Strawberry Fields Forever

Pre-SteverOnline Blog 2005 March - April - May - June - July - August September - October - November SFieldsF

First Entry - Testing 1 2 3...

[Mar. 2nd, 2005|7:07 am]

Current Mood| insomniac Current Music| Streaming Howard Stern Show It's early in the morning and I've been up all night (what a surprise.) currently listening to a streaming Howard Stern show on my computer. for some reason we don't get him on the radio down here in Harrisonburg. I wonder if i'm going to switch to Sirius to keep listening to him - my guess is 90% yeah, eventually. Only 1 week until my 24th birthday. what are you getting me??! better be good. some things i plan on buying are 1) a mustang bass - vintage white, and then a blue-pearl pickguard HOT! and 2) backstreet boy tickets. i know, don't even start. but i've never seen them. twice i've been foiled by the tickets selling out, and once i failed to show up on time - they opened United We Stand, and i got there about 2 hours late. Ok, test is over. Comments: stever: Testing Comments

I'm With the Band

[Mar. 3rd, 2005|6:17 am]

Current Mood| curious Current Music| Van Morrison - Brown Eyed Girl I'm down in Harrisonburg because i've joined a cover band. the guitarist and drummer (Ben & Adam) were in Life of The Common (LOTC) - which i was in for a week or so, so i know them. Good guys, good musicians. The singer is Jabarie, lives with Ben, so i've known him awhile since LOTC practiced in their basement. Jabarie and Adam are both real easy to get along with, and while Ben isn't NOT easy to get along with, i've always sensed a little tension between us. i think we both take this music stuff too seriously cuz it's important to us. it's just some friendly competition of who knows the right thing to do in a certain musical situation. i can definitely see myself hanging out and playing with these guys for awhile. this is gonna be cool. what's not cool right now is how "our lead guitarist" ryan, decided to kinda drop out of the band...even tho he was only in it for 1 practice. damn. he was real good, too. oh well. we'll find something. we've already got some shows lined up (even if we dont have a full set of songs yet!) We don't have a PA system anymore, so practices are going to be kinda weird for a bit... it's march and i still don't have a job. blah...i'm desperatley in need of funds, luckily my birthday is just around the corner. i already know some of my gifts - money, gift cards, kleavage... remember it's on the 9th people, and i'm now accepting cash! Nate wants a pet...a good idea? Comments: brittany: i think it's a great idea....how about a spider monkey? -b

Drumming is My Madness!

[Mar. 4th, 2005|3:23 am]

Current Mood| geeky Current Music| Kelly Clarkson - Since U Been Gone The first instrument i learned to play was the piano. i took lessons with stan for 3 years (we took summers off, so we didnt improve too much.) But my first REAL instrument was purcussion which i picked up going into junior high school. I don't remember why we did band, probably because both my mom and dad were always for music (mom was a cellist, dad played a bunch of stuff but ended up on euphonium). anyways i'm glad they did, because ever since then i've been a music fiend. I remember every 5th grader who was interested in doing band for junior high had to do a little audition behind the auditorium. trumpet players had to attempt to buzz on a mouthpiece, reeds had to blow on a reed, and drummers had to repeat a pattern with their hands that a teacher did. obviously even if you couldn't do what was required they'd take you unless you were a moron. while waiting in line i still wasn't sure what i was going to do, and at the last minute (i think) i went to the percussion area cuz it seemed the easiest (i knew i definitely wasnt going to do trumpet because 1. stan was going to do it and 2. i couldn't buzz worth crap on my grandfather's trumpet mouthpiece) anyways, i repeated the pattern that the teacher told me to do, and i remember it being real easy. That was only the beginning... If i had to consider myself in musical terms i'd say in order i am a Songwriting/Bassist/Rythm Guitarist/Who-used-to-be-a-great-Drummer/who-wants-to-be-a-Singer-but-isn't-amazing. I love playing bass so much, but in my heart i think i'll always be a drummer. When i watch a band i always gravitate to the drummer eventually - if he's good, i might enjoy the band. if he's not good, the band has no chance in making a fan of me. As with most things, I can narrow my favorite drummers down to 3. Besides songwriters and bands, these are the guys i will fight to the death to defend in an argument. And with songwriters and bands, my opinions are the right ones. HA #3 - Ringo Starr - Let me first say that just about any person you try to argue with AGAINST Ringo will lose based just on the fact that without him, your choice wouldn't be playing drums. Unless your choice is someone like Gene Krupa, Buddy Rich, or Joe Morello. Ringo as a drummer is a metaphor for the Beatles as a whole: deceptively simple. In terms of feel he is unmatched. He's not rock-steady in a time sense, but when he subtly slows things down it feels right. just when a song is settling in he will do something to pick it up, unless it isnt needed. That's another thing, every drum beat he does, every tom he hits, is necessary and he never puts in too much. It's been said he never gets in the way of the singer, which is true. Ringo himself says it's the song that people hum, not the drumbeat. There are no other drummers out there that could play the Beatles material... Not just WELL, but at all. He's so versitile and yet so simple. #2 - Dave Grohl - I'm going to tell you a secret...this guy was the reason I started liking Nirvana. When i first picked up Nevermind in 1995 (my 3rd "hip" CD) it was his drumming that captivated me. I was a drummer at the time, and my sense of what was a good song or not hadn't set in completely. I was in love with the chord progressions of In Bloom subconciously, but it was that drum beat that caught my ear at first. I was so inraptured with him as a drummer at the time that i signed my friend's 8th grade yearbooks as "the next Dave Grohl." Dave (i have feel so close to his drumming that i can only call him by his first name) is the ultimate rock-steady drummer. if you put him up against a click-track he will be amazingly accurate - without sounding like a machine, unlike many amazingly talented drummers out there. when he does a pattern on the drums, every beat sounds the same, as if its multiple samples of one hit. #1 - John "Bonzo" Bonham - When drummers are asked their 1 favorite piece of their kits, they almost always choose their snare or maybe a hi-hat. For me it's all about the bass drum...Bonzo is someone who agrees. Double bass pedals are for loosers, this guy does double-fast triplets (or, awesomely enough, just sections of triplets) with one foot! As i stated before Ringo changes the pace of the song fitting the mood of the song, while Dave Grohl is almost machine-like perfect. Bonzo is almost always found a little behind the beat. Robert Plant said "Zeppelin wasn't sexy because i wore my jeans tight, but because Bonzo played just behind the beat" and he's right. Zeppelin had a groove almost jazz-like, they were so 'in the pocket', that no other rock band i've ever heard could do, but at the same time were so powerful and bombastic that no jazz combo could pull off. how did they do that? one word - Bonzo. He was so musical, his drum parts to Zep songs sound almost like guitar riffs, no blues song will ever sound as good to me without heavy bonham-drumming on it, and of course he was known for his 20 minute long drum solos. But there is no higher compliment i can give to him than to say that my favorite bonham drum playing was when he was playing a normal, generic drum beat...when i hear a drum beat in my head, it's bonzo.

Review of a Great Album - Nirvana's In Utero (part 1)

[Mar. 5th, 2005|5:56 am]

Current Mood| good Current Music| Nirvana - Heart-Shaped Box I'm going to spotlight my favorite albums, from time to time. today is Side 1 of my tied-for-favorite album of all time. Nirvana - "In Utero." Nirvana: Kurt Cobain - Vocals, Guitar, Songwriting Krist Novoselic - Bass Dave Grohl - Drums 1. Serve the Servants - the first few seconds of this album definitely tell you you're dealing with a different beast then Nevermind. A few drum clicks (how unprofessional!) lead into the most insane chord you've ever heard! Sonically aslo this is much different than Nevermind. Steve Albini's production put emphasis on cymbals, bass drum, guitar and vocals, while murkying up toms/snare and bass (my only complaint with this album.) Quite possibly the best lyrics that open an album "Teenage angst has paid off well, now i'm bored and old..." - an obvious dig at the past year and a half of Nirvana's career. This is not the Nirvana of old, this is a new direction: less power chords, more sloppy, but at the same time has catchy hooks and melody. This is the new Nirvana being showcased, and i likie. Cobain's lyrics depth has grown (if that's possible) as he covers grounds based on growing pains, family issues, and his father. 8/10 2. Scentless Apprentice - another weird song follows along, only this one is even harder to digest. The only collaborativly written song on the album is, in my opinion, the worst. The drumming is spectacular (the first 6 seconds of the song are the best, and amazing) as usual. If this song was left off, and Sappy was put on here in it's place, this would be the most unbeatable album of all time. Lyrics are based on a novel. 5/10 3. Heart-Shaped Box - this is one of those songs, where the first time you hear it you go "oh shit, what the hell is that?" in a good way. the kind of song where you hear the intro, then the band comes in but you rewind back to the beginning to hear it happen again... it's THAT good. Still having trouble deciding if i like the verses or chorus better (with cobain, i almost always prefer his verses). Cobain says he wrote it based on "watching cancered children on tv" but i got a gut feeling it's albout having a relationship with Courtney Love (she gave him heart-shaped boxes as gifts when they first started dating.) 10/10 4. Rape Me - it's amazing how Nirvana put their albums together. The first 2 songs on this album are new Nirvana sounding: hard and crazy. The second 2 songs are the classic Nirvana sound: catchy and dynamic, yet simple. It's a bit of a tease, yet real rewarding. This song is such a paradox, the melody and chord progression is so sweet yet the lyrics are disturbing (much like Polly from Nevermind.) The opening strumming is supposed to sound similar to Smells Like Teen Spirit, again another self-depreciative dig. This and Pennyroyal Tea are the most classicly Nirvana-sounding songs on the album. Lyrics deal with the feelings Cobain went thru in the spotlight, and being "persecuted" for his habits and lifestyle. 9/10 5. Francis Farmer will have her Revenge on Seattle - we're back to the new Nirvana. I find it interesting that Kurt's reaching out for new chord progressions, trying hard to be different from what he was, but at the same time, while finding new ground he is still being catchy. The bridge in this sounds very classic Nirvana, i think it's funny how it was included, shows the dichotomy very well (and i think it's telling how there are no lyrics or melody over this section.) Lyrics deal with the connection Kurt feels he and Courtney have with crazy old actress Francis Farmer. (key line- "i miss the comfort in being sad" - he can't whine anymore, he's got his millions!) 7/10 6. Dumb - another classic Nirvana tune (was written in late 1990/early 1991) is the closest Kurt Cobain got to a genuine love song. It's also his only happy song. As usual it's extreamly catchy (those 3rds he ends on in the chorus are SO cobain, so bittersweet, and i hear them everywhere now I HATE THAT!! BASTARDS STEALING FROM KURT COBAIN!!!!) and of course there are drug references. Kurt could never be this candidly open about being happy without trying to shrug it off ("i think i'm dumb...or maybe just happy") this song is way too clever. The outro is the singing of "i think i'm dumb" as if the singer can't accept he's happy. nice touch, thus ending side 1 of one of the greatest albums of all time. 9/10

Review of a Great Album - Nirvana's In Utero (part 2)

[Mar. 6th, 2005|6:55 am]

Current Mood| nice Current Music| Nirvana - All Apologies 7. Very Ape – the second half of In Utero is (with the exception of Pennyroyal Tea) all new Nirvana. That riff! It rips you out of your seat and pulls you straight into the song, you can’t deny it. Like Come As You Are from Nevermind, it’s timing is deceptive, and sounds like a whole new riff when the drums come in. Lyrics are vague, hard to pinpoint what Kurt’s trying to say, but some great lines are in here. 9/10 8. Milk It – you thought the last song was hot? Try this. In my opinion this is the sister-song to Very Ape. Listening to this alone is like listening to Living Lovin’ Maid without Heartbreaker…you just don’t do it. The drums on this are so great, and deceptive. If you start counting it, when you get to the chorus you find out you’re wrong. Dave said this was his favorite Nirvana song. The music was done in one take. Another vague Cobain lyric, but deals with co-dependence. 9/10 9. Pennyroyal Tea – in my opinion this is the second-worst song on the album. It’s classic Nirvana, and was written well before 1993, but that’s no excuse. It’s very tired, and Cobain even said he was getting fed up writing these kinds of songs (he sounds so bored on the recording.) It’s good to know that Kurt was moving on to new song ideas, and having this song on the album shows the difference clearly. It’s the past. Pennyroyal Tea is an abortive liquid, so I assume this is a suicidal and self-pitying song (“sit and drink pennyroyal tea, distill the life that’s inside of me.”) 6/10 10. Radio Friendly Unit Shifter – to make up fir the last song, Pennyroyal Tea, Nirvana could have put a great song next. But they went a step further, and handed us the second-best ending of an album (besides Abbey Road, of course.) The last 3 songs on this album are so great, and even better when heard one-after-another. The first of the trilogy-of-awesomeness is RFUS. What is, basically, a throw-away, turns out to be an aural-enjoyment. It sounds on the edge of falling apart. Nirvana saw how powerful this song was, and used it as the opening song on their In Utero concerts. I dare you not to like 3:30 on, the connection between Dave’s drums and Kurt’s feedback/noise is other-wordly. The lyrics are very (relatively) unimportant Cobain mutterings. (note: in the beginning guitar noise, Kurt mutters “what’s your name? do you like me?”) 9/10 11. tourette’s – all 1 minute and 35 seconds of this song are killer. The best song on the album - I can never get enough of it. Cobain’s basically just yelling nothing, hence the name tourette’s. At the end he yells “mean heart, cold heart” (although Courtney says he’s talking baby, and saying “me hot, cold hot”…) 10/10 12. All Apologies – “alterna-teen anthem” was an alternate name for this song. Having this song as the last on the album puts a nice sheen on what came before it, even if it’s not exactly a happy song (“Married…Buried…”) It sounds almost Beatle-esque. The ending is so nice, with instead of a fade out, the song kinda falls apart while the voices keep singing (until they eventually fall apart.) it’s a mantra! Cobain says the lyrics aren’t about Courtney, but he dedicated this song to Courtney and Frances. 9/10 13. Gallons of Rubbing Alcohol Flow Through the Strip – a bonus track in European countries. It’s just an improvisational jam from before In Utero was recorded that was added on, and doesn’t really count as part of the album. 6/10 Comments: stan: My suggestion for the next album to analyze is the other one tied for your favorite: Gentle Beans - Purple & Gold. ~Stanus

the Weez

[Mar. 7th, 2005|1:37 pm]

Current Mood| blah Current Music| weezer - mykel & carli I'm back on a Weezer kick - i go thru these every so often. i've always stated (first put it up on my old old website back in late 1999) that if i could do a band for serious, serious, i'd love it to be like weezer on the blue album. they do some awesome music on there, it's simple power-pop, and these 4 geeky-nerdy guys are having alot of fun doing it. too bad they've been on a downhill slide since then. pinkerton is half-good, half-silly. and ever since matt sharp, the original bassist left, they've lost alot of their goofiness and river's songs just haven't cut it. =( don't worry fellers, i'll be the next weezer Comments: dad: Nice to see you have found your way to the online world of words. Looking forward to keeping up with your adventures. P.S. Cash is on the way - Happy Birthday !! Zepmoon

Tonight, on an all-new 24

[Mar. 10th, 2005|11:28 pm]

Current Mood| bored Current Music| Backstreet Boys - My Beautiful Woman so yesterday i turned a ripe old 24. doesnt feel too different. it wasn't a spectacular brithday celebration like, oh, the time stan and i, with a bunch of friends, went to an arcade, made movies and ate pizza, then spent the night. but it was nice none-the-less. liesel took me out for lunch at applebees. she asked me if she should get the orange chicken, or chicken and broccoli, so i told her the orange chicken - which she proceeded to hate and send back. we had some good conversation, and i enjoyed my (surprise) chicken tenders. we went back to nate's (who was having a horrible phone conversation with some credit card company or something) and he and i just hung out doing nothing as usual, while liesel went off to work. the plan was for me, nate, liesel and kara (and others?) to goto the billiards place that night for my b-day. it didnt exactly turn out that way. kara's car got hit by her neighbor so she was pretty stuck in winchester. liesel had to work until 11. and nate had alot of things on his mind. he and i did make it to the billiard place at around 9ish. we randomly ran into a friend of mine named marie, who coincidentally, worked both with me and nate (pc dukes and chanellos, respectively.) her boyfriend was dj'ing and doing an ok job - i can't really tell what's good for a dj, and he ended up telling me all about the mixing desk as an instrument (give me a bass anyday) which was cool. i was on a roll and won 4 straight games of pool with various opponents. nate and i stopped by liesel's at 10:30 to see what she was up to, and she decided to go with me back to the billiards place (nate had decided to leave). but it was too crowded and we called it a night (but she did manage to steal me a huge peanut butter cookie!) all in all, not a spectacular birthday but it was real nice to hang out with friends. it was alot better than today (thursday, march 10.) pretty boring. i hung out with nate at his place, who was also bored silly. even his roommate katie expressed her boredom. i think the world just can't follow march 9th. too much coolness going on that day.

Cogratulations Mario, but our Princess is in another Castle

[Mar. 12th, 2005|2:27 am]

Current Mood| eh Current Music| Super Mario Bros. 2 - End Theme thanks for the birthday gifts everybody! Still waiting on a few, but what i've gotten is much appreciated. I went back in time tonight and beat Super Mario Bros. 2 for original Nintendo (i downloaded an emulator and rom) just to steal the end credits theme song for my next mix CD. Also I restrung my 2 guitars so i'm ready to songwrite again which i haven't done in awhile...

Review of a Great Album - Backstreet Boys' The Hits Chapter 1 (part 1)

[Mar. 15th, 2005|1:39 pm]

Current Mood| grumpy Current Music| Backstreet Boys - I Want It That Way Here's another breakdown of a really good album (in my (correct) opinion.) I know everyone's going to groan at seeing this picture and probably won't read the review. Your loss! Backstreet Boys: Howie Dorough - specialty: High register, falsetto Brian Littrel - specialty: Smooth lead vocals Nick Carter - specialty: "Strained" lead vocals, screams AJ McLean - specialty: Raspy lead vocals, screams Kevin Richardson - specialty: Low register Max Martin - specialty: Insanely amazing pop songs 1. I Want It That Way - deny all you want, i know deep down inside you like this song. Written by Max Martin (with some help by 2 other of the 'little max martins') this is quite possibly the perfect pop song. It's great in that you never get tired of the vocalist, since the vocalist keeps switching (in fact, all 5 backstreet boys get to sing lead - a feat that only happens twice again on SMTMOBL & Drowning.) It's nice to hear each of the singer's vocal personalities, and really adds to the song (a totally different feel than if, say, Brian sang the whole time.) The key hooks in a song full of hooks are at the beginning of the chorus ("tell me why-ee") and the chord change at the end of the chorus ("i never want to HEAR YOU SAY.") There's the generic key change up a whole step, which although isn't a Martin trademark, it's almost always necessary in pop music (Max Martin makes it smoother having Nick sing "Don't want to hear you sayyyy!" in the key the song changes to, instead of changing key's mid-line, as a lesser writer would.) The lyrics are so vague, that the Backstreet Boys themselves went back to Max Martin to rewrite them and make more sense (a demo of these lyrics is floating around) but was later dropped in favor of the original vague ones, because they flowed better. 10/10 2. Everybody (Backstreet's Back) - this was the first Backstreet/Martin song that caught my ear. It was also one of 2 pop songs that first got me into modern pop (the other being the max martin-sounding "When the lights go out" by 5ive...) Follows the Martin-formula of being uptempo and minor, but quality guaranteed as usual. Martin crafts a song whose hook is...a chromatically descending bass line! Add in the eerie keyboard chords and it sounds creepy (a point the Backstreet Boys picked up on when making the video.) The version found on this album is the remix version known to America. 8/10 3. As Long As You Love Me - When Max Martin works with the Backstreet Boys, he always gives 4 songs to them (except in the case of the Millenium album, where he gave 7!!!!) 1 of those songs is an uptempo, minor key (awesome) song and one is a major mid-tempo (also awesome) song. The other 2 vary. The mid-tempo's is where Martin excells (Quit Playing Games was BSB's first #1, I Want It That Way is arguably their best, and Shape of My Heart is just amazing.) This is the mid-tempo from their second album, and as always, killer. Max Martin won a songwriting award for this. The verses and choruses use 4 chords, only in different order (these chords are commonly referred to as "vanilla chords" when in their original order - think doo-wop) The first chorus sets everything up, but the second chorus changes halfway through and flows into the bridge nicely. The third chorus does the same as the second, only transitions into a repeat/outro. The third chorus also has a different background vocal thrown in. All very simply but masterfuly. 10/10 4. Show Me the Meaning of Being Lonely - Max Martin is not known for writing slow songs. Only this and 2 others appear in the BSB catalogue (1 other for Britney Spears, and a FEW random other performers) and it proves that he can work his magic in a different song form. Howie refers to this song as the peak of their abilities. Has Martin hooks and a fine spanish-like guitar solo. The required pop-key change is hidden in the transition to the bridge. Nice lyrics about loss. 9/10 5. Quit Playin' Games (With My Heart) - BSB's first #1 in America (when re-released on the first American compilation album, simply titled Backstreed Boys.) Probably the most dated-sounding Max Martin song on this album, but in a nice way. A pop song built around 3 chords (the verse and chorus are the same chords) until the second chorus changes things around into the bridge (a Max Martin specialty is messing with his choruses.) When first released in America, a version with just Brian singing was put out - I guess American's couldnt deal with more than one lead singer... 8/10 6. All I Have to Give - I admitedly wasn't a huge fan of this song when I first got into BSB. It's the only song in their cannon written by a pop group called Full Force. The chords are somewhat similar to QPG(WMH) but as the two were written at the same time, and are at differing tempos, it's probably just a coincidence. It's cool that there are 4 lead singers on this. It has definitely grown on me, probably because it is sooo early-90's sounding and reminds me of that time. Good stuff. 8/10

Review of a Great Album - Backstreet Boys' The Hits Chapter 1 (part 1)

[Mar. 16th, 2005|2:34 pm]

Current Mood| lazy Current Music| Backstreet Boys - Drowning 7. Larger Than Life - the opening cut from Millenium (BSB's biggest album) opens up side 2. After AJ's "heh" we're sucked into that riff. Although not produced by Max Martin (He produced the version that appears on the single and video) it is still a Max Martin concoction (written with Brian Littrel.) After this song came out and was a hit, the Britney Spears song Crazy (which had a small co-writing Martin credit) was remixed to sound vastly similar. At the time, this was the Max Martin uptempo to outdo all Max Martin optempo (although he'd later top this.) With just the simplest of riffs and chords (and meagrest of lyrics) he weaves a great, hooky song. How does he make minor keys sound so happy? The bridge is the ultimate, I believe even Max Martin took himself by surprise (the single version is better) in that it creates an atmosphere...you feel you're actually within a song. Simply amazing. 9/10 8. I'll Never Break Your Heart - THE Backstreet Boys slow song. When NSYNC was asked what song they liked best from BSB, they replied INBYH (a song, "Best of My Life" was written for their European Debut, but was such a copy of this that it was left off NSYNC's American Debut.) AJ likes to sing against the beat of the verses, and it comes off really well. The interweaving improvisations of Brian and AJ at the end compliment each other (the smooth "good" voice vs. the raspy "bad" one.) The only song written by two people, who I can't even remember. Never heard of them, or since. 8/10 9. The Call - the ultimate, ultimate, ultimate pop uptempo. If a song was hot, this is - it's impossile not to turn up the volume on this. Try! The first 3 songs Martin gave to BSB's Black & Blue album remain his best (This, SOMH, and Get Another Boyfriend (not on this compilation)) A March-like beat mixed with Spanish sounding chords and the un-boy-band-like lyrical topic of cheating. Everything drops out in the bridge to showcase how insanely talented and deserving BSB are of Max's songs. 10/10 10. Shape of My Heart - it's always hard to decide if this or The Call are my favorite BSB/Martin songs. Usually depends on my mood, although I'd say this song wins most of the time. It's not as universally acknowledged as IWITW, but i'll take this anyday. I see it as a mixture of the bridge of Larger Than Life (the atmospheric feeling) and IWITW. It has something to it that really sets it apart from most other Max Martin and Backstreet Boys songs, without sounding too different. I can't put my finger on it, but it's addictive. The guitar hook is, as usual, simple: a suspended chord resolving to it's major. Great lyrics about not pretending anymore. 10/10 11. The One - the surprise 4th single from the Millenium album. Actually it was going to be Don't Want You Back, but NSYNC had Bye Bye Bye out at the time and BSB thought the two songs sounded way too similar. I don't agree, but I guess I can see that. Anyways, BSB put it to the fans to decide the next single. It was between Dont Want You Back, The One, and It'd Gotta Be You. The fans were leaning towards Don't Want You Back in a huge margin until Nick came on TRL and told the fans he preferred The One (again, trying to sway them to another song, instead of putting out the Bye Bye Bye similar song.) I did vote. I voted for The One (which later became the single) although now I would vote for the superior It's Gotta Be You (written by Max Martin AND Mutt Lange.) This is actually a pretty standard Max song, although I'll take a standard Max song over most others. A nice touch in that the bass plays one thing continuously over the changing verse-chords. 7/10 12. More Than That - the least of all Backstreet Boys singles, in my opinion. I'll admit the remixed single version is a little better then the album version. Eh. 5/10 13. Drowning - When Max Martin started out writing pop songs he worked with a great guy named Denniz PoP (Ace of Bass, Robyn) who sadly died soon after of cancer. He then moved to working with other 'little max martins' who worked with him at Cherion. He then obviously became in more demand then his Cherion partners, so left to work with his favorite songwriting partner, Rami, in a new company called MaRatone. (MArtin, RAmi TONE.) Rami has worked with Max on many of his best songs, and even Produced NSYNC's It's Gonna be Me and Tell Me Tell Me... Baby (which Max couldn't work on, or it'd be a conflict of interest. Max wisely chose BSB over NSYNC) Anyways, Drowning is Rami's first songwriting away from Max since joining up with him. This all proves that Max Martin knew what he was doing in hanging out with Rami, because this song is really good. It's a slow song that is probably better then Max's slow songs (Max excells in uptempo and midtempo) and was held off of Black and Blue in order to be the "new" song on this greatest hits package. Well worth the album price. 9/10

MegaMen

[Mar. 20th, 2005|7:21 pm]

Current Mood| pessimistic Current Music| Squeeze - Another Nail for my Heart The cover band i'm in has practiced the last 3 days in a row, and yesterday we also took pictures. We're officially "The SecretAgents" so our photoshoot had us in our suits with sneakers and sunglasses. We did 2 photoshoots, 1 in my apartment and 1 outside of a bottling company right across the street from ben and jabarie's house. When we were taking the outside shots, a guy from the building came out and told us we were on private property, but still let us take our photos. I'll post some samples as soon as I get them. In the ice cream place before the shot, Jabarie asked me my view on the band and I told him that I hope we don't turn into a modern rock cover band, considering that's not what i signed up for. Also, as we are right now, I don't think we're going to make the cruise. I'm going to put 100% into practices because i really hope to make the cruise ship, but if we don't the other guys have mentioned moving to Charlottesville to be around the UVA music scene. If it comes down to that, I doubt i'm going to be going with them. Cross your fingers for the cruise! Meanwhile i've been doing alot of nothing. Liesel, her roommate Jessicka, and I went out last night. We tried the Pub, but it was $12 to get in. Apparently the GreaseMan (radio host) was there. We didnt want to pay the charge, so went to a place called the Artful Dodger. It was my first time there, and it was very weird. It was gay-central. I consider myself a non-homophobic person, but to be honest it was really uncomfortable. Lot's of guys touching and rubbing and dancing up on each other... On a completely different topic, in my spare time I've managed to beat the first 3 MegaMan games for Nintendo (I have an emulator on my computer.)

Bowling with the townies!

[Mar. 22nd, 2005|6:24 pm]

Current Mood| mellow Current Music| Garbage - Only Happy when it Rains Last night I went out with Nate and Brittany bowling (Kara and Liesel decided they'd rather stay in and watch Trainspotting for the billionth time.) As we got there I was real skeptical of having a good time - I've only bowled maybe 5 times in my life. So I got my shoes and the three of us ran into some people Nate knows from his Chanello's days. So we joined their lane and we played a game. I was surprised that I bowled a 96 (remember, i don't play so no laughing!) the three people we were with decided to leave the lane to us, and at the same time, 2 more people Nate worked with joined us. They were a couple named Shauna and Scott (Scott had on a Doors t-shirt, so he was alright with me.) We played 2 games with them (1 without Brittany who left to sleep for class.) and just generally had a great time. Who knew bowling could be fun? By the way my other scores were a 90 and a 107. Originally here, I had pictures of the SecretAgents, my cover band. You can see pictures here.

Whats important in music - hotness

[Mar. 23rd, 2005|2:21 am]

Current Mood| tired Current Music| U2 - Mysterious Ways I admitedly listen to mostly male-made music (and also pretty much by white males) which is a little dissapointing at times when i think about it. And that's just the beginning of the dissapointment, because now i'm going to rate some musical females based pretty much on how attracted to them i am. ha! These are just my opinions so i hope no one gets offended. HOT LIST: 1. Mandy Moore - HOT! i know everyone disagrees with me when i say she's the hottest 'entertainer' out there, but i don't care. + good singer, good actress, great personality, super hot - music is pretty blah for the most part... 2. Britney Spears - if it weren't for mandy moore, i'd say britney's #1. she reminds me alot of Elvis - not the brightest person, but breaking down barriers in terms of what's acceptable in music (ok, maybe Elvis did more and alot better...) + media savvy, works with Max Martin (!!!!) - alot of crappy music nowadays, is on the downhill slide (was way hotter when she was younger) 3. Christina Aguilera - pre-skank: real hot. skank: less hot. + amazing singer - stupid music, like alot of great musicians she overplays her instrument 4. Madonna (younger) - the original pop-princess actually had some decent music and was kinda hot. + media savvy, good tunes - also crappy tunes, reinventions get a little stupid after awhile (see NOT LIST) 5. Avril Lavigne - yet another musician i think is hot, but don't really like her music at all. + reaaaaaal hot in a punk way - music and just about everything else NOT LIST: 1. Courtney Love - #1 not hot, not cool musical female on my list FOREVER. + only redeaming quality is marrying kurt cobain - marrying kurt cobain, everything else...everything! 2. Paris Hilton - she's worked on an album, so i'm putting her in this list. + absolutely nothing - not hot, not talented 3. Yoko Ono - a little over-villified, but still not hot nor cool. + married a pretty cool guy, helped him look in different directions - weird, her music is insanely unlistenable, very not hot 4. Janet Jackson - she was popular?? + uh... - looks like her brother, music sucks, is on a huge downhill slide 5. Madonna (Older) - borrrring. + a little cool because of what she used to be - music sucks now, reinventions getting real stale, annoying

Seacrest OUT!

[Mar. 24th, 2005|10:21 pm]

Current Mood| amused Current Music| Who's Line is it Anyway - Irish Drinking Song so i guess i'm kinda watching american idol again this year. i didnt watch the first season, watched and was entertained by the second season, watched and wasn't entertained by the third season, and this season's contestants are just pathetic. no one is sounding amazing, and most sound pretty bad. i'm putting my money on carrie underwood cuz she's cute and marketable and sings "ok" - i just hope they don't turn her into a country artist. who do you think is gonna win? man i'm putting alot of graphics on these things. but it makes it more fun

Been awhile, here's the update

[Mar. 31st, 2005|2:43 am]

Current Mood| weird Current Music| BSB - Tell me that I'm Dreaming Last weekend was Easter weekend, so most people were gone. One night i decided to hang out with Nate and Clint, who was down visiting. We got pretty drunk even before we went over to their friend Claire's place for a party. As soon as we stepped inside the door, there was only one other guy there, and at least 5 girls...good start. I was pretty drunk, and besides the point in the party where Drunk Steve picked up a guitar and led people in singing songs that were requested (yes, i did Nirvana's "rape me"), i only really talked to two people, 2 girls named Sara and Adrienne. Both seemed pretty cool - Sara was discussing with me her own poetry and we got into a huge "who-is-better" debate between the Beatles (me, duh) and Pink Floyd. Adrienne randomly played Nirvana's "From the Muddy Banks of the Wishkah" which blew me away, and her birthday is Oct. 9 (the same as John Lennon!) The secretagents (my cover band) have been practicing alot, at least twice a week, and our first show is coming up soon on April 9-10. We're playing the 2 am spot! Our last practice went really well, and we've got a pretty sweet setlist in order. Next practice we will probably be working on "billie jean" by michael jackson - hot! Nate and I wrote a song, which i'm calling (all i ask is) Please. Nate had a chorus melody/lyrics/music thing which he was working with. It was pretty simple, so i decided to do a simplistic verse, which actually came out really well i think. Nate finished up the entire lyrics, and i came home to work on a demo of it - and stayed up for over a day. ugh, i hate when i get on bad sleep schedules. the only way for me to get back on is to continuously stay up later and later, because it's so hard for me to get to sleep. I just woke up, and no one is online from jmu, basically. stupid NTC has been having a lot of problems (i got signed off earlier today, we lost our cable, and our phone beeps when you try to call someone!!) But on a completely awesome note, i finally got BSB tickets today! I have tried AT LEAST three times to see them. Twice in their Black & Blue tour i couldn't get a ticket because when i tried calling, they sold out in a few minutes - insane! then i went to the United We Stand concert michael jackson put together for 9/11. NSYNC, Aerosmith, James Brown, Heuy Lewis, O Town, P Diddy, Mariah Carey, Destiny's Child, and a bunch of others i can't remember were there. Oh yeah, and Backstreet boys OPENED up the show. Me and my friends were about an hour or so late, so we completely missed them. I was so pissed!! I'm sure everyone out there reading this thinks it's really gay to be so into seeing Backstreet Boys, and I know it sounds gay, but these guys are the closest i'll ever get to seeing my favorite bands. Nirvana's gone. Led Zeppelin are long gone (though i saw Plant & Page). The Beatles are looong gone. Backstreet Boys are all i have left (besides the foo fighters i suppose. but i've already seen them, and as much as i think Dave's cool, i've been REEEALLY unimpressed with their last 2 albums.) anyways, i dont think i've been to a concert SINCE united we stand, which was in late 2001. This is a long time coming! Brittany is going with me, so it'll definitely be fun. I'm sure i'll post a whole rundown on it, when it happens in mid-April. Comments: brittany: :) Britt

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