OK here are the other movies I made and then we're done witht this

"Through the Windshield":


This is technically a photography project, though some weird framerate issue makes it impossible to see the photos. Whatever.

"The Universe" (best viewed in HD)


A big reason why I didn't post much over the last two months. This is the longest film anyone has shot in the history of the class by like five minutes.

"Fortunate Son (Demo)"

...because if you put "Demo" in the name, no one will complain about the poor recording quality. More words...tomorrow?

Update 2 Days Later: I wish I could say my inspiration behind this was strictly political, and that I didn't come up with the idea after hearing it on Sons of Anarchy. I probably wouldn't have gone through the trouble of recording it and posting it if I wasn't such a Communist, though (see previous post).

This song is obviously very similar to "Testify" in that both are really vocal-driven (though here the guitar is used more harmonically, where there it was used more for rhythm and dynamics), and in that both, at least to me, update older protest songs for modern-day issues even though the words aren't changed. "Fortunate Son," while it's rooted very much in Vietnam and the anti-war movement, is pretty easy to translate because it's basically about power and privilege and how wealth tends to set in and fester and slowly decay everything around it. No wait, that's plaque*. Anyway those are universal themes that never go away, they just change to suit the times, like the Endless.

So anyway I was practicing the song, insert "know way do you practice" joke here, and noticed the sort of bluesy sound I was getting from the tuning (it's the same key as the original, but tuned down two steps so you're playing the A/G/D/E chord shapes instead of G/F/C/D). Some versions I tried to do used a lot of seventh chords and switching from the major to seventh chord, but it was too ornate to play easily, and it sort of gets overwhelmed by the vocal anyway. A few sevenths snuck in, on the D chords in the chorus. Similarly I'm sure a full-band version of this is possible, but that would probably be too hard to play distract from what I'm saying trying to say.

I've always had this theory that I could sing, in the same way that I could run a marathon or be elected Dictator-for-Life or get a steady, well-paying job: it was technically possible but highly unlikely. I think I'm getting closer, and didn't expect to get a better take then this one, so decided to use it, but I wouldn't say I'm quite there yet. Also, how do you not breathe into a microphone if it's the built-in microphone? I've had this computer for three years and have taken it apart completely to replace the screen (one of the reasons I didn't blog anything this summer), and I don't even know where the microphone is.

I still have no idea if I'm going to post anything next week.

*I had dental surgery last week.

Tags: ecomonics, Irish people, wankers

This is actually probably the most concise, accurate description of what went down I've ever heard:

"End of the Universe"

Don't read too much into this...I made it as a joke for a class project...we'll see...possibly more later...

But seriously watch it

Wait how did I not know about this?

Photoblag: Pumpkins!

Yeah I was a little late with this...

250, Untititled

[In the interest of transp[arency, I've left all spelling and typing error s intact for this post]

See, this is why I shouldn't bother with things like this. You make big promises and then you get busy with school and writers block and you could have posted like ten blogs but NOOOOOOOOOO it had to be a song. I'm a dummass.

Anyway here are some movies I made a while ago, which at least contain music. I fininshed another movie last week but the file might be a little to big to post until I can figure out how to shrink it.

What am Was Watching II

Trying to get more into a bloggin schedule of a couple times a week (as opposed to my current schedule of "never"). Here's some videos, in no real order:


This was written by one of the guys who made LOOOOOOOOOOOOST (deep cut). It is funny and you should watch it because it is funny. Also there's famous-ish people and a cool use of time travel.



The next thing I was going to post went down the memory hole, so here a video of Kurt Vonnegut being awesome instead:



The next thing is also the thing that is the last thing, because I thought I had more things but did not. Anyway I am recomendiding Clone High because it is a fun show that is funny and also fun and you can watch the whole thing in like three hours so theres that. Also I really like the theme song, so at least watch that part. The first episode is kind of weak, and the show never does that much with its premise, but it gets stronger as it goes along (surprising for both an animated show and an anything-goes parody, it's actually pretty serialized). All the episodes are streamable (note to self: is streamable a word?), although you might have to hunt for some of them.

The next post is number 250, and I'm trying to think of something cool for it, which is not-very-subtle code for I'm probably going to start posting music again.

Ok normally...

..."it's funny because it's true" is a shorthand way of dismissing things as neither funny nor true, but this really is funny because it's true. This guy knows his states. Plus it'll take less time to watch then it took for this page to load (I should fix that...)

Photoblag One

I'm not the only one who sees it, right? (taken way back at Christmas)

Apparently Wal★Mart has the same opinion of Guitar Hero 4 & 5 as I do. (Taken a few weeks ago)
I'm still not sure I drove my own car home. (Taken the day before the previous photo I think)

Hopefully the next one of these will be longer. I have something planned, so it'll either be awesome or the worst thing ever, according to the laws of the Internet.

Also while I probably don't have your attention, here's my twitter, which is just about to wrap up a truly anticlimactic month-long series. I'm very...proud is the wrong word. Relieved? Distracted? Waffles? I'm very waffles of my achievement

Let's Play Count the Clichés! (Again)

Bon Jovi, "It's My Life"

This ain't a song [1] for the brokenhearted
No silent prayer for the faith departed [doesn't really count, but I hate when songs cheat at grammar like this. Unless you're Shakespeare, it always sounds forced]
And I ain't gonna be just a face in the crowd [2, plus a third just for "face in the crowd", and a warning for "I ain't gonna be"]
You're gonna hear my voice [4] when I shout it out loud [5]

It's my life [6]
It's now or never [7]
I ain't gonna live forever [8, plus another warning for rhyming "never" with "forever"]
I just wanna live [9] while I'm alive [warning #3]
(It's my life) [10*]

My heart is like [11] an open highway
Like Frankie said, "I did it my way" [12**]
I just wanna live [9b] while I'm alive [warning 3.5]
'Cause it's my life [10c]

This is for the ones who [13, or possibly 1d] stood their ground [14]
For Tommy and Gina who never backed down [15; 4th warning for putting these two right next to each other]
Tomorrow's getting harder, [15, though I'm pretty sure it's "tomorrow's getting hotter," which is about equally bad] make no mistake
Luck ain't even lucky, gotta make your own breaks

[repeat chorus]

You better [16] stand tall [17]
When they're calling you out [18]
Don't bend, don't break [19--when was the last time you heard "bend" without "break"]
Baby [20-- the imperative "Baby"], don't back down [15d]

[repeat chorus twice]

Total Score: 20 distinct clichés, plus 4 repeats (or possibly 19/5), adding up to two less than our last entrant. However that song had 23 qualifying lines, while this one has 21 (or 19 if you omit the two repeats in the chorus). Add in the 4½ warnings, and the final score on the Clichometer is a near-perfect 95|114|135.

This is actually lower than I expected; most likely I was overestimating it because of the all-cliché chorus, which just feels like you're being assaulted with them. And note that many of the non-cliché lines (especially the second and the first half of the last), don't actually make sense (how can a song be a "silent prayer"?); for that matter, the first two lines are complete filler, state what kind o song this is not, but having no real relation to what the song is. Other special notice goes to use of "ain't" and "gonna" as cheats to skip syllables, and, conversely, "just," "like," and "when" as filler words. Note the fact that nearly every line is (part of) a complete sentence, and that the chorus is twice as long as the verses, both tropes endemic to pop and pop-adjacent styles (i.e. pop-rock, pop-country), which tend to lead to lyric that are stilted and repetitive, respectively.

That took longer than I expected. I;m really out of practice with this actual writing stuff.

*The cliché in question is reusing the first line of the chorus as the last line of the chorus.
**I'm letting "I did it my way" off, but glib quotes of older songs, literature, and poems are one of the worst of all the clichés. Bon Jovi does this on a lot, the worst of which is this. For your own sake, don't click on that link

[untitled]

There are 30 more of these.

Somehow transitioned from too any links to videos to too much gigantic video games art.

Whatever.

Free game

Just click it and see for yourself, it takes like 30 seconds.

http://probablyinteractive.com/url-hunter

Drawing is cool I wish I could draw,

I find this series fascinating (there are like 4 or 5). I like people that talk fast; I fell like they're not wasting my time. Also there are cool pictures and oh yeah it makes a supposedly difficult concept accessible and interesting.



Also I couldn't figure out how to fit it into the main body of the post but I really wanted to use the word "mathematic" somewhere around here.

Other features every DVR should have*: A "second airing" option in addition to "First Run" and "Repeats," for shows that air multiple times a night (i.e. every cable show). So I can record South Park one of the 400 times a week it airs without interfering with something else or recording a million reruns.

*In a previous post, I mentioned an "undo" button or recycle bin for when you accidentally delete episodes (which every single person with a DVR has done at least once), a feature that I estimated would take about ten minutes to develop and implement.

My continued attempts to crash your browser...

Here's something that's not a song.

I watched this on DVD (remember those?) earlier this week and it somehow became one of the best movies I have ever seen. It seems like it should be the most pretentious thing ever and yet you can't look away from the screen. Give it a shot, and if you get bored try skipping to the second half, which somehow makes the real world look more fantastical than any CGI (especially, it out-TRONs TRON. TRON is a verb, right?).

More downloads

Here.

About a third of these songs are identical to the blog versions. Most of the others had some small mixing/ editing/ volume issues reworked. One song ("♣ Noise") has a rewritten track (the piano solo). Another ("Effect & Cause") is a completely new recording.

I wanted to do every song; but I decided it was better to make as many as I can available now instead of waiting six months or tearing my hair out trying to rush and fix 30-something songs in a few weeks.

The songs that were left off were either weaker overall ("Beatbox 1," "LOST"), took longer to rerecord than I had time for ("Enter Sandman," "Sleep Now," "Grace"), or were reworked but I wasn't satisfied with the outcome ("Heavy Wood," "Sound of A Guitar Exploding"). Some of them ("Minor Thing," "Duel," "Teardop"), I had no idea where to start. And a couple ("Hayao," "Spellbound," "2-Note Shuffle") were basically cut for time or pacing reasons. It's a shame though, as I think some these, especially "Enter Sandman," "Minor Thing," and "Teardrop," could turn into really good songs. I'll probably talk some more about this later, if I can get back to them.

Oh, and please give me money. Or else

This is like the first post in six months that's not a song of the week

Here's the machine you use to make these:

Soundtracking Your Life is available for download--sort of

...OK, so it's not the final versions, just the demos* (i.e. the versions you've been listening to nonstop on this site and Youtube, with some modifications**), and it's not every song, just the eight that are finished so far, but it's free (but if you can please give me some money, they only give me like so many free downloads; also if it's less than thirty cents I don't actually get anything because of servicing costs).

As for the other songs, at least some of them will be up soon. Everything's in order, but it takes a long time to upload files. If you're impatient, keep checking here. It's easy to remember, it's the same as this site, but with "bandcamp" instead of "blogspot."

*Devotees may recall me mentioning this exact plan earlier.
**For more information on what modifications, I've written something up on the individual song posts:
1. "Dread"
2. "Rose"
3. "Two Warriors Meet on an Ancient Battleground"
4. "Leitmotif for X"
5. "Insanity in 9:8 Time"
6. "Rise"
7. "Fencing Wire"
8. "Angels Dressed in Black"

I'm leaving home for the first time to go to school in Austin tomorrow morning. I feel like Link about to leave Kokiri Forest. Possibly because I spent all day today doing fetch quests.

UPDATED, 1/18: I got back home late Sunday night. It's not that I lost so much as I realized I was playing the wrong game.