Child of the Future » Music

Using Last.fm

Greg — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 13:25:51 +0000

I recently signed up for a last.fm account – I had one long ago, but I decided that I would sign up for another to get a better idea of exactly what I listen to day to day, and to hopefully get some good recommendations. So far, in my limited use that recommendations have been spot on – I hope that as I listen more and more, they are able to get me interested in some new and interesting artists.

Also, I have been loving their ‘Radio’ function. I have found it amazingly useful to listen to music that is within the same mood or genre that I want. For example, listening to the ‘piano rock’ station gives me artists like Ben Folds Five, The Fray and Jack’s Mannequin among many other lesser known bands. This level of control is amazing as I regularly go through times where I am tired of the radio because they have relatively limited playlists, which results in repetition. Being able to control your listening experience to get a station that matches exactly how I am feeling/thinking at the time is incredibly powerful.

It’s an excellent way to get introduced to new music, and is well worth $3 a month. I will post an update on last.fm after I have used it a bit more.

We Are Very Busy People

Greg — Sat, 29 Aug 2009 17:55:54 +0000

The Limousine’s Very Busy People has been stuck in my head for much of the week. The song has an indie-pop vibe that results in an incredibly catchy song on the surface. The more and more I listen to it, I come to understand a deeper message and social commentary that The Limousine’s are making about the state of our culture today.

It makes me think about how ‘busy’ I am in my life. Many days, I end up stressing about the list of tthings that I couldn’t accomplish in the day because I was ‘busy’. But what am I busy with? In hindsight rivial silly things like video games, computer antics and friends. At the end of the day, I spend more time thinking that I’m busy and stressing out about being busy, instead of actually being busy.

If future releases from the Limousine’s are as catchy and though provoking as this song, they will definetely be around for a long time to come.

Please post your thoughts on the song, and any thoughts about your ‘busy life.

The Song in My Head: Matt and Kim – Daylight

Greg — Sat, 22 Aug 2009 15:53:16 +0000

I have recently become completely enthralled by Matt and Kim’s Daylight. I haven’t really been able to fully understand the song to the point where I can discuss the meaning to any great extent. In fact, they were nice enough to post the lyrics which left me even more confused. Either way, the beat is absolutely mesmerizing, and I simply can’t get the hook out of my head. I can highly recommend their full length albums, Grand which includes this one along with a whole bunch of equally catch songs.

Need For Creative Outlet

Greg — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 17:04:56 +0000

I’m not sure if it is because as part of my day to day job I am so mired in standard operating procedures that I have only one ‘right’ way to accomplish anything, but recently I have had this insatiable need to express myself creatively.

I have been tinkering around with a couple of different means to achieve this goal, and I haven’t found something that I am particularly proficient in yet. At some level, I think that I have spread myself too thin – pursuing writing, guitar and even pencil drawing from square one all at the same time, moving from one to another as I realize that it’s not living up to the idealized vision I had in my mind.

For example, I got this great idea that I wanted to learn guitar. I purchased the equipment, bought the books and tinkered around with the guitar for about 3-5 days total, and then gave up. I still haven’t figured out why I haven’t tried harder – perhaps it is is because I had unrealistic, almost romantic thoughts that I would be a rock star within a matter of days and when that didn’t happen I became extremely frustrated.

It’s hard to stay motivated in the learning of an art such as music when starting out is so much about failure. You can’t put your fingers in the right place, can’t read the music and simply can’t make the instrument sound the way it should. To be completely honest, I thought that there was something wrong with my guitar until a friend came who had been playing for years. He picked it up, and within seconds it sounded amazing. If anything, this only made me more intimidated to really put the work in because it turns out that I was the problem.

As I get the ball rolling on learning learning the ‘art’ of creative writing, I am really reminded of these sorts of failtures. I must realize that I am not going to put a story down off the top of my head and win a Hugo Award. I have to try, and I have to fail before I can succeed.

I think that Geoffrey Ballard summed this up the best- “Failure is the mechanism of learning”.