After some thought, in an afternoon of coffee and Team Ballien Extreme Adventures (http://bjorn.writtendiscourse.com), I feel that I should do something about this domain - www.writtendiscourse.com. I started a music review site a couple years back that was actually really productive for over a year with tons of reviews and the site was by far my best work as an amateur web designer, but over time, all of the writers (myself included) stopped writing. All of us got busy with our lives and just halted the reviews. The site never really reached its peak potential, in my opinion, but it was a nice achievement for myself - to create a user friendly site for music opinions, and that required very little maintenance - the site was almost completely automated and self-updated. It required quite a bit of development time from its initial inception as "Broken Spindle" to its last form as "Written Discourse" seeing a complete site overhaul in the process with new features much more advanced automation. But, everything has to end sometime, and I feel this might be the time to move on...
I recently reconsolidated all my websites to one single domain, as I canceled all my other web spaces (to save money). I still kept a few names though - TragicPenguin.com, AntsWorld.net, and WrittenDiscourse.com. I have resorted to only updating my BLOG, and on top of that, I also host a few of my friends' blogs on my domain.... so why not just re-create Written Discourse as a user run Blog site?!? It makes sense... and it could be a nice place for whoever to start a blog and share with their friends as an alternative to Myspace, Xanga, Blogger, or WordPress. So... with that, I think I am going to try to pursue this - using the opensource software of WordPress (mu) as my base software to get going. It seems to be a very robust Blogging tool which is user-friendly and also has a catering to multiple blog users. I can even make it like a Myspace networking function with friends list and junk like that! See-- thats the plan to take over the world. Make the site, and then sell it for millions like YouTube or Myspace. :)
Anyway, who's with me? Who wants a blog?
Sunday, April 15, 2007
Monday, April 09, 2007
Music Entry #1
A while back, in a previous BLOG, I started writing scattered entries on a particular song or theme revolving around my interest for popular music culture, which was a direct influence on author Nick Hornby's essays, "31 Songs." (Hornby has written famous books which later became screenplays - High Fidelity, About a Boy, How to be Good, Fever Pitch, etc.)
I think I want to re-look at a few shining moments in music past here tonight. Two things to be exact: 1. the amazing power of Portishead's music, in particular songs from their PNYC live show from 1998, and 2. the rise of Sub Pop records, who I believe is the forefront of good rock music for the past 20 years.
Portishead.
Shown above is a live video via YouTube of "Roads" from Portishead's live performance in the Roseland NYC, in 1998. With them is a backing orchestra which really delivers some sonic energy to the song, that is already backed with the impressive and beautifully shattered vocals of Beth Gibbons. One of the most impressive things I find about Portishead is that when you listen to them on a record, at first listen, or even many, you feel as if its just a bunch of well arranged samples and drum machines backed by vocodize vocals. Then you see them live and really gain a deep respect for the band, where you see that their entire score is organic, minus some samples here and there, which are top notch included with the scratch effects. There really aren't that many groups out there that have the uniqueness of Portishead, and while many have tried, they'll be difficult to surpass. This is because of their PERFECT blend of down tempo hip hop style beats, mixed with their hypnotic spy movie soundtrack and then the added eerie vocals of Gibbons - its a tough combination to beat. With Portishead, you are always in a new state of being, where the immensely depressing and sad overtures somehow give you hope. It's bizarre, but satisfying to its core.
Sub Pop Records
Sub Pop records has been at the music forefront of GOOD rock music for the past 20 or so years. Why do I say that? Because its obvious. Of course! What started out as a college project has now become the home to such current indie bands as The Shins, Postal Service, Iron & Wine, and others... It's pretty amazing that a local little record label could generate so much raw talent... Let's imagine three dudes who were childhood friends, two were musicians while the other just liked listening to music and making mix tapes. They move to Olympia for college, and all end up dropping out. The two musicians go on to form some band with a guy they met at school named Chris Cornell and make this band called SOUNDGARDEN. Their buddy, the mix tape dude, starts making "mix tapes" for a class project called "Subterranean Pop" and it becomes a quick success. While "Soundgarden" is gearing up with some original tunes, Sub Pop gets enough money to release some band called Green River their first EP.... Well that was the beginning of the Grunge era baby. Soundgarden soon followed up with a record of their own, and then shortly later, this Green River band breaks up, some of them join up with some former members of punk rockers Melvins, and form this band called Mudhoney and they sign on to Sub Pop. What happened to the other Green River members? Those guys were Stone Gossard and Jeff Ament, other better known as the beginning of some band called Pearl Jam. Anyway, moving along, Sub Pop then finds their soul... a bunch of kids from Aberdeen, Washington named Nirvana. Well you know what happened next with these bands...
Sometime in the early 90s, when Grunge was hitting its high point, Sub Pop did not end there. They looked out and found another band to start a new rock trend. This band was Sunny Day Real Estate, and they were the perfect complement to the angry sounds of Nirvana and the other Seattle scene. SDRE filled in right as Nirvana went away with the passing of Kurt Cobain, merely weeks after his suicide was the release of "Diary," the beginning of the emo-core music scene. SDRE took the grunge sound, and combined it with vocals dearer to the heart and blew away an independent crowd with their debut.... I guess I should also throw in that when Nirvana broke up, their drummer (some guy named Dave Grohl) formed some no-name band called Foo Fighters with two of the guys from SDRE following their first implosion... After their second implosion, SDRE's guitarist worked some with dude named Chris Carraba in his solo project Dashboard Confessional... but no one's heard of these bands either.
All this time, Sub Pop kept signing great acts such as Afghan Whigs, Jesus and Mary Chain, etc. etc. And its funny because they also helped kick off the careers of Smashing Pumpkins amongst other bands...
Anyway, today Sub Pop is still a leader in the rock scene, as described above... Yay for independent local music!
I think I want to re-look at a few shining moments in music past here tonight. Two things to be exact: 1. the amazing power of Portishead's music, in particular songs from their PNYC live show from 1998, and 2. the rise of Sub Pop records, who I believe is the forefront of good rock music for the past 20 years.
Portishead.
Shown above is a live video via YouTube of "Roads" from Portishead's live performance in the Roseland NYC, in 1998. With them is a backing orchestra which really delivers some sonic energy to the song, that is already backed with the impressive and beautifully shattered vocals of Beth Gibbons. One of the most impressive things I find about Portishead is that when you listen to them on a record, at first listen, or even many, you feel as if its just a bunch of well arranged samples and drum machines backed by vocodize vocals. Then you see them live and really gain a deep respect for the band, where you see that their entire score is organic, minus some samples here and there, which are top notch included with the scratch effects. There really aren't that many groups out there that have the uniqueness of Portishead, and while many have tried, they'll be difficult to surpass. This is because of their PERFECT blend of down tempo hip hop style beats, mixed with their hypnotic spy movie soundtrack and then the added eerie vocals of Gibbons - its a tough combination to beat. With Portishead, you are always in a new state of being, where the immensely depressing and sad overtures somehow give you hope. It's bizarre, but satisfying to its core.
Sub Pop Records
Sub Pop records has been at the music forefront of GOOD rock music for the past 20 or so years. Why do I say that? Because its obvious. Of course! What started out as a college project has now become the home to such current indie bands as The Shins, Postal Service, Iron & Wine, and others... It's pretty amazing that a local little record label could generate so much raw talent... Let's imagine three dudes who were childhood friends, two were musicians while the other just liked listening to music and making mix tapes. They move to Olympia for college, and all end up dropping out. The two musicians go on to form some band with a guy they met at school named Chris Cornell and make this band called SOUNDGARDEN. Their buddy, the mix tape dude, starts making "mix tapes" for a class project called "Subterranean Pop" and it becomes a quick success. While "Soundgarden" is gearing up with some original tunes, Sub Pop gets enough money to release some band called Green River their first EP.... Well that was the beginning of the Grunge era baby. Soundgarden soon followed up with a record of their own, and then shortly later, this Green River band breaks up, some of them join up with some former members of punk rockers Melvins, and form this band called Mudhoney and they sign on to Sub Pop. What happened to the other Green River members? Those guys were Stone Gossard and Jeff Ament, other better known as the beginning of some band called Pearl Jam. Anyway, moving along, Sub Pop then finds their soul... a bunch of kids from Aberdeen, Washington named Nirvana. Well you know what happened next with these bands...
Sometime in the early 90s, when Grunge was hitting its high point, Sub Pop did not end there. They looked out and found another band to start a new rock trend. This band was Sunny Day Real Estate, and they were the perfect complement to the angry sounds of Nirvana and the other Seattle scene. SDRE filled in right as Nirvana went away with the passing of Kurt Cobain, merely weeks after his suicide was the release of "Diary," the beginning of the emo-core music scene. SDRE took the grunge sound, and combined it with vocals dearer to the heart and blew away an independent crowd with their debut.... I guess I should also throw in that when Nirvana broke up, their drummer (some guy named Dave Grohl) formed some no-name band called Foo Fighters with two of the guys from SDRE following their first implosion... After their second implosion, SDRE's guitarist worked some with dude named Chris Carraba in his solo project Dashboard Confessional... but no one's heard of these bands either.
All this time, Sub Pop kept signing great acts such as Afghan Whigs, Jesus and Mary Chain, etc. etc. And its funny because they also helped kick off the careers of Smashing Pumpkins amongst other bands...
Anyway, today Sub Pop is still a leader in the rock scene, as described above... Yay for independent local music!
Sunday, April 08, 2007
Two months later...
Two months have gone by since my previous "daily" update. Wow. I guess a lot of things have happened since February. For one, this blog is now being hosted on www.writtendiscourse.com, which is my other site... my previous webhost contract expired and I decided to just merge everything into one host/server to make things easier.
I don't know where to begin with this, but I guess I can start rambling about a few things: first my impressions on recent events in the world, my personal agendas, and sports talk.
I am becoming more and more aligned with disliking our foreign policy day by day. I was never a big fan of many of the things the Bush administration has set forth but it just pains me more and more each time I hear President Bush speak. I cringe. I've been hearing other people from different countries opinion on our government and it makes me pretty sad. I don't know whats going on right now - it's just craziness - this idea that Bush will veto whatever he does not agree with. I do not disagree that he has the ability to, which he sorta does, but he's coming out in his speeches like he's a spoiled brat who wants something to be done that no one wants to give him....
Next thing - sports and crime. The NFL, NBA, whatever, they need to do something about it, because its getting to borderline absurdity now. At least in the NFL, the owners have made their stance, and the league is finally getting around to it. The NBA - well they are doing a decent job but the image has already been tarnished there 15x over. The NFL is getting there though! They've made quite an example on Pacman Jones who claims he's just been at the wrong place at the wrong time. Uh huh, sure. Wrong place... 11 times now? I'm glad the owners have not gone out of their way to sign Jerramy Stevens. He's had so many chances and does not grow up. He does not deserve the money... I find it amazing that NFL, NBA, MLB, or whatever pro sports athlete can do get away with crimes that any "normal" human being would get jail time for... it blows my mind.
Alright, well I guess I have been doing pretty good lately, for the most part. I made another trip to Europe recently visiting Freiburg, Germany, which is located in the southwestern part of the country near France and Switzerland, and then I made a weekend stop in Amsterdam for some adventures. My experience in Europe thus far has been wonderful. I really like their culture and their habits. The 400-500 year old architecture is amazing! I am envious of people there, because they carry out their everyday lives in such historical settings - it's something we take for granted here in the major metropolises of the US of A....
I don't know where to begin with this, but I guess I can start rambling about a few things: first my impressions on recent events in the world, my personal agendas, and sports talk.
I am becoming more and more aligned with disliking our foreign policy day by day. I was never a big fan of many of the things the Bush administration has set forth but it just pains me more and more each time I hear President Bush speak. I cringe. I've been hearing other people from different countries opinion on our government and it makes me pretty sad. I don't know whats going on right now - it's just craziness - this idea that Bush will veto whatever he does not agree with. I do not disagree that he has the ability to, which he sorta does, but he's coming out in his speeches like he's a spoiled brat who wants something to be done that no one wants to give him....
Next thing - sports and crime. The NFL, NBA, whatever, they need to do something about it, because its getting to borderline absurdity now. At least in the NFL, the owners have made their stance, and the league is finally getting around to it. The NBA - well they are doing a decent job but the image has already been tarnished there 15x over. The NFL is getting there though! They've made quite an example on Pacman Jones who claims he's just been at the wrong place at the wrong time. Uh huh, sure. Wrong place... 11 times now? I'm glad the owners have not gone out of their way to sign Jerramy Stevens. He's had so many chances and does not grow up. He does not deserve the money... I find it amazing that NFL, NBA, MLB, or whatever pro sports athlete can do get away with crimes that any "normal" human being would get jail time for... it blows my mind.
Alright, well I guess I have been doing pretty good lately, for the most part. I made another trip to Europe recently visiting Freiburg, Germany, which is located in the southwestern part of the country near France and Switzerland, and then I made a weekend stop in Amsterdam for some adventures. My experience in Europe thus far has been wonderful. I really like their culture and their habits. The 400-500 year old architecture is amazing! I am envious of people there, because they carry out their everyday lives in such historical settings - it's something we take for granted here in the major metropolises of the US of A....
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