Rant #1

My rant is going to be about people who go to concerts and do stupid things such as drink or do drugs. First off, why do it? Drugs and alcohol are stupid to begin with. Why would you go and do these things at a concert which you probably paid good money for? It just seems to me that if you want to really enjoy something, you should do it sober. There were so many people that just stood outside the arena at Lenny while the opening band played and drank. What a stupid waste of money. Isn't it about 7 dollars for a beer? Say you have a couple and get buzzed, or have too many and get drunk, you've just about spent or spent more than what you've already paid for the concert ticket. Not only is it a giant waste of money, it's embarassing and rude to other people who are trying to enjoy the concert. Nobody wants beer spilt on them when they're trying to enjoy some exceptional music. I think if you're going to drink, go do it at a bar or at your house, don't ruin the experience for other people, just for your own enjoyment. Now to drugs, even stupider in my opinion, if not as noticeable. Drugs are bad, plain and simple. Why would you want to do a bad thing while enjoying something good? You're probably not going to remember what happened anyway, so why do the stuff? I think if you pay good money for something, and you want to have a good time, just bring some friends along instead of doing something stupid like drugs.

Music As A Career

A few months ago I would've been against it, but now I see that a career in music might be right for me. I've been finding, ever since getting a job, that I don't want to do the job because of the amount of money I make, instead to do it because I enjoy it. Some music careers I was considering were a high school music teacher or a sound engineer of some sort. I think if I were to have a career to do with music, I would always enjoy it, because music is one of my favorite things. I'm not sure which path to take, because the one involves playing music, where you have to know a lot of theory and be fairly proficient at your instrument(s), while the other involves refining already created music, and it is technology oriented, which interests me further. If I was to teach music I would enjoy helping people to learn to read and make music, but I'm not so sure if I would do well speaking in front of large groups. If I were to be a sound engineer I would like working with all the technology and striving for the right sound. A career in music or not, it will definitely be a hobby for me in the future. I will continue to play my saxophone and keep learning guitar and playing it, hopefully in a band. Music will play a big part in my adult life, whether it be as a career or as just a hobby.

My Thoughts on Music Technology #1

Music Technology has been a very different class for me, so far. I've learned a lot about live sounds, such as micing things, running a sound board, and recording live sound. I have really enjoyed recording things, not necessarily stereo recording through the board, but recording multiple tracks, like we did with Heavily Broken, I really enjoyed the precision it offered when mastering it. You could get more or less of a certain thing, such as the guitar or lead vocals, with separate tracks. I also enjoy setting up in the stage setting, using the snake, having to match up the mic ports on the snake to the board. When the board was over next to the keyboard, I really felt in the way, I didn't enjoy it. I find, well, these blogs really easy, it's familiar to me, so that's probably why. One of the most challenging things for me, is to get a decent mix once the band has already started doing their own little jam session. Everyone wants to just play, and its hard to keep it all together and do a decent sound check and get the levels just right. Also hard to accomplish is mastering a track. Not the fact that it's difficult using the program, it's just that everyone else wants to be using the office, whether it be for a song or tabs, and we can't seem to get much time in edgewise. I'd like to see us getting more days like today where we had to the office all to ourselves, we accomplish a lot more that way. The only thing I don't really enjoy is setting up. I like setting up when it's just us techs out there setting up, but once the band is set up, it's a lot harder to communicate and place everything where it needs to go. Some things I'd like to see in this class is learning more about using the EQ and also the highs/mids/lows on each channel, trying to accommodate to what is on that channel. I'd also like to try out some effects on the board. All in all it's been fun so far, but sometimes I feel left out of the whole experience. It seems we're just sitting on the sidelines - we could be doing something, but everyone would just rather jam, than take the time to let us do our thing. To not end on a sour note I will say that when I do feel part of the experience, it is very entertaining, I love the whole rock band atmosphere.

My Least Favorite Things

Pop and Country music. If you can call it music. Generic and unoriginal, where each song sounds the same as the last. I mentioned pop music being "Flavor of the Week" and that's exactly what it is, you get that one song, by that one artist *coughRhiannacough* being played eleventeen times per hour on FoxFM and it makes my ears want to bleed. You know, the top hits crap that gets played at socials *coughMileyCyruscough* and everyone thinks its so cool, because they're tanked out of their minds. (Not like I'd know, though, right?) The next thing you know they're winning MTV Music awards for what? A catchy beat and on par vocals? Thats nothing. I admire a band for their musical talent, not their looks or their "cool" music videos, anybody can whip up a digitally mastered beat and such, and then sing along. Music is playing in a band, not singing along to a stupid beat and digital effects. That's my piece on pop music, I just think that its all the same, and it just seems to follow a trend - a trend that I want no part of, and that no music lover should be part of, either. Now on to country. I DISGUST country. This is where every single song sounds exactly like the last. Some stupid, poser, lookalike cowboy playing either a weepy tale about some lost lover or an upbeat tune about drinking whisky with the boys. It's all been done, guys, just hang up the hat and turn up the distortion on your amp, that's where it's at today. Anyway, I can't stand the sound of country music, the fact that you can't tell one from the other doesn't help the matter. Not that I care enough to tell the difference. Those are pretty much my least favorite kinds of music. Again, if you want to call them that.

My Favorite Things

Metal. That would have to be my favorite genre of music, as well as all sub genres of metal. I think the best kind of metal would have to be metalcore, because you have the sweet riffs, without the meaningless lyrics. Lyrics are very important to me in a song, it gives meaning to the music. The reason I like metal so much is probably because of the guitar parts, I love listening to a distorted guitar, the sounds they can make with it are so unique. Some of my favorite metal bands are Killswitch Engage, Atreyu, and All That Remains. I like Killswitch because all their songs are so put together and the singer is great at screaming and clean vocals. Also because they did a cover of Holy Diver. Nice. I respect Atreyu for a couple of reasons; they have a really unique vocalist who does screaming that's different from most you hear, the guitar riffs are melodic as well as grinding, and their drummer does the vocals during the chorus, which I believe is just phenomenal. Unfourtunately, they've sort of gone backwards in my opinion with their latest album, it has less screaming, and a more hardcore feel instead of metal. It's not bad stuff, just not exactly my kind of Atreyu. All That Remains is probably my favorite metal band. Its fast and heavy stuff, for the most part, many songs have a guitar solo, which I enjoy. The drummer plays an extremely fast double bass pedal, it`s hard to believe it`s real. Also, the bassist is a girl which is pretty sweet. Most songs are screamed during the verses, but the chorus is usually clean vocals. Its hard for me to listen to a song that is entirely screamed, I need to have some clean vocals to balance it out. It`s hard to pick a favorite song for these bands, but if I had to I'd pick We Stand Up by Atreyu, Two Weeks by ATR and Arms of Sorrow by KSE. Of course, my all time favorite band would have to be Protest The Hero. It's like nothing I've ever heard before. To define it in a genre I would have to say Thrash, Metal, and Hardcore. All three combined. To start, the singer has a very unique voice, he screams, low and high, as well as sings low and very high. There are two guitarists, who play very fast tapping lines. It has a really flowing feel. The bassist is also insane, he taps with two hands on his bass and also writes all the lyrics and parts for everyone in the band. The drummer, is well, just the drummer, but he is very talented too. I can't pick a favorite song for this band, all their stuff is just that good, but some of the best ones are Bloodmeat, Sequoia Throne and Limb from Limb.

What is Music?

Music, to me, is something that sounds good to you. Music can be very melodic or something completely dissonant, and there are lovers and haters for each side, but the thing is, somebody out there likes it. It may seem like nobody likes you Lindsay, but out there, someone ACTUALLY does. My kind of music is something that involves a traditional rock band instrumentation. Preferably two guitars, though. Some people really enjoy pop music, and there's nothing wrong with that, I just find it too easy to listen to. I very much enjoy the technical aspects of music. I enjoy pop music the occasional time, but for me it`s not something that you can listen to consistently, its a little too "Flavor of the Week" For me, music has to be very unique to catch my attention, that's probably why I listen to what I do - I dare you to try and find another band that sounds like Protest the Hero. Originality is something that is a great deciding factor in my listening choices. I use music in my daily life all the time, I can't even drive a vehicle without having my music going, I often wake up to my music, listen to it in class - I'm listening to it right now. I think the most important thing that makes something music is that it makes you feel good, or not so good, depending on you want it to make you feel like. That's what music is to me.