"There's always money in the banana stand..."

I am thrilled that it's been confirmed that a script is being written for the Arrested Development movie. To say I'm obsessed with this television show may be a bit of an understatement, so I'm quite excited by the news that the movie is going ahead, even though some people (that's right, I'm talking to you Michael Cera), aren't so thrilled about it.

It Hurts to Shoot Lasers From Your Fingers, But It's Necessary

I made my first venture to Sound Fix yesterday. I don't know why I hadn't been there earlier; truth be told though, I don't venture into Brooklyn that often. It's silly, because I live right by the L and because I'm trying to move there in May. 

Anyway, while at Sound Fix, I bought Black Moth Super Rainbow + The Octopus Project's The House of Apples and Eyeballs.

This is what the record looks like:

The spattered paint is incredible and I've never seen a record like that before. It was quite the surprise actually.

Awhile back in my Music Business class, we were discussing who pays for music and if so, in what form. When discussing vinyl, most people who continue to buy it said that it wasn't only just for the sound quality, but for the artistic quality and physicality of the record itself. I don't currently own a turntable, but I will say that buy vinyl for both reasons. However, it's always nice when you find out that the record itself is more decorative and more like a piece of art than a standard black record. 

And for that, I appreciate the record so much more. 

As if I couldn't love Sub Pop anymore...

Thanks to Jess abusing her connections as Music Director at WRUV, just like I did during my stint, we're on the guest-list for Handsome Furs in March.

Sub Pop, I love you. Please let me work for you. Pretty please?

I'm not really a fan of Law & Order, but these make me laugh. 

More can be found here.

"What do we need music to do? How do we visit the land in our head and the place in our heart that music takes us to? Can I get a round-trip ticket?"

-David Byrne

The quote's from David Byrne's Survival Strategies for Emerging Artists - and Megastars, an article which I had to read for my Music Business class.

I think it's poignant because for me, music is a huge part of who I am and how I choose to define myself. I know that many, many other people are the same way and can relate to that. It makes the importance of music somewhat universal, yet at the same time the way in which it affects a person varies. Regardless, many of us have that land in our head and place in our heart.

All I know, is that I want a round-trip ticket too.

When I feel alive, I try to imagine a careless life. A scenic world where the sunsets are all breathtaking...

Last Night I saw Beirut at the Brooklyn Academy of Music, or BAM, if you prefer.

(image from Last.fm)

I'm usually a bit iffy about shows that are seated, but this one was incredible. After the first song, Zach Condon told those in the orchestra to rush to the stage, and that really didn't take much convincing. I was a bit peeved at how adamant the "no camera" policy was, so I have no pictures from the show. I happened to be by a handful of BAM employees who were hounding people who were taking pictures, and I didn't feel like getting hassled for taking pictures. 

Anyway, the show was amazing. Zach Condon's voice is beautiful; so, so much better than on any of his albums. It's just so clear and defined. And lovely.

A little over halfway through his set, the Vassar Orchestra joined him on stage. I have a personal issue with Vassar, but the orchestra was a fantastic addition and really helped make songs such as "Forks and Knives" even more beautiful and powerful than they already are. 

Highlights include "Nantes", "A Sunday Smile", "Forks and Knives (La Fete)", "Cherbourg", "Postcards from Italy", "Mount Wroclai (Idle Days)", "Scenic World", and "My Night with the Prostitute from Marseille".

I know by now pretty much everyone has heard clips of Christian Bale's freakout on the set of the Terminator film.

Immediately after the original audio clip was released, various forms have been popping up all over the internet. Shortened clips, edited clips, remixes and songs, and of course, a wide array of YouTube videos.

At the same time, I'm reading about the concepts of "liveness" and "mediatized performance" in my Electronic Media and Live Performance course. In his book, Liveness: Performance in a Mediatized Culture Phillip Auslander writes, "Mediatized performance is performance that is circulated on television, as audio or video recordings, and in other forms based in technologies of reproduction" (4). 

Auslander goes on to discuss the importance of television and the concept of "the televisual," where TV is seen as a context and one that has "originally modeled itself on live form" (7). 

An extraordinary number of YouTube users have used the audio recordings of Bale's freakout, a once live event, and reproduced and manipulated those recordings to their own liking, thus putting it in a new context and creating a continuous cycle. I know things like this happen all the time, but this incident has become extremely popular in such a short time. 

And now, here is my favorite user created video based on the events. It's a bit offensive, but mostly hilarious. Not to mention, the electronic beats are pretty amazing. The video is NSFW, obviously, due to the strong language used.

Bale Out

After having a five week break, a new semester is underway and it's efinitely going to be interesting. Or at least, it seems that way so far, despite the fact that this is only the second week of classes.

My Music Business class seems more geared towards giving us an inside look at the music industry and well as exploring the history of music marketing, promotion, etc. and the direction that the industry is going. 

I'm going to play Second Life for my on-line class. I won't be doing that until the end of the semester and we are going to go virtual skydiving together. Honestly Second Life kind of freaks me out.

I'm finally getting involved in radio again. My radio lab class is something that I have really been looking forward to. I don't know if I will actually be doing a show, it's something I would like to do, but just being involved in a station and the operations behind it is something that I enjoy on its own. The station actually has its own blog and I will be a part of that one in addition to this one. 

I know this blog was a requirement for a class I was taking last semester and since that has ended, I don't really have to keep this blog. However, I am going to as I enjoy writing and I hope that the 3 people I know who read this enjoy doing so as well.