Slave to the Packaging

Posted on September 29, 2010 Written by 10 Comments
rush2112

Rush – one of the world’s greatest bands – has been snubbed yet again by the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Not even a nomination, some 11 years after becoming eligible. At this point, not getting in becomes a bigger badge of honor. Who cares about a bunch of dinosaurs, anyway? What could you learn from them?

I mean, when they started, 8-track was still in vogue, and so was vinyl!

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Artificial Boundaries

For a moment, think about how the music industry has changed through that period. Bands like Rush used to tour constantly. While on the road, they’d write the songs for the next album, often in the tour bus (or rental cars!) They’d jump off tour, spend three weeks in the studio cutting the album, then get back on the road. Every six months, a new album would arrive, a pace that would be considered insane today. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Marketing Tagged: , , , , ,

Found in Translation

Posted on April 19, 2010 Written by 5 Comments

Why are so many people worried about what gets lost in translation, when so much else is found?

It’s no secret that for thousands of years, you’d find the most interesting ideas at the crossroads. The intersections of commerce that brought goods, services and ideas that would go on to infect other tribes.

The same holds true today, as the breakthrough advances in science and math come about through cross-pollination of ideas, and transformation. Mathematical theorems that were unprovable through algebra alone become solvable when converted into a topological construct.

Patterns and their significance — even their inherent beauty — are often masked until they are retranslated through the appropriate filters. This video is genius, not just because of the technical virtuosity required to make it, but because of the genius it reveals.

…and I don’t even like Jazz.

Filed Under: Philosophy Tagged: , , , ,

Different Strings

Posted on November 13, 2009 Written by 6 Comments

I am a bit of a music snob, but I am grateful for the opportunities I had when I was in elementary school and junior high. In fifth grade, we learned to play the recorder, which provided a way to get a bunch of kids to learn note duration and simple sheet music while still remaining somewhat in the same key.

But nothing tops my experience in seventh grade, with the ukulele. That was fun, pure and simple — but only because we made it fun.

I didn’t realize how boring the ukulele could be until we did a joint concert with the other junior high in town. In theory, we had both learned the same songs, but you couldn’t tell. Some of those kids were strumming so slow you could hear individual strings being plucked 1-2-3-4.   1-2-3-4.

Meanwhile, Paul and James and I were engaged in serious exploration of the space, incorporating syncopation and other sorts of stop-time arrangements that would have gotten us bounced out of choir, if it weren’t for the fact that it sounded really cool. (Yes, we tried doing Yngwie Malmsteen, and it didn’t translate as well but we shredded it anyway.)

The uke worked for us, because it was simple enough to learn, and versatile enough for us (as a group) to do other things. With the right arrangement, “Tom Dooley” doesn’t sound so melancholy, but nothing could save “If I Had a Hammer.”

So… with the ukulele clearly in mind, I present four minutes of awesome.

Paul? James? This could have been us…

Doesn’t this video makes you want to throw more support into music education?

Filed Under: Personal Tagged: , , ,