meandthestereo

A few years ago, there was a local radio station that had a nightly feature called ‘The Desert Island’. The idea behind this segment of the show was this: if you were trapped on a desert island and you could only bring five songs with you; what songs would you bring? I always enjoyed this segment of the show and listened to it often. I even sent in my five songs, but unfortunately, my entry was never chosen. But I enjoyed listening to it nonetheless. With this thought in mind, I have proposed the following five songs as my choices of music to be marooned with.

Life by the Drop by Stevie Ray Vaughan. This song is from the album entitled ‘The Sky is Crying’. It is the last track on the album. It’s a very simple song, seemingly sung from the heart. It is just Stevie Ray and a twelve string acoustic guitar. I have to guess that it’s a song that reflects his struggle with substance abuse and how he finally overcame all the addictions and realized what was really important in life. Put this song on, turn it up, close your eyes and lean back and enjoy. I get goose bumps every time I hear this song…no lie. Read the rest of this entry →

If you like the sounds of Janet Jackson, Amerie, or Rihanna, than you’ll love the music of this up and coming artist, Miss Amani. She is a very energetic performer with a promising music career ahead of her. She is 21 years old, comes from Honolulu, Hawaii and has settled, for the time being, in Los Angeles, California. Read the rest of this entry →

A large leak...kind of...

It has been a big couple of weeks for leaks.  Radiohead and Weezer both experienced song leaks last weeks with varied results.  Radiohead’s song, “These Are My Twisted Words”, was a very good song reminiscent of Kid A, which is my favorite Radiohead album by far.  Weezer’s leak a few weeks ago was less successful musically.  “The Girl Got Hot” was just more run of the mill Weezer from the Green Album rather than brilliant Weezer from Pinkerton (will we ever see that Weezer again?).

More telling than the quality of the songs, though, was the reaction to the leaks or the almost non-reaction.  Leaks have become almost commonplace these days.  Its the price of doing business in these modern times.  And both bands seem to have come to terms with that. Read the rest of this entry →

As an avid fan of videogames, I have a soft spot in my heart for video game music.  I’m not talking about video game soundtracks, though.  Those I will write about at some later date.  I will also save covers of videogame tracks for a later date.  Today, I am talking about artists who create original music inspired by, and sometimes using, classic videogames.

Anyone who was born after Pong (1972) probably grew up playing videogames.  So their influence should be reflected in music, just like we see the influence of movies and books in music.  Some bands reflect that influence into the themes of their music.  Both Horse The Band and The Protomen liked the classic game Mega Man enough that they decided to write music about some of the characters.  Horse The Band wrote a great hardcore song called Cutsman.  As the name implies it tells the story of the Mega Man villain.

The Protomen went even further.  Taking their name from Protoman, the recurring character of the Mega Man series, The Protomen composed a rock-opera expanding on the simple story of Mega Man.  When they play live shows they do it in costume.  They even stay in character when they are interviewed.

While these bands show their roots through their lyrics, other bands do it through the music itself.  A lot of bands use the sounds of classic videogames in their music.  This style of music has come to be known as Chiptune.  Chiptune artists use the sound chips from classic systems like the Commodore 64 or the NES to add sounds to their music or compose new tracks altogether.  While most Chiptune artists are relative unknowns, some well known artists have released Chiptune remixes of their music.  Namely, Beck, everyone’s favorite Scientologist, released an EP of remixes of four of his songs from his album Guero.

Beck “Gameboy Homeboy” from wyldfile on Vimeo.

My favorite of the Chiptune bands is Anamanaguchi.  Incorporating Chiptune music into their songs,  Anamanaguchi creates a hard rock sound unlike anything you’ve heard.

Finally, Bitshifter composes original music from those little chips.  But don’t confuse this with regular electronic music.  These compositions would feel more natural playing during a level of Double Dragon than during a rave.

If you want to hear some more great Chiptune artists and/or you wanna hear Chiptune artists in a more comfortable setting, check out this album of Weezer covers from Chiptune artists HERE.

Our main intent with this blog is to display how important music is in our columnists’ daily lives. We hope that by doing this, we also show how important music is, and can be, in everyone’s life.To help introduce people to new music, we’ve decided to start doing an Artist of the Week post to show an artist that one of our columnists believes other listeners would enjoy hearing. Or, if you’re completely new to listening to music, hopefully this will serve as a good way of easing you into some of the more interesting musicians and bands in the world. Enjoy!

Metric is…

Emily Haines – Vocals/Keys
James Shaw – Guitar
Joules Scott Key – Drums
Josh Winstead – Bass

1. What do they sound like?

Everything you’d want to know about Metric is here. But let me describe their sound for you: They are a four-piece; drummer, bassist, guitarist and vocals/keyboards. They utilize every one of their instruments. These musicians are extremely talented. They sound like you’re in a trance/dance club, but the music is bearable instead of being annoying. But the beats, like in a club, make you move. They make your chest vibrate from the way these songs bounce. You are constantly surrounded by sound. If the guitar and bass aren’t flying away, the synth or keys are flooding you with noise; melodies on top of melodies produced just by two of the musicians, as the drums keep the beat and the bassist adds that extra thump. Read the rest of this entry →

What is it that makes an artist truly an artist?

There are some “9 – 5” workers who might not take you seriously if you say you want to make a living off of singing, acting, painting or dancing.  Artists are often made to feel like second class citizens in a world that favors people with concrete jobs.  This could be crippling to an artist’s identity, but never the less, they must succeed. Looking within and being true to your dream is the only way to do it. The actor, dancer, painter, writer, and singer were put on earth to express and stimulate the emotions of their audience. This is such an important task for an artist to embark on.

Being in Los Angeles for these past three weeks has shown me the meaning of faith and dedication to one’s craft. I have been to an actor’s workshop at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts, concerts in the streets, clubs and even at Spiritual Centers. Everyone that I have seen and spoken to has extreme passion and confidence in what they are doing. How else are you supposed to live in this world without doing and creating what you love? It does not matter how old you are, where you live or what you ultimately want to do, as long as you follow your journey.  There is always a way out of ‘no way’. Use all the resources you have in your community, seek guidance from the internet, authors and classes. There is always information available for your craft. Read the rest of this entry →

What image comes to mind when someone mentions Van Halen? Don’t be afraid; close your eyes and just let the thoughts and pictures flow freely. Is that a guitar you see? Is it the red and white striped one? Who is the singer? Is the bass guitar shaped like a Jack Daniels bottle? For me, Van Halen was one of those revolutionary bands that comes along every few years and raises the bar on rock music. The four original members, Eddie and Alex Van Halen, Michael Anthony and David Lee Roth combined to create a synergy that was unrivaled at the time and some would still argue, has not been equaled since. I like all the incarnations of Van Halen. I refuse to pick a favorite. There has been heated debate in recent years regarding which Van Halen was the best Van Halen. Let’s travel back in time to 1978 and have a little look-see; shall we?

Jimmy Carter jogging is sooo 1978.

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Van Halen, released 1978

In February of 1978, Van Halen took the country by storm with its self-titled, debut release: Van Halen. You have to remember that one. The cover featured a long-haired David Lee Roth, Alex and Eddie slightly blurred and Michael Anthony banging on the four-string. This album contained arguably one of the greatest, single guitar tracks of all time: Eruption. My God, man! Who is this guy? How did he play that? How many guitars are on that track? This instrumental, along with several other radio-friendly tracks like Jamie’s Cryin’ and Ain’t Talkin ‘bout Love, catapulted Van Halen into the national limelight. And the four original members would become rock icons before the decade was out. They went on to record five more albums; their last being 1984. I was lucky enough to see the original Van Halen in 1984 and I have to say, they kicked ass! The guitar solo, in and of itself, was worth the price of the ticket. David Lee Roth was a master showman and an unbelievable front man. They were so tight and well-rehearsed; I hated to see the show end. But, as we all know, egos got the best of the band and the original Van Halen was history…or so we thought. Read the rest of this entry →

I didn’t think any photos included in this post would actually accentuate how I feel. The words pretty much speak for themselves. I decided, instead, to put some of my favorite YouTube videos of songs from bands I really enjoy that have either ’sold out’, according to some people, or have faded away.

It seems now I finally understand. Selling out is that one, final crime, isn’t it? Oh, but it never hurts the musician; it only hurts the fans. Countless bands have never sold out. Led Zeppelin and Pink Floyd claim that they have not. Dylan only recently could be suspected of it. But so many bands have, and they know it. Let’s define selling out as simply as possible:

Selling out: When a musician or band uses their music to gain money or some other item. Read the rest of this entry →

Some bands stay with you through the years, others are just a passing trend.

In high school, I listened to Fuel and the Foo Fighters and Live and Counting Crows.  In college, my freshman year, I would listen to A Perfect Circle and Tool.  Later on, I would listen to The Shins and Elliott Smith.

I’ve listened to R.E.M. for many years, and their songs have stuck by me through good and bad times, thoughtful and emotional times.  The first R.E.M. album I got was New Adventures in Hi-Fi.  Because of my age, I was joining them late in the game.  It has been a treasure trove of albums to discover.  I admire how unique R.E.M.’s career has been and how they seem to continually challenge themselves to keep being creative. Of course, besides the music and instrumentation, I am a huge lyrics person.  My ears always strain to make out the singer’s words when I’m listening to any music.  Michael Stipe’s lyrics and delivery never fail to be poetic.  One of my favorite songs is “Find the River,” the last song on Automatic for the People.  In high school, my favorite R.E.M. song was “Strange Currencies.” Read the rest of this entry →

I have been in LA for about a week now, and I have seen many fascinating things. Besides the traffic on the 405, the tar pits on La Brea, and the tasty waffles and grits at Roscoe’s, I have seen performers who know how to lock, pop, and just plainly entertain. These artists come from all over the country, while others come from abroad. The most common story I hear is that they want to make it big in Los Angeles; well who wouldn’t?  Some of the performers live off of the donations that the crowd gives and some are already well established and are taking their careers to the next level.

It doesn’t take a lot to get your street gig going. On Hollywood Blvd, the street where the famous walk of fame lies, you need a costume of your favorite actor and need to possess the ability to quote lines from that actor’s movies.  Similar gestures and accents from the original movies are needed to make the character come to life. I have seen many performers come up to families taking pictures and showing them a good time, and in return, they receive a donation.  Many of these performers start out at dawn and end at dusk, “Captain Jack Sparrow” once told me that he made $300 in one day. Not bad for a day’s work. Read the rest of this entry →