So I have this case brimming with old compilation cassettes, all recorded between 1981 and 1998. The case holds 120 tapes and is nearly full. Creating compilation tapes was an essential part of being a music lover in the pre-digital age. For many of us this was not a casual activity. It required (more…)
On Saturday I watched Bruce Springsteen’s March 15th keynote address from the annual South by Southwest (SXSW) Festival in Austin, Texas. He said a lot, but one thing in particular intrigued me.
“We live in a post-authentic world. Today, authenticity is a house of mirrors. It’s all just what you’re bringing when the lights go down.”
Contextually he was speaking about music, but the descriptor “post-authentic world” is reflective of a broader societal shift. Nowadays it is far more difficult to separate real from fake, sheen from substance. It takes work. Reality is constantly being distorted and thanks to (more…)
It’s time to get musically graphic, folks.
Earlier today the venerable Anagram King posted this new variation of a viral thingy from a few years ago. It’s a simple, creative and fun diversion, especially when all your writing ideas are still gestating. Create a fictional cover for a fictional album by a fictional band! So let’s all play along, shall we? All you have to do is follow these simple steps. (more…)
This morning I stumbled upon The Catalog of Cool, a book published in 1982 and purchased around the same time. It was tucked away in a low corner of a bookcase, long forgotten. Edited by Gene Sculatti, a contributor to Rolling Stone magazine in the 1970’s, The Catalog of Cool gives us…well, let’s hear it straight from the editor’s typewriter. (more…)
Being from New Jersey, and of a certain age, it’s practically a moral imperative to like Bruce Springsteen. I imagine it’s similar with Prince in Minnesota or Reba McIntyre in Oklahoma or Pink Lady in Japan. (That sharp, blinding pain shooting behind your left eye is the Pink Lady memory rush I just laid on you.) I think in Springsteen’s case (more…)
All buzz centers on “the cloud.” You no longer need to download songs or movies or books to your gizmo of choice. You no longer need to worry about computer storage for your photos and personal files. Those productivity applications you use, you don’t need to run them from your PC. Everything can be forever accessed, run and stored in and from “the cloud.”
I’m sure this is a gross oversimplification, but my understanding of “the cloud” is all your data – from movies to songs to Word files to photos to (more…)
Lately I’ve taken to listening to my iPod as I lay in bed meandering towards sleep. Some folks prefer quiet, but it doesn’t matter much to me. I’ve never been bothered by noise and given the choice I’ll take music over a random police siren every time.
When I was younger I would leave the radio on when I went to bed. The radio, even those stations you firmly believed in, offered no guarantees. They might play a stinker. As a result a lot of bad songs became forever embedded in my subconscious and remain there today teasing me like (more…)
Today Sandy wrote about a conversation she had with a friend concerning the song she’d like to have played at her funeral. It’s an interesting thought and makes for fun, lively discussion. Unfortunately, no matter which song(s) we request be shot over the loudspeakers during our final above ground moments, we can never be absolutely sure these musical instructions will be followed. This concerns me.
It’s not as if we can’t trust those tapped to deal with our going away soiree. I’m sure they’re fine people. It’s just that mistakes can be made, even by those with (more…)
This is what is commonly referred to as a “Blind Desperation Post.” It’s a sticky and humid Thursday night. In less than 12 hours I’ll be back at work. During these upcoming less than 12 hours I want to accomplish several things.
– Write this frickin’ blind desperation post
– Check my Flickrworld to (a) ensure it hasn’t blown up and (b) experience a pang of regret for not having taken any photos today
– Semi-reluctantly pop onto Facebook to see if (more…)
Trask Avenue 