Blog Archives

Femicide crap.

5/25/2014

NOTE: May 27 2014: I wrote the following post in frustration because this one's been bugging me so much. However, it doesn't express all my thoughts and opinions, nor does it express any of my opinions very clearly. All I can say is this: the combination of misogyny, mental illness, and easy access to firearms is stupid. Our society can do better than this.

Click "Read More" to read my ranting.

0 Comments

My recordings' uncanny valley.

5/24/2014

0 Comments

I feel discouraged. I've put a lot of work and time into these songs. I hope to release them in August. I only have a few more people to record. They feel so close.

They don't sound professional, but I can't say they sound particularly amateur either. They kind-of fit in the middle, in the uncanny valley of modern recorded music. They aren't good enough for college radio, but they're not primitive enough to sound like mere demos.

I don't know what to do to fix them. I don't have the technical expertise to know what to do or how to make them sound more real. They sound like professional recordings in the same way that Christian Contemporary Music sounds like mainstream rock and roll, sort of. They feel like an attempt at emulation that misses the mark.

Above I've posted a mix of "This is the Time." I hope to get my wife to join Nicola's voice, but I bet the song's pretty-much done.

It sounds rough. I don't really know what to do to fix it. The bass doesn't cut through; the guitars sound kind-of dead; the vocals seem distant. It could rock, but it's missing some essential ingredients. And I'm not talking about the drum machine; the drum machine can rock pretty hard. I'm talking about everything else.

0 Comments

Chilly Gonzales.

5/24/2014

0 Comments

So I've been listening to Gonzales' Soft Power ever since I first heard "C Major" on Q, probably back in 2008. I knew he'd worked with Feist. I knew he had a sense of humor. I knew he was an excellent pianist. I've never looked the guy up, however.

Apparently he's got a bigger following than I imagined.

Apparently "Working Together" has a hilarious music video.

That'll teach me for not learning about somebody, even though I'm a "fan."

Here's what forced me to look into it a little more.

0 Comments

S G Collins' "Nuke Skeptic."

5/24/2014

0 Comments

I appreciate S G Collins' YouTube videos. They have loads of good ideas and questions, and usually have some safe, mature conclusions.

Although I like the idea of nuclear power, I like this sense of caution.