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You are viewing the most recent 25 entries.
31st December 2009
4:49pm: Goodbye to you, year of shit
2009 has sucked worse than any other year in recent memory. Not just for me, but for those around me. It was a yaer filled with disappointment, loss, failure, and and overall discontentment for me and most people I know. Thankfully, it's just about over and 2010 can only be better. Here's to hoping!
1st June 2009
5:28pm: Waving
An acquaintance from high school, who I've remained in touch with over the years through his active participation in the local music scene, died last night. He was a really awesome guy, the kind of person about whom no one would ever have anything negative to say. Pretty much the first news I heard when I woke up today, so my day has been kinda' eh. Here's a small news story about his death: http://www.wjbdradio.com/?f=news_single&id=17022-- Going to see Detroit Cobras tonight. Should be cool, but I'm more excited about seeing the opening act, Dexter Romweber Duo. Dexter Romweber was in Flat Duo Jets. This was my first exposure to them/him, and I've been thoroughly intrigued ever since: -- We played a show at Loubie's house this weekend. It was really good, even though only like 5 people saw it. Regardless, it was fun as hell and fun is more important than anything, as far as I'm concerned. Here's a picture. Click it to see more: 
12th May 2009
11:07pm: Terry Riley Loves Dogs
Here's about 6 minutes of video from the performance of Terry Riley's "In C" that went down in my back yard this past weekend. You can't see me but I'm in the back playing percussion (which is weird because their is no score for percussion, but I did what I could). It came out pretty cool. After "In C" some improv performances went down, and the night ended with an explosive set from Baton Rouge's best new band, We Love Dogs (sadly, there's no video of that).
19th April 2009
11:54am: A Triggerman revelation
As you may or may not know, I'm currently doing my Master's thesis work on New Orleans bounce. Bounce is a style of hip-hop that's very specific to New Orleans, and it's one of those styles of music that's entirely based off of a specific sample (in this case two). The two samples in question are a 3-note arpeggio-type figure, known as "Triggerman," that comes from the obscure and practically unknown song "Drag Rap" (which features a sample of that all-too-familiar intro. to the Dragnet theme... "DUNNN DU DUN DUN") by NYC's The Showboys, and a beat, know as the "Brown Beat," that comes from another relatively unknown song by Derek B. called "Rock The Beat" (later copped by DJ Cameron Paul and used in his song "Brown's Beats," which is where the actual sample you hear in most bounce songs comes from). None of these songs were commercially successful, and in the case of "Drag Rap," the song was a complete commercial failure but for some reason it was HUGE in New Orleans. When I interviewed DJ Jubilee, he told me back in the 80's, before people started rapping over it and eventually created bounce by doing so, DJ's in clubs would literally play the song back-to-back for 2 hours straight. So I've been asking every bounce artist I've interviewed, "Why Triggerman?" I've really been trying to figure out what it is about the Drag Rap song and the sample from it, now called Triggerman, that New Orleans people responded so strongly to. Why would the people of one city, yet nowhere else (except, oddly enough, Memphis, a city also known for using the Triggerman beat, though without the Brown Beat and thus yielding a different sound) latch onto this, run with it, and continue to make music off of it for over 15 years? But no one's been able to give me a real answer. They can't explain why, they just tell me people liked it and when people hear it, they feel like dancing. I'd finally resigned myself to never understanding it, and had pretty much accepted that it would just be one of those mysteries that would never be solved. But last night I was reading Ned Sublette's book The World That Made New Orleans, which addresses, among other things, the strong connection New Orleans has to Cuba. In short, when New Orleans and Cuba were both under Spanish colonial rule, many of the black slaves in New Orleans had originally been in Cuba, and brought a lot of cultural elements with them when they came to New Orleans (actually, he speculates that many of those traditions came from West Africa, and that most of Cuba's musical traditions are of West African origin). Sublette discusses a document he discovered while researching for the book in which someone was complaining about the bamboula being danced on the Sabbath, and asking that los tangos, o bailes de negros (the tangos, the black dances) be delayed. So the word "tango" eventually came to imply a specific rhythmic cell, sometimes referred to as habanera, because it was so closely associated with Havana, Cuba. I know, this might be kind of boring, but here's the good part. This rhythmic figure, which is a 3:2 clave (famously used by Bo Diddley in the song "Bo Diddley")* cut in half and is written out as a dotted eighth, sixteenth, and two eighths is what people refer to as the "Spanish tinge" in the piano playing of New Orleans guys like Jelly Roll Morton and Professor Longhair. It's also a really common rhythm used by New Orleans second line brass bands (it's also the reggaeton beat).** AND IT'S ALSO THE RHYTHM OF THAT DRAGNET M ELODY SAMPLED IN "DRAG RAP"! And when you add the 2nd half of the 3:2 clave back on, that's the rhythmic foundation of "Drag Rap"s beat! Which is also the rhythmic foundation of the Brown Beat! I did some Googling and found this guy's really awesome blog where he has a post that explains it using examples/audio samples from Fruity Loops: http://wayneandwax.com/?p=52Except he kinda' fucks it up, because he says the halved clave is the rhythmic basis for bounce. Still, his examples make it a lot more clear if you have no idea what I'm talking about. *The 3:2 clave is also kinda' the same rhythm used in just about anything called "garage rock." **The first half of the 3:2 clave is also the rhythm used in a lot of Phil Spector's songs ("Be My Baby" springs immediately to mind)
27th February 2009
1:15pm: Randy likes to do memes when he should be doing work
This is one of those stupid memes in which you google "(your name) (does something" and see what comes up. In this case, it's "Randy likes to." Here are the first 10 results, in order, followed by a parenthetical commentary on each: -Randy likes to like things. (this is true, but only when things are worth liking) -Randy likes to tug at our heartstrings. (not typically, but I like to manipulate people's emotions when they're open to it) -Randy likes to get value for his money. (of course I do, who doesn't?) -Randy likes to daydream and is apt to have many wishes and illusions that rarely have a chance to materialize. (yep) -Randy likes to play hockey, coach softball, jam, listen to loud music, and use Flock to check for Facebook updates when he should be coding. (I like to jam and listen to loud music, but I never find myself in a position where I should be coding) -Randy likes to drink! (duh!) -Randy likes to ride 4-wheelers, work in his garage, spend time on his parent’s dairy, and just have fun as a family. (I have enjoyed riding 4-wheelers in the past, but it's not something I generally do. I don't have a garage, and my parents don't have a dairy, unfortunately. I like to have fun. As a family? Sure, I like to have fun in any was possible!) -Randy likes to spend time with his family, watch football, hike, read, and view and collect classic movies. (I like to spend time with my family, but usually in small doses. I love 'em, but you know how families can be. Football, no. I actually really enjoy hiking, but I rarely do it. I don't collect movies, but I do enjoy watching them, classic or otherwise) -Randy likes to go seadooing and tubing, skiing and snowboarding, and golfing. (I've gone seadooing once, and it was fun. I'd like to do it again. Unless "seadooing" is a euphemism for taking a dump in the sea. In which case, no, that's gross. I used to ski when I lived in Connecticut and thoroughly enjoyed it, but I never snowboarded. Fuck a buncha' golf) -Randy likes to maintain as private a life as a future Pro Football Hall of Famer can, and wants the same for his offspring. (uhhh... last time I checked I wasn't a pro football player. I guess if my offspring are future pro football hall of famers, I'd like them to maintain private lives if that's what they want) Boy, that was a silly waste of time.
29th January 2009
10:03pm:
I'm sticking with the theme of small creatures' faces (I'd thought about switching to the theme of small creatures' feces, but then decided that would be gross and weird). I recently did my semesterly "student loan spending spree" in which I typically buy new musical equipment, clothing, etc. to fill the deep, dark void that I call my soul. I'd write about what I purchased for myself, but I've been listening to Kanye West's 808's and Heartbreak a lot lately, and apparently bragging about material possessions leads to sadness and isolation. I will, however, write about what's on the horizon for Wilderness Pangs, because it makes me feel the opposite of sad and isolated. We've got a previously unreleased track (that a lot of you have likely heard already) coming out on WTUL's annual Songs From the Basement compilation, which is usually a pretty impressive collection of previously unreleased tracks from mostly Louisiana artists, with a few nationally-known bands thrown in for good measure (past contributors have included Jesu, Liars, Madvillain, Nine Inch Nails, Quintron, and... er... Soul Asylum (Dave Pirner lives (or lived) in New Orleans)). The CD will be out in March sometime. Also in March, we're playing at the Spanish Moon with The Shivers, who are a band I've been kind of obsessed with for a spell. We're also trying to figure out the logistics of a summer tour up the East Coast. I'll be on the radio in about 40 minutes, if you're not reading this in the future. If you are reading this in the future, tell me how you got there, cuz I wanna' be in the future too.
15th December 2008
5:43pm: Like you ain't never heard
We played at Building Studios last night. It was the best show we've ever played and I think we legitimately blew some minds. Mimi took some photos, but sooner or later we'll have professional quality audio and video from the show.  (Apparently, we're a comedy troupe now too) ( More pics here, y'all!Collapse )
3rd December 2008
3:22pm: My heart is broke
Do any of you cool cats have a copy of 808s and Heartbreak you'd mind sharing with me? I've been trying to find it, but it's been taken down from all the file storage sites, it seems. To return the favor, and if you're a fan, I'll send you the new Fennesz album.
5th November 2008
1:49am: America
Fuck yeah!
2nd November 2008
3:22pm: My new guitar
It's an early 80's Japanese Squier Strat. I bought it from a conservative Christian dude I know from Baton Rouge Rocks. I haven't gotten to play it through my new amp yet, cuz my amp's at Jason's house, but I can't wait.  This picture's ridiculous, but you can see my tabla in it too, so it's extra fun!:  Bonus picture of me playing my new guitar with a slice of pizza! I bet even Thurston Moore never thought to try out that move!:  I also saw 2 great music documentaries this weekend. The first was Dirty Minded, which is about Ol' Dirty Bastard. The whole thing is up in 4 parts on YouTube. The other one was Danielson: A Family Movie about Danielson Famile. It's free for a week on Pitchfork TV right now. Dirty Minded was mostly just Ol' Dirty Bastard talking. But that's fine, I could sit and watch/listen to him talk pretty much all day and night. The Danielson movie was really compelling, and it's kind of weird to watch Sufjan Stevens go from being this little annoying twerp who fills in for the youngest Danielson sibling on percussion to this fucking huge semi-rockstar. You can almost hear the resentment in Daniel Smith's voice when he talks about how successful Sufjan has become.
25th September 2008
5:16pm: Quebecois
I just bought 2 tickets to see Wire & The Wedding Present on October 5th in Montreal! One of Mimi's good friends from college is getting married, so we're going up there for that. It'll be my first gay wedding, so that's fun. But honestly, I'm more excited about the show.
14th September 2008
2:50pm: RIP DFW
David Foster Wallace hung himself. I was more or less awoken with this news. Not the best way to begin my day, considering he is/was one of my favorite writers of all-time, if not my single-most favorite writer of all-time. I know that sounds like hyperbole, but he was just on another level that made me insanely jealous of his skills while never alienating me by being too obtuse or insular. I thought about making a heavily foot-noted post in tribute to his writing style, but then I realized the best I could do would be a really pale comparison, so this is all I can offer. And but so DFW, you will be sorely missed.
4th September 2008
4:02pm: Well...
I'm still alive and our house is still standing. Still no electricity (I'm at Mimi's dad's office right now, which has electricity and wi-fi). We had some fucking fun hurricane partying though, but now I just want power back. Also, I'm INCREDIBLY happy that New Orleans is a-ok. For all the damage BR got, we were lucky and just have a lot of inconvenient shit to deal with. Big deal.
9th July 2008
10:00am: Ganked from natalie (continued)
1. Open your music player.
2. Go to "All Music."
3. Hit shuffle.
4. Find photos of the first 25 artists/bands that come up.
5. Have people guess who the artists/bands are.
(Please don't cheat and look at the image properties at the URL of the image, which sometimes contains the artists' names. What fun is that?) EDIT: 6, 14, and 25 are the only ones left. Admittedly 14 & 25 may be kind of hard, so I'll give a 2-letter hint: NZ 6 should be fucking easy!
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