To here.
Enjoy.
Music – Listening to it. Making it. It doesn’t matter. To me music is vital to life. In my opinion, it’s a natural drug that strikes a chord in the human psyche. Songs are emotions. We associate them with snapshots of time in our lives. Making music is a pure joy. Creating emotions in sound waves is one of the greatest gifts I could ever ask for.
Guitar – Jumping off from the previous point. Guitar has been a love of mine that forever grows. I spend summers playing for hours and hours on end. Whenever I want to let loose, I just wander around in the musical valley in the notes and guitar riffs.
Movies - I’m not a radio/tv/film major for nothing. I’m absolutely in love with movies. I take joy in watching and dissecting the different angles, character motives, and the screenwriting. Films are an escapist route from the real world for me.
Making movies – Branching off again on the previous statement. Not only do I enjoy watching movies, but I truly enjoy making them for the same reasons why I watch them.
Running – I ran track in high school, and it soon became an unexpected hobby. Nobody really thoroughly enjoys just running. But I do. It gives me a sense of freedom and joy, and not to mention puts me at a better sense of reason. Running is beneficial to the body as well as the mind. I found that when I was physically active in running, I was able to perform better in school, and I was more productive creatively.
Writing – Whether it be writing for The Circle, or writing a blog post like this one, I like all sorts of writing.
Concerts – This kinda ties in with the whole music and guitar thing. But already I have three concerts lined up for the summer, and I cannot wait. Not only do I enjoy listening, and making music, but seeing it performed as well. It inspires to make my own, and perform at my best.
Reading – From Rolling Stone, novels, to blogs, I probably spend the majority of my days reading, mostly on the Internet. I’m absolutely fascinated by the power of the Internet. Besides reading about music, television, and film, I also like to read articles on social networking, another thing I’m enthralled by.
Trips to NYC – It’s true, New York City is the coolest city on the planet. I love just people watching, seeing all the various personalities, and outfits. It’s quite an experience. Just exploring is half the fun.
Sports – I grew up as one of the kids that watched “Sportscenter” on a daily basis. I’m a huge fan of participating in them as well as watching. My pride lies in Boston sports, Patriots, Red Sox, Bruins, Celtics.
My trips to see some recent movies have lead to me a new observation. An epiphany that will surely put a smile on the technical music nerds. Rush is making a comeback in today’s society.
(3.5 out of 4 stars)
I took a trip to the movies this past weakend, and saw one of the best films of 2009 thus far.
When a film is advertised as “from the director of Superbad,” two things are going to happen. One. Based on this fact alone, the movie will attract much more of an audience, making more of a profit. Two. Unfortunately some people will expect the sequel to Superbad. Those people will be disappointed, but for those who accept the fact that its a drama AND a comedy, then you are in for a thoroughly enjoyable experience. read more…
Being Music Director of my college’s radio station has its perks. All kinds of music gets sent to the station, with the hopeful intentions of being played on air, and I’m the one who receives this music. Some of it’s ok, some is the farthest from ok, and few and far between are great.
Sifting through the pile of my inherited albums, I came across many bad ones. Actually all of them were inaudible, except for one. I came across this spacey album cover.
With a sticky note that read “techno. sort of…” The note was “sort of” right, partially. read more…
A healthy dose of news I have to deliver to you all.
+I’m now a guest blogger at Mossip. A great blog about music, gossip, entertainment, tv, and all that good stuff. I’ll be contributing mostly coverage on the indie music scene and some television here and there, and maybe some more stuff in between.
+I was named Music Director of WMAR, the Marist radio station. Which means I’ll be blogging about happenings pertaining to being MD.
+I’m seeing TV on the Radio in Boston this summer. Specifically the day after the Grizzly Bear show, guaranteeing two solids days of blogging about what will surely be amazing shows.
For nostalgia purposes, I decided to post my first byline in a local newspaper. It was during my senior year of high school when my article was published in The Derry News. It ended up in the religion section of the paper. read more…
Caroline Klibanoff is a singer/songwriter from Atlanta, Georgia – an American Studies major at Georgetown University. The roots and inspiration of her beautiful music and lyrics are embedded with classic American literature and values.
I recently did an e-interview via social networking with the talented, and free-spirited friend Caroline. Although it is lengthy, I chose not to cut any of it. She has many interesting things to say, and a story well worth being heard. Here’s Caroline uncut. read more…
“Mr. Old Man Young” is a tune I worked on last week while on my spring break. I got a chance to do a quick, rough demo, although it’s not perfect, it gets the idea across. Unfortunately I cannot sing well, which is why there are no vocals, but there are lyrics so you can read them while you listen.
I like listening to my favorite bands’ earlier demos, because you get to see their songs in the earliest infancy, connect with the changes, its all very raw. I want you to get the same experience by listening to this demo. Here’s my baby.
Lyrics
There’s a man who used to be young
There’s a man who used to have fun
Now his weathered face tells stories
All by himself on a park bench
And the old man says to himself
I need a map to find my way
I’m moving with a slow delay
This isn’t how it used to be
This world is getting the best of me
He wears cheap rags on his frail bones
He doesn’t want to drive space cars
Too heartbroken over changes
He doesn’t care about doodles of the future
A weekly review of the latest tunes
In spirits of the Nine Inch Nails, Jane’s Addiction tour this summer, the partnership has released a new EP for free. The cleverly titled “NINJA 2009 Tour Sampler” features previously unreleased material from both bands.
Jane’s Addiction’s pair of tunes can be traced back to their live 1987 self-titled debut. Fast-forward 22 years later, and we finally have proper studio versions with help from the production team of Trent Reznor, Atticus Ross, and Alan Moulder. “Chip Away,” driven by pulsating tribal percussion and Perry Farrell’s primal chants, chases the listener frantically through Jane’s jungle. The band has never sounded this punchy, and full of life on “Whores” which packs a defiantly rocking jab to the ears.
NIN’s contributions to the EP were also tracks that never got a proper studio recording. Both are “With Teeth” outtakes, and were performed on the “Live: With Teeth” tour. “A great big superstar / Is what you think you are / We love you anyhow / But you’re not so pretty now,” Reznor sings on the up tempo “Not So Pretty Now.” The tune sticks to the industrial punk-pop sound of their 2005 release complete with a Sonic Youth-like noise breakdown in the bridge. On the other hand, “Non-Entity” slows things down to a droning drumbeat. [download "NINJA EP"]
Lil Wayne “Prom Queen” (Russ Castella Piano Version) – Well, we know Weezy’s first single off his “rock” album isn’t exactly his best work, while “Hot Revolver” is a step in the right direction, it’s looking like rock stardom will remain in Wayne’s fantasies. With the help of Russ Castella, “Prom Queen” gets an upgrade with a new piano part that works more smoothly with the vocoder than the backing rock band. Think of it as “Prom Queen 2.0,” it’s time to update your music library. [mp3 via PMA]
