Yes, this title was inspired by an episode of scrubs.
When i first made this post, i figured i would just joke around and not make it much of anything (much like most of my blogs). But then it dawned on me, i am seeing, more and more, that the single life seems to be the way i am enjoying myself.
Now, i guess i should put this out first. I am constantly looking for companionship, and i very much do enjoy the female companionship that i do have right now, and given the chance and circumstance, i would take a serious relationship. But, i have also taken notice to how some people dont even look happy in such a serious relationship.
This is the main point to my argument, people may think they are happy, or even worse, fake being happy, just for some selfish reasons. And of all places to see this going on, being in college is a great place to just observe. And that is what i sometimes do, but seriously, not in one of those creepy ways. As i am walking through the halls of my dorm, i see many things. And aside from people talking on their phone, sitting on the stairs and blocking my way, i see people who are in relationships and who are in various stages of their relationship.
And next to people having sex (which is frankly annoying and kinda rude) the most frequent thing i see people who are in what seems to be an awkward "im happy but im miserable" sort of state. This usually consists of the couple sitting or standing really close to each other, talking in a soft, low, and quiet voice, and they usually dont look very happy.
Since i'm not creepy, i dont listen in on what they are talking about, but from what it looks like, it doesnt look very good.
Now dont get me wrong, this might be just one case of a few bad relationships that i happen to walk by as im walking through the halls, but it does tell me something about what i want from a relationship, and that is someone whom i can have fun with but also be able to have normal conversations with (and by normal conversation, i mean conversation with some ammount of content, not just random bullshit). But most of all, what i am looking for is a meaningful relationship with someone, the only problem with that is that i dont know how to do that.
Wednesday, November 21, 2007
Thursday, November 15, 2007
Why do they Insist on Destroying Music
By this, I mean the recording industry. If there is one way to destroy the art, and the beauty of what music is, the recording industry seems to be taking all of the right steps. So how are they destroying music, and are there any options that we have to reverse its horrendous effects. In my opinion, i do believe that there is seriously a problem, but there is still hope, both of those i will go over.
So what is the problem with the music industry? Well first of all, by calling it an industry, this creates competition, people lose touch with who they are, the distribution of money becomes involved, this brings in politics, personal politics that is, and this just takes it as far away from the music as you can get. Major record labels are just businesses that use bands. They use them, they use the creativity of the band, give them a few resources, and if the band does one thing that the label doesnt like or if the music climate changes, they are either sued, dropped, or they lose funding. So where does the creativity and the art come in. Well that is last in line. And if the label things the band is doing that wrong, they can step in and take control. Just as the situation with Thursday on their War All the Time album. When they said they were finished with the recording and writing process, they were basically forced back into the studio because there were no songs on it that were "radio worthy". So now why does this matter so much, and it basically boils down to the money. Money runs a business that used to be run on art and creativity. This is what makes it so hard for young newer bands to enter the music arena, because there is such a large gap between where you start and what is consitered successful, and what is consitered successful is whether or not you are making money. Now, it goes without saying that money is a part of life and that you need to make money to feed yourself and to make a living, but where is the line, why is this "rock star" lifestyle so glamourized and why do people keep buying into the bullshit that it is.
So now that i have described my issues with the music industry, i will explore a few ways by which i think that the people within the music industry can better it. First off, I really would like to commend that artists out there who are working for the better good, such as how Nine Inch Nails and Radiohead are working from the top to help change thing, so too must the independent artists work from the bottom to help make a change as well. One thing that the already successful independent artists can do is to help promote the not-as-successful artists. Much like how The Lawrence Arms or Against Me! always take bands on tour that some people might not know so much. The best scenario i can think of was when i saw Against Me! play at Headliners in Toledo. They played with Matt and Kim, and i must say, for a band that i have never heard before, i think that i was still able to enjoy their set and their music.
So with the new age of free music from the internet, what is next? The way i see it, musicians will give their music away for free, much like some independent bands that i know already, hell, i remember downloading the Defiance, Ohio album straight from their website. I think this is the way music should be done. When i like a band, they play shows, and that is what i remember most, the music is a catalyst to remind me of the great times i have at shows. More musicians should realize this, this is why they should have gotten into music in the first place, because of the intimate experience of going to or playing a live performance.
I am in a band now, and with my theory on music, i feel that it is almost our responsibility to at least try to make a change. By this i mean that i want to offer free downloads of our music from the internet. I want to as well offer sale of cds, but i dont want to be an ass about that. I want to design merchendise and sell that. That way i can see my art expressed in a multitude of ways. I want to become somewhat successful with my music so that i may somehow be able to influence someone to beleive the same as me and to also try to make a change. Because it is our music, and our art, and it is us who should be the ones who control it.
So what is the problem with the music industry? Well first of all, by calling it an industry, this creates competition, people lose touch with who they are, the distribution of money becomes involved, this brings in politics, personal politics that is, and this just takes it as far away from the music as you can get. Major record labels are just businesses that use bands. They use them, they use the creativity of the band, give them a few resources, and if the band does one thing that the label doesnt like or if the music climate changes, they are either sued, dropped, or they lose funding. So where does the creativity and the art come in. Well that is last in line. And if the label things the band is doing that wrong, they can step in and take control. Just as the situation with Thursday on their War All the Time album. When they said they were finished with the recording and writing process, they were basically forced back into the studio because there were no songs on it that were "radio worthy". So now why does this matter so much, and it basically boils down to the money. Money runs a business that used to be run on art and creativity. This is what makes it so hard for young newer bands to enter the music arena, because there is such a large gap between where you start and what is consitered successful, and what is consitered successful is whether or not you are making money. Now, it goes without saying that money is a part of life and that you need to make money to feed yourself and to make a living, but where is the line, why is this "rock star" lifestyle so glamourized and why do people keep buying into the bullshit that it is.
So now that i have described my issues with the music industry, i will explore a few ways by which i think that the people within the music industry can better it. First off, I really would like to commend that artists out there who are working for the better good, such as how Nine Inch Nails and Radiohead are working from the top to help change thing, so too must the independent artists work from the bottom to help make a change as well. One thing that the already successful independent artists can do is to help promote the not-as-successful artists. Much like how The Lawrence Arms or Against Me! always take bands on tour that some people might not know so much. The best scenario i can think of was when i saw Against Me! play at Headliners in Toledo. They played with Matt and Kim, and i must say, for a band that i have never heard before, i think that i was still able to enjoy their set and their music.
So with the new age of free music from the internet, what is next? The way i see it, musicians will give their music away for free, much like some independent bands that i know already, hell, i remember downloading the Defiance, Ohio album straight from their website. I think this is the way music should be done. When i like a band, they play shows, and that is what i remember most, the music is a catalyst to remind me of the great times i have at shows. More musicians should realize this, this is why they should have gotten into music in the first place, because of the intimate experience of going to or playing a live performance.
I am in a band now, and with my theory on music, i feel that it is almost our responsibility to at least try to make a change. By this i mean that i want to offer free downloads of our music from the internet. I want to as well offer sale of cds, but i dont want to be an ass about that. I want to design merchendise and sell that. That way i can see my art expressed in a multitude of ways. I want to become somewhat successful with my music so that i may somehow be able to influence someone to beleive the same as me and to also try to make a change. Because it is our music, and our art, and it is us who should be the ones who control it.
Thursday, November 8, 2007
The Social Interweb and its effects on the Ego
So we have all seen it, all these fancy new social networking sites that have been ravaging their way through the internet, almost in the same way that a plague would ravage its way across a countryside. So now some of you might be wondering "What's with this kid's hostility toward social networking??" and I would have to answer by saying that I truly do believe that these sites are wonderful things, there are many things that i do see that are problems with them though.
I will start by saying what i find great about these sites. First, I see great potential for people to express themselves to a certain extent. By this i mean that self expression is a great thing, and these sites do allow for self expression in many ways. The one fault in this aspect is not the fault of the programmers who create these sites, the fault is universal, you can not truly express yourself in terms of just text alone. People's personalities are a product of intrapersonal interaction as well as what your likes and dislikes are. Second, the whole networking aspect of these sites that deam them the name of "social NETWORKING" sites. This is the part of the industry that is the most bastardized (yes, I love this word, I use it to describe many things, ranging from holidays to politics to industries). The way that these sites create a huge network out of all of its users, two of the greatest examples of this is Last.fm and Facebook. First, with Last.fm, the network is created by the listeners, all you have to do is run a program and listen to music, that it. Of course you can do more by editing artist's biographies in their wiki-style editor. And second, facebook, it has been getting a little heat in recent years because of some of the upgrades to their software and the decisions made by these upgrades. The one thing good about it though is that you can decide to not use these updates. But back to the networking aspect, with Facebook, you are grouped based on your college, or your hometown, or your workplace. With this, you can meet other people who could potentially live right next door to you who have some of the same interests as you. And as a very introverted college student, this is a good thing.
So now here is where I go with my issues I find with some social networking sites. First is that it almost feeds the ego, sometimes to the point where its not healthy. People whore themselves out for "friends" or bitch and complain cause someone didnt go read and comment their blog. This is one of the many reasons why I left myspace, I would sometimes find myself checking it many times a day only to find nothing, and then I would get frustrated about it. It's never a good thing.
My second issue with social networking sites is a problem that has been taken into account by the many wonderful programmers who create these sites, and that is the problem with spam and obnoxios advertising. Upon getting a secondlife account (which I plan on deleting as soon as I can figure out) I recieve an email in my gmail inbox notifying me of a friend request or something like that. I take a look at it, and from the first sentance I know it is spam. It is very much the same with myspace, there was a period over the summer where I would get about 5 friend invites a day from people who all have the same information in their profile but they all have different pictures. Its getting pathetic, if you are really that desparate for money and are a programmer, please, put your talent toward the good of the internet, not toward being a pervert who just annoys the fuck out of everyone.
So in summation, I think that the social network phenominon is a great thing, people come together thanks to the hard work of many programmers and good things can come of it. There is however the downsides which are caused mainly by the ignorant masses of people on the internet, but given enough patience, it is something that can be overcome in order to truly enjoy the perks of the social internet.
I will start by saying what i find great about these sites. First, I see great potential for people to express themselves to a certain extent. By this i mean that self expression is a great thing, and these sites do allow for self expression in many ways. The one fault in this aspect is not the fault of the programmers who create these sites, the fault is universal, you can not truly express yourself in terms of just text alone. People's personalities are a product of intrapersonal interaction as well as what your likes and dislikes are. Second, the whole networking aspect of these sites that deam them the name of "social NETWORKING" sites. This is the part of the industry that is the most bastardized (yes, I love this word, I use it to describe many things, ranging from holidays to politics to industries). The way that these sites create a huge network out of all of its users, two of the greatest examples of this is Last.fm and Facebook. First, with Last.fm, the network is created by the listeners, all you have to do is run a program and listen to music, that it. Of course you can do more by editing artist's biographies in their wiki-style editor. And second, facebook, it has been getting a little heat in recent years because of some of the upgrades to their software and the decisions made by these upgrades. The one thing good about it though is that you can decide to not use these updates. But back to the networking aspect, with Facebook, you are grouped based on your college, or your hometown, or your workplace. With this, you can meet other people who could potentially live right next door to you who have some of the same interests as you. And as a very introverted college student, this is a good thing.
So now here is where I go with my issues I find with some social networking sites. First is that it almost feeds the ego, sometimes to the point where its not healthy. People whore themselves out for "friends" or bitch and complain cause someone didnt go read and comment their blog. This is one of the many reasons why I left myspace, I would sometimes find myself checking it many times a day only to find nothing, and then I would get frustrated about it. It's never a good thing.
My second issue with social networking sites is a problem that has been taken into account by the many wonderful programmers who create these sites, and that is the problem with spam and obnoxios advertising. Upon getting a secondlife account (which I plan on deleting as soon as I can figure out) I recieve an email in my gmail inbox notifying me of a friend request or something like that. I take a look at it, and from the first sentance I know it is spam. It is very much the same with myspace, there was a period over the summer where I would get about 5 friend invites a day from people who all have the same information in their profile but they all have different pictures. Its getting pathetic, if you are really that desparate for money and are a programmer, please, put your talent toward the good of the internet, not toward being a pervert who just annoys the fuck out of everyone.
So in summation, I think that the social network phenominon is a great thing, people come together thanks to the hard work of many programmers and good things can come of it. There is however the downsides which are caused mainly by the ignorant masses of people on the internet, but given enough patience, it is something that can be overcome in order to truly enjoy the perks of the social internet.
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