A Must See Documentary!

http://www.thedevilcameonhorseback.com/

I watched this documentary last night and I can't believe that we are letting atrocities like this continue
in Sudan. If there was ever a place we should have sent troops to keep peace and restore order, it is
definitely here.

Singles vs. Albums

I have often thought about what it would be like to not make an album and instead just record and release smaller amounts of music more frequently. Rappers do this all the time even though they still release albums pretty regularly. I read an article in Rolling Stone about Lil Wayne guesting on hundreds of other people's songs and being on mixtape after mixtape (even against his labels wishes at first) and then went on to sell a million albums in one week. Regardless of your opinion of him or his music, you have to respect his willingness to defy what is standard procedure in a very slowly evolving industry. Check out this link to Kanye West's page, kanyewest.com, and you will see that on the front page you can download a new song every friday. These songs often feature artists on his label as well as long time collaborators, and for the most part these are longer songs less focused on being single and more focused on being a showcase for each artist. Here is my question:

Would you rather a band release an album every few years or release new music with more frequency? 

Trees.

Awesome pictures of TREES!

Sounds really boring, but it's actually killer! This is one of the latest photographers posted on an awesome blog called 500 Photographers. It's very diverse and interesting to see what people can come up with.

Idea of the Day!

With the advent of affordable creative programs in all artistic fields, I believe it's safe to say that there are more people now with the potential to be creative then ever before. For example, with the purchase of a Macbook you are already off to a running start with garageband if you wish to become the next rock legend or big time producer, and with iMovie you can pursue the film making career you may have thought about in the past. Obviously many will never explore these amazing gateway-programs or even open them, for those there will always be a Facebook or Myspace to check up on what there cousin's best friend's girlfriend is doing next weekend. If you have a computer that comes with any type of program like the ones I mentioned, please at least open them up and give them a shot! It might seem foreign to you, but I am telling you it will open your mind to a lot of new things you may have never thought of before. Youtube is now a learning tool (imagine that,) and though you may have to sort through the latest internet sensations to find the free educational videos on many of these programs, it is well worth the time. I had to watch many of these videos to learn Pro-Tools LE to record the new Trivium demos, and my prior experience with Pro-Tools has been close to nothing and I think I did a pretty good job for what we needed to accomplish. 

Now for my idea! I would like to begin making music with the intent of not being shared for just listening, but to allow others to use it to create projects with or incorporate into. I have seen others do similar things, Trent Reznor leading this trend by far. He is always doing great remix contests and free giveaways with the intention not always being monetizing every second of music he makes. I believe this shows strength of his music, because many choose to buy everything he releases anyway (I definitely have bought my fair share) and he is always engaging his audience. Now my idea is a little less structured because I want there to be no boundary to what is created. The importance will be honoring credits as opposed to paying royalties. This is still just a thought, but I would love to try it if others are interested in having fun and experimenting with there own creative abilities. 

Now I don't consider myself a musical genius by any means, but I am competent with writing, playing and now recording with music programs like Logic and even Pro-Tools to a smaller extent. Since purchasing the new Canon Rebel, I even am starting to dabble in the photography and video side of the art spectrum. I am fortunate to have access to a lot of very talented people in all these fields, and I am always trying to glean every little bit of knowledge from them that I can. Nowadays being just a musician is not enough (at least for me) and having useful skills to enhance yourself makes you much more valuable. 

I will continue to think about this idea and actually make it come together on a day when I am free of my top priority, Trivium. 

The New Porsche 918

Finally they have figured out how to make a hybrid that looks badass and is fast as shit! I am sure this will cost a lot of money, but with the stats they claim it will be worth it for people that can afford one.


Countdown to Motion: Porsche 918 Spyder Hybrid Drives. from TangentVector, inc.™ on Vimeo.

Amen.

A Must Watch Documentary

This is probably one of the most powerful documentaries I have seen about 9/11. It focuses on an the image of the man falling or jumping from one of the towers, and the search to discover more about him. I like to watch movies like this because it really puts into perspective how life change so quickly. I could not even imagine the choice this man had to make. This also really makes a lot of valid points about journalism and also about how people deal with tragic images.

9/11: The Falling Man

Songs That Make Men Cry

I love lists, especially ones as random as this one from spinner.com:

SONGS THAT MAKE MEN CRY

1. 'Everybody Hurts' -- R.E.M
2. 'Tears in Heaven' -- Eric Clapton
3. 'Hallelujah' -- Leonard Cohen
4. 'Nothing Compares 2 U' -- Sinead O'Connor
5. 'With or Without You' -- U2
6. 'The Drugs Don't Work' -- The Verve
7. 'Candle in the Wind' -- Elton John
8. 'Streets of Philadelphia' -- Bruce Springsteen
9. 'Unchained Melody' -- Todd Duncan
10. 'Angels' -- Robbie Williams