Happy Celebration of the Decimalization of Time!

So I've been thinking about the past decade in music, and I figured I should put up my own personal list, to add to the myriad of "best of the decade" lists out there. Before I start, I must honor my late, great, wonderful father by pointing out, as he would have, that it is not actually the end of the decade yet, and that we'll all have to wait another year before doing the best of the decade lists. Most people don't consider the fact that there was no Year Zero, and therefore each decade of ten years begins with the "1" and ends at the end of the "0" year, so really 2010 is the last year of the decade.

But no matter!! The mass media feels otherwise, and so I will indulge those who want to look back on this first "completed" decade of the new century and talk about what it all meant. Among all the incredibly fucked-up things that occurred over the past 10 years, thankfully there was some great music, and here is my list of the top 10 albums of the decade (sorry, Dad)!

1. In Rainbows - Radiohead

2. Back To Black - Amy Winehouse

3. Kid A - Radiohead

4. Is This It? - The Strokes

5. Turn On The Bright Lights - Interpol

6. Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots - The Flaming Lips

7. Elephant - The White Stripes

8. Yankee Hotel Foxtrot - Wilco

9. The Blueprint - Jay Z

10. Lateralus - Tool

I can honestly say that each of these albums was very important to me, and that I explored every inch of them, many times, as a FULL album, and they became part of my soundtrack as a result.

Ok it's hard to stop at 10, so here's the next bunch, in no particular order:

O - Damien Rice

Come On Feel The Illinoise - Sufjan Stevens

Figure 8 - Elliott Smith

Her Majesty - The Decemberists

The Grey Album - DJ Danger Mouse + Jay Z

The Milk-Eyed Mender - Joanna Newsom

Relationship of Command - At The Drive-In

The Libertines - Up The Bracket

Lifted, or the Story in the Soil... - Bright Eyes

Gold - Ryan Adams

Return to Cookie Mountain - TV on the Radio

The Marshall Mathers LP - Eminem

TransAtlanticism - Death Cab For Cutie

Chutes Too Narros - The Shins

Sky Blue Sky - Wilco

Amnesiac - Radiohead

Hail To The Thief - Radiohead

Greatest Album No One Heard of or bought:

Eyes Adrift - Eyes Adrift

Album I wish I had made:

Here We Stand - The Fratellis

I will have to create a site for these albums to spread the word beyond this humble blog, but if you read this and have any comments, arguments, citations, etc, please let me know. Happy Decade!

The Zen of Scale Model Trains

I have not been blogging much about songwriting lately, as I've been distracted with some job-related duties and some self-educational processes regarding digital media and marketing. To that end, I've been doing some article writing on the subject of model trains. It's a training exercise, of sorts, done for the purpose of learning more about internet marketing. In the course of doing this, I've actually become fascinated with reading about the model train hobby that so many people seem to indulge in. It's one of those hobbies that you hear about but don't realize how deep people are into it, and how much of an underground subculture exists around this topic.

Go to any scale model train forum on the web and you'll see people talking about the subject using jargon and buzzwords that don't mean anything to the average person. Who knew there was so much different equipment, train types, and ways to build the train set? I'm finding it a little difficult to write about this without knowing everything, but I'm learning at a rapid rate. Here are some of my articles, setup as Squidoo lenses:

The first one I did was about N Scale Model Trains, and it gives some advice to those working in this popular scale of model trains. Here's the link: N Scale Train Layouts

or you can also go here:N Gauge Train Layouts

The next one was on Z scale model trains, which is the next size down from N scale. This scale is popular in Japan, and among people with serious space limitations, because the trains are at a small 1:220 ratio, so you can fit a large and complex layout in a small space. The site is here: Z Scale Model Trains

Oddly, the Z Scale train page I did is receiving the least amount of traffic out of four scale model train lenses I did, despite the fact that it's been up for awhile, and that Z Scale is trending upward in popularity among model train enthusiasts. I'll have to work on ranking for this a little more.

Another lens is called Model Train Repair: Starts and Stops. This is my attempt to provide some practical advice that I've learned from my research on some of the most common problems you find in model train repair, such as derailment issues and the like. The site is here, and I particularly like how this one came out: Model Train Repair

The last is called Model Train Layouts, and it is the most general of all the resources I've put together, providing basic info geared more towards those just starting in model railroading. It talks about the differences between the scales and how to choose which one you want to work in, etc. Take a look here: Model Train Layouts.

I'll blog more about music soon enough, so stay tuned!

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Songwriter's Dilemma

About to turn 40 next week. Trying to write another song before I hit that milestone.

Let's see, if it doesn't come easy by now, does that mean I'll never do this effortlessly?

Hmm.... moon, june..... spoon?

Wish me luck.

J

Beatles Ear Candy

So much hullaballoo on the Web about the Beatles remastered albums. I posted on an audiophile forum with one little comment about the Beatles USB apple and I got something like 70 people clicking through to my blog on the subject. Just unreal, but I think people who know audio and who care deeply about preserving classic recordings for future generations are really interested in what the Beatles have done with their remasters.

It works like this... vinyl sucked. We all know that, despite our fondness for the records we grew up with. The feel of them, the look of those big covers, the smell of them...mmmm oh, too much.... But seriously, even back then we knew there was something inherently imperfect about a format that skipped like it did, and was so susceptible to scratching, hissing, static, pops, clicks, that weird sound the needle made when you rubbed it with your fingers, etc.

So along comes digital... the CD... and we are just happy to have it, at first. It's clear, pure, and easy to use. So we buy everything on CD. Then we get our iPods, and mp3s become the compromise that you have to live with in order to carry your entire record collection around in your pocket. But how fucking cool is it to carry your fucking record collection around in your pocket? Never mind that Neil Young tells us that mp3 is evil because it's like looking at a Picasso through a mesh screen. We want our iPods. But for some of us, and for some music, like the Beatles (and Neil Young, if he's lucky), we do want a better format. We'll carry around the mp3s, but we need to know that there is something available to us, that we can put on at home, pour a glass of wine, sit in the recliner, set the bass and treble just right, and just listen, in a way that melts the soul. No digitization, no resolution issues, and no scratchy vinyl. The Beatles, dammit, should be oozing into my brain directly from theirs... format should not be an obstacle.

So CDs weren't cutting it in that regard, and mp3s... well, we sold our souls on that one. So what's next? The fact is that all formats are going to be digital from now on. Even if you were to buy an analog format, the stuff was probably recorded in digital. You can't even find any recording engineers anymore who know how to use the analog equipment, let alone find a studio that is still using it. So it's not about format, it's about resolution. Give me my Beatles and Zeppelin in a format with as few of the bits and bytes taken out of it.

The Beatles have done the best they can so far with the USB product. Made for audiophiles who know, or for people who have the $240 and just want to buy the whole collection in one handy package, this device has all the files to all the Beatles albums in 24 bit FLAC audio, the highest resolution Beatle product ever released.

Please will someone buy me this for Christmas?

Read review here: http://www.squidoo.com/buy-beatles-usb

And if you're at it, see the other Squidoo lenses I like....

http://www.scale-model-trains.info/

http://www.squidoo.com/z-scale-model-trains

My Ezine Articles on the Beatles

Not sure what happened here, but here's a new Squidoo page I just did on model trains.

http://www.squidoo.com/z-scale-model-trains

now is the time for all good men to come to the aid of their country

Beatles Appreciation: Cranberry Sauce....

Hi folks,

This blog is supposed to be mainly about songwriting, but I've found myself on a Beatles kick lately because I'm so excited about the remastered albums that are out. I have not bought them yet because I am waiting for the USB product which will give them to me in 24 bit FLAC audio format which is the audiophile quality that I deserve!

I wanted to write a quick appreciation for the song "Strawberry Fields Forever", as I was just listening to it. This song is one of those gems that is so great as a song but also has the benefit of being recorded in a particularly creative way. The Beatles made this tune as part of the sessions that led up to Sgt Pepper, and George Martin has said that his biggest regret was that they didn't put "Strawberry Fields" and "Penny Lane" on Sgt Pepper, which would have totally boosted the overall quality and theme of that album (maybe they would have kicked off "She's Leaving Home" and "Lovely Rita", two far inferior tunes, to make room).

The song has 3 things I like in a perfect pop song... 1) it's short, 2) it's catchy and 3) it has unusual elements to it, making it unique at the same time that it grabs you like a good piece of pop sugar should. Like many John songs, this one has sections that are in a slightly different rhythm... the verse ("let me take you down") is a regular beat, but the middle eight section has a more staccato feel enhanced by the organ on the record. And there is not really a chorus like there is in Penny Lane or some other Beatle tunes... this is something John did a lot, in terms of just ending the verse section with the song title as a short hook: he sings "strawberry fields for-evah...". This is similar to one of my other John favorites, "She Said She Said" where he ends the section with "and you're makin' me feel like I never been born". Just the hook, tagged on at the end of the section, not a full repeated chorus like in "Lucy in the Sky" for example, or "Penny Lane".

This is one of the ways the Beatles kept their songs so short, which I believe is a real lost art these days.

Anyway, give a listen to "Strawberry Fields Forever" when you get a chance, especially if you have the remasters. It's a perfectly written tune, short and sweet, and the lyrics are about childhood memories, mixed in with the surreal in a way that only the Beatles could accomplish.

And, if you do have the remasters, you'll notice that they can finally put to rest the "I Buried Paul" controversy at the end of this song. People used to think that John said that phrase at the end of this record, and used it as proof for the Paul Is Dead conspiracy. However on the new digital remasters you can clearly hear what he is saying on the coda, and it's "Cranberry Sauce". So now the mystery is, why the heck did he say that? I'm sure we'll never know.

So there you go... Cranberry Sauce, just in time for Thanksgiving!! Have a great one. And if you want to read more about the remasters, specifically the audiophile stuff, read here:

http://www.squidoo.com/buy-beatles-usb

I Want the Beatles USB Apple for Christmas

Personal appeal to my family and friends... somebody please go to Amazon and pre-order this thing for me... I'll burn it for you i swear! DRM-free content!! Supergenius!

http://www.squidoo.com/buy-beatles-usb

http://www.amazon.com/Beatles-Stereo-Box-Set/dp/B002BSHWUU%3FSubscriptionId%3D19BAZMZQFZJ6G2QYGCG2%26tag%3Dsquid825111-20%26linkCode%3Dxm2%26camp%3D2025%26creative%3D165953%26creativeASIN%3DB002BSHWUU

Beatles Appreciation Day

Hello folks,

I can't stop talking or thinking about the Beatles these days. This has been quite an active year for them, especially considering the Beatles broke up OVER THIRTY YEARS AGO! They have always found a way to keep their content fresh, and stay in the public consciousness, not only because of the longevity of their music, but because Apple and EMI have teamed up to continue to produce fresh Beatle product. They have worked with Paul MacCartney, Ringo Starr, and the estates of John Lennon and George Harrison to continue to release new records and versions of things that fans are still eager to snap up.

This year saw a truly revolutionary move for the Beatles in the release of the Beatles Rock Band video game, and on top of that, they FINALLY put out remastered versions of all the classic albums. There is a box set that will give you all of these albums in a single package, or you can also get the MONO set, which will give you a taste of what the records really sounded like when the Beatles made them. Most people don't know this, but the fact is that most of the Beatle records were made in mono... meaning when the Beatles themselves were finished with them, they only had a mono product, and the stereo was done later. And the early albums were all released in mono to begin with, so that's what everybody heard at the time.

The coolest product, however, in my opinion, is the Beatles USB Apple, which comes out on Dec 8th in the U.S. and which I am eagerly awaiting to get. I'm not going to buy the remastered CDs, I'm going to wait for this USB thingy, because it contains ALL of the remastered material in the box set, plus the extras, and it has it in 2 audio formats... one is 24bit FLAC audio, which is BETTER than CD quality (CDs are only 16bit and do not have a "lossless" coding", whereas FLAC does), and it also contains the first ever official mp3 releases of any Beatles music. You still can't buy Beatles on iTunes, but you can buy the Beatles USB Apple and get a higher quality mp3 than you usually see on those download sites.

The apple has a USB port which you can use to upload or play the music to your PC or Mac. For those who don't use CDs anymore, this is the way to go, as it's all the data you'll ever need, and more, in the best-available audio format that the Beatles have ever released.

To read a great review with photos and such on this Beatles USB Apple, click here: http://www.squidoo.com/buy-beatles-usb

Or, to goto Amazon and pre-order it, Click here

Song appreciation.

Listening to Radiohead's Kid A today. I am wondering if anyone recalls an article that discussed how this album syncs up to the sequence of events on 9/11.

Spooky record. Still gives me chills, esp since I saw them at Liberty Island about 2 weeks before 9/11 happened.

If I Had a Hammer...

Yo, Musicheads! Greetings, songwriters!! Whaddup beatmakers, rhymers, and lyrical poets!! Tortured artists unite!! You are not alone (no, actually, you are, but don't worry, that's good for material ;-).

I have started this blog to help, inspire, encourage, and advise fellow songwriters on how to improve your craft. I have written a number of songs myself, but as many of you know, a good songwriter is always searching, looking for that magic moment that will lead to the one GREAT song that we know we can write.

I want to start by talking a little about craft... you know, craft...the "boring" part of songwriting. That's right...boring but necessary. It's easy to think that as an artist creating your art, you should be struck by divine inspiration, and that a totally hotshit song, riff, beat, lyric, or other piece of amazing music will just burst right out of you in a flood of creativity. And that may happen, often... but, this lightning strike can only be useful to a working artist if you know what to DO with that inspiration when it comes. This is why you must learn the craft.

There's a great story that John Lennon told once, about the craft of songwriting. I'm paraphrasing him here, but it went something like this... he said that writing a song was like building a house. If you learn how to build a house, then on any given day, you can just fucking build one, even if you are not in the mood for it, or inspired in any way... you can do it because you KNOW how to build one, so if the need arises you just can. John Lennon was making the point that he knew how to write a song (gee, do you think?), so when he needed one, he could just sit down, have some tea, and jus' bloody do it, like it was his job.

I've found that story inspirational in my songwriting, believe it or not, because it keeps me focused on the craft of songwriting. Let's face it.... sometimes the muse does not visit... sometimes you are not in the mood, and sometimes there just aren't any ideas. Don't despair in these moments, just start building your house from the foundation.... pour the concrete, start building the frame, and eventually you will have built a house, and just maybe, along the way, an idea will hit you for how to make a truly special house.

Of course this means that you have the basic knowledge to begin with... how do you build a song, anyway? Where to start? What key are you in? Does that even matter? How many measures? What structure... verse, chorus, verse, etc? And let's not even think about lyrics yet.... oh, god no, don't make me write the frackin' lyrics yet. I have nothing to say. Or everything. arrgh.

So as this blog continues I'm going to be offering insight and advice, and i'm going to start with CRAFT, that boring but necessary thing that you need before you can even try to play with the big boys. I'll try to give you some more tools for your toolbox, and share ideas and techniques

Along the way I'll be sharing stuff I've found on the web and elsewhere that I think can help us with our shared dilemma.

Would love to hear from anyone reading this... who knows anything about songcraft that they would like to share?

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