Strange right? I know, it doesn’t happy very often. But for English we had to write a paper based on what we’ve been doing the past few weeks, and there were four options. Guess what option I chose? 

Create a work of art (drawing, painting, sculpture, poem, song) in which you, contrast the American Dream of 2 characters (real or fictional). Then, write at least a 3 page explication of your masterpiece, incorporating the relevant texts as appropriate.

Well let’s take a lookie at the song I wrote, shall we?

“As the time flies by
Am I wasting my life
On the material
That I always buy?”
We all wonder why

We are losing time
On the wasted nights
Spent following you
Not following I
Not list’ning to our hearts’ cry

Sometimes being alone
Is the best way to go
Way out in solitude
Away from where you’ll always go
Away from what you always know

The voice inside your head
Tells you to go to bed
Not worry ‘bout tomorrow
“The present moment’s best
Life day by day” it said

Now on the other hand
There’s this girl who always ran
Away from her problems
And go on a spending plan
Buy her way through the land

She thought that this would get her far
So she bought herself a brand new car
But before long this crashed and burned
The dreams were but a burnt out scar
Too bad she didn’t follow her heart

So one final thing now
It’s another story how
One man came to be
How his dreams would allow
His happiness to sing out loud

He would do what he loved
With the talents from above
Without desire for riches
This would get him far and proud of
The work accomplished and done

So go on live your life
For what you know is right
Go on take the path
That is less traveled by
You’ll be amazed by the sight

Now here is where I need your help, I’m debating whether to keep it the way it is, or change it (well, yeah…). Here is the other version, which would probably be the more catchy version.

“As the time flies by
Am I wasting my life
On the material
That I always buy?”
We all wonder why

We are losing time
On the wasted nights
Spent following you
Not following I
Not list’ning to our hearts’ cry

The voice inside your head
Tells you to go to bed
Not worry ‘bout tomorrow
“The present moment’s best
Life day by day” it said

Sometimes being alone
Is the best way to go
Way out in solitude
Away from where you’ll always go
Away from what you always know

The voice inside your head
Tells you to go to bed
Not worry ‘bout tomorrow
“The present moment’s best
Life day by day” it said

So go on live your life
For what you know is right
Go on take the path
That is less traveled by
You’ll be amazed by the sight

Now that I think about it, I think I like the first one better, and maybe I’ll just repeat one section. Hmmm…

I THINK I AM GOING TO PUKE ALL OVER MY CPU SCREEN~ I AM SO DISGUSTED WITH WHAT THE BIGGEST MUSIC SITES HAVE BECOME. THEY USED TO ALL ACTUALLY TELL IT LIKE IT WAS AND GAVE THEIR OPINIONS WITHOUT WORRYING ABOUT WHAT THE OTHERS WERE GOING TO DO OR WHAT WAS “HIP” OR “COOL” ~ IT’S NOT EVEN ABOUT THE MUSIC ANYMORE, IT’S LIKE THE DAMN MUSIC INDUSTRY (ESPECIALLY THE SUCCESSFUL INDIE CROWD) IS A HIGH SCHOOL PROM AND NOBODY’S SOULS OR HEARTS MATTER, JUST THEIR DRESSES AND WHO THEY ARE BRING WITH THEM TO THE BIG DANCE AND HOW THEY ARE GETTING THERE. I’M GOING TO DO EVERYTHING IN MY POWER TO GET THIS BLOG ONTO THE RIGHT PEOPLE’S COMPUTER SCREENS IN THEIR HOUSES OR APARTMENTS! THERE HAS TO BE PEOPLE WHO FEEL THE WAY THAT I DO. WE MUST RISE AND CREATE A NEW GENRE OF MUSIC IN ALL FACETS OF THE THEORY! IT WON’T BE INDIE, IT WON’T BE ALTERNATIVE, IT WILL HAVE TO BE CALLED “OTHER(TWICE)”

I WROTE THIS ON STEREOGUM AFTER READING THE 4TH LIST FROM PITCHFORK WHICH WAS ONLY 20 INSTEAD OF 50 AND THEY WERE BY FAR THE BEST, THEY GOT MORE GOOD ALBUMS IN 20 PICKS THAN THE OTHERS DID IN 50!!!

HERE IS MY RANT: What if the greatest album ever created comes out next month?! Anyways, Out of all the 4 lists from the Top Guns, Pitchfork got more right in 20 than any of the others did in 50!!!!!!!  They are the only ones to include a Modest Mouse Album, I know everyone thinks that Lonesome Crowded West was their Holy Grail & then they sold out, but as a Musician or even a massive fan of music, I think that what Isaac Brock did on The Moon & Antarctica (3 People), Good News For People Who Love Bad News & Even The Johnny Marr Included We Were Dead Before The Ship Even Sank  <— All 3 of them would be in My Top 50 Along With Ugly Cassanova! Silverchair – Diorama One Billion Percent Belongs In Every List~ It just infuriates me that all of these main music sites have to make sure they are still hip in their decision~ I mean, M.I.A is Beyond Amazing, But I don’t think that Arular is even half the album that Kala is and of course that is because she brought in Big Time Producers and all that, but M.I.A as a Singer/Rapper/Producer/Programmer <— She learned and got better at all of those things over the years in between those albums, but NOT ONE LIST HAD KALA, Just Arular Because It Is Cooler & More Hip To Say So & I Think Modest Mouse Made No Lists Because Of The Same Thing.. It’s Just Ridiculous. I am going to start a Music Blog & I am going to put the time, dedication and money behind it to get it into peoples heads and I will not bow down to what others think I should think. It is really getting pathetic at this point. HE DREAMS AWAKE Better Be In The Top 10 Of The Next Decade’s Lists~ If they want weird, unique, completely different in shape/sound/structure – That is where HDAWAKE Prevails by Landslides~

I MAY BE INSANE, BUT IT IS A BEAUTIFUL & BRILLIANT INSANITY.. AT LEAST THAT’S WHAT I TELL MYSELF WHEN I’M TRYING TO FALL ASLEEP ;P

HERE IS THE PITCHFORK TOP 20 OF THE LAST DECADE

Top Album Of The Decade

PASTE’S 50 BEST ALBUMS OF THE DECADE

NME’S 50 GREATEST OF THE LAST 10 YEARS

UNCUT’S TOP 20 ALBUMS OF THE ’00s

I HAD ACTUALLY LET UNCUT SLIP PAST ME & THEIR TOP 20 IS BETTER THAN HORRIBLE~ I WOULD TAKE THE TWO TOP 20’s OVER BOTH TOP 50 LISTS COMBINED TO A DESERTED ISLAND FOR THE REST OF MY OWN ETERNITY, NOT SAYING THAT WOULD BE EVEN DECENT, BUT IT WOULD DEFINITELY BE…… BETTER THAN NOTHING (i think)~

LET’S HOPE NOSTRADAMUS WAS WRONG ABOUT 2012 ALONG WITH THAT GROUP OF HARDCORE CHRISTIANS!!

ONE LAST THING.. ONE BIG ASS QUESTION: WHERE THE F#@K IS ELLIOTT SMITH’S FROM A BASEMENT ON A HILL??!!!!!!!!!  IT DIDN’T MAKE ONE SINGLE LIST AND IT HAS A FEW OF THE MOST BEAUTIFUL SONGS EVER WRITTEN AND HE IS TALKING ABOUT PURE PAIN AND FRUSTRATION BECAUSE HE STUCK A F#@KING KNIFE IN HIS HEART BEFORE HE EVEN RELEASED IT. IT WAS A DOUBLE ALBUM AND IT BELONGS ON ALL 4 OF THOSE LISTS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

WHAT THE F#CK EVER~

In principio ci fu Napster poi Winmx, Bearshare, DC++, LimeWire, Emule, i torrent ed infine CaptainCrawl.com.

Per scaricare (più o meno illegalmente si intende) musica ed in particolare interi album, specialmente se non mainstream, il Grande Web ci ha donato CaptainCrawl.com che attraverso un motore di ricerca interno riesce a scovare tutti gli album pubblicati sui blog o in generale su qualsiasi pagina web. Ovviamente dopo la ricerca si verrà rimandati sulla specifica pagina che contiene il link che ci interessa per il download (in genere le più diffuse piattaforme di hosting quali rapidshare e megaupload).
Ottimo strumento per conoscere ottimi blog musicali (uno dei migliori per conoscere, hardcore è Elementary Revolt), ottima musica e per trovare quel maledetto EP dei Vatican Commandos che non riuscivate proprio a trovare.

]]> http://neshuma.wordpress.com/2009/11/19/music-blog-3/ Thu, 19 Nov 2009 21:03:51 +0000 neshuma http://neshuma.wordpress.com/2009/11/19/music-blog-3/

I bought the tickets for Arctic Monkeys’ concert in Sheffield three days after I arrived in the city.

It was September the 22nd, one month and three weeks before the actual gig, and I was with an Italian friend of mine in a Spanish restaurant in Meadowhall. We were both newly settled and felt we should have done something more properly local than eating ethnic stuff in a mall; so we decided to blow our budget and buy the tickets, even though the gig was sold out already and it would have cost a lot. But after all: Arctic Monkeys from Sheffield in Sheffield, how cool was that? Coming from Italy, we both had never even heard of the city before they came on the scene. Excitement mounted up day after day: my friend was a long-term fan, I used to think they were incredibly overrated but I had really loved the new album.

By the day of the concert, tension had reached its climax. It was all about looking as much of a Sheffielder as possible for the event and trying to get to the Arena on time for being in the first row. After the disillusionment of finding out that in Sheffield too there are Starbucks, H&M and all those hideous chains that simply replicate themselves over and over making any city identical to any other on a random parallel, Arctic Monkeys playing in Sheffield looked as unique as the Parthenon.

Now, before talking about the concert, I do feel the responsibility of making a preface: on that very same day some scum stole my laptop by breaking the window of my room and helping himself while I was in the kitchen preparing lunch. They immediately arrested him but not before he could get rid of my adored pc; police told me they might call again at night in case they had news, so I spent the entire concert holding the camera in one hand and my mobile in the other, begging for a phone call.

Arctic Monkeys really helped, too. As I said before, I am a converted fan, and that made me the most enthusiastic supporter of the kids. But the concert was just….

Continua su: http://www.forgetoday.com/page1142/Notes-Exploring-Sheffield-Marta-Sees-Arctic-Monkeys-Sheffield-Arena

Finding an album in a “used bin” which hasn’t been released yet should typically throw up a few black flags. This was the case when I discovered the latest Atlas Sound album in a record store on the Penn campus. Luckily for me and my eight dollars, the album must have been placed there mistakenly and I became the benefactor of such a mistake (the most likely case in my finding it there was what I bought was actually a promotional copy). This specific album had been my most anticipated release during the preceding months. In the first place, lead-off single “Walkabout” features guest Noah Lennox (Panda Bear of Animal Collective), another track features Stereolab’s Laetitia Sadier, and the album itself is the solo project of Deerhunter’s frontman Bradford Cox. The last Atlas Sound album, Let The Blind Lead Those Who Can See But Cannot Feel, has played a minimum of 43 times on my iTunes (not to mention that I own the record on vinyl as well).
Logos lives up the precedent set by Let The Blind immediately with its first two tracks. “The Light That Failed” and “An Orchid” sound like what could have been b-sides to Let The Blind. These two sound hazy and lonesome. But, excitingly for the listener, the third track “Walkabout” brings in new sounds for the project. This song is upbeat, fun, and vibrant. According to the press material that was sent to promote the album, Bradford Cox and Noah Lennox (Panda Bear) collaborated over their European tour to create the song. It takes what is typical for Panda Bear, specifically pop melodies, and loops them into what is a bona fide summer dance track.
Following “Walkabout” are two tracks that unveil the folk side of Bradford Cox. “Criminals” and “Attic Lights” both tell stories while being toned down much in the way in that the album’s first two tracks are presented. The eighth track, “My Halo” is another which could be bunched into this grouping. When I saw Atlas Sound live, Bradford Cox actually performed “My Halo” using a harmonica. In a recent interview with Pitchfork Media, Bradford Cox reveals that he has been listening to Neil Young as of late, the influence is definitely visible throughout Logos.
Returning to the upbeat quality of “Walkabout”, the sixth track of the album “Sheila” is the most blatant pop song of the entire record. Yet the song is quite deep despite its upbeat guise. The songs plays on themes of longing and death, but most importantly the song is about living. After “Sheila” though the album plays into its centerpiece. The eight and a half minute “Quick Canal,” featuring vocals and words by Stereolab’s Laetitia Sadier, is a dizzying cryptic opus that proves to be a beautiful segue onto the album’s latter half. This latter half is also the most electronic sounding part of the album. “Kid Klimax,” “Washington School,” and the eponymous “Logos” continue with the vibe that “Quick Canal” started.
What makes Logos so entirely satisfying is that it offers a pot pourri. Call it pop, electronic, or even folk, they’re all here and they all melt together into a fantastic and wholesome album. The album paces itself along the same lines of the latest Deerhunter full-length, Microcastle. Microcastle is beautiful, sampling genre after genre to create a sound of its own. The same can be said with Logos.
At the end of Bradford Cox’s Pitchfork Media interview, Cox says that he wants to develop a fanbase that will stay loyal no matter what direction he or his band decides to take. He is well on his way. The fact that another “digital 7′” was released under his Atlas Sound moniker just last week on the Deerhunter blog, which sounds completely different from Logos and is completely amazing, shows the musical genius that is Bradford Cox.

A very rhetorical question: when you go to a club for a gig, is the sound system or the whiskey selection more important?

Obviously, the whiskey selection is far more relevant. But if you run a club and decide to bet everything on that, you should also make sure you hire a band so good that the beauty of their music will overcome the whistling and the distortion of the terrible speakers. From what I’ve seen so far, The Harley really manages to do that.

As many will probably know, above the Harley Bar there is the Harley Hotel. What is less proverbial is that when you rent a room there, included in the price they give you earplugs. A friend of mine slept there for a week and told me that this is absolutely unnecessary: it is not the music that keeps you awake, although without the earplugs you couldn’t even hear your inner thoughts; it’s the vibrations produced by the sound that makes it impossible to sleep. Apparently, he would wake up every morning with severe land sickness.

So no offence, but the acoustic is really not The Harley’s thing. Of course, the alcohol is amazing and the Lagavulin whiskey particularly fantastic, so who cares. But they must take extra care in who they invite to play, and indeed they seem to always organize little great gigs. Last time I was there I was really conquered by Dirty Weekend. They are a classic, electronic-with-soul indie band from Teesside, which…

Continua su: http://www.forgetoday.com/page1097/Notes-Exploring-Sheffield-Marta-Visits-The-Harley

3Oh!3 for a short while my favorite New band. Their massive hit “Dont Trust Me”  outsold Kings of  Leon by a massive amount and..their only on their second single. Their album however is very, very messy. Theres around five decent songs, then two luke warm tunes and then…dog shit tracks you wouldnt force anyone to listen to even if they were some kind of fascist. Now back to this song, they originally through out this song with a video of one massive looking gangbang but as a result of Katy Perry being a huge fan of this twosome, she thought she would appear 0n this kinda…. anti feminist track… and Rapidly improved it.

3Oh!3 ft Katy Perry – Starstrukk — Score 8.5/10

The original track and video

The new and improved Bloody awesome video and tune

Well, I think I just blew-out the speakers in my DMC Delorean. Alan Palomo’s first album as Neon Indian, Psychic Chasms, is a treble-overloaded, sun-washed trip to 1980s nostalgia.
“Glo-fi,” an indie music aesthetic that developed out of the Brooklyn music scene this year will most likely die over the winter. All of the songs that came out of this fad have seemed to really benefit by the fact that they were released over the summer, given that all of the songs from this aesthetic had a distinct summery aspect. Bands like Washed Out and Small Black produced solid singles, but Neon Indian appears for now the only to have used the aesthetic successfully in an album format.
Every song on this album produces visions of washed-out swim trunks, warm air, beaches, and blonde hair. That is what gives the album the summery-feel, but what gives it the 1980s feeling is how the album plays. The albums sounds like a cassette that’s tape has been stretched out over repeat listens. Synths, cheap guitar, drum machine, and the aforementioned treble-overload also play a role.
The premier single, “Deadbeat Summer,” which received a good amount of airplay over college radio stations this year and, “Terminally Chill,” are the best examples of Palomo creating the distinguishable “stretched-out” sound (which he was able to do by using 70s & 80s italo-disco samples, thank you for the tip “Anti-Neon”). Although the best track on the album has to be “Ephemeral Artery,” the club-banging track on the album. I can just picture a Pontiac Trans-Am screaming down a desert highway with this song playing. My only criticism about the album is that it could have done without the intro (“(AM)”) and outro (“7000″), which seem to only be present for the sake of filling space. The opening to “Should Have Taken Acid With You” is a bit harsh and out-of-place as well. Nevertheless, the album is undeniably fun.
Unfortunately, it seems that if Neon Indian releases another album in the future, it won’t be appreciated in the way that Psychic Chasms has been. This is because the aesthetic is most likely going to be ruled by the music community as a fad. The 2000s are soon to be over and it won’t be long until music artists are recycling something else. The early-2000s saw the post-punk revival (bands like Interpol, Yeah Yeah Yeahs) and the late-2000s saw the development of neo-1980s music (Crystal Castles, Neon Neon, any “glo-fi” band). Post-punk got old quick, and so will “glo-fi.” Artists that are to release music under this “glo-fi” aesthetic in the future are, in my opinion, late to the game.

Upon listening to Bear In Heaven’s second full-length album, Beast Rest Forth Mouth, I initially thought that Bear In Heaven was a band ahead of their time. Fusing together 00s emo with 70s progressive rock. But, as I thought progressive, it made me feel that Bear In Heaven are instead borrowing more from the past. “Borrowing” has been a major trend in music this year. “Lo-fi,” and the latter “glo-fi” borrowed deeply from the 60s and 80s respectively. Now that Bear In Heaven is drawing from the 70s, it isn’t something unexpected. Their previous release, Red Bloom in the Boom, sounded like Pink Floyd to some critics. This time around, Bear In Heaven sounds more Neu, yet more pop than avant-garde.
Although coming from the deep-south (actually New York City via Alabama and Georgia), one would expect the band to be hailing from Berlin. Several of the tracks on this album utilize a “motorik” beat, a characteristic of krautrock (a genre which developed in 1970s Berlin). This pattern is something that is utilized during the albums most pleasing passages. The lead-off track “Beast in Peace” is a fine example, and the swirling synths of “You Do You” is another.
Yet what allows this album to stand out among other releases this year are the lyrics, and Jon Philpot’s intriguing vocals. This is where the aforementioned 00s emo draw comes from…Usually when one thinks about emo, one thinks of pop music, and that is exactly what Bear In Heaven executes here with such success. The first single off of this album, “Lovesick Teenagers,” on its first listen comes through to the listener as simple pop. Despite how simple it does sound, it is appealing how John Philpot conveys so much emotion. While meditating on such emotions, it never comes off as overly emo. It is actually satisfying that the band isn’t afraid of spilling too much. The subsequent track, “Ultimate Satisfaction,” comes across as even “poppier,” with its stadium-filling sound and anthemic “Coming Down!” chorus.
If you’re getting turned off by the praises that this album is getting from my appreciation of pop, side 2 will comes across as much more mellow. What side 2 does offer is that it makes the album more full and encompassing. Side 1 definitely has the hits, but side 2 plays as more distant, but equally as satisfying.
To say that this was an album I was looking forward to this year would be false. I honestly knew nothing about this band until this release on Hometapes. I’m glad to have heard of them now as I am fully impressed. This will be an album that will royally mess up my “best of 2009″ list.

Oh yes the ignorant red-headed quiff promoting La Roux is back with ANOTHER single. After “im not your toy” which failed as a single, shes deciding to release another boring average whinny tune about relationships. After heavily criticizing other artists about their music i think Ellie needs to take a look in the mirror, believe me all she will see is a fake 80’s revamp with about as much about her as an old worn boot. Give me Little Boots anyday.

La Roux – Quicksand — Score 3/10

I just cant shake these guys… you know when you get a new CD and immediately love every song? And then you listen to it over and over… two years and it’s still in heavy rotation and I don’t see it fading anytime soon. Might be the best record I have bought in the last five years…. yeah, I said it. The album is called Twin Cinema…. buy it twice.

Please listen to this… it will make us both happy.

Steely Dan can’t be denied… possibly one of the greatest bands of our time.  Deacon Blues always makes my play lists and never gets skipped.  Maybe not my favorite band of all time, but definately in the top ten… or five, even. Not sure why I chose this as the first post, but why not?

Please listen to this… it will make us both happy.

Be it creation or evolution, it must be ideal that nature asks for forgiveness every time an animal hunts and kills another for food. I do not want to go into it with regards to humans, the evolved specie…uhn…at least superficially it seems we are not cannibals, unless hugely perverted…uhn. When Susan informed readers in What happened with Darkness Abiding that I was listening to Linkin Park’s What I’ve Done, she didn’t know just how much the need for forgiveness extended beyond humans. This is the hardest of truth whether it is with regards to creation or evolution, so I’ll appoint the blame to nature…and get back to life. So when nature says like Linkin Park, “Forgive me what I’ve done,” to which part of your nature will this be in reference to? When you read Darkness Abiding you may see why nature may apologize for either. The first song on my list is no doubt Linkin Park’s What I’ve done.  

What would God look like if ever found? I surmise, because she (I say she, you may choose what you may) is spirit and works in mysterious ways, he would have to be nothing expected. He could indeed be found smoking his last cigarette on the corner of 1st and Amistad or on 60th street near Central Park. But if he were to be profiled by characteristics and traits alone, he’s nothing close to human and if he were, he would be the least expected if not something new. Where may you find your God? If evolutionists have a God, it must be in their nature or they become fatalistic in essence. So here we come back to nature again. You found me by The Fray is second on my list.

There are good souls in this life and their goodness is found in the works of their hands. For those of good senses, in the presence of great evil, good must be appreciated. Those humanitarian doctors and health workers who give without getting much back in Africa and the rest of the world, and those who constantly sustain the elevation of bare essentials in the human element, I respect you immensely. But this entry is to assert one great truth. The truth is you can try all you may but sometimes you fail. How to save a life ultimately belongs to…well…it depends on who you ask, or if you ask it at all. One thing is certain—sometimes you fail. If you already read Darkness Abiding, then you understand. If not, well, go get it. The third on my list is How to Save a Life, by once again, The Fray.  

Could bad ever be the mere overturn of good? It doesn’t feel like it though, does it? In a chaotic world, what happens to good or bad? And how much sense can we make of it all if at all? Darkness Abiding prowls on very many premises and a situation where evil may be necessitated is in the book. The fourth on my list is Michael Jackson’s Bad. I am not so fond of the word, “sanity,” used as though it legitimately prescribes a norm. Why you ask? Because we’re all constantly trying to make sense of a world coming out of senselessness (evolutionists) or that which is a cruel world born of good (religion). But finally, to make sense of it all is Five For Fighting’s The Riddle (You and I). I especially like this sentence, “There’s a reason for the world—You and I.”  You may want to sing it sometime when you’re angry and frustrated. The “I” alone is not bad either. This is an episode of RecordsonwithDew and all videos for this blog will be available on Dewlogic – a dedication to quality fiction and nonfiction.

You are chilling with author Dew Platt. And no doubt Young Adults, Yes! You are. The blogs that comes in immediately after this explains why you are. Adults may not want to miss out on Silli Page as well. Why you ask? Because the excerpt will tell you why when it’s available.

NOW ON KINDLE

I love covers. It’s kind of a music fetish of mine when a great band/singer can take someone else’s song and make it their own, whether it be remaining true to the original or mutating into something completely different altogether. Some of my favorites off the top of my head are Bitches Ain’t Shit by Ben Folds; Hey Ya by Obadiah Parker, Crazy by Ray Lamontagne, This Charming Man by Death Cab for Cutie; etc. and so on goes the list. However! Today I will share one that i just heard like ten minutes ago and inspired me to write this post. It’s not so much that this song is exceptional or life-changing or anything. It just happened to fit in perfectly with how I feel this exact moment and whatnot so here it is. With or Without You by U2 covered by Keane. Enjoy.

Ohmygosh two posts in one day? Ah-may-zing. I finally have time to have a life! Woooohoo! Okay, so I still won’t have much of a life, but hey now there’s time for my blog and guitar now that soccer is over. Well not technically over yet, our last game is tomorrow. Whatever.

No, this post is not just so I can have two posts in one day. Well not entirely It’s because I decided to add something [semi] fun! Here is where we play a little game, and the winner (or whoever comments on this here post, depending on if anyone comments…) gets a special treat.

Contest: I am going to post the first line of three song lyrics, and you are going to have to guess the name of the song and artist. One, or more, of the lyrics will be of a well-known song, at least in my opinion. It depends really on how generous I am feeling in about thirty-five seconds. The winner of this contest will not only get a song written for them, but give me a song idea, and I will write that song as well.

There is only one rule to this contest, no cheating. Please, it is unfair to those who do not cheat.

Good luck!

Song #1: Just a small town girl, living in a lonely world. She took the midnight train going anywhere.

Song #2: It’s close to midnight and something evil’s lurking in the dark. Under the moonlight you see a sight that almost stops your heart

Song #3: Hanging out behind the club on the weekend. Acting stupid, getting drunk with my best friends.

Ps. So I suppose I was feeling generous; maybe it wasn’t so hard after all.

Pps. *Hint* *Hint* I like this…maybe I might do things like this more often…

Well, the title says it all. It’s the name of [one of my] newest song[s]. (Just an FYI, i just learned what those brackets were for. I feel special.) I don’t want to say much about the song, in part because it should be fairly obvious what it’s about, and because I like to make you guess. Enjoy!

Your gaze
It sets me off on a
Wild chase

What do I do
What do I feel
Which is right
Who do I choose

Do I want to her
What do I feel
What do I feel
What do I feel

Who knows
Where to go
Anymore

Wait and take the chance
That might disappear
Look at what’s in front of me
But is it just my mind
That’s messing with my desire
My desire to be
With someone now
This impatience you see
Might be getting
The best of me

What do I do
What do I feel
Which is right
Who do I choose

Do I want her
What do I feel
What do I feel
What do I feel

That day
Set me astray
So off course
I can’t get back on

And now everything’s changed
It’s all so strange
So unreal
Can’t look at you the same

What do I do
What do I feel
Which is right
Who do I choose

Do I want her
What do I feel
What do I feel
What do I feel

What do I do
What do I feel
Which is right
Who do I choose
I said who do I choose
Who do I choose

Yes, I am aware I’ve been slightly M.I.A. for awhile, but hey, I’ve been quite busy! Between school work (junior year is a bitch…), soccer, and my ice skating, I haven’t had much time for anything else. Buuuuut on a slightly brighter note, I’ve still been busy practicing guitar and writing songs. There’s two new songs I would like to show you…but not just yet. They’re not exactly typed up yet, and seeing as my friend is impatiently waiting to get back on the computer, it’s going to have to wait. Sorry to disappoint, but they will be up soon! So be on the watch for them. (:

Bombs Falling/Nowhere To Go is set in Gaza – I take a neutral political position on Israel/Palastine and honour all civilian victims of war.

Bombs Falling/Nowhere To Go

A Gaza Bombing Sound Collage

Bombs Falling/Nowhere To Go – (4:01)
Music by David Archer. (Unauthorized) text by Jawad Harb

Download mp3
(right click – save target as)

Lyrics/Notes

On January 14/ 09  I read an article entitled The Bombs Came Today – There Is Nowhere to Go  written by Jawad Harb who lives with his family in Rafah, Gaza and was there during the bombing.  As any parent -  any feeling person – would be, I was horrified at this harshest of realities and stunned by the powerful writing of a parent in an anguish of fear and concern over their children’s safety.

I had to react to what was happening but I was not certain how to go about it. Not wanting to let that stop me, I began to work with the vague idea of a sound collage involving my usual sounds plus some found sound effects from around the web.

Once I had a few loops and sound ideas going, it occurred to me that the actual words of  Jawad Harb  himself would express what I was searching for far better than I ever could. After realizing that my first choice of having Harb read them himself over the phone was not likely to happen – I tried reading and chanting the words myself.  Bad idea. My voice had no place in this sound.  A few days earlier, I had stumbled on a browser based news reader that actually reads HTML text aloud with a Microsoft Sam style computer voice.  I thought I had my solution but the voice sounded all wrong. I surfed around the net for a while and tried several other text readers of various types until I finally pieced together a workable version using a female Asian/Indian sounding voice and managed to record it.

It’s weird but sometimes, given the power of the words as written, the computer voice actually seems to carry human feeling and on at least one occasion it sounds as if the speakers voice is breaking with emotion.

Most of the other sound effects came from The Freesound Project, except the explosions, which are actually from a recording of the bombing of Baghdad.

Although the Gaza bombings and the experience of Jawad Harb and his family are the source and catalyst for this project, I hope it can serve as a memorial to all innocent war victims anywhere, anytime and a reminder to the aggressors that the real victims of war are always, always children.

Here is the original text. 

GAZA (January 13, 2009, 6:15 p.m) – The leaflets came yesterday, telling us our neighbourhood would be attacked. The whole population of the area is terrified. We have nowhere to go. My neighbour checked at the UNRWA shelter but it was full. Overflowing. There is nowhere to go. We waited to be bombed. My children have seen the dead bodies of children on television. They cry, they are crying now, they are terrified. When will this end? There was screaming. It is dark and cold but most of us are still outside. My family is outside next to the house. We are terrified to go inside.

The bombs came today. It was terrifying. We have nowhere to run. There was an air strike every five minutes. Thick black smoke 100m-150m away from us. People were scared, ran outside of their houses and gathered together in the street. 300-350 people in the street. The street was the safest place. If our house is bombed, we’ll get trapped and die like the people we saw on television.

It is quiet for 20 minutes now but we don’t know if it will start again. What if it is just a short break? We can’t take the risk. My children are shivering. It is getting so cold. Some neighbours went back inside, but they are staying on the first floor, next to the door so they can run outside. We don’t know what will come next. This is the closest it has come to our house. The neighbourhood next to ours was bombed. What do we do? We don’t know. We have nowhere to go. Nowhere to go.

Update:

Bombs Falling/Nowhere To Go became international in nature in a rapid and ineveitable way as it was being assembled and could not exist at all were it not for that fact.

The words – and to be honest, the entire emotional content -  are from Gaza.

 But I truly believe that same emotional content could be from anywhere. 

The voice – though computer generated with an Indo/Asian accent –  is meant to be anyone and indeed becomes the voice of a Universal Motherhood as well as fear, love and acceptance, anger and courage. That fear, love, acceptance, anger and courage all belong to Jawad Harb, his family and neighbours and all those who have lived and died these same ways.

 The first sound – the bass drum –  is the impossible violence of what can be –  but will not be altered from it’s white hot, black heart of despair and anger and hatred and destruction.

The guitar is the onlooker, alternately relentless and hesitant, charging forward and pulling back,  but determined, for once, to stand witness to the truth.

 The child’s cry is from a train station in North America and by its very sound represents something we all know in our hearts.

The air raid sirens are from Israel and are the voices of warning coming from all those who have experienced the history of terrible violence and oppression.

 There is an unknown Turkish man reading poetry way back in the mix toward the end. He represents the voices of people that no longer have names and will never be heard.

Then the awful, terrible sound of explosions – lifted from a YouTube  copy of CNN’s live coverage of the bombing of Baghdad - like  murderous, demonic laughter ripping darkness into your soul, stealing fire from heath and heart and blazing hatred and anger, hatred and anger, hatred and anger across the sky and the flesh and the bones of innocent children. Deafening, hideous, sickening thunder and lightning  torn from humanity’s darkest recesses, dripping bloody, putrid venom and poison onto everything that means anything to anyone.

The bottom end of the piano is the rock of the earth, the heat of technology and science, mankind through our collective history, evolution and religion, and the hope and hopelessness of time moving on. The high end of the piano represents the tears of the witnesses, the sorrow, the sadness, the pain of knowing, the guilt and remorse and the anger at helplessness in the face of such an storm, such an onslaught.

And it’s when I go back and listen, when it’s late and I’m alone and my ability to resist is at it’s lowest, and the acceptance and the understanding of why the wolf must tear at the throat of the deer stares back at me from the mirror,  I ask myself  ”how can such things as this come to be?” And I fear that as I say those words out loud, someone else will say to me “How dare you presume to create such a thing, you who know nothing of this.”

the 66 will be supporting DIRTY SANCHEZ live and unleashed on DEC 14th.

For those of you that haven’t heard of Dirty Sanchez, here’s a short slice to educate you.

With a Major TV and Film Series through MTV, as well as the stage shows, they perform dangerous, crude, ridiculous and self injuring stunts… similar to Rimmer on a night out in… well anywhere really. Their latest MTV series, Sanchez Get High, took the brand back to its roots as, minus Dan Joyce and Pancho, this focused on the on-going, Pritchard Vs. Dainton battle that started it all.

Looking for the ultimate natural high the boys trekked their way through Brazil, Mexico, the Philippines, Australia and Japan, among others, enjoying such thrills and highs of naked skydiving, traditional tattoos, eating the heart of a cobra and ingesting old remedies and substances which are used in many traditions to experience different feelings of hallucination and euphoria. The live show proves that these guys live their roles as extreme stuntmen.

Whether its pounding their own flesh with a meat tenderiser, sticking needles through skin or nailing a hand to a piece of wood they are here to shock but, more importantly, they are here to have fun and entertain. Dainton explains what we can expect from the show: ‘When we’ve toured with Sanchez in the past we just took turns to do stunts. ‘With the new, Pritchard Vs. Dainton show it’s more of a battle between us ,with the loser receiving a hefty forfeit. It’s bloody awful but fun, in a weird kind of way.

TICKETS for this will undoubtedly sell out, so to make sure you capture this historical and highly dangerous night by securing yours via the OFFICIAL link below

https://secure.ticketline.co.uk/tickets/13240158/dirty-sanchez-live-unleashed/manchester-moho-live/2009-12-14

Here is all the important facebook info for you….

OFFICIAL EVENT PAGE

http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#/event.php?eid=163912865953&ref=ts

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So, we’ll see you at the front, if you are brave enough…

the 66 x

“You were the first to say, that we were not OK.  You were the first to lie when we were not alright.”  —3DG

Yes, Three Days Grace has come out with another great album.  The song that stood out the most, as if you couldn’t tell from the lyrics, was “Last to know.”

Because of my love for heartbreaking lyrics and melancholic melodies, this song has become one of my favorites. . . at least for right now.  In my book, all music is great music, except for several “out there” songs that no one should ever be listening to. 

I wonder if there is a job out there that would mean ticketing people for listening to horrid music.  After all, there is a fashion police, right?  Why not a music watch program that gives noise offenders new albums to listen to and sets them on a rehab program that detoxes them of the music that they were ticketed for in the first place?

Anyways, back to the subject.  This song hits almost close to home, maybe next door.  The songs you love the most are the ones that remind you of things you have been through and, without pouring my heart out and embarrasing myself, this song does just that.  We have all gone through times when we love something, not necessarily a person, and it is abruptly taken away from us.  A feeling of emptiness and solitude creeps in and camps out in the deepest crevice of your heart and mind. 

However, listening to music, sad music at that, makes me feel better when I’m going through a troublesome time.  Now listening to songs like “Last To Know” just makes me aware that things aren’t as bad as they seem.  It’s not the end of the world and I made it out alive. 

I just love me some sad songs!

“I’ll be the first to say, that now I’m OK and for the first time, I’ve opened up my eyes. This was my worst love.  You’ll be the first to go.  And when she leaves you for dead, you’ll be the last to know.”  –Three Days Grace

For those of you looking to gain insight into the thought processes of various composers (which should be all of you), I’ve run across a few composer blogs of potential interest.

Starting with self-publicity, I’ve restarted my own blog, processed_sound. I tend to gravitate towards issues of composition, technology, and culture, but right now I’m tracking a few of my own projects, and my struggle with writers block.

Former Ball State Faculty member, and currently professor at Fresno State, Kenneth Froelich has an excellent blog about composition and computer notation, The Electric Semiquaver. His “about this blog” blurb puts it well: “Strategies and pedagogical approaches to help young composers create, develop, and compose out music within notation software.”

Alex Ross, classical music critic for the New Yorker, and author of the book The Rest is Noise, has moved his primary blogging activities to the New Yorker web site. His new blog is called Unquiet Thoughts. Ross frequently writes about new music and composers. His old blog, The Rest is Noise, will remain mainly to promote his book, but the archives are rich with excellent posts.

Ross also has a post that lists several composer blogs, including Alexandra Garnder, Nico Muhly, and the one that I deem a must-read, John Adams’ Hell Mouth. Adams has always been a wonderful interviewee, and writer about his own works. In his blog he gives advice to composers about first rehearsals (“Try not to panic if you can’t recognize that noise coming from the stage as something you wrote.”), and muses about flying cross country while reading the modernist philosopher Theodore Adorno while being distracted by his seat-mate watching Fox News.

In esclusiva per www.forgetoday.com, commenti sulla scena musicale di Sheffield…

Mini Viva have already scored a top ten hit with “I left my heart in Tokyo” and are set to repeat their success with their new release “I wish”. Frankee Connolly and Britt Love make up the two peice which was formed in 2008 and are storming the UK in the same way “The Saturdays” did.

Left my heart in Tokyo —- Score 8/10

I Wish — Score 8/10

These Two girls are also quite sexy too, which is an added bonus, but the quality of a band always shows within their second album so lets see what will happen!