Music-Various Baltimore hits, Fleet Foxes, The Faint, Simon Mobile Disco
Games-GTA Online (ranked baby!), Mass Effect, Soul Caliber (Rach is actucally very good at this), LOTRO, and WoW.
Keeping busy.
Big couple of weeks. Will post more later.
Thursday, August 7, 2008
Thursday, July 17, 2008
Live Blogging Dr. Horrible's Sing along blog, Act 1
0:07-NPH in the house ya'll!
0:35-Sounds like the premise of the show is the our hero...is actucally a villian. Which is aweomse.
1:03-Emails!
1:42-Gold looks an awful lot like chocolate pudding after it has been transported.
2:25-Eyebrow action=Priceless. I have a feeling even KKR would invest in one of his schemes with that sales pitch. Sweet.
2:59-Three minutes in, I notice the pans hanging from the celling in the upper left corner. Back of a kitchen? Perhaps part of Barney's awesome pad? Stay turned.
3:45-HOLY SHIT IS NPH GOING TO SING?????
3:52-LOLZ GREATEST SHOW EVER!!
4:48-This is some twisted, evil villian, musical action going on here.
5:31-Roomate's name is moist? My girlfriend's least favorite word ever. Interesting.
6:21-The king of all evil goes by the name of Bad Horse. Huh.
7:00-Singing letters. I need those.
7:15-Best line so far, "do you need another dampended, or made soggy?" Oh moist.
8:25-Evil gadgets are controlled by an Iphone? Awesome.
8:38-Akward run-in. Nice.
9:05-Billy is his name. Nice.
9:50-"Buy rocket-packs, go to the moon, and become florists. You know".
11:12-Why NPH? Because this a poorly written epic you tube clip, that's why.
11:29-You know, he can sing ok. Crazy.
11:54-The guy from Firefly??? WTF???
12:00-Wow, what a douchebag.
13:00-This akward three-way musical needs to stop.
13:47-Last word of act one sums it up: "Balls".
0:35-Sounds like the premise of the show is the our hero...is actucally a villian. Which is aweomse.
1:03-Emails!
1:42-Gold looks an awful lot like chocolate pudding after it has been transported.
2:25-Eyebrow action=Priceless. I have a feeling even KKR would invest in one of his schemes with that sales pitch. Sweet.
2:59-Three minutes in, I notice the pans hanging from the celling in the upper left corner. Back of a kitchen? Perhaps part of Barney's awesome pad? Stay turned.
3:45-HOLY SHIT IS NPH GOING TO SING?????
3:52-LOLZ GREATEST SHOW EVER!!
4:48-This is some twisted, evil villian, musical action going on here.
5:31-Roomate's name is moist? My girlfriend's least favorite word ever. Interesting.
6:21-The king of all evil goes by the name of Bad Horse. Huh.
7:00-Singing letters. I need those.
7:15-Best line so far, "do you need another dampended, or made soggy?" Oh moist.
8:25-Evil gadgets are controlled by an Iphone? Awesome.
8:38-Akward run-in. Nice.
9:05-Billy is his name. Nice.
9:50-"Buy rocket-packs, go to the moon, and become florists. You know".
11:12-Why NPH? Because this a poorly written epic you tube clip, that's why.
11:29-You know, he can sing ok. Crazy.
11:54-The guy from Firefly??? WTF???
12:00-Wow, what a douchebag.
13:00-This akward three-way musical needs to stop.
13:47-Last word of act one sums it up: "Balls".
Blog 2
Really? Another blog, when you barely update the one you have?
Really. I am looking at starting a video game blog, considering the prolific amount of time I spend playing and reading about them. To those of you who didn't know me in high school, I was a very adept gamer for a long time. I ran a 60 person guild at 16 in Asheron's Call 2,was ranked 7 on my Unreal Tournament 2 server, and was a HUGE fan of many other PC games. I was more or less exculsive to the computer, however these days I pretty much only play my Xbox 360 Elite.
I would cover games, reviews, gear, upcoming titles for the Xbox360 and the computer. What gear do I have? Which router do I use? Do I have a direct link adapter for my xbox, or I did go cheaper? What wireless network do I use? A? B? G? N?
Let me know if there would be any interest.
Love.
Really. I am looking at starting a video game blog, considering the prolific amount of time I spend playing and reading about them. To those of you who didn't know me in high school, I was a very adept gamer for a long time. I ran a 60 person guild at 16 in Asheron's Call 2,was ranked 7 on my Unreal Tournament 2 server, and was a HUGE fan of many other PC games. I was more or less exculsive to the computer, however these days I pretty much only play my Xbox 360 Elite.
I would cover games, reviews, gear, upcoming titles for the Xbox360 and the computer. What gear do I have? Which router do I use? Do I have a direct link adapter for my xbox, or I did go cheaper? What wireless network do I use? A? B? G? N?
Let me know if there would be any interest.
Love.
Monday, July 7, 2008
Where have you been?
http://www.80-35.com/
There. I talked to several local DJs and backstage with DJ Flash. Flash is tight with Matt at Guitar Center where I pick up gear I don't want shipped to me. Check out the set list below:
American Trust DJ Stage
12:45 p.m. - DJ Flash
2:00 p.m. - Jade Reed
3:30 p.m. - TouchNice
5:00 p.m. - Tim Grimes
6:30 p.m. - Brad Goldman
8:15 p.m. - DJ Diverse
DJ Flash was very good, thought very ambitious with his mixing. He started off with a clash-up of Led Zepplin with MF Doom which was mind blowing considering his "you have never heard of me ever" status (for Des Moines obviously). I heard Slim Shady in the mix after that with some fairly bland electro that I didn't know. A ton of Dr. Dre in the mix as well. Really, it sounded like he went with blends he had done in the past. Keeping it safe for the home crowd.
Jade Reed was ok. I heard "Put your hands up for Detriot" in a mainly electronic mix which my girl typically goes crazy for. At this point, a ton of....uniquely lubricated and poorly showered people flowed into the stage. Considered that they danced for the entire set list, in circles, puking and wild-eyed led me to believe a strage blend of Acid and something else. My friend John suggested it was laced X which one of the confirmed when they fell on me and couldn't stop rubbing my feet.
DJ Diverse was the only DJ I stayed for the entire set for (The Roots played, can you blame me?). I have to say, easily the best DJ in Iowa. Check out his Myspace below, his current profile pic is him life at the show.
http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendID=78059243
I am going to hit up his show at the Crush club soon. I'll try to get backstage for a quick word; I'll let you know how it goes.
There. I talked to several local DJs and backstage with DJ Flash. Flash is tight with Matt at Guitar Center where I pick up gear I don't want shipped to me. Check out the set list below:
American Trust DJ Stage
12:45 p.m. - DJ Flash
2:00 p.m. - Jade Reed
3:30 p.m. - TouchNice
5:00 p.m. - Tim Grimes
6:30 p.m. - Brad Goldman
8:15 p.m. - DJ Diverse
DJ Flash was very good, thought very ambitious with his mixing. He started off with a clash-up of Led Zepplin with MF Doom which was mind blowing considering his "you have never heard of me ever" status (for Des Moines obviously). I heard Slim Shady in the mix after that with some fairly bland electro that I didn't know. A ton of Dr. Dre in the mix as well. Really, it sounded like he went with blends he had done in the past. Keeping it safe for the home crowd.
Jade Reed was ok. I heard "Put your hands up for Detriot" in a mainly electronic mix which my girl typically goes crazy for. At this point, a ton of....uniquely lubricated and poorly showered people flowed into the stage. Considered that they danced for the entire set list, in circles, puking and wild-eyed led me to believe a strage blend of Acid and something else. My friend John suggested it was laced X which one of the confirmed when they fell on me and couldn't stop rubbing my feet.
DJ Diverse was the only DJ I stayed for the entire set for (The Roots played, can you blame me?). I have to say, easily the best DJ in Iowa. Check out his Myspace below, his current profile pic is him life at the show.
http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendID=78059243
I am going to hit up his show at the Crush club soon. I'll try to get backstage for a quick word; I'll let you know how it goes.
Wednesday, June 18, 2008
Tuesday, June 17, 2008
Flying Lotus
Late-night caffeine can often make sentences that sound coherent to the writer virtually impossible to understand for the reader. Bottom-line? I work too much. But when inspiration knocks, you’ve got to answer the door. Still, even within that late-night train wreck, my final paragraph had some great points that I want to elaborate on, specifically with my newfound fascination with Flying Lotus.
Flying Lotus is a one-man show. He is more or less a DJ with some great reviews as a producer and beat maker. I think that for many fans of the LA hip hop scene, we are always looking for the next Madlib or DJ Shadow (I will post many, many things on them in the future if you don’t already know the names). California claims to be the most forward thinking state and in terms of Hip Hop, I believe they truly are. First, you need to understand the history of what Flying Lotus is really trying to embody, and why with only major release he already has a huge fan base equal to that of his detractors.
As luck would have it, “Endtroducing...” was actually the first CD I would ever buy. I saw it in the alternative section at Best Buy when I was a little kid back in 1996. I don’t know if I buy into it being fate or not, but it sure is an awful coincidence that it is one of my all time favorite CDs. I remember thinking that DJ Shadow was the coolest name I could think of. If you (whoever you are dear reader) ever see this on vinyl, I will pay you handsomely for it.
So why should you care about a record from twelve years ago (man I feel old these days)? It is still in the Guinness Book of World Records for being the first album to be made entirely of samples. Basically, it was the first album pieced together by mixing different pieces of old records. A drum line from an old jazz beat, an organ from Beethoven, spoken word from a collectors set, etc. Check out my favorite track “Organ Donor” here.
DJ Shadow added to what would latter be labeled as “Trip Hop”. Trip hop was a global phenom that especially took hold in the UK. Even though he refuses to allow his music to be classified in this manner (“I wanted to add to the library of Hip Hop. I don’t want to be grouped in this fake genre created by the media”) he is overwhelmingly reduced to just that. But seriously, I understand his point. If experimental hip hop has to be put into a sub-genre just to be considered hip hop, that means that only pop hip hop is actually that kind of music. It would seem to discourage development into new areas (ie. Sounds) that I think would set the industry back. If anything, we need more experimental music rather than less.
Next up: Madlib. Madlib really pushed the creative limits of hip-hop early on as well. I’ve already gone into J Dilla a little here, but the idea is similar: using unique samples to create a whole new style of hip-hop. Check out Accordion by Madvillain (aka Madlib on production with MF Doom MCing). Think about 2002. Air Force Ones by freaking Nelly is the number one song in the nation. Imagine the courage it took to produce an underground experimental record that flew in the face of commercial hip-hop. It was like raising your hand and saying, “Actually, I don’t want to make money….”
Finally, we have Flying Lotus. What does he bring to the table? Now that really is the question. I would very loosely say DJ Shadow added the ambient sound, Madlib added the jazz sound, and Flylo adds electro (and his own interpretation of both of the others). In terms of sales, message boards, and DJ playlists it would appear the target audience for this music (i.e. Producers, DJs, whatever I am) agree that for all of the hype of being labeled the next big LA producer brings, Flylo comes correct on his latest release.
As a side note: Please support innovative artists (such as Flylo) by purchasing music like this rather than just downloading it. The more we steal music, the cheaper it becomes to us.
Flying Lotus is a one-man show. He is more or less a DJ with some great reviews as a producer and beat maker. I think that for many fans of the LA hip hop scene, we are always looking for the next Madlib or DJ Shadow (I will post many, many things on them in the future if you don’t already know the names). California claims to be the most forward thinking state and in terms of Hip Hop, I believe they truly are. First, you need to understand the history of what Flying Lotus is really trying to embody, and why with only major release he already has a huge fan base equal to that of his detractors.
As luck would have it, “Endtroducing...” was actually the first CD I would ever buy. I saw it in the alternative section at Best Buy when I was a little kid back in 1996. I don’t know if I buy into it being fate or not, but it sure is an awful coincidence that it is one of my all time favorite CDs. I remember thinking that DJ Shadow was the coolest name I could think of. If you (whoever you are dear reader) ever see this on vinyl, I will pay you handsomely for it.
So why should you care about a record from twelve years ago (man I feel old these days)? It is still in the Guinness Book of World Records for being the first album to be made entirely of samples. Basically, it was the first album pieced together by mixing different pieces of old records. A drum line from an old jazz beat, an organ from Beethoven, spoken word from a collectors set, etc. Check out my favorite track “Organ Donor” here.
DJ Shadow added to what would latter be labeled as “Trip Hop”. Trip hop was a global phenom that especially took hold in the UK. Even though he refuses to allow his music to be classified in this manner (“I wanted to add to the library of Hip Hop. I don’t want to be grouped in this fake genre created by the media”) he is overwhelmingly reduced to just that. But seriously, I understand his point. If experimental hip hop has to be put into a sub-genre just to be considered hip hop, that means that only pop hip hop is actually that kind of music. It would seem to discourage development into new areas (ie. Sounds) that I think would set the industry back. If anything, we need more experimental music rather than less.
Next up: Madlib. Madlib really pushed the creative limits of hip-hop early on as well. I’ve already gone into J Dilla a little here, but the idea is similar: using unique samples to create a whole new style of hip-hop. Check out Accordion by Madvillain (aka Madlib on production with MF Doom MCing). Think about 2002. Air Force Ones by freaking Nelly is the number one song in the nation. Imagine the courage it took to produce an underground experimental record that flew in the face of commercial hip-hop. It was like raising your hand and saying, “Actually, I don’t want to make money….”
Finally, we have Flying Lotus. What does he bring to the table? Now that really is the question. I would very loosely say DJ Shadow added the ambient sound, Madlib added the jazz sound, and Flylo adds electro (and his own interpretation of both of the others). In terms of sales, message boards, and DJ playlists it would appear the target audience for this music (i.e. Producers, DJs, whatever I am) agree that for all of the hype of being labeled the next big LA producer brings, Flylo comes correct on his latest release.
As a side note: Please support innovative artists (such as Flylo) by purchasing music like this rather than just downloading it. The more we steal music, the cheaper it becomes to us.
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