Announcement
- Tonight the light seems close enough to
almost reach out and touch but
the light is playing tricks on me again...
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I make music.
Links to said music are down until further notice.
My blog
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New Toys
Sunday, Nov 30, 2008 4:57AM / Standard Entry / Members only
EDIT:
WELL FUCK! Apparently they are not in stock....fucking douchebags should at least update the status of them as being not in stock if they aren't in stock.
I finally sprung for a nice pair of monitor speakers
I'm excited! Will have to acoustically treat my room to get the best out of them though, but bass traps are cheap and easy to make.
Next on the list:
New quad core computer because mine is slow as dirt.
and one of these:
And hopefully Komplete 5:
which is one of the most amazing software instrument packages ever.
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Howdy
Monday, Nov 17, 2008 7:01PM / Standard Entry / Members only
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Hrm....
Tuesday, Oct 21, 2008 4:43PM / Standard Entry / Members only
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My top books of this year!
Saturday, Oct 18, 2008 3:32PM / Standard Entry / Members only
Time for another of Damian's lists! I know how you all love those.
I know there's a few of you waiting for me to continue the albums list (yeah, right) and that'll come soon, I promise.
Because I hardly keep you guys updated with what I am reading and what I thought was good etc...here's a little list about what I've liked over the past year, in no particular order.
On with the list!
1.) Yasunari Kawabata - Snow Country
Out of all the Japanese literature I've read this year (and believe me, I read a lot of it) I think that this is one of only two that will make this list. It's not an action book (nothing happens in it hardly and it doesn't really go anywhere), it's just a snapshot of a romance, chock full of metaphors and beautiful language. I've heard that many people say the novel is a sort of literary Haiku. Other than the language (barring the excessive use of "Mountain trousers" in quotes) I can't really explain why I like it....It's one of those books that touches you without you knowing it I suppose.
2.) Mohsin Hamid - Moth Smoke
I think I wrote in my blog earlier this year about reading Hamid's other novel (The Reluctant Fundamentalist) and liking it, but this novel, released a few years prior to that, was an unexpected departure from the style he had used in TRF.
3.) Alan Lomax - Mister Jelly Roll
I'm sure a few of you know how much I like Jelly Roll Morton (the man who, in this book, which is part autobiography, claims to have invented Jazz), so it might come as little surprise that this is one of only two pieces of non-fiction I've read this year (The other being a Prince biography that I've not yet finished). Really good, though flawed, book about Jelly Roll's early life all the way to his tragic, lonely death. Recommended for anyone into reading and Jazz, also recommend the (sorry it's pretty expensive) 6 CD set that goes with it.
4.) Haruki Murakami - Norwegian Wood
This is probably the best book I've read all year...I absolutely devoured it and loved every bit. It's basically about a guy who's girlfriend is in love with her dead boyfriend, his old best friend. Set in 1960's Japan against student protests I, strangely, found a lot of myself in the main character (though I am nothing like him, perhaps we just think alike?). Anyway, it's really good, go read it.
5.) John Steinbeck - In Dubious Battle
Ah yes, my favorite writer! I love Steinbeck, maybe a bit too much, but hey! I still haven't read half of what he's wrote, about five of his tiny books. I enjoyed them all quite thoroughly though. This book, though only 270 pages, was read pretty quickly because I liked the story so much. It's about a couple of commies who go down to incite a strike of apple pickers in a small California town and, while I know that might not seem very interesting, there are a few really cool moments in this book that are worth the price of admission alone.
6.) Raymond Carver - Cathedral
Raymond Carver, sadly, only wrote short stories before his tragic passing. Out of the 2 Carver books I've read, which were both quite wonderful, this one is the best. The title story, for some reason, nearly brought me to tears and I think that Where I'm Calling From is the BEST short story I've ever read (it was included in the Best American Short Stories of the Century which was edited by John Updike, that's gotta say something, right?). If you can't sit through a novel I'd recommend this instead of the other stuff on this list.
7.) Ernest Hemingway - The Old Man And The Sea
Hemingway's prose took a little getting used to (tersest prose ever) but I think in the end it was worth it. Great little novella about an old man (duh), his relationship with a young boy and his relationship with the sea. It's a bit sad, but that's no reason not to read it.
BONUS ROUND!
Stuff I'm in the middle of currently:
Per Nilsen - Dance Music Sex Romance (Prince biography)
Cormac McCarthy - The Road
Ignore the Oprah sticker, it's actually a good book.
Christopher Moore - A Dirty Job
That's all for now folks! See ya!
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My top 20 albums of all time.
Tuesday, Sep 23, 2008 6:32PM / Standard Entry / Members only
Here we are again, more music recs! Well....technically this is MY list but hopefully you guys like some of the stuff on it. This is only part one of the blog, expect 2-3 more soon! Just spacing them out because you don't want to sit here for 15 minutes reading the entire thing.
Let's get started!
20.) A Tribe Called Quest - Midnight Marauders
A tribe called quest is probably my favorite hip-hop group, beating out Bone Thugs 'N Harmony by just a hair! This album is probably the only Tribe that will make it into my top 20, though. The tracks on this cd are, for the most part, much more relaxed than on The Low End Theory, which contained one of my favorite songs of all time: Check The Rhime. Double Bass and Rhodes electric piano mixed with slow break-beats permeate tracks like Electric Relaxation and Clap Your Hands while the beginning of Sucka Nigga can be seen as sort of a precursor to the chopped and screwed style of hip-hop.
Tracks to watch out for: Electric Relaxtion, Award Tour, Lyrics To Go
Other good albums by this artist: Beats, Rhymes, and Life, People's Instinctive Travels and the Paths of Rhythm, The Low End Theory
19.) Ahmad Jamal - Crystal
Ahmad Jamal has been critically lauded for his landmark recording At The Pershing: But Not For Me and his piano playing has been praised by Miles Davis. This album of his, however, doesn't seem to be liked by too many people that I've talked to. It's very light and is, at points, a bit all over the place, but I can't get enough of this album's serene piano sounds.
Tracks to watch out for: Quest For Light, Swahililand
18.) My Bloody Valentine - Loveless
Shoegazer rock at it's finest! This album is easily the best of it's kind due to Kevin Shields' dreamy use of the guitar and the wonderfully hipnotic female vocals. The drums on this album are always present but never at the forefront, leading the album to seem more ethereal than rocky.
Tracks to watch out for: Blown a Wish, When You Sleep, I Only Said
17.) Ken Ishii - Flatspin
This is probably the only album by an Asian-based artist that will make it on to this list. Why is this significant? I dunno....Anyway, great album by Japanese techno (proper techno, not "everything made with synthesizers you hear is techno." Ishii is the real deal when it comes to techno!) artist. While many will tell you that Jelly Tones is better I like this one simply for the fact that Ishii explores his boundaries a bit more. Ice Blink, the masterpiece of the album, is a very poppy techno track with an amazing bassline, while Gap Accelerator touches on breaks, and his Flatspinning Loops are pure experimentation. Mirage is actually a track I've modeled a few songs after.
Tracks to watch out for: Iceblink, Grab It Attack It, Mirage
Other good albums by this artist: Jelly Tones, Sunriser, Metal Blue America
16.) Nirvana - Nevermind
There are soooooo many good tracks on this album that it had to be included. This is definitely the best grunge album that I've ever heard and what needs to be said about it has probably been said a million times over!
Tracks to watch out for: In Bloom, Come As You Are, Lithium, Breed, Smells Like Teen Spirit
Other good albums by this artist: In Utero
15.) High Contrast - High Society
High Contrast, up until his last album (entitled Tough Guys Don't Dance), was my favorite Drum n Bass artist. His blend of 175 bpm break-beats, disco, soul and pulsating basslines made for a real treat to listen to. Hopefully Lincoln is hard at work on new material that touches on his old style. Anyway, I feel that this album was his last good, complete thought. There are no tracks that seem misplaced, which I can't say for his first album, True Colours. True Colours had stronger tracks, but it lacked the cohesion that High Society has.
Tracks to watch out for: High Society, Tutti Frutti, Brief Encounter, Racing Green, Twilight's Last Gleaming
Other good albums by this artist: True Colours
This is where part one ends! Will blog part 2 soon hopefully, feel free to add your musical recs in the comments.
