Check this series out - it talks about how everything we hear, watch, read, and learn ultimately is a remix. Really interesting!
http://www.everythingisaremix.info/
http://www.everythingisaremix.info/
Saw Thor and Fast Five recently. Enjoyed both well enough, but ironically, liked Fast Five more than Thor. Anyone see either/both of these? Thoughts?
Finished the newest DLC "Arrival" for Mass Effect 2 - not bad! Not the best, but not bad.
Looking forward to new stuff from the band Low. Here's a live version of "Murderer" off their last album:
Looking forward to new stuff from the band Low. Here's a live version of "Murderer" off their last album:
I was inspired to write this today:
Zephyrus
Internal frowns, external vexation
From disappointment of expectations.
I'm pulling petals off the rose,
Bleeding sweat from the thorns.
Whispering sweet incantations,
You gently gather the fallen petals
And with lithesome elegance
Raise them to the heavens.
Their scent wafts skyward,
Seraphic and sublime;
Zephyrus exhales softly,
Angelic breath gives them wings.
Their dance eases my bruised hubris,
Sanctifying boorish finesse,
Revoking anathema,
Replacing it with grace.
Zephyrus
Internal frowns, external vexation
From disappointment of expectations.
I'm pulling petals off the rose,
Bleeding sweat from the thorns.
Whispering sweet incantations,
You gently gather the fallen petals
And with lithesome elegance
Raise them to the heavens.
Their scent wafts skyward,
Seraphic and sublime;
Zephyrus exhales softly,
Angelic breath gives them wings.
Their dance eases my bruised hubris,
Sanctifying boorish finesse,
Revoking anathema,
Replacing it with grace.
It was the summer of 2006. I had spent the better part of an hour sampling a huge variety of musical groups in the CD section of Barnes and Noble when I ran across several Bjork albums. I had heard OF her before, but never really had taken the time to actively listen to her music. What little I had heard before had honestly grated on my nerves, and/or unimpressed me. But, I had continued to hear how a small legion's worth of fans swore by her music, and I decided to give "Medulla" a chance. Just one short listen.
What I heard for the next few minutes sent chills down my spine… layers upon layers of vocals… and nothing else. Pure a cappella bliss - unconventional, gritty, graceful; full of complex harmonies, beat boxing, full choirs, strange time signatures, and Bjork's signature voice. Which for some reason didn't annoy me as much as it enchanted me. I bought it immediately, rushed home, and popped it in my DVD player.
What followed was, literally, a life-changing hour of music. It was an assault on my ears from all directions, ranging from a single solo voice to dozens upon dozens; from clean, pure vocals to highly-distorted almost-unrecognizable samples of voice, to guttural "noises" that challenged my comfort zone. Make no mistake, there is nothing conventional about this album, save a few beautifully-recorded choral pieces, but even then, Bjork's emotive, guttural voice contrasts beautifully with the choir, setting it apart from any choral piece you may have ever heard.
Lyrically, the music is kind of hard to classify - much like the music itself. Themes of sadness, joy, lost love, and everything in between make themselves known. Bjork uses a language of her own, which I like to call "Bjorkish", which is featured on several pieces, simply adding to the other-worldly feel of the album. What's important to note, however, is that regardless of if you can understand the words, you can clearly understand the emotions of the songs. Several songs had me in such an unsettled state, in fact, that I almost had to fast forward it. But I dare not. And I now appreciate those tracks more for that simple reason - if music is supposed to be a reflection of human emotion, then Bjork is one of the few musicians I've ever listened who has managed to capture more than just "happy", "sad", or "angry".
My favorite track on the album is, without a doubt, "Desired Constellations" - a song which Bjork ponders the mistakes of her life, likening her attempts to make things right to tossing stars across the sky repeatedly and randomly, hoping to find the right constellation with each throw. Starting with a mellow, unrecognizable loop of an Icelandic Choir, Bjork's soft vocals build to a heart-wrenching climax in which she croons, "How am I going to make this right?" It came at a time in my life when I was asking the exact same thing. Talk about capturing and emotion and expressing it in a song.
It was the 5.1 mix of this album that really got me thinking about audio recording engineering. It was such a dynamic mix to such a dynamic album, full of emotion and complexity. And while this album got me hooked on the rest of her repertoire, there is still no doubt in my mind that this is, and will be, one of my favorite albums for years.
What I heard for the next few minutes sent chills down my spine… layers upon layers of vocals… and nothing else. Pure a cappella bliss - unconventional, gritty, graceful; full of complex harmonies, beat boxing, full choirs, strange time signatures, and Bjork's signature voice. Which for some reason didn't annoy me as much as it enchanted me. I bought it immediately, rushed home, and popped it in my DVD player.
What followed was, literally, a life-changing hour of music. It was an assault on my ears from all directions, ranging from a single solo voice to dozens upon dozens; from clean, pure vocals to highly-distorted almost-unrecognizable samples of voice, to guttural "noises" that challenged my comfort zone. Make no mistake, there is nothing conventional about this album, save a few beautifully-recorded choral pieces, but even then, Bjork's emotive, guttural voice contrasts beautifully with the choir, setting it apart from any choral piece you may have ever heard.
Lyrically, the music is kind of hard to classify - much like the music itself. Themes of sadness, joy, lost love, and everything in between make themselves known. Bjork uses a language of her own, which I like to call "Bjorkish", which is featured on several pieces, simply adding to the other-worldly feel of the album. What's important to note, however, is that regardless of if you can understand the words, you can clearly understand the emotions of the songs. Several songs had me in such an unsettled state, in fact, that I almost had to fast forward it. But I dare not. And I now appreciate those tracks more for that simple reason - if music is supposed to be a reflection of human emotion, then Bjork is one of the few musicians I've ever listened who has managed to capture more than just "happy", "sad", or "angry".
My favorite track on the album is, without a doubt, "Desired Constellations" - a song which Bjork ponders the mistakes of her life, likening her attempts to make things right to tossing stars across the sky repeatedly and randomly, hoping to find the right constellation with each throw. Starting with a mellow, unrecognizable loop of an Icelandic Choir, Bjork's soft vocals build to a heart-wrenching climax in which she croons, "How am I going to make this right?" It came at a time in my life when I was asking the exact same thing. Talk about capturing and emotion and expressing it in a song.
It was the 5.1 mix of this album that really got me thinking about audio recording engineering. It was such a dynamic mix to such a dynamic album, full of emotion and complexity. And while this album got me hooked on the rest of her repertoire, there is still no doubt in my mind that this is, and will be, one of my favorite albums for years.
New shirts!
I pooped today!
Pickles... Cucumbers soaked in evil
Yeah! Toast!
I'm a suuuuuuuper model!!
BLUE STEEL
Okay, someone buy me a new camera because this phonecam stuff is the shit. And by that I mean the kind that comes oozing out of your ass when you are sick, not the "awesome shit!" kind.
I pooped today!
Pickles... Cucumbers soaked in evil
Yeah! Toast!
I'm a suuuuuuuper model!!
BLUE STEEL
Okay, someone buy me a new camera because this phonecam stuff is the shit. And by that I mean the kind that comes oozing out of your ass when you are sick, not the "awesome shit!" kind.
Just got back from a double-header movie feature of Rescue Dawn starring Christian Bale (BATMAN!) and Sunshine starring Cillian Murphy (Scarecrow in Batman Begins)... both come highly recommended!!!
Rescue Dawn was an incredibly immersive movie about a pilot who becomes a POW, and his subsequent escape and rescue. Let me tell you... Bale is a master of his craft (acting)... there's NOTHING this man won't do to make a movie he stars in to become better. Physically, he goes from this in the beginning of the movie:
to this by the end of the movie:
He *physically* lost weight/gained weight DURING the shoot of this movie to make it that much more convincing. Unbelievable. Or how about this... 1-2 months before the filming of Batman Begins, he finished up doing a movie called "The Machinist", in which he lost some 60 pounds and looked like this:
and in roughly a SINGLE month, bulked up to look like this for Batman Begins:
The man's a god, 'nuff said.
Sunshine was a very intense, extremely well-made SCI-FI movie. I use caps on SCI-FI, because this is truly sci-fi, and not fantasy set in the future or space operas (which many people confuse for sci-fi), a la Star Wars. And I ate it up. The cast did an incredible job... I was extremely impressed with Chris "Human Torch" Evans' performance, and of course, Cillian Murphy, who is fast becoming one of the more impressive "young" actors today. They did an amazing job of capturing the "largeness" of space, and of the spaceship "Icarus II" that was carrying the salvation of mankind. The intensity of the sun was so well-done I almost began to sweat in spots!! The effects were also top-notch, and the last half hour is extremely intense, the kind of intense that keeps you at the edge of your seat. This was a really really GOOD movie, and a great SCI-FI. See it.
Rescue Dawn was an incredibly immersive movie about a pilot who becomes a POW, and his subsequent escape and rescue. Let me tell you... Bale is a master of his craft (acting)... there's NOTHING this man won't do to make a movie he stars in to become better. Physically, he goes from this in the beginning of the movie:
to this by the end of the movie:
He *physically* lost weight/gained weight DURING the shoot of this movie to make it that much more convincing. Unbelievable. Or how about this... 1-2 months before the filming of Batman Begins, he finished up doing a movie called "The Machinist", in which he lost some 60 pounds and looked like this:
and in roughly a SINGLE month, bulked up to look like this for Batman Begins:
The man's a god, 'nuff said.
Sunshine was a very intense, extremely well-made SCI-FI movie. I use caps on SCI-FI, because this is truly sci-fi, and not fantasy set in the future or space operas (which many people confuse for sci-fi), a la Star Wars. And I ate it up. The cast did an incredible job... I was extremely impressed with Chris "Human Torch" Evans' performance, and of course, Cillian Murphy, who is fast becoming one of the more impressive "young" actors today. They did an amazing job of capturing the "largeness" of space, and of the spaceship "Icarus II" that was carrying the salvation of mankind. The intensity of the sun was so well-done I almost began to sweat in spots!! The effects were also top-notch, and the last half hour is extremely intense, the kind of intense that keeps you at the edge of your seat. This was a really really GOOD movie, and a great SCI-FI. See it.
It's amazing how, no matter how many times it's happened in the past, rejection stings like a slap in the face, every time.
SEPTEMBER 2011
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AUGUST 2011
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JUNE 2011