PixlBit

I'm listening to Neil Young, dammit!  Harvest. 

@Matt Snee: "Old man take a look at my life, I'm a lot like you." I was talking to 20 something friend of mine who was saying a friend of his wanted to be an old man. He would walk around with a cane. Then I thought of Tom Waits and how he said he wanted to be an old man when he was young. I tried to think why. Maybe it's that old men can do and say whatever they want and be all curmudgeonly.

Half that Neil Young song he adds "I'm a lot like you (pause) were." So I don't think Neil is saying that he wants to be like the old man. He's just talking about timeless human needs.

yeah it's a good song on a good album.  I like Neil Young.  I had friends who were obsessed with him when I was a kid, but I just thought he was alright.  But listening to this album makes me want to use as a model for one of my own.  I love the acoustic guitar with bass and drums, occasional harmonica, and voice. 

@Matt Snee: I used to have a bunch of his albums on vinyl. I think I learned Heart of Gold once too. I was playing accoustic guitar for a bit and had a harmonica holder. That was fun.

yeah i had a harmonica holder for a bit too.  That shit IS fun. 

@Matt Snee: I've been thinking about my bass rig and whether I should trade it all in for a accoustic or classical guitar. Classical guitar was kinda my first interest.

you know, for a long time I wanted a classical guitar too.  They have such a pretty sound.  But I finally decided when I can, I'm gonna buy a new, nice acoustic guitar as I haven't bought a new one since I was 18, almost twenty years ago.  Classicals are really nice though, I'd like to have one of those too. 

@Matt Snee: I just love playing finger style more than with a pick. I played finger style on bass for a while, but I began, after a while, to see the benefits of the sound of a pick and would switch around from song to song. I played through vol 1 and 2 of the Aaron Shearer lesson books before I switched to bass. I really miss it. 

yeah I don't use a pick either.  sometimes I do, but I prefer playing/strumming with my fingers.  more control. 

I'm on a soundtrack kick. I've been going to libraries and just taking out a dozen or so of them. Good thing about soundtracks is that usually they have lots of different songs on them. I like being exposed to new stuff that way. I discovered Charles Atlas on the Up in the Air soundtrack the other day. Their accoustic guitar instrumental "The Snow Before Us" really captured my attention.

 The song starts at 31:33.

Alright, this is why I love listening to soundtracks. NEW MUSIC!!! I just discovered Blood Red Shoes and their track It's Getting Boring By The Sea off the Scott Pilgrim soundtrack. More to come from that album.

That guitar sound is so frickin' hot! I listend to the previews of the album this track was lifted from Box of Secrets. It's great! I'm gonna get it.

So I grabbed this track "Breadcrumbs" from the James Bond Skyfall soundtrack because it has some of the old theme in it. This is used in the scenes where Bond and M change cars. They get in an old Aston Martin and this music plays to cue a remembrance of the old films. There's a cool vid on youtube that shows this, but it's unsharable probably because it has a film clip. It's at http://youtu.be/0yU-Zg0Tlh0

One day I decided to watch some movies on the American Film Institute's Top 100. One of them was Singing in the Rain and it blew me away. One of my favorite numbers was Make 'Em Laugh. This routine by Donald O'Connor is pure virtuoso and the song is great by itself as well. 

Another one from Singing in the Rain. Do you think the phrase "lucky charms", as sung in this song, ended up being used for the title of the cereal?

Last one from Singing in the Rain. "Moses". I like the word play and the dance routine is impressive.

Another track I saved in my itunes library from Scott Pilgrim vs. The World sndtrk was The Bluetones "Sleazy Bed Track".

This also from Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World. I love that film. Came out of the theater so energized. Anyway, this one is Metric and "Black Sheep". This video is supposed to be live, but the sound is clearly from the studio track. Still, I like seeing the band play. Wish the sound was llve though.

Listening to the soundtrack to Pan's Labyrinth. This track "Not Human" caught my ear. I wanted to hear something eerie and this is it. It's used in the Pale Man's lair where you can hear it but only faintly. The full track is great although most people on youtube have it cut to 5:17 instead of it's real length of 5:55 on the CD I have. I'm saving this track for my Halloween Mix.

Another track from Pan's Labyrinth I heard tonight while at work. Deep Forest is also a good one to scare you on a dark night. Goes on my Halloween mix for sure.

Last one from Pan's Labyrinth. Another scary one called "Vals of the Maldrake".                

Just listened to the soundtrack to the Ken Burns film "National Parks: America's Best Idea" and found myself drawn to all the songs done by Al Petteway and Amy White. They're all accoustic guitar/mandolin instrumentals like this one, "Land of the Sky."

Mahler's first.  Obsessed with this.  Just got it on vinyl.  Delicious.  

@Matt Snee: That cymbal crash at 35 min or so really woke me up. Bernstein is hopping like a crazed bunny and waving his arms around like a bat! I think of that percussionist waiting 35 minutes to crash those cymbals. Talk about anticipation! Imagine if he missed his cue by even a half a second. He'd ruin the whole piece. I don't want to be that guy. . . By the 42 minute mark, Bernstein's hair is totally messed up. . . Orgasmic moment at min 45. I think Bernstein levitated for a second. . . Hey who plays drums with Q-Tips? (at min 46). . . That's right! Get it all out Cymbalist at min 54! GO NUTZ!!! I was rooting for that guy the whole time. Thanks Snee! I love watching orchestras.

yeah Mahler symphonies have serious dynamics changes.  I'll turn them up to hear some parts, and then it will be blasting the next moment.  Mahler is my favorite composer without a doubt.  

I just looked up "Best New Music 2014" in Google, which led me to Pitchfork.com's Best New Tracks.

The first song on the page made my ears bleed and made me wonder if they were trolling.