10/30/07

Nanowrimo

For some reason or another I am forcing myself to write a 50,000 word novel.

In one month.


nanowrimo.org- this is where the magic happens.

I don't know if it goes slow for other computers, but I have to wait about 5 minutes for each page to load. It sucks.

All I know so far is that it's called 4 Minutes. I have no idea what I'm doing for a topic, no idea what the setting is going to be, no idea when I'm going to get around to doing it. But it will be done.

'Thrown Together (Reprise)' will be up tomorrow on Youtube at the latest. Been really busy with schoolwork and stuff..........

10/28/07

Hoax*

Is nowhere NEAR completion yet in the studio. Today, we got a 2 hour start on it and layed down rough vocal, piano, and drum takes. (Although, I'm sure if we can just tweak it a little bit, the drums will stay as is.)

What's done so far sounds GREAT, and I'm far more pleased with the result than Internal Clock. Eban is an absolute mastermind behind the drums. He saved Hoax* from a poppy drumline and turned into a sweet jazz tune with a rock core. The drums MAKE the song.

I'm still looking to throw on bass and more percussion. I might need to buy a tambourine and shakers, because I'm not sure if Eban's going to be able to rent the stuff from UNH for a while.

In the meantime, I'm almost done with that reprise to Thrown Together, so expect that on Youtube in the next couple of days. I might also make a sequel to Illest Moves with Robert next week so keep thine eyes peelt.

...western civ homework. dang.

~-~

10/27/07

It's D-Day... Again.

I'm recording tomorrow!!!

In the meantime, I've been busying myself by working on Hoax*, Farmer's Market (an 8 minute jam that rose from the ashes of a song called "Candy Bar"), and Cracks and Whirrs.

"Catface, he's got a big catface..."


In the other meantime, I've been working on a reprise to Thrown Together. The base of it's on my Myspace, but I'm still building on it. It has that sort of Cymbal Rush distracting noise about it. It'll be up as a video on my Youtube Profile. Why? Because I feel like it, that's why.

900 profile views- Myspace
Friends: 42, I think?
1530 profile views- Youtube
Subscribers: 9

Just putting that in there to look back on in the future.

"What is this? (takes out bottle of bleach) This no good for me! I must go to the shops, yes."

~-~

10/26/07

How to Accidentally Make a Homeless Man's Day:

By Zane McDaniels. Excellent, excellent story!!!!


How to Accidentally Make A Homeless Man's Day

(a three part tale by zane)

I

A man, somewhat tiresome, lies with his hands hanging loosely off the edge of his loft bed, a half empty glass of lemonade at his side. Placed next to (and parallel with) the glass of lemonade is an illuminated red alarm clock, emitting an irritating screech, starting and stopping every three consecutive seconds. With little enthusiasm, he lifts his head from his pillow. Remaining in a bizarre sort of meditative dream state, he leaves the alarm to continue uninterrupted and walks across the room to his kitchen. Strewn across the room randomly are various garments, all possessing the same similar odor.


As he enters the pantry, he finds several half empty mugs of what once

was coffee. Yes, I realize this is my second reference to an item being nearly empty as opposed to nearly full, but it is necessary to help emphasize why this man is so unoptimistic; this man has just been fired.

This man’s name was Aaron Synis, (pronounced sĭn'ĭs). One might think that you could easily assume this man’s occupation due to his gangly physique. Most people would typically see him as a minimum wage software engineer, his elbow jutted slightly out of his skin, awkwardly. His legs appeared to be close to double than above his waist. But, contrary to popular belief, he was actual an assistant to those with autism, specifically children.

You may be wondering how this occurred, his firing that is. In one of the vaguest forms possible, he simply presented radical ideas to his fellow staff, causing them to believe he was, and I quote, “not right in the head”. They decided to settle upon letting him have a two week sick leave. Though further speaking on Aaron’s part convinced them this simply would not be fit, and that he should be removed from his profession. A temporary “ban” on his teaching license was put into effect.

However, to be more specific, this is what actually occurred:

II

Roughly about half a week ago, Synis entered his classroom. Although occasionally odd, Synis was definitely an intelligent man. He could decipher the finest printed code, all the while running out the clock. So it was obscure for him to notice one of his children behaving stranger than expected, and to simply leave them be. This behavior continued for some time, when Synis finally had a realization.

The child was diagnosed with Asperger’s. Asperger’s disorder is similar to high-functioning Autism, in which the child has an I.Q. equal or greater to 70. It tends to occur later in one’s life than Autism, but there have been a few cases in which a young child is presented with the disorder. In Asperger’s, one’s verbal I.Q. generally tends to be higher than their actual performance I.Q., whereas in Autism, this would be reversed. A human with Asperger’s usually has less severe social and communication deficits (i.e. it is almost just as likely for one to carry on a normal conversation with another person, regardless either’s intelligence). Asperger’s causes you to be clumsier than usual.

The child staggered to his desk, as is his normal behavior. He tripped over the ledge that stood at the front of the door, although when Synis came to his assistance, he was not surprised or worried. This was not because of a lack of caring. He had even tripped in the exact same stop several times before. The child carried on, unharmed. This was no unusual behavior.

This child spoke in the form of shapes. He would describe the exact points and degrees or length of a letter or possibly a word that connected all together. When this was too time consuming, he would simply create a mental picture, then state the degrees and turns and length of certain areas of this word shape.

Although confusing to understand, Synis could often look at a previously made chart of some common phrases he used, generously donated by his parents. The only proper words he knew were START END UP DOWN LEFT RIGHT and combinations of those, as well as all digits, and nearly every form of measurement by name.

The child said, “START UP 5 CM DOWN 2 CM UP 3 CM”

As the child continued, Synis searched on the chart and it appeared that this was a missing a phrase, most likely a picture in his head as opposed to a word, then. Synis had missed a few measurements, but thought he could still make out what the object was. It seemed to resemble a fire, causing Synis to panic.

He was wrong. The few measurements he missed turned out to be some of the most key ones.

Synis called in for the classroom’s educational assistant to head the classroom for “some time”. Synis’ voice was calm, no matter the mood, so the EA did not believe this to be an urgent occasion. They took their time, eventually arriving a good five minutes later. Panicking, Synis rushed frantically through the halls to the HEAD STAFF building, which was nearly isolated.

TANHEISER SCHOOL FOR THE AUTISTIC was three separate buildings, spread out across half a mile. Building the First: home to all classrooms. Only building to allow children. Building the Second: somewhat of a hospital, with all the essentials. Building the Third: for the Head Staff.

Several minutes later, Synis arrived. He awkwardly explained the situation, the result: Forced to leave due to, and I quote, “radical ideas”.

Now you understand what causes Synis to be so unoptimistic right now.

III

Awaiting what he assumed would the death of his students, fellow teachers, and a familiar piece of architecture, Synis simply lied back down in his bed and sighed.

He thought for a few minutes, eventually deciding upon this: he had no idea when this would occur, but he would try and make this the best possible day for any of those who may be affected by the fire. Although cliché, he sent fruit baskets to the families of those attending the school, which merely confused them, so they simply threw them in the trash. A homeless man named Jack would soon find these and be delighted, but that is entirely irrelevant. Well, not entirely irrelevant.

Synis realized that it being a school day today, he could not interfere with the children’s schedule whatsoever. This proved a problem in trying to make it the best day for them. He figured there must be a reason for this, and to just leave it be.

However, Synis had thought that the child’s mental figure was a fire, when in reality fire was simply the tail of the object.

It was no mythical beast. It was nothing that occurred completely unnaturally, either.

The weather had been strange lately, so Synis did not notice the sky darken slightly. The clouds seemed to gradually fade. In a few hours, the sky was blood red, with only a slight spot of yellow-ish light illuminating it until the sky was entirely a blinding orange. Then for exactly 1.873326 seconds, the sky went black. Being the daytime, the streetlights were all off now.

The child did not show up for school that morning. He was busy drawing mental pictures. It appeared to be a fire. It appeared this way, but there was a rock nearly double the size of the fire trailing this. It appeared to be a meteor.

The sky flashed white, suddenly doubling the temperature in the spot where Synis stood, as well as everything surrounding him. He saw a red streak bolting towards him. His head ached and his eyes watered. Finally putting the pieces together, Aaron realized his mistake. He could tell now what the child meant, a little too late for it to matter anyway. And as he reminisced in his own mind, he suddenly discovered all the things he had put off. All the while too busy pondering his thoughts, Aaron failed to notice what was less than half a mile away from him. At last escaping his thoughts, he blinked. His eyes did not open, and were left permanently blinking as he lay motionless on the ground.

EPILOGUE:

It appeared that Aaron Synis had not failed in making someone’s last day, as he supposed he had in his last thoughts.

Just as the asteroid hit, a homeless man was busy finishing a well deserved meal of fresh fruit.

10/24/07

In Rainbows (top 10)

10. Reckoner
9. Videotape
8. Nude
7. Arpeggi/Weird Fishes
6. Faust Arp
5. Bodysnatchers
4. House of Cards
3. 15 Step
2. Jigsaw Falling into Place
1. All I Need

4 more days until I be recordin'.

~-~

Positive People...Positive Things


10/23/07

"California Burning"





Evacuated: Largest ever in the state of California
Acres burned: 420,000 +
Lives lost: 10


This has really happened.


~-~

10/21/07

The Dogs Are Yawning.



The dogs have gone to bed.

~-~

Blast From the Past...

I was just digging through my old CDs and happened to fall upon this: cover art that I created for an imaginary band in 6th grade.




"Tracklisting":


Good times (Keeping your head above water, making a wave when you can!)

10/19/07

styx and stoans

Except for they've got sticks and stones
a stic ks and sto nes
a nd kni ves and g un s
a st ick s and stones
and k ni ves an d gu ns
a sick sandstone
and cracks and whirrs

I'm soooooo excited to get this song out there. I'm still working on how it's going to turn out, but this is my best work to date. By a long shot.


~-~

10/17/07

Long title for a song:

Sleep Disorder Center for Children Ages 6 and Up (The Little Girl that Fell in a Volcano and All of the Useless Profit She Garnered from Her Non-Profit Organizations)

Might record it.

10/16/07

Good News, Everyone!

(Futurama reference above)

Uh...

I'm recording! F'ing finally!

October 27th/28th is the date(s). (I don't know if I'm recording on one day for 2 hours, or two days for 4 hours. I certainly hope for the latter, but it'd run up to $150 = $ I don't have) Expect whatever I record to be up on myspace the next day (although they'll be rough takes). Wow. (too many parentheses in this paragraph.)

Planning on recording (in this order):
Hoax*
Cracks and Whirrs
Nostradamus (if I get to it, hope I do)

Seeing as how we're going to get a full percussion set in the studio, I can just feel like I'm gonna go absolutely apeshit on Nostradamus :) !

OH BOY!

~-~
Post script: I might be doing some open mics with Zane in the near future in the Manchester area at various restaurants/small venues.

10/14/07

Cracks and Whirrs


Half-Created By Me.


Future caterer of America, everybody. Watch out.

10/12/07

A side note (that after typing the initial title turned into a full-blown post):

Working on a new song after a couple weeks of not really giving a damn about making new music. The bass hand rhythm sounds like "Nude", and the base is from "Antipathique". I'm considering scrapping Antipathique. From the first time I played it, I knew it had that throwaway ambience to it. Although the electronic sound's something I've never really dove into, Antipathique just seems like I've played it 1000 times before.



Of course, I'm always this picky. Unless I get really excited about recording something, it leaves within a week. Hoax* is staying until I record it, it's one of the few pieces I actually still LOVE playing. That and an updated version of Internal Clock. It sounds so different when I play it in my basement compared to when I recorded it. The version on my myspace feels very overproduced and I feel like I could do another vocal track on it. It's been a walloping 5 months since I've recorded, and since that time, Internal Clock has become so much more polished. Although I never seem to play it, whenever I do play it (maybe like three times in the last 2 months) it has much more of a relaxed vibe than the recorded version.



I need to stop putting things off. It's time to go back to Rollinsford and pay a visit to Mr. Landrock at Landrock Recording. It's been time to go back there for 4 months. It's time to get something done with my music.



And I mean it.

Before you're comatose...

Mood: spasmodic

Listening to: Jigsaw Falling into Place


The dark sky mulled over our bus on the way back. The whole race was small. 37 people ran.

The surroundings were eerie: the drenched grass still-stained yellow, the air heavy. thunder from the morning in the far distance. The sun behind the clouds when I started the race.

The sun slowly setting as I finished the race. Trees standing 50 feet tall, blocking the sky from my view as I kept my eyes affixed dead ahead at my destination. People in front. No one behind. Or at least I don't think so. I never lookedback. Too asleep to focus on anything except for what lie ahead: the turnaround. Then, the finish.

Open spaces big enough to fit 15 people in, closed spaces narrow enough for barely one. Open. Closed. Open. Closed. Rocks. Up Loop down. Rocks. Closed. Open. Closed. Open.

Hair in my ears drowned out any other sound. I was deaf. My eyes watered. I was blind. My mouth sewn shut from driness. I was mute. My brain shut down at some point. I had to do a couple of checks to make sure that my mind was still in my head. No response. The only things working were my legs.

The most beautiful 24 minutes of my life.

~-~

10/11/07

typing w/ one hand

still trying to stop listening to in rainbows. cant

trying to write another song. cant

trying to record soon. cant

trying to focus























































cant.

10/10/07

In Rainbows: My Review

Being a huge fan of Radiohead since around February 18, 2007, I've been anticipating this album for 8 months now. The wait payed off.

15 Step is about as electronic as the album gets. With a multi-cultural feel and kids cheering in the background, it's up there with 2 + 2 = 5 as the best Radiohead album opener. It really, really got me excited for the rest of the album.

All I Need is my favorite song. The drums are so catchy and smooth and it just builds up to this beautiful, wonderful euphoric excellence. I wanted the crescendo to last longer, and at a mere 3:30, it leaves you wanting more. But all in all, it's just unbelievable. Thom's vocals are absolutely beautiful.

Faust Arp is the shortest song and acoustic, but it's definitely still Radiohead. The guitar almost pulses as Thom mumbles melodically. It ties for my second favorite with Jigsaw Falling into Place.

Videotape is a struggle to listen through the first time. It's similar to Cymbal Rush because it has some offbeat thing about it that doesn't really fit in with the rest of the song. Not NEARLY as good of a closer as Motion Picture Soundtrack, The Tourist, Wolf at the Door, Blow Out, Street Spirit, or Life in a Glasshouse, but is still sweet. The lyrics are sad, and people have been freaking out by saying "Oh no this might be the end of Radiohead because it's almost like they're saying goodbye blah blah blah" . I doubt it. Judging by all the stuff they had on that board, I expect another album to come out by them before the decade's over.

I think that they might have done Videotape like this so the people that got only the download want more and get the discbox. I'm not getting the discbox, and I'm definitely not getting illegally, so I'm stuck.

The rest of the album is great, but seeing as how I'm not listening to the songs as I'm doing this review (something you shouldn't do when you're reviewing) I'm not going indepth on them. You gotta hear it for yourself.

I can't think of one song that I don't like on here, except for maybe Videotape. It WILL get better with every listen, of that I'm sure, but at 2 listens, it has yet to grow on me.

And that's my 2 cents on what might be the best album of the year.

~-~

10/8/07

Random Tracklist 2:

1. Thrown Together- 2:01
2. Internal Clock- 2:14
3. Hoax* - 6:24
4. Dead Center - 3:47
5. The Fakest Smile of All Time- 3:05
6.Nostradamus - 0:51
7. Antipathique- 5:39


I'm estimating on the last 4 times.

Thrown Together ties in with Internal Clock
Nostradamus ties in with Antipathique.

Mmm... this would be very cool.

~-~

Thrown Together...

New 'song' on myspace.

was in video format on youtube for a while.

now in downloadable mp3 format for all to enjoy.

10/7/07

Lx Ehqrs Zssdlos Zs Sdbgmn

(The title's a code)

It's called ANTIPATHIQUES, and all I use throughout the song is a drum sample and an electric organ setting on a $20.00 midi keyboard that I got a yard sale playing virtually two chords. The only reason the song works is because the speakers are blown, so when you press more than one note with the electric organ setting, it creates a sort of overdrive effect. very cool, it seems like it would be easy to record. And I just might...

~-~

10/6/07

Both Poles

wenuleestuleestxpctittwenuleestuleestxpctitt
lashoutillbreakoutilllashoutillfreakout

Illest Moves

http://youtube.com/watch?v=TuhlbNJW0-g

The best thing I've ever put up on the Internet.

10/3/07

Breakin' it Down...

I expect this part to be just bass and drums:

The official unabridged/bridge to Hoax*
well if i am king
then you aren't king
then they aren't king
and we aren't kings
but i'll be king
and you'll be beast
and you'll be cast down
off the rock
if you are king
then i'm not king
and nobody will just ever agree
but if we come to
a standstill
then we'll be cast down
off the rock

The ending, to any one who has a piano:

emaj7, dm7, gmaj7, fmaj7. It's very bouncy, but I can't really describe the rhythm otherwise.

(My attempt)
It's like this (each chord gets the rhythm before a change):

da da chik (quick rest) DA da da da.

And then when you go from g to f, it's

da da chik da DA DA DA (last three notes = a triplet, leads right into fmaj7)

and then for the f, the first time you play the rhythm with the chord once, the second time, twice, the third time 4 times, the fourth time 8 times, and then finish on emaj7.

If anyone on Earth could decipher what all this means, my jaw would drop. I guess this is really meant for a reminder in case I forget in the future.

Cool cool?


~-~

10/2/07

Newfound Sudoku Addiction:

Games at Miniclip.com - SudokuSudoku

Play this fantastic puzzle game that is taking the world by storm!!

Play this free game now!!

I wish I could just post like a daily sudoku html on the site.

I'll search around, see what I can find.

~-~

(Superscript)2 1

HOaX* refuesses 2 b finishd.

I thought it was perfect until my piano teacher brought up the fact that there was a sort of second completely different song within. So in order to maintain it's epicness, I had to create a bridge that was long enough to cover that second song, and that step has been a pain in the Bleeping A to finish.

My perfectionism is definitely kicking in right now. I'm struggling right now to find the perfect transition between the song and the bridge, and since they're in polar opposite keys on the spectrum, it's nearly impossible to find something that fits.

Otherwise, it's sounding great and I can't wait until I can record it. Unless there's more empty promises... in which case I'm completely dropping the idea of putting my material on the album. I want things done quickly, efficiently, and right. And so far I haven't gotten what I want. If I have to wait much longer, I'm just going on my own and putting Hoax* on one of my own records. Because trust me, I have enough stuff right now to record a longish EP, and I'm still remaining tethered to this project. Just have to cut the anchor loose...

A couple more weeks. If I don't get a date by then, I'm giving up on it.

10/1/07

Suffering From A Mental Breakdown...

The new Radiohead album lets you choose whether or not you want to pay for the download only version. I chose not to. And now I feel very guilty.

But I guess that's what they wanted to see some people do... right?

This tears my conscience apart.