Let's Get a Little Slang On...

While I don't think it was as close to a commercial success as several of their previous albums, Slang still had several good tracks in the usual Def Leppard rock style.  Here's the title track, and one of the ones I am still prone to add to a mix track for driving music.

Rock & Roll All Night...

While not a member of the Kiss Army (by any stretch), I do have an affinity for any good rock songs, and this one is classic - and actually adapted pretty well for an Unplugged session.

Slowhand

Probably the best to use the Unplugged format for exploring different sounds - bringing new listeners to music and songs they may not have otherwise heard - was Clapton.  As great as the original Layla is, I actually prefer the Unplugged version... there's just something much more powerful with the control it brings... but here's one that's completely different, and a nice example for the other songs he brings to the table.  It's mostly because of Clapton that I've gone out and sought after different blues artists, to at least get a familiarity.

Fun with Subdomains

Over the last few days I’ve been making some changes to by site plans…  I had mentioned before that I have been considering porting over to  another service.  That service is Wordpress, and the reasons may seem silly, but they made sense at the time that I started everything: compatibility, publicity & maintenance.

Wordpress has struck me as more “Forward Thinking” in developing and enabling features than Blogger, from mobile viewing [compatibility] to site feeds through other social media [publicity], and tracking site statistics, comment moderation features [maintenance].  They had “mobile formatting” ahead of Blogger, and they already have site feeds/push notifications for most of the major social networking as built in options.  That said, there are features with Blogger that I like, ones that I am still trying to figure out alternatives for on Wordpress.

But here’s the point I wanted to get to… I am planning on getting some business cards printed before going to Worldcon next month… something simple, to have something on hand for networking.  Before I get anything printed, I wanted to  get some tweaks and kinks worked out.  One of the tweaks I’ve been especially wanting to resolve involves pointing my existing domain name to a blog and tying them both together… something a little more sophisticated than blind domain forwarding (which would mask any of the subpages…).  So for the last couple of nights I’ve been tweaking DNS entries and domain forwarding properties, experiencing loads of frustration getting everything figured out – which is to be expected for a first time set-up.  Finally, today (this morning), I had a touch of epiphany and was able to get the situation resolved (even tested on a couple of different platforms)…

So now I have a working subdomain plotted and ID forwarding… go me.

No Excuses....

Continuing in the Unplugged vein, here's another one of my favorites that I think translated well (if not better) than the original version.

Here's one for the Troops...

Here's a special bonus video in honor of the 4th of July here in the states.  Don't blow up the barbeque.

Come As You Are...

Unlike some of the kids today that only have the band as a "gee, they were actually something cool that my parents used to listed to" relic, I remember when they were actually NEW, and changed the music scene.  I have always had a soft spot for the Unplugged series (at least, how it was supposed to be and initially pitched), and theirs was one of the sets that worked well and exemplified the format.  For those wondering about my musical inclination, this is also one of the few licks that I actually can play (and often play with it on either bass or guitar).

Since I Mentioned Them Last Week...

Here's one from U2, since I mentioned that Muse was the opening act when we went to the U2 concert.  While there are several of their radio staples that I do like very much, I've got a soft spot for this one, just because of the rhythm and beat work.  It's just a great one to queue up when out driving, windows down, sunroof open and stereo pumping.

The Hardest Thing...

About writing, is the act of writing.  The physical act of scratching at paper with a pointy object, or pecking out things on a keyboard, can be a daunting task, something a lot harder than I envisioned it when I was twelve-ish and started thinking about a writing future.  At the time (and even through my Undergraduate experience) I thought it would be something I would do "one day" in the future, but couldn't really articulate how.  There was always some mystery to the experience, and even now there is still some.

Ideas come, like someone drunk at a New Year's Eve party, and kiss you passionately for the brief few seconds you're together before they disappear from the party (or worse, you run home remembering that the car you arrived in will turn back to a lemon).  Ideas can come from channel or internet surfing, or from snippets of conversations and relived experiences.

Ideas are also like matches - hot and bright in a flash, but quickly burning themselves out.  But finding the right idea - the right match - will last long enough to be used with some kindling, then some tinder, and later some logs to build a solid fire.

That's what I have come to see as the hardest thing, right now, is finding the right match for me, and seeing the fire it might become.

About Soundtracks...

Now that we are a few months on with the MVM feature, here's a little bit of an explanation for those that may be new to the audience.  I'm a firm believer that songs and music are a staple of life.  There's either a turn of phrase that might stick with you, or becomes such a force on the radio that there are memories that latch on and ride shotgun whenever you hear the melody - even if it's decades later. ("Time of My Life" from Dirty Dancing popped into my head for that one, and it conjures a plethora of disconnected images of my middle school years - from band to track, lunch baskets and planting the seeds for stories, a pseudo-girlfriend [it was 6th grade, in the late 80's, the most we did was hold hands and pass notes], and a lot of other early teenage-y things...)  If we were to create a playlist of the songs that mean something to us (as individuals) then we're creating our own life soundtracks, which in a way is part of what MVM is all about... a video representation about some of the items on my (life) soundtrack,

And the fact that "Time of My Life" song popped up is rather fitting, since it's on another kind of soundtrack.  A movie one ('natch).  Which is the other side of my "Soundtrack" conversation tonight. I admit that I am a soundtrack nut.  There was a time (when I was getting regular CDs) that I could easily say a solid quarter (or more) of the collection was soundtracks (true story: the whole reason I got into CDs in the first place was so I could get the Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves soundtrack.  Instrumental soundtracks just play/flow so much better when you can run it all the way through without having to eject, flip and restart the tape.  Same reason I got into DVDs was for Braveheart, since it was released as a two-tape [VHS] set, but that another post...).

The problem with a lot of my music library are the words - not a bad thing for the sake of the songs themselves, but when it comes time to put something on, some mood music, say, or some background noise when trying to write some things are better left off the playlist.  Over the last couple of years (mainly the last 6 months, but it's been a progression), I've been taking advantage of the iTunes "Wish List" feature and added a lot of movie and video game scores so I can still have them accessible at some distant time in the future without having to buy them now.  And there may be some more videos in the future that come from soundtracks, if not from a movie, it will definitely be from me.

Book Stack 6-20-2011

Book Stack 6-20-2011, a photo by Theril on Flickr.

The picture above is the current crop of the "Books for the Nightstand," or "Things I want to read next" (Dead Tree Edition). If you zoom in you'll see a few of the books mentioned here, and quite a few others that weren't.  An eclectic mix from pulpy titles that are easily older that I am (by at least half), omnibus & compilation editions (the Lovecraft volume & Cleric Quintet especially), to books on technique and contemporary fiction titles.  Add a few scripts for good measure, and it'll be a fun time...


And since I'm sure I won't be finishing the entire stack before the end of 2011, guess what I'll be pulling from in 2012?  Yeap... and that stack doesn't even include electronic titles that I will be working on.

Shhh... there's an Uprising going on.... Don't tell anyone

A few years ago, MC and I went to see U2 in concert (on their 360 tour)... the opening act for the show we  went to was this little group called Muse.  We hadn't heard of them (at the time), and when they started I was impressed.  By the end of their set we were both in agreement that we should check out their catalog.  Their first song was this one.  Think of it: concert venue, concrete stadium, and the bass could have been cranked up to 11 (feeling the bass through our feet, as well as the rest of our body, didn't hurt my interest in them, by the way).  And to this day, we still think of Dr. Who whenever the opening few bars play.

Did You See That Dagger in Chelsea...?

I have a little history with The Fratellis... not that I personally know them, but with how I got into them.  Shortly after my first wife passed away I went on a little bit of a music binge (a little retail therapy)... one of the albums I picked up (and the only one of the few that I got at the time that still is worth talking about) was their first album (Costello Music).  They are one of the few contemporary (within the last decade) bands that I would encourage anyone to check their albums out.

Head for the Bush

No, not like that...  Continuing the recent trend of my stroll back down music memory lane (through the 90's), here's a trip into the Bush... this one comes from their Deconstructed (remix) album and was used in An American Werewolf in Paris.

Let's Just Run Away...

Here's another one that goes back to high school for me.  I actually heard a different Soul Asylum song on the radio recently (to which my response was, "Wow, hadn't heard THIS one in a while.")  I think Grave Dancer's Union was their "lightning in the bottle" album, where everything just clicked well.  At one time I had And The Horse They Rode In On but wasn't as taken.  Their next two albums weren't bad, either, but they also weren't as commercial.

Right Now....

Feeling a little nostalgic, here's one that dates back to... high school for me.  Not the best adaption (it looks like it was captured from a TV), but if you want the "official" video, you can go here... Right Now.

Quick drive-by and update

No... not quite lost, although I have been a bit swamped on some other projects.  Here's a really quick recap of the recent past, and I promise to do some proper updating soon.  Oh, and about the videos... I've got those re-queued for several weeks to come.

In February, I submitted an abstract for WorldCon... in April I was notified it was accepted.  (In March, I presented a draft of the same paper for the Graduate Student Conference locally, to give myself a trial run in advance of the acceptance.)

At the end of May, I was part of the Graduate Student Reading experience for all of the graduating Creative Writing MA students.  Several of the audience members that were at the March conference were stoked about my WorldCon announcement.

I have applied for Viable Paradise for the fall.  Jury is still out on acceptance (they accept submissions until mid-June) so we shall see.

I will be going to see Uncle Orson in August, but only for the two day session.

I have been plotting my next stage of academic pursuits, pinning down which PhD programs I want to aim for... at the moment there's one in the US and three in the UK, but we will see how that might change between now and the end of the summer.  My goal is to have most of my applying done or "almost" done by the end of August for 2012 admittance... wherever it may be.

I've finally started climbing out of the "post-hyperproductive-crash" that hit me after my last semester (from December) - when my two classes and thesis brain-fried me.  I've been kicking ideas around, but I've not been in a state of mind to try working with them until recently.  (Last time I was in a similar slump was right before the thesis, but before THAT my last similar creative funk was from about 2000-2007: a few blips on the radar, but it wasn't as much of a priority for me then.)  I'm working on some plotting for 5-6 projects to see what strikes me as ready to run, including expanding three of the pieces I wrote for classes.

That's all for now... more soon... really... there will be.

Metallica on MVM

Yes, I will admit that I was late to the Metallica party... it wasn't until "One" that I started coming around, and got fully on board with (the black album).  I checked out not long after Re-Load, although I still appreciate the fact they can still put on one hell of a show.  Master of Puppets is one of those albums that if I had found it earlier, I might have gotten into them sooner.

Beatles on MVM

I first discovered the Beatles when I was about ten.  There was a music video show on Nickelodeon that included a couple of their videos (including this one), and it started a long standing appreciation for the band (as a group) and their music (especially when I started getting into playing different things, and just how intricate Paul's bass parts could be).

The Lonely Goatherd on MVM

I grew up watching it every spring, and even worked on a summer theater production for the show, and over the last few years I've had the nagging thought: what if the song were rearranged and cut by a metal band?  (Think about Metallica, Slipknot or someone similar as you listen to the original...)