[Ok, i'm concatenating my three remaining drafts into a final catchup post. Yay!]
...
[10-20-2009]
I was reading a blog today in which the author mentioned finding a letter she'd written five years ago to her future self and being pleasantly surprised that she'd accomplished most of the goals which PastHerself has outlined. I'm thinking about writing a letter to my own future self. Although in a way my private journal and my blog are already a series of letters to that dude because i do go back and read this stuff periodically. Sometimes i'll dig through old writeups looking for something specific or trying to place the timeframe of a given event. Other times something will trigger a memory and make me feel like revisiting some stuff. I've always been rather nostalgic, and i tend to maintain strong ties to my past. Like Joey's professor once said: "It never hurts to remain on a first-name basis with the person you used to be; otherwise he or she may come back to haunt you when you least expect it." (Dawson's Creek, ep 5.12).
But on the other hand, a letter specifically written to my future self would likely have a different tone. More of a systematic state of the union, similar to the year-in-review i write every January. Outline what's good and what sucks, list out short-term items that i plan to fix, long-term items i hope to get to eventually. Something to think about.
And now for something completely different: My team has a communal gumball machine at work which we keep filled with M&Ms (usually peanut, sometimes dark chocolate, depending on who refilled it last). Yesterday (while i was out of the office) my coworkers apparantly had an extensive debate regarding whether or not i'd freak out if they filled it with Reese's Pieces instead of M&Ms. I have no idea why they'd think that; Reese's are awesome. Actually, it's probably because i vehemently opposed when our project manager mixed in these NARSTY pomegranite chocolates with the M&Ms once. I mean bloody hell, you might as well throw some rasins into the mix while you're at it. Anyway, i set them all straight today. Chocolate == good. Chocolate + peanut butter == better.
...
[10-22-2009]
I heart my bagel shop.
It's a little family-run place and they only have one credit card reader. During the lunch rush they open up a second register for cash only, which seems to work well enough. If you're paying with cash, you get to line jump to the second register; otherwise you just wait your turn.
They're starting to recognize me since i go there so often. There was only one person in front of me when i was there on Tuesday, but the lady who owns the place came up to the second register to take my order. I held up my credit card to let her know i didn't have cash, but she just smiled and motioned me over anyway. Cool! So lets see, that's points for taking care of their regulars + points for going out of their way even though there was only one person before me + bonus points for making me feel cool by violating the "Cash Only" sign.
Then today, one of the afformentioned hotties did the exact same thing for me! Only one other person in line, but she still cared enough to save 30 seconds of my time. The owner lady was at the other register; as the HotGirl (jeez, i really need to learn their names; it would help if they wore name tags) went to swipe my card, owner-lady half-jokingly said "Hey, you're not supposed to take cards there!" HotGirl replied "But i *like* him!" Aww. I added my two cents: "Hey, don't listen to her - *she* took my credit card at this register yesterday!" Owner-lady grinned, "I don't remember that!" HotGirl: "Yeah, she'd *never* take a credit card over here!" Smiles all around.
It's amazing how a little thing like this can totally make my day.
...
[10-26-2009]
After a few weeks of focused practice, i'm pleased to report that my guitarwork is back on track. For now, at least; the challenge lies in keeping it going.
My biggest problem is that i don't play well when i'm not feeling it. I've been trying to force myself to practice anyway in those cases - at least drill chord changes and fundamentals. The first thing my guitar instructor told me was that 10 minutes of practice per day is vastly superior to 2 hours once a week. And that has absolutely been the case with me; the results of nightly practice have been stunning.
So anyway, i'm back in the zone but i've unfortunately become jaded with the song i had planned for my next cover video. Which means there's no point in continuing with recording attempts because i can't sing a song unless i *mean it*; otherwise my vocals sound flat and hollow (hopefully this will change once i start vocal training but for now i'm fueled mostly by emotion). So i'm setting that song aside for now and working up a few others in its place. Maybe one of those will be the next to hit youtube; either that or enough time will pass & i'll once again become un-disillusioned with the first song. Either way, it'll be a while longer. Sorry; you guys might as well start calling me Axl. Tell you what - if i don't have a new video posted by the end of the year, i'll buy each of you a Dr. Pepper. Or a beer.**
** Must be collected in person. Void where prohibited, brew may vary.
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
Monday, October 26, 2009
On the Sunny Side of the Street
[Originally written on 10-15-2009 - slowly catching up]
Ok, so i'm not used to being consistently in a good mood for weeks and months on end. My zany side has re-emerged with a vengence; seems like i'm either excited or amused about something at all times, and i've been busting out laughing much more often than before. Even the silliest of little things will set me off. This, for example:
I watched this video at least 20 times and laughed uncontrollably until i was gasping for breath and had tears streaming down my face. I mean, it's not *that* funny, is it?
For the most part i'm just enjoying the ride, but there are brief moments when i wonder if there's another shoe about to drop. I've always kindof believed in Becker's rubber band theory.
For those unfamiliar, Becker was a late-90s sitcom starring Ted Danson as the awesomely cynical & bitter title character. I actually only started watching for Terry Farrell (Jadzia Dax from Star Trek: Deep Space Nine - homina homina), and only watched the first season or so. I did enjoy it, though; maybe i should Netflix it now. Anyway.
The rubber band theory was from an episode in which Becker has an incredible string of good luck. He wins the lottery. Someone returns his lost wallet. His most annoying patient announces that he's moving to Florida. He finds his favorite gold pen which he'd lost. The streak continues, but with each fortune Becker gets more and more irritated. Why? Because he believes that life is a giant rubber band, and the farther it gets pulled in one direction with good luck and favorable happenings, the harder it'll whip you when it eventually snaps back. Everyone thought he was just being superstitious and paranoid, and he starts to wonder about it himself. But then - at the very end of the episode - he gets mugged. The robber gets away with his wallet, the winning lotto ticket, *and* the pen. And then the afformentioned patient happens to walk by and announce that he was staying in town after all. Becker just looks up at the sky and with a resigned sigh says "Very nice; i like the way you operate."
...
So because i'm me i can't can't help but analyze Dawson-style what the deal is.
I think it comes down to this: I've managed to stick a pin in all of the long-term issues that worry me. Actually they're too big for just pins; more like i impaled them with spears. "Long spears - twice as long as a man." (Bonus points to the first person who can identify that quote (without cheating) and supply the appropriate response.) I don't want to be alone anymore but have yet to find success with doing something about that. I'm worried that i'll never get my happily ever after. I'm behind schedule (originally i was supposed to be married with a kid on the way by this age; even under the second revision, i was supposed to at least be engaged). I don't know if i want to stay in software long term or not, but i can't think of any other career path i'd rather follow. And so on.
So anyway, i haven't been giving much thought to that stuff recently. I've been focusing on travel with my weekend trips this summer, binging on concerts, a few one-offs like the lindy hop workshop a few weeks ago. And working hard on guitar (yet another blog post is pending).
Maybe it's ok to take a break and just enjoy life for a while. Or maybe the Hakuna Matata approach will just make things worse. Or maybe i don't care right now because i'm too busy laughing my ass off at stupid stuff:
"Ooh, Burger King..."
And yes, if you're reading this then it's likely that one day, when you least expect it, i'll jump out of your fridge and scare the crap out of you.
:-)
Ok, so i'm not used to being consistently in a good mood for weeks and months on end. My zany side has re-emerged with a vengence; seems like i'm either excited or amused about something at all times, and i've been busting out laughing much more often than before. Even the silliest of little things will set me off. This, for example:
I watched this video at least 20 times and laughed uncontrollably until i was gasping for breath and had tears streaming down my face. I mean, it's not *that* funny, is it?
For the most part i'm just enjoying the ride, but there are brief moments when i wonder if there's another shoe about to drop. I've always kindof believed in Becker's rubber band theory.
For those unfamiliar, Becker was a late-90s sitcom starring Ted Danson as the awesomely cynical & bitter title character. I actually only started watching for Terry Farrell (Jadzia Dax from Star Trek: Deep Space Nine - homina homina), and only watched the first season or so. I did enjoy it, though; maybe i should Netflix it now. Anyway.
The rubber band theory was from an episode in which Becker has an incredible string of good luck. He wins the lottery. Someone returns his lost wallet. His most annoying patient announces that he's moving to Florida. He finds his favorite gold pen which he'd lost. The streak continues, but with each fortune Becker gets more and more irritated. Why? Because he believes that life is a giant rubber band, and the farther it gets pulled in one direction with good luck and favorable happenings, the harder it'll whip you when it eventually snaps back. Everyone thought he was just being superstitious and paranoid, and he starts to wonder about it himself. But then - at the very end of the episode - he gets mugged. The robber gets away with his wallet, the winning lotto ticket, *and* the pen. And then the afformentioned patient happens to walk by and announce that he was staying in town after all. Becker just looks up at the sky and with a resigned sigh says "Very nice; i like the way you operate."
...
So because i'm me i can't can't help but analyze Dawson-style what the deal is.
I think it comes down to this: I've managed to stick a pin in all of the long-term issues that worry me. Actually they're too big for just pins; more like i impaled them with spears. "Long spears - twice as long as a man." (Bonus points to the first person who can identify that quote (without cheating) and supply the appropriate response.) I don't want to be alone anymore but have yet to find success with doing something about that. I'm worried that i'll never get my happily ever after. I'm behind schedule (originally i was supposed to be married with a kid on the way by this age; even under the second revision, i was supposed to at least be engaged). I don't know if i want to stay in software long term or not, but i can't think of any other career path i'd rather follow. And so on.
So anyway, i haven't been giving much thought to that stuff recently. I've been focusing on travel with my weekend trips this summer, binging on concerts, a few one-offs like the lindy hop workshop a few weeks ago. And working hard on guitar (yet another blog post is pending).
Maybe it's ok to take a break and just enjoy life for a while. Or maybe the Hakuna Matata approach will just make things worse. Or maybe i don't care right now because i'm too busy laughing my ass off at stupid stuff:
"Ooh, Burger King..."
And yes, if you're reading this then it's likely that one day, when you least expect it, i'll jump out of your fridge and scare the crap out of you.
:-)
Saturday, October 24, 2009
In Flames - 9/21/2009
In Flames with Between The Buried And Me, 3 Inches of Blood, The Faceless
9/21/2009 - The Regency - San Francisco, CA
[Originally written ~9/22/2009; finishing & posting now as part of my catchup blitz]
I'd marked this show in my calendar months ago (as soon as the tour was announced), but as the date approached i started to reconsider going. I've seen In Flames in concert plenty of times already (including twice last year), and i was feeling tired & lazy about driving up to the city on a Monday night, getting home late, etc (especially because i was still on the tail end of recovering from the flu (or it might have been food poisoning).
So Monday morning found me on the fence. Even though i'd seen them before, they always put on a great show and i knew it would be a good time if i dragged myself up there. So i pinged a friend who had expressed interest to see if still wanted to go. He was feeling the same as i was - wanted to see the band, but mentally unprepared for a metal show. Eventually we managed to scrape together enough motivation between the two of us and agreed to go. But we decided to buy tickets at the door to avoid the service fees (which would have been over 50% of face value in this case - bollocks).
Actually, it wasn't just about the money. I usually eat the cost and pre-buy tickets for most of my shows just because i don't want to risk going all the way there just to get turned away. (Most of my bands aren't mainstream enough to sell out tickets early on, but they do usually sell out at the door). But this time, it somehow felt right to take that chance. We didn't even plan to get there early (waiting in line sucks). We'd just casually head up to the city; if tickets were sold out, then it wasn't meant to be; we'd just hang out at one of the nearby bars for a while and head home.
We actually ended up running even later than planned, and i was mentally ready to kick back with with a couple of beers as we approached the venue. But no worries, there were plenty of tickets left (as you may have already guessed, given that this post is not titled "A Few Beers At Some Bar On Van Ness). We forked over the $26 and headed inside.
We missed the opening act - a band called The Faceless. I'll probably check out their myspace at some point, but for this night i didn't mind missing the first of the four scheduled bands. I think four bands on a single bill is too many; i prefer three (if they get a good main support act) or even two (with a longer set from the headliner). Anyway.
So first up for us was 3 Inches of Blood from Vancouver, BC. I really like their stuff; not terribily complicated music, but a nice high-energy mix of fantasy-themed thrash with dual vocals (one in a Judas Priest wailing style, the other filling in banshee screams a la Cradle of Filth). Unfortunately, their dedicated screecher had to leave the band because of throat problems (no comments from the peanut gallery, please), so their guitarist, Justin, took over. Nice guy, i actually met him once (when they played at Slim's last year).
3 Inches played a decent set, although i didn't quite feel it, compared to the afformentioned Slim's show. Maybe the levels weren't quite right, or maybe i was standing too far away from the sweet spot (in terms of audience, i mean).
Next up was Between The Buried And Me from North Carolina. I'd seen them play before, and i remember liking them, but i hadn't felt compelled to pick up any of their albums. This time around was a different story; they just *nailed* their set. They're a progressive death metal band; they play long songs with complex structures and actual movements and interludes. Killer stuff; one song in particular really gripped me. I had no idea what it was, but i knew that i'd be tracking it down and buying whatever album it's on. (It turned out to be "Selkies: The Endless Obsession" from their 2005 album Alaska. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=19UZd_DKs2Q )
And finally, In Flames. What can i say about these guys that i haven't said before? There's a reason they're one of my favorite bands to see live. They rock hard, and they always play a quality show. I think their performances definitely exceed their studio material; in fact, back when i was just starting to become familiar with their music, i found myself liking a lot of their songs *better* after experiencing them live.
My friend observed that they're one of those bands of a certain caliber, meaning that they're all solid musicians with enough experience to really know what they're doing. They play their instruments well, and they play well *together*; they're comfortable up on stage, and you can tell that they love what they're doing. Their performances are so tight; i'd put them up there with Testament and Iron Maiden when it comes to metal performance.
They usually play a comprehensive set, facing the same challenge as other bands who have been going strong for so many years. You want to include the new singles as well as old favorites, and draw on your stronger material in between to represent most of your albums (without playing the exact same set every tour). This time around they actually skipped "Trigger" and "Episode 666" (which they've played at every other show i've attended). But they did play three songs from Clayman - "Pinball Map" (one of my favorites), and "Square Nothing" (one of Melissa's early favorites), and the title track. And of course they rocked "Leeches" and "Take This Life" from Come Clarity, and closed out the night with their always amazing performance of "My Sweet Shadow".
I've always known Anders (their frontman) for his warm & charismatic stage presence, and he was in fine form once again. I love his little interludes and hilarious comments between songs. At one point he accepted a demo cd from some guy ("Is this your band? Cool, i'll check this out tonight.") and then got a fan up on the balcony to toss him a beer. Later on he asked if anyone had a camera, and picked out a guy upfront who was shooting video. After calling him a "youtube kid", Anders borrowed the guy's camera and filmed the band and audience *himself* during their performance of the sing-along favorite "Come Clarity". So awesome! He even said "This is approved by In Flames, by the way."
I love that so many bands are totally not uptight about cameras at their shows. I mean there's no way to stop people from taking pictures at shows, or even recording audio and video. So why not embrace it? It's free publicity, and it's not like anyone can make money from the amatuer video clips (nor would the availability of said clips on youtube cut into dvd sales). And bootlegs have been around for so long; it's nice to see so many bands supporting (for example) archive.org .
...
So overall, an excellent evening; i'm really glad we decided to go to the show after all. Oh yeah, i almost forgot to mention - there's a random dude i've seen at most of the shows i've attended out here. He's this little guy (shorter than 5-foot), older than me (in his 40s, i'd guess), and he's *always* right up in the action, holding his ground in the crush zones and edges of the mosh pits.
I was wondering if i'd see him at this show, and of course i spotted him during 3 Inches of Blood's set, right where i knew he'd be. After In Flames i saw him standing upfront talking to some kid, so i went over to say hello. I tapped him on the shoulder and said "Hi! I've seen you at EVERY metal show in the bay area..."; with a smile he told me that the other guy was just telling him the same thing. We shook hands & introduced ourselves; turns out his name is Dave. I look forward to seeing him at the next show.
Another highlight - actually a highlight trifecta which started earlier in the day. But first, some background: Over the years, i've slowly joined the camp of "Don't go to a concert wearing the shirt of the band you're going to see." I used to feel differently, but i now agree that everyone knows you're a fan of the band, so it's preferable to instead wear the shirt of a related act, or some obsure band in the same genre. Be clever if you can. Festival shirts are also a good choice; i wear my shirt from Sounds Of The Underground 2005 to a lot of concerts, and almost always get comments from random people who see the incredible lineup of bands on my back.
On Monday i wore my Dark Tranquillity tour shirt from last year. DT and In Flames have quite a bit of history; both are from Gothenburg, Sweden, and are two of the pioneers of the melodic death metal genre (At The Gates is the third). Furthermore, Anders was the original vocalist for Dark Tranquillity, and Mikael Stanne (DT's frontman) worked with In Flames as a session vocalist before Anders joined (so they each recorded the vocals for the respective band's debut albums, and then effectively traded places). *And*, Niklas Sundin (DT's guitarist) helped Anders translate his lyrics for several of In Flames' albums, until Anders grew strong enough with English.
So. I was out on the quad at work and some random dude tapped me on the shoulder and said "Hey, nice shirt." Boost #1. At the concert, after 3 Inches finished up and people started streaming out, one guy stopped, looked at me, pointed at my shirt, and announced "YES!" Boost #2. And finally, boost #3 - while we were waiting for Between The Buried And Me to start, another guy came up and asked "Holy crap, don't tell me i missed them!" I mentioned that the shirt was from when they came around on their last tour (2008), and that they're in the studio right now working on their next album.
It's the little things in life, y'know?
So yes, definitely an enjoyable show - and consequential. I was thinking that this would probably be my last In Flames concert for a while (since i've seen them 5 times already), but i've now reversed that and decided that they're one of the bands i'll *always* try to catch whenever they come around. Even better, In Flames are now a white-tag candidate for me. And i've added Between The Buried And Me to my tier1 list; i'll be picking up a few of their cds soon and i'll definitely keep an eye out for next time they hit the road.
Rock \m/
...
In Flames' setlist
1. Cloud Connected
2. Embody The Invisible
3. Delight And Angers
4. Disconnected
5. Square Nothing
6. The Hive
7. Clayman
8. Come Clarity
9. Leeches
10. Alias
11. The Mirror's Truth
12. The Quiet Place
13. Take This Life
14. My Sweet Shadow
...
Video clips:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m8pfk7Aotz8#t=3m25s
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YjudLItnJjw
9/21/2009 - The Regency - San Francisco, CA
[Originally written ~9/22/2009; finishing & posting now as part of my catchup blitz]
I'd marked this show in my calendar months ago (as soon as the tour was announced), but as the date approached i started to reconsider going. I've seen In Flames in concert plenty of times already (including twice last year), and i was feeling tired & lazy about driving up to the city on a Monday night, getting home late, etc (especially because i was still on the tail end of recovering from the flu (or it might have been food poisoning).
So Monday morning found me on the fence. Even though i'd seen them before, they always put on a great show and i knew it would be a good time if i dragged myself up there. So i pinged a friend who had expressed interest to see if still wanted to go. He was feeling the same as i was - wanted to see the band, but mentally unprepared for a metal show. Eventually we managed to scrape together enough motivation between the two of us and agreed to go. But we decided to buy tickets at the door to avoid the service fees (which would have been over 50% of face value in this case - bollocks).
Actually, it wasn't just about the money. I usually eat the cost and pre-buy tickets for most of my shows just because i don't want to risk going all the way there just to get turned away. (Most of my bands aren't mainstream enough to sell out tickets early on, but they do usually sell out at the door). But this time, it somehow felt right to take that chance. We didn't even plan to get there early (waiting in line sucks). We'd just casually head up to the city; if tickets were sold out, then it wasn't meant to be; we'd just hang out at one of the nearby bars for a while and head home.
We actually ended up running even later than planned, and i was mentally ready to kick back with with a couple of beers as we approached the venue. But no worries, there were plenty of tickets left (as you may have already guessed, given that this post is not titled "A Few Beers At Some Bar On Van Ness). We forked over the $26 and headed inside.
We missed the opening act - a band called The Faceless. I'll probably check out their myspace at some point, but for this night i didn't mind missing the first of the four scheduled bands. I think four bands on a single bill is too many; i prefer three (if they get a good main support act) or even two (with a longer set from the headliner). Anyway.
So first up for us was 3 Inches of Blood from Vancouver, BC. I really like their stuff; not terribily complicated music, but a nice high-energy mix of fantasy-themed thrash with dual vocals (one in a Judas Priest wailing style, the other filling in banshee screams a la Cradle of Filth). Unfortunately, their dedicated screecher had to leave the band because of throat problems (no comments from the peanut gallery, please), so their guitarist, Justin, took over. Nice guy, i actually met him once (when they played at Slim's last year).
3 Inches played a decent set, although i didn't quite feel it, compared to the afformentioned Slim's show. Maybe the levels weren't quite right, or maybe i was standing too far away from the sweet spot (in terms of audience, i mean).
Next up was Between The Buried And Me from North Carolina. I'd seen them play before, and i remember liking them, but i hadn't felt compelled to pick up any of their albums. This time around was a different story; they just *nailed* their set. They're a progressive death metal band; they play long songs with complex structures and actual movements and interludes. Killer stuff; one song in particular really gripped me. I had no idea what it was, but i knew that i'd be tracking it down and buying whatever album it's on. (It turned out to be "Selkies: The Endless Obsession" from their 2005 album Alaska. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=19UZd_DKs2Q )
And finally, In Flames. What can i say about these guys that i haven't said before? There's a reason they're one of my favorite bands to see live. They rock hard, and they always play a quality show. I think their performances definitely exceed their studio material; in fact, back when i was just starting to become familiar with their music, i found myself liking a lot of their songs *better* after experiencing them live.
My friend observed that they're one of those bands of a certain caliber, meaning that they're all solid musicians with enough experience to really know what they're doing. They play their instruments well, and they play well *together*; they're comfortable up on stage, and you can tell that they love what they're doing. Their performances are so tight; i'd put them up there with Testament and Iron Maiden when it comes to metal performance.
They usually play a comprehensive set, facing the same challenge as other bands who have been going strong for so many years. You want to include the new singles as well as old favorites, and draw on your stronger material in between to represent most of your albums (without playing the exact same set every tour). This time around they actually skipped "Trigger" and "Episode 666" (which they've played at every other show i've attended). But they did play three songs from Clayman - "Pinball Map" (one of my favorites), and "Square Nothing" (one of Melissa's early favorites), and the title track. And of course they rocked "Leeches" and "Take This Life" from Come Clarity, and closed out the night with their always amazing performance of "My Sweet Shadow".
I've always known Anders (their frontman) for his warm & charismatic stage presence, and he was in fine form once again. I love his little interludes and hilarious comments between songs. At one point he accepted a demo cd from some guy ("Is this your band? Cool, i'll check this out tonight.") and then got a fan up on the balcony to toss him a beer. Later on he asked if anyone had a camera, and picked out a guy upfront who was shooting video. After calling him a "youtube kid", Anders borrowed the guy's camera and filmed the band and audience *himself* during their performance of the sing-along favorite "Come Clarity". So awesome! He even said "This is approved by In Flames, by the way."
I love that so many bands are totally not uptight about cameras at their shows. I mean there's no way to stop people from taking pictures at shows, or even recording audio and video. So why not embrace it? It's free publicity, and it's not like anyone can make money from the amatuer video clips (nor would the availability of said clips on youtube cut into dvd sales). And bootlegs have been around for so long; it's nice to see so many bands supporting (for example) archive.org .
...
So overall, an excellent evening; i'm really glad we decided to go to the show after all. Oh yeah, i almost forgot to mention - there's a random dude i've seen at most of the shows i've attended out here. He's this little guy (shorter than 5-foot), older than me (in his 40s, i'd guess), and he's *always* right up in the action, holding his ground in the crush zones and edges of the mosh pits.
I was wondering if i'd see him at this show, and of course i spotted him during 3 Inches of Blood's set, right where i knew he'd be. After In Flames i saw him standing upfront talking to some kid, so i went over to say hello. I tapped him on the shoulder and said "Hi! I've seen you at EVERY metal show in the bay area..."; with a smile he told me that the other guy was just telling him the same thing. We shook hands & introduced ourselves; turns out his name is Dave. I look forward to seeing him at the next show.
Another highlight - actually a highlight trifecta which started earlier in the day. But first, some background: Over the years, i've slowly joined the camp of "Don't go to a concert wearing the shirt of the band you're going to see." I used to feel differently, but i now agree that everyone knows you're a fan of the band, so it's preferable to instead wear the shirt of a related act, or some obsure band in the same genre. Be clever if you can. Festival shirts are also a good choice; i wear my shirt from Sounds Of The Underground 2005 to a lot of concerts, and almost always get comments from random people who see the incredible lineup of bands on my back.
On Monday i wore my Dark Tranquillity tour shirt from last year. DT and In Flames have quite a bit of history; both are from Gothenburg, Sweden, and are two of the pioneers of the melodic death metal genre (At The Gates is the third). Furthermore, Anders was the original vocalist for Dark Tranquillity, and Mikael Stanne (DT's frontman) worked with In Flames as a session vocalist before Anders joined (so they each recorded the vocals for the respective band's debut albums, and then effectively traded places). *And*, Niklas Sundin (DT's guitarist) helped Anders translate his lyrics for several of In Flames' albums, until Anders grew strong enough with English.
So. I was out on the quad at work and some random dude tapped me on the shoulder and said "Hey, nice shirt." Boost #1. At the concert, after 3 Inches finished up and people started streaming out, one guy stopped, looked at me, pointed at my shirt, and announced "YES!" Boost #2. And finally, boost #3 - while we were waiting for Between The Buried And Me to start, another guy came up and asked "Holy crap, don't tell me i missed them!" I mentioned that the shirt was from when they came around on their last tour (2008), and that they're in the studio right now working on their next album.
It's the little things in life, y'know?
So yes, definitely an enjoyable show - and consequential. I was thinking that this would probably be my last In Flames concert for a while (since i've seen them 5 times already), but i've now reversed that and decided that they're one of the bands i'll *always* try to catch whenever they come around. Even better, In Flames are now a white-tag candidate for me. And i've added Between The Buried And Me to my tier1 list; i'll be picking up a few of their cds soon and i'll definitely keep an eye out for next time they hit the road.
Rock \m/
...
In Flames' setlist
1. Cloud Connected
2. Embody The Invisible
3. Delight And Angers
4. Disconnected
5. Square Nothing
6. The Hive
7. Clayman
8. Come Clarity
9. Leeches
10. Alias
11. The Mirror's Truth
12. The Quiet Place
13. Take This Life
14. My Sweet Shadow
...
Video clips:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m8pfk7Aotz8#t=3m25s
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YjudLItnJjw
Thursday, October 22, 2009
Sprung Monkey
[Originally written on 10-07-2009; finishing & posting now]
I have a section in my music collection titled "BuffyMusic". It contains not only the soundtrack albums and scores from Buffy The Vampire Slayer, but also various bands i've discovered via the show. During its later seasons they did start getting bigger names and popular acts, but in the early days they mostly just brought in local bands to play at the Bronze.
I've always had a good feeling about the music from Buffy, but rewatching the first season recently (we're midway through season 2 now) made me realize that the Bronze is a goldmine of awesome bands. Nice mix of solid modern rock, punk, some experimental stuff, and of course soulful ballads - songs which are sad but laced with hope.
As we watched through that first season, i looked up all of the music which appeared in the episodes and ended up adding 7 or 8 albums (and counting) to my BuffyMusic collection. Most of these are bands who didn't make it onto the official soundtrack cds (and whose awesomeness, therefore, had slipped my memory).
My favorite out of the batch is a band from San Diego called Sprung Monkey. They showed up in three episodes with a total of six different songs used. Their tone reminds me a little of Four Star Mary (who played the part of Oz's band, Dingos Ate My Baby, on the show), although Sprung Monkey plays a little darker and heavier. I feel the same way about both bands: I can't quite put my finger on it, but i just *like* their songs. Simple, yet dynamic, and they just feel honest, y'know? Perfect live music to accompany an evening in a dark bar on a crisp autumn evening. They represent perfectly the deep fondness with which i look back on the 90s.
Anyway, i'd like to share two of my favorite Sprung Monkey songs. The first is the title track from their 1995 album Swirl. I love the way the rhythm comes together on this one:
And the second is a track called "Reluctant Man" from the same album.
I haven't checked out much of their other stuff yet, but i intend to. I'll also be keeping an eye out for for a chance to see them live; San Diego's not *that* far away from here.
I have a section in my music collection titled "BuffyMusic". It contains not only the soundtrack albums and scores from Buffy The Vampire Slayer, but also various bands i've discovered via the show. During its later seasons they did start getting bigger names and popular acts, but in the early days they mostly just brought in local bands to play at the Bronze.
I've always had a good feeling about the music from Buffy, but rewatching the first season recently (we're midway through season 2 now) made me realize that the Bronze is a goldmine of awesome bands. Nice mix of solid modern rock, punk, some experimental stuff, and of course soulful ballads - songs which are sad but laced with hope.
As we watched through that first season, i looked up all of the music which appeared in the episodes and ended up adding 7 or 8 albums (and counting) to my BuffyMusic collection. Most of these are bands who didn't make it onto the official soundtrack cds (and whose awesomeness, therefore, had slipped my memory).
My favorite out of the batch is a band from San Diego called Sprung Monkey. They showed up in three episodes with a total of six different songs used. Their tone reminds me a little of Four Star Mary (who played the part of Oz's band, Dingos Ate My Baby, on the show), although Sprung Monkey plays a little darker and heavier. I feel the same way about both bands: I can't quite put my finger on it, but i just *like* their songs. Simple, yet dynamic, and they just feel honest, y'know? Perfect live music to accompany an evening in a dark bar on a crisp autumn evening. They represent perfectly the deep fondness with which i look back on the 90s.
Anyway, i'd like to share two of my favorite Sprung Monkey songs. The first is the title track from their 1995 album Swirl. I love the way the rhythm comes together on this one:
And the second is a track called "Reluctant Man" from the same album.
I haven't checked out much of their other stuff yet, but i intend to. I'll also be keeping an eye out for for a chance to see them live; San Diego's not *that* far away from here.
Butterfly in the sky...
My unfinished drafts are piling up again; it's triage time. A few are more or less done so i'm just going to post them one after another. A few others will probably get filed in my private journal. Two half-written concert writeups still need work, so those can stay in the queue. Stand by for a flurry of posts; then maybe i can start writing about what's on my mind today.
If you're reading this on Facebook, feel free to check out neilam.blogspot.com for the original, up-to-the-minute posts.
Hmm, it feels weird to post this without any real content. Lemme check my recent youtube favorites for something fun to share; stand by...
Oooh, i've got one - oh HELL yeah. So one of my favorite childhood tv shows was Reading Rainbow. I'm struggling to describe its awesomeness in words. If you're a fellow bookworm child of the 80s, you probably know what i'm talking about. If not, then you missed out. (Is the show still on? I remember seeing an episode in the late-90s, but it just wasn't the same because LeVar Burton was looking all hip and cool - no more 80s fro). Ok, i just looked it up - turns out the show ended in 2006. Sadface.)
Anyway, there was one particular episode which highlighted the importance of teamwork. They even had an awesome song, which i recorded in the usual 80s child manner - by holding a tape recorder up to the tv. I never forgot that song; to this day it'll still randomly pop into my head once in a great while and make me hum the melody and sing the few lines i can remember. And visualizing the video, especially the part where they're all firefighters and use *teamwork* to put up a ladder.
Finally (earlier this year) it dawned on me that someone's probably put it on youtube. I did a search and FOUND IT and watched it with glee. Heehee!
Are you ready? Time for TEAMWORK!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wm_Mv4uL3s4
WOOOOOOO! Say what you wish about the neon tights, the 80s hair, the music production - this video is 100% awesome and makes me happy. TEAMWORK! TEAMWORK!
If you're reading this on Facebook, feel free to check out neilam.blogspot.com for the original, up-to-the-minute posts.
Hmm, it feels weird to post this without any real content. Lemme check my recent youtube favorites for something fun to share; stand by...
Oooh, i've got one - oh HELL yeah. So one of my favorite childhood tv shows was Reading Rainbow. I'm struggling to describe its awesomeness in words. If you're a fellow bookworm child of the 80s, you probably know what i'm talking about. If not, then you missed out. (Is the show still on? I remember seeing an episode in the late-90s, but it just wasn't the same because LeVar Burton was looking all hip and cool - no more 80s fro). Ok, i just looked it up - turns out the show ended in 2006. Sadface.)
Anyway, there was one particular episode which highlighted the importance of teamwork. They even had an awesome song, which i recorded in the usual 80s child manner - by holding a tape recorder up to the tv. I never forgot that song; to this day it'll still randomly pop into my head once in a great while and make me hum the melody and sing the few lines i can remember. And visualizing the video, especially the part where they're all firefighters and use *teamwork* to put up a ladder.
Finally (earlier this year) it dawned on me that someone's probably put it on youtube. I did a search and FOUND IT and watched it with glee. Heehee!
Are you ready? Time for TEAMWORK!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wm_Mv4uL3s4
WOOOOOOO! Say what you wish about the neon tights, the 80s hair, the music production - this video is 100% awesome and makes me happy. TEAMWORK! TEAMWORK!
Monday, October 12, 2009
Today
I'm feeling totally sentimental today.
First of all, it was a *beautiful* cloudy day. And i don't mean the partly cloudy NorCal bullcrap where it's kindof overcast in the morning (just enough to get my hopes up) but then the sun burns it all away by lunchtime and heats up the day. No, it was solid grey & gloomy, just the way i like it. It reminds me of autumns back home - my favorite time/place combination. I've tried to write about this before but always fail to come up with a clear description. This time i'll try keeping it simple. The following items are inextricably linked in my mind:
- Autumn
- Beginning of the school year
- My favorite weather
- 90s rock music
- High school & college in general (my youth)
- Flannel
- Happy/content
Once i get into this mindset, my thoughts go to places like the cider mill back home - getting a cup of fresh apple cider and a rich cinnamon donut, then wandering around in the woods adjacent to the mill. *sigh* And as Halloween approached, we'd hit up the mill and then stop by one of the pumpkin farms nearby. I've decided that if heaven does exist, for me it'll be a place where every month is October. But more on this later.
So the weather was already sending me in this direction; then i saw that one of my friends had posted a few photos to facebook from ~2005, which of course triggered another set of wonderful memories and invoked some serious nostalgia. Furthermore, i'm flying back to Champaign-Urbana this coming weekend for her wedding, which i'm very excited about. Being there for their special day, seeing a bunch of my friends whom i usually only get to see once a year, visiting my old home (i can't seem to let go of this place).
Next up - a silly fun encounter at lunch: So i found this awesome little bagel shop near the office and have been going there for lunch 2-3 times a week for about 6 months now. And because i'm me, i get almost exactly the same sandwich every time. Thus, not only do i know the exact sequence of questions that come with ordering (what kind of bread, cheese, etc), but i have the answers cached. I also know everyone who works there (by face, not name (yet)), including the pair of hotties who usually run the registers.
So today i walk in and swiftly order from one of the girls, answering the questions without missing a beat, leading to this:
Her: "Wow, you've clearly been here before!"
Me: "Yep, i come here a lot and i usually get the same thing. Although it's not always you; usually it's..." *i peek around the counter* "...her."
Her: "Oh, you mean the annoying one..."
OtherHottie: "No, he means the *pretty* one."
Me: "I think you're *both* pretty."
Her: "Aww...heh, she's blushing back there."
Totally silly & lame, but it put a smile on my face.
Finally, i've been sitting here pulling up video after video from Scala & Kolacny Brothers. They're a Belgian girls' choir and they are *awesome*. I'd never heard of them until a friend shared their beautiful cover of Depeche Mode's "Enjoy The Silence" (i love this song):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=msVtD_oMdKg
They have a lot more covers posted on YouTube - everything from U2 and Radiohead to Nirvana, The Cure, tons more. Just search for "Scala" and take your pick.
Ok, one more video - their lovely cover of "With Or Without You":
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M27IMEjqEgk
So awesome.
First of all, it was a *beautiful* cloudy day. And i don't mean the partly cloudy NorCal bullcrap where it's kindof overcast in the morning (just enough to get my hopes up) but then the sun burns it all away by lunchtime and heats up the day. No, it was solid grey & gloomy, just the way i like it. It reminds me of autumns back home - my favorite time/place combination. I've tried to write about this before but always fail to come up with a clear description. This time i'll try keeping it simple. The following items are inextricably linked in my mind:
- Autumn
- Beginning of the school year
- My favorite weather
- 90s rock music
- High school & college in general (my youth)
- Flannel
- Happy/content
Once i get into this mindset, my thoughts go to places like the cider mill back home - getting a cup of fresh apple cider and a rich cinnamon donut, then wandering around in the woods adjacent to the mill. *sigh* And as Halloween approached, we'd hit up the mill and then stop by one of the pumpkin farms nearby. I've decided that if heaven does exist, for me it'll be a place where every month is October. But more on this later.
So the weather was already sending me in this direction; then i saw that one of my friends had posted a few photos to facebook from ~2005, which of course triggered another set of wonderful memories and invoked some serious nostalgia. Furthermore, i'm flying back to Champaign-Urbana this coming weekend for her wedding, which i'm very excited about. Being there for their special day, seeing a bunch of my friends whom i usually only get to see once a year, visiting my old home (i can't seem to let go of this place).
Next up - a silly fun encounter at lunch: So i found this awesome little bagel shop near the office and have been going there for lunch 2-3 times a week for about 6 months now. And because i'm me, i get almost exactly the same sandwich every time. Thus, not only do i know the exact sequence of questions that come with ordering (what kind of bread, cheese, etc), but i have the answers cached. I also know everyone who works there (by face, not name (yet)), including the pair of hotties who usually run the registers.
So today i walk in and swiftly order from one of the girls, answering the questions without missing a beat, leading to this:
Her: "Wow, you've clearly been here before!"
Me: "Yep, i come here a lot and i usually get the same thing. Although it's not always you; usually it's..." *i peek around the counter* "...her."
Her: "Oh, you mean the annoying one..."
OtherHottie: "No, he means the *pretty* one."
Me: "I think you're *both* pretty."
Her: "Aww...heh, she's blushing back there."
Totally silly & lame, but it put a smile on my face.
Finally, i've been sitting here pulling up video after video from Scala & Kolacny Brothers. They're a Belgian girls' choir and they are *awesome*. I'd never heard of them until a friend shared their beautiful cover of Depeche Mode's "Enjoy The Silence" (i love this song):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=msVtD_oMdKg
They have a lot more covers posted on YouTube - everything from U2 and Radiohead to Nirvana, The Cure, tons more. Just search for "Scala" and take your pick.
Ok, one more video - their lovely cover of "With Or Without You":
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M27IMEjqEgk
So awesome.
Sunday, October 11, 2009
MuteMath - 10/09/2009 - The Fillmore - San Francisco
I first heard about MuteMath from one of my coworkers back in 2005 or 2006. He came back from their concert in Chicago and reported that it was the most amazing show he'd ever seen. I was skeptical (my standards are pretty high thanks to bands like Dream Theater and Opeth), but checked out a few videos he pointed me to. I did find them to be unique, especially one piece in which the guy was playing some weird-ass homemade instrument. But i didn't follow up on the band at that time.
Fast-forward to fall of 2007. I'd been trading music with a friend (sending flash drives back and forth in the mail), and the latest batch of tunes from her included MuteMath's self-titled album. I didn't really connect with the music at first, probably because i just wasn't in the right mindset for their style (at the time i was pretty much just swimming in wallow music).
Then one day (a month or two later) i happened to queue up the album at work and it finally struck a chord with me. I was able to settle into a groove with work and let the music carry me through the afternoon. Awesome. The album grew on me even more with repeated listens, and i started to really enjoy what they're all about.
The band was on tour at the time, supporting Alanis, but i decided to skip that show. Nothing against Alanis; i'm just not familiar with any of her music aside from her first album. Ditto Matchbox Twenty (the other support act). I figured i'd catch MuteMath next time around, but it turned out that next time wouldn't be for quite a while.
So the next two years saw my musical (and personal) journey continue on its meandering path. I slowly got through the wallow phase, found some great new bands, reconnected with old favorites. I didn't overplay MuteMath like i have other albums which struck me, but i did pull out the disc from time to time and kept an eye out for news, studio reports, release dates. Finally they announced the Armistice tour in support of their new album of the same name; i bought my ticket the minute they went on sale.
Fast-forward to Friday night.
...
I arrived at the Fillmore shortly after 21:00 and found As Tall As Lions (the support act) already on stage. I'd checked out their myspace and was underwhelmed by their music, but they made a much different impression up on stage! I really enjoyed their set; rich and atmospheric, channeling the energy and magic that comes with any good live show. Wow. Maybe i should give their album another try. Or (more likely) keep an eye out for a chance to see them live again.
After they wrapped up i headed over to the bar to grab a beer. As i waited my turn, a hot girl came up to the bar to do the same thing. She started talking to me and i couldn't hear her at first (drummer's ears) but i quickly realized that she was offering to buy me a drink. Naturally this caught me off guard, but i managed to ask what the occasion was. She replied that she was just happy and felt like doing something nice for someone. She also mentioned that she was on a break from life; i've certainly been there too. We went on to agree that As Tall As Lions has surprised both of us with their live show. The drinks arrived, we toasted, wished each other positive energy, and went our separate ways.
After what felt like forever, the house lights went down and MuteMath took the stage. And proceeded to blow me away.
I hadn't fully absorbed their new album yet, and even the first album usually bleeds together for me since i always listen to it start-to-finish without picking out individual songs (aside from a few special favorites including "Chaos", "Noticed", and one track near the end of the disc). But i definitely recoginzed a lot of their setlest, which was cool.
I think the stunning brilliance of MuteMath's performance comes down to three main things:
1) Instrumentation and dynamic lineup. The guys play a wide variety of instruments up on stage. In addition to the usual guitar/bass/drums were two sets of keyboards, extra percussion, a synthsizer, and even a *marimba*. Roy played an upright bass for some songs, electric for others. Greg covered guitars, keyboards, and marimba on some songs. Paul (their frontman) played keyboards or keytar while singing (he has an excellent voice; i wish i could sing half as well as he does). And they all jammed on percussion at one point or another (sometimes all at the same time).
Oh yeah, and the afformentioned homemade instrument (called The Atari) made an appearance as well. It's hard to make out, but click the photo below to enlarge & check out Paul on the left:
Moreover, everyone was playing *something* at all times, and the combinations of instruments constantly changed, even during songs. It really impressed me, watching the guys play so many different instruments, showcasing their versatile talent and experience. I definitely did not fully appreciate the many elements and subtleties to their songs until i saw what all goes into playing them live. And the fact that the four of them covered all of the instruments instead of hiring tour musicians or pre-recording layers of the songs (aside from the sampling) - very impressive.
Also, they definitely played extended versions of some of their songs, launching into improv jams and experimental interludes. Awesome.
Their drummer, Darren, was on fire all night! He did more with his simple four-piece setup than many drummers do with kits an order of magnitude larger. Whenever i see a drummer like Darren, it makes me want to scale back my own kit (if/when i get back into drumming, that is). Then again he did have some fun embellishments, like an extra floor tom mounted sideways which would light up in time with the music as it was hit.
2) Innovation/stage setup. There was so much going on, at times it was almost too much to fully take in. Their stage apparatus included the huge arch from their album cover onto which lights and video were projected to enhance the music. I know all bands use stage lights and some have video screens, but this particular setup came together so well; they clearly put a lot of effort into planning.
During the intro for No Response, they set up four huge circles ("drums") along that backgrop and they lit up with projected light as Darren hit them. Amazing effect; here's someone's video from the Cleveland show:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1ag3cq4fYw4
3) Synergy. As i mentioned, they all played a variety of instruments with a level of precision and skill and heart that i still dream about. But the magic comes from how well they play *together*. It goes beyond just being well-rehearsed. Whether they're rocking one of their straightforward radio hits or weaving intricate patterns of melody and rhythm, they're all in the zone up there, each member completely in phase with the other three.
I'm running out of words to describe this incredible performance so i'll wrap it up by stating the obvious and then leave you with some video. Ahem. MuteMath played one of the most amazing live shows i've ever seen.
I hope you enjoy my recording of (most of) their encore. It's long, but worth watching. That's Paul with The Atari at the beginning; watch as he carries it into the audience for everyone to wail on. And you don't want to miss his famous keyboard flips, or Darren's antics towards the end - he passes his bass drum into the audience and *stands* on it as they hold it up; then he dives back onto the stage to join in for a group percussion jam. So awesome.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kh57CeV2R_Y
Tuesday, September 29, 2009
Catching up
So i haven't blogged in forever, aside from my post for Tessa and my followup collection of links.
It's been an eventful and otherwise heavy couple of months, which of course made it a timeframe during which i had a lot to write about, but not enough time to actually write. Actually i do have a folder full of half-written concert reviews, think pieces, rants, raves, and multiple "so i haven't blogged in forever" catchup posts. At first i thought i'd eventually finish them up and post them, but at this point i'll probably just dump the lot into my private journal and move on with life. Except for my writeup from the Lacuna Coil concert; i have some great stories and photos from that night, so i do want to finish that one & share. As for the rest, since there's "no time to 'splain, let me sum up":
The latter half of my summer was loaded with travel (including trips to visit friends in Portland and Kansas City) and friends' visits (including one friend from Seattle with whom i drove all over the bay area and down the coast, seeing a ton of new stuff - pretty cool). Also a few friends were sent out here on business so we got to hang out while they were in town; awesome perk of living in Silicon Valley.
Also (as some of you already know), i'm currently in the middle of a concert marathon; fall seems to have turned into concert season for me. Possibly because a lot of bands tend to spend summers playing the festival circuit, so come September they're all ready to head out on headlining tours. And living this close to a big city, i'm actually able to catch a lot of them.
Indeed, i've become a bit of a concert junkie; two shows last week (writeup coming soon), three more planned for this week (including TRIVIUM, a favorite among favorites). A total of 18 shows (and counting) penciled into my calendar between now and Christmas. I won't be able to attend all of them, but about 6 are definite, and a handful more are likely (depending on how other things line up). This compared to the old days when i'd only catch 3 or 4 concerts in an entire *year*. Yeah, living here is fun.
In the interest of completeness, i'll mention that my workout routine and guitar practice are pretty much in the tank. There's been hardly any red ink on my calendar for the past two months, and not much blue ink either. And as for the music project, i was *this close* to having a new video to post. My recordings were steadily improving (one take in particlar was just about perfect, except i boffed the *last* frakking note - oooh, i was pissed). Another solid week of work and i would have had it, but the afformentioned travel and other plans got in the way and i managed to let myself go completely off the rails.
So now i feel almost like a bumbling beginner again; picked up my guitar this week and felt totally awkward on the frets. It's amazing how fast the muscle memory vaporizes. It reminds me of when i first started swing dancing - my technique would go to slop after only a few weeks off. The first Christmas break (2004-2005 school year) was brutal - i forgot just about everything i knew during those ~6 weeks off. But i found that the longer i'd been dancing actively, the less i lost during breaks. I'm hoping the same concept applies to guitar. Speaking of holiday breaks, though, i'm a little worried about this year because i'm going to be in MI for almost 2.5 weeks - without my guitar. Maybe i can rent one from a local shop to practice on.
Anyway, over the next month or so i'm hoping to get my guitarwork back to where it was before the lapse. The workout routine will probably take longer; maybe i'll start with some lighter goals before stepping it up.
Also on the list is getting back into swing dancing. I attended a lindy hop mini-workshop this past weekend which was (a) only my second time on a dance floor this year, and (b) exactly what i needed. Intermediate-plus level with a nice emphasis on fundamentals, driven by some cool & challenging new material (well, new to me anyway; i took notes). And i may be preaching to the choir here, but if you ever get a chance to attend a workshop with Peter Strom and/or Naomi Uyama, i HIGHLY recommend; they are beyond awesome.
It's been an eventful and otherwise heavy couple of months, which of course made it a timeframe during which i had a lot to write about, but not enough time to actually write. Actually i do have a folder full of half-written concert reviews, think pieces, rants, raves, and multiple "so i haven't blogged in forever" catchup posts. At first i thought i'd eventually finish them up and post them, but at this point i'll probably just dump the lot into my private journal and move on with life. Except for my writeup from the Lacuna Coil concert; i have some great stories and photos from that night, so i do want to finish that one & share. As for the rest, since there's "no time to 'splain, let me sum up":
The latter half of my summer was loaded with travel (including trips to visit friends in Portland and Kansas City) and friends' visits (including one friend from Seattle with whom i drove all over the bay area and down the coast, seeing a ton of new stuff - pretty cool). Also a few friends were sent out here on business so we got to hang out while they were in town; awesome perk of living in Silicon Valley.
Also (as some of you already know), i'm currently in the middle of a concert marathon; fall seems to have turned into concert season for me. Possibly because a lot of bands tend to spend summers playing the festival circuit, so come September they're all ready to head out on headlining tours. And living this close to a big city, i'm actually able to catch a lot of them.
Indeed, i've become a bit of a concert junkie; two shows last week (writeup coming soon), three more planned for this week (including TRIVIUM, a favorite among favorites). A total of 18 shows (and counting) penciled into my calendar between now and Christmas. I won't be able to attend all of them, but about 6 are definite, and a handful more are likely (depending on how other things line up). This compared to the old days when i'd only catch 3 or 4 concerts in an entire *year*. Yeah, living here is fun.
In the interest of completeness, i'll mention that my workout routine and guitar practice are pretty much in the tank. There's been hardly any red ink on my calendar for the past two months, and not much blue ink either. And as for the music project, i was *this close* to having a new video to post. My recordings were steadily improving (one take in particlar was just about perfect, except i boffed the *last* frakking note - oooh, i was pissed). Another solid week of work and i would have had it, but the afformentioned travel and other plans got in the way and i managed to let myself go completely off the rails.
So now i feel almost like a bumbling beginner again; picked up my guitar this week and felt totally awkward on the frets. It's amazing how fast the muscle memory vaporizes. It reminds me of when i first started swing dancing - my technique would go to slop after only a few weeks off. The first Christmas break (2004-2005 school year) was brutal - i forgot just about everything i knew during those ~6 weeks off. But i found that the longer i'd been dancing actively, the less i lost during breaks. I'm hoping the same concept applies to guitar. Speaking of holiday breaks, though, i'm a little worried about this year because i'm going to be in MI for almost 2.5 weeks - without my guitar. Maybe i can rent one from a local shop to practice on.
Anyway, over the next month or so i'm hoping to get my guitarwork back to where it was before the lapse. The workout routine will probably take longer; maybe i'll start with some lighter goals before stepping it up.
Also on the list is getting back into swing dancing. I attended a lindy hop mini-workshop this past weekend which was (a) only my second time on a dance floor this year, and (b) exactly what i needed. Intermediate-plus level with a nice emphasis on fundamentals, driven by some cool & challenging new material (well, new to me anyway; i took notes). And i may be preaching to the choir here, but if you ever get a chance to attend a workshop with Peter Strom and/or Naomi Uyama, i HIGHLY recommend; they are beyond awesome.
Saturday, September 12, 2009
Tessa links
I miss my friend.
At a swing dance on Tessa's birthday, spring 2005.
If you haven't read my previous blog post already, i hope you will.
...
So for the past month (has it only been one month? has it *already* been a whole month?), i've been saving a bunch of open tabs (on multiple web browsers and multiple computers) with various blog posts and articles i found about Tessa. I knew i wanted to do something with all of the pieces; maybe one day i'll print them out and make a memory book, along with some of my emails and photos. For now i'm just going to compile them here.
This is primarily for myself; perhaps it's a step in dealing with the loss of my friend, and/or a gesture of moving on. And/or just building a reference so i'll have these links handy. Feel free to skip this post if you don't care. (But - i hope you do care.)
"Goodbye and God Bless (for Tessa)"
A wonderful piece written by one of her professors at UIUC (this is the post that many of us have been sending around). Absolutely worth reading.
http://www.open.salon.com/blog/libertarius/2009/08/16/goodbye_and_god_bless
"Taken"
A short piece by another professor at UIUC.
http://dhawhee.blogs.com/d_hawhee/2009/08/taken.html
"RIP Tessa Oberg"
Jen's blog post; another nice piece which i think is worth reading (make sure to also read Rasheed's response at the bottom).
http://jennyloohoo.livejournal.com/66058.html
Fin in a Waste of Waters" (Tessa's blog)
She posted to this blog from July 2006 through October 2007. I'm starting at the beginning and (re)reading through it. Her last post was a beautiful piece which detailed her life as it would have been remembered by her grandchildren after she died. I once attempted this exercise of writing my own eulogy, but i never finished (and it sucked anyway). Hers is awesome.
http://fininawasteofwaters.blogspot.com/
Tessa's obituary in the Rockford Register Star
http://www.legacy.com/RRStar/Obituaries.asp?Page=LifeStory&PersonId=131474559
Guest Book for Tessa (only online for a few more days (until 9/16/2009)).
http://www.legacy.com/gb2/default.aspx?bookid=9071102403711
Partial academic bio, posted in relation to one of her scholarships.
http://www.jkcf.org/our-scholars/current/2224-Tessa-M-Oberg
A post i found with a photo and a link to the professor's piece i linked above.
http://citiesandsigns.blogspot.com/2009/08/eulogy-for-tessa-oberg-by-one-of-our.html
Those are all of the links i had saved; i'll edit this post if i find more.
At a swing dance on Tessa's birthday, spring 2005.
If you haven't read my previous blog post already, i hope you will.
...
So for the past month (has it only been one month? has it *already* been a whole month?), i've been saving a bunch of open tabs (on multiple web browsers and multiple computers) with various blog posts and articles i found about Tessa. I knew i wanted to do something with all of the pieces; maybe one day i'll print them out and make a memory book, along with some of my emails and photos. For now i'm just going to compile them here.
This is primarily for myself; perhaps it's a step in dealing with the loss of my friend, and/or a gesture of moving on. And/or just building a reference so i'll have these links handy. Feel free to skip this post if you don't care. (But - i hope you do care.)
"Goodbye and God Bless (for Tessa)"
A wonderful piece written by one of her professors at UIUC (this is the post that many of us have been sending around). Absolutely worth reading.
http://www.open.salon.com/blog/libertarius/2009/08/16/goodbye_and_god_bless
"Taken"
A short piece by another professor at UIUC.
http://dhawhee.blogs.com/d_hawhee/2009/08/taken.html
"RIP Tessa Oberg"
Jen's blog post; another nice piece which i think is worth reading (make sure to also read Rasheed's response at the bottom).
http://jennyloohoo.livejournal.com/66058.html
Fin in a Waste of Waters" (Tessa's blog)
She posted to this blog from July 2006 through October 2007. I'm starting at the beginning and (re)reading through it. Her last post was a beautiful piece which detailed her life as it would have been remembered by her grandchildren after she died. I once attempted this exercise of writing my own eulogy, but i never finished (and it sucked anyway). Hers is awesome.
http://fininawasteofwaters.blogspot.com/
Tessa's obituary in the Rockford Register Star
http://www.legacy.com/RRStar/Obituaries.asp?Page=LifeStory&PersonId=131474559
Guest Book for Tessa (only online for a few more days (until 9/16/2009)).
http://www.legacy.com/gb2/default.aspx?bookid=9071102403711
Partial academic bio, posted in relation to one of her scholarships.
http://www.jkcf.org/our-scholars/current/2224-Tessa-M-Oberg
A post i found with a photo and a link to the professor's piece i linked above.
http://citiesandsigns.blogspot.com/2009/08/eulogy-for-tessa-oberg-by-one-of-our.html
Those are all of the links i had saved; i'll edit this post if i find more.
Friday, August 21, 2009
Tessa Oberg - In loving memory of my friend
A dear friend of mine died this past weekend after a long battle with cancer. I'm overwhelmed with emotion right now; the pain of losing a friend, anger at such a bright, shining life cut so short, but also amazement at what a *life* she lived.
How can i even begin to describe her? Tessa was incredible beyond words. She was deeply caring, sincere, driven and accomplished, a wonderful friend and powerful inspiration to me.
Tessa will always be an inspiration to me. Just watching her take on life full force, every day, never accepting anything as "good enough", and doing it all with passion and grace and love. It shows what's possible when you put all of yourself into everything you do.
I'd like to share a few of my favorite memories and stories, because that's the best way i can think of to celebrate her life and our friendship.
...
The first time i met Tessa was (of course) at a Thursday night swing dance in Champaign-Urbana back in 2004. It was a snowball/mixer song and i ended up dancing with her for the last two breaks (yes, we cheated). As the next song came on i started to go into wallflower mode, but she grabbed me again and said "C'mon. I don't sit out dances."
Indeed, i was to find out that she never sat out anything, least of all dances. She was never shy when it came to the dance floor. If she wanted to dance with you, she'd come and get you. Sometimes she'd catch me right as i was about to leave, and get me to stay for one more song. One time i'd already changed out of my dance shoes, but she made me put them back on and dance with her.
I also remember, early on, she used to good-naturedly demand "Hey, where's my dip?" at the end of songs.
...
I saw her around the swing scene during that school year, but summer of 2005 was when we really became friends. She was taking the summer session of the lindy class i was TA'ing, so i saw her in class and at the weekly dances.
One evening after class, she said to me "I'm hungry; want to go to Burger King?" (This was back when there was one on Green Street). I actually did *not* want to go to Burger King, but i went along anyway, and i'm glad i did.
As i nibbled at a piece of apple pie and watched her tear through a burger, the conversation went from casual to meaningful, and the food run extended into a wonderful evening of hanging out, reading poetry, trading ideas, discussing one issue after another.
From my journal:
"And all the while we continued talking, really *talking*. Everything from casual topics (movies, dancing) to serious areas of a personal nature. Our respective passions for literature and music. Family. Friends. Childhood experiences, college roommates, work issues, our respective struggles on the social front. Through it all i realized that she was slowly opening up to me, sharing deep personal feelings and experiences, and listening (really *listening*) as i went into some of my own thoughts. It was the last thing i'd been expecting - having this turn into "the" talk; that first deep and meaningful conversation you have with someone, the one that diverges completely from previous interactions and marks the transition from casual acquaintance to a real friendship."
She'd mentioned before that she'd had cancer and had made a full recovery (in half of the expected time, by the way), but this night she explained about the surgery and recovery, and the resulting impact on her life and work. She even showed me part of her (award-winning) short story which was fueled by the experience. It really hit me - finding out not just about everything she'd gone through, but the way she *powered* her way through with her unique strength and determination and got back to where she wanted to be.
She also showed me her portfolio which detailed her art sculpture project. She started by explaining that after conquering the English department at UIUC, she'd decided to conquer the art department next. (She said this matter-of-factly, with no ego in sight).
Her sculpture was a huge arch, very carefully designed and built with levels of meaning which escape my memory now. She displayed it on the quad for a day - spanning the sidewalks which crisscross the green. The display also included accepting quotes from passers by on slips of paper. At the end of the day she went up to the Foellinger patio and shouted each of the quotes across the quad.
I'm not doing justice to her project; if anyone can describe it better, please feel free. (Also, if anyone has a copy of the article in the News Gazette covering her project, please let me know; i couldn't find it online). I was pretty much floored by the idea and implementation. This in concert with all i'd learned about her in those hours added a level of amazement to my respect and admiration.
...
So the friendship grew over the summer with dance nights, a few dinners, a few movies (including "The Hours" and "Sylvia"; she filled me in with fascinating background information and some of her own insights).
One day she really surprised me. I was telling some story or another, and mentioned my mom. She asked "Why don't you ever talk about your dad?"
That simple question (along with the tone of her voice, the knowing look in her eyes) made me realize something: Tessa *listens* and *understands*. She picks up on subtle clues and figures things out. She already *knew* why i don't speak of my father, even though i'd never mentioned anything about it. And she cared enough to ask. Tessa is one of the few friends i have who can not only read me like a book, but respond with empathy and understanding.
...
I won't even try to do justice to her stunning academic accomplishments; instead i ask that you take a few minutes to read this piece by one of her professors. It's long, but absolutely worth reading (even/especially if you've never met her or didn't know her well):
http://www.open.salon.com/blog/libertarius/2009/08/16/goodbye_and_god_bless/
...
The last time i saw Tessa in person was, appropriately, on the dance floor. She was back from England, having completed her Masters program as a Fulbright Scholar (along with many incredible adventures around Europe; she sent out mass emails along the way with awesome stories & photos). She made a trip down to Champaign-Urbana shortly before moving out to California to start her PhD program at U-C Irvine. This was actually right before i moved out to Cali myself to start a new job in the bay area.
We danced, we wished each other luck, we promised to keep in touch.
And keep in touch we did; exchanging emails, trading stories, making plans to go dancing "when i make it down to LA" or "when i visit San Francisco", respectively. Then suddenly she want off radar for a long time; at first i assumed she was just overbusy with school, but then i started to worry. Finally i received an email from her via her mom letting me know that the cancer had returned and that Tessa had moved back home for treatment.
The treatment and recovery were very difficult, of course, and it was quite a while before she was able to get online herself. But we eventually did get back to exchanging the occasional email, which was very nice. Her messages were always positive and focused, laced with her lovely wit and sense of humor. She'd ask me to tell her about what i'd been up to, and she'd describe her workout routine, her goals, the progress she was making. I told her that it was good to see that the Tessa Determination was still as strong as i remembered; she thanked me for reminding her.
The thought didn't really cross my mind that she wouldn't just recover again, setbacks or otherwise. Or maybe it did and i just couldn't accept the possibility, because in my heart...Tessa is one of the strongest people i've ever met; nothing could stop her.
...
My life is better for having known Tessa. I miss her very much, but i continue to find inspiration from her example, and encouragement from memories and things she said to me. For example, i'd mentioned my fledgeling music project, and shared my first cover recording with her. The last message she sent me was this heartwarming response:
"Dear Neilam,
Big smile on my face . . . I like it
guitar rocked, your singing rocked and it was so good to hear your
voice, keep on rockin' in California
send more music--have you ever thought about doing an open mic?
lots of love,
Tessa
ps
if you come to visit please bring your guitar!"
I have more songs for you now, Tessa. I miss you, but i know you're in a better place now, and i hope you'll check on me from time to time.
In Loving Memory
Tessa Oberg
1983 - 2009
How can i even begin to describe her? Tessa was incredible beyond words. She was deeply caring, sincere, driven and accomplished, a wonderful friend and powerful inspiration to me.
Tessa will always be an inspiration to me. Just watching her take on life full force, every day, never accepting anything as "good enough", and doing it all with passion and grace and love. It shows what's possible when you put all of yourself into everything you do.
I'd like to share a few of my favorite memories and stories, because that's the best way i can think of to celebrate her life and our friendship.
...
The first time i met Tessa was (of course) at a Thursday night swing dance in Champaign-Urbana back in 2004. It was a snowball/mixer song and i ended up dancing with her for the last two breaks (yes, we cheated). As the next song came on i started to go into wallflower mode, but she grabbed me again and said "C'mon. I don't sit out dances."
Indeed, i was to find out that she never sat out anything, least of all dances. She was never shy when it came to the dance floor. If she wanted to dance with you, she'd come and get you. Sometimes she'd catch me right as i was about to leave, and get me to stay for one more song. One time i'd already changed out of my dance shoes, but she made me put them back on and dance with her.
I also remember, early on, she used to good-naturedly demand "Hey, where's my dip?" at the end of songs.
...
I saw her around the swing scene during that school year, but summer of 2005 was when we really became friends. She was taking the summer session of the lindy class i was TA'ing, so i saw her in class and at the weekly dances.
One evening after class, she said to me "I'm hungry; want to go to Burger King?" (This was back when there was one on Green Street). I actually did *not* want to go to Burger King, but i went along anyway, and i'm glad i did.
As i nibbled at a piece of apple pie and watched her tear through a burger, the conversation went from casual to meaningful, and the food run extended into a wonderful evening of hanging out, reading poetry, trading ideas, discussing one issue after another.
From my journal:
"And all the while we continued talking, really *talking*. Everything from casual topics (movies, dancing) to serious areas of a personal nature. Our respective passions for literature and music. Family. Friends. Childhood experiences, college roommates, work issues, our respective struggles on the social front. Through it all i realized that she was slowly opening up to me, sharing deep personal feelings and experiences, and listening (really *listening*) as i went into some of my own thoughts. It was the last thing i'd been expecting - having this turn into "the" talk; that first deep and meaningful conversation you have with someone, the one that diverges completely from previous interactions and marks the transition from casual acquaintance to a real friendship."
She'd mentioned before that she'd had cancer and had made a full recovery (in half of the expected time, by the way), but this night she explained about the surgery and recovery, and the resulting impact on her life and work. She even showed me part of her (award-winning) short story which was fueled by the experience. It really hit me - finding out not just about everything she'd gone through, but the way she *powered* her way through with her unique strength and determination and got back to where she wanted to be.
She also showed me her portfolio which detailed her art sculpture project. She started by explaining that after conquering the English department at UIUC, she'd decided to conquer the art department next. (She said this matter-of-factly, with no ego in sight).
Her sculpture was a huge arch, very carefully designed and built with levels of meaning which escape my memory now. She displayed it on the quad for a day - spanning the sidewalks which crisscross the green. The display also included accepting quotes from passers by on slips of paper. At the end of the day she went up to the Foellinger patio and shouted each of the quotes across the quad.
I'm not doing justice to her project; if anyone can describe it better, please feel free. (Also, if anyone has a copy of the article in the News Gazette covering her project, please let me know; i couldn't find it online). I was pretty much floored by the idea and implementation. This in concert with all i'd learned about her in those hours added a level of amazement to my respect and admiration.
...
So the friendship grew over the summer with dance nights, a few dinners, a few movies (including "The Hours" and "Sylvia"; she filled me in with fascinating background information and some of her own insights).
One day she really surprised me. I was telling some story or another, and mentioned my mom. She asked "Why don't you ever talk about your dad?"
That simple question (along with the tone of her voice, the knowing look in her eyes) made me realize something: Tessa *listens* and *understands*. She picks up on subtle clues and figures things out. She already *knew* why i don't speak of my father, even though i'd never mentioned anything about it. And she cared enough to ask. Tessa is one of the few friends i have who can not only read me like a book, but respond with empathy and understanding.
...
I won't even try to do justice to her stunning academic accomplishments; instead i ask that you take a few minutes to read this piece by one of her professors. It's long, but absolutely worth reading (even/especially if you've never met her or didn't know her well):
http://www.open.salon.com/blog/libertarius/2009/08/16/goodbye_and_god_bless/
...
The last time i saw Tessa in person was, appropriately, on the dance floor. She was back from England, having completed her Masters program as a Fulbright Scholar (along with many incredible adventures around Europe; she sent out mass emails along the way with awesome stories & photos). She made a trip down to Champaign-Urbana shortly before moving out to California to start her PhD program at U-C Irvine. This was actually right before i moved out to Cali myself to start a new job in the bay area.
We danced, we wished each other luck, we promised to keep in touch.
And keep in touch we did; exchanging emails, trading stories, making plans to go dancing "when i make it down to LA" or "when i visit San Francisco", respectively. Then suddenly she want off radar for a long time; at first i assumed she was just overbusy with school, but then i started to worry. Finally i received an email from her via her mom letting me know that the cancer had returned and that Tessa had moved back home for treatment.
The treatment and recovery were very difficult, of course, and it was quite a while before she was able to get online herself. But we eventually did get back to exchanging the occasional email, which was very nice. Her messages were always positive and focused, laced with her lovely wit and sense of humor. She'd ask me to tell her about what i'd been up to, and she'd describe her workout routine, her goals, the progress she was making. I told her that it was good to see that the Tessa Determination was still as strong as i remembered; she thanked me for reminding her.
The thought didn't really cross my mind that she wouldn't just recover again, setbacks or otherwise. Or maybe it did and i just couldn't accept the possibility, because in my heart...Tessa is one of the strongest people i've ever met; nothing could stop her.
...
My life is better for having known Tessa. I miss her very much, but i continue to find inspiration from her example, and encouragement from memories and things she said to me. For example, i'd mentioned my fledgeling music project, and shared my first cover recording with her. The last message she sent me was this heartwarming response:
"Dear Neilam,
Big smile on my face . . . I like it
guitar rocked, your singing rocked and it was so good to hear your
voice, keep on rockin' in California
send more music--have you ever thought about doing an open mic?
lots of love,
Tessa
ps
if you come to visit please bring your guitar!"
I have more songs for you now, Tessa. I miss you, but i know you're in a better place now, and i hope you'll check on me from time to time.
In Loving Memory
Tessa Oberg
1983 - 2009
Monday, June 29, 2009
A tribute to Michael Jackson
There's nothing i can say about Michael Jackson's amazing music and dance and immense impact on pop culture that hasn't already been said. But i would like to speak a little about his influence on my own dancing, and then share a silly video clip.
Like many others, i've spent plenty of time trying to learn some of his moves and choreography (most notably, "Beat It" and (of course) "Thriller"). I also spent years teaching myself how to moonwalk, and i daresay i can hold my own.
In the swing scene back in Champaign-Urbana (where i first learned to dance and came into my own), we were always encouraged to put ourselves into our dance; to make it our own. Intermediate (and even beginning) lindy always included a strong emphasis on musicality; working with different types of music, figuring out what works (upbeat & energetic, slow & swanky, etc). But it didn't stop there. One of my instructors played "Bad" in class one day and made us figure out how to lindy to it - that really opened up my mind to the possibilities. He and several others would also include some non-swing stuff in their DJ sets. Completely shattered the idea that swing dancing requires swing *music*. Chumbawamba, Moby, KMFDM, Green Day - it all works, if you free your mind.
Of course, Michael Jackson tunes would periodically come through at the Thursday dances (usually later at night, when people were feeling saucy). Many of us would dance lindies ranging from comically fun to smooth criminal awesome. Or sometimes we'd hang out and trade moonwalk tips or show off bits of choreo.
Like many fledgeling dancers, i used to spend time watching others on the dance floor and borrow moves & ideas - in addition to exploring what came to me naturally. I slowly built up a variety of styles (to go with different styles of music), but found my favorite to be a smooth, slippery style; lots of sweeps and spins, sliding around the floor. Lots of MJ-esque breaks. It was like "Wow, i can actually *use* all of this stuff i've been screwing around with!" I remember once, after my turn in a friend's blusey birthday dance, another friend said to me "Dude, your swingouts are so cool; you look like you're on ice." Yeah, i was practically glowing from the compliment.
And of course i'm sure you back home remember my song of choice for my own birthday and farewell dances ("It's close to miiiid-night...").
...
Anyway, i recorded this video back in February of 2005. I was just messing around at home in Champaign (i loved my wood floors) and suddenly wondered what my moonwalk actually looked like. Busted out my digital camera & spent the night recording bunches of short clips of myself being a dork. This was the best one from the lot; nothing overly impressive, but just an example of MJ-inspired fun.
I would now like to share it as a tribute to Michael Jackson.
(sorry for the lack of editing, by the way; the action runs from ~0:12-0:30)
(Facebookers, please click here for the video)
Michael Jackson
August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009
Rest in peace. Your songs will always be remembered, and your dance moves will always be emulated (especially by dorks like me).
Sunday, May 31, 2009
What happened to me Saturday night
I spent yesterday afternoon on a fruitless search for buttondown shirts (i'm skinny & picky; buying shirts is incredibly difficult). After being foiled by store after store, i was annoyed and tired and wanted beer. So i summoned an old friend to meet me for dinner. I was actually impressed by how quickly we went from "Hey, have you guys eaten yet?" to "Ok, meet at the Cheesecake Factory in 20 minutes." During undergrad we used to sit around for *hours* trying to decide where to eat, and while we're better at making plans now, those old tendencies are still there. But it would seem that indecision is easily countered by hunger & annoyance. I'll take it.
So we've been talking about starting up a weekly viewing night. Maybe work through the original Star Trek (i actually haven't seen most of the episodes yet) or get to a few anime series which have been on my list forever. We finally decided to start with Buffy The Vampire Slayer (one of my personal favorite shows of all time, ever). I insisted that we must start with the original Buffy movie (with Kristy Swanson, Luke Perry, and Donald Sutherland - released in 1992 but falls squarely in the genre of campy-80s-goodness). Then i insisted that we go home and watch it after dinner (i'd bought the dvd years ago, but still had it in the shrinkwrap).
So we did, picking up some beers on the way. I can't believe i didn't like this movie the first time i saw it! Maybe i just didn't have an appreciation for campy film back then. Or maybe (more likely) it's because i didn't have beer.
After Buffy we moved on to The Lost Boys (another 80s vampire favorite). So awesome. I always enjoyed that movie on its own merits, but now it's downright hilarious to see Jack Bauer as a teenage hellion (complete with motorcycle and bleach-blonde mullet) and Grandpa Gilmore (Lorelai's dad from Gilmore Girls).
The hour late and my stash of 80s vampire movies exhausted, we called it a night and i dropped my friend off at his place. On my way back home, i was stopped at a traffic light and noticed a big red balloon floating above the lawn just a little way up the road (next to the sign of an apartment complex, i think). I was intrigued by the way it slowly rose and fell along a perfect vertical axis without flying away. Maybe it's because it was 2am, or maybe i'm just easily distracted ("Ooh, shiny object!"), but i thought that red balloon was the coolest thing i'd ever seen. It wasn't even tied to anything (that i could see); it just floated on.
So i think watching the Lost Boys just triggers the teenage mischief in me. I mean the last time i watched that movie i ended up stealing a parking cone (granted we were drunk at the time, but i still blame the movie).
I decided to gank the big red balloon.
The light changed, i drove up & pulled over next to the balloon, popped my trunk, made sure the road was clear, then ran out and snagged it out of the air. It was much, much larger than i'd thought it was and i realized that it wouldn't fit in the trunk. So i decided to shove it through my door into the passenger seat instead. Well, it turned out to be way to big for that too and quickly got stuck in the door. I continued pushing and the balloon resisted the best it could before finally exploding...in a SHOWER of CONFETTI, covering me and the inside of my car with little pieces of colored tissue paper.
Behold (the big red red splotch is the shell of the now-dead balloon):
Oh, i wish i could have seen the look on my face - the milliseconds in the transition from "Get in, you stupid red balloon" to "Aw damn, it popped" to "SWEET MERCIFUL CRAP! MY CAR!"
So that was Saturday. I think we all know what i'll be doing with my Sunday :-)
So we've been talking about starting up a weekly viewing night. Maybe work through the original Star Trek (i actually haven't seen most of the episodes yet) or get to a few anime series which have been on my list forever. We finally decided to start with Buffy The Vampire Slayer (one of my personal favorite shows of all time, ever). I insisted that we must start with the original Buffy movie (with Kristy Swanson, Luke Perry, and Donald Sutherland - released in 1992 but falls squarely in the genre of campy-80s-goodness). Then i insisted that we go home and watch it after dinner (i'd bought the dvd years ago, but still had it in the shrinkwrap).
So we did, picking up some beers on the way. I can't believe i didn't like this movie the first time i saw it! Maybe i just didn't have an appreciation for campy film back then. Or maybe (more likely) it's because i didn't have beer.
After Buffy we moved on to The Lost Boys (another 80s vampire favorite). So awesome. I always enjoyed that movie on its own merits, but now it's downright hilarious to see Jack Bauer as a teenage hellion (complete with motorcycle and bleach-blonde mullet) and Grandpa Gilmore (Lorelai's dad from Gilmore Girls).
The hour late and my stash of 80s vampire movies exhausted, we called it a night and i dropped my friend off at his place. On my way back home, i was stopped at a traffic light and noticed a big red balloon floating above the lawn just a little way up the road (next to the sign of an apartment complex, i think). I was intrigued by the way it slowly rose and fell along a perfect vertical axis without flying away. Maybe it's because it was 2am, or maybe i'm just easily distracted ("Ooh, shiny object!"), but i thought that red balloon was the coolest thing i'd ever seen. It wasn't even tied to anything (that i could see); it just floated on.
So i think watching the Lost Boys just triggers the teenage mischief in me. I mean the last time i watched that movie i ended up stealing a parking cone (granted we were drunk at the time, but i still blame the movie).
I decided to gank the big red balloon.
The light changed, i drove up & pulled over next to the balloon, popped my trunk, made sure the road was clear, then ran out and snagged it out of the air. It was much, much larger than i'd thought it was and i realized that it wouldn't fit in the trunk. So i decided to shove it through my door into the passenger seat instead. Well, it turned out to be way to big for that too and quickly got stuck in the door. I continued pushing and the balloon resisted the best it could before finally exploding...in a SHOWER of CONFETTI, covering me and the inside of my car with little pieces of colored tissue paper.
Behold (the big red red splotch is the shell of the now-dead balloon):
Oh, i wish i could have seen the look on my face - the milliseconds in the transition from "Get in, you stupid red balloon" to "Aw damn, it popped" to "SWEET MERCIFUL CRAP! MY CAR!"
So that was Saturday. I think we all know what i'll be doing with my Sunday :-)
Thursday, May 28, 2009
On the comeback trail
My biggest issue when it comes to my workout goals (and many other goals, for that matter) is a lapse in drive when it comes to the moment. I'll plan on hitting the gym after work on a given day, but by the time i'm ready to head out (usually 6-7pm), i'll find that i'm tired, hungry, and/or annoyed and just want to go home. Some days i force myself to hit the gym anyway. Other days (more often than i'd like), i take the easy way out and blow off the workout.
B-storyline (this is related, i promise): Because i am inept, i failed to supress a particular high-school-esque tendency yesterday. I was about ready to head out, and i saw that she was wrapping up her stuff too, so i tried to time it just right so we'd end up walking together. Yes i know, LAME. So lame, in fact, that i came to my senses and decided to sabotage my own effort and kill time by talking to one of my coworkers about some bug he was fixing (i really didn't care, and he probably noticed that i kept glancing down the row as he explained the bugfix). But then i changed my mind again and tried to revert to the original plan, but i got stuck in the conversation and she slipped out. DAMM!
With a sigh i headed out to where i usually park, but the fact that my car wasn't there reminded me that i'd parked in the deck instead. Double sigh. Finally got to my car, tossed my backpack into the trunk, and then tried to stare down my gym bag. I was really torn; i'd planned things right physically - had a nice lunch heavy on protein and carbs (mongolian bbq - mmm), drank plenty of water through the afternoon, chewed down a power bar about an hour before i was ready to go. But i really felt like just going home and working on my songs instead. Fortunately my gym bag won our battle of wills; i slung it over my shoulder and headed towards the gym.
My reward for making the right call was two-fold:
1) As i approached the door to the building, guess who walked through in the other direction? Yep, it was her! We just exchanged a quick friendly greeting, but the serendipity really lifted my spirits. The sequence of me (a) extracting myself from the pointless conversation, (b) unintentionally taking the scenic route to my car, (c) arguing with my gym bag, and finally (d) heading back in lined up *exactly* with the timing of her walking through that door. It's the little things in life, y'know?
2) My workout was awesome.
Over the past month or two i've slowly been working my way back from a rather lengthy setback (close to a year - uggh). It was incredibly frustrating at first - having my arms give out after only half the number of pushups i used to be able to do, finding myself winded and locking up after only 1 mile on the treadmill, etc.
Yesterday i hit my former max distance of 2.5 miles (running between a 9 and 9.5-minute mile). It's nothing compared to you runners out there, but it was great progress compared to where i'd started.
Lifting didn't go quite as well, but i'm at least back to my former weight levels on the few machines i use (and yes, i do intend to switch to free weights sometime soon). And i'm making slow/steady progress on my semi-nightly pushups (not back to last spring's levels yet, but getting there).
Last year i started tracking my progress on my fridge calendar - red ink for cardio or strenuous activity, blue for light/moderate, and blue again for strength (i need to pick up a different color pen to distinguish). I think i'm ready to reinstate my former goal: I want to see red ink on my calendar 3x/week, and blue 4x/week (with stretch goals of 4x and 5x, respectively). It'll help a lot if i can get my old friend/racquetball partner back into our weekly games. Then i'd need only one other regular activity to fill things out.
I'm very much in the "variety of activities" camp because i do not have the patience for a gym-based routine. Every time i've attempted "Ok, gym 3x/week starting TODAY!@#$ HOUGHA!", i stalled out very quickly. Hence the flexibility of red and blue ink - *any* kind of cardio or strenuous activity counts (running, DDR, a long hike with a thousand feet of elevation change, etc). I can keep it going if i have enough things to switch between. Also, i enjoy seeing the synergy between activities. And really, my underlying goal is simply to live a healthier lifestyle. If i were training for a marathon or something specific, i'd probably want a more focused and disciplined routine. But for now, as long as i get to the point where i do *something* useful every day, and *something* strenuous on alternating days, i'll be happy.
Hmm, now i have Rocky training montages running through my head. Here, have a video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W8xHjC27YvM
Have two videos:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yPbLzu83Ato
:-)
B-storyline (this is related, i promise): Because i am inept, i failed to supress a particular high-school-esque tendency yesterday. I was about ready to head out, and i saw that she was wrapping up her stuff too, so i tried to time it just right so we'd end up walking together. Yes i know, LAME. So lame, in fact, that i came to my senses and decided to sabotage my own effort and kill time by talking to one of my coworkers about some bug he was fixing (i really didn't care, and he probably noticed that i kept glancing down the row as he explained the bugfix). But then i changed my mind again and tried to revert to the original plan, but i got stuck in the conversation and she slipped out. DAMM!
With a sigh i headed out to where i usually park, but the fact that my car wasn't there reminded me that i'd parked in the deck instead. Double sigh. Finally got to my car, tossed my backpack into the trunk, and then tried to stare down my gym bag. I was really torn; i'd planned things right physically - had a nice lunch heavy on protein and carbs (mongolian bbq - mmm), drank plenty of water through the afternoon, chewed down a power bar about an hour before i was ready to go. But i really felt like just going home and working on my songs instead. Fortunately my gym bag won our battle of wills; i slung it over my shoulder and headed towards the gym.
My reward for making the right call was two-fold:
1) As i approached the door to the building, guess who walked through in the other direction? Yep, it was her! We just exchanged a quick friendly greeting, but the serendipity really lifted my spirits. The sequence of me (a) extracting myself from the pointless conversation, (b) unintentionally taking the scenic route to my car, (c) arguing with my gym bag, and finally (d) heading back in lined up *exactly* with the timing of her walking through that door. It's the little things in life, y'know?
2) My workout was awesome.
Over the past month or two i've slowly been working my way back from a rather lengthy setback (close to a year - uggh). It was incredibly frustrating at first - having my arms give out after only half the number of pushups i used to be able to do, finding myself winded and locking up after only 1 mile on the treadmill, etc.
Yesterday i hit my former max distance of 2.5 miles (running between a 9 and 9.5-minute mile). It's nothing compared to you runners out there, but it was great progress compared to where i'd started.
Lifting didn't go quite as well, but i'm at least back to my former weight levels on the few machines i use (and yes, i do intend to switch to free weights sometime soon). And i'm making slow/steady progress on my semi-nightly pushups (not back to last spring's levels yet, but getting there).
Last year i started tracking my progress on my fridge calendar - red ink for cardio or strenuous activity, blue for light/moderate, and blue again for strength (i need to pick up a different color pen to distinguish). I think i'm ready to reinstate my former goal: I want to see red ink on my calendar 3x/week, and blue 4x/week (with stretch goals of 4x and 5x, respectively). It'll help a lot if i can get my old friend/racquetball partner back into our weekly games. Then i'd need only one other regular activity to fill things out.
I'm very much in the "variety of activities" camp because i do not have the patience for a gym-based routine. Every time i've attempted "Ok, gym 3x/week starting TODAY!@#$ HOUGHA!", i stalled out very quickly. Hence the flexibility of red and blue ink - *any* kind of cardio or strenuous activity counts (running, DDR, a long hike with a thousand feet of elevation change, etc). I can keep it going if i have enough things to switch between. Also, i enjoy seeing the synergy between activities. And really, my underlying goal is simply to live a healthier lifestyle. If i were training for a marathon or something specific, i'd probably want a more focused and disciplined routine. But for now, as long as i get to the point where i do *something* useful every day, and *something* strenuous on alternating days, i'll be happy.
Hmm, now i have Rocky training montages running through my head. Here, have a video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W8xHjC27YvM
Have two videos:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yPbLzu83Ato
:-)
Saturday, May 16, 2009
Some Musings [Part 3: "Confessions of a late-20s drama queen"]
(Is anyone still reading? Bueller?)
Part 3: "Confessions of a late-20s drama queen"
I realized a month or two ago that i'm able to laugh again. I mean technically, i never stopped laughing; i've always been a smartass, cracking jokes, etc. But i'm talking about the deep, soulful, "best medicine" kind of laugher; the kind that makes you feel *alive*. I think the zany, fun-loving side of me is finally returning in full-force.
So i was driving home from work one day (about a week before the lindy exchange, i think), cruising down the freeway, music cranked up, when i realized that i was in a really good mood. And that i'd consistently been in a good mood for at least a couple of weeks. And that i was not really weight down by certain memories which had been haunting my steps. No more emo mix of resentment and anxiety holding me back. I mean i'm certainly not *pleased* with what happened, and i'm still very disappointed with her behavior and the way she treated me. I'm not yet convinced that it's "better this way". And i can still fall down an emotional rabbit hole if i'm careless.
But i realize now that i've slowly been piecing my life back together. I didn't really notice at first - the shards held together by glue and slowly-growing scar tissue - but i can see it now that it's really taking shape. I'm once again motivated to get back to my Minor Plan (tm); refocus my personal goals; work towards becoming the guy i want to be.
I suppose things turned a corner earlier this year when she slammed the door in my face. Added to the mountain of inconsistencies, mixed signals, and unfairness, this became the last straw, as it were. Or maybe a spark. Yeah, i like that analogy better - it was the spark which finally lit up the whole mess, and *finally* enraged me enough to burn away the fog in my pretty little idealistic head. When the fires cooled down, i was finally able to see things clearly.
Anyway. I'm sure many of you are saying "About fucking time, man." I agree. It sucks that it took me so long to get to this point, but i'm very glad to be here now.
Part 3: "Confessions of a late-20s drama queen"
I realized a month or two ago that i'm able to laugh again. I mean technically, i never stopped laughing; i've always been a smartass, cracking jokes, etc. But i'm talking about the deep, soulful, "best medicine" kind of laugher; the kind that makes you feel *alive*. I think the zany, fun-loving side of me is finally returning in full-force.
So i was driving home from work one day (about a week before the lindy exchange, i think), cruising down the freeway, music cranked up, when i realized that i was in a really good mood. And that i'd consistently been in a good mood for at least a couple of weeks. And that i was not really weight down by certain memories which had been haunting my steps. No more emo mix of resentment and anxiety holding me back. I mean i'm certainly not *pleased* with what happened, and i'm still very disappointed with her behavior and the way she treated me. I'm not yet convinced that it's "better this way". And i can still fall down an emotional rabbit hole if i'm careless.
But i realize now that i've slowly been piecing my life back together. I didn't really notice at first - the shards held together by glue and slowly-growing scar tissue - but i can see it now that it's really taking shape. I'm once again motivated to get back to my Minor Plan (tm); refocus my personal goals; work towards becoming the guy i want to be.
I suppose things turned a corner earlier this year when she slammed the door in my face. Added to the mountain of inconsistencies, mixed signals, and unfairness, this became the last straw, as it were. Or maybe a spark. Yeah, i like that analogy better - it was the spark which finally lit up the whole mess, and *finally* enraged me enough to burn away the fog in my pretty little idealistic head. When the fires cooled down, i was finally able to see things clearly.
Anyway. I'm sure many of you are saying "About fucking time, man." I agree. It sucks that it took me so long to get to this point, but i'm very glad to be here now.
Monday, May 11, 2009
Some Musings [Part 2: "Sing...sing a song"]
First a postscript to Part 1:
There is now song C in the running. I wasn't considering it before because it's by the same band as song B, and song B is my *favorite* song by that band (which gives it priority). But after spending several hours working on song C yesterday, i'm finding it to be rather compelling. It's been growing on me over the past few weeks anyway, and i'm *really* enjoying learning to play it. Especially the vocals; i've heard the song a million times before, but the lyrics never really hit me until just recently. I feel like i can sing the song and actually *mean it*. I guess we'll see how things play out.
Part 2: "Sing...sing a song"
So i'm hooked on American Idol again. It was so unintentional; i only watched the third season (which Fantasia won - uggh), and pretty much lost interest after that. But a few weeks ago i turned on the tv, waiting for Fringe to come on (such an awesome show). I was a few minutes early, so i caught the 2-minute recap of American Idol. Yawn, right? Wrong. Some of the singers in those 2 minutes were awesome enough to catch my attention. One guy was even playing piano, which completely shattered my cynical view of "Karaoke Idol". So i watched the following week's episode (disco week) and was pretty amazed by several of the numbers, and especially by Kris (the piano guy) and his low-key performance with an acoustic guitar and a few guys rounding out a nice little 4-piece.
The following week was Rat Pack themed; not my favorite, but i'd become a fan of a few of the singers by then, so it was fun to see them on stage again.
Then...Rock Week. And who was the special guest mentor? Slash. Fucking Slash. Oh hell yeah.
So i'm now officially an Adam Lambert fanboy. Such an incredible set of pipes. Awesome range & control in the high registers. And his stage presence, omg. He covered a Led Zeppelin song this week and fucking *nailed* it. As in "Hey, i didn't know Robert Plant was going to be here. Oh wait, it's *Adam*!" He'd better win this season. But even if he doesn't, record labels are going to be falling all over themselves trying to sign him, so i look forward to his debut album. I just hope he rocks it, and doesn't let the label package him up.
Segue. Am i the only dork who is excited about this new show "Glee"?
Direct link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2ea2pMx1lYw
Maybe it's just becasue their awesome Journey cover snagged my attention (love that song). Or maybe it's just my interest in any show involving singing and/or dancing. [Sidebar: Does anyone know where i can score full episodes of Cop Rock? I'm serious. There *has* to be someone out there who taped all of the episodes (a la Lorelai Gilmore) back when it was on.] Anyway, i guess they're airing the pilot as a preview later this month, and then the show will start this fall.
Hmm, sudden urge to watch Dr. Horrible again. Come back for Part 3 - same bat time, same bat channel.
There is now song C in the running. I wasn't considering it before because it's by the same band as song B, and song B is my *favorite* song by that band (which gives it priority). But after spending several hours working on song C yesterday, i'm finding it to be rather compelling. It's been growing on me over the past few weeks anyway, and i'm *really* enjoying learning to play it. Especially the vocals; i've heard the song a million times before, but the lyrics never really hit me until just recently. I feel like i can sing the song and actually *mean it*. I guess we'll see how things play out.
Part 2: "Sing...sing a song"
So i'm hooked on American Idol again. It was so unintentional; i only watched the third season (which Fantasia won - uggh), and pretty much lost interest after that. But a few weeks ago i turned on the tv, waiting for Fringe to come on (such an awesome show). I was a few minutes early, so i caught the 2-minute recap of American Idol. Yawn, right? Wrong. Some of the singers in those 2 minutes were awesome enough to catch my attention. One guy was even playing piano, which completely shattered my cynical view of "Karaoke Idol". So i watched the following week's episode (disco week) and was pretty amazed by several of the numbers, and especially by Kris (the piano guy) and his low-key performance with an acoustic guitar and a few guys rounding out a nice little 4-piece.
The following week was Rat Pack themed; not my favorite, but i'd become a fan of a few of the singers by then, so it was fun to see them on stage again.
Then...Rock Week. And who was the special guest mentor? Slash. Fucking Slash. Oh hell yeah.
So i'm now officially an Adam Lambert fanboy. Such an incredible set of pipes. Awesome range & control in the high registers. And his stage presence, omg. He covered a Led Zeppelin song this week and fucking *nailed* it. As in "Hey, i didn't know Robert Plant was going to be here. Oh wait, it's *Adam*!" He'd better win this season. But even if he doesn't, record labels are going to be falling all over themselves trying to sign him, so i look forward to his debut album. I just hope he rocks it, and doesn't let the label package him up.
Segue. Am i the only dork who is excited about this new show "Glee"?
Direct link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2ea2pMx1lYw
Maybe it's just becasue their awesome Journey cover snagged my attention (love that song). Or maybe it's just my interest in any show involving singing and/or dancing. [Sidebar: Does anyone know where i can score full episodes of Cop Rock? I'm serious. There *has* to be someone out there who taped all of the episodes (a la Lorelai Gilmore) back when it was on.] Anyway, i guess they're airing the pilot as a preview later this month, and then the show will start this fall.
Hmm, sudden urge to watch Dr. Horrible again. Come back for Part 3 - same bat time, same bat channel.
Saturday, May 9, 2009
Some Musings [Part 1: "Feelin' Fine"]
[I've had a lot on my mind recently, and i haven't written in a while. Halfway through writing this post i realized that it was getting way too long. So i'm breaking it up into a series; maybe one post every day or two for the next week.]
Part 1: "Feelin' Fine"
Ever since CULX, it seems like a lot of things have been coming together for me. I mean, my once-a-year visit with my awesome friends back home (love you guys!) is always a huge boost, but there's more going on. Partly it's the timing of various things (more on that in Part 3), but i think it's mostly my own attitude. Reflection of things that are good for me right now, as well as things that have the *potential* to be good. Add to that the promise of a kickass summer filled with concerts, weekend trips, and hitting my (long overdue) backlog of local activities and personal projects. And my fledgeling music project which enjoyed a major confidence boost from all of the wonderful encouragement and positive feedback on my first youtube video. Seriously, you guys, it means a lot to me, so thank you.
Out of the dozen or so songs on my "work-in-progress" list, i have two candidates for my next video. Both are songs i've loved ever since high school, and both translate well to a stripped-down acoustic setting. I'm keeping them under wraps for now, so lets call them songs A and B. I've been working on song A for several months now; it's still choppy, but coming along nicely, i think. Song B is much more difficult (almost entirely barre chords!), and i only started to learn it this week. I reeeally want to release this one next because it's so awesome, but it's going to take me a long time to get it up to scruff. So looks like song A will most likely be next. Although i have been working hard on song B, so we'll see what happens in the next couple of weeks.
As with many of my projects, i cycle through phases including (but not limited to) energized/encouraged, mellow, demotivated/bummed out, frustrated, apathetic, stoic. Right now i'm definitely energized (seriously, i *love* this song, barre chords and all). So far i've noticed that i usually hit my highs when i start learning a new song, because fresh material is always exciting, and i can quickly get from "sucks" to "choppy-but-doable". It's much harder to go from there to "stable" - clean up my guitarwork (and vocals) to the point where i can actually play the song reliably. Progress is much slower in that phase, and i often feel like i'm stuck in the same spot for a long time. I usually offset this by working on a few other songs in parallel - sometimes shelving the song in question for weeks (or even months) at a time because i'm so frustrated and don't like the song anymore. I did this with Free World more times than i can remember. And with song A. Seeing the results of those efforts makes it easier to stay positive even through the frustration. "All we need is just a little patience."
Part 1: "Feelin' Fine"
Ever since CULX, it seems like a lot of things have been coming together for me. I mean, my once-a-year visit with my awesome friends back home (love you guys!) is always a huge boost, but there's more going on. Partly it's the timing of various things (more on that in Part 3), but i think it's mostly my own attitude. Reflection of things that are good for me right now, as well as things that have the *potential* to be good. Add to that the promise of a kickass summer filled with concerts, weekend trips, and hitting my (long overdue) backlog of local activities and personal projects. And my fledgeling music project which enjoyed a major confidence boost from all of the wonderful encouragement and positive feedback on my first youtube video. Seriously, you guys, it means a lot to me, so thank you.
Out of the dozen or so songs on my "work-in-progress" list, i have two candidates for my next video. Both are songs i've loved ever since high school, and both translate well to a stripped-down acoustic setting. I'm keeping them under wraps for now, so lets call them songs A and B. I've been working on song A for several months now; it's still choppy, but coming along nicely, i think. Song B is much more difficult (almost entirely barre chords!), and i only started to learn it this week. I reeeally want to release this one next because it's so awesome, but it's going to take me a long time to get it up to scruff. So looks like song A will most likely be next. Although i have been working hard on song B, so we'll see what happens in the next couple of weeks.
As with many of my projects, i cycle through phases including (but not limited to) energized/encouraged, mellow, demotivated/bummed out, frustrated, apathetic, stoic. Right now i'm definitely energized (seriously, i *love* this song, barre chords and all). So far i've noticed that i usually hit my highs when i start learning a new song, because fresh material is always exciting, and i can quickly get from "sucks" to "choppy-but-doable". It's much harder to go from there to "stable" - clean up my guitarwork (and vocals) to the point where i can actually play the song reliably. Progress is much slower in that phase, and i often feel like i'm stuck in the same spot for a long time. I usually offset this by working on a few other songs in parallel - sometimes shelving the song in question for weeks (or even months) at a time because i'm so frustrated and don't like the song anymore. I did this with Free World more times than i can remember. And with song A. Seeing the results of those efforts makes it easier to stay positive even through the frustration. "All we need is just a little patience."
Sunday, April 26, 2009
Rockin' In The Free World
Neil Young's legendary song "Rockin' In The Free World" has been one of "mine" for a long time now. I've heard so many different versions of the tune over the years, and spent countless hours on youtube watching covers and live performances. I thought i'd share a few of my favorites.
Facebookers - again, the notes app is going to kill the embedded video when it imports this; please go to my original post.
First, of course, the original - studio recording from Neil Young's 1989 album "Freedom":
Next, Pearl Jam & Neil Young playing the song together at the 1993 MTV Video Music Awards. Incredible performance! An encore airing several years later is what first drew my attention to the song (and to Neil Young):
Pearl Jam again - i burned myself a Pearl Jam mix cd when i was in college, leading with a live version of Free World i'd downloaded from somewhere. That recording, i think, had the heaviest influence on the way i sing the song myself. I used to blast it in the car *all the time*, belting out the vocals at the top of my lungs; wonderful feeling. This isn't the same recording, but one of the better ones on youtube:
While working on my own cover, i studied many home recordings on youtube. This one is by far my favorite; i wish i could sing like this guy:
An acoustic performance by Neil Young himself (song starts at ~0:30):
And last, but the opposite of least, Neil Young's performance on Saturday Night Live in 1989. Considered by many to be one of his best performances of the song, and one of the most intense live tv performances ever. (Even now, watching the video makes me want to smash something.)
Facebookers - again, the notes app is going to kill the embedded video when it imports this; please go to my original post.
First, of course, the original - studio recording from Neil Young's 1989 album "Freedom":
Next, Pearl Jam & Neil Young playing the song together at the 1993 MTV Video Music Awards. Incredible performance! An encore airing several years later is what first drew my attention to the song (and to Neil Young):
Pearl Jam again - i burned myself a Pearl Jam mix cd when i was in college, leading with a live version of Free World i'd downloaded from somewhere. That recording, i think, had the heaviest influence on the way i sing the song myself. I used to blast it in the car *all the time*, belting out the vocals at the top of my lungs; wonderful feeling. This isn't the same recording, but one of the better ones on youtube:
While working on my own cover, i studied many home recordings on youtube. This one is by far my favorite; i wish i could sing like this guy:
An acoustic performance by Neil Young himself (song starts at ~0:30):
And last, but the opposite of least, Neil Young's performance on Saturday Night Live in 1989. Considered by many to be one of his best performances of the song, and one of the most intense live tv performances ever. (Even now, watching the video makes me want to smash something.)
Link:
Wednesday, April 15, 2009
Neilam's new music project
Over the past year, some of you may have heard me make references to a personal project, or seen cryptic status messages on Facebook about making progress or being frustrated. Maybe you asked me what i did over the weekend, and my reply was a vague "Oh i just worked on some stuff; caught up on a few things". All of those things were actually about this:
After many years of thinking/talking about it, i finally started taking guitar lessons last year. I decided to keep this project secret (except for a select few friends) until i'd proven to myself that i'm serious and sticking with it; at that point i'd post a video and surprise everyone. I am excited to report that i have reached this point. Kindof.
Sitrep: I have a handful of songs in the works (all covers), and i think this one in particular is really coming along. But i'm having trouble getting a clean recording of it. It's like as soon as the camera goes on, my voice goes out, or something else goes wrong. I've recorded over a hundred takes in the past few weeks, but none of them came out as well as i'd like. So i picked out the best take from the batch to share, because i don't want to wait any longer.
With that, here's my rough-cut/work-in-progress cover of the Neil Young classic, "Rockin' In The Free World":
(I'm pretty sure Facebook will garble the embedded video when it imports this post; if you don't see the player above, please go to my original blog post or directly to YouTube).
Feedback would be much appreciated, especially from you musicians out there. Again, this is just a rough cut. I *know* i can sing better than this, and i can see other areas to work on. I want to continue to learn and improve, so if you have any pointers, i'd love to hear them. General comments are also welcome ("You rock", "You suck", "Neil Young is going to find you and kick your ass" - toughen me up for the YouTube community).
Huge thanks to the few of you who held my secret (or figured it out and didn't say anything). Thanks, of course, to my guitar instructor. And an extra-heartfelt thanks to you, Em, for your awesome support and tips and help with quality control <3
After many years of thinking/talking about it, i finally started taking guitar lessons last year. I decided to keep this project secret (except for a select few friends) until i'd proven to myself that i'm serious and sticking with it; at that point i'd post a video and surprise everyone. I am excited to report that i have reached this point. Kindof.
Sitrep: I have a handful of songs in the works (all covers), and i think this one in particular is really coming along. But i'm having trouble getting a clean recording of it. It's like as soon as the camera goes on, my voice goes out, or something else goes wrong. I've recorded over a hundred takes in the past few weeks, but none of them came out as well as i'd like. So i picked out the best take from the batch to share, because i don't want to wait any longer.
With that, here's my rough-cut/work-in-progress cover of the Neil Young classic, "Rockin' In The Free World":
(I'm pretty sure Facebook will garble the embedded video when it imports this post; if you don't see the player above, please go to my original blog post or directly to YouTube).
Feedback would be much appreciated, especially from you musicians out there. Again, this is just a rough cut. I *know* i can sing better than this, and i can see other areas to work on. I want to continue to learn and improve, so if you have any pointers, i'd love to hear them. General comments are also welcome ("You rock", "You suck", "Neil Young is going to find you and kick your ass" - toughen me up for the YouTube community).
Huge thanks to the few of you who held my secret (or figured it out and didn't say anything). Thanks, of course, to my guitar instructor. And an extra-heartfelt thanks to you, Em, for your awesome support and tips and help with quality control <3
Tuesday, April 7, 2009
29 Albums That Defined My Life
With all of the Facebook memes going around this year, here's one that actually hits home. Music is the driving force of my life. My journal is full of entries concerning the bands and albums that have impacted me, and indeed that is the basis of how i manage my music collection.
[boilerplate]
Think of 20 albums that had such a profound effect on you they changed your life or the way you looked at it. They sucked you in and took you over for days, weeks, months, years. These are the albums that you can use to identify time, places, people, emotions. These are the albums that no matter what they were thought of musically shaped your world. When you finish, tag 20 others, including me. Make sure you copy and paste this part so they know the drill.
My original plan was to write up a short blurb about each of these albums, but (not surprisingly) it quickly started turning into an autobiography. So here's the naked list for now; maybe i'll post the full writeup to my blog later.
Oh, a few other points:
- List is roughly in chronological order (by first impact, not release date) and items are grouped by context.
- Items in bold hold extra-special significance
- I've been hacking on this for like a month now (see also - Rob from High Fidelity). This rev is not perfect but it'll have to do; i'm tired of arguing with myself.
- It's impossible to cut down to 20 albums; 29 is the best i can do :-)
METALLICA
(i can't pick a single Metallica album; narrowed down to these 4)
- The black album
- ...And Justice For All
- Master of Puppets
- Ride The Lightning
Aerosmith - Get A Grip
Van Halen - Balance
Stone Temple Pilots - Core
Smashing Pumpkins - Siamese Dream
Pantera - Far Beyond Driven
White Zombie - Astro-Creep 2000
The Verve Pipe - Villians
Ozzy Osbourne - Ozzmosis
Les Miserables - Original Broadway Cast Recording
Rent - Original Broadway Cast Recording
Cradle Of Filth - Dusk And Her Embrace
DREAM THEATER - Images And Words
Buffy The Vampire Slayer: Once More With Feeling - Original Cast Album
EVANESCENCE - Fallen
Garden State - Music From The Motion Picture
The Cure - Disintegration
Lamb Of God - Ashes Of The Wake
Shadows Fall - The War Within
Killswitch Engage - The End Of Heartache
Avril Lavigne - Under My Skin
Trivium - Ascendency
Bullet For My Valentine - The Poison
All That Remains - The Fall Of Ideals
James Blunt
- Back To Bedlam
- All The Lost Souls
And...bugger it. The following bands didn't quite fit on my list, but it just doesn't feel right to ignore them entirely. Special mentions:
- Nirvana
- Pearl Jam
- Alice In Chains
- Soundgarden
- Jurassic Park soundtrack
- Megadeth
- Fear Factory
- Queensryche
- Slipknot
- Madonna
- Collective Soul
- In Flames
- Dark Tranquillity
- Hungry Lucy
- The Birthday Massacre
- Lacuna Coil
[boilerplate]
Think of 20 albums that had such a profound effect on you they changed your life or the way you looked at it. They sucked you in and took you over for days, weeks, months, years. These are the albums that you can use to identify time, places, people, emotions. These are the albums that no matter what they were thought of musically shaped your world. When you finish, tag 20 others, including me. Make sure you copy and paste this part so they know the drill.
My original plan was to write up a short blurb about each of these albums, but (not surprisingly) it quickly started turning into an autobiography. So here's the naked list for now; maybe i'll post the full writeup to my blog later.
Oh, a few other points:
- List is roughly in chronological order (by first impact, not release date) and items are grouped by context.
- Items in bold hold extra-special significance
- I've been hacking on this for like a month now (see also - Rob from High Fidelity). This rev is not perfect but it'll have to do; i'm tired of arguing with myself.
- It's impossible to cut down to 20 albums; 29 is the best i can do :-)
METALLICA
(i can't pick a single Metallica album; narrowed down to these 4)
- The black album
- ...And Justice For All
- Master of Puppets
- Ride The Lightning
Aerosmith - Get A Grip
Van Halen - Balance
Stone Temple Pilots - Core
Smashing Pumpkins - Siamese Dream
Pantera - Far Beyond Driven
White Zombie - Astro-Creep 2000
The Verve Pipe - Villians
Ozzy Osbourne - Ozzmosis
Les Miserables - Original Broadway Cast Recording
Rent - Original Broadway Cast Recording
Cradle Of Filth - Dusk And Her Embrace
DREAM THEATER - Images And Words
Buffy The Vampire Slayer: Once More With Feeling - Original Cast Album
EVANESCENCE - Fallen
Garden State - Music From The Motion Picture
The Cure - Disintegration
Lamb Of God - Ashes Of The Wake
Shadows Fall - The War Within
Killswitch Engage - The End Of Heartache
Avril Lavigne - Under My Skin
Trivium - Ascendency
Bullet For My Valentine - The Poison
All That Remains - The Fall Of Ideals
James Blunt
- Back To Bedlam
- All The Lost Souls
And...bugger it. The following bands didn't quite fit on my list, but it just doesn't feel right to ignore them entirely. Special mentions:
- Nirvana
- Pearl Jam
- Alice In Chains
- Soundgarden
- Jurassic Park soundtrack
- Megadeth
- Fear Factory
- Queensryche
- Slipknot
- Madonna
- Collective Soul
- In Flames
- Dark Tranquillity
- Hungry Lucy
- The Birthday Massacre
- Lacuna Coil
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