Atheism

All of the following are completely socially acceptable to profess:

- I don’t care about sports;
- I don’t ever listen to country music;
- Math doesn’t interest me; and
- I don’t read books about intergenerational conflicts within post-industrial societies.

Why are these socially acceptable? Because we are allowed to develop our own personalities and tastes. Not following sports or math does not devalue you as a human; it just means those are fields that, while substantial enough to have a following, have no personal relevance for you. Why can’t people say the same about religion?

Four New Styles

Instead of working, I spent most of my Friday at work finding the names of styles of music that I’ve never heard of before in my life. (For the record, it was actually like 10 minutes.) I wouldn’t dream of criticizing an entire genre of music without first hearing a considerable representative sample. However, I will gladly acquire a cursory knowledge and jump to hasty conclusions. Here were four that sounded interesting enough to kill time learning about once I got home.

Virgin Mobile FreeFest

Yesterday, I spent about ten hours at Virgin Mobile FreeFest at Merriweather Post Pavilion. It’s not just that this was one of the better-organized music festivals I’ve ever been to, but this was probably the most fun. The entire festival focused on the idea that there should be a way to go out at no expense and enjoy an all-day music fest.

The Atmosphere
Concessions were expensive, but that’s par for the course. They had fully-stocked bars, karaoke and Guitar Hero tents, tons of giveaways, tents for myriad causes, and a surprisingly well-stocked array of port-o-potties. I wish I had known it at the time, but there was apparently even a “pink slip pinata” that doled out chances to interview with Richard Branson, the well-known music mogul who footed the bill for the concert. The concert was littered with advertisements, but it’s hard to pass judgment when the ticket price was, well, free. Moreover, Red Bull was advertised by having two skydivers jump out of a helicopter with Red Bull parachutes and onto the pavilion’s roof, rght next to a laughing Branson. Except for the moment where I was slightly afraid the skydiver was going to fall on my face, who can complain about that kind of advertising?!

25 Facts about Me

I never really did that Facebook “25 Facts about Me” post because I got annoyed whenever I got tagged in someone else’s. But secretly, I read them. So, indulge me here.

Deep Thoughts

I have two deep thoughts of the day.

Scratch that, I have two thoughts of the day.

Scratch that, I have two idiotic thoughts of the day.

Scratch that, I’m an idiot.

Michael Jackson

Unfortunately, nothing I could write could fully articulate how huge a loss this feels to me or offer anything significantly different than any of the other myriad tributes. I wish I could have told him that when I heard he was going to do a 50-show European tour, I was already furiously (and vainly) hunting down any leaked rehearsal clips. Another day has gone; I’m still all alone. How could this be you’re not here with me. You never said good-bye; someone tell me why did you have to go and leave my world so cold. Rest in peace, Michael.

Notch – Power to the People

Inspired by an XKCD comic strip, I’ve been going on an eBay bidding frenzy, buying anything that’s $1 with free shipping. I would love to do so automatically with a program like the one in the comic strip, but there are a few problems:

1. I don’t really have the time to write a program;
2. My programming skills suck too much to write a program within the time I do have; and
3. The overwhelming majority of dollar items on eBay are not fun; they’re worthless coupons, ebooks, Jolly Rancher candies that look like the Virgin Mary, or auctions where you “win positive feedback.”

So I took the boring approach where I search random keywords (“world,” “orange,” “the,” etc.) and bid maniacally on anything that might be remotely fun to receive in the mail. As soon as I received my first winning auction–a movable keychain of two people doing it–I knew I was doing the right thing.

I bid on so many items so haphazardly that I virtually never remember what I’ve bid on. I then try to send payments as hastily as possible so it’s a total surprise every time I get something in the mail! My latest surprise present to myself turned out to be a reggaeton CD by this artist Notch. So, I popped it in my car’s CD player this morning on my way to work.

The lyrics alternate between English, Spanish, and Jamaican Creole. This was a new world to me. …And all things considered, the album seems to be tailor-made for a trilingual kid with ADHD….

Animal Collective “My Girls”

My next request was for Animal Collective’s “My Girls.” I immediately approve of this song because the album it’s from is titled Merriweather Post Pavilion. The name is a reference to a music venue right in Columbia, MD, where I grew up. There’s even a bike path connecting the venue to my parent’s neighborhood!

The only album of Animal Collective that I knew well prior to listening to this was Sung Tongs from 2004. Not only did I know the album well though, but I would probably rank it among the top albums I’ve ever heard. The pounding 4/4 pulse and the pentatonic melodies keep the music squarely within the rock idiom. Yet, the texture is tribal and rich, and the melodies are free, strange, and unlike anything I had really heard before.

“My Girls” lived up to the expectations I had. The backbone of the music begins with a synthesized loop that sounds like it belongs in an NES game, and then in come the layers….

Jellyfish “Hush”

So my friend Joe sent me my first piece to listen to. The track was enigmatically titled “Hush.” Here were my prior acquaintances with the word Hush and music:

1. I knew the Tool song;
2. I’m pretty sure it was an LL Cool J song too, but I didn’t really know it;
3. It was a decent album with Bobby McFerrin and Yo-Yo Ma;
4. For some reason, I think that was the title of a Kula Shaker song;
5. And there was that Herman Hermits’ “There’s a Kind of” staple.

However, when I opened it on iTunes, it was by this band Jellyfish, whom I confess I’ve never heard of. Instead of finding out about the band, I went ahead and just listened to it.

It starts out with this pure sonic landscape: a single violin tone opens the song, soon followed by some lush string harmonies. There are a few taps on a xylophone, it sounds like there are some woodwind rumblings that begin to build on the sound, and the texture crescendos into dissonant fortissimo. So far, it’s reminding me of composer Krzysztof Penderecki’s work through the 60’s or so–one of my favorite sounds of contemporary music.

And then there’s Sergeant Peppers-esque switch into a pop song. This is where I lost interest.

Music blog

One of my biggest pet peeves is when people spend paragraph upon paragraph recounting personal anecdotes, explaining an action, or commenting on something nobody else could possible know or have encountered.

So I’ll do exactly that.

You see, I was Simon Cowell before there was a Simon Cowell….