Mr. Happy

Fake Blood - I Think I Like It

2010-05-05T19:24:00.000-07:00

Here is another song that I heard on BBC Radio One that I'm currently enjoying, "I Think I Like It" by Fake Blood. It's a fun little song that I keep going back to, to listen again.

A lot of the samples in this song came from a disco band called Arabesque and the song "In The Heat Of A Disco-Night".

Rusko - Woo Boost

2010-04-26T18:43:00.000-07:00

I heard this song a couple of weeks ago, Woo Boost by Rusko, and it has been stuck in my head.

I still don't really understand what dubstep really is (though, I think that this song is considered it). All I know is that I really like the wobbly, grimy bass sound that he has going on there.

LCD Soundsystem's New Album

2010-04-12T18:11:00.000-07:00

LCD Soundsystem is releasing their new album, "This is Happening" next month, and today a couple more tracks from the CD have been released. I found this over at We All Want Someone To Shout For today.

Dance Yrself Clean

I Can Change

Image from neil365 on flickr

Metallica - Enter Sandman (Smooth Jazz Version)

2010-04-06T19:50:00.000-07:00

Haha...awesome.

MGMT - Congratulations

2010-03-30T17:06:00.000-07:00

MGMT has made their new, yet to be released (except by the dirty pirates) album, Congratulations, available for listening on their website. They had only released the song Flash Delirium before this...a song that I wasn't entirely sure of, but it grows on me the more that I listen to it. Watching the video for the song on the site is something else completely!

Nothing on the album grabs me as immediately as some songs on the Oracular Spectacular album (Electric Feel, Kids, Time to Pretend), but there is some solid stuff on this album.

Song 3

2010-03-24T17:32:00.000-07:00

So here is the third attempt at recording something that I have been working on. Really simple beat and synth parts, but I like the feel to the song. The levels are a bit off, the percussions drown out the synth in parts, but in recording I'm not really going for perfection, rather just trying to record something that I can share with people and get their input. So please, critique away. I'm still new to all of this, so anything that people can offer in ideas, or advice will give me something to work on.

This started this past weekend. My mom and her partner were up in town helping me pack up the house a bit and get things organized. Both nights they were here, they were in bed pretty early, so I spent the last few hours of each night just playing around with everything, and this is what came of it. A couple of nights this week I brought the ideas together, practiced tonight, and this is the result.

Jam night with the guys tomorrow. I hope to record some of it, as we can make some pretty interesting stuff at times while we are just playing around.

Mix: Hells Yes

2010-03-11T18:35:00.000-08:00

I threw together a quick mix CD for the car on the weekend. I spent _no_ time at all figuring out what should go on it really, or what order...so it's a bad mix, but full of goodness at the same time.

Think About It - Lyn Collins
I Can See It In Your Face - Pretty Lights
Street Player (Paul Raymond Re-Edit) - Chicago
Tibet On It - Chicago Afrobeat Project
Why Don't You (Original Mix) - Gramophonedzie
We Are Rockstars - Does It Offend You Yeah
Pong (Extended Mix) - Wippenberg
I'm Not Alone - Calvin Harris
Lisztomania (Alex Metric Remix) - Phoenix
Heavy Cross - Gossip
Sleep Deprivation - Simian Mobile Disco
Pogo - Digitalism
Style - Gorillaz

It's really just a collection of good songs, and for the 5 minutes I spent putting it together, it was worth the effort.

Pretty Lights - I Can See It In Your Face

2010-03-07T16:37:00.000-08:00

Favourite song of the moment is "I Can See it in Your Face" by Pretty Lights. I heard this while listening to BoomBox Radio last night on Sirius Alt Nation. I haven't stopped listening to it since.

So good...I dance uncontrollably...really I do...

Driving Tunes

2010-02-21T17:06:00.000-08:00

Was coming back from Saint John today with spring like snow falling. I love just getting into the car, cranking the tunes, and driving, and this weekend's trip was pretty much just to do that.

Memorable tunes from this drive:

Planisphere (1, 2 & 3) - Justice
Lisztomania (Alex Metric Remix) - Phoenix
19-2000 (Soulchild Mix) - Gorillaz
We Are Rockstars - Does it Offend You Yeah?
Little Secrets - Passion Pit
Audacity Of Huge - Simian Mobile Disco

I need more time in the car...it is good for my head as it's about the only time where I'm focused.

My Weekly Playlist

2010-02-13T20:56:00.000-08:00

About 3 years ago I purchased a satelite radio. At the time I was timid on diving into it. Paying for something that is usually free? I wasn't sure that I would fine enough use for it. I borrowed my brothers car for a couple of days at one point and listened to his Sirius radio and I was hooked, I went and bought one right away. I think that it is one of the best purchases that I have made in a while. Even though I'm foolish enough to own 3 subscriptions now, which seems ridiculous for one person...(Home, Car, Boat), I find it to be a good value. I've managed to ween myself off of cable during that time. I didn't spend a lot of time in front of the TV to begin with, but spending $50 a month for it was getting a bit foolish for me to have the ability to watch whatever 24h news station that was interesting at the time. Wherever I am, the radio is on.

I'm a bit of a talk radio junkie. I wake up to Howard Stern at 7. Then between getting ready, driving to work, and while working I listen to the whole show. I usually switch to the terrestrial CBC for the early afternoon, then try to catch Lynn Samuels (on Sirius Left at 2pm Atlantic). From 4 until I head home it's usually a mix between Bubba the Love Sponge, or switching to music. Pre-sets generally are Alt Nation (Alternative), Lithium (90's Alternative), Jam On (Jam Bands), Area (Trance / Techno), Soul Town (Soul), Real Jazz (Jazz), and Bluesville (Blues).

Evenings are a mixed bag. Usually CBC around dinner, then switch to whatever music station grabs me at the moment, if I'm not just playing through my own collection.

Fridays at about 7 or 8 I switch over to BBC Radio 1 and listen to their weekend mix, which is a good combination of electronic and remixed stuff. I especially enjoy Pete Tong's show at 10.

Weekends are mainly CBC and music. Saturday night at 11 is BoomBox Radio on Alt-Nation. This is what they gave us to replace the once full channel by the same name (I'm still pissed they took it away!). Just another 2 hours or remixes, etc.

So I listen to _a lot_ of the radio during the average week...it has been well worth my money as something is always on to keep me entertained.

Gramophonedzie - Why Don't You

2010-02-07T18:29:00.000-08:00

Gramophonedzie's remix of "Why Don't you" is one of the reasons I want to get an Akai MPC-1000 so I can add more sampling stuff to my playing around. The ESX samples, but it's a pain to chop anything up in it (or at least I haven't found an easy way to do it), so I have read that the MPC would be a good complement to my setup. While I currently don't have the money to purchase one, I'm going to try and get some programs working on the computer which I can then control through midi, which will allow me to use the ESX or the MicroKorg to play the clips. Even this is a little bit away, as I desperately need a new computer.

Changed the video because the other one was blocked by EMI. Sound quality on this one is a bit suckier.

I believe that the samples from this song are taken from one of Peggy Lee's recordings of "Why Don't You Do Right", originally sung by Lil Green in 1941. Below is a recording of that song, but I don't know what specific recording was used. I don't profess any great musical knowledge here, but I'm enjoying digging trying to find out where something came from, and in turn learning new things to listen to!

Florence & The Machine

2010-02-04T18:35:00.000-08:00

One of my current obsessions is Florence & The Machine. I've had this in the general mix for a while now since I first heard "Kiss With A Fist" on Sirius. I've come to appreciate the whole album without even realizing it as I always listened to it a song at a time. So good!

I've never been good at classifying music into genres, but Florence & The Machine has been put into the bucket of soul-inspired indie rock...whatever that really means. Florence's singing pulls me into the whole album "Lungs"; I have caught myself on many occasions trying to sing along (when i'm drinking and alone, it sounds great...trust me!). This is one of those albums that I throw on the head phones, lean back in my chair, and just let it take me off to a different place.

Rubix - Baiser Sur La Disco - Music Video (2009)

2010-02-02T16:40:00.000-08:00

Found this via David at http://pause-cows.tumblr.com/.

Passion Pit - Sleepyhead

2010-02-02T16:27:00.000-08:00

Cool video from Passion Pit for their song Sleepyhead. Good stuff!

Connections

2010-01-30T20:26:00.000-08:00

I can half understand how iTunes Genius playlist gets you from "Ain't No Sunshine" by Bill Withers to "Fuck Me Pumps" by Amy Winehouse...but it just doesn't seem right.

The Second Song

2010-01-30T15:42:00.000-08:00

For the couple of weeks after I had recorded the first song, I started to work at getting a handle on the keyboard again. It had been well over 20 years since I've sat at anything really resembling a piano. The basics came back to me fairly quickly, but that was about it...the very basics. "Whoo! I can play chopsticks!"

This is where my realization came that I couldn't just sit down and play music. I didn't know how. I never knew how. I needed at least something that someone else had written down first. So I started giving myself a crash course on playing the keyboard again.

I started off with just a basic C Blues Scale. I remembered at my last attempt at playing a guitar, that you could play just about anything on the blues scale, and it wouldn't sound like crap. My kind of scale really. So with information that I had pulled together from various sources, I learned the notes of the blues scale and improvised a bit. That is all this second song is...mostly just improvising within that scale to a basic beat. You can hear that it's a bit timid. I hit wrong notes, I don't have any sort of timing down. But it's a start. This sent me down my current path of trying to understand why those notes sound good together...why any notes sound good together and not others. Horray for understanding, not just playing!

So here is "Song 2".

The First Recording

2010-01-30T15:28:00.000-08:00

This is the first song that I recorded. It was played right to the computer without any editing (except the fade out). I find this may not produce a quality recording, but allows me to just play around without worrying about if it's perfect or not. This is supposed to be fun, not perfect...right?

Putting this together took about 2 weeks of piecing things together. This was put together with samples made from the MicroKorg XL, Kaossilator, and drum sounds from the Electribe SX-1. The ESX allows me to program all of the patterns and samples in. I also had it controlling, via MIDI, the MicroKorg. The main melody was done with the Kaossilator. Everything here is fairly basic, but I'm happy with my first "real" attempt.

So I present to you, "I Too Can Play Shitty Electronic Music". Comments and critiques are welcome.

How I'm Trying to Combat the Winter Blahs

2010-01-30T09:18:00.000-08:00

This is a crosspost from my other blog, Sailor In Snow.

One thing that I've started this year to help combat my winter boredom is to try to create music. I've always had a passion for music, but never thought that I had the ability to create anything. I recently came to the conclusion that this is for a few reasons.

When I was younger I could have been considered very musical. I've played the cello, piano, saxophone, and even sang in a choir at one point. It always frustrated me though, as I could always figure out how to play the music in front of me, but felt limited by that, I could never move beyond. For the next number of years I had convinced myself that this was because I was just useless and didn't have the creativity in myself to step beyond reading what was on the score in front of me.

Over the years I would half heartedly pick up an instrument and try again...only to get frustrated and leave it sitting in the corner. This angered me...I wanted to be able to do something. It was only recently that I came to a realization, which has completely changed my view, and has allowed me to once again pick up this habit, and truely be interested in it once again.

I posted this to Facebook once I realized this:

I'm starting to realize that when I was a child, i was taught how to play music...not to understand it. I'm just now at the tip of the iceberg of understanding...and i'm loving it more and more as I dig deeper. Before I was just looking at it saying "that's a cool fucking iceberg", never realizing what it was really made of, or how deep it went.

Over the last couple of months I've immersed myself in this. Working with a Drum Machine / Sampler, keyboard, and a couple other neat things, I'm starting to understand music. I'm starting to enjoy tinkering, seeing how one thing works with another. I've stopped caring about getting it perfect, and just trying to let my mind create something to see what comes out. I spend at least an hour or two a night playing away with the various instruments trying to come up with interesting sounds and melodies. I don't expect that I'll make anything good, but for the first time in a long time, I really don't care. This is for me.

I'll do my best to share things that I create on here and would love any input on it. This is a quick video of me playing with a Kaossilator that I bought off of Kijiji, on the first night that I had it (it takes about 30 seconds before the volume kicks in). It's a neat little machine.

Mr. Happy

2010-01-30T09:07:00.000-08:00

No...i'm not this man.

As with most people music has been a passion of mine for years, but I'm just starting my journey of taking it to the next level; I'm starting to create my own.

Here I hope to post stuff I'm making, stuff I'm listening to, and what ever else catches my eye.