Working in what little spare time I have on my own music project as I’ve blogged about before.  Finally posted a track “internal alchemy” here for now: http://wonderlnd.tumblr.com/post/246178244/internal-alchemy-a-downtempo-glitchy

It’s a downtempo instrumental with some experiments in “glitch”.  (Digital audio artifacts/noise/flaws used as musical and percussive elements).  Intended as an interlude between the more club oriented tracks.

My almost-7-year old son attached himself to an Irish/Scottish band called Snow Patrol a few years ago.  I have grown pretty fond of their “Eyes Open” & “Final Straw” albums as well.  My son’s favorite song is “You’re all I have”.  Brilliant bittersweet songs as one would expect from the land of Celts.  As soon as we got word that they were coming to town, I had to get us tickets.

What an incredible show/night it was.

We started the night out with dinner at old Chicago..wolfed down some pepperoni rolls and then walked down to the Knitting Factory to wait in line.  Thankfully the line wasn’t very long when we got there and we only had to wait 20 minutes for the doors to open.  I was a little concerned about my short guy being able to deal with “general admission”.  We found a spot near the rail just above the floor.  Two guys around my age were standing there sipping some beers and as soon as they saw Brennan & I they offered to let us take the corner spot…perfect for someone short to be able to see the stage.  I thanked them profusely.  They thought it was very cool that this was his first real rock concert.  My son (Let’s call him “B”) is not known for his patience but he handled the hour and 20 minutes of waiting quite well.

The plain white t’s were the opening band.  I knew the name but am not very familiar with their music.  When they got on stage the lead singer announced that he was very ill and rather than cancel, they were going to attempt 3 songs.  You could tell he was hurting.  ’B’ knew the last song they played and sang along. “Hey There Delilah”, I was impressed.  I’m sure I’ve heard that song in some recent movies somewhere.

Snow Patrol made their entrance and ‘B’ was all grins and cheering.  We knew most of the songs.  The lead vocalist had great stage presence and was hilarious….the Irish are known for telling good stories.  They sound better live than on CD.  There was something uplifting and powerful….an incredible energy and emotion emitting from the band that I haven’t experienced from a live band in a long time.  Kudos to the staff of the venue…they kept checking on us to make sure my little guy was ok…I appreciated that.  AND they found him better earplugs…as the ones he had were kind of big and he had a hard time keeping them in.  The visuals were incredible…..animated rocket ships and robots….the swirls of graphics from their latest album engulfed the band at certain moments.

A great encore came at the end….and the lost song they played….”You’re all I have”….we rocked out and sang along.  An incredible show and a great Father/Son experience.  Naturally I got him a T-shirt.  He’s legs were exhausted and we had a bit of a hike to the car…so I put him on my back…piggy-back-style and zoomed away.  We were kinda bummed mom wasn’t along…she would have loved it as well.  Off to bed now. Cheers!

“He could’ve tuned in, tuned in
But he tuned out
A bad time, nothing could save him.
Alone in a corridor, waiting, locked out.
He got up outta there, ran for hundreds of miles.
He made it to the ocean, had a smoke in a tree.
The wind rose up, set him down on his knee.

A wave came crashing like a fist to the jaw
Delivered him wings, hey, look at me now
Arms wide open with the sea as his floor
Oh, power, oh

He floated back down cause he wanted to share
His key to the locks on the chains he saw everywhere

But first he was stripped and then he was stabbed
By faceless men, well, fuckers
He still stands

And he still gives his love, he just gives it away
The love he receives is the love that is saved
And sometimes is seen… a strange spot in the sky
A human being that was given to fly”

I thought this video captured the spirit of the song:

Check out mend- electronic/ EBM/ Futurepop band from Pacific Northwest- at http://www.mend-music.com/music.html

I’m listening to an old favorite on a warm rainy Wednesday morning. It’s one of those albums that continues to grow on you even after the 100th listen.  BT’s “This Binary Universe”.  If I need a mood lifter this one worth putting in.  It requires active listening to fully appreciate.  (particularly in surround sound with the accompanying DVD / videos).

My oldest loves this album particularly the video for Dynamic Symmetry that features animated flying robot birds.  It’s an eclectic combination of electronic, classical, jazz, glitch, and trance.

It combines music from a full orchestra that morphs with electronics, piano and a jazz ensemble.  It is completely instrumental and the music speaks volumes more than what a vocal or lyric could produce.

The first track was composed not by ear, but coded completely in C++ (a programming language) in csound.  Ironically, it’s titled “All That Makes Us Human Continues”.

Not to mention that there are elements in the songs that contain hidden meanings in mathematical code which appeals to the geek in me.

It reminds me of some of the music I grew up with as a little kid – nods to Gershwin, Duke Ellington, Cole Porter – as well as cutting edge electronics that I obsess over now.   The final track nearly made me weep when I first heard it.  It’ s warm and nostalgic and reminded me of my kids.  It wasn’t a surprise to find out later that it was written as a lullaby for his daughter.

Anyone who is a fan of music, all genres aside, should listen to this album.  I can’t say enough good things about it.

I’m off to brew some coffee and start my day.

Cheers.

One of the better live performances I’ve seen so far!

I’ve been finding it fascinating watching the decline of the major record companies.  They blame their problems on digital piracy and all the millions of people (who care to admit it or not) who have copied, ripped, download, etc. and have not payed for music.  It’s my belief that they’re realizing that their current business model is becoming obsolete and they can’t see past their greed to come up with a solution.

The original purpose of these record companies was that they once owned all of the resources to manufacture, distribute and market a physical product for artists.  In order for success, an artist depended on a contract with these companies to handle the business end of their craft.  Now in the digital realm anyone can be a distibutor, publisher, marketing whiz.

If you look at the past 5-10 years, there is really not artist development anymore.  Look at bands like Pink Floyd who didn’t start out as huge megastars but held a very long career and have a legacy behind them now.

Greed has overshadowed artist development.  If you don’t sell a quadrillion records the first time out, your career is done.  It seems lately that the quick buck is in fads and fashion.  Look how quickly this “emo thing” rose and is now passe.  Don’t even get me started on American Idol.

There is so much talentless crap being marketed as cool, it’s no wonder no-one wants to shell out cash for new music.

And then there is Metallica.  They started waging war on Napster and even their own fans back when this all started.  Now they’re trying to fit in by giving away free music??  They should have to pay every penny back to Napster and all of the people they have sued.  I could continue this tangent but I won’t.

By now you must know of the Susan Boyle story. 

The most unlikey person to be all the rage in the music world.  Now mind you her music may not be all to my taste but regardless of that, you can’t deny pure straight from the heart talent.  Personally, I think people are so sick of the talentless crap hitting the airwaves that when someone comes along with real musical talent, you can’t help but to sit up and take notice. 

She’s also the underdog, one of us working class folk and the best part is she doesn’t give a crap about all the music biz b.s.  She sincerely loves what she does.

I cheer her on! 

I hope she gets the opportunity to do what she loves the rest of her life.  You don’t have to fit in someone’s marketable little package to be a hit.

Cheers!!

I have not yet made up my mind whether or not I agree.  I like the “album” as a medium….but it’s an interesting notion.

http://billycorbenmiu.wordpress.com/2009/04/08/you%E2%80%99ve-got-to-stop-making-albums/

I was listening to NPR at work over the weekend when I heard that it was the 15 year anniversay of the death of Kurt Cobain.  I was a fan.  Music primarily sucked in the late 80’s early 90’s.  Alot of the great alternative bands I listened to as a teenager were long gone.  Electronic music was equally horrible…..mostly due to the saturation of cheap digital synths.  I started listening to Mutant pop, a local college radio program that featured underground music/punk rock.

There was this vast community of bands making music without the stupid mtv hairband posturing.  The summer after I graduated from high school I went to my first show at “The Zoo”. this was the local alternative venue back in the day in my town.  This band called Soundgarden were playing…I had heard a couple of tracks from their “Louder than love” album and decided to go.  I think I went with an old school chum, anyway, I was blown away.

It wasn’t long before I started working at a local restaurant where I made a new friend who was a local musician and heavy into the hardcore music scene.  He introduced me to this band called Nirvana who had just released their album “bleach”.  It was like listening to the beatles buried in a metal sludge pit.  I bought it and scored a rare 7″ single on marble blue vinyl…sliver b/w dive.  I saw them live and was on the floor when Kurt did some crowd surfing.  a year later nevermind was released and well…you know the rest.  They changed the sound of american music.  So anyway here’s a little video….it’s kind of sad.

Yes. though I’m a self proclaimed rivet head I do have some eclectic tastes.  Recently while listening to NPR I stumbled across this voice that blew me away…Neko Case.  In addition, to having an incredible voice, I love her lyrical imagry and her songs are incredibly well written.  I’ve cheecked out some live videos and she sounds even better in her live performances.

She’s also incredibly beautiful …but I have a thing for redheads so maybe I’m a bit biased in that respect.  She doesn’t act like a normal rock star and seems more at home in her barn writing music than the usual music biz debauchery.   So, yeah, I’m a new fan and her new album middle cyclone is a breath of fresh air in the seemingly endless pool of talentless hacks that are more about image than content. 

I also love the interesting manner in which the album was recorded.  I think the creation and recording aspect of music is also an artform and something seems to be missing with these high end recordings done in such a sterile environment.

But don’t take my word for it…check the vids below for yourself…