Thursday, September 23, 2010

Hurricane Igor

Of all the times to be without a camera, one of the worst hurricanes that has come through Newfoundland in a very long time is not a very good one. I've seen so many road signs ripped up and thrown across the road, trees uprooted, lamp posts knocked down and rivers flooding to fill a book but I haven't been able to take any pictures of any of it.

I suppose other people's photos will have to do (and are probably better than anything I would have taken anyway):

http://www.colinpeddle.com/featured/hurricane-igor/



http://hashalbum.com/igornl

Saturday, September 18, 2010

Making of Star Guitar

This video is "Star Guitar" by Chemical Brothers.



It's a pretty amazing music video on its own but there's a lot to it that's not obvious on first viewing. First of all: the director, Michel Gondry who is a fascinating story on his own. He's best known for his auteur films "Eternal Sunlight of the Spotless Mind" and "The Science of Sleep". Aside from that, he's done a number of music videos including the one above. The depth of the video might not be obvious at first but what it represents is a blending of film-making and the creation of electronic music. Like most music there are patterns that represent certain musical phrases and beats. Sometimes you get this in the form of formal music notation, sometimes you get something like this.



That's a kind of sound map that Brian Eno used for his landmark "Ambient 1: Music for Airports" (also one of my favourite albums). The following video is like that for Gondry's Star Guitar. Check it out and appreciate the insane depth of Star Guitar.

Thursday, September 16, 2010

9 Songs About Waking Up

Why do so many songs about waking up fail to actually entice anyone to get up and start your day? Here are 9 songs about waking up, about 3 of which actually might get me up instead of just hurling the radio across the room.

Arcade Fire - Wake Up

My pick for song that I'd most like to rip me from the sweet embrace of sleep in the morning. Great percussion, a sing-a-long chorus, upbeat tempo; the only problem is that I'd want to listen to it a few more times and probably miss whatever it was I was getting up for.


Rage Against The Machine - Wake Up

Total bomber. This should get you up, albeit not much much finesse. I think it's a great song but as a wake up call it's about one step above having a dumptruck back through your bedroom wall every morning.


John Legend & The Roots - Wake Up Everybody

This song's got potential but it should be followed with a little more energetic kicker to get you moving. This is a wake up song for people who like to ease into their mornings, like those folk who tune into the classical station to wake up to the gentle sound of a string quartet. (This has never worked for me and only led to the inevitable 15 minute morning sprint to get you to wherever you need to be once you realize you've slept in.


Coheed and Cambria - Wake Up

What the hell is this? The only way this song is waking anyone up is if Coheed and Cambria are actually jumping on your bed while playing this slow dance.


Three Days Grace - Wake Up

The prospect of not having to listen to this Chad-Kroeger-esque crooner for any longer is certainly enough to put a spring in my step


Mad Season - Wake Up

Now we're talking. A slow, gentle first half with a kicker of a bridge featuring a shredding guitar solo. Slows down near the end but at least you're cajoled with a series of "WAKE UP"s so at least you can pretend Layne Staley is your dad (although in Layne's case he's probably just trying to get you up for some money so he doesn't have to sell the TV to get his heroin fix for the morning)


Korn - Wake Up

WAKE THA FUCK UP! It's songs like this that make you wonder why you secretly (or not so secretly in my case) like Korn way back when.



Hayden Panettiere - Wake Up Call

That cheerleader chick from Heroes who was Paris Hilton's skank understudy for a while does some pop/ska nonsense about whatever skanky pop starlets sing about these days.


Maroon 5 - Wake Up Call

Maroon 5 seem as good as any modern day soul/pop derivative. I wouldn't want to wake up to them though. This song especially seems like it would both unoffensive and slow enough to leave me passively accepting as it intruded upon my sleep.