking to my little cousin about music. I found out he was into Evanescence, Fall Out Boy, Talking back to Tuesday, and other mainstream emopunk whatever you want to call it junk. I asked him about Jimi Hendrix, and he told me he wasn’t interested. His disinterest invited me to launch into a full monologue explaining the influence Jimi Hendrix had on my life and many many other listeners over the past 4 decades. I offered to lend him my copy of Electric Ladyland (in hindsight, I should have lent him the “ultimate experience” compilation for him to get the gist of it before wanting to cocoon himself in Hendrix). He still refused, claiming he liked his music and couldn’t get into the oldies. I know what you're thinking, I should've drop kicked him right there and then for such balsphemy, but he's young and misguided. I pleaded with him to at least humor me and borrow a cd to give it a listen, after which I was sure he’d change his ways – he still refused. Cursing his narrowminded viewpoint but not before contemplating breaking his arms, I decided it would be best if I left him with his confined opinion until he took a corner onto a dark alley.
My little sister took said relative to a Panic at the Disco concert recently because she knew he liked them. The band started covering Smashing Pumpkins and Radiohead and my sister tried to explain to our cousin that this music was what defined her generation and the best of the 90s. In a similar pretentious fashion, he brushed her off as he did me, and when she got upset, he told her of our incident regarding Hendrix. He thought we “were pushing our music” onto him, when all we were doing is just trying to get him to listen to music from the past that would actually mold his taste. He’s a good kid and will come around someday. I’m giving him another year of college to discover great music on his own, after that, I will take matters into my own hands.
Why is it that people get caught in pockets or time warps of music? How come a lot of us get stuck in a decade and refuse to extricate ourselves out? You become content with your music collection and then get to a point that you don’t want to search for anything new. Memories of those days amalgamate with the music of that time and you end up forever reshuffling your cds, reminiscing. A prime example: after being totally let down by the hip-hop of today, one of the lads still thinks it’s 1993.
What’s happening with today’s listener? As we get older, the next crop of young’uns just can’t seem to grasp the sounds that defined our adolescent years, while we can’t accept theirs. Or is this how we distinguish ourselves from today’s listener, because they can’t see how that music affected us, we are a little patronizing of their taste. Are we now resigned to becoming the targets of late night commercials regarding a 6 cd compilation giving you the best of the Alternative 90s? Cause let me tell you, I’m about a phone call away from ordering that cd, really.. I remember laughing at my older sister when she ordered romance of the 80 and 90s, a 6 disc compilation, because she needed Peter Cetera, Foreigner, and Cyndi Lauper again – but a little “time after time” does sound agreeable right about now. Does that mean that I’ve now become a dated listener?
Or will this music all die down for another 10 years until the band reunites, their music is kicked about our cobwebbed memory and all of a sudden people have started listening to Crowded House again. Hey, It’s only natural..
Showing posts with label music. Show all posts
Showing posts with label music. Show all posts
Wednesday, January 31, 2007
Tuesday, October 03, 2006
cd binge therapy
If you've been paying attention to anything I've written (it's ok, I don't pay attention to what I write either) then you'd already know that I am a music junkie in the most absolute "in need of help" sense.
Critically requiring some retail therapy to ease my pain and suffering, I run off to flirt with those lovely folks at cduniverse. I started off this spree with the need to pick up the new hot chip and futureheads album (just some stuff I've missed out on buying).. Soon after I pick up those two, a neurotic high pitched alarm goes off in my head launching me into an exercise of trying to remember names of bands and albums I want. Wait wait wait what was the new band from the 'death from above 1979' guy called again? Mstrkrft, oh yeah, that.. click click click click click.. this goes on for a bit, click click click click.. then like that full feeling you get from gulping down a big glass of water, my cart swells up to the point of it breaking into the eligible for free shipping territory..
Loosening my belt and undoing the top button on my jeans, I continue on with my clicking.. hey I wonder if yo la tengo have anything new.. hmm.. indeed they do.. click click click have les savvy fav done anything? No, damn.. my quest adjusts itself into buying what I feel like listening to… I could use something electronic and chilled out and I really feel like some good new soulful music.. research research research, the new zero 7, sure why not.. click click click.. something soulful, Anthony david? Click click click.. since I’m here I should beef up the French house collection.. De Crecy’s back? He never left? Dang.. click click click..
Before I know it, I'm arranging payment and delivery for 32 cds I cannot live without out, that I would die without, that my life would mean nothing without.. I need them, I want them, I love them.. Finalizing my transaction and then almost immediately kicking myself, I start remembering some more albums I've been meaning to get.. Scribbled down for my upcoming purchase.
Then comes the hard part, the waiting.. I try to listen to my current cds, but the impatient feeling lingering around in the back of my head is making me disregard the good music piping through the speakers, and i long for something else.. a day or two later I get notification that everything's shipped to my international courier po box – yes yes yes, not long now.. this dj kicks compilation sounds so stale right now, and if I throw on another wacky tune from islands I think I'm going to start fantasizing about the muppets and miss piggy. a couple of days more, I get notification that my stuff's arrived in Bahrain and I can go and pick it up.. yakpot..
Trying to keep a lid on the bubbling excitement at the international courier’s establishment, they check my number and bring forth the larger than normal brown cardboard box.. b-i-fuqin-g-o.. yeah you ring me up, I'll just check up on my cds, ohh you need to look at the tag on the box? i just want to make sure they're all, one sec.. kkkhrrrriiissshhhhh. Before the person behind the counter has a chance to look at the box, and the people in line behind, I’ve got my suit jacket draped across the counter, I've sunk the teeth of my car keys into the masking tape and have pulled the flaps open.. at first sight, I do nothing but let out a satisfied haarruummphhh.. the ferociousness of Hernán Cortés burns through me, as I hoard my box and lay claim to this Aztec gold.. the sight of these cds all neatly accounted for in this box crack a grin on my face and a chubb in my pants…
What to listen to? which ones to pick? My fingers dance along the cd cases, my eyes dart across the cover art, my tongue licks my lips, I’m just about ready... the possibility of unearthing the next big tune in my “top all time tunes list ever” makes this purchase, the wait, the everything, all worth it.. In the middle of this rush, I lose myself in between paying for the delivery and dazedly walking back to la voiture. Once in the car, I begin tearing off the plastic wrappers off my cds, a task I no longer consider frustrating... I have perfected this method in which I tear off the wrapper with expert guile (never timed myself, but I’m pretty sure I can remove a cd from a plastic wrapped case in less than 5 seconds) , roll it into a ball, and then using the tape bit from the cd to keep it all securely balled up.. making for a quick headers and volleys tournament...
Based solely on the cover artwork, I pick 6 cds to load into my changer. I start my open ear and hope to bear fruit from my shot in the dark cd binge session. So far so good, the French house beef up has been successful, the sophomore albums purchased have not disappointed. The mstrkrft has been pretty amazing, the frames cool too, and I’m really digging the new yo la tengo. fuqme, retail therapy really does work..
Just so we’re all on the same page, receiving new cds means you can forget about asking to borrow them. I will not lend them to my friends, I will not lend them to my kin I will certainly not lend them to green eggs and ham – not until I’ve had my fill of them. Andy Ward taught me that it’s totally fine to hoard your library and be an ogre about it, that’s how he still has all his cds. If you meet certain criteria in my book then I will possibly make you a copy or you could fall into the list of people with borrowing privileges (highly coveted). A certain someone never bothered to return my sasha & digweed northern exposures 3 (the impossible to find European version that had one extra track from the American edition, the original remixed “silence” tune from Delirium, not the one you can easily find on some bullshit compilation, the original progressive track, that no one can find anymore except illegally downloaded), and since then, I’ve put my guard up – I just couldn’t let it slide...
You don’t even want to know what happens to me at a record store…
Critically requiring some retail therapy to ease my pain and suffering, I run off to flirt with those lovely folks at cduniverse. I started off this spree with the need to pick up the new hot chip and futureheads album (just some stuff I've missed out on buying).. Soon after I pick up those two, a neurotic high pitched alarm goes off in my head launching me into an exercise of trying to remember names of bands and albums I want. Wait wait wait what was the new band from the 'death from above 1979' guy called again? Mstrkrft, oh yeah, that.. click click click click click.. this goes on for a bit, click click click click.. then like that full feeling you get from gulping down a big glass of water, my cart swells up to the point of it breaking into the eligible for free shipping territory..
Loosening my belt and undoing the top button on my jeans, I continue on with my clicking.. hey I wonder if yo la tengo have anything new.. hmm.. indeed they do.. click click click have les savvy fav done anything? No, damn.. my quest adjusts itself into buying what I feel like listening to… I could use something electronic and chilled out and I really feel like some good new soulful music.. research research research, the new zero 7, sure why not.. click click click.. something soulful, Anthony david? Click click click.. since I’m here I should beef up the French house collection.. De Crecy’s back? He never left? Dang.. click click click..
Before I know it, I'm arranging payment and delivery for 32 cds I cannot live without out, that I would die without, that my life would mean nothing without.. I need them, I want them, I love them.. Finalizing my transaction and then almost immediately kicking myself, I start remembering some more albums I've been meaning to get.. Scribbled down for my upcoming purchase.
Then comes the hard part, the waiting.. I try to listen to my current cds, but the impatient feeling lingering around in the back of my head is making me disregard the good music piping through the speakers, and i long for something else.. a day or two later I get notification that everything's shipped to my international courier po box – yes yes yes, not long now.. this dj kicks compilation sounds so stale right now, and if I throw on another wacky tune from islands I think I'm going to start fantasizing about the muppets and miss piggy. a couple of days more, I get notification that my stuff's arrived in Bahrain and I can go and pick it up.. yakpot..
Trying to keep a lid on the bubbling excitement at the international courier’s establishment, they check my number and bring forth the larger than normal brown cardboard box.. b-i-fuqin-g-o.. yeah you ring me up, I'll just check up on my cds, ohh you need to look at the tag on the box? i just want to make sure they're all, one sec.. kkkhrrrriiissshhhhh. Before the person behind the counter has a chance to look at the box, and the people in line behind, I’ve got my suit jacket draped across the counter, I've sunk the teeth of my car keys into the masking tape and have pulled the flaps open.. at first sight, I do nothing but let out a satisfied haarruummphhh.. the ferociousness of Hernán Cortés burns through me, as I hoard my box and lay claim to this Aztec gold.. the sight of these cds all neatly accounted for in this box crack a grin on my face and a chubb in my pants…
What to listen to? which ones to pick? My fingers dance along the cd cases, my eyes dart across the cover art, my tongue licks my lips, I’m just about ready... the possibility of unearthing the next big tune in my “top all time tunes list ever” makes this purchase, the wait, the everything, all worth it.. In the middle of this rush, I lose myself in between paying for the delivery and dazedly walking back to la voiture. Once in the car, I begin tearing off the plastic wrappers off my cds, a task I no longer consider frustrating... I have perfected this method in which I tear off the wrapper with expert guile (never timed myself, but I’m pretty sure I can remove a cd from a plastic wrapped case in less than 5 seconds) , roll it into a ball, and then using the tape bit from the cd to keep it all securely balled up.. making for a quick headers and volleys tournament...
Based solely on the cover artwork, I pick 6 cds to load into my changer. I start my open ear and hope to bear fruit from my shot in the dark cd binge session. So far so good, the French house beef up has been successful, the sophomore albums purchased have not disappointed. The mstrkrft has been pretty amazing, the frames cool too, and I’m really digging the new yo la tengo. fuqme, retail therapy really does work..
Just so we’re all on the same page, receiving new cds means you can forget about asking to borrow them. I will not lend them to my friends, I will not lend them to my kin I will certainly not lend them to green eggs and ham – not until I’ve had my fill of them. Andy Ward taught me that it’s totally fine to hoard your library and be an ogre about it, that’s how he still has all his cds. If you meet certain criteria in my book then I will possibly make you a copy or you could fall into the list of people with borrowing privileges (highly coveted). A certain someone never bothered to return my sasha & digweed northern exposures 3 (the impossible to find European version that had one extra track from the American edition, the original remixed “silence” tune from Delirium, not the one you can easily find on some bullshit compilation, the original progressive track, that no one can find anymore except illegally downloaded), and since then, I’ve put my guard up – I just couldn’t let it slide...
You don’t even want to know what happens to me at a record store…
Tuesday, September 19, 2006
BROTHERMANDUDE
We all grow up with dreams.. Some want to be racecar drivers, female astronauts, footballers, ambassadors, businessmen, ninjas, I wanted to be a fire truck (disappointed from a very young age).. My good friend Hassan had a dream just like everyone one of us.. His dream involved music, rock n roll to be more precise.. While we were all contemplating that greedy feeling burning inside of us, Hassan was actually thinking about performing in front of a sea of people.. He was cracking smiles to the eventual sound of the audience singing his music back to him.. the reveries we all have..
During his time away from home in a very far away place where people didn’t care where he was from or what his last name was, he decided to delve headfirst into music. He started singing any chance he got, and eventually joined up with some guys to form a band. Eventually, his time away from Bahrain was up and Hassan came back, but this time, he came back with recordings.
Since my return to Bahrain, just over three years ago, we all spent countless hours fooling about microphones, recording, jamming, banging on the drums, writing silly music, yelling for more cowbell and heading into the staww-dio for a secret listen.. Andy believed in Hassan’s music and put his career in London on hold to come and help with the mixing.. After countless hours and hours of mixes, takes and more takes, and convincing the band to come to Bahrain to rerecord the work - there was an even more polished sound.. this was definitely something to shop around.. I remember Hassan dragging me into the studio, and playing what they’ve been working on, and me thinking this is fucking amazing. I was actually listening to the birth of this music, I was around when he was scribbling some words together and now those words and music are blasting through the speakers and sounding epic.
I don’t know if you can actually imagine what kind of effort is required to cut an album, and what it takes to do it from the Middle East. Allow me to sum it up for you: it’s damn near impossible – forget about the relationships you are forced to sever, the friendships that can’t stand the stress, business and the opinions you need to shelve, the continual feeling that it’s just you facing this monumental task of realizing this dream.. Cutting an album, having it produced, and then pushing out to a market that has never really heard an Arab fronting a rock n roll band? That is some serious weight to deal with, but my friend soldiered on..
It was the music, 80s Ian and Hassan that convinced Simon Napier-Bell out of semi-retirement and to take on this project.. Through Simon’s guidance the band was properly put together, pushed into a studio and the music was reworked.. this time the music sounded different, this time, the people producing the music were the same people that have produced a lot of the records that we all have in our cd libraries. This time, the buzz was getting bigger.. This time Hassan was moved to London, where the band continued their music, where they performed at clubs, and where the record labels took serious notice..
And what now? I am so proud to actually let you know that brothermandude’s first music video is available for your viewing pleasure on youtube. Directed by Kevin Godley (from Godley and Crème fame) who’s directed a whole plethora of U2 and Sting videos. He’s most recently directed what WAS my favorite new video “is it any wonder” by keane – (the one with the camera on a minirollercoaster track – very cool indeed).. watch it..
Watching the video last night on youtube solidified a lot of things for me: that feeling I got when I sat in the studio with Hassan while he played back his music, the days when your friend would turn to you for your opinion no matter how honest you were, the pride and “hell yeahs” screamed into the phone when he’d call us to share good news from London.. this was all coming together.. all of it.. and we’re all here pumping our fists in the air cheering on our friend and his dream, to make some fucking amazing music…
brothermandude, check it out.. watch the music video, preorder the cd…
During his time away from home in a very far away place where people didn’t care where he was from or what his last name was, he decided to delve headfirst into music. He started singing any chance he got, and eventually joined up with some guys to form a band. Eventually, his time away from Bahrain was up and Hassan came back, but this time, he came back with recordings.
Since my return to Bahrain, just over three years ago, we all spent countless hours fooling about microphones, recording, jamming, banging on the drums, writing silly music, yelling for more cowbell and heading into the staww-dio for a secret listen.. Andy believed in Hassan’s music and put his career in London on hold to come and help with the mixing.. After countless hours and hours of mixes, takes and more takes, and convincing the band to come to Bahrain to rerecord the work - there was an even more polished sound.. this was definitely something to shop around.. I remember Hassan dragging me into the studio, and playing what they’ve been working on, and me thinking this is fucking amazing. I was actually listening to the birth of this music, I was around when he was scribbling some words together and now those words and music are blasting through the speakers and sounding epic.
I don’t know if you can actually imagine what kind of effort is required to cut an album, and what it takes to do it from the Middle East. Allow me to sum it up for you: it’s damn near impossible – forget about the relationships you are forced to sever, the friendships that can’t stand the stress, business and the opinions you need to shelve, the continual feeling that it’s just you facing this monumental task of realizing this dream.. Cutting an album, having it produced, and then pushing out to a market that has never really heard an Arab fronting a rock n roll band? That is some serious weight to deal with, but my friend soldiered on..
It was the music, 80s Ian and Hassan that convinced Simon Napier-Bell out of semi-retirement and to take on this project.. Through Simon’s guidance the band was properly put together, pushed into a studio and the music was reworked.. this time the music sounded different, this time, the people producing the music were the same people that have produced a lot of the records that we all have in our cd libraries. This time, the buzz was getting bigger.. This time Hassan was moved to London, where the band continued their music, where they performed at clubs, and where the record labels took serious notice..
And what now? I am so proud to actually let you know that brothermandude’s first music video is available for your viewing pleasure on youtube. Directed by Kevin Godley (from Godley and Crème fame) who’s directed a whole plethora of U2 and Sting videos. He’s most recently directed what WAS my favorite new video “is it any wonder” by keane – (the one with the camera on a minirollercoaster track – very cool indeed).. watch it..
Watching the video last night on youtube solidified a lot of things for me: that feeling I got when I sat in the studio with Hassan while he played back his music, the days when your friend would turn to you for your opinion no matter how honest you were, the pride and “hell yeahs” screamed into the phone when he’d call us to share good news from London.. this was all coming together.. all of it.. and we’re all here pumping our fists in the air cheering on our friend and his dream, to make some fucking amazing music…
brothermandude, check it out.. watch the music video, preorder the cd…
Wednesday, July 05, 2006
Important music at one point in my life
I was in Junior High… my brother had just come back to visit from college… a forgotten tape lay there in the car – it contained music that would forever change my life… The tape was labeled “Slutting” – that’s all, it had no pornographic or crass references – just slutting and a piece of artwork that reminded me of something by Frank Miller… The funny thing about the tape is that it only had music on one side... It was given to my brother by a high school friend of his –my first encounter with what today you’d call a hipster – I would label her my first alternative indie rock crush… The track list was typed up on an old school dot matrix printer and said “Ani DiFranco (Out of Range)”… Disclaimer: I did some research and found out that Ani DiFranco released Out of Range in 1994 – which couldn’t be true because I was in high school in 1994… I’ve verified the dates with my brother and he’s corroborated my time order… He did mention that the hipster friend was really into the underground indie scene in the early 90s, that she could have very well had a bootleg… I’m still searching for a garage band called “Red October Conspiracy a Go Go” – she was definitely a cool cat…
On drives to and from school we had our tapes: Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Alice In Chains, Faith no More, Soundgarden, (kids running around wearing Doc Martens and flannel shirts in the heat – it was grunge in the desert)… Ani Difranco had a different sound than I had ever heard, it wasn’t grunge, it wasn’t screaming through the speaker, it was a female’s vocals that sounded so warming and caring, but so hurt and misunderstood. I couldn’t tell what Ani was about, some of her songs were about love, but you weren’t sure whether she was singing to a man or a woman… She had moments of dancey indie rock and tunes of extreme heartache and pain. My little sister and I soon found ourselves constantly listening to the tape that would forever refine our taste in music… whether we were going to bounce around in the car to “Out of Range” or we were going to Cry about the fact that track three was about a sad stripper who was abused at a very young age; or how about how you are a china shop and I am a bull… we were listening to music that was much older than we could understand – but we loved it… Looking back, my kid sister may have been a little too young to listen to Ani, but she turned out much cooler than the rest of her siblings so I’m gonna let it slide..
You also have to remember, this was Bahrain pre 1994… There were 3 shops on the island that actually had CDs; cassettes were in abundance, but due to no copyright laws, they were all faked up copies… The music that made its way to Bahrain was also very popular – we were lucky that there was a decent rock following, so there was also acceptable rock music to get your hands on – but everything we had was still mainstream… I had to wait till I went away on my summer vacation to find out who Ani DiFranco was… walking into a tower records and asking the guy for an Ani Difranco cd… his blank “cannot compute” look at the little man (me) looking for bisexual indie college folk rock was soon replaced with him putting some cds in my hand.. It was there and then that I developed my crush for Ani DiFranco and her music…
Y’see, while my friends were just getting into girls, I was getting into Bisexual girls.. I know I know, perverted at such a young age, I agree, but at least I wasn’t drooling over the latest teeny bopper – I went for the artistic icon.. But it wasn’t just because she was a hottie that dug both men and women.. Ani refused to become a slave to the music industry… She pulled up her shirt and flashed Universal, Emi, Geffen and all those Big record labels that were milking it, her beautiful breasts and then pulled her shirt down and walked away.. She formed Righteous Babe Records, and did her music her way.. In an industry, where the big record labels easily dupe so many musicians to following trends, into signing off their lives, Ani stuck her ground, and that made me love her even more..
As the years piled on, my relationship with Ani blossomed and faltered – new genres of sounds were being incorporated in my library and I wanted to explore. In college I went to see her in concert – she sat there on stage looking into the crowd and poured her heart through the microphone.. She spoke back to us, teased us, laughed with and loved us.. Her sound brought back all those years of playing that tape over and over again.. all those junior high fantasies about a singer songwriter that touched me, in so many ways.. ehhehehh..
Many days have rolled on by since I listened to her music – I don’t know if I flooded my eardrums with so much of her sound that I wanted a change. Or maybe because I had to give up my life as a college student .. no matter what – I’ll always love you Ani.. always..
Monday, January 16, 2006
Play Listing
Sitting with a jellybean, allowing the ol’Ipod to fill in the silence with its little memory banks of MP3s and good vibes. In my strange and twisted brain the subject of play lists came up, and that’s got me thinking.. how important they are in the life of today’s connected human..
I’m addicted to music.. I spent a good part of the 80s and the 90s making mix tapes.. I even perfected the pause between each track (a very concise lowering the volume on the recording tape and then pushing pause, so the break between each track wasn’t that obvious).. Nothing said I love you as much as a personalized mix.. the fact that you had two sides of recording - the fact that you could embellish the cover with artwork and print, or not – the fact that you picked the music and that you dumped that music on to this little wrapped up magnetic tape.. Ultimately, nothing made the cassette as cool as when you held it in your hand between your thumb and index finger a la Mike Myers from Wayne’s world “I think a little bohemian rhapsody, gentlemen” and then slipped it in the tape player for that moment of madness.. ahh yes the cassette tape, you brought so much joy, you brought so many young lovers together, so many breakups, so much emotion, so much everything.. I miss you Maxwell90 and even your little brother Maxwell60..
Over the years, as music got digitized, compact and mini discs came and went, people began ripping and sharing their music; the cassette tape brought less and less love into people’s lives.. The play list on the other hand, was a different story with a different purpose.. the play list continued to thrive and make people happy.. The play list still found a use in people’s lives.. the play list would be the indicator of your mood, your memory, your trip.. that specific album/mix/list/emotion/vibe allowed you to control the music that you were going to listen to.. you actually created how the tunes were going to flow, for that moment and forever..
I spent many afternoons preparing play lists for my road trips, my 80s fix, eclectically chilled out, pre-party mix, after party mix, super party mix, love in limbo, wise guys, bangbang headbangin’, cool days, snowy mornings, rainy days, fuckin’ hot, one hit wonders, brit pop, psychedelic, sinister sounds, damn it feels good to be a gangsta, guilty cheese, classically remembered, the me like series (me like dancin’, me like beautiful music, me like rockin’).. and I loved it every second of dragging and dropping.. I was wondering what other names people gave their play lists.. hmmm, well?
Looking back and flipping through old lists, the microfiche memories come rushing back like a drug induced flashback.. The music you listened to at that time, the feelings it brought back, the significance of the song and how it tied into that specific play list.. I’m not saying you had to be creative and make everything work and throw in a silly tag for each list.. but go through your old lists, listen to the music, do your little dance and remember. Associate feelings, conversations, with your music, this is the beauty of it all. I fell in love to my play lists, wallowed in my depression with them, got super hyper, invigorated my confidence, went back to the 8th grade, made beautiful love, people watched, connected with my dad and his taste in music, and so much more. Think about it the next time you want to arrange a couple of tracks in your library to provide you with something.. It’s just another way to retain a little piece of your life.. Enjoy it, cause memories like these are golden… To think, this whole thing was spurred from an inspiring play list entitled “release,” a tribute to a new life.. thanks for the moment jellybean..
love your music, cause it loves you back..
I’m addicted to music.. I spent a good part of the 80s and the 90s making mix tapes.. I even perfected the pause between each track (a very concise lowering the volume on the recording tape and then pushing pause, so the break between each track wasn’t that obvious).. Nothing said I love you as much as a personalized mix.. the fact that you had two sides of recording - the fact that you could embellish the cover with artwork and print, or not – the fact that you picked the music and that you dumped that music on to this little wrapped up magnetic tape.. Ultimately, nothing made the cassette as cool as when you held it in your hand between your thumb and index finger a la Mike Myers from Wayne’s world “I think a little bohemian rhapsody, gentlemen” and then slipped it in the tape player for that moment of madness.. ahh yes the cassette tape, you brought so much joy, you brought so many young lovers together, so many breakups, so much emotion, so much everything.. I miss you Maxwell90 and even your little brother Maxwell60..
Over the years, as music got digitized, compact and mini discs came and went, people began ripping and sharing their music; the cassette tape brought less and less love into people’s lives.. The play list on the other hand, was a different story with a different purpose.. the play list continued to thrive and make people happy.. The play list still found a use in people’s lives.. the play list would be the indicator of your mood, your memory, your trip.. that specific album/mix/list/emotion/vibe allowed you to control the music that you were going to listen to.. you actually created how the tunes were going to flow, for that moment and forever..
I spent many afternoons preparing play lists for my road trips, my 80s fix, eclectically chilled out, pre-party mix, after party mix, super party mix, love in limbo, wise guys, bangbang headbangin’, cool days, snowy mornings, rainy days, fuckin’ hot, one hit wonders, brit pop, psychedelic, sinister sounds, damn it feels good to be a gangsta, guilty cheese, classically remembered, the me like series (me like dancin’, me like beautiful music, me like rockin’).. and I loved it every second of dragging and dropping.. I was wondering what other names people gave their play lists.. hmmm, well?
Looking back and flipping through old lists, the microfiche memories come rushing back like a drug induced flashback.. The music you listened to at that time, the feelings it brought back, the significance of the song and how it tied into that specific play list.. I’m not saying you had to be creative and make everything work and throw in a silly tag for each list.. but go through your old lists, listen to the music, do your little dance and remember. Associate feelings, conversations, with your music, this is the beauty of it all. I fell in love to my play lists, wallowed in my depression with them, got super hyper, invigorated my confidence, went back to the 8th grade, made beautiful love, people watched, connected with my dad and his taste in music, and so much more. Think about it the next time you want to arrange a couple of tracks in your library to provide you with something.. It’s just another way to retain a little piece of your life.. Enjoy it, cause memories like these are golden… To think, this whole thing was spurred from an inspiring play list entitled “release,” a tribute to a new life.. thanks for the moment jellybean..
love your music, cause it loves you back..
Wednesday, December 14, 2005
10 minutes on music
Music is just another extension of my character… I use music when describing my mood, I use music to remember conversations, I use music to fill in awkward moments of silence… Music is what dictates my life and I dictate my music… Thought I’d lay down a 10 minute exercise on the music that’s defined my life..
The latest global underground compilation reminding me of days long gone, with that Depeche Mode Lexicon Avenue remix that Digweed and Cataneo made so famous… Foghat and Free for some unabashed 70s rock n roll. The Rolling Stones to remind me that you can’t always get what you want under my thumb… Coldplay for those silence filler moments in our lives (Even though their latest album got Paltrowed) … The “the” bands filling in that modern hipster appeal with that certain ‘je ne sais rien’ taste… Daft Punk for that robot in us all… Annie Lennox for being the most undervalued Diva in music (up your French Canadian ass Celine)… looking for jojo on his search for California grass with the Beatles… Sublime, cause they simply were… Ray Charles, Miles Davis, Satchmo, BB King, Muddy Waters, and John Lee Hooker for real Rhythm & Blues. Ella Fitzgerald, Billie Holliday, Dinah Washington, Nina Simone, Gladys night, and Queen Aretha for teaching me about lovin’ and fallin’ in love. Glen Miller, Bobby Darin, Nat King Cole, Dave Brubeck , Louis Prima, Sinatra, Deano, Sammy and the music that actually made you want to wear a suit. LL cool J, for making me want a girl with extensions in her hair, bamboo ear rings at least two pairs… Queen, cause without Freddie Mercury in my life I don’t think I would’ve ever been able to hold a mic with such panache. Getting back into the mid to late 90s alternative collection, toad the wet sprocket, tonic, dishwalla, remember that shit? Singing along with David Bowie and wondering if there really is life on mars… letting Bob Marley rub it to me belly like guava jelly… Spoon for quickly becoming one of my favorite current bands.. Pearl Jam live with Eddie Vedder’s incoherent ramblings and him just going off on a “won the lottereee” tangent. George Clinton and P-Funk: thanks to Depute T who brought the funk out… Sade for making me want to make love to her music, mermaid on no ordinary love is one of the best new agey love songs out there without it being too cheesy, trust me. The Wu-Tang clan: for keeping me still interested in rap – master the art of 52 blocks iron lungs… The Strokes for making me blast their music, seroo gets it (well she gets it all). Ani Difranco – for touching my heart in junior high in terms of her music and my fantasies. Wavy Gravy by Sasha – one of the best electronic tunes in the history of music – really – and Sasha’s such a nice guy, we’re pals.. right mohi… New wave, next wave, post punk, garage rock & the indie rock scene that none of us will ever fully grasp but love with such unbridled passion. The random bands that clap their hands in Brooklyn. Watching trance pass it’s expiration date and shaking my head, feeling the industry never really getting progressive house – leaving the jungle to the junglerats – wondering when people will wake up from electro. Marvin Gaye for being such a cool cat. French Pop rock like Phoenix and Zoot Woman. Nordic representation from Royskopp and the Kings of Convenience – id rather dance id rather dance then talk with you... Loving Dave Mathews in high school and then hating him in college and now liking him all over again, I wonder why? Rai, for bringing much needed credibility to Arabic music. Ricky, Jooj, n Nif for being the only people on this planet who’s taste in rap I trust. Idlewild for writing anthemic music. Aphex Twin-khalas. Asking God why Otis Redding wasn’t given a chance to rerecord Sitting on the Dock of the Bay. Franz Ferdinand for making ballsy music, the rakes for being the new franz, and whomever is going to be the new rakes... Devo, for being so misclassified as a wacky band with that one hit, it’s all about the gut gut feeling.. Cheap Trick for writing the best Karaoke song ever. Jamie Hewlet and Damon Albarn for making virtual musicians that actually rock, I had the hots for tank girl. “METLIKA” for making downloading digital music so much harder. Mylo and that 80s electronica rebirth. Radiohead, if you disagree with this, then I pity your ears. The Smiths – for writing some of the best lyrics ever- I would go out tonight, but I haven’t got a stitch to wear (marvelous?)… Maximo Park for being some of the most refreshing new music I’ve listened to in a while. must listens: Arcade Fire, Interpol, Postal Service, Stars, and throw in Spoon again…. Portishead for roads.. Massive Attack and Mezzanine, need I say more? Tori Amos for her piano playing skills - & a little fantasy dreaming. Harry Connick Jr. made me want to serenade someone. IRON MAIDEN – no questions asked no further explanation necessary. Bill Withers for that song that puts his two timing lover in her place – goddamn what a tune.. Duran Duran because I grew up on them and remained faithful to this day – NO NO NOTORIOUS NOTORIOUS.. Dancey Modern Rock, none of that bullshit on the radio..
there’s so much to talk about I just can’t seem to recall much right now, I’m sure my cd collection is jealous, but she knows I love her so.. Here’s to impulse buys on Amazon, incredibly roundabout reviews on Pitchfork, mistaken mapping on Gnod, shot in the dark searching on Myspace, and all the people that helped me discover new sounds. Special mention goes out to the mod looking fellow at the HMV in Heathrow Airport, Terminal 4. ok that wasn’t too bad was it?
The latest global underground compilation reminding me of days long gone, with that Depeche Mode Lexicon Avenue remix that Digweed and Cataneo made so famous… Foghat and Free for some unabashed 70s rock n roll. The Rolling Stones to remind me that you can’t always get what you want under my thumb… Coldplay for those silence filler moments in our lives (Even though their latest album got Paltrowed) … The “the” bands filling in that modern hipster appeal with that certain ‘je ne sais rien’ taste… Daft Punk for that robot in us all… Annie Lennox for being the most undervalued Diva in music (up your French Canadian ass Celine)… looking for jojo on his search for California grass with the Beatles… Sublime, cause they simply were… Ray Charles, Miles Davis, Satchmo, BB King, Muddy Waters, and John Lee Hooker for real Rhythm & Blues. Ella Fitzgerald, Billie Holliday, Dinah Washington, Nina Simone, Gladys night, and Queen Aretha for teaching me about lovin’ and fallin’ in love. Glen Miller, Bobby Darin, Nat King Cole, Dave Brubeck , Louis Prima, Sinatra, Deano, Sammy and the music that actually made you want to wear a suit. LL cool J, for making me want a girl with extensions in her hair, bamboo ear rings at least two pairs… Queen, cause without Freddie Mercury in my life I don’t think I would’ve ever been able to hold a mic with such panache. Getting back into the mid to late 90s alternative collection, toad the wet sprocket, tonic, dishwalla, remember that shit? Singing along with David Bowie and wondering if there really is life on mars… letting Bob Marley rub it to me belly like guava jelly… Spoon for quickly becoming one of my favorite current bands.. Pearl Jam live with Eddie Vedder’s incoherent ramblings and him just going off on a “won the lottereee” tangent. George Clinton and P-Funk: thanks to Depute T who brought the funk out… Sade for making me want to make love to her music, mermaid on no ordinary love is one of the best new agey love songs out there without it being too cheesy, trust me. The Wu-Tang clan: for keeping me still interested in rap – master the art of 52 blocks iron lungs… The Strokes for making me blast their music, seroo gets it (well she gets it all). Ani Difranco – for touching my heart in junior high in terms of her music and my fantasies. Wavy Gravy by Sasha – one of the best electronic tunes in the history of music – really – and Sasha’s such a nice guy, we’re pals.. right mohi… New wave, next wave, post punk, garage rock & the indie rock scene that none of us will ever fully grasp but love with such unbridled passion. The random bands that clap their hands in Brooklyn. Watching trance pass it’s expiration date and shaking my head, feeling the industry never really getting progressive house – leaving the jungle to the junglerats – wondering when people will wake up from electro. Marvin Gaye for being such a cool cat. French Pop rock like Phoenix and Zoot Woman. Nordic representation from Royskopp and the Kings of Convenience – id rather dance id rather dance then talk with you... Loving Dave Mathews in high school and then hating him in college and now liking him all over again, I wonder why? Rai, for bringing much needed credibility to Arabic music. Ricky, Jooj, n Nif for being the only people on this planet who’s taste in rap I trust. Idlewild for writing anthemic music. Aphex Twin-khalas. Asking God why Otis Redding wasn’t given a chance to rerecord Sitting on the Dock of the Bay. Franz Ferdinand for making ballsy music, the rakes for being the new franz, and whomever is going to be the new rakes... Devo, for being so misclassified as a wacky band with that one hit, it’s all about the gut gut feeling.. Cheap Trick for writing the best Karaoke song ever. Jamie Hewlet and Damon Albarn for making virtual musicians that actually rock, I had the hots for tank girl. “METLIKA” for making downloading digital music so much harder. Mylo and that 80s electronica rebirth. Radiohead, if you disagree with this, then I pity your ears. The Smiths – for writing some of the best lyrics ever- I would go out tonight, but I haven’t got a stitch to wear (marvelous?)… Maximo Park for being some of the most refreshing new music I’ve listened to in a while. must listens: Arcade Fire, Interpol, Postal Service, Stars, and throw in Spoon again…. Portishead for roads.. Massive Attack and Mezzanine, need I say more? Tori Amos for her piano playing skills - & a little fantasy dreaming. Harry Connick Jr. made me want to serenade someone. IRON MAIDEN – no questions asked no further explanation necessary. Bill Withers for that song that puts his two timing lover in her place – goddamn what a tune.. Duran Duran because I grew up on them and remained faithful to this day – NO NO NOTORIOUS NOTORIOUS.. Dancey Modern Rock, none of that bullshit on the radio..
there’s so much to talk about I just can’t seem to recall much right now, I’m sure my cd collection is jealous, but she knows I love her so.. Here’s to impulse buys on Amazon, incredibly roundabout reviews on Pitchfork, mistaken mapping on Gnod, shot in the dark searching on Myspace, and all the people that helped me discover new sounds. Special mention goes out to the mod looking fellow at the HMV in Heathrow Airport, Terminal 4. ok that wasn’t too bad was it?
Monday, December 27, 2004
Can you play my game?
Ok People, this is it, I’ve been cruising to my music on random and I’ve written out the lyrics to 30 tracks from the ‘pod… It’s your job to figure out the Artist and Track title: I’m sure you can cheat your way through this one, but it’s no fun like that… answers will be posted in a couple of days or next week, who knows… some of the lyrics might be off, but I’m pretty sure I’ve got ‘em all… let see how good you guys are at guessing random music…
1- Ma hip-hop will rock and shock the nation like the emancipation proclamation
2- Light me up a cigarette as I strap shoes on my feet
3- I took her home to my place, watching every move on her face
4- Everyday I thank god for roses, they’re the closest thing to perfect next to you
5- And now we meet in an abandoned studio
6- High on Diesel and Gasoline, psycho for drum-machine
7- When you’re on a holiday…
8- At night I can’t sleep, I toss and turn, candlesticks in the dark, visions of bodies being burned.
9- There must be something in the way I feel cause she don’t want me to feel
10- A man walks down the street, he says why am I soft in the middle now?
11- We live on a mountain, right at the top, this beautiful view, from the top of the mountain
12- Cause if you try sometime, you just might find, you get what you need…
13- Sitting here resting my bones, and this loneliness wont leave me alone
14- Everything has changed, absolutely nothing’s changed, take my hand…
15- Doing all the don’ts and never looking back is the way I ought to be
16- We gonna Dance all night to this Dj, sugar, dance all night to this dj..
17- Oh yeah you’re skin and bones
18- Coming to ya, on a dusty road, good loving, I gotta a truck load
19- I must have died and gone to heaven cause it was a quarter past eleven
20- Dark as the night cold as the ground as the circular solitude of my heart…
21- Making love in the afternoon…
22- It’s always tease tease tease, you’re happy when I’m on my knees
23- I used to go out to parties, and stand around, cause I was too nervous to really get down
24- One good thing about music, when it hits you feel no pain, so hit me with music, hit with music, brutalize me with music.
25- People try to put us down…
26- Very superstitious, writings on the wall…
27- Well I guess what they say is true.. I could never spend my life with a man like you
28- when I’m walking , I strut my stuff and I’m so strung out
29- So wide you can’t get around it, so low you can’t get under it
30- Last night I had a dream about you, in this dream I’m dancing right beside you…
ANSWERS HAVE BEEN POSTED IN THE COMMENTS SECTION
1- Ma hip-hop will rock and shock the nation like the emancipation proclamation
2- Light me up a cigarette as I strap shoes on my feet
3- I took her home to my place, watching every move on her face
4- Everyday I thank god for roses, they’re the closest thing to perfect next to you
5- And now we meet in an abandoned studio
6- High on Diesel and Gasoline, psycho for drum-machine
7- When you’re on a holiday…
8- At night I can’t sleep, I toss and turn, candlesticks in the dark, visions of bodies being burned.
9- There must be something in the way I feel cause she don’t want me to feel
10- A man walks down the street, he says why am I soft in the middle now?
11- We live on a mountain, right at the top, this beautiful view, from the top of the mountain
12- Cause if you try sometime, you just might find, you get what you need…
13- Sitting here resting my bones, and this loneliness wont leave me alone
14- Everything has changed, absolutely nothing’s changed, take my hand…
15- Doing all the don’ts and never looking back is the way I ought to be
16- We gonna Dance all night to this Dj, sugar, dance all night to this dj..
17- Oh yeah you’re skin and bones
18- Coming to ya, on a dusty road, good loving, I gotta a truck load
19- I must have died and gone to heaven cause it was a quarter past eleven
20- Dark as the night cold as the ground as the circular solitude of my heart…
21- Making love in the afternoon…
22- It’s always tease tease tease, you’re happy when I’m on my knees
23- I used to go out to parties, and stand around, cause I was too nervous to really get down
24- One good thing about music, when it hits you feel no pain, so hit me with music, hit with music, brutalize me with music.
25- People try to put us down…
26- Very superstitious, writings on the wall…
27- Well I guess what they say is true.. I could never spend my life with a man like you
28- when I’m walking , I strut my stuff and I’m so strung out
29- So wide you can’t get around it, so low you can’t get under it
30- Last night I had a dream about you, in this dream I’m dancing right beside you…
ANSWERS HAVE BEEN POSTED IN THE COMMENTS SECTION
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