Super creative title, I know. But today counts as super-good (on a general scale of good-ness) and is thus blog-worthy.
I have a photographer for Portland, which is pretty fantastic, because now I have someone who is kind of contractually bound (minus the "contract" part) to me for every concert I attend that requires photographic evidence of my involvement.
Amazing.
I'm really excited because she's such an obvious choice. I didn't just need a Portland photographer, I needed a cool Portland photographer. Because we'd have to hang together during shows and stuff.
I wish I could pay everyone who contributes to AM.
I spend way too much time and effort trying to get to that point with the site. In the meantime, I'm still so super proud of it.
I am going to see Ice Palace (recommended track: "Trampolining") play with Cloud Cult and Say Hi on Sunday.
Ice Palace has really grown on me, so I demanded (politely requested) free tickets.
I also just found out that going to see Cloud Cult is so very indie-blogger-chic. I don't know how to feel about that, but I think I might like it.
Rather than writing news updates (which is a seriously daunting task when there is no news to report), I've spent most of today studying. What, exactly, I mean by that is of no consequence. But I sometimes feel like the website (which I am still refusing to refer to by name, so as to evade Google's radar) is getting bigger than my ability to deal with it.
So I read a lot about how to, like, run a business and shit.
In terms of the music stuff, 17 year old me would think 25 year old me is such a serious badass. In terms of sentences like So I read a lot about how to, like, run a business and shit, she would totally think I suck.
Anyway. Andy thinks we should go for a walk in the park. Literally.
I think we should go for a walk around Powell's. Again.
It's a habit I should probably try to break.
In the meantime, I'll be there tonight if anyone wants to stalk me. (Don't stalk me.)
Friday, May 8, 2009
Monday, April 20, 2009
Doppleganger.
I'm here, too: http://breeawn.tumblr.com/
Follow both? Because I'm a pain in the ass like that.
Follow both? Because I'm a pain in the ass like that.
Saturday, April 18, 2009
My Ode To Record Store Day
It's been a long time since I've had my world rocked by an album.
I think the last one was Pinkerton by Weezer. I think that was the last whole album to rock my world. Since then, it's been artists. Songs. Fragments. Which is probably par for the course, due to the state of the industry. iTunes has a way of dismembering albums. We have a way of buying into the system. Artists have a way of letting the system drive the art they create.
I recognize it. I know why things are the way they are. I'm not (really) shaking a fist at the industry because it's always been kind of set up to fail. And the fact that it's currently in shambles has allowed for this current state of affairs. The music industry, as a whole, is in this pretty amazing flux. Artists are building their own (legitimate!) careers and fan bases. Music blogs have become the new A&R guys. Print magazines don't really know what the fuck they're doing anymore (and neither do I. Don't think I am disillusioned enough to think I have this madness all figured out, either).
It's all pretty incredible, especially to see it in a firsthand(ish) sort of way.
Good or bad, the music industry has become a place that isn't all too kind to albums anymore. Rather than telling a whole story, it seems as if the artist is just trying to sell you five singles. The rest of the album is filled with the tracks you skip or just never buy.
Pinkerton is a whole album.
The biggest Weezer argument seems to be the Blue versus Pink album argument. Blue has some really strong singles, but if you want a full album, you're a Pink fan.
I'm a Pink fan. If a band can sell me on one entire album, I'm in. For life. Even if their follow-up efforts are really tragic. (I'll save my dignity by saving you from reading that list--some people would say Weezer is actually at the top of that list. Bastards.)
Because I was late, I didn't hear Pinkerton until 2005. Nine years after its release. (I got Make Believe and Pinkerton the same week.)
So it's been a long four years since I've played an entire album on repeat out of necessity and not because I simply didn't have anything else to listen to that week.
Bitte Orca. Dirty Projectors.
To tell you how I heard about them is embarrassing. Let's just say: it's really beneficial to, uh... pay attention.
The first time I heard "Stillness Is the Move," I thought it was weird, disjointed, thoughtless noise. I thought, "Really? This?!" But for some reason, I kept returning to it. And now every time I listen to it, I love it more.
David Longstreth knows how to make my mind explode. My brain gets knocked sideways every time the drums turn to fireworks in the chorus of "Temecula Sunrise."
"Stillness Is the Move" is no longer thoughtless noise but brilliant and textured.
And please don't even ask me to discuss the genius of "Useful Chamber" or the strange elegance of "No Intention."
Discussing this album is like having a Yale student read one of my articles--which maybe makes sense because Lonstreth is a Yale dropout. The album is bigger than my writing. I'm intimidated by it.
Like with most Weezer music (but to a much more severe extreme), I didn't like this album at all. It was too far from my comfort zone. It didn't make sense. But it kept me curious enough to keep coming back to it. And now I'm finding the intellect in its disjointed melodies and overall strangeness.
I feel like I have to earn it. I have to put an effort into hearing it and I have to find ways to force it to find its place in my mind.
You like the feeling of Saturday. You love the danger in the night.
Though I want everyone to listen to it Bitte Orca and love it in the way that I do, I know they probably won't, so I recommend the album by prefacing my recommendation with, "It's weird, but I love it." And if you listen only to the radio and are happy with that, I should've told you to stop reading before you even began.
This is the first music I've heard since the inception of the website that hasn't played by the rules just to get writers to say nice things about it. In other music, the intentions bleed through the art and the desperation is blatant and pathetic. "I'm exactly what you want me to be! I sound exactly like everything you love. I can change for you." It's really bad. This is the first album I've heard in years that doesn't seem to give a fuck. It was the first time an album has been honest enough to give me an option, either way. So I explored both extremes and the album got its way in the end: I love it.
Bitte Orca will be out June 9th.
Maybe by then I'll be able to discuss it in an intelligent and eloquent way.
(Advance copies are the shit.)
Happy Record Store Day.
I think the last one was Pinkerton by Weezer. I think that was the last whole album to rock my world. Since then, it's been artists. Songs. Fragments. Which is probably par for the course, due to the state of the industry. iTunes has a way of dismembering albums. We have a way of buying into the system. Artists have a way of letting the system drive the art they create.
I recognize it. I know why things are the way they are. I'm not (really) shaking a fist at the industry because it's always been kind of set up to fail. And the fact that it's currently in shambles has allowed for this current state of affairs. The music industry, as a whole, is in this pretty amazing flux. Artists are building their own (legitimate!) careers and fan bases. Music blogs have become the new A&R guys. Print magazines don't really know what the fuck they're doing anymore (and neither do I. Don't think I am disillusioned enough to think I have this madness all figured out, either).
It's all pretty incredible, especially to see it in a firsthand(ish) sort of way.
Good or bad, the music industry has become a place that isn't all too kind to albums anymore. Rather than telling a whole story, it seems as if the artist is just trying to sell you five singles. The rest of the album is filled with the tracks you skip or just never buy.
Pinkerton is a whole album.
The biggest Weezer argument seems to be the Blue versus Pink album argument. Blue has some really strong singles, but if you want a full album, you're a Pink fan.
I'm a Pink fan. If a band can sell me on one entire album, I'm in. For life. Even if their follow-up efforts are really tragic. (I'll save my dignity by saving you from reading that list--some people would say Weezer is actually at the top of that list. Bastards.)
Because I was late, I didn't hear Pinkerton until 2005. Nine years after its release. (I got Make Believe and Pinkerton the same week.)
So it's been a long four years since I've played an entire album on repeat out of necessity and not because I simply didn't have anything else to listen to that week.
Bitte Orca. Dirty Projectors.
To tell you how I heard about them is embarrassing. Let's just say: it's really beneficial to, uh... pay attention.
The first time I heard "Stillness Is the Move," I thought it was weird, disjointed, thoughtless noise. I thought, "Really? This?!" But for some reason, I kept returning to it. And now every time I listen to it, I love it more.
David Longstreth knows how to make my mind explode. My brain gets knocked sideways every time the drums turn to fireworks in the chorus of "Temecula Sunrise."
"Stillness Is the Move" is no longer thoughtless noise but brilliant and textured.
And please don't even ask me to discuss the genius of "Useful Chamber" or the strange elegance of "No Intention."
Discussing this album is like having a Yale student read one of my articles--which maybe makes sense because Lonstreth is a Yale dropout. The album is bigger than my writing. I'm intimidated by it.
Like with most Weezer music (but to a much more severe extreme), I didn't like this album at all. It was too far from my comfort zone. It didn't make sense. But it kept me curious enough to keep coming back to it. And now I'm finding the intellect in its disjointed melodies and overall strangeness.
I feel like I have to earn it. I have to put an effort into hearing it and I have to find ways to force it to find its place in my mind.
You like the feeling of Saturday. You love the danger in the night.
Though I want everyone to listen to it Bitte Orca and love it in the way that I do, I know they probably won't, so I recommend the album by prefacing my recommendation with, "It's weird, but I love it." And if you listen only to the radio and are happy with that, I should've told you to stop reading before you even began.
This is the first music I've heard since the inception of the website that hasn't played by the rules just to get writers to say nice things about it. In other music, the intentions bleed through the art and the desperation is blatant and pathetic. "I'm exactly what you want me to be! I sound exactly like everything you love. I can change for you." It's really bad. This is the first album I've heard in years that doesn't seem to give a fuck. It was the first time an album has been honest enough to give me an option, either way. So I explored both extremes and the album got its way in the end: I love it.
Bitte Orca will be out June 9th.
Maybe by then I'll be able to discuss it in an intelligent and eloquent way.
(Advance copies are the shit.)
Happy Record Store Day.
Thursday, April 2, 2009
Insomnia-ia-ia.
If I'm going to be online, this is the last thing I should be doing. Well, this and say, Bejeweled or some nonsense.
I have a ton of stuff to be writing. And I have to code two sections for the website, one of which broke the website into a million tiny pieces which I just spent the last five hours picking up and gluing back together.
Yeah.
Fuck that.
Just two things, though:
1. I can't quit.
In terms of vices, I don't have an addictive personality. But I can't walk away from a project. I can throw my hands up 12 times in just as many minutes and half-convince myself that I need to walk away, but I will sit at the computer for five very long fucking hours piecing a website back together when I have no idea what the hell I'm doing.
Wordpress tutorials, I owe you my firstborn.
2. I made a list of everything that I need to think about, be aware of, and be careful to not forget about during the next month.
The list is two pages long. With notes in the margins. And that was just off the top of my head.
Emails, CDs, moving information, bill information, shit to write about, things to update, people to contact, travel plans, interview questions, names, dates...
It's a good sign. If I had to be this busy doing someone else's work and sitting in a cubicle all day, I'd crack down the middle.
But for some reason, the list made me kinda sad. Then that made me feel guilty.
I need to go to bed. While I'm crawling around in my head like a meth fiend, normal people are sleeping.
I should look into it.
I have a ton of stuff to be writing. And I have to code two sections for the website, one of which broke the website into a million tiny pieces which I just spent the last five hours picking up and gluing back together.
Yeah.
Fuck that.
Just two things, though:
1. I can't quit.
In terms of vices, I don't have an addictive personality. But I can't walk away from a project. I can throw my hands up 12 times in just as many minutes and half-convince myself that I need to walk away, but I will sit at the computer for five very long fucking hours piecing a website back together when I have no idea what the hell I'm doing.
Wordpress tutorials, I owe you my firstborn.
2. I made a list of everything that I need to think about, be aware of, and be careful to not forget about during the next month.
The list is two pages long. With notes in the margins. And that was just off the top of my head.
Emails, CDs, moving information, bill information, shit to write about, things to update, people to contact, travel plans, interview questions, names, dates...
It's a good sign. If I had to be this busy doing someone else's work and sitting in a cubicle all day, I'd crack down the middle.
But for some reason, the list made me kinda sad. Then that made me feel guilty.
I need to go to bed. While I'm crawling around in my head like a meth fiend, normal people are sleeping.
I should look into it.
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
I'm Like One of Those Ridiculous Parents Who Has Nothing Better To Talk About.
Bose headphones should not break.
I own these. After I tell you that, my argument gains and loses momentum with each statement, but try to empathize:
Those are some expensive headphones.
I did not pay $350 for them, though. They were a gift. A used gift. A gift that not cost the giver $350, thank god. I hope no one ever wastes $350 on headphones-- especially not headphones for me. But if someone does choose to waste that kind of money on a pair of headphones, I feel as if the headphones should be able to withstand some pretty serious damage. No parts should need to replaced. Not ever.
Because those are some expensive headphones.
That said, when I got them, there were some signs of previous ownership. They were definitely of the "new... to me" category. But they were amazing headphones. Music has never been so beautiful and clear. It's how recorded music is meant to be heard. I mean that.
Months later, one of the cords shorted out. Gave up on life.
Bullshit.
My "new... to me" $350 headphones (that weren't really $350) stopped working.
The replacement cord was really some phone attachment shit and would cost me $40.
No no no.
A few months later, bose.com decided to offer the cord I needed for just $15.
Fine.
I bought it and received my replacement. My headphones work again!
I'm happy once more, even if only begrudgingly.
I love Bose, even if I really hate them.
Being poor and yet still having nice things aside, I am making the official move to Portland in the coming weeks. I am moving my whole life to pursue my music journalism website. It's gotten too big to just fly here and there to do my interviews. That shit gets expensive once you have to do it more than once every few months.
People have asked about when I get paid because of what I do.
Honestly? I have no idea. I'd like to sell ad space eventually, but not before I know what I'm doing. Once money begins being exchanged, you have to know a lot more laws about copyrights, and paying taxes, and being a business owner.
Um, I signed up to be a writer, never a marketing major, or a financial adviser, or The Man. My knowledge of tax information begins and ends at the 1040EZ. When I make friends with someone in a three-piece suit or learn some vital information regarding how to avoid prison, I will deal with moneymaking.
So since I can't measure the website's legitimacy on its income, I will measure it in its awesomeness:
We beat out MySpace, AltPress.com, Vimeo, and Weezer.com for the opportunity to premiere some new Rivers stuff on the website.
That's intense. I've seen Weezer live more times than any other musician or band in existence.
Second place has never felt like a bigger win.
I own these. After I tell you that, my argument gains and loses momentum with each statement, but try to empathize:
Those are some expensive headphones.
I did not pay $350 for them, though. They were a gift. A used gift. A gift that not cost the giver $350, thank god. I hope no one ever wastes $350 on headphones-- especially not headphones for me. But if someone does choose to waste that kind of money on a pair of headphones, I feel as if the headphones should be able to withstand some pretty serious damage. No parts should need to replaced. Not ever.
Because those are some expensive headphones.
That said, when I got them, there were some signs of previous ownership. They were definitely of the "new... to me" category. But they were amazing headphones. Music has never been so beautiful and clear. It's how recorded music is meant to be heard. I mean that.
Months later, one of the cords shorted out. Gave up on life.
Bullshit.
My "new... to me" $350 headphones (that weren't really $350) stopped working.
The replacement cord was really some phone attachment shit and would cost me $40.
No no no.
A few months later, bose.com decided to offer the cord I needed for just $15.
Fine.
I bought it and received my replacement. My headphones work again!
I'm happy once more, even if only begrudgingly.
I love Bose, even if I really hate them.
Being poor and yet still having nice things aside, I am making the official move to Portland in the coming weeks. I am moving my whole life to pursue my music journalism website. It's gotten too big to just fly here and there to do my interviews. That shit gets expensive once you have to do it more than once every few months.
People have asked about when I get paid because of what I do.
Honestly? I have no idea. I'd like to sell ad space eventually, but not before I know what I'm doing. Once money begins being exchanged, you have to know a lot more laws about copyrights, and paying taxes, and being a business owner.
Um, I signed up to be a writer, never a marketing major, or a financial adviser, or The Man. My knowledge of tax information begins and ends at the 1040EZ. When I make friends with someone in a three-piece suit or learn some vital information regarding how to avoid prison, I will deal with moneymaking.
So since I can't measure the website's legitimacy on its income, I will measure it in its awesomeness:
We beat out MySpace, AltPress.com, Vimeo, and Weezer.com for the opportunity to premiere some new Rivers stuff on the website.
That's intense. I've seen Weezer live more times than any other musician or band in existence.
Second place has never felt like a bigger win.
Thursday, March 12, 2009
One Week Of Sun.
This week.
I don't think it's rained at all this week, which is a nice change. I don't mind the rain. I was raised in the Pacific Northwest. We're built for it. But like rain, sunshine has a certain needed quality, too. I'm a fan of both. Too much of either leaves me gloomy.
I'm one step away from being elated with the website: I hate the banner.
No... I don't hate it. I'm thankful for it. It's neat and it was a gift. Someone made it for me and if he hadn't, I simply wouldn't have a banner. But it was made for the first version of the site and it doesn't fit the newer version the way I'd like it to.
It's like being 30 and still using your Mickey Mouse sheets on your twin bed: better than nothing but probably not ideal.
I [redacted for your sake] the coding of the site and things are now running much faster.
I'm a geek.
We have new writers. I went over that. I'm still excited.
I got new books. One I expect to enjoy very much.
I finally transcribed one of the interviews that has been taunting me over the past few weeks. It's long and I was afraid it would be boring.
It's not.
It's very good.
In terms of editing and arrangement, I think it's my best yet. People never know how boring an interview can be if it's not edited well. (Go read some of my earlier interviews if you're curious.) So it's exciting and gratifying to see myself growing as a writer and as a journalist. I'm not "there" yet, but being even half a step closer is a big deal.
I booked a flight to Nashville for next month. I'm waiting for Bobby Long's American publicist to confirm the interview that his English manager confirmed this morning.
Thus, the run-around.
I can't wait. I've been listening to him a lot lately. I began writing questions for this interview before I ever knew that I'd be interviewing him. Because he's attached to the Twilight mania, I'm really looking forward to giving him an opportunity to answer questions that don't pertain to vampires or what his ideal first date would be.
I like Nashville because of its blatant music vibe. It'll be nice to go back.
Post-Nashville is a post-birthday visit with my better half in the city of my birth, Atlanta.
Looking forward to: quality time with Nick.
Not looking forward to: Atlanta.
Of all of the major American cities I've visited, Atlanta is easily my least favorite. It takes all of the things I don't like about St. Louis and amplifies them.
The time with Nick will trump my disdain for the city, though.
I have a half brother who I barely know in Atlanta, but his mother is crazy. I'd rather just maybe avoid that madness all together.
This week has been so positive that I've even made the (probably bad) decision to reconnect with someone who... kinda left me in a lame position a few years back.
But. We live. We learn.
And if some of us don't, you can always delete them from your friends list and make your profile private.
I don't think it's rained at all this week, which is a nice change. I don't mind the rain. I was raised in the Pacific Northwest. We're built for it. But like rain, sunshine has a certain needed quality, too. I'm a fan of both. Too much of either leaves me gloomy.
I'm one step away from being elated with the website: I hate the banner.
No... I don't hate it. I'm thankful for it. It's neat and it was a gift. Someone made it for me and if he hadn't, I simply wouldn't have a banner. But it was made for the first version of the site and it doesn't fit the newer version the way I'd like it to.
It's like being 30 and still using your Mickey Mouse sheets on your twin bed: better than nothing but probably not ideal.
I [redacted for your sake] the coding of the site and things are now running much faster.
I'm a geek.
We have new writers. I went over that. I'm still excited.
I got new books. One I expect to enjoy very much.
I finally transcribed one of the interviews that has been taunting me over the past few weeks. It's long and I was afraid it would be boring.
It's not.
It's very good.
In terms of editing and arrangement, I think it's my best yet. People never know how boring an interview can be if it's not edited well. (Go read some of my earlier interviews if you're curious.) So it's exciting and gratifying to see myself growing as a writer and as a journalist. I'm not "there" yet, but being even half a step closer is a big deal.
I booked a flight to Nashville for next month. I'm waiting for Bobby Long's American publicist to confirm the interview that his English manager confirmed this morning.
Thus, the run-around.
I can't wait. I've been listening to him a lot lately. I began writing questions for this interview before I ever knew that I'd be interviewing him. Because he's attached to the Twilight mania, I'm really looking forward to giving him an opportunity to answer questions that don't pertain to vampires or what his ideal first date would be.
I like Nashville because of its blatant music vibe. It'll be nice to go back.
Post-Nashville is a post-birthday visit with my better half in the city of my birth, Atlanta.
Looking forward to: quality time with Nick.
Not looking forward to: Atlanta.
Of all of the major American cities I've visited, Atlanta is easily my least favorite. It takes all of the things I don't like about St. Louis and amplifies them.
The time with Nick will trump my disdain for the city, though.
I have a half brother who I barely know in Atlanta, but his mother is crazy. I'd rather just maybe avoid that madness all together.
This week has been so positive that I've even made the (probably bad) decision to reconnect with someone who... kinda left me in a lame position a few years back.
But. We live. We learn.
And if some of us don't, you can always delete them from your friends list and make your profile private.
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
Because I Owe This Thing An Update.
This sucks.
The only part of music journalism that I cannot stand is transcribing interviews. I listen to music very nearly 24 hours a day. Things like... work tend to get in the way but in the car: music. While I'm writing: music. In the shower: music. Cooking: music. Sleeping: music.
You get the idea.
It's tough to spend hours sitting slack-jawed in front of my computer monitor hitting play-stop-rewind-play for hours on end and listening to my stupid voice ask questions while a musician doesn't sing but... answers my questions.
It redefines tedium.
I'm caffeinating for motivation.
For the sake of the website, I've been trying to love more female vocalists. I'm not anti-feminism or anything. In fact, if you saw the music I do own by women, you'd think I was a hardcore, militant man-hater. I like Tori Amos. I love Beth Hart. Tracy Chapman. Brandi Carlile. Diane Birch. Janis and Joni, duh. Heart. Nina Simone.
I just don't like women to sound like little girls.
That's actually what we had drilled into our heads in choir. The director would yell, "Sing like women, not little girls!" If the vocalist doesn't sound like she has a spine, I want no part of her music.
I want tough. The music industry is totally a man's game, and only the strongest female vocalists have lasted long enough to become iconic. Even in pop, people like masculinity. Madonna, Janet, and Britney are all kind of masculine when you see them on the stage-- even if their shows are built around female sexuality.
Anyway. Two things before I actually plunge into the transcription process:
One. The website (per usual):
As of today, we have TWO NEW WRITERS FOR THE SITE. I'm so excited. They're really good.
(Let me get cheesy for a moment because the website is my kid.)
It's been really hard to find people to write for the site. Of the people who express interest, they're... not really what I'm looking for. And of the people I've wanted in the past, well, they're paid professionals who write for actual publications that will pay them with more than things like hi-fives and eternal gratitude.
So Nick and I kept up with the site by ourselves because I'd rather not compromise the tone of the website just to have a little extra help-- though I thought about it at times because this shit owns my life some days.
Our first new writer is Sara, who is super talented. She thinks about music and can also translate emotion into text really well, which can be tough to do without sounding too self-serious or pretentious. As I told Nick, I feel like she's an asset to the site and not just a filler or one more person to contribute content.
Our second writer is someone I've been reading for over a year. He does the new music updates for The Hub on MySpace. He's very aware of new music and what's worth hearing. He also seems to bear an impressive amount of knowledge regarding band history as well as music structure, two areas I'm admittedly weak in.
I'm really excited to have him with us, too, because when I first decided to (finally) set all of this music journalism stuff in motion, I kind of looked up to The Hub as a reference point for how I wanted to interact with artists. I even went to one of The Hub's house shows in Huntington Beach. (They'd put together live concerts with some of the more well-known independent singer-songwriters and invite strangers to their backyard/living room for the low, low price of $15 to watch like, 5 artists perform. Now they do a cruise thing. The living room is now a yacht and $15 is closer to $50. Still rad, and I'm still looking up to them because I want to do that, too. Eventually.)
I'm going on an intern hunt next week. I really have no idea what I'm doing so anything would be a step up, even if it just means getting some paperwork on what I need to get a damn intern. (I'm not kidding. Kids need college credit and I need an intern. Everybody wins.)
I'll be stalking college campuses circa mid-week...
Two. Butch Walker (go figure):
These people are really reserved. Though it's just a cover, I would've lost my shit if I saw Butch Walker cover this song:
The West Coast is waiting patiently, Butch...
The only part of music journalism that I cannot stand is transcribing interviews. I listen to music very nearly 24 hours a day. Things like... work tend to get in the way but in the car: music. While I'm writing: music. In the shower: music. Cooking: music. Sleeping: music.
You get the idea.
It's tough to spend hours sitting slack-jawed in front of my computer monitor hitting play-stop-rewind-play for hours on end and listening to my stupid voice ask questions while a musician doesn't sing but... answers my questions.
It redefines tedium.
I'm caffeinating for motivation.
For the sake of the website, I've been trying to love more female vocalists. I'm not anti-feminism or anything. In fact, if you saw the music I do own by women, you'd think I was a hardcore, militant man-hater. I like Tori Amos. I love Beth Hart. Tracy Chapman. Brandi Carlile. Diane Birch. Janis and Joni, duh. Heart. Nina Simone.
I just don't like women to sound like little girls.
That's actually what we had drilled into our heads in choir. The director would yell, "Sing like women, not little girls!" If the vocalist doesn't sound like she has a spine, I want no part of her music.
I want tough. The music industry is totally a man's game, and only the strongest female vocalists have lasted long enough to become iconic. Even in pop, people like masculinity. Madonna, Janet, and Britney are all kind of masculine when you see them on the stage-- even if their shows are built around female sexuality.
Anyway. Two things before I actually plunge into the transcription process:
One. The website (per usual):
As of today, we have TWO NEW WRITERS FOR THE SITE. I'm so excited. They're really good.
(Let me get cheesy for a moment because the website is my kid.)
It's been really hard to find people to write for the site. Of the people who express interest, they're... not really what I'm looking for. And of the people I've wanted in the past, well, they're paid professionals who write for actual publications that will pay them with more than things like hi-fives and eternal gratitude.
So Nick and I kept up with the site by ourselves because I'd rather not compromise the tone of the website just to have a little extra help-- though I thought about it at times because this shit owns my life some days.
Our first new writer is Sara, who is super talented. She thinks about music and can also translate emotion into text really well, which can be tough to do without sounding too self-serious or pretentious. As I told Nick, I feel like she's an asset to the site and not just a filler or one more person to contribute content.
Our second writer is someone I've been reading for over a year. He does the new music updates for The Hub on MySpace. He's very aware of new music and what's worth hearing. He also seems to bear an impressive amount of knowledge regarding band history as well as music structure, two areas I'm admittedly weak in.
I'm really excited to have him with us, too, because when I first decided to (finally) set all of this music journalism stuff in motion, I kind of looked up to The Hub as a reference point for how I wanted to interact with artists. I even went to one of The Hub's house shows in Huntington Beach. (They'd put together live concerts with some of the more well-known independent singer-songwriters and invite strangers to their backyard/living room for the low, low price of $15 to watch like, 5 artists perform. Now they do a cruise thing. The living room is now a yacht and $15 is closer to $50. Still rad, and I'm still looking up to them because I want to do that, too. Eventually.)
I'm going on an intern hunt next week. I really have no idea what I'm doing so anything would be a step up, even if it just means getting some paperwork on what I need to get a damn intern. (I'm not kidding. Kids need college credit and I need an intern. Everybody wins.)
I'll be stalking college campuses circa mid-week...
Two. Butch Walker (go figure):
These people are really reserved. Though it's just a cover, I would've lost my shit if I saw Butch Walker cover this song:
The West Coast is waiting patiently, Butch...
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