Monday, 26 March 2007
Four Eyes
Hey, my buddy just started his own blog at http://fiveleavesfoureyes.blogspot.com - I suggest you check it out!
Sunday, 25 March 2007
My Photos [WARNING: IMAGE HEAVY]
Well, I'm a photographer. I'm doing a photography GCSE, and plan to carry on into A Level. And, since I have this blog, I thought I'd put a few of my pictures on here for the world to see.
I used my Canon EOS 400D with a Tamron Di II lens. I used custom settings and then edited them in iPhoto (Which I'm only using until I get Photoshop on my Mac). It was mostly an experiment in colour, but I also have some B/W pictures as well (because they, to me, are the most striking), and one or two sepia toned ones. These were partly influenced by such photographers as Matias Bilbao and Ansel Adams.
You can view all the pictures here.
Yes, I know there are too many. If you want me to cut down, leave a comment and I will.
I used my Canon EOS 400D with a Tamron Di II lens. I used custom settings and then edited them in iPhoto (Which I'm only using until I get Photoshop on my Mac). It was mostly an experiment in colour, but I also have some B/W pictures as well (because they, to me, are the most striking), and one or two sepia toned ones. These were partly influenced by such photographers as Matias Bilbao and Ansel Adams.
You can view all the pictures here.
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| From Construction ... |
Yes, I know there are too many. If you want me to cut down, leave a comment and I will.
Wednesday, 21 March 2007
I love this man (but not in that way).
Eddie Izzard
This man is one of my favourite comedians - his blend of off-kilter irreverent humour is completely captivating, and the way he goes off on a semi-related vein means that he is on the verge of being an improv comedian.
Also, he can make fun of Darth Vader. Without me wanting to kill him.
Eddie Izzard - Death Star Canteen
Also, he can start sprouting French out and still be funny to anybody.
Sraen out.
This man is one of my favourite comedians - his blend of off-kilter irreverent humour is completely captivating, and the way he goes off on a semi-related vein means that he is on the verge of being an improv comedian.
Also, he can make fun of Darth Vader. Without me wanting to kill him.
Eddie Izzard - Death Star Canteen
Also, he can start sprouting French out and still be funny to anybody.
Sraen out.
Saturday, 17 March 2007
The first Personal Post!
I just spent the last two hours moving stuff from out of our front room with Lil' Sis and Sis' Annoying Friend. 'Twas oddly fun. I still blew it off once I saw there were flowers to take pictures of. I may upload them here at some point, if I can be arsed to.
Sraen out.
Sraen out.
Originality in Music Pt. 1: Acoustic Guitarists
When someone is original, it shows. Take the new "wave" (I say this lightly; it is more of a sub community than a wave) of acoustic guitarists with unorthodox methods. Trace Bundy and Erik Mongrain are two examples of this, and show two similar yet differing methods of using an acoustic guitar differently from the "traditional" ways of strumming and picking.
Dueling Ninjas
That is a video of Trace Bundy playing one of my favourite songs by him, "Dueling Ninjas". It shows the unorthodox methods he uses so easily, such as carrying the melody with one hand and the bass line with the other. One of the most striking things, however, is his left hand dexterity. Even without being a guitarist, you can see that he's something else. He is currently unsigned, but has self-released three albums and a dvd. His website is www.tracebundy.com
The next musician is Erik Mongrain, who is worshipped by one of my friends. And for good reason. His style is eclectic yet fresh, and he uses the guitar fretboard almost as a keyboard.
Airtap
This is Airtap, the song which shows his style absolutely - of course, it's one extreme of his skill; usually he simply incorporates some of these techniques into his playing, but retains his unique harmonic-laden sound. His website is www.erikmongrain.com
These guys are not the only ones who play the guitar in this style, are not the first, and definitely not the last. However, I do believe that they are significant examples of these musicians, who will likely have a nigh-impossible chance of landing a record deal with a major label - hence their self-publication. So, support these people, post comments, buy a CD. It seems the right thing to do; to support musicians who all too often are ignored in favour of the latest engineered tween sensation.
Sraen out.
Dueling Ninjas
That is a video of Trace Bundy playing one of my favourite songs by him, "Dueling Ninjas". It shows the unorthodox methods he uses so easily, such as carrying the melody with one hand and the bass line with the other. One of the most striking things, however, is his left hand dexterity. Even without being a guitarist, you can see that he's something else. He is currently unsigned, but has self-released three albums and a dvd. His website is www.tracebundy.com
The next musician is Erik Mongrain, who is worshipped by one of my friends. And for good reason. His style is eclectic yet fresh, and he uses the guitar fretboard almost as a keyboard.
Airtap
This is Airtap, the song which shows his style absolutely - of course, it's one extreme of his skill; usually he simply incorporates some of these techniques into his playing, but retains his unique harmonic-laden sound. His website is www.erikmongrain.com
These guys are not the only ones who play the guitar in this style, are not the first, and definitely not the last. However, I do believe that they are significant examples of these musicians, who will likely have a nigh-impossible chance of landing a record deal with a major label - hence their self-publication. So, support these people, post comments, buy a CD. It seems the right thing to do; to support musicians who all too often are ignored in favour of the latest engineered tween sensation.
Sraen out.
Friday, 16 March 2007
Originality in Music Pt. 0: The Plan
I'm a guitar player; that brings with it a certain view of the world, a knowledge of many things otherwise ignored by other people. I share this with all other musicians, whether they know it or not. As a result of playing only the guitar, I have developed the (bad, bad, BAD) habit of tuning out the singer and listening to the guitar parts of songs.
This means that I can guage the relative skill that's being put into the song - not a precise art, by any means, but still a useful after-effect of being a musician. Listening to modern music, I have found that many people are staying with the safe options open to them - music in the easy key of C, and Perfect Cadences throughout. This, to me, is incredibly boring and monotonous. There are original musicians out there, there will always be, but it seems that the market (especially the mainstream) is being saturated with these people, many of whom ride a wave based not of their skill but of their celebrity, of their scandalousness, of their view in the public eye. I'm not saying that a public image is bad, far from it, but that it shouldn't be the starting point - I don't wish to sound corny, but it's all about the music.
Therefore, I'm going to try and get my opinions out onto this blog in a series of entries entitled "Originality in Music", in which I will (attempt) to guide you through my musical tastes and observations. It'll start with "Originality in Music Pt. 1: Acoustic Guitarists" and will continue on from there. Hope you enjoy it.
This means that I can guage the relative skill that's being put into the song - not a precise art, by any means, but still a useful after-effect of being a musician. Listening to modern music, I have found that many people are staying with the safe options open to them - music in the easy key of C, and Perfect Cadences throughout. This, to me, is incredibly boring and monotonous. There are original musicians out there, there will always be, but it seems that the market (especially the mainstream) is being saturated with these people, many of whom ride a wave based not of their skill but of their celebrity, of their scandalousness, of their view in the public eye. I'm not saying that a public image is bad, far from it, but that it shouldn't be the starting point - I don't wish to sound corny, but it's all about the music.
Therefore, I'm going to try and get my opinions out onto this blog in a series of entries entitled "Originality in Music", in which I will (attempt) to guide you through my musical tastes and observations. It'll start with "Originality in Music Pt. 1: Acoustic Guitarists" and will continue on from there. Hope you enjoy it.
Monday, 12 March 2007
The Music Biz
On Saturday, I was confirmed my Work Experience placement (for any non-Brits, it's basically an internship during school for one or two weeks) at Airtight Studios ltd, a recording studio on the outskirts of Chichester. I met up with Richard Scott, the owner, and he showed me around the place and helped me fill out the form. A comment of his, however, has got me thinking.
He mentioned a previous student who had come to him for a placement, and had stayed for two weeks. He said that the guy was lucky enough to be doing his placement while a band was recording an album, and that every day he would go into the booth and help them do their thing. On the last day, Rich told him to get in the booth, and he turned to Rich and said "I don't want to go in there anymore".
This surprised Rich. This guy had been extremely keen about working in a studio, and was practically pining to do some work. But by the end of the two weeks, he despised it. Rich explained that the guy hadn't been prepared for what working in a studio actually meant - sitting in a small room for hours on end working with a pack of egos. The guy couldn't take it.
This got me thinking. Why did this guy think that recording an album, from rough recording to final, perfect mix would be easy, especially on the engineer's end? Where did he get this false information, that all music is magical and easy? I don't know. But what I do know is that music isn't easy. There's a lot of work involved. As Thomas Edison said, "What it boils down to is 1% inspiration and 99% perspiration". And he's right. A LOT of hard work goes into writing, recording and releasing an album, and people don't see that. They just listen to the magical little disk, and imagine that it was magical and cool and awesome at all stages. But that isn't always true. For reference, watch Metallica's documentary "Some Kind of Monster". That shows a hard recording. Read the session diaries on Opeth's website, www.opeth.com (they're in the discography section. Just select which album you want to read about.), and read about Deliverance/Damnation. Those were DAMN hard for them to record, and Mikael damn near had a psychotic breakdown by the end. In contrast, you do get some awesome and fun recording sessions. Watch Mastodon's "Making of Blood Mountain" series on YouTube. That shows a (relatively) easy recording, and they joke around a lot. It also happens to be a fascinating insight into how they write their tunes.
So, I guess what I'm saying is that people can't just THINK they're going to be right about something. You can't just expect to love being a studio technician because you like music. You need to do research, and to look into something; and ultimately, to try it out. I guess that's the real reason for Work Experience. It should also be used in life overall. I've been lucky enough to have been right most of the time I've thought I'd like something, but there's always going to be something around the corner which just won't work out.
He mentioned a previous student who had come to him for a placement, and had stayed for two weeks. He said that the guy was lucky enough to be doing his placement while a band was recording an album, and that every day he would go into the booth and help them do their thing. On the last day, Rich told him to get in the booth, and he turned to Rich and said "I don't want to go in there anymore".
This surprised Rich. This guy had been extremely keen about working in a studio, and was practically pining to do some work. But by the end of the two weeks, he despised it. Rich explained that the guy hadn't been prepared for what working in a studio actually meant - sitting in a small room for hours on end working with a pack of egos. The guy couldn't take it.
This got me thinking. Why did this guy think that recording an album, from rough recording to final, perfect mix would be easy, especially on the engineer's end? Where did he get this false information, that all music is magical and easy? I don't know. But what I do know is that music isn't easy. There's a lot of work involved. As Thomas Edison said, "What it boils down to is 1% inspiration and 99% perspiration". And he's right. A LOT of hard work goes into writing, recording and releasing an album, and people don't see that. They just listen to the magical little disk, and imagine that it was magical and cool and awesome at all stages. But that isn't always true. For reference, watch Metallica's documentary "Some Kind of Monster". That shows a hard recording. Read the session diaries on Opeth's website, www.opeth.com (they're in the discography section. Just select which album you want to read about.), and read about Deliverance/Damnation. Those were DAMN hard for them to record, and Mikael damn near had a psychotic breakdown by the end. In contrast, you do get some awesome and fun recording sessions. Watch Mastodon's "Making of Blood Mountain" series on YouTube. That shows a (relatively) easy recording, and they joke around a lot. It also happens to be a fascinating insight into how they write their tunes.
So, I guess what I'm saying is that people can't just THINK they're going to be right about something. You can't just expect to love being a studio technician because you like music. You need to do research, and to look into something; and ultimately, to try it out. I guess that's the real reason for Work Experience. It should also be used in life overall. I've been lucky enough to have been right most of the time I've thought I'd like something, but there's always going to be something around the corner which just won't work out.
New Blog!
So, I've just set up this blog. I'll probably talk about anything that's on my mind - hence the name, Sraen's Mindscape. It'll encompass my odd mind. Yay for me!
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