The Loudness War

This is interesting.

It might explain some of the appeal of regular pop music over remixed classic old school music. Also, I am sure that most professionally recorded but independently released music is probably done the right way.

What is up with Noises?

For all you music pros out there this is probably old had. However to little ol' me it blows my mind. Seriously if you have 10 minutes give this a watch.

I'd like to have some discussions about notes with someone. What's interesting is that I find it very VERY hard to hear some of the things she is pointing out. That is what I blame my lack of musical skills on: Bad hearing ability. It all sort of blurs together for me.

The other interesting thing is how she ends the video. She is saying that we naturally find order in all the sounds that are coming into our ears. I find this to be a loaded statement. First of all, are some people better at creating order from sounds? Is this why I have trouble hearing someone talk to me when I am listening or reading or focusing on something else? Also, what about modern classical music? Does this mean that if you try hard enough you should be able to find beauty and order in dissonant music? I certainly can do that better than some people. Sometimes I love the sounds of modern Sigur Ros and other post-rock bands while my dear wife just wants to shut it off. This is all just so fascinating.....

Danny Macaskill - Industrial Revolutions

I loved the last Danny Macaskill video and this one features even more serious skills in an industrial train yard somewhere in Scotland.

Also the music is pretty good (very sad lyrics....).

Longboarding near Madrid

This looks like an awesome time. Scary but awesome.

Also it features a pretty cool Decemberists song.

Piano and Cello Like You've Never Seen

This is some fantastic music....
...with a great ending.

LCD Soundsystem's last show

Check this out: The final LCD Soundsystem show at Madison Square Garden. These guys combine so many genres and influences to produce some pretty epic tunes and this is one serious party to celebrate all that.

It's almost 4 hours of glorious music and features some incredible collaborations not the least of which is Arcade Fire. Check the summary on Youtube for the set list.

Radiohead Fan Speaks Out

This is so hilarious but for some reason I want to stop short of saying I agree with him....is it because I truly actually like OK Computer or is it because I might be rejected by all my friends who are such huge Radiohead fans.

And I know a lot of huge Radiohead fans......

Arcade Fire: Scenes from the Suburbs

Check out this sweet trailer from Spike Jonze's "Scenes from the Suburbs" made in collaboration with Arcade Fire.

Yup looks pretty apocalyptic. Right up my alley.

Sign of the Times

This five year old has her whole life planned it seems. I wonder where she got these ideas.....


Either way, the Gregory Brothers of 'Bed Intruder Song' fame got ahold of it and turned the video into a little song.

Good times!

Inspiration In The Parking Garage

This is pretty cool. Taking those impromptu concerts in malls to another level.



"Coming out of a music educators' conference in the Eugene Hilton, I heard some beautiful voices as I walked to my car. Some choir kids had located a place with good acoustics, and they were just making beautiful music. The lights over their heads only made the moment more angelic."

Oh Japan, the Harbinger of Doom

At first I was shocked but then I realized that how is this any different than watching Britney Spears or Nickelback? It isn't different at all. Both are marketed commodities that are polished and set up in order to make everyone involved a bunch of money.

Oh Japan - why do you always have to be the harbinger of doom. And why do you always make it seem so innocent.

Remix the News: Part 2

A couple posts ago I listed a bunch of "music" videos that spawned from a remix of a news story by the Gregory Brothers.

Well they are at it again. Here is the original news story.


and here is the Gregory Brothers Remix:

The Best Music Video Ever!!!

I am completely serious. Nothing like this has ever been done.

Go to this website (http://www.thewildernessdowntown.com/) and you can view the latest Arcade Fire video for the song "We Used to Wait" off of their latest album 'Suburbs' (which is amazing).

I found it really intense and it becomes very personal. So amazing.

Especially if you grew up in the suburbs.

Oh and I almost forgot. You need the Google Chrome browser to make this work. If you don't have it you are seriously missing out. If you don't have it and you also like The Arcade Fire then there is no question that you simply have to download it now and watch this video.

The Bed Intruder Video Evolution

If you have been living under an internet rock over the past couple weeks you may have missed this latest internet meme. So I will attempt to keep you up to date because it keeps getting funnier.

Here is the original video which is actually quite serious:


Then some guys added some auto-tune and introduced music and voila, a the bed intruder song:


They invited everybody to do parodies of it and people responded instantly

The indie-folk version:


The piano version:


The Japanese guitar version:


And naturally the full band version:

Lenny Kravitz randomly joins a Choir in New Orleans

Lenny Kravitz was something I listened to back in High School but he still has a bit of that cool factor. Now imagine if he randomly walked up to your choir and joined in with singing one of his most well known songs.

He was just sitting up on a terrace in New Orleans having a drink, and he heard the First Baptist Church in Lewisville’s The Voice of Praise Choir singing “Fly Away” so of course he joined them.

You're Gonna Miss Me - Lulu and the Lampshades

This must take insane coordination skills and pretty good voices too.

How do you even get into something like this?

Eyjafjallajokull

If you want to see an epic video of the Icelandic volcano set to some epic music then watch this one:

Iceland, Eyjafjallajökull - May 1st and 2nd, 2010 from Sean Stiegemeier on Vimeo.

It is a time-lapse video by Sean Stiegemeier set to a tune by Jonsi of Sigur Ros called Kolniður. I have always wanted to go to Iceland - now I do even more.

Fleet Foxes in Stop Motion

This is a fantastic little home made stop-motion video that my brother made for my other brother for Christmas. He bought him the cd, made him a custom case and then made this video.

Given that he has never done a video like this before I think it turned out pretty awesome. All the artwork was done by hand and then photographed and then adjusted in Photoshop. Also it helps that the song is one of the best modern indie folk songs out there. It is called 'Blue Ridge Mountains' and was written by one of the members about his love for his brother.

20 Interesting Apartments

Here is a great list of cool/strange/wierd apartments of the world. Just as a side note can you guess which album features these neat honeycomb buildings on the cover?

Why am I blogging about a rapper?

This has got to be a first. I have never posted a rap/hip-hop video or even blogged about it from what I can remember. However here is a Canadian rapper who has been making the rounds on the CEEB and seems to be getting more popular. What is separates him from all the other mainstream rap is his lyrics and attitude. I can't stand the rapping about getting shot and drugs and pimps. It is such a strange culture to be glorifying. This guy is totally down to earth and this song really shows it. Basically he is talking down on how mainstream rap music (at least partially) has created a new form of blaxploitation which has just been encouraged by the average black rapper. Now I can never say something like that because I am as white as they come. I mean I listen to indie-folk and read Kafka. So I really have no credibility.

Shad, however, has much more credibility. Take a listen:

Here are the lyrics Brother (Watching) by Shad:

I try to hold some hope in my heart
For these African youths
Coming up where im from
Many traps to elude
Surrounded by
Mostly white and affluent dudes
And somehow, you expected to have
Mastered this smooth
Swagger and move
With the right walk, the right talk
Fashion and crews
Souls subtly attacked and abused
And whats funny's being black wasn't cool
Where im from til suddenly
you started hearing rap in the school
Hallways
Admist this madness I grew
With knack for amusing through this little skill
For rappin at dudes
An' we all like to laugh at the truth
But when you young and same facts
Pertain to who you rappin em to
Well, I opted not to bring
That to the booth
But after a while, it sort of starts naggin at you
The crazed infatuation with blackness
That trash that gets viewed
And the fact that the tube only showed blacks
Actin the fool and I was watching...

(saturated with negative images and a limited range of
Possibilities is strange...)

And its sad cuz that naturally do
Sort of condition your mind and over time
That's whats attractive to you
So young blacks don't see themselves in
Scholastic pursuits
Or the more practical routes
Its makin tracks or its hoops
Or God-forbid movin packs for the loot
Even with this music we so limited - its rap or produce
And that narrow conception of whats black isn't true
Of course, still we feel forced to adapt to this view
Like theres something that youre havin to prove
Now add that to the slew
Of justification the capitalists use
For the new blaxploitation
Many actions excused
In the name of getting cash
That's adversely impactin our youth
With mental slavery, the shackles is loose
And its hard to cut chains when they attached at the roots
So what the new black activists do
For our freedom is just being them
Do what youre passionate to
Not confined by a sense that you have to disprove
Any stereotypes, so-called facts to refute
Or match any image of blackness
They've established as true
Perhaps we'll break thru the glass ceilings
Shatter the roof and emerge
From these boxes that they have us in cooped
And grow to smash the bold that they casted of you
I'll keep watching...