GAGA: No Holds Barred

I'm just a musical prostitute, my dear.

- Freddie Mercury

I've long suspected that Lady Gaga is essentially a musical dominatrix that people hire solely for the purpose of abusing their ears.  However, even an ardent skeptic like myself can appreciate how amusing and catchy "Paparazzi" and "Poker Face" first came across as.  Anyone who could sit through The Fame should've been able to pick out at least three more songs of the same caliber.  Gaga's latest round of torture takes the form of an eight-track scourge titled The Fame Monster.  Commence the punishment!

"I want your horror; I want your design, 'cause you're a criminal as long as you're mine."  It seems that one of the things contributing most to Lady Gaga's allure is her way of spitting twisted and risqué lines right into the listener's face. Conceptualizing all the terrible and fantastic meanings behind the words is reason enough to call "Bad Romance" a satisfying track.  Fans of "Pa-pa-pa-pokerface" will probably dig the kindred feel.

A downtempo-grooving synth lead in the verses and the inane repetition of the phrase "Allez Alejandro" make the recording that follows a mnemonic device more than a sensation.  Compare this one to the sound of "Just Dance" with the rhythm of "Eh, Eh (Nothing Else I Can Say)".  Samples of Ace of Base's "All That She Wants" and ABBA's "Dancing Queen" provide a setting for the tale of a woman that must resist the affection of three men; it's like a psuedo-spanish eurotrash pop ballad.

"Monster" is the charming story of a girl with a fuzzy memory and an eye for a boy she may or may not have already been intimate with.  Alright, so charming it ain't.  At the very least, the recurring "He ate my heart.  He A-a-ate my heart." theme carries a certain charm.  Percussion in the verses feels more free, like "Paparazzi", but the chorus sections remain solid with a driving pulse.

And now for something completely different.  Track four comes out of nowhere with the feel of a throwback to when Queen meant Mercury, and the term Rhapsody conjured thoughts of homicide and poor boys from poor families.  Instead, the lyrics mourn a falling out and heartbreak.  Truistic? You bet, but Gaga belts it for all it's worth and the mix sounds great.  "Speechless" is a clear departure from her typical synthetic sound, and perhaps all the more appreciable for it.

Back to the restraints with "Dance in the Dark".  Gaga reflects on significant female figures of the past.  It's a "Just Dance" with dark driving undertones in place of a worry-free bounce.  There's not much to make this piece memorable.  The chorus is shoved down the audiences throat a few more times than is necessary and the instrumentation is a bland, over-compressed regurgitation.  Don't stop listening, it's about to get a whole lot better.

"Telephone" is one hell of a foot-tapper.  Gaga's voice mimics classic cellphone mannerisms as she explains, "I can't hear a thing. I have got no service in the club" and "You can call all you want but there's no one home and you're not gonna reach my telephone." The concept is brilliant and the digital manipulation of the vocal track is genius.  The harmonic progression reaches beyond the realm pleasing to a place known as inspiring.  Hit the replay button, then 

Lewd, cool, and relaxed sum up "So Happy I Could Die", part seven of The Fame Monster.  What better way to reclaim the audience's attention than to proclaim, "I touch myself, can't get enough"?  This laid-back track explores a feminine homoeroticism concept, which is good because the tune would be a wash without the added edge.

"Don't be scared; I've done this before. Show me your teeth."  A muffled Lady Gaga drones on with teasing remarks, while lead vocals support the motif with expressions like "I'm gonna love you with my hands tied" and "Take a bite of my bad-girl meat; show me your teeth."  The recording features a horn section and CHRISTMAS BELLS, which is constructive to the recording and admirable for an artist that rarely strays beyond the boundaries of synthetic sound.  "Teeth" seems fittingly quirky for an artist as eccentric as Lady Gaga to conclude with.

According to my calculations, 68% of the audio signal produced by this album was worthwhile.  Compare that to a generous 38% of the previous album, and you've got a linear trend in the right direction.  Keep an eye out for this subjectively statistical up-and-comer.

The New Rockstar Philosophy Discussed

Rumors of the media industry’s demise have been greatly exaggerated. To clarify, anyone who nay-said an aspiring musician’s chances in today’s industry didn’t know what they were talking about.  Finding success has merely become the practice of shifting your state of mind.  In order to keep up with an ever-changing industry (a harsh environment to grow up in, but one hell of an opportunity), we must keep ourselves open to a focus in constant flux.

The state of mind that makes the most sense in today’s music business is this: Own everything you produce, produce often, promote, and create relationships.  I’ve outlined a detailed plan for myself in order to help myself achieve my desired goal, which is to get music that I write played over radio or other relevant mass mediums:

If my timeline begins on the first of January, 2011:
• My First track will be completed on January 22nd, 2011.
• My Second track will be completed on February 12th, 2011.
• My Third track will be completed on March 5th, 2011.
• My Fourth track will be completed on March 26th, 2011.
• My Fifth and final track will be completed on April 16th, 2011.
• The demo will be submitted for copyright registration by April 23rd, 2011.
• In the event of a local following, official “Release” of the demo may occur on Tuesday, April 26th, 2011.
• In the event of a lack of following generated by performances and blog work, digital and physical distribution of the demo will commence on a Tuesday, April 26th, 2011.
• Appropriate follow-ups will be made post-commencement.

The plan cycle will start over 4 weeks after the Tuesday of the commencement of distribution, and always on a Sunday, following the same increments of time and always ending on a Tuesday.  The estimated timeline is approximately 16 weeks and 3 days from beginning to end.  I even have financials figured out, including membership fees for Performing Rights Organizations as artist and publisher, potential legal fees, and physical distribution costs.

This will keep me on track, as I am prone to procrastination and plagued by an unnatural lack of commitment.  Looking forward, I hope to establish a reputation within the media industry and hopefully use that reputation to get my foot further in the door and potentially involved in an area outside of writing and performance.  I love being an artist, but I can feel that someday I’ll just have stop for want of solitude or relaxation… or most likely a break from the twisted emotional torture that is the inspired soul of an artist.  When that day comes – or in the spirit of clinging to youthful fancy, if that day comes, I’d like to remain in the industry and keep myself relevant and up to date.

I don’t want to grow old and be a square.  Ya dig, bro?  So, I have to be prepared to take everything tomorrow will dish out with an open mind.  The future is difficult to predict and adaptation is a circumstantial beast.  I’ll be headed in whatever direction the industry moves in until I find myself leading the industry.

“Move with the industry” is a rather vague platitude to live one’s life by, so to put it to practice, the artist has to apply this industry focus method to their specific roles within the industry.  For example, my current roles include writing, composing, performing, and audio engineering.  These are the biggest media industry-related constants in my life.  Looking to the future, I think publishing will probably be a big constant in my life as well.  Hopefully performance rights, licensing, and royalties will also be some areas I need to watch.  I would eventually like to make touring a part of my life, but touring is synonymous with unpredictability.  I find that intimidating.

In order to achieve the kind of success that sees a touring artist collecting royalties, I need to be able to maintain myself.  The most critical aspect of artist maintenance is financial.  Keeping costs down is a matter of budgeting.  As an artist, I can make everything myself.  I’m even experienced with recording and mastering – I own plenty of recording equipment, and it’s free for me to use!  Making a release that goes beyond a disc in a jewel case will be no problem.  The key is in creativity and abstract perspectives.  Touring is the expensive part of the start up scene; gas prices are higher than planes fly, and forget flying because plane ticket prices are higher than gas prices.  There are risks that come with the road as well: financing, scheduling, health, and morale are all vulnerable to failure.  However I keep costs low, I can’t cut costs by sacrificing production value.  On the contrary, I need push the production value through the roof and explore my innovative side.  In the end, the most important element of a growing star is its ability to stand out.

That’s what all this is really adding up to: ultimately, I need to decide how I will make myself stand out as an artist.  This is crucial in the quest for stardom, a fan base, and prestige.  I’m not saying that I aim for fame, because indie is trendy, and I’m perfectly content with the small-time scene.  What I am saying is that, even in obscurity, giving one’s artistic side uninhibited control over the production of their image is going to reveal some unique and captivating qualities.  These qualities are essential in pushing one’s self to the forefront of the public’s popular context – the “in crowd” if you will, while remaining “authentic”.
So what qualities do I possess that will make me stand out to the subculture that I cater to (my niche)?  I truly hadn’t considered it before, but upon this first consideration of the matter, this is what I came up with:

1. I know myself to be very acutely tuned to my own predictability, which I loathe.  This keeps me spontaneous and exciting.  Spontaneity and excitement are attributes worth following an individual for.
2. My work is visually oriented.  Even the song lyrics I write are almost completely composed of metaphorical visuals (while remaining clear to the intuitive listener, I assure you).

If I commit myself to artistic expression in every facet of my artistic medium (performance, recording, production distribution, etc.), my shows will be unforgettable, my tracks will be anything but tedious, and any physical product will undoubtedly retain some advantageous peculiarity.  Sweet dreams are made of this – a distinct outline of the hipster’s modern Christ.  I’m obviously romanticizing excessively, but only for the sake of intrigue and [admittedly] to fill my word quota.

Despite my digression, the fact remains:  I possess qualities that set me apart from the indifferent ocean of bands sitting just beyond my doorstep.  In identifying and applying them, I am taking a smart first step into a world where artistic integrity is leveraged against a faulty formula for success.  As I don’t foresee the abandonment of my artistic integrity, it will be my commitment to this state of mind that determines my level of success.

Download The New Rockstar Philosophy and take it for a spin.
Visit my solo project's Bandcamp site, and download a single for free.

Ethics of a 21st Century “Going Dutch”

On the first of January, in 2006, a group of liberally minded individuals banded together for the first time in history to bring piracy into the political agora when the first Pirate Party was established in Sweden.  Since that time, the ranks of privateers have grown considerably, now embedded in over twenty countries and with seats in the European Parliament.  Mind you, these pirates aren’t your stereotypical high seas, treasure-nabbing “Arrr-sayers.”  On the contrary, you probably know at least one.  Even you, yourself, may be one of them!  You see, the booty that these pirates are interested in plundering is digital media.  Though it is a topic brimming with controversy, may there be an ethical foundation to this movement?

The Pirate Party would argue that, indeed, this is the case.  It is a group firmly founded its convictions – that the modern copyright system is corrupt, the current patent system is out-dated and abused, and that personal privacy is an undeniable right.  This is part of their declaration of principles, and for these reasons, members of the Pirate Party believe that all information should be freely exchangeable.  This certainly sounds noble.  Why, then, has piracy received such retribution from the likes of the RIAA, MPAA, FCC, record labels and studios, and artists the world over?

Speaking of retribution, the media industry’s response to piracy in recent years nearly rivals that of Captain Kidd’s 19th century war on piracy for the British East India Company.  In May of 2006, the physical host of online file sharing-mecca The Pirate Bay was raided and, in April of 2009, the sites operators were found guilty of accessory to crime against copyright law.  While The Pirate Bay remained operational (largely in thanks to a duplicitous political runaround provided by proactive members of the Pirate Party), in October of 2010, the popular peer-to-peer networking utility LimeWire finally followed its predecessors into the darkness.  In an aggressive joint retort, Arista, Atlantic, BMG, Capitol, Elektra, Interscope, LaFace, Motown, Priority, Sony, UMG, and Warner filed a court order to cease and desist the uploading and downloading of copyrighted works.  Within a matter of weeks, the United States Senate approved the Combating Online Infringement and Counterfeits Act, giving the Department of Homeland Security the demonstrative power of indiscreet government action.

You can almost hear the whipped and weary lamentation of illegitimate file connoisseurs the world over, but resistance has always fueled innovation and this dark hour is no exception.  After the fall of first-generation peer-to-peer networks like Napster and Kazaa at the turn of the millennium, file sharers turned to clients like LimeWire, and Ares.  As these tools are stifled and snuffed out, their communities are becoming more and more tech-savvy; torrent files and programs like Vuze, BitTorrent, and Transmission are becoming desktop staples.  Online Digital Rights Management is being phased out as quickly as it arrived on the scene, less than a decade after it’s mainstream debut.  In its heyday, DRM was circumvented on a regular basis.  Even today, anti-piracy victories are short-lived; just days after LimeWire’s shutdown, a rogue programmer released a hacked “Pirate Edition” of the company’s software that has come to be known as ShareWire.  If history is any indicator, I think it’s safe to assume that no matter what initiatives are set in motion, the power is always with the people, and the people of the 21st century are decidedly going Dutch.

Back to the plight of the Pirate party: Is their cause legitimate?  The Pirate Party’s Declaration of Principles opens with the assertion, “We wish to change global legislation to facilitate the emerging information society, which is characterized by diversity and openness. We do this by requiring an increased level of respect for the citizens and their right to privacy, as well as reforms to copyright and patent law.”  The Pirate Party admits in their own declaration that copyright is intended for the good of society.  Copyright was developed to encourage the creation and sharing of new ideas.  Their philosophy deviates from conventional opinion in that copyright, for its contemporary intents and purposes, has been precariously distorted.  They maintain that modern copyrights inhibit information’s natural ability to spread and grow for the benefit of society and propose a return to a less strict copyright system.  After all, incentive for innovation should exist; creators and inventors – pioneers, if you will, must have a logical motivation to drive forward the universe of knowledge and art.

Are the labels responsible for shuttering LimeWire justified in their actions?  How could adversaries of this noble movement exist?  The ugly truth of the matter is that not every media pirate is a Pirate Party Pirate. Like Black Bart in the Golden Age of Piracy, many online file sharers simply steal stuff.  If the world were as ideal as Thomas More’s Utopia, the Pirate Party would have a sound peg leg to stand on, but this is not the case.  Individuals can pour their entire livelihoods into projects like James Cameron’s Avatar and Taylor Swift’s Speak Now, and find themselves in the wake of legendary success with no compensation to show for it.  Perhaps this is why net neutrality has been met with such contention; in an ideal world, the ability to access any online content regardless of the content’s nature or the end user’s intentions would usher in a new age of knowledge and growth, but in the hands of our sweetly twisted modern society, that kind of power would smother the financial motivation for creativity and invention and stunt any real growth humanity has left to look forward to.

Maybe someday our children’s children will be have the chance to use Spotify.  The day may finally come when future generations are united in a justifiable economic appreciation of the arts, and the days of file sharing are buried deep and lost to the annals of history as sounds of The Beatles emanate from every corner of the streaming-cloud interactive universe of tomorrow.  Perhaps someday all media will be public goods, inspired by the same altruism and community spirit that sustains today’s Pirate Party, and Starfleet officers will zip around the galaxy in nacelle-powered starship-class vessels.

TWEET ME!

What's that Darling?

To be graced with the presence of Dessa Darling, who accounts for 1/7 of the Doomtree Hiphop Collective, raps, sings, and is responsible for the groups promotional necessities, seems a veritable honor.  On that account, I listened intently to her words of wisdom.  This is what she had to say:

There are two dominant aspects to gaining publicity and visiblility in the world of music: the entrepreneurial and the promotional.

So what does this mean; what is the entrepreneurial aspect of the music business?

If you want to make it big, you want to get signed, but there are pitfalls.  A serious problem in the realm of record deals is shelving.  Apparently this is a killer; labels will sign artists with the intent of keeping them quiet.  It's a perverse way of eliminating the competition.  If you and someone like you are both on the horizon of stardom, you may both be signed.  What you're not told is that one of you may be signed purely to keep the other unopposed.  Not cool record companies.  Keep an eye out hopeful artists!

 Let's not forget the promotional side of things...

If you've got an upcoming show or *gasp* album release, the public must be made aware.  Be sure to get the news into papers, blogs, and on the air.  Show attendance will see improvement and publicity is almost always welcomed.  What does one send to these promotional beacons? A bio, of course!  Be sure to only include "the coolest, most interesting stuff" (Dessa's words, not mine); 200 to 250 words oughta do it, and no introspective analysis.  Save that stuff for later in the game.  Here's what you should include:

• Who does your music sound like -> 5 artists you sound like and then use to generate adjectives with no mention of the artists.
• What is a live show like?  (How does it look? How does it feel? What is the band doing? What is the crowd doing?)
• What are your players like as people? (Personalities? Notable histories?)

Include this in a press release with a music sample and at least 3 photos (a few black & white, a few color, all hi-res).

Make contact with these things one month before the event... Wait, contact?  Oh yeah, you should have a "press list".  Basically, it's the names and contact info of all your press connections.  Don't have one?  Start compiling!

Side notes: A show should be the friday after an album release.  The album release should be on a Tuesday... otherwise, you'll look like an amateur.

Thanks Darling!

Not Another Self-Titled Weezer Album!

Well it almost was. With the composure of a twenty-ten power pop record and the edge that only a seasoned rock vet can deliver, Weezer's Hurley parades it's audience like cattle through a slaughterhouse; it leads with an inviting and familiar feel, yet probes curiosity with hooks at every turn, and when all is said and done, the audience will find themselves blown away - though they meet with an unfortunate end!  

Rivers Cuomo takes to the adage, "Come in with a bang..." with "Memories", the first of only two songs on the album not co-written by outside help (which begs the question, "Does the old man need a cane?").  A quick pulse and synth lead make it known that this is a Weezer you've never heard before, while those raw-feeling Say-It-Ain't-So-esque polyphonic chorus vocals serve to reassure long-time Weezer lackeys that what they've faithfully been coming back for time and time again is still on the menu.  Just when it seems the song has revealed all it's material in time for a repetition or two, we're hit with a fresh and exciting bridge that manifests in an instrumentation along the lines of "Jimmy Eat World meets The Killers".  This order of interest appropriately foreshadows the overall construction of the album.

After a quick breath, the same tempo starts back up with "Ruling Me".  This time around, the vocal melody takes leaps and bounds, and ends up in a place far more interesting than it's predecessor.  The album could've started here, three minutes and fourteen seconds into the experience, and been no less exciting.  Already, it becomes apparent that the half-hour yet to come is doomed to that stereotypical modern pop dynamic monotony that effectively tells audiophiles where they can put their 90dB signal-to-noise ratio, but with lines like, "If I am a knob, don't fade me" and "My Ocular Nerve went 'Pop-Zoom'" a nerd can't help but stay enthused.  From the kick on every quarter-note, start to end, to the cliché I-V-VI-IV punk pattern (Are we listening to Enema of the State?), everything on this track claims to be the product of a textbook hit machine.

That's exactly what Weezer has become; foregoing any real flow or logic, the tracks seem to be placed merely in order of the likelihood that they will receive airplay.  As such, "Trainwrecks" is the continuation of an unending showcase of catchy, clever lyrics and over-driven guitars albeit at a slower tempo (finally).  That's right, with a quick ear and a sense of wit, Cuomo's words will inevitably summon a smile.  In fact, there may not be much more to Cuomo than the tongue in his cheek, so if the audience is looking for a deep emotional meaning hidden beneath lyrics like, "We don't update our blogs" or "Someday we'll…crash a Diddy party in disguise", they're probably SOL.

Given the line-up preceding it, who would've predicted that "Unspoken" would lead off with an acoustic guitar and jazz flute duo?  The highlight of this song is definitely a toss-up between the solid, angsty chorus and the quirky jazz flute riffs.  This, by the way, is the only other song on Hurley written solely by Cuomo.  Strings build to fill out the spatial pallet just before the whole band explodes into the mix, over-driven guitars and all, to recite the chorus a few more times.  This is a song to be proud of, and one of the more promising from this album.

The follow-up is a spectacular anthem of confusion and, perhaps, an ode to the absent-minded.  "Where's My Sex?" is politically incorrect in the way that had MTV denying "We Are All on Drugs" airplay, but if it's hard to appreciate phrases like, "Sex-making is a family tradition", Weezer is probably not the artist to audit; this is just good clean fun in disguise (think socks).

"Runaway" is a slightly more charming, sentimental tune.  The distortion is dialed down and the beat is laid-back.  This song is about as close to filler as this album can get and still achieves a memorable monologue.  It's certainly not worth lifting a finger to hit the skip button for and leaves a large excitement void, which is a good thing.

When any other album would start turning stale, Cuomo tells the audience to "Hang On".  The instrumentation and sound is reminiscent of "Memories", as if to "restart" the album (And it does it's job).  "Hang On" has that sunset-falling-leaves-end-of-the-line feel, yet promises that "this isn't the end".  As a bonus, listen closely; that's Michael Cera calling out, "Hang on!" over and over again, playing mandolin, and the hurdy gurdy (Why so retro?).  Even for those that couldn't care less who plays or sings what, this is unarguably one of the highlights of the album.

Embracing it's new life, the album hurtles forward with "Smart Girls".  Is it wrong for a forty-something married man to talk about "Yumi, Sherie, Alison, Mary… Lisa, Brittany, Paula, Whitney… Debbie, Donna, [and] Tatiana" "Sleeping in the buff"?  Not if there's a fast-paced, driving beat and a guitar solo involved.  Ethics aside, the song is high-energy and slick.

Again, Weezer exhibits an instrumentation that feels more like Jimmy Eat World's Futures with "Brave New World".  The melody and chords are intense, but the writing doesn't follow suit.  Phrases seem to be lacking in complexity for the sound they've been written into.  This song probably ended up at the bottom of the list because of this awkward mismatch of theme and feel.

As worse comes to worst, a dissonant and wildly-clipping thump introduces  "Time Flies".  Just be glad it's the end of the album and sit through it.  If Weezer hadn't been going for antiquity with this "raw" recording, it might've come off as a charming end to a redeeming set of ideas (Reedeeming in that the last few albums have been lackluster).  Instead, it's an ear-sore and an unfortunate end to what was otherwise an enjoyable experience.  

The album, in it's entirety, is a vast improvement over Raditude (an album with less than a year's worth of sales so far), and feels more like a return to the foundation than a departure from the recent past.  Hints of "Island in the Sun", "Undone (The Sweater Song", "Buddy Holly", and "My Name is Jonas" surface here and there.  The album resembles the first two self-titled releases and was nearly a self-titled release itself.  There's plenty here for new-found and long-time fans.

Creating a Life in Music

Sean McPherson is a man of many talents. A significant slice of his career is bass performance [in studio], but he is also one of the minds behind High Respects, the success of Doom Tree, and a thriving trivia night production.

On September 23rd, I had the privilege of attending class with Sean in Creating a Life in Music.  He spoke to the class about strengths, weaknesses, comfort zones, passions and insecurities related to the music industry. Sean believes himself to be a fearless stage performer with a hybrid-casual business sense, and to lack musical shorthand experience and musical literacy (Neither has stopped him so far).

In my own Sean-Induced self-assessment, I came to realize my own strengths and weaknesses.  I love to write.  It's probably the most comfortable thing for me to do.  I can pour my soul into page after page of a notebook; I can zone out ["flow"] for hours and type my fingers to the bone.  It's second nature [or perhaps first] to me.  My downfall, on the other hand, is social anxiety.  Panic throttles my calm as the focus shifts to me.  I find find myself riddled with self-conscious grief, my only option to choke it all down and summon a coherent phrase whilst suppressing the ever-present suspicion that all eyes see right through me; that all my fear, embarrassment, and unease is revealed tangibly for each individual to mull over, judge, and berate me for!

…I digress…

Sean believes I should make my strengths and weaknesses work for me.  I need to "monetize"; I should get paid more for things that I can do better.  It sets an example for the people I work with.  That's fine, I think I can work on that. I need to bring these things into my comfort zone, and make them a part of my normal life [routine].

To Begin Again From the Beginning...

Sit back and remain calm as the machines usher in a digital nightmare of discreet time and smeared emotion. We will see the end of this; the continuum will once again be seen through consumate fidelity for what it really is - continuous. 

"Time begins and stops now." 

Long live the analogue!