Playlisting

If you know me at all, you will know I am an absolute music FANATIC. I don't care how much you say you listen to music, I WILL have you beat.

With a library of 300+GB, Over 1,500 unique artists, and more albums than I can possibly count, the breadth of my musical taste is nearing universal.

But ONE thing I've never really done? Build playlists. Yeah, I've made mixtapes and CDs from time to time (usually whenever I meet a new girl), but I rarely build playlists for myself.

Well, now that I'm preparing to start my radio show (Thursday @ 8pm on KPNI, for those who are interested), I've started making playlists. And it is TIME consuming. You have no idea.

To build the perfect playlist, you first have to start with a single song, and build from there. Finding each perfect song involves listening to new and old albums from start to finish, picking the very best cuts, and inserting them at the perfect point.

Finding the best song to follow up something like "I Looked To The South Side of the Door" by Current 93 isn't always that easy. You've gotta spend time crossing over genres, zoning out, spending a lot of time by yourself.

Somehow I think this would be easier if I listened to 'catchy' music, and not drones and field recordings.

Ok, I'm done pontificating for now.

My Hand Isn't Really That Hairy

I Remember Where All The Holes In Your Shirts Live: Sketches

Margaret

I've gotten a good amount of positive feedback on this one. It's got that washed out, dreamy, cross processed look I was hoping for.

Four Years

Awkweird

Has anyone else ever thought that there should be a separate term for those situations that are just beyond awkward? I think "awkweird" is a good choice.

Apparently I'm not the first one to think so.

http://www.awkweirds.com/

Creativity as a Weapon

When I used the term "Creative Arsenal" in my last post, it occurred to me that creativity has the potential of being a weapon. Now I don't mean the kind of creativity that went into developing an atom bomb, but instead the kind that manipulates the mind.


Take Shepard Fairey's campaign posters for Barack Obama. A well-known pop artist takes a portrait of Obama, colors it red, white, and blue, and adds the word HOPE to the bottom. The portrait is styled in a striking manner similar to revoluationary art, such as the famous portrait of Che Guevarra.

Instantly, fans of Shepard Fairey, Obey the Giant, and easily swayed pop culture junkies not only find a connection with Barack Obama, but associate him with revolution. Not just change, but REVOLUTION.

Beyond the political propaganda creativity, something as simple as a sad violin in a soundtrack can severely influence people's decisions and emotions.

Creativity has much more power than people will often acknowledge.

Four Stops: An Adventure in Nomenclature!

The idea for this blog came to me several months ago. I wanted to create a photography blog, but instead, focused my attention on a music blog. Perhaps the photos I would have shown months ago will end up on this blog eventually.

The name refers to stops on a camera lens. When I opened this account, I had just bought a new Canon EOS 40D, and a Canon EF-S 18-55 f/3.5 - 5.6 IS (which I recently sold). The IS stands for Image Stabilizer, which is marketed as giving the photographer an additional "2-3 stops" in low light situations. By virtually reducing camera shake, a shot at 1/125 sec. may appear as sharp as a shot at 1/200 sec.

Since that time, I've gotten a new camera lens, a Canon EF-S 17-85 f/4-5.6 which is a much better piece of glass overall. I look forward to using this blog as an outlet for photography, and the other products of my creative arsenal (more on that later).