uh-oh. a top ten list?

Alright, I've been meaning to do this for some time now. Trying to get this in order--these are, as of this very moment, my top ten peices of recorded music.

1) The Beatles - "Because" - Abbey Road (Lennon/McCartney)


2) Led Zeppelin - "Since I've Been Loving You - Led Zeppelin III (Page, Plant, Jones)


3) Antonin Dvorak - Symphony no. 9 in E minor (New World Symphony) - Fourth movement


4) Radiohead - "Nude" - In Rainbows (Radiohead)


5) Beck & Jon Brion - "Everybody's Gotta Learn Sometime" - Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind soundtrack (James Warren)


6) Tom Waits - "Heartattack and Vine" - Heartattack and Vine (Tom Waits)


7) Miles Davis - "In Your Own Sweet Way" - Workin' with the Miles Davis Quintet (Dave Brubeck)


8) Herbie Hancock - "Chameleon" - Headhunters (Hancock, Maupin, Mason, Jack)


9) Radiohead - "Just" - The Bends (Radiohead)


10) Count Basie - "Vine Street Rumble" - Kansas City Suite (Benny Carter)


That was painful, but felt like it needed to be done. Runners-up:
Prince - "Black Sweat"
Pixies - "Planet of Sound"
The Vines - "Mary Jane"
White Stripes - "Jolene"
Spoon - "You Got Yr. Cherry Bomb"
Silver Apples - "Gypsy Love"

Maybe I'll come back and explain myself at some point. Right now, in the words of my good Italian friend Alberto, it is time to study.

Don't you hear them falling?

I don't know if I've mentioned this before, but regardless, it bears repeating.

Led Zeppelin's "Since I've Been Loving You" is, in my opinion, the absolute most perfect sound representation of sorrow ever created. It is possibly my favorite song of all time (gives the Beatles' "Because" a run for its money). You just cannot pack more raw emotion into sound than they do here. Bonham's pounding beat just drags and drags you down further as JPJ's organ lines whirl around in this insanely heart-wrenching torrent of blues. And of course, there is Page's solo in the middle, which is probably the single most emotionally affecting use of the electric guitar ever. It can't really be fully described, so please just go listen to it (not the shitty quality ones on youtube; find a real copy); turn the bass up so you can hear the heaviest bass lines ever written, and just let it wash over you.

I can't listen to that song all the way through without coming fairly close to tears at several points. God damn.

We knew they would find a way.

At the top of this election cycle, it seemed as if the Democrats had enough political momentum behind them stemming from the general public's disdain for Bush to turn them into an unstoppable juggernaut in the election. But there were always comments thrown around in jest that they would find a way to ruin it all.

And that they have, in the form of Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton.

Rather than bow out of the race and help the party build up its strength against McCain, Clinton has decided that the only way for her to be the nominee is to break down Sen. Obama until he is unelectable, all the while disregarding the fact that she herself has been regarded as trustworthy by less than half of America in recent polls. Rendering both herself and her opponent politically crippled, unless she gets out of the campaign almost immediately, Clinton will have managed to hand yet another election to the Republicans.

Patience now, they're gonna string you out.

Thanks to a comment by Tom, I have just begun yet another festival o' listening to The Vines' 2002 Highly Evolved LP. What an incredible set. You can hear just as much Pink Floyd as Nirvana... and the songwriting is so, so much more sophisticated than what you tend to hear these days.

The fact that they managed to pull this together while Craig Nicholls was going around with undiagnosed asperger's syndrome, made worse by all the weed he was smoking, is absolutely incredible. The man's a kegitimate musical genius of the kind you don't really see often, and it's a shame that the band's legitimately messy actions before Nicholls's diagnosis have alienated them so much. They are, however, still making music, and I'm still hoping the industry will get over themselves and give the Vines a shot at a major comeback. There is a lot of potential there that remains, for the most part, untapped.

Giving Winning Days (2004) another shot, too. The sense I have had so far is it's a lot more forced-sounding, but you can still hear a lot of the same intelligence and distinct feel. Haven't made up my mind. also need to get a hold of Vision Valley (2006), which came after Nicholls got help.

OH MY HELL JESUS FUCK.

Return to Forever is on tour this summer. They will be both in Boston, which is as close to someplace people care about as we New Englanders have, and in Maryland, which both is someplace people care about and is where my lady lives. I guess there are tix for $25. Obviously I have very little money, but this is one show I really cannot miss. It's probably the last time they'll go on tour, and I mean, they're one of the original ridiculous fusion groups. Stanley Clarke may as well have invented the electric bass, and Chick Corea... fuck it, I'm not gonna try and explain it, just dig this.

Did I mention the Flecktones open at least one of the shows?

Uplifting Gormandizers...?

The term which would set off a musical revolution.

Erroll Garner is probably the classiest musician ever. You hear five notes and you just know he is about to woo you with the sweetest sounds you have ever heard.

My keyboard did something awesome the other day. I was writing an email when it suddenly went "aaaaaaaaaaaaaa" and then the "a" key stopped working. So, every time I have to use the letter "a" I am using ctrl+v, since I have that letter saved to copy & paste. Pain in my ass of course, but with $10 in the bank account, I can't afford a new keyboard.

So the music side of my life is starting to really come together. I keep getting one gig which'll lead me to another, at which I meet two more people who want me to play, through whom I meet two more... Getting my name out there, which is, of course, the goal. Provided people keep liking my work on the bass, I'm in line to actually get some respect (and maybe even get paid) as a musician before too, too long.

Coming to the realization that I really would love to be an artist... here's my projected career path:

1) Work in a label or publishing house for some time. Maybe set one up myself.
2) Constantly be working on my music. If my career as an artist takes off, go with it.
3) Use my position in the industry to leverage my way into being a producer as well.

Or, I may just open a venue later on in life from which I run a small indie label. We'll see what happens.

This one's optimistic.

I feel a change coming on in my musical direction. As I learn more and more about synthesis and drone music, I've been getting more experimental in my writing... almost nothing I write anymore sounds like traditional pop-rock or straight jazz. The probem with this is that I am pretty limited in my ability to do these things as I have limited equipment. I do have my Juno-D, which I'm going to become much more friendly with this summer. We'll see what happens.

On a similar note: I've been realizing that Kid A is one of the most beautiful albums ever written.

for LIFE!

Dear anyone who ever said simplicity doesn't work:

"SCIENCE!"

Have been trying to set up music myspace for some time now. Will post a link once it's done. Difficult as I have few good pictures of myself performing, and fewer still demos of my own music (some that I've written but performed with TS & TL). Need to record a demo. Will probably put up a jazz track, a rock track, and a couple of weird ones.

Speaking of weird shit, just got done with my latest project for my Electronic Music/Synthesis class. Had to compose a 3 minute piece entirely using the Buchla synthesizer (1960s piece o' work, full of oscillators and fun things) and analog tape. I created this thing based around the horror film cliche of the creepy-ass funhouse. It's pretty badass. If I can get it from the DAT tape onto my 8-track (will mean fucking around with the mixer in the synth lab, which I am not supposed to do), I'll probably put that up on my myspace. I'm pretty proud of it. It lulls you into a false sense of security, then gets heinous, noisy and awful, in all the best possible ways.

Have been becoming more and more into noise music. You can get such a great effect with a loud, heavy atonal drone... If I even get successful in music, I'll probably wind up pretty experimental (though I won't lose sight of simplicity or groove).

In the meantime, I will dig on some Thomas Dolby whilst trying to get my ACE homework done.

My Generation

What will the 2000s be remembered for musically? Some great music has come out, but aside from the 2001-2 garage rock explosion, there hasn't been any semblance of order--VH1 won't have any idea how to assemble their top 100 list. Much of ths has to do with the fact that there's no strong cultural identity for us to attach to. In the '90s, grunge and the alternative bands that followed came in as part of a general movement toward detachment and irony. But we're in the post-post-modern era, and even irony seems reprocessed--where does that leave us?

Obviously this question goes far past the scope of music. There's hardly any sense anymore of what is "cool" in any realm--I guess you could argue that it's cool to be young... and female, or a gay man. I think that has a lot to do with the fact that human sex appeal is a constant and continues to be the driving force behind most marketing at this point (I actually saw an electrician's van the other day parked on 10th street with a stock photo of an attractive woman smiling next to the logo) and less to do with any actual identity. Some would argue that that's a good thing, and I definitely agree that there are upsides. But I think it is also a state that lends itself to apathy, since nobody is in synch enough with each other to get pissed off or very happy about anything.

Anyway, historians will work that one out. In the meantime... I just wonder what they'll say was the song of our generation. The 90s had "Smells like Teen Spirit." What'll ours be? "Umbrella"?

Chocolate Jesus.

New Breeders album is really solid. Very chilled-out, but stays very Breeders. I am pleased. The last track is really fuckin' weird, which I like.

Getting more into Modest Mouse of late. They have some truly crazy moments, and are always very musical with what they do. I'd like to see them someday. They're on tour right now with REM, but the tix are expensive as shit.

Whenever a track ends, I can hear my suitemate Steven practicing showtunes in the other room. It's a funny contrast.

Kegan got the Small Stone pedal today, which I'm excited about. Tony Smokes & the Ladykillers has a pretty simple and high-energy sound for the most part but it's good to have a few variables. I'm adding my Big Muff pedal this summer for crazy bass antics, and Kegan's expanding his setup a bit, so we'll diversify a little bit, though we'll still keep it pretty garage-rock (the old setup was bass-straight through the PA and guitar-distortion, OD, Whammy).

Speaking of the band, I've been meaning to post this: you can download our first EP thing, Wear a Helmet, for free. It's from back in the days when we were really goofy, had a keyboardist (Dante left for creative reasons), and were known as The Cheese Grater Experience Version 5 Featuring Major Vader. It's kind of ridiculous but fun, so enjoy.

Be my... Capri Sun?

I used to think Electric Six had hit their prime early with the album Fire. Having given all the others an extensive listen by now, though, I've worked out that Fire was a far less mature band. They had crazy energy of course, stemming from the sexually charged lyrics, Dick Valentine's ridiculous voice and the sheer loudness and groove of the music; but in their later music, when they graduated from pure sexuality to general strangeness and some sexuality, they got a lot more musically sophisticated--and it's really more enjoyable to listen to for a long time. I can put on Senor Smoke on repeat for three hours and still be diggin' it.

As predicted, Spoon kicked my ass all over the place. If they ever come anywhere near you I highly, highly recommend that you go. It's usually pretty cheap, but they're one of the better live bands around. They sound pretty chill on their albums... but really... no. No, they stomp some ass when you see 'em at what they do, though not in the traditional "we gon' play some loud guitar and hit some cymbals, FUCK YEAH" type of way. They're not really a guitar band per se, but occasionally Britt Daniels will get down for a minute to fuck with his pedals, then stand up, and take the most ridiculous 16 bars of noise solo you've ever heard. Ohhh. Also, if I haven't already said so, I can't recommend their latest album enough. Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga is the type of album where you turn on the first track and go "Yeah, I love this one!" but, then it ends and the next one begins... and you do the same thing. For every single one. They're all very distinct sounding works, but they all could be singles and do well. Every song is great. Seriously.

Also... I am not much of one for webcomics--despite having and maintaining a blog as I now do, I am not that much of an internets type--but, lately two particular ninja-themed ones have been quite good, and I would like to point you to them. Here they are:

White Ninja
Dr. McNinja

Enjoy. I'ma go eat yet more NYU dining, because I can't afford shit else.

Maybe next Saturday.

Spoon tonight. Yeah!

Missed my first class. My second class, which normally is from 11 to 2, was cut at 11:30 so we could have personal lessons with the ACS-3 synthesizer; I was first, so I was done at 11:45. No collegium today, which is normally 2 to 3:30.

Basically all I have today is keyboards from 4 to 4:50.

So Tony Smokes is headed some good directions. We have been looking at what we've done, and what's ahead, and we have a pretty solid idea of what this summer is going to be like. Tom is picking up guitar, and we'll help him get really solid on that; I'll probably end up showing him and Kegan some bass tricks so we can all switch off when we want to. This will cause us to be several thousand times more versatile. Our songs are getting more complex, in kind of a Radiohead-y vein less most of the synthesizers. Also, a focus for the near future will be writing some songs on which Ally sings lead, which is something you all should be looking forward to--her voice is kickass. We will periodically do some low-key recordings, video or whatever, and with any luck may be releasing our first EP in late July/early August-ish, potentially along with some free downloadable tracks...?

Also am hoping to take either drum or voice lessons this summer, but finances will be an issue--particularly when none of the places I applied to work have yet called me. I think that the lovely Gibson Doublecut Les Paul Faded Yellow is a lost cause for now.

Back in the 1970s or 80s (don't remember), Bernstein did this series of lectures in which he discussed the nature of music. He had a lot of amazing points, but what stuck with me the most was his statement on the way that music makes meaning: music acts as a metaphor. The simple realization of that statement has been taking a powerful effect on my musical personality. Music as metaphor. When I'm taking a bass solo, what I am telling you as an audience member is "dig, man: it's like this." When I write a song, if the lyrics are important to me, you should be able to tell not why but how they are important to me without ever hearing them. It's such a powerful thing, and I think in the age of samples and catchy three-note figures it sometimes gets lost (though of course, not always).

Adios.

Just a psychotic girl, and I want to get lost in your world.

I'd like to direct your attention at this juncture to a band that has recieved far, far too little attention lately. The Black Keys, a blues- and classic rock-inflected garage duo, have just released their latest album, "Attack and Release," which is their first album to date produced in an actual studio. Produced by Danger Mouse, this album is absolutely one of the best I have heard recently and one of the most original, least derivative works in the past decade or so, at least. Sure, you can hear both some White Stripes and some Radiohead in them... but, then again, that's just awesome. White Stripes plus Radiohead? Holy hell.

You may have heard the track "Strange Times" on the radio. It's been released as the lead single off of the album, and rightly so--its verse beat is amazingly infectious, and it opens with just the drums pounding out a crazy rhythm. Then it breaks it down into a half-time chorus, only to smack you in the face again with sheer badass when the beat comes back in. Very simple stuff, but purely great music.

My favorite track may be the bluesy, bluesy, heavy as hell "Lies." Dan Auerbach's voice just reeks of the blues, as he sings "I wanna die, without pain." This song, though it never goes over the top whatsoever, is packed to bursting with emotion--one of a very few songs I have heard recently capable of really affecting me in such a powerful way, in the elite company of the White Stripes' cover of "Jolene" and the Beatles' "Because."

Though I don't honestly have the time to rave about every track on this album, just take my word for it that there is not a bad second in the entire thing. This may be the most legitimate blues record since the days of Son House. Auerbach keeps his composure while simultaneously tearing us to pieces with the blues... not a common gift. Actually, don't take my word for it. Go and get the damn album. I can't recommend it enough. In the meantime dig on "Strange Times" courtesy of the Youtubes.

(Also, from an earlier album... "Your Touch" is a great song, and the video is ridiculous.)

Pleasant Interlude I.

I would just like to point out some of the most ingenious lyrics I have ever heard. Tyler Spencer is a genius.

"Jimmy Carter"--Electric Six

Like Jimmy Carter like, electric underwear
Like any idea that never had a chance of going anywhere
This is who you are
A celebrity who drives off a bridge in a car
Your beautiful body filling up with water

Like Harry Truman dropping bombs out of the air
Like any self-respecting multi-billionaire
This is who you are
Five dancing teenage boys who sing their way into our hearts
Backstreets back alright

And there's a toxic cloud hanging over her
And there's white noise on the screen
And there's a man in a hotel room assaulting the maid who just came to clean
Up the mess
Backstreets back alright

Like Ronald Reagan falling asleep for ever more
Dreaming of horses and dreaming of nuclear war
This is where we are tonight
Everybody under surveilance from a satellite
You can be the first one on your block to die
And there's a plague of locusts upon us
And there's a nightmare in the swarm
And there's a lion out in the desert slouching towards Bethlehem to be born..again
Backstreets back alright.....alright.

Ramble on.

So the snare drum that Danielle ordered a while back finally came in today, completing the rehearsal/recording setup in my room. We now have:

-drumset
-PA, mics, stands, etc
-synthesizer
-basses (E & U), amp
-guitars, amp
-turntables
-portable 8-track (digital)
-recording interface

In celebration, today my room was the most obnoxiously loud room ever. I'm sure it'll only get more insane this weekend when we're all bumming around with little to do. We've stopped now as it's almost midnight out of respect for those who have class tomorrow, but tomorrow I fully expect to be obnoxiously woken up by people I've never met before beating on the cymbals as hard as they can (I have met quite a few new faces who were attracted by the sweet sounds of the set).

Now everything has chilled down a bit, which is good for my health. Got some sorta mango drank from Upstein, listening to some Miles (first quintet, with Trane); generally just relaxin', cookin', steamin', workin'...

Guess I have two separate recording gigs this weekend. Neither for pay of course (sigh) but it'll be very, very good to get my name out there. That'll put my Actual Releases credit count at 3. I'm a session bassist now! Woo!

I am a tired bassist also, so I'ma go lie down. Adios.

Earthquake weather.

Yeah, I've been pretty happy overall lately.

Man... Keyboard for me is a little bit counterintuitive. I guess it's that I've gotten so used to playing with my left and right hands exactly in sync on bass and guitar, and now they have to be independent and do completely separate things from one another. Good for me to learn though. I'll start going through the Real Book and bangin' out some of the less crazy heads so I can get better at simultaneously comping and playing melodically.

Gave Herbie Hancock's Headhunters another listen last night. I listen to the first two tracks ("Chameleon," the funkiest 16 minutes ever committed to record, and the classic "Watermelon Man") pretty constantly, but last night I rediscovered how hard the other two groove. "Sly" is Herbie's tribute to Sly Stone and is appropriately simplistic, with a smooth, cool melody that gives way to absolute caveman funk for the solos. "Vein Melter" is this slow, slow, grooving mess of soul that has some of the most sophisticated synthesized sounds to exist back in 1973. It's really easy to see how this album earned such a high place in the jazz pantheon. It broke ground like few other records ever have.

Man, I have met some people here at NYU that I can just kind of tell will be with me for a long, long time. Many of my friends from high school are sort of drifting away, if they haven't already (notable exceptions being the Ladykillers) which is sad. But there are a few here who it seems like I'll end up hangin' out with for a long, long time. Awesome.

I really gotta go write The Essay.

Oh, PS--The new Black Keys album, Attack and Release, is far and wide the best album I've heard come out this year. Having Danger Mouse produce it was a damned good idea. Pick up a copy if you haven't yet. It's a worthwhile investment. You'll listen to it a lot.

Are you livin' old man?

So far, having kind of a shitty April Fool's day. Woke up this morning with a nasty fever... think I'm taking the day off, I feel disgusting. Saw Zoe and Christea, then went into the bathroom to brush my teeth... at which time I discovered that Zoe had covered the bathroom doorknob in vaseline as a super awesome prank. I heaved a heavy sigh and wiped off the doorknob, then proceeded to go around finding the other doorknobs she had lubed up and cleaning them off.

I dunno, man. It just kind of made me sad. Like "aw... now my hand has stuff on it. Again."

Christea was involved in distracting me for it to happen. Just goes to show you, you can never trust a woman.

Or so I am told.

Anyway, Malik and I have designed some plans for retaliatory measures against Zoe which will be monstrously amazing. Normally I am not one for April Fool's--most practical jokes people pull are really just annoying, though occasionally there will come an awesome one--but we have some good ideas for this one.

I'm going to go lie down because I feel like I am covered in ants.

PS I'm gay, and also a woman. Wait... april fool's.

--------
Update:
--------
So here's what we did to Zoe.

Step the first: That morning, confronted her and gave her a whole "you messed with the wrong guys, you're gonna get it so badly" spiel. Zoe is a very excitable person (I mean that in absolutely the best way, I love her to death) and so she got pretty terrified all day. Whenever she saw Malik or I, she'd run.

Step the second: Malik and I recorded a 2-and-a-half minute track of obnoxiously loud, semi-frightening noises from the synthesizer to a .wav file. Uploaded it to Christea's iPod.

Step the third: Set up Christea's iPod and speakers in the bottom drawer of her dresser, which happens to be right next to Zoe's head. Turned volume all the way up; left drawer open a little ways but kept the speaker covered enough to be invisible at night.

Step the fourth: Set the alarm clock on Christea's iPod to 4:36 am.

And, lastly: "April fool's."